ROAD TRIP NORTH THROUGH USA

We left San Diego and travelled along the Mexican border to Phoenix Arizona and up north to Sedona known as Red Rock Country. Have been here before when it was lightly snowing but this time hot. Spectacular country and the first of a lot of spectacular scenery we were going to see. Had a great Indian meal here but they skimmed my credit card which tended to spoil the experience – anyway the Bank of America were very good and it was resolved without any cost to us.
Drove through Flagstaff and on the famous Route 66 (for those old enough to remember the TV series and song) – not much of the original route exists – just bits and pieces here and there in some of the states. Looked very sixities and a bit run down.
Then travelled on to Monument Valley in the top of Arizona (this is John Ford movie making territory). Again ‘wow’. It is Indian tribal territory and you travel around the sights on a very rutted dirt road – but adds to the simplicity of it. We felt we could have been in the wild wild west. This was the feeling we got in a few towns we went through which were stuck out in the desert.
Next to the Canyons – Glen, Zion and Bryce. In between we travelled through the Painted Desert and the Vermillion Cliffs in Utah. Is it possible to see anything more ‘wow’ and spectacular that the previous one. Yes, every day we saw sights, each different from the previous. By the time were in Bryce Canyon we were over 9,000 ft above sea level and the temperature was 20 degrees Fahrenheit – really really cold for us little Aussies. This year of the El Nino there were very late snow falls so consequently during our travels in high country there was a lot of snow.
The road into Zion was built in the depression and barrels through the middle of the mountain in a tunnel 1.2 miles long – would this happen today? Every quarter mile or so a great big hole is cut out of the side the mountain to allow air into the tunnel with stunning views through them – cant stop as this is only a two way road and lots of traffic. Again lots of coloured rock.
On the way to Salt Lake City we passed Big Rock Candy Mountain in Utah – never thought this was an actual place – first recorded by Harry McClintock in 1928 and many others since then. Next north to Salt Lake City (the Mormon Tabernacle) and then on to a couple of ski resorts (which are old mining towns) and YellowStone National Park. This is quite different and very pretty but not so much of ‘wow’ factor as we had been used to.
By the time we reached Portland in Oregon, it was wet, overcast and cold. This was our reintroduction to the Pacific Northwest and then on to Port Angeles in Washington State where our boat is.
We intend to depart here in about a weeks time after we have found all the things we ‘lost’ or forgot where we put them.