This is it, the end of my West Coast adventure.
I really feel that I have lived my dream. I enjoyed the sunny beaches, walked the Californian streets, experienced Hollywood and had a taste of what the movie industry is like. I've been to the highest point of LA and watched the lights of the city twinkle down below.
I worked in Hollywood, lived in Burbank, bought groceries in Trader Joe's and Ralphs, drove a car on the busiest highways in the country, and I loved every second of it.
I'm proud to say I know my way around this huge city, I know some of the hot spots and some of the down spots, too. I feel totally identified with this city of angels and even though I haven't lived there for that long, I already feel like a 'local'. I'm sorry to know that this will change over time.
I visited the most incredible wonders of nature in the Far West, saw canyons and deserts and oceans, I saw mountains covered in snow.
I met people of all sorts, singers, songwriters, (aspiring) actors and actresses, college students, celebrities, Native Americans, Afro Americans, Mexicans, Koreans, Indians, well, Americans in general. For a while, I was a part of this country, as a working, middle class citizen that paid taxes and worked for the weekend.
Today I say goodbye to the live I've lived and thank everyone that helped me make that dream come through.
I would also like to thank everyone in Belgium that stuck by this blog, commenting and replying to each and every post. Often, times in LA have been lonely, and you guys have kept me going.
Soon I will start a new blog, with a whole new theme, of course. I will let the world know as soon as I put it up !
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sequoia National Park - Walking amidst the trees of Giants
The Sequoia Tree National Park is the final park of our itinerary. The park is called after the giant cypress trees that grow in this area. Nowhere else in the world can you find taller, wider and thus bigger trees. These massive wonders of nature are in average about 100 meters tall, 5 to 8 meters wide and can live up to 2000 years.
These trees only survive in this area because of the conditions that they are born in: not too dry, not too moist, not too hot, not too cold. Some actually need periodic fire for survival. Sequoias, for example, have adaptations to survive fire, and have trouble reproducing without it. Flames clear and fertilize the ground under the big trees, leaving the kind of soil in which their seeds germinate best. Not coincidentally, fire also opens sequoia cones, so that seeds rain down on this excellent seedbed. In addition, fires remove ground vegetation and forest litter that compete with the seedlings for moisture, nutrients, and sunlight.
As you walk through these woods and admire the hundreds of huge trees, you feel like a dwarf in a land of giants. It's incredible how something can grow from a tiny seed (about 5mm broad) to a 100 meter tall tree in "only" 600 years and then widen to about 9 meters during a lifespan of 2000 years.
It was a challenge to get these large trees into my picture frame. I also made two artsy pictures of the trees. One of them is a Sequoia, the other tree is a dogwood tree that only lives in the shade of these sequoia's.
These trees only survive in this area because of the conditions that they are born in: not too dry, not too moist, not too hot, not too cold. Some actually need periodic fire for survival. Sequoias, for example, have adaptations to survive fire, and have trouble reproducing without it. Flames clear and fertilize the ground under the big trees, leaving the kind of soil in which their seeds germinate best. Not coincidentally, fire also opens sequoia cones, so that seeds rain down on this excellent seedbed. In addition, fires remove ground vegetation and forest litter that compete with the seedlings for moisture, nutrients, and sunlight.
As you walk through these woods and admire the hundreds of huge trees, you feel like a dwarf in a land of giants. It's incredible how something can grow from a tiny seed (about 5mm broad) to a 100 meter tall tree in "only" 600 years and then widen to about 9 meters during a lifespan of 2000 years.
It was a challenge to get these large trees into my picture frame. I also made two artsy pictures of the trees. One of them is a Sequoia, the other tree is a dogwood tree that only lives in the shade of these sequoia's.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Yosemite National Park - incredible waterfalls
Yosemite National park is zoals Zwitserland in Europa. Het is ongeveer evengroot qua oppervlakte en heeft een even indrukwekkend landschap. Uniek aan dit park zijn de hoog uitstekende granietbergen die miljoenen jaren geleden gevormd zijn door het afbrokkelen van ijskappen, een aardplateau dat de versteende magma omhoog duwde, en natuurlijk ook de jarenlange erosie door wind en water. Het resultaat : een paradijslijk uitziende vallei waar je tenmidden van torenhoge bergen, reuzedennenbomen en grassige velden kan genieten van alweer een prachtig stuk natuur.
Als kers op de taart zijn er ook de watervallen van Yosemite (lees josemitie, met de j van joepie). Gesmolten ijs stroomt vanuit de Sierra Nevada naar de vallei van Yosemite, waar ze over de rand van deze granieten kliffen naar beneden buldert. Natuurlijk zou dit Amerika niet zijn als hier niet de hoogste waterval van Noord Amerika te vinden was. En ze is de moeite: aan de voet van deze 425 meter hoge waterval wordt je bijna weggeblazen door de kracht van de wind; het opstuivende water maakt je in een fractie van een seconde door en door nat en het geluid van het water dat vanop die hoogte op de rotsen breekt, is oorverdovend.
Deze waterval is niet de enigste die te vinden is in het park. Overal waar je kijkt schiet er helderfris water over de bergen naar beneden. Bij onze aankomst in El Portal, de toegang tot de vallei, konden we een totaaloverzicht zien van de vallei. In de verte stuiven de watervallen, afgewisseld door de uitstekende granietbergen en heldergroene bomen. Een onaards zicht bijna, als in een avonturen film waar de helden aan de start staan van een groot avontuur in een paradijslijke jungle.
Al dat water dat van de bergen naar de vallei toestroomt moet natuurlijk ergens naartoe. Je hoort dan ook voortdurend kabbelende riviertjes naar de hoofdrivier stromen.
Aan fauna heb je hier ook geen gemis. Blue birds, eekhoorntjes en chipmunks, herten en.. beren. Met zo'n drie honderd zijn ze hier nog, die Californische beren. De vuilbakken aan de visitors points zijn vernuftig afgesloten voor nieuwsgierige beren, kamperen in het park kan, altijd op eigen risico natuurlijk. De voorraad wordt dan in ijzeren kisten gestoken of hoog in de bomen gehangen.
Ik ben in feite nu ook heel dankbaar dat we die dorre, doch mooie woestijn definitief hebben achtergelaten en nu in de bergen zitten. De geur van de dennen is zalig. Je mag dan wel niet te hard snuiven, want het groene dennepollen zit zo in je neus !
Ik heb niet de mooiste foto's kunnen nemen van de grootste Yosemite waterval, want de zon stond al achter de bergen. Evengoed was het prachtig om daar te zijn ! Wil je nog meer (en echt wel heel mooie foto's) zien van dit park, klik dan even door:
Klik hier.
Als kers op de taart zijn er ook de watervallen van Yosemite (lees josemitie, met de j van joepie). Gesmolten ijs stroomt vanuit de Sierra Nevada naar de vallei van Yosemite, waar ze over de rand van deze granieten kliffen naar beneden buldert. Natuurlijk zou dit Amerika niet zijn als hier niet de hoogste waterval van Noord Amerika te vinden was. En ze is de moeite: aan de voet van deze 425 meter hoge waterval wordt je bijna weggeblazen door de kracht van de wind; het opstuivende water maakt je in een fractie van een seconde door en door nat en het geluid van het water dat vanop die hoogte op de rotsen breekt, is oorverdovend.
Deze waterval is niet de enigste die te vinden is in het park. Overal waar je kijkt schiet er helderfris water over de bergen naar beneden. Bij onze aankomst in El Portal, de toegang tot de vallei, konden we een totaaloverzicht zien van de vallei. In de verte stuiven de watervallen, afgewisseld door de uitstekende granietbergen en heldergroene bomen. Een onaards zicht bijna, als in een avonturen film waar de helden aan de start staan van een groot avontuur in een paradijslijke jungle.
Al dat water dat van de bergen naar de vallei toestroomt moet natuurlijk ergens naartoe. Je hoort dan ook voortdurend kabbelende riviertjes naar de hoofdrivier stromen.
Aan fauna heb je hier ook geen gemis. Blue birds, eekhoorntjes en chipmunks, herten en.. beren. Met zo'n drie honderd zijn ze hier nog, die Californische beren. De vuilbakken aan de visitors points zijn vernuftig afgesloten voor nieuwsgierige beren, kamperen in het park kan, altijd op eigen risico natuurlijk. De voorraad wordt dan in ijzeren kisten gestoken of hoog in de bomen gehangen.
Ik ben in feite nu ook heel dankbaar dat we die dorre, doch mooie woestijn definitief hebben achtergelaten en nu in de bergen zitten. De geur van de dennen is zalig. Je mag dan wel niet te hard snuiven, want het groene dennepollen zit zo in je neus !
Ik heb niet de mooiste foto's kunnen nemen van de grootste Yosemite waterval, want de zon stond al achter de bergen. Evengoed was het prachtig om daar te zijn ! Wil je nog meer (en echt wel heel mooie foto's) zien van dit park, klik dan even door:
Klik hier.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Discovering the real Far West - Bodie Ghost town & Jamestown
In the mid 1800's, thanks to the discovery of gold in the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada, Bodie became a booming town with more than 8000 people. As a bustling gold mining center, Bodie had the amenities of larger towns, including two banks, a China town and a large Red light district, railroad, several newspapers, and a jail. At its peak, 65 saloons lined Main Street, which was a mile long. Murders, shootouts and stagecoach holdups were regular occurrences. This was the real Far West.
But then, since there was no more gold to find, people just left everything behind. A fire destroyed most of the buildings, but there are still a lot of them standing today. This is what they call a Ghost Town in the US. It's not exactly haunted (well, maybe..), it's just deserted.
From Highway 193 a paved road leads up the slope until it suddenly turns into a dirt road.. this place is so deserted that the state doesn't even bother paving the road anymore. What lies ahead are the remnants of once a bustling town. Wooden houses, all of them in arrested decay, standing here and there in a small part of the town. The old mining center looks out from up the hill.
Walking through these buildings is kinda creepy, too.. You hear flies everywhere, ravens are crowing, the wind is blowing loudly, making the wood of the buildings squeak.
It seems that some houses were left behind in a hurry: the furniture is still there, so are the kitchen tools. There are two saloons with a pool table and a bar. The school is still intact, with benches and craft work made by the town's children. Some houses are nothing more than ruins, others are well preserved. The church for instance is amazing, walking in it feels like being time-warped into the 19th century Old West. There's even a morgue with coffins on display.
You wonder how these peoples lives were like in those days. Getting up at the crack of down, climbing down deep shafts into the mine to dig up gold. Getting a beer at one of the many saloons, getting killed for a nickel and dime.
In the early 1900's, Bodie was completely deserted and turned into a California state park.
Unfortunately, the pass to the West Entrance of Yosemite was still closed. There was a lot of snow on the mountains. So we had to drive all the way North to another pass that would take us through the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada. I'm telling you, this was another amazing place. We saw snow, about 5 meters thick, hanging along the cleared roads. And it wasn't even cold up there ! You could hear the snow melting slowly, crystal clear water running downhill everywhere, and the sky was as blue as blue can be. :-)
It took us about 2 hours of driving down winding roads in the Sierra Nevada before we finally reached Jamestown, a charming colonial town that's on Route 49, the famous gold rush route. You can still buy gold pans and set out on an adventure to go look for gold in the rivers that come from the mountains, but I doubt you'll find much.
I do hope I will get some sleep tonight. Last night Mom and Ton were snoring away and even my ear plugs didn't help.
Tomorrow we're driving through beautiful Yosemite National Park, home of the highest waterfall. :-) More pictures to come !
Enjoy today's slide show :
But then, since there was no more gold to find, people just left everything behind. A fire destroyed most of the buildings, but there are still a lot of them standing today. This is what they call a Ghost Town in the US. It's not exactly haunted (well, maybe..), it's just deserted.
From Highway 193 a paved road leads up the slope until it suddenly turns into a dirt road.. this place is so deserted that the state doesn't even bother paving the road anymore. What lies ahead are the remnants of once a bustling town. Wooden houses, all of them in arrested decay, standing here and there in a small part of the town. The old mining center looks out from up the hill.
Walking through these buildings is kinda creepy, too.. You hear flies everywhere, ravens are crowing, the wind is blowing loudly, making the wood of the buildings squeak.
It seems that some houses were left behind in a hurry: the furniture is still there, so are the kitchen tools. There are two saloons with a pool table and a bar. The school is still intact, with benches and craft work made by the town's children. Some houses are nothing more than ruins, others are well preserved. The church for instance is amazing, walking in it feels like being time-warped into the 19th century Old West. There's even a morgue with coffins on display.
You wonder how these peoples lives were like in those days. Getting up at the crack of down, climbing down deep shafts into the mine to dig up gold. Getting a beer at one of the many saloons, getting killed for a nickel and dime.
In the early 1900's, Bodie was completely deserted and turned into a California state park.
Unfortunately, the pass to the West Entrance of Yosemite was still closed. There was a lot of snow on the mountains. So we had to drive all the way North to another pass that would take us through the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada. I'm telling you, this was another amazing place. We saw snow, about 5 meters thick, hanging along the cleared roads. And it wasn't even cold up there ! You could hear the snow melting slowly, crystal clear water running downhill everywhere, and the sky was as blue as blue can be. :-)
It took us about 2 hours of driving down winding roads in the Sierra Nevada before we finally reached Jamestown, a charming colonial town that's on Route 49, the famous gold rush route. You can still buy gold pans and set out on an adventure to go look for gold in the rivers that come from the mountains, but I doubt you'll find much.
I do hope I will get some sleep tonight. Last night Mom and Ton were snoring away and even my ear plugs didn't help.
Tomorrow we're driving through beautiful Yosemite National Park, home of the highest waterfall. :-) More pictures to come !
Enjoy today's slide show :
Thursday, May 15, 2008
From Desert to the Snowy Mountains
So one trip to Hoover Dam, the biggest dam in the world (more pictures in the slide show below),
three days of Vegas,
one very ugly happy hour,
and an amazing water fountain show at the Bellagio (one of the many beautiful shows in Vegas) (click here to see the video ! )
and we have closed the Vegas chapter of this journey.
Today, we set out for Mammoth Lakes in California. (yay, my 'home' state !)
The road up there leads us through scorching Death Valley, where you can find the lowest point below sea level in North America. Temperatures can easily rise up to 130 F in the summer (about 50 C - in the shade!).
Luckily, today we will only get temps in the 100's, which is about 41 C in the shade.
Even though this is another piece of desert, the view is unique and spectacular. The colors of the rocks are incredible. Take a look at the first set of pictures of Death Valley National Park in the slide show. There is one place where I have walked in sand dunes and I thought; "this is what walking in the Egyptian Desert must feel like". In the distance, I saw twirls of sand rising in the air.. magical !
It made me wonder how Native Americans and the first settlers even survived in this area. Stories are told in the local museums about water vaporized because of the heat, animal meat all dried up to the bone, and people dying of heat exhaustion. Yuk.
A very steep climb out of Death Valley (From 200 feet below sea level to 4000 feet above SL was pretty tough on our car engine) and we're heading towards the Sierra Nevada, a snowy Mountain Range that became the back drop for many Western Movies. In Lone Pine, we take the scenic movie road where we find the setting for "How the west was won", "Rawhide" and even the "Sound of Music". Coincidentally, today they were also shooting a commercial for the new Lancia Model. Yes, I have pictures !
These funny looking rocks you see in front of the Sierra Nevada are called the Alabama rocks. It's like you're walking on a different planet right there.
After our stop in Lone Pine, we drive our final 90 miles to Mammoth Lakes, the town of Mammoth Mountain. Yes, we've left the desert far behind us now and are enjoying the cool air at 7000 feet.
It's amazing how much we see in one day. This morning we drove through the hottest, driest and lowest point in the US. Tonight, we're standing in front of a mountain top covered in snow, having a cozy sweater on and enjoying the smell of wood.
How I love this country.
three days of Vegas,
one very ugly happy hour,
and an amazing water fountain show at the Bellagio (one of the many beautiful shows in Vegas) (click here to see the video ! )
and we have closed the Vegas chapter of this journey.
Today, we set out for Mammoth Lakes in California. (yay, my 'home' state !)
The road up there leads us through scorching Death Valley, where you can find the lowest point below sea level in North America. Temperatures can easily rise up to 130 F in the summer (about 50 C - in the shade!).
Luckily, today we will only get temps in the 100's, which is about 41 C in the shade.
Even though this is another piece of desert, the view is unique and spectacular. The colors of the rocks are incredible. Take a look at the first set of pictures of Death Valley National Park in the slide show. There is one place where I have walked in sand dunes and I thought; "this is what walking in the Egyptian Desert must feel like". In the distance, I saw twirls of sand rising in the air.. magical !
It made me wonder how Native Americans and the first settlers even survived in this area. Stories are told in the local museums about water vaporized because of the heat, animal meat all dried up to the bone, and people dying of heat exhaustion. Yuk.
A very steep climb out of Death Valley (From 200 feet below sea level to 4000 feet above SL was pretty tough on our car engine) and we're heading towards the Sierra Nevada, a snowy Mountain Range that became the back drop for many Western Movies. In Lone Pine, we take the scenic movie road where we find the setting for "How the west was won", "Rawhide" and even the "Sound of Music". Coincidentally, today they were also shooting a commercial for the new Lancia Model. Yes, I have pictures !
These funny looking rocks you see in front of the Sierra Nevada are called the Alabama rocks. It's like you're walking on a different planet right there.
After our stop in Lone Pine, we drive our final 90 miles to Mammoth Lakes, the town of Mammoth Mountain. Yes, we've left the desert far behind us now and are enjoying the cool air at 7000 feet.
It's amazing how much we see in one day. This morning we drove through the hottest, driest and lowest point in the US. Tonight, we're standing in front of a mountain top covered in snow, having a cozy sweater on and enjoying the smell of wood.
How I love this country.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Las Vegas - a place to have fun
This city has a lot to offer : casino's, shows, shopping, nightlife and of course the beautiful Las Vegas Strip, a long boulevard with millions of lights. You can visit the world here : NY, Paris, Venice, Rome, Egypt .. You can have fun in Pirate style, go to the Circus, you can become a King or Queen in the castle of Excalibur.
I've been to Vegas a few months ago and already took many pictures :
These casino's are huge. You can walk in them for hours. The only purpose of these Hotel-Casino's is to lure people in and have them spend their money. This, of course, is not the most noble cause, but this is no place for holiness: this is a place for business, decadency and indulgence.
As we're staying here for three days, I'm giving myself some time off from everything. Ton and Mom are exploring the city on their own, at night we meet up to go for dinner and this Tuesday night me and Mom are going to ride the roller coaster that runs right through the NY NY hotel.
I've been to the movie theater yesterday afternoon and saw an awesome movie : Speed Racer. It's directed by the Wachowski Brothers, the same brothers that directed the Matrix trilogy, so you can expect some crazy film techniques.. the story itself is not the most mature plot, but the way the story is told is absolutely thrilling. It's been a long time that I sat on the edge of my seat watching a movie. GO SEE IT ! Even if you don't like car racing. Here's a trailer:
I've been to Vegas a few months ago and already took many pictures :
These casino's are huge. You can walk in them for hours. The only purpose of these Hotel-Casino's is to lure people in and have them spend their money. This, of course, is not the most noble cause, but this is no place for holiness: this is a place for business, decadency and indulgence.
As we're staying here for three days, I'm giving myself some time off from everything. Ton and Mom are exploring the city on their own, at night we meet up to go for dinner and this Tuesday night me and Mom are going to ride the roller coaster that runs right through the NY NY hotel.
I've been to the movie theater yesterday afternoon and saw an awesome movie : Speed Racer. It's directed by the Wachowski Brothers, the same brothers that directed the Matrix trilogy, so you can expect some crazy film techniques.. the story itself is not the most mature plot, but the way the story is told is absolutely thrilling. It's been a long time that I sat on the edge of my seat watching a movie. GO SEE IT ! Even if you don't like car racing. Here's a trailer:
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon -day 12
I have been eating Subway sandwiches for the last three days, only because we're in the middle of nowhere and when we finally do come across a town, we can only choose between hamburgers, pizza's, steak or.. subway. Luckily, their subs aren't too bad. I always take dark wheat bread, a lean meat, cheese, lots of veggies and yes, ranch sauce or honey mustard to top it off. They now have a promotion going on: foot long subs (12cm) for only 5 dollars. No hamburger place can beat that price.
Anyways. It seems like the state of Utah and Arizona have millions of acres of protected national parks. Today, on our way to Bryce Canyon national park. we also crossed the Capitol Reef National Park. A beautiful canyon inhabited by Indians. After the European invasion of Northern America, Mormons also settled in this area. You can still visit the old Mormon town and visit the school, which is nothing more than a tiny log cabin with 8 benches and a teacher's desk. It seems that education has always been very important to the Mormon pioneers.
We passed Cow Dung street - really, that is one of the town's street names - and stopped at the Bridge Trail, a 1.5 mile trail that leads through the red canyons to a rock bridge. You never get tired of these rock formations. It's incredible:
(click on this picture and choose to see the slide show until you see the bryce canyon sign)
It's also incredible to see thousands of cows, sheep and horses galloping through these endless plains. Sometimes you don't see any ranches or sign of human life for miles (at one point we hit a sign that said "No services for the next 100 miles (160 km!) which means "You're going to be on your own from here on out"), and still there they hare, grazing the little grass there is, happily and worry-free.
Even more stunning was the discovery of the moon. Well, not really the moon itself. but we drove through a landscape that could easily be mistaken for the moon. Gray rocks as far as you can see. beautifully shaped hills and craters.. if the US moon landing WAS a fake, this has surely been the setting for the video recording. Take a look at these pictures (click on the image below and then click the forward arrow about 4 times) :
A 100 miles to go before we see Bryce canyon. We drive over a mountain top and see patches of snow scattered in the woods. A time to stop and play in the snow. Unbelievable but true, we've been driving through the desert and vast rocky plains for days and now we're throwing snow balls at each other.
We also stop at ranch to take pictures of the cows, and see two (what we believe to be) eagles flying above our heads. Sally, if you read this, take a look at the pictures and let me know what kind of birds we've seen !
And then, finally, after a VERY long drive through the mountains, we reach the entrance point of Bryce Canyon, my favorite canyon. We make a quick stop at a small cowboy street where they sell all different kinds of unique stones. They also have ice cream so after devouring a big scoop of vanilla we drive into the National Park. The sun is already setting by the time we stop at the first view point. This canyon is amazing. Not so much a canyon in fact, but it looks more like a valley full of cathedral rocks. Words can't describe what I've seen, you just have to look for yourself. Here's the complete slide show for today, including the Cathedral Rocks of Bryce Canyon National Park:
In the end, I hiked down to the 'foot' of a few of these cathedral rocks. From there I had an amazing experience. The sun had already set but it wasn't dark down there at all. In fact a red glow shone from the rocks and lit up the deep canyon where I was walking. It was getting chilly, but it was quite comfortable because I was hiking down this steep slope into the canyon. When I looked up to the sky, all I could see where these giant cathedral rocks looming over me. Yes, at one point you do think "what if these suddenly fall on top of you?" but for all I cared, this was the perfect place to be, dead or alive :-).
Of course, the battery of my camera gave up on me right there and then. I don't know if it was the cold or the fact that I took about 400 pictures the last few days (uhum), but it totally sucked not being able to take pictures of it. On the other hand, it forced me to enjoy that special moment even more.. I felt totally connected with these soft stone rocks, I didn't feel threatened by them at all. In fact, I even felt protected by them. I did get to hike back up and take Mom's camera to record a little movie. It's not the place where I was standing (at the bottom) but you still get a feel of how it must be like to stand in the middle of these Cathedral rocks.
Click here.
Right now, I'm sitting in my bed at Cedar city, our last stop in the state of Utah. We're taking a break from the National parks for a few days and are getting ready to explore Las Vegas. But before we're heading into America's playground, we're staying at Boulder City, Nevada, from where we will visit the biggest dam in the world : Hoover Dam.
Anyways. It seems like the state of Utah and Arizona have millions of acres of protected national parks. Today, on our way to Bryce Canyon national park. we also crossed the Capitol Reef National Park. A beautiful canyon inhabited by Indians. After the European invasion of Northern America, Mormons also settled in this area. You can still visit the old Mormon town and visit the school, which is nothing more than a tiny log cabin with 8 benches and a teacher's desk. It seems that education has always been very important to the Mormon pioneers.
We passed Cow Dung street - really, that is one of the town's street names - and stopped at the Bridge Trail, a 1.5 mile trail that leads through the red canyons to a rock bridge. You never get tired of these rock formations. It's incredible:
(click on this picture and choose to see the slide show until you see the bryce canyon sign)
It's also incredible to see thousands of cows, sheep and horses galloping through these endless plains. Sometimes you don't see any ranches or sign of human life for miles (at one point we hit a sign that said "No services for the next 100 miles (160 km!) which means "You're going to be on your own from here on out"), and still there they hare, grazing the little grass there is, happily and worry-free.
Even more stunning was the discovery of the moon. Well, not really the moon itself. but we drove through a landscape that could easily be mistaken for the moon. Gray rocks as far as you can see. beautifully shaped hills and craters.. if the US moon landing WAS a fake, this has surely been the setting for the video recording. Take a look at these pictures (click on the image below and then click the forward arrow about 4 times) :
A 100 miles to go before we see Bryce canyon. We drive over a mountain top and see patches of snow scattered in the woods. A time to stop and play in the snow. Unbelievable but true, we've been driving through the desert and vast rocky plains for days and now we're throwing snow balls at each other.
We also stop at ranch to take pictures of the cows, and see two (what we believe to be) eagles flying above our heads. Sally, if you read this, take a look at the pictures and let me know what kind of birds we've seen !
And then, finally, after a VERY long drive through the mountains, we reach the entrance point of Bryce Canyon, my favorite canyon. We make a quick stop at a small cowboy street where they sell all different kinds of unique stones. They also have ice cream so after devouring a big scoop of vanilla we drive into the National Park. The sun is already setting by the time we stop at the first view point. This canyon is amazing. Not so much a canyon in fact, but it looks more like a valley full of cathedral rocks. Words can't describe what I've seen, you just have to look for yourself. Here's the complete slide show for today, including the Cathedral Rocks of Bryce Canyon National Park:
In the end, I hiked down to the 'foot' of a few of these cathedral rocks. From there I had an amazing experience. The sun had already set but it wasn't dark down there at all. In fact a red glow shone from the rocks and lit up the deep canyon where I was walking. It was getting chilly, but it was quite comfortable because I was hiking down this steep slope into the canyon. When I looked up to the sky, all I could see where these giant cathedral rocks looming over me. Yes, at one point you do think "what if these suddenly fall on top of you?" but for all I cared, this was the perfect place to be, dead or alive :-).
Of course, the battery of my camera gave up on me right there and then. I don't know if it was the cold or the fact that I took about 400 pictures the last few days (uhum), but it totally sucked not being able to take pictures of it. On the other hand, it forced me to enjoy that special moment even more.. I felt totally connected with these soft stone rocks, I didn't feel threatened by them at all. In fact, I even felt protected by them. I did get to hike back up and take Mom's camera to record a little movie. It's not the place where I was standing (at the bottom) but you still get a feel of how it must be like to stand in the middle of these Cathedral rocks.
Click here.
Right now, I'm sitting in my bed at Cedar city, our last stop in the state of Utah. We're taking a break from the National parks for a few days and are getting ready to explore Las Vegas. But before we're heading into America's playground, we're staying at Boulder City, Nevada, from where we will visit the biggest dam in the world : Hoover Dam.
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