The map on the left shows our drive from Lake Powell, Arizona to the Oklahoma panhandle. We completed our tour of the National Parks in Utah and Arizona which form the Grand Circle. We then entered Colorado and visited Mesa Verde National Park, dipped in to New Mexico and on to Oklahoma. The map below shows our journey north, onto the great plains of Kansas and Nebraska before heading for South Dakota. From South Dakota we continued to Seattle via Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The places we visited are marked on the map. |
July 2004
When I last wrote we were in the desert in Northern Arizona at Lake Powell way back at the end of May. It seems like a lifetime ago as we have seen so much and travelled so many miles. From Lake Powell we headed north to Monument Valley; every bit as impressive as in the movies. We then continued through the desert and some more incredible scenery back into Bryce Canyon in Utah. We then proceeded to a small hippy town called Moab and a State park called Dead Horse Point with great views down to the Colorado river, a mini Grand Canyon, looking down on views way below. This is where the closing sequence of Thelma and Louise was filmed.
From Moab it was a short hop into Colorado and the Mesa Verde National Park. There were awe inspiring cliff dwellings and a palace in inaccessible places high up in the valley dating back a couple of millennia. To get to one of them we had to climb an unguarded 60 foot step ladder and to get out again through a tunnel only shoulder wide. Not for claustrophobics or if you were scared of heights. This completed for us what is known as The Grand Circle (irreverently nicknamed The Big Ring by Mike and I). We had an overnight stop in Durango in Colorado where part of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid was filmed.
From Colorado we took a detour south east into New Mexico and then north in order to see some of the Great Plains. Realising from reading the guide books that there isn’t an awful lot to see we thought it would be good to get some idea of the magnitude of it all. We couldn’t. It took three days to drive through a very small proportion of it- the Okalahoma panhandle, Kansas, Nebraska and into South Dakota. All we saw were farms, grain silos, cattle, many ghost towns and the railway. The most exciting thing to happen was the arrival of a locust on my seat. I saw it coming through the window out of the corner of my eye, it grazed my shoulder. I screamed, leapt out of my chair and into the back of the van in one fluid and speedy movement. It was sitting exactly where I had been so I dread to think which route it took about my person. Luckily Mike pulled over and managed to flick it out before it came round. Imagine having that as a passenger-no thanks!
South Dakota was much hillier and we stayed on a state park called the Custer State Park, named after the famous general. This had the most amazing wildlife including buffalo and prairie dogs. Not far from here was Mount Rushmore where the presidents’ faces are carved into the side of the mountain. An incredible piece of artistry, engineering and sculpting.
From here we proceeded to Deadwood; we visited the cemetery where wild Bill Hickock was buried alongside calamity Jane. But a great spot for both of us was dining at Kevin Costner’s restaurant. It appears he likes the area so much that after Dances With Wolves was filmed here he bought some land in the hills, but also invested in a bar/restaurant/casino. We had a truly excellent meal there with great ambience, service and food.
From South Dakota we then headed west into Wyoming through more rolling countryside, just dotted with farms and ranches. We drove through the Grand Teton National Park and up into Yellowstone National Park. This is a fantastic park with great wildlife (we even saw a bear) and the most amazing geological effects including the geysers, (Old Faithful lived up to its name and reputation), boiling pools of mud and multi coloured hot springs. We had a couple of nights in Yellowstone before heading into Montana. This played host to my birthday celebrations (very quiet this year) at a small town called Whitefish. A great holiday destination for summer and ski-ing in the winter. We then headed west through Idaho and into Washington State.
We had a pleasant stay in Seattle, managing to get some sleep, of course. They have the most impressive public transport in Seattle. We parked next to a park and ride and caught an express bus to downtown Seattle. We were about 6 miles away but there were no stops so it took about 15 minutes. The diesel bus then converted to overhead electricity and we dipped down into a series of tunnels running underneath downtown Seattle. The cost of our ticket covered our return fare plus unlimited journeys in downtown for $1.25. (about 80p)
Before leaving Seattle I decided to get my hair cut. As some of you may remember from a previous haircut in Italy this can be a tricky business in a foreign country but I thought as language wasn’t too much of a barrier I’d be alright. Remembering ‘bangs’ = fringe and that many Americans seem to have long hair this was all the language I thought I’d need to communicate a short, layered trendy style with plenty of blonde highlights. I was pleased and delighted when my chosen hairdresser turned out to be an ex endoscopy nurse. As many of you know this is the same trade as my own and it’s quite unusual. Many nurse would be non conversant with the rigours of endoscopy nursing let alone a hairdresser! You may ask ‘how was my hair?’ Well, all I’ll say is that I hope she was better at endoscopy nursing.
From Seattle we continued north into Canada.
When I last wrote we were in the desert in Northern Arizona at Lake Powell way back at the end of May. It seems like a lifetime ago as we have seen so much and travelled so many miles. From Lake Powell we headed north to Monument Valley; every bit as impressive as in the movies. We then continued through the desert and some more incredible scenery back into Bryce Canyon in Utah. We then proceeded to a small hippy town called Moab and a State park called Dead Horse Point with great views down to the Colorado river, a mini Grand Canyon, looking down on views way below. This is where the closing sequence of Thelma and Louise was filmed.
From Moab it was a short hop into Colorado and the Mesa Verde National Park. There were awe inspiring cliff dwellings and a palace in inaccessible places high up in the valley dating back a couple of millennia. To get to one of them we had to climb an unguarded 60 foot step ladder and to get out again through a tunnel only shoulder wide. Not for claustrophobics or if you were scared of heights. This completed for us what is known as The Grand Circle (irreverently nicknamed The Big Ring by Mike and I). We had an overnight stop in Durango in Colorado where part of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid was filmed.
From Colorado we took a detour south east into New Mexico and then north in order to see some of the Great Plains. Realising from reading the guide books that there isn’t an awful lot to see we thought it would be good to get some idea of the magnitude of it all. We couldn’t. It took three days to drive through a very small proportion of it- the Okalahoma panhandle, Kansas, Nebraska and into South Dakota. All we saw were farms, grain silos, cattle, many ghost towns and the railway. The most exciting thing to happen was the arrival of a locust on my seat. I saw it coming through the window out of the corner of my eye, it grazed my shoulder. I screamed, leapt out of my chair and into the back of the van in one fluid and speedy movement. It was sitting exactly where I had been so I dread to think which route it took about my person. Luckily Mike pulled over and managed to flick it out before it came round. Imagine having that as a passenger-no thanks!
South Dakota was much hillier and we stayed on a state park called the Custer State Park, named after the famous general. This had the most amazing wildlife including buffalo and prairie dogs. Not far from here was Mount Rushmore where the presidents’ faces are carved into the side of the mountain. An incredible piece of artistry, engineering and sculpting.
From here we proceeded to Deadwood; we visited the cemetery where wild Bill Hickock was buried alongside calamity Jane. But a great spot for both of us was dining at Kevin Costner’s restaurant. It appears he likes the area so much that after Dances With Wolves was filmed here he bought some land in the hills, but also invested in a bar/restaurant/casino. We had a truly excellent meal there with great ambience, service and food.
From South Dakota we then headed west into Wyoming through more rolling countryside, just dotted with farms and ranches. We drove through the Grand Teton National Park and up into Yellowstone National Park. This is a fantastic park with great wildlife (we even saw a bear) and the most amazing geological effects including the geysers, (Old Faithful lived up to its name and reputation), boiling pools of mud and multi coloured hot springs. We had a couple of nights in Yellowstone before heading into Montana. This played host to my birthday celebrations (very quiet this year) at a small town called Whitefish. A great holiday destination for summer and ski-ing in the winter. We then headed west through Idaho and into Washington State.
We had a pleasant stay in Seattle, managing to get some sleep, of course. They have the most impressive public transport in Seattle. We parked next to a park and ride and caught an express bus to downtown Seattle. We were about 6 miles away but there were no stops so it took about 15 minutes. The diesel bus then converted to overhead electricity and we dipped down into a series of tunnels running underneath downtown Seattle. The cost of our ticket covered our return fare plus unlimited journeys in downtown for $1.25. (about 80p)
Before leaving Seattle I decided to get my hair cut. As some of you may remember from a previous haircut in Italy this can be a tricky business in a foreign country but I thought as language wasn’t too much of a barrier I’d be alright. Remembering ‘bangs’ = fringe and that many Americans seem to have long hair this was all the language I thought I’d need to communicate a short, layered trendy style with plenty of blonde highlights. I was pleased and delighted when my chosen hairdresser turned out to be an ex endoscopy nurse. As many of you know this is the same trade as my own and it’s quite unusual. Many nurse would be non conversant with the rigours of endoscopy nursing let alone a hairdresser! You may ask ‘how was my hair?’ Well, all I’ll say is that I hope she was better at endoscopy nursing.
From Seattle we continued north into Canada.
