San Francisco

On our first day in San Francisco we took the dog along, knowing that she gets tired after a while we came prepared. We brought the special crate thet we have for her, she can be carried like in a pack sac or rolled like airport luggage. It was good that we had it as it was the only way that we coud get on the tour bus with her. We parked at Fisherman's Wharf, it was only $32.00 and then took the tour on a double deck bus with the top deck being opened, without a roof, cold but perfect for photography.

Vanilla and Dan visiting San Francisco

I find these tour bus to be the best way to see most of a big city in a minimal time, you can then decide to go and explore some area more in detail. Usualy you can also hop on and hop off these tours.

Golden Gate Bridge

It went trough the interesting areas such as the Haight and Ashbury, Pacific Heights, The Tenderloin district, Golden Gate park and bridge, Chinatown, Financial district complete with the occupy SF movement and Lombard Street. Also our guide was a movie buff with all the Dirty Harry spots and even the bullit car chase street.

Downtown from Pacific Heights

We got off at Pier 39 and walk back to Fisherman's Wharf to eat a Crab Chowder in a Sourdough bread, a San Francisco staple. The bread has been made by Boudin's Bakery for more then one hundred years, that's how he got rich during the goldrush. Miam Miam. We drove the 45 miles back to our camp we even found a shortcut trough a mountain pass to Halfmoon Bay an then the 1 along the clift, in the dark my wife doesn't mind :)

Alcatraz from Pier 39

We went back the next day without the dog to visit Alcatraz.
You take a ferry at Alcatraz Landing and it brings you to the Island, we ate our lunch on the ferry. You need to have clothes for different occasion for cold, warm or rain, or in our case all three. Wen you land on the platform you have a 15 minutes compulsory briefing and then you go where you want on a self guided visit.

The Guard Tower at the Landing

There is the main cell building that they provide ou with an audio tour kit that is very interesting it includes the cell of the 1962 escape as showned in the Clint Eastwood movie "Escape from Alcatraz".

Escape from Alcatraz

The whole visit can take from 3 to 5 hours to complete we left as the rain began 3 and a half hour later. As we left the fog was rolling in and covering the Golden Gate bridge, what a sight.

Pescadero and Surroundings at Sunset:

We needed a few groceries so we decided to drive to Pescadero, about 8 miles from our camp. So I punch in the coordinates into the GPS an then we go, about 3 miles down highway 1 the GPS tells us to turn on a side road, so I take the turn. It happens to be a very narrow winding mountain road with the clift on the passenger side, my wife's favorites :) so after a few miles of oh.. oh.. oh.. watchout, darn GPS we get back to the main road. The town of Pescadero is a quaint little town with organic and whole food markets. We bought an artichoke and garlic bread that was still hot, it smelled darn good in the car comming back to camp.

So to return my wife prefered that we ignored the GPS instructions and that we stay on the main road, fine with me and it was sunset timeas we rode along Highway 1. There is lots of places to stop and take pictures along the road.

We found a nice secluded beach near the Pigeon Point Lighthouse to walk on and take pictures. The waves crashing on the rocks are very relaxing to look at.

So we got back to camp and made some nice BBQ pork chops with the artichoke bread and a local goat cheese.

Moss Landing and the Monterey Region

We decided to Setup camp in Moss Landing a small community 15 miles north of Monterey, there is a few things I want to do in the region one of them is eating at Phil's Fish Market a local restaurant that was on the Food Channel Trowdown with Bobby Flay. So we went to eat there for supper the first night, it was a fun place you pick up a menu at the door and go to the counter to give your order and pay, they then give you a big number and you choose a table, then your waiter finds you. The food was good I had Halibut and my wife had salmon, both very good.

In Moss Landing we are also in the middle of a farming area with a nice farmer's market within walking distance.

The vegetables there are cheap and lots of choice I bought some avocados and made some guacamole I also bought something called Jiacama that I have yet to prepare thanks to Google.

Another project that I had was to go on a boat to do some whale watching, I was worried about being seasick but I was lucky the ocean was realy Pacific :) There was no breaching whales but I got the picture of the tail of a whale named Stinky.

The Tail of Stinky the Whale

There was also a pier full of Sealions that I had researched and programmed in my GPS it just happened that all these activities happened to be within a 1 mile radius from my campsite that I had not planned on sleeping there.

Sealions on Moss Landing Pier

Yesterday we drove into Monterey to the waterfront and we took the 17 miles road that passes trough the Pebble Beach golf course and resort. I had a few spots preprogramed including the famed Lone Cypress, we arrived there at the same time as a bus of Japaneses tourists I was not alone taking pictures :)

The Lone Cypress on the 17 miles drive

My boss had told me before I left to go eat at Peppoli in the Spanish Inn on the Pebble Beach Resort. It's a restaurant owned and operated by the Antinori family and that he would pick up the bill when I return, a very generous offer and I took him up on it, we both had an excellent meal and a glass of wine.

The Pacific at Pebble Beach

So this morning we took the road again and we are now near Pescadero Ca. for a few days.

The Pacific Coast to Moss Landing:

On Thursday morning we started going u p the coast on California Highway 1, our first stop is Hearst Castle in San Simeon along the coast. The castle sits on a mountain top and was complete with a Zoo and everything. I has been said that Randolph Hearst was the inspiration for Orson Wells Citizen Cane.

The view of the Pacific Ocean from Hearst Castle

 The place is more then impressive filled with artwork and the grounds are incredible with breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean.

Poolside at Hearst Castle with the Pacific Ocean in the background

The Neptune Pool was the setting in many a movie. Some of the visitors of the castle in the time of Randolph Hearst included, Charlie Chaplin, Howard Hughes and many more. If you pass by it is definitely worth the visit.
We had lunch there and left after, as we kept going north the road got narrower, winding and we were either going uphill or downhill for miles.

The Famous Neptune Pool

With the trailer in tow this panoramic road required all of my attention. Full of blind curves and with the cliff walls overhanging the trailer was passing inches from the rock face wall, my wife didn’t like the road that much good thing she was not on the side of the precipice J .
There was a few overlook, I got to stop and take pictures of the elephant seals basking in the sun on the beach , it was quite a sight.

Elephant Seals on the Beach

The Pacific Coast

Well at 25 mile an hour plus the afternoon traffic in Monterey by the time we got to Moss Landing it was dark again. This morning it was overcast but I got a few picture of the surroundings, the rest of the day was rain so we went to the market to refill our fridge talk about choice at the farmers market, I even bought stuff that I have no idea what they are, I made some fresh guacamole for lunch. Tonight we had supper at a place I had seen on the Food Channel called Phil’s Fish Market.

From Death Valley to the Pacific Coast:

We left early on Wednesday morning our campsite in Pahrump and drove an area they call Death Valley wilderness, my wife renamed it Nowhere and we were in the middle. It’s 50 miles of desert road then an Indian village with a gas station and three buildings then 60 miles of desert road then you hit Interstate 15 and you pass between the bottom of the Death Valley wilderness and the Mojave desert, the view are spectacular.

View of the Mojave Desert on the way to the Coast

There was a ghost town called Calico along the way and I managed to convince my wife to make an unscheduled stop, She agreed “I guess she didn’t remember the last time” so we stopped just before the the entrance to the ghost town and I took a few pictures in particular of a golden eagle that was just beside us.

Golden Eagle

We then get to the town entrance and there is a pay station, anyway I pay the fee and we proceed in, there is an RV parking so we park and start on foot toward the town as we approached I found out it was a renovated ghost town complete with a mini train ride. Not exactly what I was expecting my wife was smiling “I suspect that she knew in advance” but it was fun and nice to visit with an historical background.

Calico Ghost Town

We had lunch there, it was good and we sat outside on a wooden porch with the dog.
We then hit the road again and this time we had to take a small road the 58 the first part is nice enough passing trough farmlands but then we had to cross the Sierras over Bear Mountain at 6900 feet trough Tehachapi pass, the last 100 miles before we hit the coast . It was a white knuckle rollercoaster ride and a race against the sunset trough the mountains.

We got to the coast as the last of the light was disappearing and got to the campsite, parked didn’t even unhooked and went to bed..

Death Valley second visit:

Yesterday morning I had to fix the toilet in the trailer, the vaccum gasket of the flush valve was pierced and it leaked water everywhere when it was under pressure. Fortunatly I was able to get a spare part at the RV superstore in Pahrump, also we had battery problems that I was able to fix by installing an external charger maintainer on a separate 110 V line ti works fantastic.

So after lunch we left for Death Valley, it's 45 minutes from our base camp. This time I wanted to see the south side with two sites in perticular, Badwater and Dantes View. Our first stop was Dantes View it starts with a 13 miles drive to climb up the mountain from  1000 feet to 5475 feet with the last mile being a very steep white knuckles clifthanger, My wife had to cover her eyes with her hands, I just love those roads ;)

A look of the Saltflats of Badwater from Dante's View

Whe then arrive to a parking lot with a breathtaking view to Death Valley bellow, There is a half mile trail to the sommet, so I decided to do the trail. The temperature at this altitude is 51F or 10C with a strong gusty wind. I have been going to the gym at the resort for the last few days and after comming back from that trail I don't regret it. The view from the top was incredible you can see the Badwater Saltflats bellow in the valley. So we drove down to Badwater a 30 miles drive dropping from 5475 feet to 282 feet bellow sea level donw at Badwater. My wife had serious problems with the pressure equalisation we even had to stop on the side of the road she was in pain. We made it to Badwater and I went on the trail to take my pictures wile she stayed in the car with the dog who was also acting strange maybee having problems with her ears as well.

Saltflats at Badwater

A closer look

The trail is flat and very easy and the view of the salt flats unlike anything I ever saw, and yes did I mentioned there is no wind and the temperature is 79F or 26C and dry, very dry. We then started our way back to the campsite at sunset and got there in the dark. With the tome changes and all the activities we were very tired and went to bed at 20h30. Tomorow we head for the Pacific Coast.

Day one in Death Valley

One of the places I had researched and planned to photograph was Rhyolite Nevada, I wanted to get be there early in the morning for the light and since it was 60 miles from my basecamp in Pahrump I had to leave early, This is one of two daytrips I planned where I go alone so I can stop every 500 feet to take a picture if I want to. The plan is to leave Pahrump at the crack of dawn an drive to Rhyolite to take my photos passing by Beatty near the Nevada test site and Area 51.

The Ghosts of Rhyolite Welcomes You

Here is an history of Rhyolite that I copied from Wikipedia:

Rhyolite is a ghost town in Nye County, in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is located in the Bullfrog Hills, about 120 miles (190 km) northwest of Las Vegas, near the eastern edge of Death Valley. The town began in early 1905 as one of several mining camps that sprang up after a prospecting discovery in the surrounding hills. During an ensuing gold rush, thousands of gold-seekers, developers, miners, and service providers flocked to the Bullfrog Mining District. Many settled in Rhyolite, which lay in a sheltered desert basin near the region's biggest producer, the Montgomery Shoshone Mine. Industrialist Charles M. Schwab bought the Montgomery Shoshone Mine in 1906 and invested heavily in infrastructure including piped water, electric lines, and railroad transportation that served the town as well as the mine. By 1907, Rhyolite had electric lights, water mains, telephones, newspapers, a hospital, a school, an opera house, and a stock exchange. Published estimates of the town's peak population vary widely, but scholarly sources generally place it in a range between 3,500 and 5,000 in 1907–08. Rhyolite declined almost as rapidly as it rose. After the richest ore was exhausted, production fell. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the financial panic of 1907 made it more difficult to raise development capital.  In 1908, investors in the Montgomery Shoshone Mine, concerned that it was overvalued, ordered an independent study. When the study's findings proved unfavorable, the company's stock value crashed, further restricting funding. By the end of 1910, the mine was operating at a loss, and it closed in 1911. By this time, many out-of-work miners had moved elsewhere, and Rhyolite's population dropped well below 1,000. By 1920, it was close to zero.

The North Highway in Death Valley

After leaving Rhyolite I headed for Death Valley trough the Daylight Pass, once the mountains crossed I had 45 miles to drive on the North Highway that follows the valley floor.

My next projected target is the Ubehebe Crater from a volcano that erupted 2000 years ago, that is recent in geological terms. The road to the crater although narrow is nice and well maintained. After climbing the crater rim trail since it was lunchtime I ate my lunch sitting on the tailgate of the truck wile contemplating the crater.

Ubehebe Crater

The next photography target was the Racetrack where rocks moves on an ancient lake bed (nobody knows why or how) leaving tracks of their movements. I had done my research and I know I had to drive 27 miles on a narrow dirt road to get to the racetrack. As I entered the road there was a sign recommanding high clearance 4X4 vehicules, well that's fine with me I even have skid plates installed on the truck to protect the oil pand and the transmission.

Racetrack Road

So I get on the road, on these dirt roads they pass with some kind of equipment that makes
grooves across the road every 3 inches or so. I experienced a raod like that a few years ago taking a shortcut into Arizona from Utah and it shook so much that I had broken dishes in the cupboard. This time it was more intense also the road being about 10 feet wide there was no avoiding anything so after a few miles when the GPS and everything else was on the floor and it shook so much that I tought that my teeth fillings would fall off I had quite enought. I had tried different speed and almost skidded off the road, did I mentioned that it was also a road wfull of dips and curves, so after a while I found that the most tolerable speed was 15 mph. by this time I still have 22 miles or so to drive so 22 miles at 15 mph takes 88 minutes that is on and a half hour to go and the same to get back out plus the 85 miles to drive in the desert to get back to the base camp, so I decided to turn around, it took me another 2 miles to find a place to turn around, there was a dry river bed crossing the road and I turn in it, and it 4X4 low I was able to back out of it.
So after I got out of there I decided to go see Scotty's Castle since I was only 3 mile from it. Super nice place like an oasis in the middle of the desert.

Dust Storm passing near Stovepipe Wells

After that I drove back trough Furnace Creek and Death Valley Junction stopping along the way to take pictures. At on point I could see a dust storm in the dunes at Stovepipe Well from across the valley floor, also the sight of the salt flats on the valley floor at 190 feet below sea level.

Salt Flats on the valley floor with the Panaminth Mountain Range behind it

I got back to the camp in time to setup the BBQ and cook a good supper. That was my first day in Death Valley. Today It is raining a little and the sky is grey so I take a break, I went to the gym here at the resort, I am going to look at the 350 pictures I took yesterday and get up to date with my internet stuff. I also have some minor repairs to do on the trailer. Tomorow If the weather is nice I'll go back to Death Valley, I still have to go to Bad Water and Dante's View.