U.S.A.-NATIONAL PARKS and WEST COAST
Trip Start
Apr 30, 1970
1
16
27
Trip End
Dec 20, 2007
Los Angeles, California
Saturday, April 14, 1990
We were exhausted but happy to be parents, this was the reason why we took a pause but
our daughter Marina did not forvige our absence of two weeks and it took us some weeks to regain her trust.
We flew by British Airways through London where we had a stop over of one day allowing us to visit again the interesting but also cold and foggy centre of the British capital before arriving in the sunshine of Los Angeles where we hired a ney Japanese compact car with whom we went along about 2,000 km around California, Utah, Nevada and Arizona to visit the best National Parks and the beautiful coast.
We remained maybe three days in Los Angeles visiting the usual places that I had seen eight years before. Santa Monica, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Disneyland, Venice, Universal Studios and going up and down along its highways with some problems as it is not easy to drive and continuously scale roadways in order not to be thrown out and then entry again.
We then directed to Bakersfield and visited Kings Canyon National Park and saw the giant sequoia trees after passing orange trees fields with tons of oranges left on the ground, as dry and ill.
We overnighted in a little wooden chalet with the outside warning of not leaving food in the car for the risk of bears!
Second stop if my memory serves me well wasthe Death Valley. Carmen was attracted by the flowers while I was much more interested in the lunar environment and the sandy hills together with the warnings for high temperatures and the helping water reserves along the roads more for cars than for people.
The particulartiy is the straight roads hundreds of km long with only some villages and more often a post office or a petrol station marked on the map as a city. So a lot of problems to find accomodation and the risk to fall asleep owing to the boring landscape of arid fields and low hills with only some arid bushes.
At the end we arrived at Las Vegas that had totally changed since my last visit and tripled the population. A lot of new thema giant casino hotels had been built like Mirage, New York, Venice, Excalibur, etc.
I remember that we saw some amazing white syberian tigers in the window of Mirage hotel and met a lot of prostitutes and sexy advertissements in glass boxes along the main streets.
I used to record everything by videocamera while Carmen was driving totally bored as she considered Las Vegas as a stupid place for stupid people in an extremely kitschy place.
I agree with her for some considerations (people who work hard and then spend everything in short time) but attracted like a child by the colours and lights.
Next stop was maybe Lake Powell and Page. That artiphicial lake is so beautiful for the light, the clearity of the air that allows to take wonderful pictures. We had an excursion on the lake admiring the red and brown rockies on the edge of the lake. We also saw the high Hoover Dam between Arizona and Nevada, built in the '30 and that produces a lot of hydroelectric power. The Americans consider it a wonder and many come from long distances to visit it, but for us Italians it is not extraordinary as we have a lot of dams like that.
The Gran Canyon was the next stop that I had admired some years before but it always surprises the eyes as it is really one of the world wonder. This time we arrived at sunset and were lucky enough to find the last flight of a little aeroplane to see the canyon from above.
The last moment arrive an American couple and....ok it was an elephant couple, like many other fat people of U.S.A. So we had some problems to take off and the pilot had to give us proper warnings and advises as how and where to sit in order to save our lives!
Anyway the view was amazing and I have still in my eyes that show.
We then visited other wonders of the nature and National or Regional parks like The Canyon de Shelly, so beautiful and interesting with its Indian village or pueblo under the cave and the river in front.
Zion Canyon was another nice place to walk along its paths and admiring the mountains around but the masterpiece was THE MONUMENT VALLEY already seen in a lot of western movies but incredibly fantastic from alive, wow! The colours, the pinnacles, isolated in that arid valley so bright and particular.
Arch Natural Park was another impressive park. It is incredible what can be formed by the nature and the erosion by wind and rain.
We unfortunately skipped the Mesa Verde because it was too far and probably closed for snow as we were in mid may. Carmen insisted to go on and try to see it but I decided to it was too risky and useless. She is still today angry with me for that decision!
We turned back to California arriving at Yosemite Nationl Park that I saw again very happily but even if the waterfalls and mountains were the same, it seemed to me that the presence of too many people had ruined the beatuy of the place.
We then arrived in the most beautiful American city, SAN FRANCISCO and it was a joy for me to see again its wooden but different style houses, the hills, the wonderful bay, the Golden Gate Park, the cable car, TRIESTE Caffè, Citylights bookshop, Transpyramid America Building, Chinatown , Lombard Street, etc...
Also the coast was another wonder that I saw happy again, Monterey, Big Sur, Carmel ,San Louis Obispo, Santa Barbara,17 drive mile road to Los Angeles but this time I added the visit of two more places: one old Mission I believe close to San Louis Obispo, very well preserved with precious furniture, decorations and paintings and the HEARST CASTLE.
This mansion belongs to the billionaire family Hearst, who in the '60-70 bought a lot of rich stuff all around the world and put alltogether in this not kitschy but extraordinary elegant and fine villa about 40 km inside the coast, along a hill road.
You have to choose among various itineraries as it is very large, We chose the classic tour and could see the main things included the rich swimmingpool, the ground floor and the first floor.
It was really amazing and I advise all to visit it.
The last recall is the dinner we had in a local restaurant, in the same style of the Hearst villa. We had a good dinner and believed tha the price should have been very costy but it was not, around 18 dollars each!
What else, U.S.A. is a wonderful country, the people are very nice and friendly, even if too fat, everything is perfect and easy and compared to Italian prices it is really cheap.
We spent around 25 dollars for a double room with two giant beds and private bathroom, tv set, fridge, etc...We rent a new compactToyota for two weeks spending about 500 dollars, kasko insurance included, the gasoline was very cheap and the motorways free. The meals dipended on where and what you chose but in average, avoiding expensive restaurants, we spent about ten dollars each for a good meal.
I must say that in 2001when we returned to U.S.A. in Florida, the prices had doubled but maybe considering the time passed it was not too much!
