Bryce Canyon and Arches National Park

The wonderful scenery round this part of the USA just gets more and more amazing. (That's why this are is known as the Great Circle.)

The day before yesterday we were at Bryce Canyon which is a wierd world of eroded spires and pinnacles of rock known as hoodoos. It's like something on another planet in a science fiction movie.

Then it was on to Arches, where - as the name suggests - the wind has carved huge arches in narrow fins of rock. We were there again this morning and then on to somewhere called Dead Horse Point for an overview of the Canyonlands area, part of the Colorado river valley further upstream from the Grand Canyon. The scale is stupendous and it's hard to believe the Grand Canyon is going to be even bigger.

In each place we do several shortish walks to see the most exciting views. This morning's four hour walk involved a fair amount of scrambling over the rocks and was quite an adventure.

Photos don't really do justice to landscapes on this scale but I've included one from Bryce and one from Arches.

Hiking in Zion Canyon

It's been a few days since my last update and I'm now in quite a different phase of my trip. I've travelled inland and joined a group holiday, hiking in the national parks of Utah and Arizona.

My second day in Santa Monica I decided against the conventional Los Angeles locations of Hollywood and Beverley Hills and instead went to the La Brea Tar Pits. Not everyone's choice, but I was really interested to see where they dig up thousands of fossilised animals which became stuck in pools of tar seeping up to the earth's surface thousands of years ago. The tar is still bubbling up and you can see the pits where they excavate the remains, You also see the scientists working on the fossilised bones, which range from tiny creatures to giant mammoths and mastadons.

The Greyhound bus trip to Las Vegas, where the group tour started, went through Death Valley and the Mojave Desert which was quite dramatic, but nothing compared to the scenery we are now surrounded by. The sheer scale is amazing, and I'm sure photos won't do it justice. We are staying just at the mouth of Zion Canyon, and we have walked four or five different trails within the Canyon yesterday and today, including one called Angels' Landing which involved scrambing up narrow ledges aided by chains fastened to the side of the cliffs. (The picture above is the view from the top.)

Tomorrow we move on to Bryce Canyon and we've been warned to expect even colder temperatures than we've had here. It is warm in the middle of the day but freezing early in the morning and again as soon as the sun sets.

It's nice and relaxing to have guides to organise everything, and not to have to decide each day what I am going to do. I also have the luxury of a huge hotel room with two double beds all to myself!

Hollywood superstar

How to break into film in three easy steps - go to LA, hang round a film set, sign the release form when they ask if you want to be an extra. Well it was actually Venice Beach, just outside LA and they were filming a low budget TV series not a movie, but that's what happened this morning. I got to sit in the background as they shot and re-shot a scene with the presenter of a show called "The World's Funniest Commercials". The presenter is apparently only famous for starring in a US TV advert.

A quick catch up: The day before yesterday I visited the Hearst Castle - the fabulous mansion of William Randolph Hearst. Unfortunately it was pouring down and the castle was enveloped in fog, so I didn't see it at its best, but what a testament to unlimited wealth! The picture shows the indoor swimming pool. The walls are covered in a mosaic of glass tiles made in Italy and gold leaf. I got thoroughly cold and wet so it was lovely that evening when they lit a log fire at the little youth hostel at San Luis Obispo. A few of us ended up sitting round in front of the fire trying to do an impossible jugsaw puzzle.


Yesterday I completed the drive down the coast - to Santa Monica and then dropped the car off - which was easier said than done in the LA traffic, and I'd completely misjudged the scale of the map when I looked up directions to the car hire place.


Today, apart from becoming a screen actress, I've had a lazy day, pottering around Santa Monica and Venice Beach, sitting on the beach, walking along the boardwalk, and generally people-watching. This is a good place for doing that - it's full of oddballs, and lots of them want to be watched!


Last night my computer decided to install some updates. As a result I have lost the programme that made it really easy to improve my photos, and it's been replaced by one which makes it impossible, so from now on I will actually have to think about lining up the horizon.

Big Sur

Big Sur is the coastal area south of Monterey, and is the most spectacular part of the Pacific Coast Highway. The views are magnificent and keep getting better, but after a bit you realise you can't stop at every lay-by to drink it in and take a photo or you'll never reach your destination.

I don't normally add to the blog two days running, but I've fitted a lot in today. Setting off from Monterey I drove round the Monterey Peninsula and along the 17 Mile Drive - a private section of road flanked by golf courses and magnificent mansions, then I had a brief stop in Carmel for coffee - you can tell how wealthy the place is; every other shop is an art gallery. But it's very pretty. Then I visited the Carmel Mission, another of the missions set up by Fr Junipero Serra, who is recognised as one of the founders of California.

Then I headed down the coast to the Big Sur Pfeiffer State Park where after a picnic lunch I did a five mile hike which went from a river valley up through redwood groves to a magnificent view point over the Pacific with the Santa Lucia mountain range behind.

Finally I drove the rest of the Big Sur route (the warning sign said sharp bends for 63 miles!) to reach San Luis Obispo in time for tea. For once I didn't bother to shop and cook, but went for a very nice pizza instead.

Hitting the Highway

Yesterday I picked up my car - a red Chevrolet Aveo called Nellie (the letters NEL are in the number plate). After initial doubts about automatic gears every time I had to do a hill start (which is a lot in San Francisco) I soon adjusted and headed south along the California coastal highway.

The scenery is as dramatic as I expected and I've not even seen the best bit yet. The great thing with the car, compared to travelling by train, is that you can stop from time to time, and visit things en route, so I stopped at a couple of beaches on the way to Monterey.


I've spent hours today at the Monterey Bay Aquarium - as good as, but different from, the one in Vancouver. Highlights included sea dragons (see picture), sea horses, jelly fish, sharks, penguins, star fish you can touch, a tame albatross and the very cute sea otters. I also saw Cannery Row, walked the "path of history" - a marked route past all the oldest and most historic buildings in the town - and spent a lot of time watching the wildlife. The harbour seals, sea lions and pelicans are here in huge numbers, really close. I could almost have stroked the sea lions at the jetty. They really stink close up! This coastline is part of a huge marine conservation area that stretches from San Francisco almost down to San Luis Obispo where I'm going next.

Escape from Alcatraz

Despite the comment about not sticking to a checklist, which I agree with, there are some trips you just have to do - so yesterday morning I went to Alcatraz and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the rest of the island as well as the actual cell blocks which are suitably grim. There's more to see than you expect, including the gardens originally created by guards and inmates which have been revived.

Later I trekked up to a high point called Coit Tower for views over the city, then steeply down and up again to the famous "crooked street" where the cars have to zig zag down, it's so steep.

Today another San Francisco cliche - I hired a bike and cycled across the Golden Gate Bridge. Over the other side of the bay I visited some woods and the little town of Sausalito where, after all that cycling, I had the biggest ice cream you can imagine, and then caught a ferry back.

San Francisco has joined Vancouver on my list of favourite places - which is great as those are the two places I've had most days visiting!

Apologies that despite my change to the settings, the blog doesn't alert followers when I update it. I've not forgotten about giving people access to more of my photos on line - I've been creating some albums, and just need to work out how to share them. For newer readers of the blog, there's a summary of my planned itinerary in the September entries. And finally thanks to Michael for his helpful correction!

Discovering San Francisco

San Francisco seems to have quite a different character from the other towns I've visited - more relaxed and relaxing. The last two days have been lovely and sunny, and today I got out the sandals and suntan cream for the first time.

Yesterday after a visit to the Mission Dolores - the first ever building in the city - and a wander through the former hippy district of Haight, I spent most of the day in the Golden Gate Park, which is a few miles from the Golden Gate Bridge. It's even bigger than Central Park, and I liked it even more. Highlights included the Japanese Tea Garden and getting involved in a free dance class (I was hopeless - it was Lindy not Salsa).

I walked the full length of the park, ending up at Ocean Beach - not the sort of sheltered harbour I've seen in Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle and inside the bay of San Francisco, but open ocean with big surfing waves rolling in.

Today I've been visiting the Maritime Historic Park, which includes fascinating visits inside historic ships. I spent ages exploring a lovely three-masted cargo ship built in Glasgow, which is preserved as it would have been when it sailed the oceans of the world. I then headed along the sea front and the piers, before catching one of the famous cable cars up to the cable car museum, and back down on a different cable car line. San Francisco isn't the easiest town to walk around because of the incredibly steep streets, so the cable cars are a great way to see the place.