In the land of wonderful wildlife & giant trees

Tonight we send you our latest from an RV park at Fresno in central California. We left the heat of Las Vegas and stopped for lunch at a 1950’s style diner just north of Barstow. This diner was so authentic, right down to the waitress’ attire, the jukebox in the corner and the 50’s music blaring overhead. And the food was good and cheap!

We spent that night at Bakersfield before heading to the Kings Canyon/Sequoia national park, where we stayed the last two nights at the Azalea campground which was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We had a fire pit which the kids loved, from the collection of firewood through to the roasting of marshmallows. We also had a bear locker. For those of you who are unaware, you are required to place all your food, toiletries and anything else with a scent - good, bad or otherwise (Rebecca wanted to put a few members of the family in by the end of the two days) - in the locker, as items with a scent can attract bears. Needless to say, we placed all such items in the locker except for our refrigerated food. Graham was adamant that no bear would break into a) our campervan and then, b) our fridge. Rebecca had her doubts but we are happy to say we had no issues with ‘breaking & entering’ bears or any other misbehaving animals!

Wildlife was, however, bountiful. A raccoon visited us on the first night on more than one occasion. It was so bold that it walked right up to Graham’s chair and wandered under our campervan. Maybe it had been fed by someone staying at our campsite in the past but we had already been warned how vicious these cute-looking animals could become, so we simply let the critter continue on its way, probably disappointed by our lack of generosity.

The next day, we visited the two biggest living things on earth, two Sequoia trees by the names of General Sherman and General Grant. They are really MASSIVE! They are not the oldest (being a mere 2,200 and 1,700 years old respectively – the oldest being about 3,200 years old) and are not the tallest (Californian redwoods are taller, for instance,) but are the biggest in terms of volume of wood. You are truly a midget next to them, as you will see from the photo below.

We had a surprise when we headed back to the car park after visiting the General Sherman tree, as a black bear was there ripping a big pine cone to pieces for its sap. The bear had no fear of humans at all, which is actually unfortunate for the bear. It is likely that the rangers will euthanize it, as bears which lose their fear of humans often become aggressive and a nuisance. Very sad, but it was great for the kids to see one of these beautiful animals in the wild.

Graham had another surprise waiting for him that afternoon while out gathering more firewood for our pit. He spied a deer with two fawns in the valley below our campsite and snapped several photos of them. We also saw countless squirrels scurrying around our campground which Rhiannon thought were very cute.

So today, we left the national park with wonderful memories of the wildlife we found there and headed back down the mountain (dropping 6,000 ft in half a hour) to arrive in the town of Fresno for the night (and to do some washing, shower and empty the tanks).

We head to Yosemite tomorrow for two nights within the park in the Valley and are very excited about this as EVERYONE says that Yosemite is a ‘must-see’. As in the previous park, we will be out of wi-fi range so will speak again once we head back down.

As always, take care,

Graham, Rebecca, Jack, Liam & Rhiannon

Graham & the kids discover fire at our campsite

(or Jack sending smoke signals...)

General Sherman tree (people are midgets at the base)

All of us standing at the base of the largest living thing in the world

"There's a bear in there..."

"If you go down to the woods today..."

One of the fawns Graham found behind our campsite

Viva Las Vegas!

Hi again,

We have just left the sweltering heat of Las Vegas and are heading back towards Barstow, as we make our way to the Sierra Nevada National Parks i.e. Sequoia, Kings Canyon & Yosemite.

Since we last blogged, we have spent a wonderful day viewing the Grand Canyon from its many lookouts along the South Rim. It is truly a jaw-dropping experience and makes you feel very small and insignificant in comparison. We were surprised to find that a forested environment surrounds the Canyon, expecting instead for it to be relatively desolate. The elevation here is about 7.700 ft and nights were quite cool.

We spied grazing elk and deer on our shuttle bus trips between lookouts, as well as condors and ravens soaring above and below us. There were many helicopters zooming through the ravines, some dragging what looked like baskets on long ropes behind them.

At least 600 people have died at the GC so Rebecca was a little nervous at those lookouts with limited railings. One lady told us that a four year old fell fairly recently at a particular lookout we were visiting. We stayed until sunset to watch the colours of the rocks change from brown and red, to pink and purple, before finally growing dark. The Canyon was a long drive to visit, but it is worth the effort to see this spectacular feature, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

From the Canyon, we headed towards Las Vegas, stopping at the Hoover Dam along the way. When this dam was completed, it was the largest concrete structure in the world. It stills looks huge today! After completing a security inspection where big (and we mean, big!) police officers checked our RV inside and out, we drove over the wall, parked and walked back along its wall for a closer look. Here was where the heat hit us, after the relatively balmy weather of the Canyon.

We next drove on to Las Vegas and stayed in an RV park near Circus Circus, one of the casino/resorts. For any one of you who know Vegas, this meant we were close to the “Strip”.

You really have to see Vegas to believe it. It rises out of the desert in the middle of nowhere. We spent both nights we were there strolling and bus hopping along the “Strip” and taking in the sights and atmosphere. The kids especially enjoyed the free water fountain show at the Bellagio and the Volcano show at the Mirage. We didn’t make it back to our base until 11pm on both nights which made for very tired kids (and adults!) and very sore feet! Daytime was spent in the pool or the air-conditioned comfort of the shops.

So as we now head back west, we are looking forward to some cooler weather and a little more greenery in the scenery ahead of us. Tonight, we stay in the town of Bakersfield in Central California before heading to the national parks tomorrow.

Bye for now,

Graham, Rebecca, Jack, Liam & Rhiannon.

The Gang at The Grand Canyon

 Sunset at The Grand Canyon

The Eiffel Tower - Vegas Style

Water show at The Bellagio

Expolding volcano at The Mirage

Hi from Arizona

It is mid-afternoon and we have just rolled into a campground outside the Grand Canyon National Park gates. We can’t wait to view the GC tomorrow morning as it is renowned as one of the most spectacular natural sights on earth. Anyway, back to what we have been up to….

We spent Wednesday at Sea World and watched some great shows. While the Shamu killer whale show was awesome and the seal show was funny, the dolphin show – Mermaidia – was spectacular. The dolphins were unbelievably fast and agile, and the human acrobatic performers were just as good. We also saw a pet animal show which was also funny except some of the animals refused to perform their tricks, making it even funnier! What’s that saying; never perform with kids and animals…

Thursday was spent at San Diego Zoo. Although the zoo is in a lovely setting with many exhibits, many of the larger animals didn’t have as much room as they should. We were particular impressed with the polar bears, who decided to have a play fight in the water while we were watching them, and with the baby hippo (Mummy hippo was pressing her baby up against the glass which made for excellent viewing).

That afternoon, Graham wanted to visit the San Diego Yacht Club (assuming he could simply walk in the front gate uninvited) to pick out a suitable vessel for sailing back to Australia. Unfortunately for him (but luckily for the rest of family), Rebecca had already booked plane tickets home. After driving around the block many times before finding a parking spot (you can’t just reverse park an RV anywhere!!), we eventually found a spot. Whilst Rebecca was giving reversing directions to park, she started gas-bagging to a passer-by named Tom (does that surprise anyone?) Tom indicated that, as he was a member of the Yacht Club, he could get us in and show us around, which he did.

This yacht club literally has hundreds of boats moored at the marina, most of which would cost a house or two in Australia. Tom introduced us to his wife, Karen, and we ended up having dinner together at the Club. Tom has experienced an amazing life during his 89 years (yes, 89 but doesn’t look it by a long shot). He was a WW2 navy pilot with over 500 aircraft carrier landings - he has flown planes through the Grand Canyon and under the Golden Gate Bridge – and has travelled widely. Tom and Karen showed amazing generosity by refusing to let us pay for dinner, even after much protest. We exchanged details and may see them one day in Australia to repay the favour.

Friday saw us leave San Diego and start the long drive towards the Grand Canyon. After stopping at a dancewear shop Rebecca had found on the Web (saved a bundle on shoes and clothes for Rhiannon – dance shoes were less than half price!), we drove to Barstow, the town where traffic for Las Vegas goes to the left and traffic to the Canyon heads to the right.

We visited the much publicised factory outlets and were quite disappointed, with Rebecca stating that she had seen better bargains in Oz. Oh well, what else can you expect from a tourist trap?????

We then drove to Calico Ghost Town campground a few miles out of Barstow, where we stayed the night in a real desert setting amongst, what we assume to be meerkats and desert quails. Staying at the campground gave you free entry into the Ghost Town where the kids panned for gold/silver, and we visited the old mines and settlement – quite a buzz for the kids.

We then pushed on to Needles on the California/Arizona border. This town is built on the Colorado River and is around 400km inland. The river is about 75m wide here and seems to be a haven for boating. There were still some huge powerboats using the river when we pulled in late in the afternoon. Quite a few of these were 30ft+ and towed on 3 axle trailers by big V8 pick-ups (quite the American dream!) The kids enjoyed a splash in the pool while Graham & Rebecca watched the river traffic. Whilst eating dinner we saw a skunk walk by and had to keep Jack from following it for fear of him being sprayed and stinking for the remainder of the trip. Graham & Rebecca also saw another creature, either raccoon or coyote, walking along the riverbank later that night. It was too dark to tell which it was.

Which brings us to today. We left Needles and drove through “Indian country” (Rhiannon is disappointed we haven’t seen any as yet, especially as she now has her very own feather headdress) to where we are now – the Grand Canyon Camper Village. Liam is not happy that we have not continued on to visit the Canyon this afternoon but, after four hours driving/navigating, Graham and Rebecca needed some down time. Anyway, the Canyon has been there for million of years and we can’t see that changing overnight.

Until next blog,

Graham, Rebecca, Jack, Liam & Rhiannon

P.S. As Rebecca sits here and types away, little gophers are popping up from the ground as they build new entrances to their networks beneath us.

Killer Whale Show at Sea World

Rhiannon doing her best squaw impersonation at Calico Ghost Town

Panning for something....anything!

Gophers or groundhogs

Graham, Rebecca & Tom at San Diego Yacht Club

Dolphin (Mermaidia) Show at Sea World

Baby Hippo at San Diego Zoo

31 foot of pure grunt!!

 

Campervan of Chaos rolls into San Diego

Hi again,

great to receive your lovely (and amusing) emails and comments, especially those regarding American food,  princesses and our potential driving skills! Would love to answer you all individually but we are struggling just to find enough time to write this blog!
Anyway, we have not failed in the driving department. We picked up the campervan yesterday and Graham has been practising his braking skills to avoid hitting a crazy driver(only one glass broken so far in the van). Rebecca has not ventured to the driver's seat in the van as yet but she did practise her yankee driving with a car we hired and only mistook the windscreen wiper button as the indicator button once. They are on opposite sides of the steering wheel, after all. Anyway, back to the campervan.....

So far, Graham has been designated van driver (calmer in traffic) and Rebecca the navigator (better with maps). Even with the help of GPS (and a few less than useful comments from the three backseat drivers like, "why did you miss the exit, Dad? You only had to cross four lanes"), our journey has been interesting. The series of overpasses, underpasses and everything in between on the freeways of LA and San Diego are reminiscent of Dr Suess' story, "The Zax". One freeway we travelled on was ten lanes each way and everyone (expect us, of course) exceeds the speed limit. We are pleased to report that we have not lost the side mirrors yet, although Graham did have a close shave with a school bus in LA, much to the bus driver's amusement.

But back to our journey... after stopping at a skate shop on the way to San Diego, where Jack purchased a longboard which Graham and Rebecca both didn't see as the 'bargain' Jack was - and still is - convinced it was, we arrived in SD around dark hoping to score a nice RV park with an available site which amounted to more than a patch of bitumen. Lady Luck was on our side (or rather, Rebecca had done her homework) and we scored a site in a lovely 'kiddy-friendly' park, close to Sea World and with pool/spa, play equipment, beach, etc. to get the kids out of Mum & Dad's hair. After all, you can still get under each other's feet in a 31 foot campervan.

As we arrived quite late last night, we spent today grocery shopping (had enough of takeaway where EVERYTHING is so processed and loaded with fat), exploring our home for the next few nights (i.e. the park) and lazing around the pool. Tomorrow, we head to Sea World to be splashed by Shamu, the killer whale, hopefully not to become its lunch.

Until next time,

adios mis amigos!

Graham, Rebecca, Jack Liam & Rhiannon

First week in SoCal

Hi all, we have to apologise for being sooo late with our first post but we are just having too much FUN to spend time sitting at the laptop (Bec is forcing herself to do that right now...) After a long haul flight to LA (emphasis on the 'long'), we arrived on Monday 5th feeling slightly jetlagged (Mum & Dad having no sleep due to kids lying all over us) and spent the rest of that day browsing the local Anaheim shops fighting Mr Sandman.

Tuesday saw us hit Disneyland with a vengeance, with Rhiannon (aka Sleeping Beauty/Snow White) & Rebecca chasing down every Princess they spied for happy snaps, the boys being dragged along between rides, and Graham carrying supplies (& Rhiannon when her princess legs needed a break).

Wednesday saw us hire a car and Graham try his luck on the mega freeways on the 'wrong' side of the road - good practice for the campervan next week! - taking the gang to Newport Beach for lunch where the wealthy locals must live. Rebecca picked out her house while Graham picked out more than a few boats to his liking. Next we hit the shops where Rebecca and Jack took off like possessed demons, Rhiannon wandered along crying "I'm hungry" every few seconds (obviously supersize portions have nothing on Rhiannon's appetite), and Graham and Liam were heard on more than several occasions saying "can we go yet?"

Thursday meant back to Disneyland for a special treat for Rhiannon in particular - lunch at Ariel's Grotto with a special greeting from the mermaid one herself and personal meet 'n greet sessions at our table from Cinderella, Snow White, Belle and Sleeping Beauty. To say Rhiannon was excited is an understatement - she looked like she was about to wet her pants at one stage. Rebecca was nearly as excited, fulfilling a lifelong dream to meet her childhood heroes (sigh!) We stayed until nightfall where we watched the fantastic World of Colours show. For those who don't know, this is a water fountain show, with pyrotecnics, music and images portrayed onto the spurting water. Very impressive! Americans really know how to put on a show.

Friday we hired a car and drove north to Universal Studios for the day. The highlights were the studio tour (Rebecca was thrilled to see the Desperate Housewives set and all but Rhiannon thought the new King Kong 4D experience was awesome), the Waterworld show (where we received a little soaking from the cast), the Special Effects show where Rebecca laughed so much at the 'astronaut' that she started crying and the Animation Show (believe it or not, but we can all draw Mickey Mouse now, true....)

Saturday was a free day with a sleep-in after four days of early starts. We headed to Disney Downtown District for lunch and more shopping where Rebecca gave the c/card another hammering before we all trudged three miles (couldn't find an empty cab and the weekend bus timetable is woeful) to see the Anaheim Angels beat the NY Yankees 6-0. That's baseball for all you uninitiated beings. After the first few innings, Jack decided to pack his NY Yankee hat away and become a 'turncoat', cheering for the Angels instead.

Sunday (today) meant our third - and last - day at the 'Happiest Place on Earth' where we saw a wonderful Aladdin musical show, Liam became a Jedi knight and fought Darth Maul, both boys made their own lightsabers and Rhiannon received her last fix of cuddles from Disney princesses. We are currently recuperating around our hotel pool before heading back to Disneyland for the nighttime fireworks.

We have been pleasantly surprised by how nice and friendly the Yanks are, and by how many Aussies there are here! Tomorrow we check out of our Anaheim hotel, pick up our campervan and start our own version of 'National Lampoons Vacation'. We head first to San Diego.

Talk soon from SoCal (Southern California to those who don't know, but don't worry - Jack only figured it out a day ago...)

Outside Sleeping Beauty's Castle

 

Rhiannon (aka Snow White) with Cinderella

 

Meeting Ariel at Ariel's Grotto for lunch

 

World of Colour show

 

Clock Tower from 'Back to the Future' (Universal Studios)

 

At the Ball Game (Anaheim Angels about to hit a homer!)

 The two Sleeping Beauties posing

 Liam ducking in a battle against Darth Maul