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Post by ChrisB on Jun 23, 2018 20:13:29 GMT
I'm just back from a two week trip to the States. The last time we did this was three years ago and I posted a day-by-day blog (with a 2 week time-lapse) and some members said they enjoyed it, so I'll do the same thing again.
Searching for Yogi?
I've seen quite a few Black bears in Canada and a single one, once in America but I've never seen a Grizzly. We fancied a return trip to Yellowstone among other places and I told my work colleagues that I wasn't going to come home until I had taken a photo of a Brown bear.
The most common way of getting to Yellowstone is to fly to Salt Lake City in Utah and then drive the 300 or so miles to the park. We chose to fly to San Francisco instead, which is more like 1,000 miles away. We booked a car and 2 nights in a hotel near SF airport timed for our arrival and departure and two nights in the town of West Yellowstone, which lies just outside the boundary of the park. We had to do this because even back in October, when we first tried, there was no accommodation available within the park for any of the period we planned to be away. Apart from that, we had nothing arranged and a rough idea of a few places we wanted to go.
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Post by Tim on Jun 23, 2018 21:43:51 GMT
Jeez, was that two weeks ago, seems like only yesterday you left!
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 23, 2018 22:00:18 GMT
Saturday 9th JuneOne of the useful side effects of the time difference between the UK and the US is that when you arrive in the States, tired out after a long flight, you can go to bed, get a full night's sleep and be up r-e-a-l-l-y early the next morning. We like this because it means that if we pick up our car from the airport when we arrive, we can get out of the city quickly. We took full advantage of this and headed off with the hope that we might get some serious mileage under our belts on the first day. Heading east out of the city, we had to cross over the Bay Bridge. This is a 2 stage structure which, as you may remember, was partially destroyed in an earthquake. The first, older stage is a double decker - eastbound on the bottom deck and westbound on the top. It lands on an island and then the new section spans the remainder of the bay. The island has a slip road and you can turn off to get some of the best distant views of the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz Island. The ubiquitous San Francisco Bay fog was cloaking the bridge to stunning effect, so we peeled off to grab a few snaps.  There were so many great shots of this that it was hard to decide which to post here. I like this one a lot. But the next one is maybe more 'traditional'.  The cityscape was rather stunning and slightly surreal. 
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 23, 2018 22:37:32 GMT
The ultimate aim for the day was to get as far up the Interstate highway, the I-80 as possible while avoiding turning into a drooling wreck of a human being. Past Sacramento, over the Sierra Nevada mountains, into the neighbouring state of Nevada and as far as Reno (without actually venturing into the city). Beyond this, there isn't much but there's a little town called Winnemucca on a major highway junction. To get this far would be great.  As it turned out, we crossed the entire state of California before mid-day. It was coolish in San Francisco, but as we moved east and dropped into the Central Valley, we were watching the temperature climb rapidly on the car dashboard. We've seen this before - it's no wonder that this is the place where they grow fruit in California. At the summit of the Sierras, we chose to take a side trip to Lake Tahoe, which was rather beautiful.  The residents of the Lake Tahoe area are able to take advantage of some rather specialist public transport. Here's just one example. **  The winding road down through the forest and into the desert was rather great too, and a somewhat demanding drive. Back onto the I-80 and the speed limit went up, enabling us to really cover some ground. We landed in Winnemucca in good time and found an extremely cheap motel, stuck in the 1950's time warp - just our kind of thing. _____________________________________________ ** Get used to the signage photography, because I have always had a bit of an eye for this kind of thing and I have many examples to show you!! |
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Post by brian2957 on Jun 24, 2018 1:10:24 GMT
Off to a good start Chris . Looks amazing so far  |
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 24, 2018 19:47:57 GMT
Winnemucca was interesting because there is a large Basque community there, and on the day we hit town, there was a festival of Basque-ness (is that a word?) going on, with people present with roots from that part of the world whose families had settled all over the US. So we had dinner in a Basque restaurant which was a new experience. Across the street, there was a throng of people watching traditional music and dancing in a small park. The street was, somewhat fittingly called 'Melarkey Street', which I found pretty funny. Great signage all over town!  |
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 24, 2018 20:04:39 GMT
Sunday 10th JuneSince we are still mentally on UK time, we got an early start this morning - 4:30 am and with the aim of catching a desert sunrise, getting a few miles under our belts, then some breakfast in a diner somewhere or other when the opportunity arises.  The actual sunrise was a little disappointing but the shadows cast on the folds in the hills behind us were stunning.  Salt Lake City is our target destination for today, though we might go a little further. But before we get there, a short stop is called for on the way...
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 24, 2018 21:49:28 GMT
Driving east along I-80 in Nevada, as you reach the border town of Wendover. Since the next state is Utah, Wendover is stuffed full of liquor stores and casinos, placed there to tempt the resolve of the neighbouring state's citizens. As you crest the rise and then drop down the hill into town, two unusual things strike your eye. The first is a 19 metre tall, mechanical, neon lit cowboy. Which is something you don't see every day!  The second is an overall sense of 'whiteness' that pervades everything. Looking around a little further, you see that beyond the town is a huge expanse of flat, white space almost as far as the eye can see. This is the Great Salt Lake Desert, all 4,000 square miles of it. Driving across it, you get the impression that the highway is a ribbon of tarmac floating on a huge mirage. The mirages are so big that entire mountains are reflected in them, which makes for a rather disorientating experience. The desert is, of course famous for the Bonneville Salt flats, which you can visit, wander around and even drive over if you feel like it, though I'm not sure the latter is entirely condoned, or safe for much of the year.    |
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 24, 2018 22:03:06 GMT
The road across the Salt Lake Desert is dead straight - you can clearly see it on the map below. We push on, past Salt Lake City and into southern Wyoming before we land at Evanston, a nice little railway town. It was a long drive into our fourth state and a new time zone.  The big push to make massive distances is over now. Tomorrow, we turn north through 'Big Sky Country', and hit the Rocky Mountains. |
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Post by jandl100 on Jun 25, 2018 5:25:26 GMT
Interesting, thanks Chris. Carry on ....  |
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Post by brian2957 on Jun 25, 2018 8:56:10 GMT
Some amazing images there Chris . Initially looked like it had been snowing  Must have been quite surreal . Thanks also for the running commentary |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2018 8:59:00 GMT
Some quite impressive pictures there, Chris.
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 25, 2018 20:39:51 GMT
Thanks chaps.
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 25, 2018 21:06:46 GMT
Monday 11th JuneWe go north to Grand Teton National Park today, aiming to stay in Jackson. The drive is stunning. We have been to Wyoming before and I thought I knew what they meant by the label 'Big Sky Country'. However, today up on the tops on that drive we really saw it properly. Wow! You can't imagine it, describe it, or photograph it in any way to do it justice. Just WOW!   
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Post by MartinT on Jun 25, 2018 21:15:59 GMT
Wow, indeed, Chris. I think you've done a great job of giving us an idea of its vastness.
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 25, 2018 21:28:22 GMT
There were places where the road rose up to the horizon and disappeared over the crest of a hill and it felt like we were on a launch ramp into that sky - Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun!
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 25, 2018 21:53:56 GMT
It's great to be back at the Grand Teton mountains again. I read about them years ago and knew right away that I had to see them for myself. The thing that makes the mountains unusual is that they rise straight out of the valley floor (Jackson Hole) without any foothills. They are extremely steep and jagged because they are, in geological terms, very young. They are the youngest range in the Rocky Mountains and the tallest peak is getting on for 14,000 ft high.   Apparently, the Grand Tetons were named by lonely French trappers. All I can say is that they must have been e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y lonely men, those trappers, because they don't look much like any tetons I have ever seen!  |
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 25, 2018 21:57:06 GMT
The journey from Evanston to Jackson added another couple of hundred miles onto the tally.  |
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Post by julesd68 on Jun 25, 2018 23:29:46 GMT
Roughly how long were you driving for each day Chris?
The first two images from your last post are absolute stunners old chap.
Am I right in thinking not all of the pics so far were taken on the same camera?
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Post by ChrisB on Jun 26, 2018 5:21:40 GMT
Driving time varied quite a bit from day to day, Jules. Those first two days were pretty gruelling, especially as Mischa doesn't drive, so sharing the job wasn't possible. Even on those days though, we did manage a few stops, side trips and short walks.
Yes, we had three cameras with us, so a couple of the above were taken on a Pentax K-R, but most were from a Canon 20D. I also had my trusty little Fuji S-1500 sitting in one of the cup holders between the front seats of the car, ready to grab for quick out of the window opportunities! I think the one of the neon cowboy and the early morning hills with the shadows on them would have been taken with the Pentax but nothing so far with the Fuji. I am rather pleased with the shot above with the barn in the foreground.
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Must have been quite surreal . Thanks also for the running commentary 
