Author: alittlecameo

Astrology | Travel | Speaking Spanish

A view of the Grand Canyon

June 2, 2011

It was third time lucky for me with the Grand Canyon.

First up, I was underwhelmed whilst on my rafting trip. Yes, so jaded etcetera, etcetera. But then I gave her a chance to show me her beauty from the North Rim, but was greeted with a wall of snow and the smallest glimpse of a canyon wall.

Finally, after a roundabout trip, I got the views and experience you would expect at the South Rim.

I was amazed. It was beautiful, the colours, the rock layers and the magnitude all added up to a massive WOW! You could spend some serious time sitting and pondering without getting bored.

I had a conversation recently about when to move on because you haven’t had the textbook experience that everyone else seems to have and that no matter how hard you look for it, it doesn’t appear. I had a similar experience with Buenos Aires at the end of a year of travel I was jaded, and didn’t find the fun that others did. Just like trying Buenos Aires for a third time and loving it, I’m glad I tried the Grand Canyon for a third time because it was finally the experience that people rave about.

A bit of Route 66

June 1, 2011

My map told me to take a small detour off the I40 freeway to follow the scenic Route 66.

It wasn’t overly scenic. Not in the way I have come to expect from scenic routes in America.

So instead I added additional time and miles to my trip to the Grand Canyon. Whilst Route 66 is the iconic American road trip, I don’t think I’d want to do it solo. I think the strange, zig-zagging path I’m taking is far more interesting.

Excitable in Las Vegas

May 31, 2011

My second wind suddenly appeared at the same time as this song came on. Yes, Vegas is the place to unleash your inner silly and have a bucket-load of fun.

Thanks to Dustin for capturing the moment… I think.

Oh, and if you are thinking of replicating this, the day after this was filmed, an old-school arcade game was bolted to the bench, possibly to discourage such disrespect of common areas, or maybe just to add another mini podium.

At the drive-in

May 30, 2011

It has been so long since I’ve been to the drive-in. I think maybe it was as a child with my family, all six of us piled into the station wagon.

The drive-in is alive and well in Las Vegas, with about 4 screens showing films all night long. We managed to sneak in under the cover of a blanket to see The Hangover 2. Vegas would be a great place to see The Hangover, especially at the hostel which was the location for one of the scenes, so I guess seeing the second in the franchise there made some kind of sense.

The movie followed the same plot line and formula as the original but in my opinion it was less funny, more offensive.

Never-the-less, the experience of the drive-in with the mop-bucket sized popcorn (with free refill) and the concession stand building full of hungry movie-goers, sneaking around to watch another film for free and trying to find the best viewing position for the screen was fun. I do hope that drive-ins don’t become extinct, because the novelty factor is a goody. However that said, nothing beats the cinema experience for watching a film.

$8 for a coke?!

May 29, 2011

We went to Vanity nightclub at the Hard Rock Hotel on Saturday night.

As is the fashion with most clubs, there is an expensive cover charge, think minimum $20. It pays to be a girl though, because girls get either discount or free entry. This is because where there are girls, the guys will flock.

Once inside one of these party havens, they will then charge you through the nose for a drink. I asked the bartender for a Coke and she said it would be $8. I wasn’t sure she understood that I didn’t want an alcoholic beverage, just a regular soft drink, so I repeated it. And she nodded, “yes, $8”.

That did not include a tip either.

I was blown away by the expense of a simple little drink. I believe the waters also cost the same, but given how steep the cost of my first drink was, I wasn’t going back for a second.

When in Vegas, drink before you go out and if you are a group of guys, try to find a group of girls to help bump you up the line to get in.

Con los vaqueros

May 28, 2011

I got my first real sighting of Mexican cowboys at a place called Silver Saddle in Las Vegas. After a night at the club, I popped in there with Chandler on the way back to the hostel and found myself in the Hispanic equivalent of a b & s.

I had my handbag searched while Chandler was patted down by security for concealed weapons. I faced the establishment agape at all the beige and black cowboy hats, perched atop heads proudly displaying preened mustaches. While the bar was typically the domain of the male (including a sleeping male whose mustache was nodding towards the counter), the tables and dancefloor held mixed groups and couples.

They played cumbia, which I’m not a fan of, but the couples were getting into it as they held each other closely and trotted around the dancefloor in a type of waltzy, jig fashion.

It was something so far removed from what I’ve seen before, and it was the opposite of the glitz and sparkle of the Strip, but it was utterly fascinating and such a great place to see the stereotype of the vaquero.

RV nation

May 27, 2011

Two weeks of camping has opened my eyes as to the whole RV thing that grips America’s retirees.

At the campsites I’ve stayed at, most people have been in RVs or been towing massive caravans that require special truck hook ups. After home ownership, I think an RV is the great American dream. Or maybe it’s just that Americans work so hard during their life that when they reach retirement, they want to see their country from the comfort of a plush, fully fitted out mobile home. I’m yet to be invited inside one, but I hope to achieve that before my trip is out.

Here are a few random observations followed by one big tip.

  • There are different categories of RV. There are the shorter ones, the truck mounted ones all the way through to the deluxe pop out coaches
  • Hiring an RV is also popular with El Monte RV and Cruise America the two dominant companies
  • 90% of the luxury bus ones are towing a car, often a four wheel drive
  • Many of them have bikes, which I guess leads to all those Metamucil and insurance stereotype ads of retirees riding bikes
  • Some also carry motorbikes or boats. Sometimes they have the full gamut of recreational vehicle options with car, motorbike, bikes, ATV AND canoe.
  • They like to wear merchandise from the sights they’ve visited, bringing greater meaning to the saying “been there, bought the t-shirt/cap/entire gift shop up”

And finally, my hot tip comes after I saw a couple spend about 15 minutes hooking their big GMC four wheel drive to the back of their bus. It was the type of hookup that pulls the car along on four rolling wheels. After going over everything, the couple jumped into their luxury coach and took off down the road. As they started off, it became clear that the car was still in park and the rear wheels protested and squealed and jumped and bounced burning rubber and creating big flat spots in the tyres. It drew quite the crowd of tent campers and took the driver about 150m to realise there was a problem and stop to inspect.  So when you are towing a car, always do one final check to make sure you’re in neutral and have released the handbrake.

Not so remote

May 26, 2011
Two planes side by side

Apparently southern Utah was the last place of the contiguous US states to be mapped due to its remoteness. However it doesn’t feel so remote when you always see a jetstream streak across the sky.

I had expected to find wide blue skies contrasting against the red rocks of the region, but many a photo will be marred by these aeroplane scars across the sky. I counted up to 10 at one time in Bryce Canyon. It makes it hard to believe you are in the middle of nowhere when you can see a criss-cross of jetstreams and it’s a continuous reminder of life going on back in the ‘real world’ and makes it difficult to truly escape.

Count the jetstreams above Bryce Canyon

Even in the quiet of the night, you still hear jets flying over in the wee hours of the morning.

It kind of spoils the nature experience.I miss the open expanse of blue sky in Australia. The type where it is rare to see a jetstream, where the jetstream is a novelty, not the norm.

CockRock State Park

May 25, 2011

Okay, so it’s really called Kodachrome Basin State Park, so named by a bunch of National Geographic boffins who thought it so captivatingly photogenic in 1949, but whatevs, it really is just a state park full of phallic rocks.

The Panorama Trail gives you plenty of opportunity to see these giant, erect formations that some giantess would probably get her rocks off on. Yes, this post is extremely vulgar, but if you want a giggle, check out the slideshow (although not the type filmed on Kodachrome, printed at the photo shop and shown with a white pull up screen and home slide projector, even though that’s probably how the Nat Geo guys showed the park off in the first place).

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Thank you blue sky

May 24, 2011
Capitol Reef NP
Views from the end of the trail

At the Capitol Reef National Park Visitor Centre, I wasn’t so sure about the 9 mile (14.5km) Navajo Knobs trail that hiking buddy Brian was so keen on.

For starters, the weather was grey and rain looked imminent. I didn’t quite have the heart to tell him then that if it was raining, there was no way I was climbing the slickrock and no way I’d do it for 9 miles. I was fully prepared to pike out like I did on the sunset.

The threatened rain appeared as I was pitching my tent in the beautiful Fruita campground. My enthusiasm waned substantially. I suggested we go on the scenic drive “in the meantime”, and so we got in Esmeralda and travelled along the not overly scenic road. At the end of the bitumen, I decided to turn around because the last thing I would want is to get Esmeralda bogged in the sticky red dirt.

As we headed back to the campground, lo and behold, the grey skies parted and showed their blue cousin.

So I found myself ascending 2400 feet (730m) over the undulating trail. However, the views were totally worth the climb and my inner petulant child that creeped out a few times during the hike. Thanks Brian for suggesting it and thanks blue skies for making me keep my word!