These are a few of our favorite things

On the trip, we realized there were a few things that we couldn't have lived without so thought we would share the list in case anyone is planning on embarking on a similar adventure....

• Headlamps
• P20 sun lotion and Keihls factor 50 sunscreen
• Nuun water tablets
• Clif bars
• Camera remote control
• Jetboil
• Air matresses
• Maps
• Starbucks Via coffee
• PB and J sandwiches
• Nalgene water bottles
• Sherrie's prescription sunglasses
• Fivefingers shoes
• Macbook Air


We had such a great time its been a little difficult to keep up to date with the blog due to lack of signal, flat batteries and searing temperatures but we hope you have enjoyed reading about our trip ans seeing what we've been up to along the way. Its been a blur, travelling so far and seeing so many amazing places so probably in a while when we're back to reality, the blog will be our favourite thing from the trip, a reminder of the amazing experience we shared!

Lots of love

Sherrie and Joanna

Tallest, Deepest, Largest, Longest...

So while we were on the road and reading our guidebooks,  we were coming across a lot of the USA's and sometimes the world's most impressive natural phenomena so thought it would make sense to compile a list of all those that we saw...

• Tallest trees in the world - Redwoods National Park
• Highest mountain in continental USA - Mount Whitney
• Lowest land in Western Hemisphere- Badwater, Death Valley
• Highest lake in USA - Yellowstone Lake
• Oldest tree in USA - Norris, Yellowstone Park
• Tallest waterfall in USA - Yosemite falls
• Hottest place in the US (While we were there) - Death Valley (120 degrees F)
• Worlds oldest National Park - Yellowstone
• Largest number of geysers in the world - Yellowstone
• Second tallest statue in US - Butte, Montana
• Longest gondola in US - Silver Mountain, Idaho
• Sheerest rock face in North America - Half Dome, Yosemite
• Longest man-made tunnel (not any more) - Zion National Park
• Largest native bird of North America - Condors at the Grand Canyon
• Only floating golf course green in the world, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
• World's most famous geyser - Old Faithful, Yellowstone

Out with a bang

Thanks to everyone who came out to Happy Hour last night at the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Seattle. It was wonderful to recount our adventures and ease back into a (somewhat) more civilized lifestyle.

Cheers!
Joanna and Sherrie

The Trecker Tree Farm and the last 350 miles

As we stated in our last post, by the time we reached the panhandle of Idaho on the evening of June 26 it was pouring down rain and about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Any thoughts of camping next to the Coeur d'Alene river were squashed. Luckily Sherrie's dad (Appropriately nicknamed Wild Joe from Idaho) was born and raised in Northern Idaho and many Treckers still live in the area. Aunt Yvonne and Uncle Rusty were kind enough to put us up last minute. After an amazingly fresh and healthy dinner, we got to bed early and were awoken by the smell of fresh huckleberry and cherry cobbler that Aunt Yvonne was baking in the oven. Joanna had never had huckleberries before, a point made by Sherrie at dinner. Of course Yvonne would have frozen huckleberries on hand because that's just the type of awesome that she is.

We all chatted in the early morning, coffee in hand, and it made Sherrie really appreciate how lucky she was to have her dad's 10 brothers and sisters to call aunts and uncles, and an area like Idaho to spend her childhood. The memories of bucking bails of hay all day just to find out that dinner was the only payment she'd get, picking berries with Grandma, climbing stupidly steep rock faces with Philip, fishing with Dad, gathering eggs, cooking dinners for 50 people (and cleaning dishes of 50 people) came flooding back.

We made a quick stop at the Trecker Tree Farm in Cataldo to show Joanna the 140 acre property that Sherrie spent most summers visiting, and to say goodbye to Grandpa, Dottie (Sherrie's step grandma), and Aunt Terry. The waters are unusually high this year (200% more than normal), and the field below the farm is still a giant pond. Aunt Terry says that people periodically park off of the road and try to fish the pond, not knowing that it's just a flooded field. None of the Treckers stop them.

The drive from Cataldo to Seattle took just under 5 hours and we managed to miss most of Seattle's rush hour traffic. Joanna caught her first ever live glimpse of the Seattle skyline and Mount Rainier as we drove over the I-90 bridge. After quickly unloading the car, we headed to Pike Place Market to buy groceries for dinner. Dinner was roasted fresh veggies, Alaskan cod, and a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the Mazzocco winery in Healdsburg, enjoyed on Sherrie's condominium rooftop while the sun set over the Puget Sound.

Joanna counting using the famed abacus on top of Russell Investments Center in Seattle.

Last day at Yellowstone and on to the final leg

So, the last morning of camping and we had got the tent dismantling and car-packing down to a tee - less than 30 minutes from waking up (at 4:30) and we were in the car on the way to Lamar armed with a Starbucks and bug-free windscreen ready for some pro-bear spotting.

We arrived at Lamar Valley at around 6am to find quite a number of animal-spotters already in position. We were looking forward to seeing wolves especially, as well as any bears that happened to be hanging out… but instead on arrival we were greeted by the largest group of Buffalo we had seen to date, as well as a large group of lesser-spotted geography students also looking to see something moving in the undergrowth.

Nature at one - a herd of Buffalo with a small group of deer in the foreground

We had a long lens but no binoculars, though were mildly amused by the seriousness of the whole animal-spotting experience, so thought we'd lighten the mood somewhat by suggesting various creatures we "may" have seen in the distance… This "may" not have been appreciated, so we headed back off towards the exit, only to come across another large herd of buffalo, as well as some less common deer and Pronghorn which emerged just as the wolves were due to retreat.

A grand Pronghorn, our favorite animal (after the bears) to see in "America's Serengheti" at 6am....

One of our Squirrel friends on the drive out of Lamar Valley

Having taken a few photos, we continued to head towards the exit of Yellowstone via the 45 million year old petrified tree which is now surrounded by an unfortunate fence to help reduce the  number of people stealing parts of it...

The one remaining 45 Million year old Petrified Tree

Mammoth Springs, on the northwestern edge of the park, had some interesting topography and a very pretty old hotel to look around.

The view from Mmmoth Springs and over the mountains

There was also a rather impresive 4 foot snake along the route which Sherrie managed to  photograph before making a swift retreat...

The 4 foot snake in the undergrowth at Mammoth Springs

From there, we headed from the park to the Montana border and continued to drive across Montana to Idaho, where we had decided, due to the weather, we would much rather stay inside, so contacted Sherrie's aunt Yvonne and uncle Rusty. We had a small family reunion, accompanied by delicious home-cooked venison burgers, hand-picked salad and range of home-pickled accompaniments. Lovely last evening before heading off in the direction of Seattle…

Last leg coming soon.

Sherrie and Joanna

Yellowstone Day 2

So day two in Yellowstone has been action-packed, a great day of seeing the sights, but at a leisurely pace. Part driving, part strolling around the board-walked areas framing the infamous Geysers (now pronounced Gee-zers, FYI) we have seen them all - quite literally.  Check out the photo gallery for the full range, and their sometimes comical names.

One of the many colorful lakes along the geyser trail

The Prismatic Spring  from the top of the nearest mountain.
Its colors come from the bacteria that forms around the edge of the pool

We are now officially experts in all things thermal and thought we would share some interesting facts about geysers- 

Yellowstone is set inside a large Volcanic caldera which is why the park has such an interesting landscape. The heat from the magma continues to fuel the park's geyser basin, where water 1000ft below ground is 450f.

A few main ingredients make geysers possible: abundant water, a heat source, a certain kind of plumbing and rock strong enough to withstand serious pressure.

The layout of any one geysers plumbing may vary, but we know that below each vent is a series of fissures and chambers that prevent water rising to the surface. As the underground water heats up, these constrictions and the cooler water cap the whole system, keeping it from boiling over and increasing the underground pressure. When a few steam bubbles eventually fight their way through the constrictions, the result is like uncapping a shaken-up bottle of fizzy drink and the released pressure causes the geyser to spray.

As for Yellowstone -  being the home of geysers, it can make a lot of claims:

• Old Faithful is Yellowstone's most famous geyser, though not its largest.
• It erupts almost reliably every 94 minutes, up to 180ft.
• Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser can shoot water 350ft into the air
• Grand Prismatic Spring is the third largest hot spring at more than 370ft across.
• Prismatic Spring gets its color from bacteria that gathers around the edge. This bacteria has assisted scientists in the development of DNA fingerprinting and NASA uses the park to gain intelligence into extraterrestrial life.

(Ok, we have to admit that came mostly from Fodors Complete Guide to National Parks of the West - our manual for the trip)

Driving back from the geysers, we decided that we could try and encourage some bear sightings by composing a few Yellowstone wildlife themed songs - here are a couple from the soon-to-be-launched first album:

• Some-bear Out There
• Are Yogi gonna go my way
• The Little-ist Boo-Boo
• Buffalo Soldier
• Summer Bears
• Yellow(Stone)
• Bear It
• The Bears of Summer

So, on getting back to camp, we embarked in our last camping supper - spaghetti bolognese cooked by Joanna, accompanied by an expert fire built by Sherrie. 

Spaghett Bolognese al la campsite

Another professional Trecker fire...

Early night for us ready for another 4.30am start to head off to Lamar Valley to see if we can spot an elusive bear before we head off to Montana, our last State!

Sherrie and Joanna

Yellowstone Park - Day 1

We had a slow start to the morning which involved catching up with laundry and sorting out the car, usual Sunday morning stuff…

Then, we checked out the Yellowstone map and decided today would be the day to check out the lake, do some chilling out by the beach and then some wildlife photography, maybe with a hike thrown in for exercise. Having checked out numerous books, Sherrie decided sunbathing next to the lake - prime bear territory would be a bad idea, so we changed plans and headed for the bubbling basins in the lake area instead. We could always smell them before we saw them, the rotten egg smell really is no myth. Each pool is boiling hot and as acidic as car battery acid, so again, decided a swim might not be appropriate.  

Mud pools bubbling in Yellowstone...

Then, on a short walk past another bubbling pool, we heard a yell from behind to look out and realized a full grown male bison was strolling towards us, so using our bear skills made a steady, yet swift exit out of there. 

Baby Buffalo leaping - did you know, only the females and young are in the group, while the males roam as individuals?

At this point, we decided Yellowstone isn't quite as docile as it seems… 

We still managed to get some good bison photos though, thanks to the trusty 200mm lens. 

Joke: What's the difference between a buffalo and a bison?

Answer - You can't wash your hands in a buffalo...

So, on from the acidic pools, we headed for something a little larger and more friendly, Yellowstone Lake - the highest lake in the US. We considered hiring a rowing boat, but due to a slight wind, went for a nice motor boat, top speed, 2 knots instead. Out into the main lake we went, towards Sutherland Island and out into the open water. We both decided this was the most fun part of the trip so far, partly due to it being the only wheel we could be behind in the US while drinking a beer : )

Safety first on the boat on Yellowstone Lake

Once getting back to dry land, we went on a wildlife hunt, around the lake to Pelican Creek and Indian Pond where we had heard many types of wildlife hung out - Moose, Wildfowl, Bison, Bears… we had our bear spray to hand again but only caught sight of a lone bison which are becoming as common as cows already. We briefly spotted a coyote crossing the road, but still no bears…

Back to the campsite and we got a great fire going, cooked up some tasty tacos and Joanna had a lesson in S'Mores over the fire - A Graham Cracker, Hersheys Chocolate and Toasted Marshmallow sandwich (for the uninitiated…) 

First ever S'more...

Then off for a talk on how to prevent fires in Yellowstone (after Sherrie suggesting we kept ours going til we got back ) only to learn that an unmanned campfire in the park can be deadly and this year is set to be one of the driest summers on record. (Ours got extinguished well before we left incidentally…) Then back to camp and off to bed ready for another action packed day over at Geyser-Land tomorrow!

We love Yellowstone!

Joanna and Sherrie

Utah to Yellowstone - 23rd June

So today we started slowly with a quick session on the web, getting the photo gallery up and running and getting some gym time in at the lovely Radisson hotel in Salt Lake City (its not all roughing it on this trip you know...)

From there, we thought we couldn't be in the Mormon capital of the world without spending some time visiting the Temple and learning a little more about the people that make up a large proportion of the city. We didn't learn too much, but bought a copy of the Book of Mormon anyway.

Sherrie modeling traditional Mormon headwear at the museum

From there, we hit the road on the way out of town, northwards which would take us through the rest of Utah (lovely State, full of farms and pretty countryside) then into a small corner of Idaho thanks to the sat nav that took us on the scenic route briefly until we got back onto our old friend,  highway 89 - which we had first joined south of the Grand Canyon all those days ago all the way for the rest of the journey north.

We then ventured into our 7th proper state (not including the Idaho detour) Wyoming, land of the cowboy, prospector and our next main stop, Yellowstone.

The road up is very impressive and arriving in Jackson (of Hole fame) we realized why its a great spot for both winter and summer pursuits. Great mountains and not a car in sight without some kind of roof rack or boat attached. Jackson is a lovely town and we were sorry we couldn't stay for the Rodeo and festival taking place tonight, but with campsite spot J197 waiting for us, we had to carry on.

We were pleased to be able to drive through another lovely National Park on the way, Grand Teton which is home to the Teton mountains, part of the Rockies range which was beautiful but not a patch on Yellowstone, we had heard. On arriving, we noticed the temperature had dropped to the civilized 70s and  headed through Yellowstone and northwards towards the Canyon campground, taking the scenic route past steaming geysers, roaming buffalo and amazing lakes and mountains. All the while, Sherrie reading the "Be prepared for Bears" brochure we were handed on arrival to a nervous Joanna at the wheel… 

Tip 1: If you see a bear while driving, do not stop. Regardless of what other people may do, keep moving to the next paved pull out and park safely. If the bear is within 100 yards, watch and take pictures from inside your car….

Tip 3: Be vigilant about alerting unseen bears to your presence. Make noise by calling out and clapping your hands loudly at regular intervals.

Tip 2: As cute and charismatic as cubs can be, no photograph of them is ever worth risking personal injury. Always assume the mother is nearby and ready to protect her young. 

Hmmm, well we will do our best, one of these we have already missed, last week in Yosemite but did make it away to tell the tale, fortunately and will be going to bed with a can of bear spray in the tent tonight to be on the safe side.

So we are all set up and ready for 3 days of camping here at Yellowstone and with a whole raft of wildlife to spot, will hopefully have lots more stories to tell in a few days…

Sherrie and Joanna

New Photo Gallery Up and Running...

Quick update to let you know that we have now created a new and improved photo gallery on Shutterfly where you can see some more of our photos from the various places we've been to so far.

You can reach it by clicking here or visiting the link on the right hand side of the page! 

We're heading off on the road again now, more soon!

Joanna and Sherrie

The scenic drive on our way to Utah

We packed up the tent and headed off eastwards to take in a few amazing spots around the canyon and beyond. Today's schedule was a packed one. 


We planned to  head around the rim of the Canyon, go through the Painted Desert  and the Navajo Native American Reservation into Utah. We would then travel across to Zion National Park, enjoy the Scenic byway route through the park, head around to Bryce Canyon ready to set up camp for another night. A lot of driving, but worth it to see some more beautiful scenery.

We started the day at 4.15 and made it to Mather Point it in time to grab a good spot, Joanna positioned out on the viewing platform with tripod in place, Sherrie on a rock with a coffee...

Sunrise over the Grand Canyon on the longest day of the year

Heading out of the Canyon National Park, we stopped off at GrandView, an amazing panoramic vista of the canyon - photos to come!

We headed on with our trip and thoroughly enjoyed the Painted Desert and were constantly surprised by the changing scenery and spectacular colors that it is famous for. The size of the area is enormous, and we enjoyed seeing the Native American villages along the way.

We continued to drive towards Lake Powell, ready to cross from Arizona into Utah and were looking forward to the change of scenery again as we headed towards Zion National Park. The dry, red colors we had seen in the desert and canyons evened out to shades of coral and more green was visible as the air became more humid. The temperature was still in the 90s though, of course!

Our 5th State border - on the way into Utah from Lake Powell

We reached Zion and were amazed by the views and closeness of the rocks as we weaved along roads and through tunnels. Emerging through the longest tunnel, at 1.1miles long, the rocks turned into another large canyon area that we drove through and out of, heading for Bryce, only to discover that the road we needed to take was closed… 

Driving along the Scenic by-way in Zion National Park

So, change of plan, we have now headed directly to Salt Lake City, where we intended to come tomorrow which now means we can spend a whole extra day at Yellowstone ready for some more outdoorsy fun and some cooler temperatures from what we can see.

there are more pictures to see on the photo gallery page too...

Joanna and Sherrie

Grand Canyon hike - Bright Angel

Joanna and Sherrie embarked on their Grand Canyon hike at 6 AM on Thursday, June 21. the original plan was to backpack down to the Colorado River 12+ to camp overnight at Horn Creek, but the 100+ degree temperatures led us toward a more reasonable endeavor. Armed with plenty of water and food, we easily made it down to the first rest stop at 1.5 miles and decided to keep going. With the extreme temperatures, the rangers had recommended no one go past the 3 mile rest stop in a one day hike, but Sherrie just took that as an extra challenge. At 7:30 AM, she left Joanna at the 3 mile rest stop and headed to Indian Garden.

The canyon view from Bright Angel trail just after sunrise

Indian Garden was a lot greener than expected, earning its namesake. Most of the hikers at Indian Garden were going Rim to Rim (or Rim to Rim to Rim in one case), making them Sherrie's type of people. After chatting about mountaineering and hiking experiences and eating a big PB&J, and spotting the thermometer fixed at a heady 120f, she headed back up, stopping to take in the breathtaking views on the way up (the breathtaking part may have been due to lack of oxygen at high elevations as well as the heat, but it all added to the experience).

A friendly local squirrel coming to
 say hello at the rest stop

Rock formations show the amazing colors inside the canyon

Joanna made it back up before 10 after making numerous friends on the way up - mostly those interested in her choice of footwear -  the Vibram five fingers that always attract attention. Sherrie made it back to the trailhead at around 10:30 AM, 4.5 hours after she started. Later, at the visitor's center, they read that the hike was supposed to take 6-9 hours. For Sherrie, the hike was fantastic but not very challenging. Joanna enjoyed it but found the views more spectacular at the top... 

The Canyon from inside, at Indian Gardens

However, there were many people on the trail that were ill equipped and lacked proper training for such extreme temperatures and elevation losses and gains. It's no wonder that an average of 22 people die in Grand Canyon National Park yearly. It's a stark reminder to know your limits, to listen to the recommendations of the experts, and to always be well equipped. 

Joanna considering doing the 6 miles again after breakfast...

Sherrie barely breaking a sweat after her 9 mile hike.

there are more pictures to see on the photo gallery page too...

Sherrie

The stars come out at the Grand Canyon

So, here we are at the Grand Canyon, having arrived safely and set up camp in the lovely Mather Campground just near the main Visitor Centre. We had spot 199, if you are ever in the area : ) it comes highly recommended, not just by us.

So with tent up, dinner cooked, nice bottle of Californian white wine enjoyed, we made our way out to the 22nd annual Grand Canyon Star Party, an event Joanna was very pleased coincided with our visit.

Its a week long event where astronomers from all over the US get together to set up their telescopes, positioned to point at numerous stars, nebulas, planets etc for the public to view in the amazingly clear nights sky. We checked out Saturn and its rings, could see stars exploding as nebula, Mars, blinking nebula and excitingly, even the milky way. For Joanna, the Londonite, where the light pollution hides all but the brightest, it was very impressive!

Photos to follow once we work out how to take them, then get them uploaded but in the meantime, here's a video from last year's Star Party.

Vegas Baby

Just checking in to let you guys know we made it to Caesars Palace and spent the early evening at the pool to cool off. After a long day on the road, we took a stroll down the strip, watched the fountains at the Bellagio and had a sensible early night...

 

Hanging out at the pool

Caesars Palace, our hotel for the night

We survived Death (Valley)!

Joanna and Sherrie reached Death Valley at around noon today. We had been warned that it was hot but were still taken aback by how extreme 118 degrees feels at 282 feet below sea level. Artist's Palette, a 9 mile one way detour through the valley, was a highlight of the trip. The canyon walls displayed nearly every shade under the rainbow. However, we didn't stay long as the heat was really getting to Viv the Volvo.

With the air conditioning off and windows rolled down to keep the car from overheating, it was getting to J and S as well! We high tailed it out of the desert and set our sights on Vegas. Luckily we all survived, even Snipey, who had been sunbathing on the dashboard. He must be wearing some highly heat resistant gear!

55 C or 117 F on the trustee thermometer - then back into the car pronto!!

The lowest point in the USA - 282 feet below sea level.

   

More pictures on the photo gallery page too...

Yo Yosemite!

Well today started nice and early with a 5.30am dawn chorus in the tent, so up with the larks, quite literally!

After packing up the tent and hopping back in the car, we headed into Yosemite park proper, aiming to see all the big sights, take a hike then head back to our camp spot at Camp 4 for the evening. We got to the park and were stunned by the amazing sights - El Capitan, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, each view incredible in its own right. 

Yosemite Falls

El Capitan

We even saw a baby bear crossing the path on the way to the falls, about 5 feet away, luckily he was a baby and mummy bear didn't come to find him... 

Baby Bear....

We then made our way to Camp 4 to find out that it was full for the night already but we didn't mind too much, plenty to see and lots of other camps to choose from. 

So we planned the rest of our day, Sherrie hiking up to Nevada Falls, Joanna to Mirror Lake. We both had a great time, then headed past Tolumne Meadows on the way out of the park and spotted some more wildlife, in the form of a Wolf who was fortunately distracted looking for dinner in the opposite direction.

We could have stayed at Yosemite for a few days longer doing all of the hikes and trails, but we saw so much in a day and are so excited about the rest of the trip that we headed out of the park and southwards. We passed through Mammoth Lakes, Mono Lake and headed down the 395 to Bishop where we found the lovely Vagabond Motel with much needed free wifi and continental breakfast! Night!

there are lots more pictures to see on the photo gallery page too...

Joanna and Sherrie

West to East California

So today has been a great day, starting off by joining in the festivities of the day-after-the-wedding, with a pool party and taco van this afternoon at the house near Healdsburg, Sonoma. Lovely setting and we were sad to have to leave, but we hit the road again at 2pm for our drive to Yosemite.

We were doing well until we were about 1.5 hours into the trip where we came across a long line of stationary traffic, which we realised turned out to be because of a bridge that had been opened to let a boat pass. We were there for over an hour, which kind of messed up the schedule - Route 12 between Rio Vista and Stockton is one to plan around if you are ever taking the trip!

So anyway we carried on and were amazed by the scenery we came across the closer we got to Yosemite. The colours of the fields, amazing Lake Tulloch and winding roads cut into the mountains looked more like Tuscany than California and made us excited for the trip ahead.

We arrived at Yosemite Pines campground in time to put the tent up and cook up a great meal of Trecker caught Salmon from Joe, pasta and salad, all cooked up on Sherrie's new camping stove, then hit the tent with the roof open to watch the stars overhead before dozing off for a well-earned sleep!

Our gourmet meal - Salmon, pasta and salad, mmmm....

there are more pictures to see on the photo gallery page too...