Realising the Dream
Travelog of RVW members Maggie Birchmore and Di Chawner
e-mail: di.mags@virgin.net

November 2010


Hi, we have been home for 4 weeks now and only now I get to finish off our travels in 2010.  Since we’ve been back we’ve been away for a week, I’ve had a cold for 10 days and you know what it’s like things just get put off 'til tomorrow.  Well guess what, today is tomorrow and I hope you enjoy reading about the last part of our trip.

It's September and we have been on the road for 6 weeks now.  We leave Crater Lake, Oregon after seeing it again in all its beauty. We saw this magnificent volcano from the inside this time by descending into the crater and taking a boat trip on the lake.  If ever you visit here the boat trip is a must, you begin to realize the size of it and how devastating it must have been when it last erupted.  Of course it does give you plenty of stunning photo opportunities too and not all the photos are of scenery.  This one is of a cheeky ground squirrel who seemed to like the tea of English tea!

Moving on southward we entered the northern tip of California and headed for a small (very Small) town called Standish.  We are now starting to enter an area with typical high desert scenery and vegetation.  Dry and dusty, open and flat lands subject to strong winds and it was these strong winds that kept us here an extra day.  It was still very windy when we moved on into Nevada to the extent that our overnight in Wal-Mart at a place called Fallon meant that we had to keep the slides in overnight.  Winds gone and then next stop Tonopah and a casino car park.  Tonopah, an interesting mining town perched in the mountains between two large flat areas of totally nothing!  The southern flat area, which we crossed and took us to Las Vegas, contains the Nevada Test Site on which they conducted nuclear explosions leading to the construction of the first big bomb.  You can see why they chose this area.  It is flat desolate and away from habitation.  Today there is little evidence of the testing.  Amazingly the land has recovered and hopefully the radiation has  dispersed. Mind you we didn’t hang around to check it out. 

So from the barren open spaces of the Nevada desert we next find ourselves in Las Vegas.  When you drive towards Las Vegas and have that first sight of this place that fills the valley it lies in, it is quite extraordinary.  Suddenly you are on a 8 lane highway with loads of traffic, neon signs everywhere, grass  and golf courses, houses, hotels, casinos and lakes.  It’s quite overwhelming.  We navigated our way through all this hustle and bustle to our campground on the “Strip” alongside the Circus Circus Casino.  Phew a relief to stop and have a cup of tea.  It is now in the Mid 90F temperature and feeling overwhelmingly hot.  Don’t complain you might say after all you are in the desert!  But when you look around and see people sunbathing you being to wonder.

So what can one say about Las Vegas, it’s a place that everyone should visit, but visit only once that’s all you need.  It comes to life after dark, the casinos put on their individual displays of lights and enticements hoping that you will enter and do as we normally do, struggle to find the exit door.  Not that we gamble but the exits are carefully out of the way and difficult to find.  There are no signs and of course no windows.  We watched a few tables and concluded that the money seems to always go in the same direction….towards the croupier and into the casino pocket.  Outside we loved the water fountains especially the ones outside the  Bellagio Casino. 

Well we leave Las Vegas, still poor, and head for Zion National Park.  What a place this is.  Carved rocks hundreds of feet high, coloured sandstone, a picture around every corner.  Zion is in Utah and is one on many national parks in the unique State.  I cannot adequately describe this park so here are a few pictures….

We finally left Zion and arrived at Lake Powell staying at the campground at Waheep.  We have been here before. It took our breath away then and does again.  More red rocks and beautiful sunsets.  Again I will let the photo do the talking….

Our stay here allowed us a free afternoon to go to Antelope Canyon.  We didn’t really know what to expect when we turned up for our tour.  We climbed on board this battered old open back truck where we sat on either side on a not particularly soft seat!  Then off with our local Navajo tour guide along this sandy wash leading to the canyon. We bounced along, dust in the form of sand flying everywhere, in the heat of the desert for some miles. But was it worth it, yes it was.  This canyon, in places only a few feet wide was so fascinating.  It is carved by the wind and rain and the effect  is extraordinary.  It is difficult to describe so here is a picture.

No visit to this area would be complete without calling in at the Grand Canyon. It is still a marvel and takes your breath away.  We were lucky this time to see more wild life and have some great Elk encounters.  They are big.  Here they seem to just ignore the people and I expect they find us just as amusing.  The deer we saw were in death defying places on the sides of the canyon perched above sheer drops of hundreds of feet.

Next stop is Sedona, a lovely town nestling in amongst the prettiest red rock cliffs.  A lot of people had told us, over the years of our travelling, that we must go to Sedona.  Now I know why.

And so to Phoenix where we met up with some old friends and made some new ones.  We went  to the Rving Women National Convention which was held in Mesa a suburb of Phoenix.  With over 500 ladies attending it was busy and a great opportunity to catch up with other members who we have met around the country over the last few years on our travels.

I hope you enjoyed a brief resume of our trips for 2010.  Safe travels to all and we will see you next year.  Happy 2011.

Cheers

Di & Maggie