postaday2011 – Page 5 – a little cameo

The lesson of the Frenchman

May 15, 2011

Before I left LA I made up all these flyers to put up in hostels to find company along the road from place to place. I figured what’s a road trip without any company.

On my last evening in Vegas, the staff at the hostel said an old French guy was interested in getting a lift. I was a bit carried away by all the social activities, so I didn’t follow it up. Anyways, he found me and told me he was looking for a ride to see Southern Utah.

I told him my vague plans and said I could take him to Zion National Park, an offer he took up.

He wasn’t the best car company. It came to pass that he hadn’t understood that I was going to be camping and so he had a little melt down in the supermarket as he started to buy food provisions only to realise he probably wouldn’t be able to use them as he wouldn’t be able to stay at a campground.

I waited in the car while he checked out a number of accommodation options. I used this time to consult the map again and discovered that after Zion my next stop would be to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon instead of Bryce Canyon which is where Andre wanted to go.

When I told him this, he got a bit upset as he said there is no public transport to get where he wants to go. We arranged to be in touch and then I received an email from him saying he couldn’t get to Bryce and that if wasn’t going north then he would hitchhike back to the next big town to catch the bus somewhere else and he didn’t know why I’d changed my plans.

Part of the reason I have a car is that it gives me freedom and flexibility to make my mind up as I go. I also have the luxury of a schedule that means I don’t have to stick to a timeframe.

So now, I have learned a lesson in offering rideshares. I need to do my due diligence and specify that there are no promises beyond the next destination.

Leaving Las Vegas

May 14, 2011

Not quite today, but today was the day to soak up the last of Vegas – for this trip at least.

In addition to the partying that was sure to happen being a Saturday night, I wanted to see the MGM Lions. I’m not normally a zoo person, but this is just one of the many free activities on hand in Las Vegas, so I wanted to see the real ones, and the big bronze one out front of the casino.

So I took a couple of kiwis and a Swedish rocker chick down to the Strip to see them too. We watched them for a little while as they pulled apart some food and licked each other clean, despite the voiceover guy saying they had had a bath that morning. It seems they didn’t like their human bath better than their feline bath.

MGM has about 36 lions which are all paraded out, in pairs, on different days. They were cute, if a little bored with being in a humidified glass enclosure. Taking full advantage of the lion’s cuteness, MGM had a giftshop with windows to the enclosure so people could take home their very own Simba.

Good intentions gone astray

May 13, 2011

View from Charleston St — Red Rock Canyon from Charleston St

I was super keen to go hiking in Red Rock Canyon, about 20 miles out of Vegas, so taking Anja along with me for the ride, we set off.

As I drove along the road the heat of the day started seeping into my sleep-deprived self and sapping my energy. At the visitor centre we both realised that the scenic drive was about all we’d be good for today. I gave in to the lethargy and we drove the 13 mile circuit instead, only stopping for photos before getting back into air conditioned Esmeralda. I can’t imagine that anyone actually does any of the hikes in summer, it was so bakingly hot.

The Red Rock Canyon certainly lives up to its name with magnificent deep red colouring, so the drive was worth it though, and I didn’t feel cheated by giving in and not even doing one little hike. I guess that’s what Vegas does to you. It keeps you out all hours and then tells you all day that the best thing to do in Vegas is party, sleep and relax.

Absinthe

May 12, 2011

After watching Moulin Rouge recently, it was most apt to go see Absinthe while in Las Vegas.

Showing at Caesar’s Palace, the best way to describe it is naughty vaudeville with circus performers. Others have said a more R rated Cirque du Soleil, but since I’ve never seen Cirque du Soleil, I can’t be sure.

While you wait to go in the Spiegeltent, there is a whole host of activities to play. Sack tossing, a type of bocce crossed with air hockey, a bar and other installations made up the garden area. It was fun.

Inside, the setting was intimate with uncomfortable wooden chairs packed in a tight circle and up close to the stage in the centre of the tent. I could see the sparkly shoes of a performer right up in the middle of the tent roof so I was waiting for the moment when she was to descend to start the show.

I loved the show for its comedy, the insane acrobatics and the general naughtiness. It was lots of fun. I have to say that my favourite acts were the rollerskating duo who skated on a 2.5m diameter stage with him flinging her in the air as he sped in circles, the parody of a Cirque du Soleil act which took a lot of inspiration from Borat, the guys who threw one of their crew in the air and caught him in a standing position after a gold medal diving performance, and the sock puppet show.

I hadn’t been planning on seeing a show, but I’m so glad someone suggested we go and that we picked this show.

Hitting the strip

May 11, 2011

I thought seriously about what shoes I was going to wear out tonight.

I was weighing up the pros and cons of my only pair of heels (red patent leather) and a pair of coral flats. Eventually the heels won out as I’d figured we’d be sitting in a magic show and then walk to the nightclub for a night of dancing. They could hold up for that kind of activity.

However, the free magic show tickets we thought we were getting were all gone, so Dustin from Hostel Cat took us on a tour of the Strip instead. If you’ve been to Vegas before, you’ll know that the Strip is not as small as the word implies. Roaming the Strip to check out the casinos and the free shows requires stamina, and a pair of comfortable shoes. I’m not suggesting that you’d want to run up and down in your sneakers, that wouldn’t fit the picture, but a nice pair of flats will keep you on the go more than a pair of sexy heels.

We saw the Mirage volcano erupt in fire and fireworks, we saw the Treasure Island sirens enchant the sailors, we saw the Bellagio lake burst into dancing fountains and watched gondoliers sing to passengers at the Venetian. In amongst these highlights were food stops, chats with impersonators, drink stops, finding ways into others’ photos and a zillion photo stops, but all the while moving quickly up and down the Strip having a great time with new friends from the hostel.

At one stop for a photo in front of the waterfall in the Palazzo or whichever hotel/casino has the ceiling painted to look like daytime (they all kind of ran together into one) Stunt Joel grabbed a fistful of coins that had been thrown in by people making wishes and while I was posing for a photo he threw the wet coins down the back of my top. I think this was because he blamed me for splashing him with water in a wet-tshirt-competition type of way. So my top got wet and suddenly all these people’s wishes had been relocated to me. I was careful to make sure I threw them all back in the water with a sorry, but it wasn’t until I got back to the hostel and went to the toilet that I found a penny had hitchhiked a ride in my undies. All those penny sayings like “find a penny pick it up, all day long have good luck” and “then the penny dropped” and then most crucially “spend a penny” all just kind of came true in that moment.

So when in Vegas, do make sure you roam the Strip. Preferably with a bunch of people in the mood for hijinks (and a pair of flat shoes).

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Rock scramblin’

May 10, 2011

I love a good rock scramble.

Finding a path in amongst the boulders, jumping, climbing and scraping knees, it’s all a great adventure and challenge to my physical strength.

After being told about a secret canyon that only locals know about near the Hoover Dam, I recruited three others from the hostel to come with me on the adventure. Second prize if we didn’t find it from the vague directions we were given, was to be a tour of the Hoover Dam.

The canyon delivered far more than expected with great rock scrambling, even requiring guide ropes to haul yourself up or down in an abseil fashion in a few places. Mixed in amongst this were some hot springs and some fabulous formations along the main canyon wall and finally, at the end we came to the Colorado River.

I was keen to see the view of the Colorado without the canyon walls limiting my periphery, so I braved the icy cold water (in stark contrast to the hot water flowing into the river from the canyon) and keeping to a ledge along a rock wall where it was shallowest, I made my way towards a rocky point. At one stage I thought I was going to get hypothermia and had to force myself to continue a little further until I could climb up the rock wall and onto the point. The view was totally worth it.

At the river — Where the canyon meets the river

I had the bridge near the Hoover Dam occupying my sights to the right and then on the left was the canyon with walls reaching 500m into the air. It was incredible and I sat there for ages with that special feeling you get when you’ve challenged yourself and won and when you are somewhere that most other travellers don’t know about. It was great.

So while I may have been a little underwhelmed by the Grand Canyon, this canyon and its rock scrambling adventure made up for it.

Just another jaded traveller

May 9, 2011

Chopper into the Canyon — The chopper ride into the Grand Canyon

I’m embarrassed to say it. To say it is like committing some kind of treason. I know people won’t agree with me, but I just have to say it. The Grand Canyon isn’t so grand.

There. I’ve said it now. I’m prepared for the onslaught of comments telling me how wrong I am, and I’d love to receive them from those of you who were totally amazed. At the hostel I’ve now created some kind of reputation that I’m hard to please. It’s not true, but I’m prepared to laugh about it.

I don’t think the Grand Canyon is pathetic or anything, I just think my expectations were mismanaged. In the lead up to my ranch and raft tour on the Colorado River in the bottom of the Grand Canyon I read about the sway the river and canyon has over the river runners who guide groups through the canyon every season and that was reiterated with great emphasis by our host who went into great detail about it before we even glimpsed the canyon.

My expectations were that I would be captivated by the river and the canyon, that I wouldn’t ever want to leave and I also pictured sheer walls and dirty big rapids. Clearly they were way too high.

I love rivers and the opportunity to raft the river was something I was especially keen to do. The Murray River has a very special place in my heart, but it seems there is not enough room in there for a green Colorado River.

Canyon view — View of the canyon from the waterfall we visited

All this jaded-ness aside, I had an enjoyable trip. We saw some beautiful colours in the canyon walls, the camping was fun, the chopper ride into the canyon great and the walk up to the waterfall extremely pretty. I guess I just came away glad that I had only gone on the 3 day, 2 night trip and not the 6 day trip! Maybe my impressions of the Grand Canyon will change when I look over the rim. I certainly hope so.

I’m proud to be an …

May 8, 2011

American, is how the song goes. (Note: you might want to listen to the song on YouTube while you read this entry)

After hearing it for the first time during my ranch stay at Bar 10 in Arizona, my guess is that it is the American equivalent of “I am Australian”, a song to make you feel patriotic pride and give you goosebumps when you hear it, especially when on foreign soil.

The song came up during what the cowboys and cowgirls called the ‘program’, which is a lame description of an amateur show to give visitors a taste of the West. I cringed my way through it, feeling intense embarrassment for the staff who each had to wheel out a talent to entertain the 46 Americans and me who were stopping by for the night on the way to raft the Grand Canyon.

We were asked to stand as a large star spangled flag was carried out and held in reverence in front of us. Then people started to take off their hats and put their hands on their hearts as a recording of the song was played.

Now I’m not really sure of patriotic etiquette. I didn’t know whether I should also doff my hat out of respect, even though I am not American and they weren’t playing the national anthem, for which all the standing and heart-holding would be more appropriate. Thankfully I was right up the back so no one would have noticed that I left my cap perched on my head as I took in the lyrics.

Artist: Lee Greenwood
Song: Proud To Be An American

If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I’d worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars,
to be livin’ here today.
‘ Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there’s pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be and American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘ Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

Dreaming of a Volvo

May 6, 2011

Getting ready for the roadtrip — Esmeralda and I before setting off on the roadtrip. First stop Las Vegas.

When I was 22, it was my dream to be a full-time mum with four kids and a Volvo station wagon.

I really don’t know how I decided I specifically wanted a Volvo station wagon, but this whole dream evaporated after I came back from a year of travels at age 25. I no longer wanted to have kids, I no longer had a desire to get married, and the Volvo, that just didn’t fit the picture of my new dream to travel the world.

So it is rather interesting that I am now the owner of a green Volvo named Esmeralda. Not a station wagon, or even a family sized car, but still a safe Swedish import.

Maybe this tells me that despite our dreams changing following different experiences or paths, there is still an undercurrent at work on those old dreams. Peeps of the past perhaps.

From today, Esmeralda and I are embarking on a grand US roadtrip. We’re going to have a great time together following no set plan, just seeing where the road and the people we meet take us.

Saying goodbyes

May 5, 2011

It’s not quite of the scale of my farewells in Australia when I was heading off to LA for an indeterminate period of time, but I still had a lot of rounds of farewells to make before I left LA for greater America.

It’s nice to know that despite coming over with a few friends already, I have made some other wonderful friends in LA (strangely enough mostly Australians).

I think it’s almost harder to say goodbye to the newer friends because the friendship hasn’t been given time to blossom into something even more special. When you meet people you connect with and share interests with, the future is exciting as you get to know each other better and spend more time developing your relationship.

Now that I’m leaving LA prematurely, I hope that I can continue to maintain and these friendships via distance and wish them all the well in their endeavours.