Recent California Trip from Alabama

[John D]

The forum enjoys Death Valley and we took a quick trip through with stops at Badwater, Furnace Creek, the usual paved road sights. This was my wife's first trip through DV. My last visit to DV was 1968. Things have changed.

 

[John D]

Another stop in Death Valley; This had changed a great deal since Vernon and I had snuck around the baracade on the road and spent the night at Badwater back in 1968. With our old car from that era, we were concerned about making it. These days, with a fuel injected truck, no worries.

 

[John D]

Like most parents we were happy to watch our child walk across the stage at this place (or any college for that matter). After the ceremony and parties, we headed back toward Alabama. On the way home, we planned a stop at the South Rim of Grand Canyon. It was a big relief for us small town folk to have LA traffic behind us.

We witnessed two cars unfairly stopped in a speed trap on Highway 64 going north out of Williams to Grand Canyon. By coincidence, one car we had seen stopped pulled into the campground behind us. It was a nice young couple in a small SUV with two bicycles on the back. They had a good attitude, were clearly sober and just out for a little camping and bike riding. The girl was driving. She admitted she was "5 over" the limit. Bummer. It was clearly a speed trap. Watch your speed on that road.

 

[John D]

Grand Canyon had hazy conditions but even so it is always an unparalled sight. Pictures are almost meaningless except to remind us that the human mind cannot comprehend it first hand. One must have Grand Canyon on their bucket list. We have been to South Rim at least a half dozen times and never tire of it. The new shuttle bus system works well. The National Park Service is doing a great job in managing the 2 million visitors a year.

 

[John D]

The weather was cool at Desert View and construction was in progress on the tower and other infrastructure. There is a new campground at Desert View. I was happy to note, all labor was apparently being done by US citizens.

 

[John D]

Access to the top of the tower was closed. Clearly, the Park Service is improving the structure with great care in trying to preserve the historical appearance while upgrading the access and soundness of the buildings. We may not always agree with decisions and policies of the Park Service but they are trying very hard.

 

[ski3pin]

John, congrats on your child's graduation! Looks like a great trip for you. Thanks for sharing and safe travels!

 

[SunMan]

Looks like your new camera is working out for you...nice pics!

 

[John D]

Thanks SunMan for noting our new camera, Olumpus Pen E-P1. It is an improvement over the old one. Following the lead of good photographers on Wanderthewest.com, I am posting only one image at a time, which allows only up to 500 mb, enough for only one good shot, causing one to be more selective too.