USA Travel     -    Exploring the Southwest
Summer 1992

 

                                         

California - page 6

  

From Las Vegas we went south via I-15 through very dry desert, entering California in the Mojave Desert. At the border there were a couple of casinos on the Nevada side. Accommodation is very cheap here, about 20 $ for a room which we found out on one of our later trips to Las Vegas. We
had a long drive that day only allowing time for enjoying the wonderful landscapes passing bye our car windows. After a long drive we found accommodation just some few miles before the entrance to Sequoia NP. Next morning the weather was optimal with sunshine and high temperatures for the mountains. We entered the Sequoia NP via the winding Generals Highway (198). On the west side of these mountains precipitation is high with dense green vegetation while the east side is naked due to the arid desert climate. The Sierras are the highest mountains in the US outside of Alaska with Mount Whitney being the highest peak (14,495 foot). In the nice weather we very much felt for a walk in these green giant forests so we parked the car and hiked along a forest trail. Only about half a mile into the woods we got sight of a black bear less than 100 m in front of us.

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    The entrance to Sequoia NP

The bear was enjoying a morning meal in some bushes. We tried to get a photo but it was too dark and the bear was too camouflaged by the bushes. Furthermore a party of very noisy Italians appeared from behind and the bear spotted us. So we retreated slowly to the parking lot. What happened with the Italians we never heard of. Approaching Kings Canyon NP we came to the area of giant redwood trees (sequoias). Actually the largest (in volume) trees of the earth are found here in this area. The tallest  redwood trees are found in the Northern California coast area. These were

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    Earth's largest redwood tree
General Sherman

 all fantastic trees, but the giant of them all was the General Sherman tree, which is the biggest surviving tree. Unfortunately many trees even bigger were wiped out by logging between 1850 and 1900. Some of the oldest of these trees probably date back to the Bronze Age 3500 to 4000 years ago. Later on when we were leaving the NP we made stop to have an ice cream at a cafeteria. Michael and Jens had a Banana Split which was the ice cream of their lifetime. It was really American BIG. As Fresno was ideally situated for our next day visit to Yosemite NP we went there for accommodation. Anna was very tired when we found our motel, so Michael and Jens had to go by

themselves for a good steak house. Next morning we went for breakfast on a local restaurant. For the first time (and probably last time) Anna had heavy American gravy for her dish. The kind waitress even asked her to pre-taste this before she ordered it. She kept a smile on her face, but the taste was not a real delicious one. As so often there was a forest fire developing in Yosemite the following day, so we were not allowed to drive on the high Tioga Road, which is a pity as this is the real wonder of Yosemite (We saw it on a later visit to the park). Entering from the south at Mariposa we visited the big trees (redwoods) at Mariposa Grove, but they were not as breathtaking as the giants of Sequoia. We went via the Wawona road to Yosemite Valley which was very crowded

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    Half Dome, Yosemite NP

that day. On the road were marvelous viewing points for some nice photos. Some of the most famous rocks are Half Dome and El Capitan. In the valley we saw the famous Yosemite Falls which were quite impressing though it was in the rather dry season with less water flowing. Probably due to the many visitors wildlife was very scarce in the park that day. Probably

the animals had gone to more quiet areas higher in the mountains. Now it was time to go for San Francisco. On the way we found a good offer (30 $ for a room) for a Days Inn. Next morning we entered San Francisco from the North via the San Rafael Bridge and the famous Golden Gate Bridge. Quite exciting to cross this bridge which we had seen on so many films. We went first to down-town where we had a nice pizza on an Italian restaurant. Afterwards we strolled for a long walk among all the skyscrapers and were lucky to find a nice PhotoShop where Jens bought a tele-zoom (28-200 mm) for his camera. He still keep this lens which is magnificent for taking pictures of wildlife and nature. Afterwards we found a parking lot at Fisherman's Wharf. Here we enjoyed the entertainment for the rest of the afternoon. As accommodation was quite expensive in San Francisco we decided to drive further south. North of Santa Cruz we found accommodation. Just at sunset we were lucky enough to arrive at the immense Pacific Ocean for the first time. What a sight in our imagination, but in reality not so different from the North Sea in Denmark. Next day we decided to proceed via the winding and scenic coastal highway no 1. To our surprise this was very

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    In the Danish village Solvang

quiet for long distances. On this route you pass the Danish village Solvang. Here we had to make a stop to get some Danish pastries (wienerbrød). The houses were build in old Danish style, but everything was so polished and no one could speak Danish to us. A little closer to Los Angeles we found accommodation at Ventura. We stayed here for our last two nights as this was quite a convenient location for a day trip to Los Angeles. We made the decision that we would spend the last day in Hollywood and go to the Universal Studios. In Hollywood we were quite disappointed. We saw nothing of the glamour we expected but

everywhere was poverty and decadence. Fortunately we found the famous pavement with the STARS and the names of famous movie stars imprinted. The entrance fee for Universal Studios was

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  Walking along the famous
pavement of the stars
in Hollywood   

quite high, but the fee allowed you to visit all the attractions of this amusement park. Actually you need a whole day here. There were so many interesting tours and shows from Stare Trek to Western Movie Kulissess and horror films. The was also an animal show where you could enjoy Lassie, trained birds and monkeys and much more. Now we were tired and ready to return to Denmark after four wonderful weeks in the Western USA. We came early at the Airport at the southern part of Los Angeles

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At the entrance to
Universal Studios
 
and after having delivered our Ford Tempo rental car to Hertz, received the money for the defect tires we had changed in Las Vegas we just had to wait a few hours for our British Airways flight to London. We arrived in Copenhagen as planned and our house in Jægerspris was looking wonderful as Annas brother Jan and family had taken well care of everything. As you will see from later travelogues this was the beginning of a long series of trips to the USA and Canada, which we have enjoyed so much. Michael even liked the US so much that he decided to move there for his Ph.D. and after 5 years he is still staying there in Pittsburgh.