California (and Oregon), Here I Come?!?
As I contemplated driving to the Southwest national parks this fall, I considered adding the parks I missed in California. However, the extra mileage and physical wear and tear to me and my car, the Silver Bullet (SB), didn’t seem feasible, even to me. Then, Uncle Sam’el came to the rescue. I received a notice on my Amtrak app that the train service was offering a 50% discount on its USA Rail Pass. The pass restrictions that come with the standard $500 price usually turn me off, but the timing of the half-price offer was perfect because it gave me the option to travel from Washington to Los Angeles using only two of the ten segments that come with the pass. Even the restrictions–starting the first segment within four months of purchase–would be workable. Plus, if I don’t use all ten segments within 30 days of beginning the first segment–another…
The Singin’ Tourist in the SW USA (Day 2)
I was just a few miles from the entrance to Death Valley National Park. I got a very early start, so I took some pictures of the sun rise. It had felt a little weird to run air conditioning again the night before, but then again, I had used it while in the Irvine/L.A. areas, too. I pulled into a gas station and only put their $7.999/gallon fuel into the Silver Bullet because I had no choice, and I know better than to enter a park with less than half a tank of gas. When the visitor’s center opened at 8 a.m., the temperature was already 74 degrees. Forecast for the day was 98 degrees, but I was hoping to be out of the area well before then. I ALWAYS stop by the national park’s visitor center to get the latest information and scenic route guides from the park rangers…
The Singin’ Tourist in the SW USA (Day 1)
Sunday night after dinner with my friends, I decided to find Newport Beach, where I was scheduled officially to begin the tourist part of my trip. I had purchased a ticket through Tripadvisor to go whale watching early Monday morning. I’m glad I found where things were situated Sunday night when everything was quiet and no traffic. It meant, too, that I went directly to Davey’s Locker and was early enough to position myself to be the first person to board the boat when it arrived. When the first boat docked, I looked at it and had a hard time imagining me and my walker negotiating its deck easily. I was so relieved when I saw that that boat was for the group of folks going sport-fishing who were standing nearby. A second boat arrived, and it was far more accessibility-friendly. (Sorry I didn’t get a picture of that boat,…
A Bit of Business, A Bit of Fun
This “how many national parks can I visit in a week” trip has been on my radar for quite a while. I finally have a shot of actually doing it! The trip is now part business and part pleasure. I am scheduled to give a lecture on the development of concert spirituals during the Harlem Renaissance as part of the African American Art Song Alliance conference at University of California, Irvine. I’m also planning to put the word out about the two books that I’ve written in the five years since the last conference and hope I can drum up some interest in them. After the conference, if all goes as planned, the marathon vacation begins. I have reserved a space on a boat to go whale watching in the Pacific and the usual Hollywood tour, plus I’m hoping to catch up with a couple of friends out there. I…
Afterthoughts about Goin’ West 2014
This is the map of my 16-day, Goin’ West 2014 trip: This surpassed my previously longest car trip from Grinnell to Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, by a whole 17 miles!! I stuck pretty closely to my original route, with some new additions–especially Little Bighorn National Park and North Cascades National Highway–and only two major deletions. After the magnificence of Yellowstone, I didn’t feel the need to deviate 250 miles from my westward trip to see Glacier National Park in Montana, although I’d heard many wonderful things about it. I also didn’t cross into Canada to visit Vancouver. The trip included visits to seven national parks: Little Bighorn (Montana), Yellowstone (Wyoming), North Cascade, Olympic, and Mount Rainier (Washington State), Redwood, and Yosemite (California). The parks were fantastic and more than worth the cost of the annual season pass. My favorites were Redwood and Yosemite, but none disappointed. There were other parks…
Day 14: Yosemite Sa… Randye
While my vacation time was fast drawing to an end, I still made time to visit Yosemite National Park. I chose a route that took us through Modesto and the Napa Valley area. The prominence of vineyards I passed in this famous wine region weren’t surprising to me, but the significant presence of almond tree groves was. There was a museum in Modesto I’d hoped to visit, but just as the unplanned nature of my journey sometimes meant I arrived at a site too late to be able to do more than capture a few shots, it also occasionally caused me to arrive too early. In this case, I felt it was necessary to be at Yosemite by the museum’s scheduled noon opening time. The drive into the Sierra Nevada Mountains had both eye-catching scenery plus attention-demanding twists and turns in the road. Upon reaching Yosemite, I followed my established pattern of…
Day 13: Things Don’t Always Go As Planned
After a great night’s sleep Wednesday, I got up, packed, and bade Dan farewell. I had some time before I was scheduled to meet two of my “California cousins,” so I took RB back to Fort Point in the hope the fog would have lifted from the San Francisco Bay so I could get a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. It had lifted enough to get a few pictures of the base of the bridge and its surroundings: Unfortunately, the plan to meet my cousins fell through, so I began my trek east. The route through San Fran took me close enough to the Haight Ashbury district that I was able to briefly detour. The neighborhood is best known as a focal point for the American counterculture that arose in the late 1960s, including 1967’s “Summer of Love.” Even today, the shops there still seem to take on that…
Days 11/12: The (Foggy) Streets of San Francisco
Tuesday turned out to be a recovery day. I didn’t even make it to see the San Francisco Opera’s production of “Show Boat,” which was a disappointment because I was looking forward to meeting several people backstage after the performance. Wednesday, however, my host–a gentleman named Dan–and I did some sightseeing around town. I actually let him drive RB–something only my parents had done before this–and my teeth were gritting the entire time. We started at the Presidio and made our way to the Golden Gate Bridge. Yes, hidden amongst the fog is the infamous bridge, as well as Alcatraz. If you squint your eyes ju-u-ust right…. Dan, who loves to grill, prepped a lunch of brats, stuffed chicken, carrots, sweet potatoes and mushrooms for us. Yum!! I’d not had grilled mushrooms before, but I must do so again. Even the carrots, of which I’m not a fan, were delicious…
Day 10: Talk about Big Trees!
Got RB all squared away, then we completed the trip towards Redwood National Park. The sign leaving Oregon looked more welcoming than the one we passed on arrival. I actually stopped to get pictures of the California welcome sign. This is far from my first visit to the state, but I’d always flown in before, so… Upon reaching Redwood National and State Parks, my first order of business was to stop by the visitors center at its entrance. (I also had to do a quick clothes change–anything that can spill on white will spill on white.) The rangers there gave me a map of the park and a couple of suggestions on routes based on the amount of time I had available to visit. I was surprised there was no admission charge into the park (nor did they ask for my national park pass). I found out why.…