The City of Angels

I have to say that as far as cities go I'm not super impressed with Los Angeles. I have spent almost a week here and am well and truly ready to leave. I have spent a day in each precinct so a brief synopsis.

Beverly Hills is Pretentious. Granted there are some amazing homes but does anyone really need that much money? I have rarely felt as out of place as I did on Rodeo Drive. All those of you who have seen Pretty Woman, well it was just like that and I didn't even go into a shop! I was amused by the parking meters that have credit card facilities. Hollywood and West Hollywood are as expected. Did you know Bob Hawk has a star in the pavement? There was a promotion for the upcoming movie of Alice in Wonderland going on at Kodak Theatre (where the Oscars are held) so there were lots of screaming fans out trying to catch glimpses of Johnny Depp. I went to see a musical production of The Colour Purple which was a credit to African American performing arts. There were not many white faces in the audience and not one on the stage (fair enough considering the story). I had to relieve the claustrophobia of the city so did a quick jaunt up to Santa Barbara which was very nice in a wealthy seasidey way. Passed through Malibu and all it's surf paraphernalia and drove back along Mulholland Drive which winds through the LA hills and is a nice route. A couple of days were spent at Santa Monica and Venice beaches which were by far the pick of LA's attractions. Venice Beach was so named because there are a series of canals through the area which are picturesque however the beach itself is the craziest mixture of wierd and way-out whackos you could possibly come across. There were street performers walking on broken glass next to doctors licenced to proscribe marijuana, millionaire corporate types talking to themselves (probably with cellular ear pieces)rubbing shoulders with homeless bag ladies talking to themselves (probably without cellular ear pieces).

But the absolute best place to meet odd bods definitely has to be the LA public transport system. You have to work hard not to catch anyone's eye for fear of the conversation they may start about the purple aliens they met last night or worse... Tiger Woods latest scandal... And you have to keep this up for hours because everything in LA is so spread out that it takes forever to get anywhere.

The hostel I'm staying in has also been an experience. In the USA you have to be careful when choosing a place to rest your weary self as homeless people tend also to use them on occasion, as do hookers so you can see the full LA spectrum of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. But I'll save those stories for the uncensored version!

Tomorrow I depart sunny California. Destination... New Orleans.

The Lorax

On my way to LA I detoured to Joshua Tree NP. Dr Seuss must surely have visited here before writing The Lorax. Joshua Trees look exactly the same as Truffle Trees! For non kids or primary teachers I've given you snaps to compare.

Having spent the past 2 weeks in spectacular desert, my expectations were pretty high and while it wasn't the dramatic scenery of Arizona, it certainly was bizarre.

I've now arrived in LA and am staying in a room with some dejected wannabe actors. I guess that's what LA is all about!

San Diego

The guidebook reads "Few tourists visit Phoenix. It is the spider at the centre of the Arizona web, sucking all the resources from the rest of the state". That is all I have to say about Phoenix.

Instead I'll tell you about San Diego! I stayed with a mate from college days (Dave Kacev) who lives in La Jolla (north of SD). He is doing a PhD (something about shark ecology) and one of his lab partners is studying salamanders so I spent Saturday hunting for salamanders (we were going to steal their tails for DNA) in a state park inland from SD. It turned out to be a day of hiking and turning over logs and rocks. We didn't find a single salamander but did find some eggs, a wee snake, 1 soccerball, 1 baseball and 6 golf balls. The people who live in the hills must have fun lofting balls from their back yards into the canyons below. Woe betide the unsuspecting hiker!

Sunday was spent in Dave's stomping ground - the San Diego Zoo. The zoo is in Balboa Park which encompasses a large area and many museums and other cultural displays. I made friends with a New York Didjeridooer busking in the park. The zoo is rather impressive as zoos go with my highlight being a baby gorilla born on 5th March. (He looked just like me too!)

PS I learned that Speedy Gonzales Cactus are really called Organ Pipe Cactus (who'd have guessed?)

Frozen & Petrified

I woke up to a chilly 25 degrees. Still don't know what that is in normal measures but I do know that it was enough to freeze last nights leftovers.

Most of my day was spent in the Petrified Forest National Park. This is quite a small park with a lot of 'painted' desert formations known as 'badlands' because nothing will grow on them and they erode at a phenomenal rate. Interestingly in this area as they erode, out roll very colourful petrified logs and ocasionally dinosaur fossils. It's quite an intriguing concept. It is also difficult to imagine that this area was once a lush forest with towering trees, home to myriads of large animals.

After a morning of paleontological, archeological and geological exploration I thought I'd just pop down to lil ol Phoenix. I discovered it's rather a long way but luckily through some spectacular gorge country - with trees and running water this time! This is Apache land so while I'm sure the Indians were treated atrociously for a long time, they were given some pretty stunning scenery as compensation. As I shot out the other side of the mountain range, I found myself once again in the desert but this time with real cactus (you know the kind in Speedy Gonzales cartoons) so I put on my Mexican hat and sped into the outskirts of Phoenix. Andale! Andale! Arriba! Arriba! 80 miles later I was still speeding (though less enthusiastically) through the outskirts - Wow a lot of people live out here in the middle of nowhere!

Navajo Nation

Well I set out this morning to learn all about the Navajo people at their fancy new museum and culture centre in Tuba City only to find that it is closed for the winter. So off I tootled instead through Monument Valley. Everybody who has ever watched a western has seen this valley, nevertheless in the flesh it is pretty fantastic. The whole days driving was majorly impressive such that by the end I got a bit blase about the whole desert scene, what with so spectactular canyons, multi-coloured cliffs and giant buttes and spires of red rock.

I have spent my fair share of time driving through snow drifts and heard that Dallas has just had a big fall which is cooling the Texans down a bit. I am rather glad that I am not yet in the north-east of the country though!

GC Pics

The Big Gorge

Well the CANYON really is GRAND. Even though people tell you that it's a very large gash in the ground, it really has to be seen to be believed. It was very snowy so many of the paths and trails were closed and the fog and cloud were hanging around all day but every now and again they lifted for an awe inspiring view. It's pretty hard to describe so you'll just have to visit for yourself if you haven't already!

I am now deep in Navajo territory which on the surface is reminiscent of much of the Kimberleys, not in scenery but in the general vibe.

Arizona - Route 66

I have left the bright lights of Las Vegas after betting a whole dollar on the pokies...BIG SPENDER! and crossed the Hoover Dam. They are building a new highway so I sat in a traffic lineup for an hour waiting for the road to be cleared of rubble and watching other drivers cursing and foot-stomping. It is a pretty impressive dam and the new road is supposed to be the biggest of its kind (well of course-I am in America!) so will add to the whole engineering feat they seem to be going for.

A little after this I joined Route 66 and the scenery along this stretch was a lot like driving through the Kimberleys in sepia (yellow rocks instead of red). As I carried on my merry way the temperature began to drop until I found myself in the middle of a blizzard. I'm now settled snugly in a motel in Williams, about 100miles south of the Big Gorge. There's 2 feet of snow outside and it's still coming down.

Entering Nevada

Friday started with a flat tyre (or since I am in USA tire). And things deteriorated further when it started to rain... bearing in mind I am in one of the driest deserts in the world. So I cut my losses and headed across the border to Nevada. There is only one place people go in Nevada - LAS VEGAS. It is as kitsch and tacky as only Vegas can be and that is really all there is to say about it.

Death Valley

Thursday and I'm off to Death Valley- claim to fame- in 1913 recorded America's hottest temperature- 134 degrees Fahrenheit (haven't learned to convert yet so let's just assume that this is HOT) and has the Western Hemisphere's lowest land point- 282 feet below sea level.

There is actually some remarkable scenery. Picture, if you will, a futuristic sci-fi movie in which humans have destroyed all life as we know it and the new world order involves strangely coloured minerals moving very very slowly (a couple of inches every million years). The valley is very wide and steep-sided with rocky peaks and outcrops capped with snow (in winter anyway). These rocks come in all the colours of the rainbow and are enhanced by the stark, arid whiteness of the valley floor salt flats. It is a landscape of geological and meteorological extremes.

The Beginning

2010 is my year to rejoin the real world after a long sojourn in the wild west. As such I am equipped with a brand new laptop mini, digital camera, iPod and snazzy cell phone... so now I have to learn to use them!!! And what better place than North America.

I boarded a trans-Pacific flight on Wednesday afternoon and arrived Stateside on Wednesday morning. The in-flight movie Julia & Julie tickled my tastebuds (it's all about food) as the story is told through blogging and this is the medium I am now attempting to master. So here goes...

I arrived at LA International sleepy and disinclined to acquiesce to the requests of customs officials however was plesantly surprised to find myself in the brisk morning air with not so much as a raised sniffer dog's eyebrow. I proceeded to pick up a hire care and punched my destination into the GPS which Timmy had graciously handed-me-down for Christmas, only to discover that it is European and as useless for navigating the streets of LA as nipples on a masculine bovine! So at exactly 0800 I drove out onto the right-hand side of LA peak-hour and spent the next hour staring dazedly at the bumper of the car in front. By the time I made it o of the city it was midday and I was ready to crash (into bed as well as the car in front). Day one ended in a 17 hour coma.