Journey Day 8 - 29 Apr 2010

Well, the weather gods paid more attention to me than the forecasters.....sort of. The I-40 was reopened for travel although there were still strong winds and the possibility of some 'Crazy Canuck'-style weather.....snow at the end of April.....in Arizona?????

As I was getting my bags ready to take to the car, I looked out the window, shook my head and looked again. Yes, it really was snowing! Very tiny, dry flakes but definitely snow. Ooooohhhh boy, this is going to be one of those days the Chinese proverb told us about 'interesting times'......

The wind was blowing, sun was shining and snow had stopped as I left the Best Western Inn at Williams (located on Route 66 by the way). I was starting on a trip that would take about 5.5 hours and the wind was definitely a factor which made for a much more nerve-wracking drive. Soon, I had my sunglasses off as it was now snowing. Then the sun came back out for a few more miles and the snow started again. This time it became a total whiteout! I found it absolutely mind-boggling that the traffic was still barrelling along at 120kph +!! After getting through the blizzard, I only had a few more snow showers to contend with along with some pretty strong winds until I got just east of Gallop, just into New Mexico. At that point, the 2 lanes of traffic came to a total halt and ultimately became a 10-mile long traffic jam!!! It took 2.5 hours to get through that 10 miles! We got some more snow showers and more wind but finally made it to Albuquerque and found the hotel in spite of the GPS trying to take me elsewhere.....

The 5.5 hour drive had taken me 9 hours including a brief stop for gas (thank goodness I did that or I'd have been in trouble like several others while in that traffic jam). Of course, while sitting parked, I was able to take take few photos with my point & shoot. Here's one taken near the Navajo Casino showing how the rocks are disappearing in the snow squall.

Obviously I have some power lines to remove.......

And here's another that caught my eye - I know it's sage brush, however it looks so much like my dreaded broom when one sees it up close, plus I chuckled at the sheep in the background as I took this between 2 big rigs parked beside me in the jam.

Upon entering the lobby of the hotel, I was somewhat shocked to be greeted by a large sign (which I will take a photo of today) saying "Welcome McIlmoyle Reunion" or words to that effect! Then, needless to say, my first request at the desk was directions to the washroom after that prolonged drive. Once I got to my room, I received a call from one of my cousins (the only one with whom I'd corresponded via email) and she & 2 other cousins then came to my room to visit while I had something to eat, having missed both lunch & dinner. I'm now awaiting contact to find out what the agenda for today is.

8-)
Joan

Journey Day 7 - 28 Apr 2010

Started off the day by packing up everything in preparation to checking out prior to going on the Grand Canyon Tour then had breakfast and loaded up the car.

Got picked up at the hotel by our tour guide....there were 3 of us - a couple from Oregon & DC then another couple from Virginia were picked up in the Grand Canyon Village.

Our guide told us that there was a chance we'd have to cancel the tour due to the high winds. I think we all thought this sounded rather silly till we were actually on the road up to the Park. This goes through some desert-like country and the gusts of wind just hammer the vehicles. Once we were there, it didn't seem too bad however, we were pretty well surrounded by trees until we were actually standing at the rim of the Canyon. Again, our guide warned us that at the further viewpoints, this might be a factor in cutting the Tour short.

After being given a huge amount of information and taking multiple photos at 2 different outdoor spots plus the inside Observation Building, we proceeded back to the van to move on to the next. This brought us out of the shelter of the trees and suddenly the wind was a big factor! A gust blew my jacket off the strap of my backckpack where I'd tucked it and, as I lunged to grab it, another gust hit me in the back and down I went, doing a perfect faceplant. Fortunately, I had my camera around my neck which took the brunt plus the ground was soft and 'peaty'. The only damage I suffered was a small bruise on my hand which I'd obviously put out to stop myself plus some dust on the lens shade of my camera. Phew! Even my glasses, also around my neck, were saved by the camera.

Once dusted off, and back at the van, a ranger came to our guide & said that one of the highways coming up to the Park had been closed due to high winds and dust storms. As this was where we were going to be going, the guide reluctantly suggested that we might be better off to call off the tour at this point. As we all recognized his knowledge of the area, we sadly agreed. By the time we got back to the hotel, it turned out that the I-40 which was the route I needed to travel to Albuquerque had been closed due to the winds.

This meant that I had to book another night at the Williams hotel and revise my arrival date and reservation in Albuquerque.  I was lucky enough to get the same room back plus changed my booking early enough that there wasn't any charge in Albuquerque. So, I had a chance to look at my photos from the Canyon plus have a nice leisurely dinner at the inhouse steakhouse then spend some time in the lounge chatting with a couple from Scotland. A nice unexpected evening all round. The big question was whether the winds would let up enough the next day so I could complete the first leg of my Epic Journey!

It is important to note that although we all thought the price of the tour was very inexpensive ($98 including lunch, soft drinks, Park fees plus the formidable knowledge of the guide) he insisted on charging us a minimal amount due to cutting the tour short. The name of the company is American Dream Tours Inc and I would highly recommend them to anyone who has the opportunity to be at the Grand Canyon. The guide we had (Kevin) is also an extremely talented photographer so knows the spots for some great shots.

JOURNEY - Day 6 - 27 Apr 2010

Yes, yes I know there's a whole bunch of days missing in between.....however, with the totally intermittent connections that seem to be the norm at most of the hotels, I've simply been unable to even access the blog for any length of time before getting bounced. So, while I'm able, I'll do yesterday's then work my way backwards to catch up.

Spent an additional night at my cousin Bob's in Lake Havasu AZ. As we'd been without internet the entire day before, we both were online early this morning. I also had a number of photos to download as Bob had kindly taken me to the London Bridge and around Lake Havasu so I of course was snapping madly. Bob & his Jewel of a wife along with the 4-legged members of the family, Freckles & Spike, were all extremely welcoming and I thoroughly enjoyed both the visit and the break.

By the time I left, it was close to 11 am. I headed up Hwy 95 and made a stop at a new mall outside of town to purchase a couple more light tee shirts as I had left one of mine at home & with the heat, definitely needed more. I was surprised at the relatively short distance to reach I-40 though the lack of traffic made it possible to travel quickly.

One thing that I wasn't prepared for and am still marvelling at is the mountainous topography around and in the various desert areas that I've traversed over the past several days. It was something that I'd never seen photos of that identified them as being in the desert so I had this picture in my mind of tabletop flat expanses of sand.......NOT EVEN CLOSE! I actually did see a couple of small areas like that but that was it. I was climbing into mountains that exceeded 5000 ft then you'd fly down the other side only to climb nearly the same amount at the next one. Fortunately, my car seems to thrive going uphill with enough torque to allow me to actually increase speed when needed (especially necessary when one of the idiot truck drivers pulls alongside another so that both lanes require one to slow enough to drop down at least 2 gears. When this has happened (and Murphy of course ensures that it's at the worst possible section of the climb), I still had lots of 'umph' to pass them both once the idiot pulled back into the slow lane.

Driving along I-40 from the junction of Hwy 95 to Williams (where I am at this moment - in a hotel right on ROUTE 66!), I was regularly amazed at the starkness of the land......fairly numerous pine trees but nothing else for miles......yet people lived out there with ranches. Every so often there would be a sign that the next exit was for 'X' Ranch Road and if you looked way out, you could usually spot a building or two.

My GPS adventures have been unbelievable!!! Sometimes I wonder exactly where the info is coming from. More often than not, the route chosen is the most convoluted you could imagine. Then it will tell you to turn in the wrong direction or onto the wrong road!!! As I approached Williams yesterday afternoon, I got off on the correct exit and the GPS wanted me to turn left at the T intersection. Fortunately, I had studied the map closely for the location of the hotel so I knew this was incorrect. Then of course we had to 'recalculate'. It finally caught up with where we were & then informed me that the address  was on the left when in fact I could see the sign clearly on the right!!!! Thank goodness I'm not often relying on it exclusively. Talking with fellow travellers, it seems this is normal and none of us are quite sure whether to laugh hysterically or be furious.......

I did indeed find the hotel and it is lovely. Too bad their wifi wasn't functional! When attempting to find the Phoenix/Detroit hockey game on tv, I was astonished to realize that it simply wasn't being broadcast! This was Game 7 of the Playoffs!!! No wonder the Phoenix team has been going broke! As I have a subscription to NHL Live which allows me  to watch most NHL games online, I figured I was ok & could watch it. Well, not exactly with the erratic wifi. Went out to the desk to see if there was anything to be done. The suggestion was to bring my computer to the lobby & see if it was better. Meanwhile, I'd checked in the lounge to see if they had a broadcast.......they'd had no luck finding a station carrying it either. So I asked if they wanted me to bring my computer in to watch it. This was greeted with jubilation so that's what I did. Bottom line? Completely unable to get the game due to the wifi vagaries however was able to get the radio broadcast so we were able to listen to the game at least. This led to a pretty inexpensive supper & evening's entertainment and company.

All the miles that I've travelled in the past week, I've been mostly careful to stick somewhat close to the posted speed limit or at least with the traffic flow. I've now traversed 4 states and have seen the grand sum of ONE cop car! That was a CHIPS car going the other way. Strange......

One thing that was very strange......yesterday morning in Lake Havasu it was warm (not unusual) and HUMID......this is desert country......there's not supposed to be any humidity!!! It wasn't till I got to I-40 that the temp dropped significantly to a comfortable 18C and once I got here, it was more like temps at home with some wind as well. This morning, it's windy however, contrary to the weather report, the sun is shining and it's beautiful. Hopefully, it will hold for the Canyon Tour.

It's time I took the rest of my stuff out to the car. I won't be back from the Tour till around 5:30/6:00pm so of course am checking out now & will be picked up at 10.

I definitely will be too tired to do any catchup or new posting tonight so it will be tomorrow at least before I post more.

8-)
Joan

JOURNEY Day 2 - 23 April 2010

Well, no problem sleeping in today.....woke before the alarm at a fairly civilized hour and got up to get ready for the breakfast buffet supplied by the Best Western......very good and included. One of the standout things about this hotel was an abundance of plugins, sitting right on the desk so no crawling under the bed etc to find one. As well, a good, adjustable office chair at the desk and no shortage of lights in the room either. All these nice amenities & I walked off with the room key in my pocket!!! I discovered it when putting the car keys in the same pocket when arriving at the ATandT store. Fortunately, it was just across a bridge over the freeway so I didn't have to go far to take it back.

Note to Manufacturers of Cars for Canada – have they ever tried driving in the US using a speedometer with the miles speed in tiny numbers on the inside of the metric numbers and with only 40 60 80 etc shown with 3 tiny marks in between. So, with 65 and 70 being regular speed limits, there you are trying keep the needle on the middle mark between 60 and 80 when the limit is 70 and, even worse, on the tinier mark between 60 and the mark for 70 in order to do the speed limit of 65!!!

More later as I'm able to get an Internet Connection........

Getting back to the 'Journey' stuff.......I'm quite astonished at the poor condition of the roads, especially I-5, particularly in CA. Like driving on corrugated pavement much of the time. As well, most if not all of the rest stops are closed. I'm not sure if this is due to the time of year (though I'm sure they're needed year round by truckers if no one else) or lack of funding or what. The worst of it is they've totally blocked the road section of them and you can't park on the side of the freeway so there's no place to stop and look at a map or take a photo or eat a picnic lunch.

So on this 2nd day, I got to spend my first 2 hours at the ATandT store getting a sim card for my borrowed US cell phone. There was a lineup right to the door when I entered so it took a while to even start the process. However, it was clearly worth it as I've used it numerous times to check the DOT on road closures plus contacting friends/relatives as I arrive and also hotels. So, thanks again Ron!

Now I'm finally on my way south. One of my big surprises (due to my ignorance of course) was how mountainous California is! As I dearly love mountains, this was a very pleasurable surprise. I also enjoy driving in mountains though I do have a suggestion for the California Highways Dept. When one is rounding a major corner either at the top of long climb or the bottom of a steep drop, it would be a very good idea to erect a sign as one is approaching this corner warning the driver that upon making the corner, there is an amazing vista to be seen. I nearly drove off the road as I rounded this type of corner to have Mt Shasta completely fill my windshield!! Oh my what a gorgeous sight. Fortunately, one of the 'view sites' was still open though that was the most distant one while the close up one was closed. Thank goodness I immediately pulled into the first one. Here's a small glimpse of the glory that I saw.

After passing the closed view point that was closer, I kept looking for a spot that I might be able to get a photo. Fortunately, I was finally able to find one in the parking lot of this fascinating restaurant in Mt. Shasta City called The Black Bear. They actually have Huckleberry Ice Cream although I suspect what they are calling Huckleberries are actually wild blueberries as both the flavour and colour weren't anything like our red Huckleberries. As I was getting back into the car, I decided that I'd best take some photos while I was right there in the front yard of Mt. Shasta so to speak in case there weren't any other opportunities further along the way. I could crop out the lamps etc. from the parking lot and street, however it definitely shows where the photo was taken (grin).

Naturally, this is one of my favourites with the eagle accidentally included!

After eating supper, I made sure that the GPS had the address for the motel in Merced CA and away I went. By this time, I was travelling on Hwy 99 which naturally confused the silly bunch of misbegotten plastic & metal. I ended up driving around Merced in a wide circle for over 3 hours before finally finding it myself at midnight!!!! Just a little bit weary was I......

8-)
Joan

Journey Day 1 - 22 Apr 2010

Well, it almost WASN'T Day 1! I had set the alarm for 0615 so that I could leave by 0740, knowing how slow Sooke Rd can be during rush hour & having to be at the ferry terminal right in downtown Victoria by 0900.

First, I woke up early.....about 0500. Knowing I needed more sleep, I rolled over & went back to sleep. Can you imagine my horror when I next awoke & looked at the clock to find it was 0743????? I have no idea if the alarm ran down without me hearing it or didn't go off but either way I was in trouble!

I packed up my computer (I'd planned to do some lookups & check email just before leaving), threw on my clothes and dragged my 2 suitcases (one of which weighs a ton thanks to a couple of family history books plus paper), then my computer backpack which is anything but light. Did a quick house check & list check, jumped in the car and was on my way. Fortunately, as I left the house at 0810, the traffic on Sooke Rd wasn't too bad however, the Trans Canada (TCH) was at a snail crawl from Thetis Lake to Tillicum. Was just entering downtown Victoria (by the 'old' Hudson's Bay store) at 0900 so NOT at the ferry terminal. As luck would have it, as I arrived at the Belleville St. terminal, the traffic was lined up Belleville so there was no panic about me arriving at 0910. Phew!

Weather was gorgeous with fluffy clouds drifting by in the blue sky with bright sunlight. A group of Jaguar owners were on their way to a car meet in California so I chatted with some of them. On the ferry, I met a couple with a beautiful white Great Pyrenes dog. Got some photos so will include one. I also met a fellow photo nut while we were snapping photos from the top deck. He is Belgique & travelling around the Pacific Northwest with his backpack. He had also visited relatives in Sudbury & Calgary and loved Canada so much he plans to come back. Today he was heading to Forks in the Olympics by bus & hiking.

After carefully packing the car with those things I expected customs to want to go through being easily accessible, they never looked at a darn thing! That surprised me. Once we were off the ferry, we went through Customs again which meant that from docking to driving off the ferry, was more than half an hour then a wait in line to get through the checkpoint.

Made a stop for a late lunch/early supper in Tumwater WA about 1530 then stopped for gas at Kelso-Longview WA, $33.02US for 3.189 US gallons. As I was in need of a stretch, I stopped at a rest stop just before Sutherlin OR. Arrived at the Holiday Inn at Roseburg just after 2100 only to find.....wait for it......no room at the Inn!! So I had to backtrack to the previous exit to the Best Western which fortunately had room. I really wasn't in the mood for room hunting at that stage of the night.

Now that I know that my guesstimates on where I can get to in a day are fairly close, I can safely reserve ahead of time to avoid the above.

Now I'll download my photos so I can upload the lovely dog one.  Till tomorrow night....  Check out more photos at
http://picasaweb.google.com/joansjoy/JoanSSWUSReunionTrek?authkey=Gv1sRgCKCasKaWscSx3wE&feat=directlink

8-)
Joan

Working Up to the Beginning

Well, it's now after midnight PDT. The car has been cleaned out somewhat though the sleeping bags,  blowup mattress & chair-in-a-bag are still in the trunk......just in case. The suitcases - 1 medium & a small one which will go in each night with me - are packed & lists are being checked & re-checked.

My Canucks flag is staying on the car! Suitcases will be loaded in the morning along with my computer backpack which fortunately has a handle & wheels. As I have to be at the Coho ferry dock no later than 9am, I'll be leaving here around 7:30 as the Sooke Rd. parking lot will be sllloooowwww.

If all goes well, my next post will be from Oregon!

Goodnight all!

8-)
Joan