Flamingo and the giant enchanted forest

Kia ora, I think we will start this post like any good conversation… With a weather update… it has gone from hot, hot to cold! Like fresh snow all over the mountain tops and hail an inch thick on the ground. That is what we arrived to in Lake Tahoe. After picking up a couple of hitchhikers who were walking from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail and listening to their stories of their great walk we treated ourselves to a meal out. The chilly weather and frequent showers put a dampener on any sunbathing or swimming in the lake so we headed north through Truckee, which was very quaint, on our way to Lassen Volcanic National Park. This would be our 10th national park so we were very grateful for the free parks pass we received from the hairy vagabond of Nick’s brother. 

We were now off the main drag and passing through small settlements in rural counties including the small clearing where the Donner party was meant to have survived a harsh winter and potentially become cannibals in order to survive the harsh Winter….  You could always spot the county boarder as the road surface changed, one side would be rough as hell and the other immaculate. To be honest many of these small places didn't have much to offer although we did enjoy a morning at Lake Almanor where the swimming was great. 

Lassen was cool both literally and figuratively. We hiked to a nice mountain lake where we saw deer that looked perfect for the bbq before camping out the night. Getting up early to beat the clouds that had been coming in later in the day we hit the trail to the summit of mount Lassen at 8am summiting around 9am we were greeted with a white out, gale winds and about 4 degree temperatures. Trudging back down Lucy said that was the last time she was getting up early to climb a mountain as as we made it back to the car park the clouds burned off to reveal the summit! Oh well you can't win them all. The afternoon was spent walking down through Bumpass hell (named after Mr Bumpass) then a beautiful valley complete with flower filled meadows and small lakes. 

Moving out of the mountains under clear skies (and views of Mt Lassen much to Nick’s chagrin) we were headed East for the Coast! A quick pit stop in Redding for a swim and supplies and it was off to Eureka. We had seen photos of this picturesque old fishing town however arriving at about 5pm on a Monday we were greeted with a virtual ghost town, there was no one around. A few photos of some cool old buildings and we gapped it out of creepyville, finding a nice spot overlooking the Pacific to camp – not that there was a sun to see setting. 

The next stop on the itinerary was Humboldt State Park where fairies and elves live amongst the giant redwood trees. The trees and forest were awesome, we just wandered along for hours in awe of these grand trees. Once our necks are stiff from looking up we camped right on the river bed surrounded by this stunning forest. Reluctantly moving on we stumbled upon Fort Bragg and were pleasantly surprised to find the same old school style buildings as in Eureka but in contrast a bubbling community to go with it. We slipped into the local brew house and sampled some fine ales before cooking up a storm to eat as the sunset. 

Mendocino was another very quaint seaside village that we explored before heading further South on our third to last day in flamingo. We covered a few miles, ate dinner at a rugged surf beach with seals and a cute wee grey fox before finding a spot to camp. For only the second time in the whole 5 weeks we were told to move on by the very well armed park ranger. He had a batten, pepper spray, taser, handcuffs and two automatic rifles between the front seats – only in America!

Having to have the van back in San Fran first thing in the morning we spent our last full day covering the final few miles and chilling at Stinson Beach. Walking through the dunes we got quite a surprise to see the beach chocker full. We saw more people taking selfies than we had seen in the last 10 days! The notorious San Fran fog stayed 500m offshore all day and we basked in the sun with no sunscreen and no sunburn (thanks to our Mexican looking tans). To our absolute delight the eagled eyed Prebs spotted whale spouts 200m offshore. What proceeded was a glorious display by a mother humpback, here calf and an adolescent feeding complete with breaches for over an hour. I wonder how many selfies have a whale breaching in the background while the photographer is completely oblivious? 

Saturday was a sad morning as we bid farewell to flamingo. She had seen us right for 3500 miles and five very easy weeks of travel (we will let the brake issue slide for now). We toasted goodbye with a few quiet beers and a picnic with our great San Fran company. Always keen to try new things we consented to a morning yoga/dance session. What stared off with 25 people doing yoga slows turned into 200 very free spirited people dancing and grooving to a DJ who gradually upped the anti and pace of music. Fighting bouts of self-consciousness we got amongst the young and old dressed in lycra, knee pads and tie dye and had a blast. 

The afternoon was spent in stark contrast with a tour of Alcatraz. The rock as it is often referred to was very enjoyable and informative and worth booking 6 weeks ago. The next available space being advertised was for August 17 so get in quick if you are planning on going! Our final night in the USA was spent eating crab chowder at Fishermans wharf before a quiet ale watching the sun set behind the golden gate.

We both are a little sad to be leaving the States and could easily have spent another 5 weeks in a van. We will miss the ease and flexibility of travel, peanut butter wraps, Country's top 40 and pink lemonade but the sweetened coconut, sugar coated raisins, rubbish tea and monster RV’s can stay behind. 

Flamingo’s escape from Death Valley

Time for some serenity. We’d had enough of ritz, bits, glitz and glamour so we were heading for the mountains.

After restocking supplies we took a scenic drive through Red Rock Canyon, which overlooked the lights of Las Vegas. We were, however, in the middle of an “extreme heat wave” with temperatures soaring to 45 degrees during the day and only getting to 36 degrees at night. So we hit the road and stayed the night in a quaint little town called Blue Diamond.

Our little Flamingo van is a sensitive soul so we didn’t want to make her ordeal of Death Valley harder than it could be. So up at the crack of dawn (5am here) we cruised on in to the infamous Death Valley National Park, while the sun rose over the hazy Las Vegas horizon. 

We had Neil Young and Bob Dylan blearing in the speakers as we took in the incredible desert that is one of the harshest places on earth. How anyone could live there, let alone play golf, I don’t know. But at least they have a sense of humour with rest stops called Furnace Creek, Stovepipe Wells and Funeral Mountains. 

At 190 feet below sea level we had two 4000 feet climbs ahead. We were pretty stoked Flamingo had a new set of brakes to bed in.

Having successfully negotiated Death Valley we decided to let Flamingo loose in the mountains where we hoped it would be cooler. We climbed to 9200 feet where we camped the night and celebrated with salmon steaks around the campfire. 

With 3 weeks and only 1500 miles left on our rental agreement we hit cruise mode. Not only were the mountains cooler, we found green trees and running rivers which slowed us down to a snails pace as we took full advantage. It took us three days to drive 120 miles…

With our paper map getting more and more torn, the roads getting narrower and the signs mossed over we had to stop and ask for directions at every junction with a general store. This entailed a good half an hour chinwag with the locals who were extremely helpful and gave us the lowdown on the local hangouts. This was a stark contrast to the gas station attendants on the main highways who didn’t know what was around the next corner let alone over the county line. 

Camp Nelson in the Southern Sierra Nevada ranges had a fantastic wee swimming hole, and Kirk at the general store happily planned our route for the next 10 days. So with his direction we headed for Seqouia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The worlds largest tree resides here as do black bears and deer of which we saw both. The trees were pretty damn big to say the least and it was hard to comprehend what these trees have witnessed in their 2000+ year rein over the forest. The evening was spent huddled in the van as a tremendous thunderstorm reverberated around the valley. It returned again with a vengeance the following afternoon while we were making our way down from some high mountain lakes but it cleared spectacularly for our evening fire and bottles of $3 wine.

Travelling was beginning to take its toll and we have both lost about 5kgs even with the fatty, sugary over processed American food. I think it is safe to put it down to the stress of waking up each morning and deciding what to do for the day and what we will eat and generally not having to think about working! Not to mention all our walking which far exceeds anything the majority of the locals would consider. The number of people we have seen running or jogging we could count on one hand…..

Dropping down from the high altitudes of the Sierra Nevada’s we hit the sweltering heat once again. Pulling into a campground chocker with 4th July holiday makers on a very drought riddled man made lake we were dying for a dip. Nick wasn't too fond of this hot dry barren place but we swam and sunbathed away the morning before we headed North towards Yosemite and a place to celebrate the Highlanders famous Super Rugby victory (not that we saw any of it). Chatting with some locals in Oakhurst (population 13 000) we found out there was a local brewery where we sampled the beer however the vibe was very low key to say the least.

Pika

So it was off to experience true small town America. We stumbled upon the Dirty Donkey dive bar, entering brought the attention of all 6 guests not that we could really see as our eyes hadn't adjusted to the darkness yet. Enquiring about a beer we were promptly told that a 22 ounce (about 600mls) beer was on special for $2.50 not only was it at least 5% but damn good too. The bar lady hadn't even finished pouring the beers before we were deep in conversation with the very friendly locals who were enthralled at our adventure. Let's just say it was a long night with many a free round and a splitting headache to accompany the drive to Yosemite the next morning. 

The splendid scenery and the nice warm river in the Yosemite Valley meant we didn't have to venture too far or do anything too adventurous although we did think a little evening stroll would make us feel better. Whipping up a tastie potato salad for a picnic dinner we set off just before sunset to check out the famed waterfalls hopefully with a few less people around. The uphill slog was worth the effort as we sat in peace watching the sunset at the top of the grand Nevada falls. The descent in the dark was also entertaining. 

Feeling nearly back to full health we embarked on a peak bagging adventure which involved walking 28km with a 1200m+ gain in elevation. We swam in the top of Bridal Falls despite the signs saying we would die, then had lunch at Eagle Point which looked directly down to where we had started. A further couple of miles on saw us sitting on top of El Capitan the notorious rock climbing face. 

An easy couple of days were spent driving through splendid mountain passes, lakes and meadows where the temperatures were almost chilly. Descending from the mountains we passed the briney Mono Lake before popping in to Bodie, an old ghosts mining town from the 1880’s. The buildings were still in great condition and it was bizarre to look through the windows of the homes and see that they had running water, electricity and themed rooms complete with matching wallpaper.  

Old saloon

We are nearing the end of our epic American roady. Stay tuned for the final 10 days…