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Hawaii & West Coast, 1992Hawaii & West Coast, 1992
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Hawaii & West Coast, 1992

June - July 1992
A 34-day adventure by Joel Read more
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  • TravelerHawaii & West Coast, 1992
    Day 20

    Kingman to Williams, AZ (plus Sedona)

    July 4, 1992 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    We all had a bit of a sleep-in. I felt very sleepy. We in fact found a Carl's Jr in Kingman so went there. We arrived at about 10:05, ate breakfast and made for Williams. We thought we'd try for accommodation there since it's closer to the Grand Canyon. The road to Williams was unspectacular, and we managed to get ourselves for two nights.

    After unpacking and having a bit of a rest we headed off for Sedona, a beautiful place at the end of Oak Creek Canyon. Very steep rock walls but in the midst of pine forest. The rocks are bright red with lots of buttes and balancing rocks. You drive down through the canyon. Air very dry and hot.

    Sedona itself is very quaint with lots of little shops selling Indian artifacts. We stopped for an ice-cream then headed back. Lots of people around for 4th July holiday. Lots of camp spots and people bathing in the creeks at the bottom.

    Thought we'd try for Meteor Crater, another 50 miles east of Flagstaff. The country quickly changed. We were driving along a ridge with canyons either side, with very few trees and lots of grass - looked like Dances with Wolves countryside.

    When we arrived at Meteor Crater we were told it had closed. How do you close a crater? Disappointed, we turned back toward Flagstaff and Williams and looked for somewhere to eat. The fast food chains haven't found their way to Williams and we decided on a place called Hoffman House. I felt like a proper dinner but not too much so settled on a rib-eye steak. It was 3 times bigger than I expected and had salad and soup included. Water provided on the tables - haven't seen that as much this time. The small drinks ordered were in fact, small!

    People from Phoenix near us had come for the fireworks, put on by the Williams volunteer fire brigade, and was going to start at 9pm. Sean was showing signs of being extremely tired and the kids were all getting restless, so we thought we might have to leave the fireworks. We went back to our room at the Williams Comfort Inn but the fireworks were quite loud, and there was no way anyone could sleep for the next hour, so we moved our chairs outside and watched the show. Some of them were quite large.    Read more

  • TravelerHawaii & West Coast, 1992
    Day 21

    The Grand Canyon

    July 5, 1992 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Early this morning Pete went & retrieved our continental breakfast: donuts and orange juice! Not exactly my cup of tea but something to get going on. So we headed off to the Grand Canyon. The guide book told us to find a parking spot and then leave the car.

    We went on a short walk to the rim and had our first view of the Canyon. You can't describe in words the size of it. It had a very unreal look about it, like I was standing in front of a huge painting, probably because I had never seen anything quite on the scale before. The colours ranged from light sandy through red and a dull green, and brown. I was nervous with the kids near the edge and kept telling them to move back. After the short walk we had a drink as it was pretty hot, then went into the Visitor Centre. Pete saw a phone so organised our accommodation for the next night, after a fight with the telephone system, while the kids and I watched a film in the theatrette about the natural and geological history of the Canyon.

    We then went looking for some lunch in the village. Pete got me a large coffee the size of a milkshake. He also bought a root beer for us all to try. Had a medicinal sort of smell, a bit like Dencorub or mouthwash. We collected some water from a bubbler then decided to catch the West Rim shuttle bus after catching the Village shuttle first. Cars can't be taken around the West Rim in summer. The whole trip took 1 1/2 hours without stopped, and seats were hard to find. We made the boys give up their seats to ladies, and they weren't too happy about it. I began idly chatting with a couple of people.

    We went all the way to Hermit's Rest, giving a completely different view of the Canyon. We stopped off at one place on the return journey at Mojave Point where we had excellent views of the Colorado River rapids. Hopped back on the bus and got out at the village. Walked a little way around the rim and bought an ice cream then settled in to watch the sunset. I missed it because I took Sean to the toilet! We spent a little time souvenir shopping then headed for the shuttle to take us back to the car. Lots of people were waiting.

    The first bus came and it was choc-a-block. Pete decided to walk to the car, and he made the right decision because the bus that arrived 20 minutes later was even fuller! The people waiting for the bus were getting anxious about being stranded. When Pete arrived for us we gave a man a lift back to the car park for his car. He was from Virginia and gave Pete his business card.

    We had dinner in Tusayan at McDonalds were much more expensive than the usual McDonalds. In fact they gave us a piece of paper explaining why - lack of water and so on. We also got a map of where all the McDonalds are in Arizona! It was pretty late so by the time we got back to our room in Williams, we all went straight to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerHawaii & West Coast, 1992
    Day 22

    Monument Valley & Kayenta AZ

    July 6, 1992 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 25 °C

    Time to pack up and hit the road once more. We had our continental breakfast again and left about 9:45. We had to go through Flagstaff and then up to Tuba City. We went through a variety of countryside, from very dry and barren to some flaky red rock and then some funny little piles of green soil that looked either like cinder cones or piles that people had made. From Tuba City we headed north east for Kayenta. Plenty of signs of the Indian population around and the ground still very rocky but greener.

    In Kayenta we found a Burger King and had lunch, then went across the road to the Holiday Inn and checked in. We only had one room, but they let us sleep 5 in the one room. A little cramped but we weren't spending long in our rooms these days. After unpacking and checking that we had plenty to drink we headed off for Monument Valley. The air was very dry and hot and the kids were complaining.

    Monument Valley was, of course, quite awesome, but its impact was probably lessened by visiting the Grand Canyon the day before. We had a look in the visitors centre. Not much to see but a shop and a couple of dinosaur prints.

    We drove a little way into the Valley - a 17 mile self guided tour on a dusty rocky road. We turned back after a little while after decided that the view probably wouldn't get much better. At one point you could pay $2 to photograph a little Navajo girl.

    The conditions were very unpleasant, dry, dusty, hot and windy. We drove down toward the Goulding Museum and stopped at a store for an ice cream. The cheapest round of holidays - $2.50 for the lot! We decided to call it a day then. We were all tired, irritable and hot, and drove back to Kayenta.

    The kids made straight for the pool while Pete and I had a sleep. I slept for about an hour, then joined the kids at the pool while Pete went for a walk. After cleaning up we ate in the Holiday Inn restaurant. Pete ate a Mexican plate, Nicole a Navajo sandwich and I had a taco salad. The Navajo fry bread was very tasty. The boys had burgers, and I challenged Joel to recall the last meal he'd had that wasn't a burger. He found it difficult .. was it Hawaii? I enjoyed my nice big pot of decaf coffee. Pete and I surprised by the large number of Europeans around here and the Grand Canyon - French, German, Swiss. Hardly any Americans.    Read more

  • TravelerHawaii & West Coast, 1992
    Day 23

    Page AZ, Lake Powell, Kanab UT

    July 7, 1992 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Pete was up early doing the washing and was irritated to find on his return that we were all still in bed. Since it was daylight saving, it was too late for breakfast in Burger King so it was cheeseburgers all round. The kids had another quick play in the kids playland before heading off for Page, about 100 miles away. The countryside still very rocky, flat and pretty bare. Too rocky I think for any tall trees to grow. Still lots of buttes and mesas. Stopped to photograph "Square Buttle" along route 95.

    Arrived in Page around lunchtime. A fairly large community and Lake Powell the first sign of water in any amount for quite some time. Lake Powell is a man made lake caused by the damming of the river. The dam quite high and also a road bridge across (single span). The water looked a lovely greenish colour against the reddish rocks of Glen Canyon. We drove to have a look at the dam visitor centre. Contained a large 3D model of the whole area, also info about the dam and its construction. Outside were some dinosaur tracks. We couldn't understand why they were raised.

    We drove back into Page to look for a t-shirt shop that Pete had noticed but were horribly disappointed. Went over to Taco Bell. Pete & I were amazed that we had talked the boys into a place that didn't serve burgers. They both had a soft taco, Nicole had nachos and Pete & I had burritos. We decided that a flying stop like this didn't do justice to Page - it seemed like a water sport haven. We drove a little way along the lake west side and came across a large marina.

    Headed off for Kaneb but decided to turn off the road to Paria, an old movie set. It was raining and the road was dirt, but it was in good condition and quite solid. We met another couple down there who we talked with for a while. The kids amused themselves by playing cowboys and Indians on the movie set.

    The area was also very pretty with different colours called "Painted Desert". We arrived in Kanab and checked into the Aiken Lodge. Two bedrooms but a bit of a squeeze. The kids headed off for the pool. Pete & I had a good chinwag with the proprietors. After cleaning up for dinner we walked downtown and decided on another Mexican type restaurant called Nedras, where Joel quickly parted with his orange soda. Nicole & Sean found it difficult to finish their chicken dinners. Pete and I had enchiladas and Joel had ... hamburger.    Read more

  • TravelerHawaii & West Coast, 1992
    Day 24

    Bryce Canyon, Kanab UT

    July 8, 1992 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We didn't sleep too well. It was a bit warm in the second bedroom, a car alarm went off a couple of times, Sean slept in with me and kept kneeing me in the groin, and the people above us were up at about 5:30.

    Amazingly enough we were packed up by 9:30 and had breakfast a block down the road at a bakery that also had breakfast cereal available. Cereal, milk and a donut for $1. Then we headed off for Bryce Canyon. The day wasn't looking too bright. Rain was threatening. Stopped at Red Canyon for a photo, then pulled up at the Bryce Canyon visitor's centre for a look around, watched the slide show, the headed off for the Canyon.

    Pulled up first at Sunset Point in wet, cold conditions. Pretty rock formations in the red sandstones. We started walking down into the canyon along the Navajo trail - a steep walk down and at the bottom walked past the river course. The walk upwards was strenuous and Sean complained for most of the way.

    The elevation here was quite high (8100 ft) and together with the rain we were all freezing. We went looking for food when we got back and settled for a help yourself affair at the general store. Then we drove down the canyon, stopping at a few places on the way back. Stopped at some Western-looking shops before heading back to Kanab.

    Not sure whether it was the chilli I'd had for lunch, but I was feeling queasy when we arrived in Kanab. First we checked into the Treasure Trail motel, as the Aiken Lodge was booked out for the night. Our new room was rather large with 3 double beds. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed, so Pete went out and got a pizza for dinner. I declined. Another funny night's sleep. Pete was the only one who slept well which he made obvious by his snoring.    Read more

  • TravelerHawaii & West Coast, 1992
    Day 25

    Zion National Park, Las Vegas NV

    July 9, 1992 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    I felt much better in the morning. Pete did some washing and we were away early. Back to the donut shop for breakfast. Headed off for Zion National Park. Not a very long drive. Very rocky again with steep sided cliffs and arches. Just before the very long tunnel we had to drive through we went for a short walk to the Canyon Overlook, about a mile round trip. Quite a pretty one through bushes and overhangs and beside a steep canyon.

    After a drink we drove on through the tunnel and down along the Virgin River but with many miles to go today, didn't stop much. We drove to the end - the temple of Sinawava and thought how nice it would be to go on the walk if we had more time.

    Drove back to the visitor centre. Looked at the books in the shop and the museum. Bought a few things, munched on a donut and then headed off out of Zion through the south entrance. Met some roadwork which held us up for some time, then began to fly south along the I-15.

    We arrived in Las Vegas with plenty of daylight left and surprisingly found our way to the Quality Inn without much trouble, as Flamingo Road was marked on the small Vegas map we had. We stopped to check in and Pete had a fax from Edna McKelvy waiting for him. The receptionist was quite different from any others. She was frowning all the time and everything seemed to be a bother to her. A characteristic of the fact that we were back in the city. We found all the country people very friendly, quick with a smile and chatty. Our rooms were comfortable but not as clean as previous accommodation, and Pete got some gum on his jeans when he sat on the bed. However, it was quite adequate. It was on the first floor - the Americans call it the second.

    The boys were dying to have a dip, so quickly changed. Nicole wasn't feeling too well, so she had a lie down and watched TV. I went down and watched the boys for a while before taking the plunge myself. We required our key to get in and out of the pool. Pete joined us after a while. He had been trying to book accommodation in Lone Pine without success, so booked rooms in Bishop instead. That meant quite a long drive tomorrow (260 miles).

    Back at the room, Nicole was feeling better after a glass of alka seltzer and we freshened up to hit the town of Vegas. Deciding against the shuttle bus which came every hour, we drove down to The Strip - Las Vegas Boulevard. At this time of day, not all the lights were on, but there was still a lot of dazzle. We turned into the Strip at the Oasis and were going past gigantic resorts and casinos. There were lots of people around.

    We pulled into Denny's carpark and walked back to Harrah's which was boasting a buffet dinner. We had to walk past many slot machines and gaming tables - people playing a wide variety of games, from poker to roulette and so on. The place was full of frenzied activity and very crowded. There was a very long queue for the buffet so we walked back to Denny's and ate. From there we could see across the road to the Mirage which was fronted by a huge fountain and every 15 minutes fire and colour spurted from it in a huge display.

    By now all the lights were ablaze and we started walking to see what we could see. We passed a number of souvenir shops but the stuff didn't appeal to us. The lights were indeed dazzling, flashing and blazing. After walking a way we decided that it would be best explored by car as we were getting tired, so we picked the car and cruised. There were far more than we realised, including the classic ones on television.

    It was quite late now and we headed back. An accident with an upturned car must have occurred minutes after we had passed. It was straight to bed when we got back to the hotel.    Read more

  • TravelerHawaii & West Coast, 1992
    Day 26

    Las Vegas to Bishop CA, via Death Valley

    July 10, 1992 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    Got a reasonably early start but a long way to drive today. Found a nearby Carl's Jr and found it nearly empty, then headed off from Las Vegas in a north-westerly direction, neither Pete nor I interested in returning. The lights are pretty, but they disguise a sick society.

    At Beattie we turned in toward Death Valley after having a "rest" in the restrooms and a visit to the visitor's centre. We stopped at one point to view the valley and found it surprisingly cool (well not too hot, anyway). We proceeded and found ourselves at elevation 0 where we stopped for a photo. Here it was quite hot. We drove on through the Valley to Stovepipe Wells where we topped up with petrol, saw a number of ravens and what looked like an old drive-in theatre. We wondered why anyone would want to live there.

    We then started to climb out of the valley on the other side and drove through Towne Pass into Panamint Valley which was an old dried up lake. There were typical cracked dry mud patterns. From there we could see the Sierra Nevada mountains in the background and they got closer as we approached Lone Pine. We stopped there for an ice cream and photographed Mt Whitney as close as we would get. Whitney is the highest peak in the contiguous United States.

    Toward the end of the afternoon we finally arrived in Bishop. After a swim we walked the strip and chose Carl's Jr for dinner, walked some more then watched a little TV before bed.    Read more

  • TravelerHawaii & West Coast, 1992
    Day 27

    Yosemite NP

    July 11, 1992 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Went back to Carl's Jr for breakfast as well! Discovered that now Nicole was breaking out all over with with chicken pox. We had suspected it the night before and the morning confirmed it. We covered her in calomine where it wouldn't show and paxyl the rest. Also gave her some panadol. Was nearly 11 before heading off for Yosemite. Just as well it wasn't too far. Had to go northwest along 395 as far as Lee Vining, with a couple of lakes and old craters to see along the way.

    From Lee Vining turned southwest toward the park and had to go up through Tioga Pass, elevation 9941 ft, the highest in the US. It was quite chilly and I had packed our sweaters separately in anticipation. The countryside was very pretty. Large pine trees alongside peaceful lakes. Lots of boulders around - mostly granite - the whole of Yosemite is basically igneous plutonic rock. A couple of inviting walks to on but we had to keep pushing on. We were hardly in the park.

    We stopped at several picturesque viewpoints, some with large forests of pine, some with waterfalls, some with deep valleys. Went past a small glacier but only patches of snow visible from the car. Also stopped at one point and saw a very tame couple of marmots, and everywhere lots of jumpy squirrels. We also took time to pull off and look at a grove of giant sequoia trees, including one that you can drive through. However the road was only one way and we had to go about 20 miles out of our way. It was a very pretty detour though and I was glad we took it.

    By the time we actually got to Yosemite Valley it was quite late in the day and raining we took some hasty photos of El Capitan and Bridal Veil falls. By the time we got to the village a thunderstorm was upon us, and we took refuge in a cafe before getting to the visitor centre for a quick look. We decided there was no point in hanging around so we headed off for our lodge in El Portal. Quite nice it was too, with a little kitchenette, coffee maker and fridge. Quaint wooden carvings of bears around the place.

    The boys headed off for the pool while Nicole had a sleep, then we tidied up for dinner in the 50s style diner. A young fellow took our order then came back after 10-15 minutes with the news that everything in the kitchen was stuffed up and we would be waiting a while. He told us someone else would be waiting on the table. After a while we surmised that he in fact was the problem and had been demoted. We asked a waitress to take our order and were soon served. Needless to say we didn't leave a tip. I patted Nicole down with calomine before going to bed.    Read more

  • TravelerHawaii & West Coast, 1992
    Day 28

    Yosemite to San Francisco

    July 12, 1992 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    After a restless night we took some time to get going and I put paxyl all over Nicole as we'd run out of calomine. Headed off and decided we'd wait until Merced for breakfast. A pretty dead place on a Sunday but we pulled up at Wendys. I was determined we'd all start eating a little healthier, but some misinterpretation of the menu meant we ate a worse meal than usual. Next time it'll have to be salads all round. Back on the road we took 99 north. We were now driving through a lot more populated areas, but highly rural. Lots of crops, cows and so on. There seemed to be an enormous amount of yellow dead looking grass around. Countryside very flat and reminded Pete of Windsor a bit.

    Followed 99 northwest to Modesto then 132 west. Still very rural, lots of crops. This one road just went for miles without turning. Finally got onto I-560. We planned to follow it right up to Oakland, then go up and around through San Rafael, across San Rafael bridge and come into San Francisco from the north across Golden Gate.

    As we were going along 450 around Livermore, we came across hundreds of windmills. They were just in rows and rows on hills, still very yellow and dry and looked quite bizarre. Obviously a wind generated power system. I'm sure I'd seen it on Beyond 2000.

    The kids were getting restless so we pulled off at Sausalito and got out, had a walk around and an ice cream. Had a nice view of the city and Alcatraz. Went to drive across the bridge and got caught in a gigantic traffic jam. Well it was Sunday afternoon, but there had also been an accident on the bridge. Stopped at the other side to photograph the bridge. Also stopped at Fort Point where we walked onto the bridge almost up to the first pylon. The suspension cables looked like pipes and there was a sample for us to look at. 27,000 wires in each cable. After a quick look in the gift shop we hopped back in the car to look for the Hotel Lombard in Geary Street.

    It was an old building but nicely furnished and spacious for us. We were in 2 adjoining rooms. The boards of the floor were quite uneven and creaky below the carpet, probably the result of weathering the odd earthquake or two. We had to pay for valet parking, and decided to catch public transport the next day. We couldn't all go up in the lift together as he told us it was a bit old!

    Unpacked and changed for dinner. We just walked up to Van Ness Avenue, knowing there was a Hard Rock Cafe along it. We passed several other eateries, but decided against the one hour wait at the HRC and settled for the Tumbleweed Cafe. Food quite nice.    Read more

  • TravelerHawaii & West Coast, 1992
    Day 29

    San Francisco

    July 13, 1992 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    I was nervous again and didn't sleep well. Nicole was also very restless, so we were a bit slow to get moving. Pete was up early as usual and went to get us day passes on the buses and had to wait a little while til they opened. We finally got going and went to find a bus that would take us to the cable cars. We had to wait in a queue while a bloke sang awful music.

    Lots of derelicts around and also lots of people with cups begging outright. The cable car was packed but we managed a seat. We got out at Fisherman's Wharf and started to cruise the shops. A few people performing for tips. We made it to Pier 39 and kept wandering around. Also watched the sea lions for a while and took a photo of Sean outside a left-handed shop.

    After watching a man performing on stilts we headed back for a bus to Coit Tower, but not before buying a plethora of souvenirs including a bag to put them in. Good view from Coit Tower but I was a bit nervous and didn't have much of a look. $11 for just a few minutes wasn't really worth it.

    Needed to catch 2 buses to get back to the hotel by which time Nicole was too tired to eat, so she went to bed while the rest of us went to the Hard Rock Cafe, much earlier today so we didn't have to wait. We actually had time in the evening to relax, read and watch junk TV. Played rummy with Sean for a while.    Read more

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