Sequoia`s Big Trees

We drove the snaky road with our Beast to Sequoia National Park after sunset, and the road felt narrow and the cliffs steep and too close! We reached the RV park in the National Park, paid our fee at the station, by leaving your name and the money in a little brown envelope( trust people…no one checking on you), ready for the Big Trees tomorrow! Next to our campsite we saw these huge steel lockers and bins, with scary warning signs about Big Bears! ‘Ha Ha!’ we thought.

After a wishy washy evening in the RV, when we only found some cold water in the restrooms, we slept well, to wake up to the only wild life in the Park, mule deer and grey squirrels. After coffee, we did the big dump at the dump station, making sure our Beast is a little lighter for the slippery snow! The Beast was behaving beautifully around all the sharp curves. No RV`s bigger than 22 ft were allowed past Hospital Rock. We just made it with our 21 ft, but trust me we still felt too big around certain corners! What we didn`t know, was that roadworks were laying ahead of us, and trying too squeeze through as thinly as possible gave us a couple of nervous moments. The beast was climbing the steep mountains.

It is so sad to think that these unbelievable beautiful trees were chopped down for pencils and grape stakes, until a man, John Muir walked among them coincidently looking for his cattle and realized that something has to be done to save these creatures.

We drove while the snow was falling, enveloping us in a new spooky world with magic all around us. It was just us, our Beast and these huge Giants keeping an eye.

I wish I could describe these trees to you, and I hope the photos will do a better job. Joe climbed into one of them totally disappearing.

We saw them scarred by fires and felt the pain they must have suffered, but then we learnt that they needed the fire to help their seeds propagate into new little trees. Even if they fell down, they are protected by tannins to keep them laying down for hundreds of years before they will allow an animal or fungi to feast on them.

We got lost on the trails, because we wanted to, we couldn`t stop loving it among the white of the snow and the overpowering wonderfulness of the trees.

I circled the General Sherman Tree, the largest living tree in the world! It weighs approximately 2,7 million tons and is believed to be 2 100 years old! Three times I circled this miracle, once for our Universe, second for all the people who touched my life and whom I touched, and the third time for my dearest friends and my wonderful family and my five children and my Johan….

We left a little piece of ourselves among these magical Giants, driving to Oakhurst, and slept next to the river, Fresno, in the High Sierra RV Park, with no hot showers! At least I had the heat of the trees filling my spirit still….

Death Valley

We left Las Vegas with Las Vegas…. and were heading for the Death Valley!

 We enjoyed the humanly pleasures for a while, only to escape to Death! We found a spot in the campsite, with no hook ups, for 12US$. The park is exactly as the name says….death around you in the extremes shouted by the rocks. It is the hottest, driest lowest National Park in USA. It only comes alive in the colors playing in the sand. It shouts tales of cataclysmic forces who fought a battle against the ongoing erosion.

The Badwater was our first stop, and we walked on the salty lake, listening to the crust of salt under our shoes.

It was named Badwater, because the people were so happy seeing the lake, only to find out that the water is salty. They wrote the word, bad water on their maps, searching for fresh water for their donkeys. The little bit of water we saw, is ancient water, seeping through the foot of the mountains faraway icy places.

See the reflection of the mountain in the water !!!

Of course there has to be gold, and people started scraping borax-rich crystals from the valley floor. What is left of that era is the wagons drawn by 2o mules, and eventually replaced by the tractors, and the ruins of the boilers to boil down the borax, and the huge tanks where the borax crystalised.

It is a good place to see, a drive through of one day is enough.

LAS VEGAS !!!!!

Zion National Park, Utah.



Frozen River outside Kanab, Utah

We travel through expanses of arid open spaces, mountains, plateaus and vistas, everything in one day. We drove through the scenic park, paid 85US$, the annual park fee, to visit all the parks, instead of 25US$ per park. The Ranger gave us credit for the already paid 25US$ at Grant Canyon and show us that we can pass on the card to somebody else if we sign only one of the two signature places on the card.

 Because we drove this big RV, we were escorted by a Ranger through the two tunnels, because all the traffic has to wait for an RV to go through a tunnel.

The Grand Canyon was impressive, but Zion is unforgettable. Huge brown and pink and orange with a touch of green mountains, towered above us, weathered away in formations unknown to us.

The mule deer and white tail roamed the mountains on the lookout for the nutritious rice grass. Like the Colorado River is carving away a story in the Grand Canyon, the Virgin River is carving away the mountains of Zion. We parked close by the walking trails, after not being able to walk the walk in the Grand Canyon. It wasn`t so cold and we could enjoy the beauty. My feet just started jogging and soon I was flying with the cold air burning my lungs. Nothing could stop me from running and running through this beautiful place with the mountains on my one side and the river on the other.

We went on the Emerald Pools walk, high up in the mountains for about 8km and ended the day with the Grotto trail for another 2km.

 The water in the pools were a greenish blue, because of the minerals in the water. The lowest pool still had a waterfall, but the other two pools only had a little water seeping through the rocks.

We slept in the Park, next to the river, ending the day with the electronic Monopoly Carole gave Marco in New Zealand. Did you know this Monopoly has credit cards and electronic transfer of your money!

We left Zion way too soon, and could definitely spend another day in this park. We stopped at the little town outside the park, Springdale to admire all the prospectors` gems, exhibited on tables for passersby. We learnt about geodes and the little crystals inside.

We stopped at Laverkin, at the shop, Farmers Market, and bought too much sweet stuff, cinnamon buns and doughnuts and good stuff to ease the cold.

Somewhere along the scenic road we left Utah, and we entered Nevada! Excitement was building up in our RV again for our next destination!

Las Vegas.

The Grand Canyon Galore…

People said, it is just a big hole in the ground, people said it is amazing….me? I had to see one of the Wonders of the World!

And I am sitting here trying to think how to tell you, thinking about going to get a dictionary to get new words to describe what I saw and what I felt today, walking the rim of the Grand Canyon. It was icy cold with a wind cutting through our layers of all the clothes we got, but not even that could dampen the beauty.

Our day started with paying the entrance fee for a vehicle of 25US$, parking the RV at a marked spot and then enjoying a movie about the Canyon at the Visitors Centre. We wanted to do a trail, and tried the Bright Angel, but the trail was frozen over and slippery for the first two miles down. The first skinny Chinese trying to go down landed on his butt, so we decided rather to stay. One slip for mankind....

Hopi House

We visited the Hopi House, with the little basket hanging in the door way. Johan left all his worries and sorrows in the basket before he entered the house, and while he was there the little silver bells helped all his sorrows blow away, and when he exit the house the basket was empty.

When I go home, I will hang a little basket for you, for when you come to visit me, you can empty your sorrows in my basket…

Never before were hot dogs so tasty than the ones we had in the restaurant. A fire place was burning and it was nice and cozy.

After lunch we took a shuttle to see if we can walk the Kaibab trail down the Canyon,

 but we were despondent when we met hikers just completed their hike after overnighting in the valley, geared with walking poles and metal traction under their walking boots. The trail is full of ice, and the cliffs are too close, just a slip of the foot… So with our ‘running shoes’ on, we decided that we have to come back one day, and I would love to come and stay deep down in the canyon for two days! We overnight in the RV Park, just outside the park, in the snow! It was a challenge to take The Walk to the restrooms in the early morning hours.

Marco didn`t feel the cold at all. He played in the snow, made balls, threw Joe with it, kicked the ice and,

and… It was Johan who was freezing and who was trying to find a sheltered spot in the sun.

Too soon it was time to go, and we enjoyed the shuttle cruising slowly around the rim route, dropping us at scenic spots until we reached our wheels.

We left the huge Canyon but still enjoyed the beautiful drive around the Canyon, visiting the Watch Tower, with a great view in Navajo style.

All the time Marco was looking out for the Condor!

This majestic protected bird with a wing span of 9ft and 6 inches was waiting for him at the Navajo bridge, playing underneath the bridge, giving him a show, while spreading those huge black wings! Thank you, thank you, thank you….

Seductive Sedona !

I am so glad Nick and Sandy told us over a good bottle of wine about this special place! Sedona is often called ‘Red Rock Country’ and it is exactly what you see and breathe. The incredible array of colors enchants you all the way. Apparently the ranges of red are a result of the iron oxide in water seeping through the sandstone formations.

We arrived late afternoon, and frantically we tried to explore as many of the little shops we could. It is a paradise of psychics, spiritual retreats, health spas and a touch of the Indian legacy available to you! Red ‘chile’ (chilies) strung in ristas hang in the markets,

 while the wooden carved statues of Indians invite you into all the places. These statues were used by the Indians many years ago, to let foreigners know that they are willing to trade!

We walked up to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built as part of the rocks, and inside I lit a candle for my daughter, with a prayer of wisdom, love and peace…

We followed the colorful little blue and yellow flags, to Amitabha Stupa, and walked three times clockwise around the Stupa, with a prayer in our hearts for our world, our people our friends our family, our children and a prayer for ourselves.

We stopped at Kachina house, www.kachinahouse.com a distributer of Native American Art and Artefacts.

 The shop lady took the time and took us through the whole store telling us about all the different kinds of tribes and their own style of art. Never again will Indian art just be art again. I loved the Horsehair pottery, where horse hair is baked into the clay. I loved the little dolls, made for the Indian children, and the grandmother with her rosy cheeks ruling the family! I`ve got the rosy cheeks, so watch it, family!

We ended the wonderful time in Sedona sleeping in the Rancho Sedona RV Park, next to the river, feeling special being able to spend time in this special place!

Joe wrote a poem, inspired by the Indian and the eagle in bronze! Visit the Poems page for that....