Author Archives: Jen

Grizzlies, Glaciers and Gold!

Make America Great Again!

Following our usual travel ethos, we followed a reasonable selection of back roads that eventually deposited us at the Boeing Factory car park where we enjoyed a tour of the facility. To be honest it wasn’t overly riveting, a bit like watching paint dry really and a lot of time observing workers making use of their smart phones!

Boeing Factory Delivery Lot

The “large” Boeing Assembly Building

The “Airbus” brand bashing by the tour guide did get a little tiring after a while, but left us in no doubt that he loves being part of Boeing! He was very well versed on the size of the Boeing facility and complex as well with a never ending stream of statistics about the facility. But to be fair, it’s pretty hard to zaz up watching a few pieces of a Boeing passenger jet come together when you only have a small window of time in which to observe the procedure. All in all however it was worth the effort and well organised.

A little more effort is required in securing campsites along the west coast as it’s intermittently dotted with high density population centres that make cheap overnight camping more of a challenge unless you are a Walmart or Casino Camper victim as mentioned in the last post! Since we’d broken the Walmart HooDoo, an overnight casino stop wasn’t much of a stretch.

Security at work in the Tulalip Resort Casino Carpark

Tulalip Casino car park proved quite interesting. The following morning as we enjoyed our coffee, we were entertained by the security staff as they did their best to explain the clearly stated rules nicely posted on a large sign at the entry gate to a small group of, shall we say, vagrant travellers. They didn’t seem overly keen to be moved on however!

Whilst a bit of a laugh watching from afar, it’s rather sad but I’m under no illusion, however, that for some it’s a lifestyle choice and not a reflection of the general state of things. Rather, it’s their chosen variant on what we may consider normal.

A detour to Snohomish, known for it’s antique shops, was worth the effort as it was quite a nice little town!

Snohomish Antique Stores

We entered Seattle from the north via an area known as the Gas Works, an old power station that’s been reworked as modern art and public open space.

Seattle Gasworks

It was a really nice way to enter the city, as we were able to view the city skyline from across the bay and watch floatplanes arrive and depart right alongside the city centre. We spent a little time in the area as we needed to source a new filter for our Seagull drinking water system and also have Jen’s quite expensive Pacsafe travel bag replaced under warranty and it just so happened that both of these tasks could be completed in the same area!

Seattle Skyline

Seattle Residential Waterfront

Along the coast and after a few U-turns on the south side of the city, we visited the Pacific Galleries Antique Mall recommended to us by Alison and David in Calgary.

Downtown Seattle

Seattle – Home of Starbucks

Renowned for it’s antiques, there were some very cool bits and pieces available within this huge building! Luckily we don’t have a lot of space which rendered our visit one of observation rather than purchasing! Next time maybe…

Pacific Galleries Antique Mall

A late departure from the Antique mall and still being within the confines of suburbia meant our overnight camping options were once again limited and Muckleshoot Casino car park became our home for the night!

Muckleshoot Casino

I have to admit that it’s a laugh staying in these car parks and watching the weirdo’s that we share the Earth with but not an experience I’d like to consistently indulge in.

Lunch on the beach

Bridges along the coast drive

Tsunami Evacuation Route

Elk in the park

Oregon Coastline

Our next model???

We deviated inland from the coast to McMinnville in Oregon to visit the Evergreen Air and Space Museum, now home to Howard Hughes’ “Spruce Goose“ along with many other amazing aircraft and space related displays.

Spruce Goose

Nick-named the “Spruce Goose” by the antagonistic media of the day (but actually made from Birch); this really is an outstanding looking aircraft. Clean lines and beautifully finished, it truly is a tremendous credit to those craftsman that constructed her under such difficult conditions – both due to the eccentricities of Howard Hughes and the ridicule he was bombarded with by the media, but also the lack of materials available for the construction of this amazing machine which prompted it to be made from wood in the first place.

It really was a little sad to see it hangered permanently – it looks ready to be fuelled and take to the sky- wouldn’t that be a fantastic sight.

Believe it or not this 747 has been converted into a waterslide

Another added bonus for those wishing to visit this Museum is that you’re able to camp in their car park.

Camped at the Museum

Heavy rains made it imperative to make south. We clung to the coast most of the way to San Francisco. Enjoying a mixture of weather conditions! A few pics below of our varied campsites along the way, some of which were surprisingly isolated given the increase in population and infrastructure. There are good opportunities to get off the beaten path here and there with a network of rather dilapidated roads criss-crossing the highway allowing access to excellent coastal areas.

Not so nice weather

California and the sun is out!

Some locals got creative…

Beach camping the day Trump was elected… What can I say

Make Russia Great Again!

The Humboldt National Forest and Redwood National Park were standouts for us. Our first taste of the huge Redwood trees that so many come to see. Majestic and massive, these really are goliaths of nature not only in size but also in age with some surviving upwards of 2000 years.

This one’s for you Jim…

Redwoods

Heavy traffic and you know you’re getting close to San Francisco but just before the Golden Gate Bridge you can exit the highway and head into the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Traffic enroute to San Francisco

Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco Skyline

A huge area of walking trails and natural coastal landscape awaits with a smattering of now defunct coastal defence bunkers with westerly views to the Pacific and easterly views back across the famous bridge with the city beyond.

Pacific Coast

Driving the bridge

Downtown San Francisco

About 10km south of the City we checked into an RV park allowing us a little easier explorations of the area.

The Crooked Street

Some of the locals

Alcatraz

Pier 39

Cable Cars

Chinatown

Eastward and over the Oakland Bay Bridge! These steel structures really do amaze me with double-decker lanes of traffic and not a gap between the cars day and night. The amount of traffic pulsing in and out of such large suburban centres is really staggering.

Oakland Bay Bridge

Not to mention the ridiculous antics that you witness whenever you are in heavy traffic. There is always one that thinks they are smarter than everyone else and it is not hard to see why multi-car pile-ups occur in such environments.

El Capitan

Half Dome

We’d pushed along a little during our transit to Yosemite in the hope that the Tioga Rd, which travels east west through the park, would still be open. It always closes around the middle of November depending on when the first heavy snow falls begin. A really scenic way to continue travelling east, it also allowed us to visit the Ghost town of Bodie without a rather large detour. As luck would have it the road closed 2 days after our transit!

Tioga Rd Scenery

The road will be closed soon

Parked on Ice

More Tioga Rd Scenery

Now over the Sierra Nevada Range, there is a distinct change in the landscape. Gone is the green and moist feeling encountered west of the mountains as they push against the incoming fronts causing them to release their store of rain. Replaced now by more reds and creams, the desert varnish has reappeared on the sandstone and the flora has taken on that more distinct form of arid shrub with skinny leaves and a more pale appearance.

Mono Lake view from our camp

Why is the engine getting hot???

Bodie Ghost Town

The other stark change is the collapse in population – from metropolis to lonely backcountry in only a few hundred kms. Continuing on, we found our way to Fish Lake Hot Springs, emerging from what looks like a flood plain between small ranges it’s reached via about 10km of good dirt road.

Bull Dust

Maintained by the local community, it’s favored as a camping area by ATV riders and other locals from mining ventures and the like in the area.

Fish Lake Hotsprings

38 Degrees … Nice!!!

The 38-degree water was extremely therapeutic. We soaked in the rudimentary concrete tub plumbed into the natural spring well into the evening. The “Super Moon” provided the natural lighting whilst we watched flocks of small birds take to the sky in swarms before they descended back into the small shrubs around the springs. Eventually they settled in for the night, as did we.

The Super Moon

Next up the Extra-Terrestrial Hwy as we wander around Nevada.

Justin.

Do You Believe???

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Generally we like to settle down for our camping experiences away from the generator crowd, a point I’ve no doubt made previously!

Meaning that if you see a caravan, 5^th wheel, small camper van or “A” Class motor home (Winnebago style coach camper) pretty well anywhere in the US, then run the other way as the chances of them not requiring petrol powered electricity to run their coffee maker, microwave and hair dryer is rather slim! There are the exceptions however and they do seem to be growing in number.

So there we are, camped all by our lonesome near the Fish Lake Hot Springs when a cloud of dust appears in the distance – incoming visitors no doubt. Eventually the vehicle stirring up the dust appeared ahead of the dust cloud much like a passenger jet leading a jet stream. I use that analogy because the vehicle approaching wasn’t a lot smaller than a Russian Antonov!

We look at each other and sigh, “well it’s their country and we can’t very well tell them to go away and desist from damaging our calm now can we?”…

Closer now and our upside down smiles slowly recover to reveal a happier expression as we see the whole roof is covered in solar panels!

Laurie’s Solar Wonder!

And so it was that we met Cat Lady Laurie and Yukon Ron and of course their resident cats!

Laurie has been on the road pretty much full time since 2002. She’s a little smarter than your average RV’er and made the move early on to complete self-reliance through solar! Not only that but Laurie completes all the solar and electrical installations herself – right down to converting all her RV light fixtures to low draw LED technology!

Having a look at this installation quickly showed how fastidious she is and makes other off grid power systems I’ve seen look pretty second rate.

Anyway she has a massive solar setup with a battery bank of 960A/H and 1602 watts of solar, that’s 1.6-kilowatts! It allows them complete electrical freedom without requiring hookups or a generator EVER and yes – she can use the microwave!

If you just greyed out and that all sounded like gobbledy gook, I apologise. I just love solar power along with the freedom and peaceful camping experience that it provides. If you’re not overly savvy on solar systems, I’ll put it in simple terms – Laurie’s RV puts out more solar power than an average solar installation on a house!!!

After a soak in nature’s hot tub, we all ended up drinking back in the 5^th wheel. As it turns out, Laurie’s partner, Ron, has a gold mining lease in the Yukon where, until recently, he lived full time for the better part of the last 40 years. Hearing about the conditions he’s experienced during that time in the Yukon, I was amazed! Temperatures below minus 40°C in the winter, hearing your breath freeze as you exhale, the northern lights, panning for gold and living off the land. An easy guy to chat with, although it meant that we managed to run down both of our beer supplies rather quickly. Make of that what you will…

Laurie was a wealth of information regarding free camping and she shared a few favourite spots before we departed with tentative plans to catch up with these cool travellers in the weeks ahead.

Desert Sands in the Wind

We made a brief stop in Tonopah and with strong winds whipping the desert sands, we sought (at some length) to find a sheltered camp. However, nothing could stop the overnight temperatures diving below zero for the next few days, once to -8°C! The following days saw the wind abate slightly and we made a side trip to Lunar Crater, an interesting area of ancient volcanic activity.

The volcanic landscape around Lunar Crater

Lunar Crater

Wide Open Spaces

Enroute to the Extraterrestrial Hwy

The Extraterrestrial Hwy came into view as we wandered across Nevada’s desert backcountry and skirted Area 51… this is what the crowd came to see!!! All in good humour of course….

The Little A’le’Inn is a mandatory stop if you’ve ever watched the movie “Paul” and had Jen tasting what may have been the smallest hotdog ever created – luckily she ordered a side of fries! Given the “super size” reputation of serves in the US generally, this came as a bit of a shock! The hotdog was made even harder to spot on the plate given that it wasn’t much larger than the fries themselves… No I’m not kidding!

Commencing the Extraterrestrial Hwy

Our Alien Guide

The Little A’Le’Inn – home of the worlds smallest hotdog!!

On to the Black Mail Box, a supposed alien communication point, which sadly has become a rubbish dump for passers by, so often the case when sites are accessible to human degenerates without any real effort required!

The Black Mailbox

It’s not hard to see why Area 51 is geographically located where it is, with large expanses of flat featureless terrain between jagged mountain ranges with only low vegetation and an obviously arid dry climate. It’s a first class area to test out your military aircraft or maybe encounter the odd crash-landed Alien Space Ship.

The whole area is an air force training playground including the real Top Gun training facility so it’s not surprising that you might see and hear a fighter jet or 2!

With eyes wandering skyward now and then to keep an eye on the jet streams, we could easily tell when the air force were out playing as you don’t often see commercial jets making knife edge turns, not to mention that the air force were out playing pretty much all of the time making the task pretty easy.

It had us enjoying our own private air show with sonic boom after sonic boom, dog fighting and low fly-bys!

Dogfighting Jets above complete with sonic booms

The locals have really taken to the concept

So did this touring family…Alien Roadtrip!!

Alien Research Center

Arriving at end of the Extraterrestrial Hwy and with the lights of Las Vegas once again easily visible during the hours of darkness we spent a few nights camped at Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge!

Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge

I only make mention of National Wildlife Refuges as it has come to my attention that wildlife refuges don’t necessarily mean safe haven for animals! Remembering context here, we are in the USA, the land of firearms so yes, you can hunt in these refuges! Whilst there are restrictions, I’m not sure if the meaning of “refuge” has been lost somewhere in the vocabulary over here! Haha

Photo Courtesy of Pahranaget NWR Website – seriously!

With information from the helpful volunteers at the NWR visitor centre, we decided to wander a track known as the Alamo Road toward Vegas. Although not so far from Vegas, the whole area really has quite a remote feel to it. A couple of days elapsed as we wandered it’s length with only 1 other vehicle encountered, rather more relaxing than the Interstate and certainly rougher and dustier.

Joshua Trees

Alamo Road Scenery

More Alamo Road

Justin fixing a puncture

You’re never far from a bombing range in Nevada

The outskirts of Las Vegas was next for a quick restock before we enjoyed a few of the scenic drives to the west.

Red Rock Canyon outside Las Vegas

More Red Rock Canyon

Heading north-west now toward Death Valley National Park, we found free campsites pretty easy to find, although locating one not already occupied by a local practicing his quick draw routine with his Glock hand gun was a little more tricky! Truly you wander just off the Hwy around this part of the world and you’ll more than likely run into someone practicing his or her rapid-fire technique.

Laurie and Ron, mentioned earlier, had provided us with the location they would probably be at just outside Death Valley for a spell, so in the end we made for their site and found them camped up with another RV that they often travel with containing Jeff and Larry the Lynx Point cat! The drinks came easily and an invite was forwarded our way should we like to celebrate Thanksgiving with these guys!

Lunch was prepared by Laurie for the Thanksgiving celebrations and I can only describe it as bloody lovely! Probably made even more so by the amount of beer that Ron and I consumed as our entrée! It should be noted that Thanksgiving is generally a bigger celebration than Christmas here in the states.

Inside Laurie and Ron’s Palatial 5th Wheel

Thanksgiving!

Ron opted to skip the pumpkin pie and go straight for the aerosol cream!!!

Armed with another list of travel tips such as where to find cheap clothes washing and top up with water in Death Valley NP, we finally departed again! Might not sound like much if you’re at home with your Maytag idling in the background and your water dispenser on your fridge but for us that sort of info has serious value!

$8 was the requested remuneration for a loaf of bread in the town of Furnace Creek within the park – that’s $11 Australian. Unbelievable! Made even ruder by the fact that you’re only an hours drive from the nearest town with supermarkets, so knowing where to stock up can be handy when towns like Furnace Creek attempt to take you for a ride.

Jen and Laurie attended a stone tool making demonstration called Flintknapping in Furnace Creek, Death Valley NP

Some examples of the tools made from Obsidian using traditional methods

Cholla Cactus (Pronounced Choya)

Beautiful California Barrel Cactus

Desert Holly

Snapshots of Death Valley

Death Valley NP is also a 4×4 friendly park with lots of off road trails as well as allowing wild camping in many places within the reserve. Given the size of the park however, it really makes sense to allow a little more personal freedom as quite a lot of driving is required if you wish to discover much of what’s on offer.

Cool Stew Mcgoo – a fellow traveller

Stew Mcgoo’s cool notes on Death Valley

From altitudes of 11,049ft (3367mtrs) at Telescope Peak (Death Valley’s Highest Peak) to the lowest point in North America at -282ft (-86mtrs) at Badwater Basin salt lake, you can encounter everything from snow to swelteringly hot weather within the parks confines, depending on when you choose to visit of course.

Badwater Basin 282ft Below Sea Level

Lowest Point in North America -282ft

Charcoal Kilns in Death Valley

That’s snow at the base!!!

Death Valley also holds the record for being the hottest place on Earth with temperatures as high as 134° F (Nearly 57°C!!!)

Badwater Basin Viewed from Dante’s Peak

Twenty Mule Team Canyon Drive

Zabriskie Point

Always good to wear appropriate footwear

Artists Palette Drive

Titus Canyon was definitely a stand out for us in the park. A 60km one way drive with the first half being rather mundane washboard but followed by a lovely gradual descent thorough an ever-narrowing canyon back to the centre of the park.

Titus Canyon

Lots of 4×4 Trails

Looking for a camp a bit later than normal

This is isolation!!

Devils Golf Course

Tricky Hikes

Another park highlight is known as the Race Track. A long and very corrugated track leads to a salt lake at altitude, which had for years, been the subject of conjecture amongst geologists and locals alike! Large rocks leave tracks over the surface of the lake, as they wander aimlessly across the dead flat surface of the lake.

Ubehebe Crater

Teakettle Junction enroute to the Racetrack

The Racetrack and it was bloody freezing!

The mystery was finally solved with the use of time-lapse photography. Seems that in just the right conditions, those being an almost frozen moist lake surface and a strong wind, the rocks are able to skid along the surface! I’m not surprised there are so many tracks given one of the ingredients for creating them is near freezing conditions as we spent a bloody cold night camped nearby! I love my camper heater very much I have to admit…

We opted to exit the Race Track area, and ultimately the park, via the Lippincott Pass 4×4 Trail. Glad we weren’t in anything larger than our Patrol or we’d be on our lid! A great drive but it certainly did require 4×4! After departing the park we wandered around all over the place seeing what we could see!

Checking the track

Apart from a couple of features, much of the landscape outside Death Valley shares the same odd geological components as the Park itself and gives some insight into just how large this arid sunburnt and often frozen landscape really is.

Remains of old tramway in Saline Valley

Such an arid landscape

More washboard!!! YAY!!!

Burro!

We continued south and found ourselves camped in an odd landscape known as Trona Pinnacles – a filming location for over thirty film projects a year which are shot amongst these tufa (limestone) pinnacles, including series such as Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Lost in Space, and Planet of the Apes. But the highlight for us was the vivid sunsets and the resident Kit Fox.

Kit Fox

Obviously quite comfortable in our presence….

Trona Pinnacles

Our camp at Trona Pinnacles – not an ape in sight, except for Justin

Sunset Pics – Trona Pinnacles

Justin.

1000days, 100000k’s

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Ridgecrest is a town that primarily exists for the purpose of supporting the extensive Air Force base community on its doorstep. Anyway, we needed a tyre repair as it would seem that we can drive off-road over all sorts of nasty shale and rocks and the only two punctures we have received all trip have been from nails!!!! I’d plugged it myself but thought a professional repair may help the tyre reach the end of its serviceable life without further attention.

Getting our tyre repaired in Ridgecrest

The guy who owned this tyre should’ve stopped sooner – speed may have been a factor??

After a resupply, we headed for the ghost town of Randsburg that we had heard was worthy of a visit but they clearly weren’t in any need of an economic boost as all the tourist related businesses were closed!

Randsburg all closed for business today but interesting to look at

More Randsburg

Speed definitely a factor!!!

South of Barstow, we camped in a BLM campsite named Sawtooth Canyon. Not surprisingly, this is a favourite with climbers due to the amazing granite rock formations all over the site.

Have to love the BLM!

Sawtooth Canyon Camp

We ended up staying around 5 nights and it was just lovely although a weekend falling within the duration of our stay did have the unfortunate side effect of filling every campsite with some sort of temporary home.

Lovely skies

We’d noticed a large 5^th wheel upon our arrival and at one stage I thought I heard the unmistakable twang of an Australian accent! Turned out that it was some little West Aussie Battlers, proving I do listen contrary to Jennifer’s observations…

Now residents of the US, Amber and her parents Gloria and Ted (originally from Perth) husband Charlie (the outsider in this group being a born and bred American) and their children Piper and Peyton, decided much to the confused reactions of family and friends that they would all head off and wander the USA for a couple of years in an RV together! What better way to see the sights of this large land than via a long-term road trip! Full points to them and they were a wonderful bunch to hang out with!!!

From left to right – Amber, PIper, Charlie, Peyton, Gloria and Ted

Over the weekend, a little extra excitement was had by one unfortunate visitor thanks to rather gusty conditions. It made for a rather expensive day out …

Expensive day out for this guy…

Given my comments on generators in various posts, and their ability to remove any sense of tranquility, I urge you to read on!

Sawtooth Canyon boasts a nice large sign at the entrance stating the rules and regulations including QUIET time between 10pm and 8am. Obviously the nearby couple in a mid size camper van must have been illiterate!

Yep you can see it coming can’t you!

They started their generator at 5am (I know because that’s when it woke me). The subsequent brain aneurism that Jen appeared to suffer resulted in her rapidly getting up and heading off into the darkness toward the now very brightly lit RV from whence the noise was emanating! The next thing I heard was a dog barking before the pleasant sound of nothing as the generator was quickly killed! Ahhh she really is a tyrant!

Jen, after knocking on their door, was greeted with startled looks before she graciously pointed out that campsite QUIET time certainly stretches past 5am and right through to 8am! As it turned out, she was even more effective than I could have imagined, for not 20 minutes later the vehicle came to life and they promptly departed. We watched their taillights reducing in size as they followed the track out and we were really disappointed to see them leave… Hahaha

Just north of Barstow

We visited Barstow again and travelled a bit more of historic “Route 66” through town before making our way further east into the Mojave desert in order to travel the historic Mojave Trail. Enroute is a military storage facility in which is parked acre after acre of military Humvee’s and various other armored equipment, row after row. Many had flat tyres and doors left wide-open suggesting its all surplus and in case of global emergency only I guess!

Barstow

Military Surplus

Humvees to the horizon…

As we pulled up alongside the security fence for a photo opportunity, passers by slowed and stared, scrutinising us as they assumed the weird vehicle and it’s camera-toting occupants must be up to no good! No doubt the dry and arid atmosphere supplies the perfect location for storing equipment long term as corrosion is reduced considerably.

Originally a Mohave Indian Trading Route, it subsequently became a military wagon trail to provide supplies to Fort Mojave on the Colorado River before being replaced by a railroad in 1883. The Mojave Trail today, is generally traversed by 4×4 enthusiasts looking for a more challenging and alternate entry point into Mojave National Preserve. It was a great way to experience a bit of history whilst enjoying more of our favourite dark night skies and even some Desert Big Horn Sheep.

Desert Big Horn Sheep

The Mojave Road

Mojave Road Guestbook and Shrine

I’ve noticed that during our time in the US traversing some of the more famous 4×4 trails, US perceptions of remote travel are vastly different from those in Australia. You certainly can get yourself into trouble and need to be prepared out in these areas, but rarely have we been in a situation where we would not encounter another vehicle within a few days or require extended fuel range for that matter.

For example, much of the Mojave Trail is just within view of the Interstate! I do not wish to detract from these journeys, as they are really outstanding, and offer varied and lovely scenery with challenging driving – it’s just the higher population density I suppose!

The interstate is just visible in the background whilst we are driving Soda Lake on the Mojave Road

Mojave National Preserve provided an amazing variation of scenery within its desert terrain – ancient volcanic lava fields, Joshua Tree forests, stunning granite boulders and trails for both hiking and 4wding.

Inside Lava Tubes in Mojave NP

Mojave Vista

Wildcamping in Mojave

Appropriately named “Ringloops” trail

We found a 4wd only trail in the east of the park called the Macedonia Canyon Trail and it was a lovely drive. However the maps failed to advise that where the western end of the trail exits back onto the main road again involves passing under a railway line with a car no bigger than a Corolla!!!! We had to drive about 5kms north on an extremely sandy, overgrown track until we finally found a spot with just enough clearance.

Macedonia Canyon Trail

I don’t know how many 4WD’s could make it under this exit?

This is the main exit!!! Never going to make it!

So we keep looking for a way out

Finally!!!

It was in the south of Mojave NP whilst camped amongst these wonderful granite boulder formations, that the wind decided to interrupt us as it came in with vengeance. I’d heard on the radio that there was a severe wind warning in effect for the area and they were certainly accurate!!!

Our lovely granite boulder camp before the wind!

Quite late in the evening, the winds slowly increased in ferocity and although our camper is able to withstand such gusts (and has done so previously), we elected, for the first time in our whole journey, to retract the camper roof and enjoy a less appealing sleeping position, safe in the knowledge that no damage could be sustained should the situation deteriorate any further. A brief step outside proved that the camper had indeed belied the true severity of the situation, as I could barely stand upright into the wind!!!

Fortunately we are able to sleep in our little camper with the roof down although being rather short is an advantage!

New sleeping arrangements

Enroute to Joshua Tree National Park via Amboy and we were once again traversing an old section of Route 66 and relics of a bygone era. To the south and in light of the previous nights experience with the wind, we sought to find a sheltered camp and hit the jackpot! Lovely granite once again but obviously another popular area for target practice as you couldn’t walk more than a step in any direction without spotting used shells and damaged projectiles!

Amboy on Old Route 66 – now pretty much abandoned

Nearby Amboy Crater and Lava Field

Our Protected Camp – Blissfully still!

When do you ever find a campsite like this???

Clearly a favourite spot for target practice – a 10 minute walk found all this

The whole area north and east of Palm Springs and around the town of 29 Palms is a bit weird I’d have to say. Completely dilapidated with the most popular form of housing sitting atop decayed tyres and decorated in a style only achievable by doing nothing to your trailer home for 30 years other than live in it and throw your rubbish out the door!

Got to -6C overnight!

The northwestern portion of Joshua Tree NP is by far the stand out with superb vistas of the namesake Joshua Trees amongst stunning granite formations. Further in, the Cholla Cactus Garden was also a worthy stop.

Joshua Tree National Park

Cholla Cactus Garden

Also known as Teddy Bear Cactus because they look so cuddly from a distance!

Ocotillo Cactus

Just south of Joshua Tree, we camped once again with our nomadic friends, Laurie and Ron, and enjoyed Christmas Lunch this time! Seems we’ve been able to time our interludes quite nicely to appropriately line up with celebrations that include Laurie preparing some form of fabulous meal for us to enjoy whilst Ron and I relax with a few ales! At this rate I’ll only need the fridge to keep the beer cold!

Merry Christmas!

Back with Laurie, Ron and Jeff

It also became apparent that we had more in common with these guys than would seem statistically possible!

One night whilst enjoying a few beverages, Laurie and Ron were showing us some pictures of Ron’s Cabin in the Yukon and one view of the area looked remarkably familiar! Some comparing of maps and photos revealed that we had in fact camped less than 500mtrs from Ron’s Yukon home!

The statistical anomaly came into play when we realised that the Yukon has a population of approx. 35,000 people of which some 30,000+ live in the territory capital of Whitehorse and other regional towns leaving barely a few thousand people to inhabit the remaining 536,000 square kms that is the Yukon Territory. That we would then meet Laurie and Ron in a country with a population of 330 million people and even then cross paths with them in a remote part of the Nevada Desert just seemed staggering to both us and them! In fact we camped at the exact spot that Laurie had camped when she first met Ron…

Yukon River Camp – Ron’s place is just in those trees beyond

Whilst here and with the weather quite dreary, Jen and Laurie headed into Palm Springs for a day of shopping, leaving the men folk to relish in their absence, and enjoyable it most definitely was!

We were camped at one of General Patton’s Desert Training Camps for WWII

It was very late in the day before they returned in possession of a brand new Dodge Ram!! Seems Laurie does take her shopping quite seriously! After we all stood there with mouths ajar for a spell contemplating the depth of the days purchases, it became apparent it was all a rouse with the intention of giving Ron a heart attack!

In fact, the truth of the matter was that they had driven Laurie’s Chevy the whole 50km into town that morning in limp mode. Upon departure, the Chevy’s computer had spat out a fault code that rendered the vehicle unable to achieve speeds above 40km/h on the Interstate where the limit of 120km/h is seen more as a minimum! After leaving it at a dealership for repairs they decided to have a bit of a laugh at Ron’s expense with the hire car… Poor bastard!

Happy endings however, as they returned the following day and retrieved the now repaired Chevy. The downside of course was the lighter load in Laurie’s wallet after the bill was paid!

Look at the size of these things! We are heading to the snowbird nest!

On the move again, we made for Quartzsite. This odd little town deserves a special mention! Grey Nomads in Australia are known as Snowbirds here! Well if you’re a Snowbird, it seems that this is where you will ALL be nesting during the winter months.

Acres and acres of RV’s occupied and for sale! The amount of money parked around this town is absolutely staggering. There are 4 areas known as LTVA’s (long term visitor areas), where for a small fee ($US180 so we’ve been told) you can park for up to 6 months in the desert just outside Quartzsite with services such as rubbish collection, water and sanitary dump points, making it the true nomad Mecca!

Motorhome and RV Mecca

We had no chance capturing it with our camera as it really is a vast sea of RV’s in every direction.

The LTVA south of Quartzsite

They even have shuttle buses to transport the Snowbirds into town for events organised solely for the greying fraternity. From dances and shows, book signings, restaurant deals, expos and flea markets, along with RV repair shops and dealers the list goes on and on. Not to mention a strange little bookstore…

Cool Stuff in Quartzsite! Everything is for sale

Bought Vintage Snow Shoes Here…

One owner-always loved???

A notorious local who owns the bookstore…

There is also quite a lot of BLM land available in the area which allows up to 14 days free camping and gives travellers preferring the wide open spaces a little more choice over the fairly high density camping nearer the town. No prize for guessing where we headed…

Saguaro Giant Cactus

New Year arrived quite suddenly for us, as it seems calendars and even the date for that matter have lost more and more relevance the longer we’ve been travelling!

With the end of 2016 upon us, we thought we’d try and make midnight rather than end up in bed by 10pm and thanks to a little internet compliments of Ronald McDonald, we achieved that end after making a slight detour and found ourselves dribbling into the early hours of 2017 in the comfort of the 5^th wheel with Laurie and Ron once again.

New Years and what do you know – back with Laurie, Ron and Jeff!

I think these guys are stalking us to be honest or maybe it’s the other way around?

KofA (King of Arizona) National Wildlife Refuge proved to be perfectly in sync with the way we love to travel – excellent 4×4 tracks amongst sensational scenery. Although we’d spotted the odd Saguaro cactus as we’d moved back toward Arizona this was our first taste of these terrific cactus in large numbers and we found them truly amazing and wonderful to camp amongst.

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge

Trails in Kofa

Spiky little things!

With a multitude of cactus varieties in the area growing amongst the desert varnished rocks and ridges, the whole reserve has quite a unique persona.

No hunting now that you are leaving the refuge???

The area had also been a testing range for WW2 ordinance and signs recommending caution when out wandering were there for good reason!

Live rounds…

Enroute to our border crossing into Mexico, we passed through Yuma Proving Ground where all manner of armament is tried and thoroughly tested!

Yuma Proving Grounds Display

After a restock in the town of Yuma, where we sat in the car outside a Starbucks for what seemed like hours sucking free WIFI, we spent our last night in the US camped on Sidewinder road, only made auspicious in our minds by the fact that our trip counter had just clocked 1000days of travel and coincidentally 100,000km as well since departing Vladivostok!

100,000kms on the trip!

1000 days travelling

Just arbitrary numbers I guess but it held some value for us!

Sidewinder Rd Camp – Mexico tomorrow…

Mexico was beckoning us to become sunburnt beach bums so Baja here we come!!

Justin.

Beautiful Baja Part 1

Beautiful Baja Part 2

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The town of Loreto was next for a restock and it was a lovely historic town! Sundays see the locals out in force to enjoy “Carnitas” – a once a week pork cook-up served with corn tortillas – Yum!!

As usual, if there is a cue of locals then you’re guaranteed to be in the right spot for a tasty treat.

The Carnita’s Cooking

Buying Carnita’s with the locals

Loreto’s Historic Mission built in 1697

Travelling Overland in a smart car!!!

Who wouldn't want to beat this guy with a stick!!!

U – huh!!!

We caught up with some Canadians that we had met earlier at La Gringa and camped with them just south of the town behind the beach where we managed to find a really protected although rather feral camping area. The wind was howling so we were quite pleased to find some shelter.

Jason and Michelle

Diesel had me all figured out…

Headaches the following morning – what else do you do when you meet other travellers…

West toward the Pacific and away from the Sea of Cortez for a spell, we drove via the village of San Javier and it’s lovely 1699 Mission. We then continued onto a less used track which made the journey much slower and more interesting.

Dramatic would be the most apt description when trying to describe the differences between the east and west sides of the Baja Peninsula. Stunning beaches and a mountain crossing the previous day, we now find it’s as flat as a pancake on the west side. We picked our way south along the coast on waterlogged salty tracks between mangroves, which quickly became rather tiring but it’s all part of the adventure I guess!

Vastly different scenery on the west

Lots of animal tracks surrounded our campsites most evenings. On two occasions, we even spotted a bobcat as we made our way along the backroads. Their stealthy nature though makes them difficult to photograph unfortunately, but I do have a great photo of one courtesy of “Laurie the cat lady”

Yukon Bobcat

A really large bugbear for me, and it’s been a bugbear numerous times in numerous countries, is rubbish!

People, you don’t have to be wealthy to dispose of your garbage rather than live amongst it. Now I’m guessing there isn’t much in the way of refuse collection provided by the powers that be, but that excuse wears thin after a while! Clean it up and take some pride in your country and it’s wonderful landscape. Anyway I wont mention it again but I just had to get that out as it’s been annoying me for some time.

But with every down, there is always an up and after the dismal mangroves, we made our way out to Punta Conejo. It may help geographically to know that we are a little more than half way down the Peninsula at this point.

Most travellers seem to congregate in one area at the end of the main track – the area able to be reached by 4×2 vehicles. We opted to leave the crowds behind and found a stunning campsite only a few km south all on our own!

Had to let down the tyres for the last 50mtrs but it was worth it!

The serenading of Coyotes in the wee small hours added to the campsite’s appeal. A pack obviously did the rounds of the beach and camper as was noted by the tracks the following morning. It’s really nice hearing them singing to each other unless you’re a meal hiding in the grass I suppose!

La Paz was next and we were guaranteed to spot other travellers here as La Paz is the ferry-crossing terminal should you be crossing with your vehicle to mainland Mexico. La Paz doesn’t get the best write up but we thought it was nice enough…

Kurt and Ingrid from Belgium – www.nomadfootprints.com

European Adventure Wagons

Welcome to La Paz

La Paz Waterfront

Back on the east coast now, we were once again reminded of the difference between how a road is denoted on a Mexican map and what it’s like in reality! Expecting a relatively short 50km drive and a beach camp by mid afternoon, we ended up arriving at a suitable camp going on dusk! The track although marked as a good road was actually a rather challenging 4×4 track.

Checking out the track ahead…

The coastal section

It’s true that we had the opportunity to retreat prior to committing to the drive, but this type of track is exactly what we like. I have to admit that I considered bailing at one stage as the possibility of finding somewhere to turn around further up the track looked slim if not impossible and reversing down the track, should it become any worse, was not appealing but we persevered and thoroughly enjoyed the drive! Quite challenging and the odd steep drop off into the sea! Who wouldn’t like that?

The reward after a challenging drive

We met Christian and Chelsea at the beach. They had driven the same trail in a 6×6 Pinz Gauer with a full height camper body. I was impressed as that would have been pretty exciting! Turned out it was more terrifying and at one stage, Chelsea exited the vehicle with concern it was going to end up in the ocean on its lid! She suggested it’d be better if one of them could still use a phone and call for help! Her words exactly…

Chelsea and Christian

Their Pinz Gauer

With their travelling cat Lulu

More beaches, more great camping and more corrugations were in order as we approached the bottom of the Peninsula. The coastal whale watching was incredible!

View from Camp

Another couple of avid travellers we’d met way back at Overland Expo were also in the process of wandering Baja! We’d been “whats-app”ing these guys which was becoming pretty amusing due to the lack of phone coverage. When we did get a message, they had always just moved on or we’d missed them by a day or 2! We often ran into other travellers that had met up with them and on a couple of occasions, these other travellers even knew that we were the Australians that couldn’t catch up!

We did finally run into them although we were now travelling around the bottom of the Peninsula in opposite directions! It was great seeing these guys again. Once more you feel a little bit more like you’re part of a travelling community rather than a solo wanderers.

Us with Kevin and Dani

Kevin and Dani’s Iveco RIg

Baja’s Tourism Capital of Cabo San Lucas is the most southerly point on the Baja Peninsula so it seemed appropriate to visit “Lands End”. Looking more like the south of France with it’s luxury yachts and tourist kitsch, we enjoyed the quick stop.

“Lands End” at Cabo San Lucas

Playground for the wealthy if you can’t get to Monaco…

“Good travels”

Time now to wander north with the intention of ticking off a few places on the west coast that we’d missed on our descent. The temperature was really getting up there too, 39 degrees C on our wander north at one stage – toasty!

Todos Santos was one of our favourite towns in Baja (Loreto being the other), a relaxed atmosphere with interesting buildings!

Todos Santos

Hotel California – no relation to the song apparently…

The elusive Tropic of Cancer

Wildlife and birdlife are abundant on this peninsula and as we made our way north where we spotted many examples…

An Osprey keeping close watch

Crested Caracara also known as a Mexican Eagle

Seals on the coast

Caution

Ojo de Liebre, south of Guererro Negro, is an inlet by the sea and has become world famous for whale watching. It’s estimated that 2000+ California Grey Whales spend their winter months here calving, mating and preparing for the journey north. It really is a spectacle with spurts of misty water in every direction giving credence to the numbers of whales here.

Heading out for some whale watching

They passed right under the boat several times

More of the travellers we’ve met…

Heading north along the west coast, we were engulfed in sea fog regularly and often several times a day! Really strange for us, we would watch the wall of gloom wandering in from the sea and then find ourselves completely enveloped in mist! Obviously the warm weather and humidity are in just the right proportions to create this weird atmospheric event.

Sea fog rolling in

The intention was to stick more to the west coast on our return north giving us a real feel for the differences between east and west along the long Peninsula. Frequent fishing villages and the odd historic building were dotted along the journey.

Fishing Communities

Mission in San Ignacio

Further north, California was in the midst of being hammered by the heaviest rainfall in history as we were planning our exit from Baja. We’d intended returning to the US via Tecate but with the edge of LA’s nasty little weather system beginning to make our lives rather unpleasant, even a couple of hundred km’s south, we had to rethink our plans.

Hmmm… “There is a road marked on the map up and over the mountains” says Jen “and its not raining at the moment! How about we go east and up through Mexicali instead?” OK… Mexican maps have proved so very accurate to date so that’s a great idea!

Well fortunately it didn’t rain that day for the road we chose deteriorated considerably with heavy erosion in sections and the usual slide to your death if you misplace a wheel! All in all it was an excellent and straightforward drive with only the odd low range section due in no small part to the lack of precipitation at the time.

Rugged mountain trails

After cresting the mountain passes, the map indicated flat contours and no real steep terrain to contend with, so we decided to camp for the night. We felt a bit more relaxed as we really didn’t want to be on the steep passes should it bucket down.

Finding a camp was tricky and took a bit of effort. We ended up parking in an arroyo (shallow creek bed) and no we didn’t get washed away but we might have.

Campsite hunting

In came the torrential rain and howling wind, abysmal conditions and they persisted all night. The following day was more akin to driving the Amazon than how we had found travelling Baja to date. Silly me hadn’t put a lot of thought into the fact that the map contours had eased apart reducing the possibility of slippery mountain passes only to be replaced by flat ground perfect for water to pool in.

I was just happy to be past the mountain terrain before camping and now we found ourselves in sloppy mud with bulbar deep pools of water to contend with. Normally I’d be overcome with joy at the sight of slimy tracks but, on this occasion, I was not enthralled. I just wanted to get to the highway and a U-turn after a rather bad section reduced the chatter in the cab considerably!

Mud Glorious Mud!

Back on the tarmac, we were pushing along a little now, wanting to be back in the US by late afternoon to avoid camping near the border on the Mexican side.

Great little Taco Stand

Our Mexican Chef!

Crash test dummy aircraft just south of Mexicali

Mexicali, a busy Border crossing without doubt! The road north terminates at the current border wall before turning west where you drive along said wall for a few kms to the actual crossing. Well you idle along in the queue really, whilst locals walk the gaps between cars selling all sorts of refreshments, snacks and anything else really.

The Wall

Everything for sale - they have a wall to pay for!!

Everything for sale – they have a new wall to pay for!!

It was an odd experience, from an Australian perspective with ours being a country without shared land borders.

I think the last time that I saw an actual border wall was along China’s territorial boundary with Tajikistan albeit a ring lock fence suffering disrepair in places.

Prior to that it was Russia’s border with Mongolia where a fence only exists in sections! So I guess there are a few walls around the globe, not forgetting the infamous Berlin Wall and the Great Wall, although that didn’t keep Ghengis out for long!

I find the whole complex situation is made even harder to unwrap given the thousands of Mexicans that are bussed back and forth across the border daily, finding work on the massive acreage of farms along Southern California that need pickers. I guess someone has to pick those veggies for Walmart and Costco… haha

Our turn eventually arrived and given our previous experience crossing in from Canada, I’d have to say that we weren’t looking forward to the crossing even remotely. I’m happy to report however that our faith was renewed and our crossing fast and very efficient – possibly helped by the fact that we were still on an active 6-month entry and not requesting a new one.

We were quite sad to leave Mexico as we’d thoroughly enjoyed our time in Baja. The whole experience made so nice by the lovely locals and travellers we’d met along the way and I know I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again – a great part of the whole journey and how it’s enriched our lives has been a reflection of the hospitality shown to us and the friendships forged during our adventure.

It was early evening by the time we found ourselves a nice campsite on BLM land. As is common in the US, it was a haven for ATV and motorbike riders with the area loaded with 5^th wheels and campers. They even have their own little fenced off areas, sort of like private little RV communes I guess. Mexico was still readily in sight…

The big indicator for us that we’d returned to the USA however, was the moment I turned off the Patrol at our chosen campsite the first thing I heard was the sound of rifle fire! That really had us laughing and shaking our heads a little… We didn’t need an alarm clock the following morning either as a shortage of ammo wasn’t an issue for the locals– eyes open and safety off!

A big change of plans, a voyage and a volcano next up on Globatrol’s travels.

Cheers Justin.

The Countdown

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For a multitude of reasons, none of which are even remotely tethered to a desire to stop travelling or depart from our new life on the road, we’d made the decision a couple of months ago to head back to Australia!

Sadly South America will have to wait a little longer…

One of the main factors was that after such a long time on the road we’d finally hit our groove! So why are we stopping I hear you ask??… Well, we felt that our new “groove” would, without doubt, require more time be spent in South America than we can realistically afford to dedicate to it at the moment.

Oh and did I mention that we ran out of cash!! Hahaha…

Well, not quite, but if we had shipped the Patrol across to South America, we would have been committing to an onward journey of unknown duration. We weren’t prepared to rush this wonderful continent and money for large up front costs was thinning hence a future Expedition will need to be planned.

I must admit that I also quite like the idea of having the South American carrot dangling in front of my nose – I’m not quite ready to consider this being our last international overland journey.

But on with the job at hand…

A flash of internet coverage revealed Laurie the Cat Lady and Yukon Ron were parked-up at Imperial Dam just north of Yuma. Being only an hour or so drive east of us, east we went!

Date Palms abound in this area and the landscape was mildly reminiscent of Morocco but Moroccan’s haven’t yet figured out the “Date Shake” – a luxurious ice cream and date puree thick shake. YUM!!!

Near Yuma

Imperial Dam Recreation Area

After a few more days in great company, it was time to move on. Difficult farewells were exchanged and we made north-west through the heart of the Imperial Sand Dunes.

Highway through the Dunes

It was hard not to marvel at the sheer quantity of RV’s and ATV’s in these adventure-promising sand dunes! Petrol powered machines testing themselves against the vastness of the shifting sands!

The amount of money thrashing around hour after hour before needing to return to the 50ft Winnebago for a snack and refuel, before once again tearing off into the Martian Landscape was truly astounding! But hey it’s America.

RV’s flocking to the Imperial Sand Dunes

Dune Buggy Action

Continuing west we were treated to an aerial display by the Blue Angels as they practiced for an upcoming Air Show in Yuma! No one even takes any notice over here; it’s all happening so frequently – amazing!

In some ways, we’d been avoiding what felt like the final turn north. There was a deep down anxiety about heading toward the finish line I suppose. It had to happen eventually and so it was that the compass needle now settled on a northerly bearing. The GPS for the first time, counted down to a final destination, rather than from a start point! All a bit weird really…

Those 4 People must be important

Slab City is named after the remnant concrete foundations from the WW2 Marine Corp Barracks of Camp Dunlap. It developed as an inexpensive haven for RV’s over the winter months before the frying pan temperatures forced their migration northwards. In later years however, it’s become a nest for those living off the grid and others not wishing to take part in life as we know it – all have found their way to Slab City.

Despite it’s generally grungy appearance, it is a most interesting site for a wander especially as it sports a huge sculpture – one mans labor of love over many years after he found God!

A highlight for us was meeting more overland travellers; Kenny and Tine were about to embark on their dream of wandering south along the Pan-Am route for the foreseeable future! I’m happy to report these cool dudes have now crossed into Mexico as they follow their dream. Their blog as follows if you’re interested – http://www.adventureofhanselandgretel.com/

Kenny and Tine

Just northwest of Slab City is the Salton Sea. This below sea level lake sits within some lovely geography and during its heyday, supported numerous resorts, RV campgrounds and boating marinas. Unfortunately human activity over time has left the lake extremely saline, polluted with agricultural runoff and a rather putrid smell that wafts over the surrounding landscape when the wind is up. Hence the whole area and the promise it held has become an abandoned wasteland and it’s also one of the underlying reasons Slab City became more of a fringe settlement than a retreat for those on the road.

Some of the residents

The casualties of Salton Sea’s toxicity – dead fish

Now running north along the banks of the Salton Sea, we encountered more “men of God” living off the grid before we camped just outside the town of Mecca. I now have a rather nice collection of business card size ideological constructs for life going forward or coasters I guess, depending on your persuasion!

Salton Sea

A road runs from Mecca up through rather scenic Box Canyon before arriving at Joshua Tree NP’s southern entrance. We had endeavoured to camp within internet coverage because some insane Canadians that we seem to have had an effect on, decided to throw a tent in their luggage and fly from Calgary to San Francisco, hire a car and drive 1600km to catch-up with us for a couple of nights…

the coyote’s after you…

Well, there was an ulterior motive to this little escapade! The delivery of a gift that needed to be packed in the Patrol for return to Australia! And that gift is just bloody fantastic, but you’ll have to wait to see what it is – guess I can keep you on the hook that way and force you to keep reading my monologue…

Morning!!!

Opening gifts from Crazy Canadians

You’ll have to wait for the big reveal

The opportunity to spend a couple of days with Alison and David before our return down under requires no elaboration our end, primarily because I don’t have the words to adequately express how we feel about such an amazing gesture. Thanks Guys!

Box Canyon

Joshua Tree NP

Our last night camped together before the crazy Canadians made the dash back to San Francisco saw us struggling a little to find somewhere suitable. With deteriorating weather adding to the pressure, we did as we always do and eventually found a home. That change in the forecast resulted in a bloody cold night and well we may have a small camper but it proved it’s metal that evening! The 4 of us enjoyed the Webasto heater whilst we managed to cook and devour a roast within our tiny confines, I’m pretty proud of that effort. Oh and we drank a little too!

It may be a small camper but 4 of us dined in comfort!!!

Our last camp with David and Alison

We enjoyed an early lunch at the Café 247 in Lucerne Valley (conveniently located on Hwy 247) where we said our goodbyes before Alison and David departed for the long drive north back to San Francisco and a flight back to frozen Calgary!

Cafe 247

Whoever owned the café must have been to Australia as the walls were decorated with Automotive memorabilia (as is often the case in the good old USA), but this was the first time I’d seen Holden collectables and Aussie number plates as decoration (tags for those who don’t speak Aussie English) Even Western Australian ones…

Western Australian Licence Plates on the wall

After Alison and David departed we actually started to believe that we truly were heading back to Australia. Weird I guess but that’s the truth of it.

More friendly locals spot the Patrol

Now it was time to get to work cleaning the car. We settled on a few nights at Sawtooth canyon, the same campsite where Jen had previously upset some locals with a generator resulting in there timely departure! Anyway, as like minded travellers are like minded, we ran into Kenni and Tine again, requiring more social interaction, it’s tuff being nomadic!

Close to Barstow and a high-pressure wash facility, we began cleaning the Patrol for its transit down under.

We spent about 3 days on the car, pressure washing the undercarriage and engine bay, pulling up floor mats and trim, vacuuming everything, checking radiator fins for bugs and seeds and removing dust from every nook and cranny with a toothbrush! Not an overly enjoyable task especially when you know in the back of your mind that despite the vehicle now looking better than when it left the Nissan Factory, it’s more than likely that Australian Quarantine Inspectors will still find some reason to send it for “cleaning” and a large cleaning bill could follow…

Cleaning the car…

Looking for dirt in every nook and cranny…

Hopefully I’m wrong, but that seems to be the general experience amongst travellers. I do wonder if it’s random or whether returning to Australia from an overseas journey just gets their heckles up and they feel the need for a little fleecing! Ahhh well, we shall see if I’m wrong on the above count shortly… Wharfies, Customs and Quarantine are generally easy to deal with aren’t they??

The only real goal that remained on our agenda was a run up Hwy 1 along the California coast, so we best get moving! Across the top of LA we travelled via Vasquez Rocks – a famous Hollywood filming location – and on to Santa Barbara.

Vasquez Rocks

We popped out at Ventura and hit Hwy 1. Onward to Santa Barbara, we followed the coast taking in the sights as good tourists do.

Seaside Santa Barbara

Once again, I have to give the Americans credit here. A large section of old Hwy 1 has been set aside along the drive specifically for RV’s to camp in the narrow band that divides road and ocean and enjoy the lovely scenery. Can’t imagine Australia instigating that sort of freedom any time soon…

Road/Seaside Camping

Our night’s camp was at Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area , a section of beach set aside for leisure and camping amidst a populated stretch of coast. I’m starting think Australian councils should visit California – I guess they do when the tax payer funds a junket! I suppose they only see the insides of restaurants on those trips now that I think about it. Ouch the cynicism is rampant now!

Camped at Oceano Dunes

Other campers – there is a river crossing involved to get this far!

Amidst suburbia!

Unfortunately, the storms which had given us a mud bath back in Mexico, had released the brunt of their force on California. The tourist drive up through Big Sur sits along a steep section of coastline and was completely washed away with the obvious consequence of the road being closed until further notice. We were aware of it before we headed up Hwy 1 but decided to see what we could see anyway.

Elephant Seal

Bull Elephant Seal

Hearst Castle in the distance

As the saying goes, clouds often have a silver lining! In our quest to avoid the main route around the closed scenic drive, we ended up on an older narrower and far less used road following the San Andreas Fault – a truly lovely and relaxing transit away from the racetrack.

The scenic route…

Another 4WD vehicle recreation area camp

A while back we’d received a few questions about our camper via our website contact page from Mike and Wendy who live just outside San Francisco. We’d tentatively made plans to meet up for a coffee and a chat whilst in the area as it’s always nice to meet up with people with similar interests who have made an effort to contact us. With their nicely set up Tacoma they have some plans in motion for a little more exploring of the US and presented us with a parting gift leaving us with even more fond memories of our American Adventure.

Justin, Michael and Wendy with their nicely set up Tacoma (Hilux)

We spent the night in the Anthony Chabot Regional Park campsite just east of the Port of San Francisco. It is a lovely, elevated forest campsite sitting amongst the range of hills that hems in the city east of the Bay. It poured rain and was bloody freezing so, with the Patrol due to be delivered to West Coast Shipping in 2 days time, we decided to move into a motel for our last night as we really needed the camper to be as dry as possible. Breathing and the general humidity created by the human body needed to be mitigated as best we could this close to departure.

Anthony Chabot Campground just out of San Francisco

I’ll take responsibility because I chose it. “Motel 6” for the night was the closest we could find to the port. Well that was an experience! Picture the dodgiest part of your city, park a motel in it with tired decor, surround it with weirdo’s moving around outside all night, and you will be about 20% there! We were expecting it to be character building as a security officer had made his way over to us before we’d actually checked in (although we had booked and paid) and asked where we were staying. When I told him, he suggested it was the best part of the precinct but it would be better to move somewhere else – that had us filled with confidence! hahaha

High Class Motel!!! – read the fine print…

This one is busted!

Fortunately we had a break in the weather and were able to pop the roof and get everything pretty dry whilst at the motel making the whole experience much more palatable.

A final touch up

The following morning, we pulled the furniture away from the door and peaked out (kidding of course!) and jumped into the Patrol for the short drive to the port.

We found “West Coast Shipping” and met up with Alex, the shipping agent we’d been liaising with for some time. I felt pretty comfortable with these guys and after a look around their facility we departed with 2 small suitcases, no longer Overlanders…

Delivering the car to West Coast Shipping

Justin and Alex

Without the Patrol it was into an “uber” for the first time and onto the train for the run into San Francisco for a night in a proper hotel and a little more exploration.

A last wander in San Francisco…

Cable Car Museum

Before we knew it we were heading for the airport…

With a little reflection I’ve come to realise that this whole experience has left quite an indelible mark on my consciousness. I can still tap into the excitement around packing the Patrol in Perth and then unloading it in Vladivostok before finding our first camp almost 3 years ago. Whilst more recent events covet the most vivid recollections, so many of our earlier experiences still manage to emerge with such gusto that it’s as if they happened yesterday, I guess an overall measure of how I’ve enjoyed my time on the road!

We think we decide how the pages of our travel journal will be filled by the destinations we choose, but its the human connections and experiences along the way which truly dictate the narrative and if you stay open to it, the book will write itself.

All we need to do is get to the end of our book without a blank sheet of paper remaining and preferably very small print! The key is in the realisation that the tale you tell is your tale and it’s a tale for you!

Hmmm don’t know where that came from, a bit deep but I’ll leave it in the post as it probably gives an insight into the effect our journey has had on us. Oh and the couple of beers I’ve had might have helped get it out…

The Big Island awaits!

Back soon with The Final Destination.

Justin

Well that was good wasn’t it…

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Truthfully, it’s been a struggle finding my way back to the keyboard, partly due to the realisation that when I finish typing on this occasion, it will be the final post of our journey. Another reason for the struggle relates to the previous post in which I mentioned our hope that the return of the Patrol to Australia would not see us subjected to the type of behaviour that various other travellers returning vehicles to Australia have spoken of.

It would appear that I’d been somewhat delusional in that thought process for, without doubt, you’d think I was kidding if I were to relay just how badly it went. Being on the receiving end of such unprofessional behaviour and overpriced maritime services at the hands of our fellow Australians left us with a bill of almost $AUD2800 before the vehicle would be released. That’s 3 times the amount we paid clearing the vehicle in Russia and 5 times the amount we paid in the US after shipping in from Europe. Packing the vehicle and shipping it all the way to Perth from the US was a quite reasonable $AUD3400 but with such exorbitant clearing charges added on at the Australian end it does leave quite a sour taste in your mouth. An official complaint to Quarantine about the conduct of the officer concerned and a little vehicle damage from the unnecessary cleaning all made for a wonderful welcome home.

Invoice for inbound handling from the shipping company

More fees from everyone else that glanced at the container!!..None of these includes the shipping!!!! That was the cheap bit by comparison.

The Next Bill…

I’m not sure how it will all pan out moving forward, with aspirations of further overland travel still bubbling around the blood stream. The thought of returning a vehicle to Australia again is currently less appealing to me than a dose of dysentery in a Bombay food market!

Ok – so with the negative stuff out of the way, it’s time to take all of our readers with us to the finishing gate!

There was no chance that we’d be making the long transit home to Perth flying right by the beautiful Hawaiian Islands without dropping in for a dose of the Aloha spirit. The “Big Island” was our main focus on this visit with the Kilauea Volcano the dominant draw card.

Some of the Aloha Spirit!!

Arriving late into Kona, we went to collect our pre-booked hire car and, with an unexpected free upgrade, it would seem that fate might actually exist. What better way to end the final stage of our overland journey in a Nissan Patrol than finishing the drive in a Nissan Armada!

The Nissan Armada

Kona Coast

Our accommodation for the next few days sat perched on the slopes of a hillside about half an hour south of Kona with panoramic views of the west coast. Beautiful tropical temperatures beckoned us to explore…

Our accommodation high above Kealakekua Bay

A Visitor to our accommodation

Colourful wildlife

Colourful Cardinal

From our home base we headed off for about a one-hour downhill hike through wooded terrain interspersed with farmland before we arrived at the idyllic Kealakekua Bay. Its crystal clear turquoise water was made even more inviting by the film of sweat that covered us by the time we got there! The moment we descended below the cool surface of the water and our eyes adjusted, beautiful tropical fish surrounded us!

Fish..

Fish…

and more fish!

Not a Spinner Dolphin!!

Really stunning but unfortunately, a few other tourists knew about it as well! Most of them arrive by boat so there is the odd moment of relative peace between boat departures and arrivals but aside from the magnificent snorkelling and frequent visits from spinner dolphins, the other main reason not to miss this spectacular bay is that it’s also the site of Captain James Cook’s demise at the hands of the Hawaiian Islanders in 1779. With Cook’s amazing achievements in his short life, I wonder how different the geographic boundaries that underpin our maps and atlases of today would appear, if not for his death here.

Kealakekua Bay and the Captain Cook Monument

Inscription

With places of interest that appealed to us marked on our map, we headed off for a lap of the island over the next week.

Stark and gnarly, the harsh black volcanic rock rises from the Pacific Ocean to give both form and life to the island. Where the aqua blue ocean meets the cold remnants of the once flowing lava, gritty beaches have formed through tidal erosion over millennia, ranging in colour from green to black giving the whole place a wonderful vibrancy.

Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park

Totems at Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park

St Benedict’s Painted Church south of Kona

The southernmost tip of the "Big Island" - South Point

The southernmost tip of the “Big Island” – cleverly named “South Point”

Appropriate dress for hiking to Green Sand Beach???

Green Sand Beach was easier reached by a local truck ride.

We chose to reach Green Sand Beach by a local truck ride instead of the gruelling hike.

Green Sand Beach caused by the presence of Olivine

Green Sand Beach caused by the presence of Volcanic Olivine

Olivine Green Sand

Black Sand Beach south of Hilo

Turtles on Black Sand Beach

Known for its range of climatic zones, the island contains arid desert regions, tropical rain forest and even alpine tundra. From the balmy warmth at sea level, a couple of hours drive in the car will see you at the 14,000ft peak of Mauna Kea with snow covered peaks and an altitude induced headache if your not careful! One of the only places in the world where you can experience several climatic zones in the same day!

From Sea to Summit – Hilo to Mauna Kea Summit at 14,000ft

Mt Kilauea Volcano sits on the southeastern side of the island and is stunning. The caldera, which is the cauldron of bubbling molten lava within the rim of the volcano, is about a mile from the Jaggar Museum Observation Centre and it is truly amazing and probably a little humbling. We were lucky that Kilauea had been experiencing a period of heightened activity resulting in an elevated level of lava within the crater, making viewing much easier and particularly spectacular at night.

Kilauea Caldera

Lava Lake as evening descends at the Jaggar Museum Overlook

The lava lake in the Kilauea Caldera

We’ve all watched documentaries on the power of volcanoes and the forces below the earth’s surface but to witness, first hand, boiling rock forced into the inky night sky as it’s forced out of the planet like water from a hose, really brings home the power contained within the Earth.

Erupting lava

From the caldera, the lava makes it’s way through underground fissures and tubes like a network of pipes before eventually, with the help of gravity, finding its way to the ocean and continuing the seemingly never ending task of increasing the size of the island.

Given the lava is always on the move, the best locations to view the lava meeting the ocean are also constantly moving. At the time of our visit, approaching from the east of the current lava field provided the best viewing and with bicycle hire available from just outside the National Park, made the journey from the closest car park to the lava field much less daunting than a long hike in the heat. The western side, within the National Park, only has access via a long extremely hot arduous hike of approximately 12kms but does have some other interesting points of interest en-route.

Road consumed by lava

Petroglyphs

Lava Field

We hired bikes on the eastern side of the Lava field to make the 5km journey to the latest outbreak of molten rock as the roads are closed to cars.

Our “Tour de Hawaii”

Entering the Park from the East on Bicycle

Another bizarre observation, although I found this one less astounding than the lava, was the strange approach of the National Parks Department. In these days of litigation and the fact that we now have to walk as slow as the slowest person in order to protect us from ourselves, I found myself smirking at the temporary viewing area a little later that evening.

After parking our bikes with the multitude of other volcano visitors, a plastic barrier and a couple of uninformed rangers guided us down the 100metres or so to the ocean where we strained to see an amazing lava hose pipe spewing it’s fiery contents into the sea. Plumes of superheated seawater burst upward as the lava boils the sea on contact before it hardens to form Hawaii’s newest piece of land. It’s quite a way off but the sight is quite astounding and, of course, with the propensity of the lava to breakthrough at any location along the coast, a level of safety must exist.

Liquid Lava Meets Ocean

New land being created…

We had heard there were areas where it was possible to see the lava up close and personal and had packed torches, spare batteries, water and so on in anticipation of a trek in the darkness to observe the glowing magma.

Once back up to the bicycle area, we asked the rangers if and where it was possible to see lava, but their clueless response suggested that we should just aimlessly walk off into the lava field and try our luck! “Just walk that way (a vague swing of the arm covering 90degrees) about 45 minutes and you might find some.” That instruction was the reason I found myself smirking. Fences and rangers with signs restricting everything you do at the initial viewing area but after that you can wander off and fall into the lava if you like! Who knows how these crowd control policies are conceived.

The aimless pursuit of lava

The once fluid rock…

So up the hillside we ventured, backpack on and head torches at the ready. As the daylight waned we headed out across the expanse of freshly hardened lava and generally aimed for some distant people and a string of steam vents. Cutting to the chase, we zigzagged all over the place and at one point were rather concerned that the earth may just open up beneath us as the heat from the molten rock flowing under the surface and hence our feet made the temperature like that of an oven!! Just as we prepared to abandon the venture as hopeless, we spotted a group of people that seemed engaged in something interesting and finally achieved our goal – lava!!

Target Acquired!!!

I guess you’d expect it to be hot in such a situation and if I said I could toast a ham and cheese sandwich from 10ft away I wouldn’t be overstating the radiating heat.

As close as the heat would allow…

Once our appetite for viewing the slowly creeping lava was satiated, darkness had engulfed us completely and it was head torches on as we began the long trek back to our bikes. The moment we illuminated the lava field surface, it was like a metamorphosis had occurred right in front of us. The surface now looked for lack of a better description like it had been dusted with sparkling diamonds. Just amazing and hopefully we have caught the effect with the camera. Truly one of the most amazing sights I’ve ever observed and equally worth seeing!!! We are so glad that we persevered – many others gave up!!

The Sparkling Lava Field – photos just can’t do it justice!

Sparkling Lava Rock

The following day we made for the backbone of The Big Island, snow covered peaks appeared and we achieved our first view of Mauna Kea Summit and it’s collection of international astronomical observatories.

The Onizuka Visitor Centre has been constructed conveniently at an altitude of 9,200ft where visitors are requested to spend half an hour acclimatising before the last few thousand feet are ascended to reach the observatories perched around the summit. The crystal clear cold air, altitude and lack of light pollution make it the ideal location for celestial viewing and you could be forgiven for forgetting you are in the middle of the Hawaiian Islands!

Atop Mauna Kea complete with snow!

Sunset at Mauna Kea

The road to the visitor centre is sealed but beyond it to the summit is 5 miles of steep graded gravel road with quite a few switchbacks and is only suited to true 4WD vehicles with low range. I only mention it, as there are some signs at the visitor centre telling tourists continuing on to the summit to use low gear on the return descent, particularly as nearly all of the cars in the USA are automatics. Of course, a long descent down very steep roads in a high gear using the brakes instead of the gearing to slow the vehicle will see brakes overheat and fail; a photo board on display at the visitor centre depicts the carnage and multiple fatalities that have occurred as a result. As it happened, a Nissan SUV had careered past the visitor centre just the previous day with it’s doomed passengers screaming before leaving the road and sadly killing one of those onboard – how bloody awful.

Note the wheels on fire in the image!

On our descent from the summit, it was easy to see why Mauna Kea has a reputation for people killing themselves on the drive down. You would have thought it was a rally event give the way many of the thrill seekers were driving. I can only imagine the fatality rate if any of these fools were confronted with a road that was actually challenging.

We had a couple of days up our sleeve before we needed to be back at the airport so after some sightseeing around Hilo, we headed up the east coast and around the north of the island.

Downtown Hilo

Coastal Rockpools

Houses built on the lava beds

More sea turtles

A new friend

Olivine still captured in the lava

Steep Descent into Waipio Valley

Climbing back out of Waipio Valley

It was now time to say goodbye to The Big Island and hello to Oahu and Waikiki Beach for a couple of nights.

Flying over Diamond Head before arriving at Honolulu Airport

Waikiki Beach and the iconic “Royal Hawaiian Hotel”

Waikiki Beach

Longboards at Waikiki

Waikiki and the famous Diamond Head

Cool Pooch!

Famous Banyan tree in the International Marketplace Shopping Centre, Waikiki

Hawaiian Hula Dancing School Students

Yep it’s kitschy and loaded with tourists, but Waikiki always seems to have a nice atmosphere about it and it was a nice way to organise our thoughts before returning to Australia.

Sydney Airport

Some weeks later our car arrived home…

Our car is in there!!

Welcome Home

Footnote: Although Jen and I set out in the hope of managing at least a year and maybe two years travelling, in the end the clock stopped at 3 years. I’m quite proud of that effort and although I don’t believe it is in any way a competition regarding the length of time spent travelling, for us the duration provided the disconnect that we were in pursuit of and for that I’ll be forever grateful. The old cliché, “time seems to have flown by” certainly comes to mind at the moment however.

It’s not all been silk and roses and this journey has provided us with a few very stressful moments but also so many amazing ones. Every challenge overcome served only to inspire us further and the experiences gained enriched our lives. The people we met are without doubt the highlight.

To our avid readers, thank you for taking the time to come with us, and thank you for being the inspiration I needed to keep my fingers tapping on the keyboard. There were times, as with any journal I suppose, that it can seem quite a chore, but the rewards are well worth the effort. Reading through our blog now, I am amazed at both how much I’ve forgotten and also how vividly I am able to relive the experiences with the aid of our blog. In many ways, I think that I now have more of an appreciation for how it must feel for anyone reading along, for It does feel a little as if I’m following another travellers tales from the road rather than my personal experience.

Jen and I intend keeping the Globatrol website active with the odd update from time to time and South America and Southern Africa are still in our sights for the future but for now…

Cheers and Thank you

Justin and Jennifer.

Camped back under the Southern Cross…

Linda on Well that was good wasn’t it…So amazing Justin and Jen. You guys are awesome. Living the dream. Xx
Bruce on Well that was good wasn’t it…Thanks Jen and Justin, what a pleasure it has been to follow the trek over the last few years. Looking forward to the next installment! Bruce
Geordie on The CountdownHi Justin and Jen, great to read your travels, I have only just got back on line to see your finally coming back to Aus. Rose and I have been travelling off and on for most of the past two years not quite as adventurous as you guys but we managed a full lap of Australia and then a full lap of New Zealand. Canada is next on our list but have to get back to work for a while before that. Hope you are both well after your long travels and getting back into the swing of things back in Ausie. Cheers, Geordie
Stephen & Denise on The CountdownHi Justin & Jen This has been a fantastic story of what can be achieved when you put your mind to it. I have really enjoyed your writings, although they are sometimes a bit far apart. but never the less this has been a great read for us & I am sure a fantastic adventure for yourselves. Regards Steve & Denise.
Bruce on The CountdownDear Jen and Jus, Thank you very much for sharing the photos and story of your wonderful journey. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every post and wish you a safe return to the sunburnt country. Bruce
Rod Lyons on The CountdownThanks for the adventure Jus & Jen, its time you came home I need some work done on the OKAHOME