U.S.#3 - Yosemite National Park

So we get picked up round 6.30am from the Handlery Hotel in San Francisco to go to Yosemite National Park - a 4 1/2 hour drive unless you're travelling on a big bus packed with bleary-eyed tourists who haven't had breakfast yet.

Leo, our bus driver/ tour guide, starts off with a jovial aspect but reveals his true fascist tendencies when articulating how critical it is NOT to use his 'restroom' for anything more substantial than a sprinkle. Basically a bullshit artist, he didn't shut up for most of the trip. Fortunately he dropped us at the Lodge at 12.45pm and we said our cheerios with a 2 buck tip. He would be driving the same-day travellers back but we were staying on overnight to chance it with the next driver. (He had his 'issues' too.)

I found the Park overwhelmingly spectacular and grand inspite of the crowds and cars. There are 2 one-way roads along the valley floor and the shuttle bus is free and regular - thereby encouraging the masses to crowd on rather than fill the valley with car fumes.

We took one tip from our mate, Leo, which was to not waste time queuing in the caf for lunch but to head straight for Bus stop 16 or 17 and do a shortish stroll to either some waterfalls or the Mirror lake. We opted for the latter, the easier of the two - and it was brilliant, though there was hardly any water so, for mirror image reflections, we'll have to make do with Dad's pics taken circa 1964(?)

On our return we took a wrong path and suddenly we were quite alone - thinking about those Brown bears that Leo had mentioned (never walk alone...). It was sheer serendipidous (sic?) adventuring that we happened upon the Ahwahnee Hotel and parked ourselves at their delightful bar for sunset drinks and snacks.

The next day I jumped on the bus up to Glacier Point (2,200 feet directly above the Lodge) and my travel partner opted for the less vertigo-inducing open train valley floor tour.

At least 19 of the 30 passengers on the bus were planning to walk down either the long (7 hour) or the shorter route into the valley so I decided to do so too. Most of the pics are from that slip-sliding descent to the valley floor and my calf muscles have taken 4-5 days to recover enough to stop limping when going down stairs. It wasn't really steep but still dangerously slippery as some considerate fellow had paved the path all the way down (probably about 60 years ago) and now it's covered with a fine layer of gravel all the way.

The bus finally left the valley round 4.15pm and we arrived back at our hotel well after the kitchen had closed. I'd gladly return for more - and camp too, except for the bears (they hang around the happy campers looking for ways to get at the food.)

U.S.#2 San Francisco Part 2

Haight Ashbury on the third day and again upon our return from the overnight trip to Yosemite, as I had to retrieve my earring from a shop. We tried out a walking tour recommended by Lonely Planet (Janis Joplin's pad was in there somewhere, but I was chaperoning my travelling companion up the steep hills in the drizzling rain and her mind was on getting somewhere comfortable.)

The first squirrels of many came out to have their photos taken in the park. It seems the city parks are big, rambling and quite wild - not manicured with benches and flower beds.

We wandered round the little shops on Haight Ashbury - not a whiff of ganja but some interesting street art and loads of street people carrying their possessions and cute puppies.

Don't forget to click on the photos to get to the slideshow - I'm enjoying Picasa Web Albums' new 'Blog this!' button to link the text and pics. Bliss - released from the shackles of iphoto's locked-in syndrome.

U.S. #1 San Francisco - first 2 days

Yes, it's definitely Summer in the city - the flowers in the huge hanging baskets tell us so. But the weather is damp, cool and windy. The sun eventually came out to greet us at the Ferry Plaza wholefood and farmers' markets. (Note: the price on those Morel mushrooms.)

After a groggy first day we found our feet and our stomachs: enjoying a fried fish tortilla, all cooked in front of us in 2 minutes flat. I'm not sure why Gandhi towers over the outside stalls - maybe he visited once?

The cute 'doggies in the window' were a steal at $140 each: made of recycled newspapers.

We watched a few boats sail under the Oakland Bay bridge and then rode the buses (all electric, boasting no [er, local] emissions to Pier 39 where all the touros were. I have't seen so many crowds since Lido De Jesulo, Venice in 1983... So we didn't bother to get off to join the 'lines' for the local clam chowder.

Jill's phlog - Yes, it works!

Jill's phlog - ipadio - phonecast Have a go!

The bubble has burst!

Bubbleshare has finally pulled the plug on my slideshows and I'll be uploading them to Slide when I have half a chance.
The priority was to do the same for the CNLCtalks slideshows and you can view these at cnlctalks. The only problem is that its a closed wiki now and you can email me for the ID and password if interested.

Photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chemisti/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Jill loves Mary

Now that I've got your attention, this post is really about the highlights of our recent trip to Queensland such as the Mary River and surrounds. I'm going to use another Bubble Slider to feature some of the places we visited.

BubbleShare: Share photos - Find great Clip Art Images.

The first day in the Sunshine Coast hinterland was spent at Great Sandy National Park on the way to Fraser Island. We attempted to follow in the footsteps (or rather tyre tracks) of most Queenslanders with four-wheel drive vehicles and drive along the beach to Inskip. The car didn't behave well and the Victorians felt uncomfortable about the whole thing so we soon turned back and spent the rest of the day exploring the rainforest: admiring the buttressed tree species, keeping our food away from the goanna and swimming in the creek with the catfish.

Our trip to the Conandales was again characterised by verdant habitat and flowing streams (a novelty for Victorians). We bought up cheeses and other local produce from the Kenilworth Cheese factory before heading for the Bolloumba Falls to cool off.

The next day we paid our respects to the mighty Mary River, stopping first at the Information Centre, traversing the undulating hills above the proposed dam and finally pausing at a crossing downstream from the dam. The Traveston Dam would indeed be a travesty: flooding the rich dairy farming lands above it and robbing the river of water below it - both threatening the future of the local endemic species such as the lungfish and the Mary River turtle. And, sure enough, on cue we spotted a Mary river turtle in the water, which, from its profile, could be identified as a male (due to its long tail).

[Not my photo, but from the Care2 petition site - closed 31/12/08]

Storm chasin'

When you're driving for three days, it can get a bit boring: the road stretches out ahead and it helps to have some interesting clouds, road signs or tree species to observe and share. After a pleasant camp at Mt Kaputar National Park, we had a brief downpour which necessitated a hasty retreat to the tent for breakfast. The clouds dispersed as quickly as they had formed. Apparently the sub-alpine habitat of  the park enjoys its rain mostly in the Summer.

We set off  for the NSW-Queensland border, stopping only for the most essential rest breaks and fuel-ups. Early afternoon we spotted the storm clouds and could clearly see the front of the storm. I photographed it as we were driving - largely for self-amusement as I didn't expect the photos to work out. By the time we got to the border we knew we had caught up with the storm, having followed it for at least 40 kms (or had it followed us?). The rain started hammering down as we drove through Goondiwindi and on a rather confusing roundabout (the first of many in Qld) we realised we had taken the wrong turn to Boggabilla (its twin border town).



With windscreen wipers on the maximum speed and still not coping with the downpour, we quickly decided to pull off the road and wait out the storm. We watched as the other traffic slowed, and small bushes and tree branches blew across the road into the paddocks. Albert manoeuvred the car so that its rear faced the brunt of the storm and it rocked with the force of the tempest for about half an hour. What an experience for drought-stricken Victorians!

For the next 50 kms we drove very carefully to avoid the trees that had fallen into the road, blocking one or the other lane. The Gold Coast experienced the worst of the storm with much damage to properties and power blackouts.