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Chicago, IL
Saturday, 27 September 2008
After the horrible day of losing cameras and stupendous car rental costs it was good to wake up in Chicago to sunshine and a decent free breakfast supplied by the Hostel. First on the agenda was to find a Best Buy to grab a new camera. Thankfully there was one within a short distance via bus. I bought a Canon Powershot A590 IS as the price was good and the AA batteries it takes means I can always get batteries if I can't charge the ones I have. Sadly getting the camera took up the morning so I only had the afternoon to go sightseeing.
After a fantastic sandwich at Potbellys I headed first to Wrigley Field. Sadly as there was no ball game on the stadium was closed up - not even a stadium tour. After this slight disappointment I headed to the shopping district and the Hancock Tower skyscraper. More accurately the bar on the 96th floor of the Hancock Tower. The view was amazing although due to the pollution in the great lakes area the view was slightly restricted by smog. It was still a great experience though. Once back at ground level I walked to the lake front and Grant Park with the amazing Millennium Park. Centre to this area is a free stage designed by notable architect Frank Gehry and the exhibit Cloud Gate - known locally as the "Bean". A sculpture of polished steel that reflects the city skyline from all angles and has to be seen to be appreciated.
After a quiet evening and another great free breakfast I headed to the Museum of Science and Industry as it was free entry in September. This wasn't until I had faced the bureaucracy of the US Post Office (grrr). I took the elevated train to as near the museum as possible. I was a little concerned when I looked around the carriage to see I was the only white guy on the carriage! The train stop I needed was Garfield which is in the area of Chicago that is based on the old housing projects and is where many of Chicago's African American communities live. It was a short bus ride to the museum from here through the splendor of Chicago University. A strange contrast to the adjacent neighbourhood.
The museum was amazing, very noisy with fun exhibits such as a complete U-boat captured by the US in World War II, a model train exhibit representing the journey from Chicago to Seattle and a whole Boeing 727. As the entry price was free it made the day a real bargain and I can recommend the museum to anyone visiting Chicago.
For the evening I had a ticket to go see Chicago Fire play LA Galaxy at Toyota Park. The Americans know how to put on a sporting event, and even though the match was a league game, it was presented as if it was a cup final. Both teams were at full strength with LA playing Beckham and Donavan and Fire playing ex-Fulham Brian McBride. The stadium was full with over 20,000 people enjoying a good game of "Soccer". I especially liked the way you can buy beer and drink it at your seat during the game! Toyota Park is a fair way outside of town however and it was a good bus trip and Elevated Train trip back to the Hostel. Once back it was straight to bed to be up early to fly to New York.
O'Hare Airport is a lot bigger than Midway and it took ages to get my boarding pass and luggage checked (a nice $15 fee on United Airlines, grrr again). The flight was also late due to weather in the New York area. The best thing about the flight was the ability to listen to the control towers along the way. It made for some interesting Pilot to Tower conversations! After landing safely I met my sister and brother-in-law at Newark Airport as they have come out to New York while I am here. Its good to see someone from back home and I look forward to spending the next few days here sightseeing and enjoying New York.
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Breckenridge, CO
Wednesday, 24 September 2008
It was good to spend my last few days in the midwest back where it all started. The hostel and B&B was pretty quiet which was good in a way, although I ended up just watching a lot of TV in the evenings! I managed to get the hike to Mohawk Lakes via Spruce Creek done which was excellent, the trailhead was around 10,000 feet high and the end was up around 12,000 feet next to a glacial lake, which was not just above the treeline, but also into the snowline (although as it was still September this was no more than a dusting). The altitude still had an impact on me, but nowhere near as dramatic as the first time I came to Breckenridge.
The following day I had to get the car cleaned out for its return to the rental company at Denver Airport. This meant a trip to the next town of Frisco and after visiting the launderette (just because I am travelling doesn't mean I don't still have chores!) I found the car vacuum. It was good to get the car back in reasonable shape and smell, but sad as that meant the car would soon be going back to its rightful owners! Thankfully I got all my chores done by lunchtime and managed to get a gentle hike along Blue River in Breckenridge during the afternoon.
The last Colorado morning arrived with a frost on the car and the sun in the sky. I got up slightly early to ensure everything was packed in time, but then spent ages chatting at breakfast which meant that I was running slightly late getting into Denver. This would prove very costly. I found the airport easily and arrived at the petrol station to fill up the car. By now I was running properly late and getting a little stressed. I dropped the car off and got the OK from the hire company and then remembered just how heavy my bags were. Having a vehicle to lug them around made life extremely easy. Once the car was dropped off you catch a shuttle bus for the short distance to the terminal. As I was late I needed to then find all my documents in my very packed day rucksack. The flight details came to hand easily, but my passport was tougher to access. It wasn't until I was at the boarding gate I realised just how costly my lateness had made me. In struggling to gain access to my passport in a rush my camera which was in the same compartment had got squeezed out and then resided on the seat on the bus. Thankfully this was all I lost (Picachu is still safe and sound I know some of you will be glad to hear) but now I have to spend money on a new camera - something I didn't want to do until the end of my travels.
This wasn't the only bad news for today, not only will I now have to buy a new camera, the hire car which was originally quoted at around $800 actually came to a massive $1900. The extra charges and taxes added at the end cost more than the cost of hiring the vehicle. That means I have blown over a months budget in one day, and I even donated my camera to the hire company. I'll call them tomorrow to see what all the charges are and whether my camera has turned up, but I doubt I'll have any joy!
Aside from the expenses and my carelessness I actually managed to arrive at the hostel in Chicago safely. It was really easy to find from the airport via the overground train network and the hostel is really nice, although being in the US has an alcohol ban! Tomorrow I'll spend the day exploring, and buying a new camera. At least getting one in the US means I'll get a decent price thanks to the exchange rate.
No recent pictures of Breckenridge though for obvious reasons.
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Glenwood Springs, CO
Sunday, 21 September 2008
After the super expensive hotel I was back into hostels again, and back into Colorado. Glenwood Springs is a fairly large town at the meeting point of the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers at the west end of Glenwood Canyon. The hostel's owner has designed a hostel any hippie would be proud of. There were thousands of these things called "vinyl" which when placed on some sort of prehistoric CD player played music with a massive amount of static and crackling. The collection was impressive, but I think I am happy with .mp3 as my main choice of music format. The dorm was huge though, it contained 14 beds, but thankfully no more than 5 were occupied while I was staying. My bed had seen better days though, it tended to sink in the middle which wasn't the best thing for my back!
I didn't get up to too much while staying there, I just hung out at the hostel in the evening chatting with the staff and some other residents. A lot of the residents were from eastern Europe though, which was slightly strange, I am not sure what Glenwood Springs has to offer your average Russian migrant! There was plenty to occupy me during the day though, the nearby river walk led to a nice park area overlooking the river and railroad tracks, and there was also the hot springs pool which helped ease my sore Grand Canyon affected feet! On my second day I attempted to hike a trail recommended to me by one of the hostel staff. It was to the east of town and followed a valley on the side of Glenwood Canyon. The hike started well, but after about three miles the sky suddenly went very overcast and rumbles of thunder began creeping into where I was. Although I was enjoying the hike safety is always the first priority so I headed out of the valley fairly rapidly. It was a shame as soon as I had about a mile to go of course the storm dissipated! I compensated by doing a short hike in Glenwood Canyon instead.
I liked the feel of the Glenwood Hostel although Glenwood is one of the poorer towns in the area due to the location of nearby Aspen and Vail ski resorts. This meant there did seem to be a greater than average amount of slightly unstable people around! After three nights there I headed back further east along Interstate 70 back to where I started this mini US adventure - Breckenridge. It was a short but sweet drive (thankfully) and on the way I stopped in Glenwood Canyon once again to hike a short trail up a valley to an area known as Hanging Lake. The short but steep trail ended at a crystal clear lake fed by a waterfall which comes out of a hole in the rocks a short hike above the lake. It was a beautiful location and well worth the trip. After picking up some food I headed back to the Fireside Inn once again. It was good to see the British owners again and I even managed to get the same bunk as I had the last time I was here. Plan is to get a hike in and then spend a day clearing out my hire car - it seems to have developed an odour all of its own over the past four weeks!
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Spider!
I saw this beauty while I was camping in Grand Canyon. As I am not a fan of spiders you can imagine my slight trepidation when I saw a Tarantula in the adjoining campsite!
 Yes, that really is a Tarantula, which Wikipedia states are present in desert areas of North America. Thankfully I made it through the night OK......
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Grand Canyon National Park
Thursday, 18 September 2008
After leaving Las Vegas it was good to return to a more nature induced part of my trip! The drive went pretty quickly with only the part between Hoover Dam and Interstate 40 being horrific due to the desert nature of the area. It is really desolate and you can feel quite isolated driving along this stretch of highway. Once onto the Interstate though the journey picked up with the landscape seemingly changing every hour until the turn off for Grand Canyon.
I found the campsite easily and was relieved to find they had plenty of pitches available. This was the best campsite so far, with a decent shower / laundry block within 5 minutes walk, a fantastic supermarket within 10 minutes and decent (if stony grounded!) pitches with plenty of shade - it was nice to be slightly warmer!
After a pretty decent nights sleep in the tent I finally went to see what all the fuss was about with regards to the canyon. Words and pictures could not express just how mindblowing the area is. At points the canyon is well over 10 miles wide and it is so deep the river can't usually be seen. Hiking in the canyon is like hiking no-where else as unlike with most hikes where you start at the bottom and work up, with the Grand Canyon you start at the top and go down! This means that you have to remember that even though it may not have taken long to climb down, it will take longer to climb up. Plus the lower you go the hotter it gets, after a couple of miles the heat really was oppressive. Despite these factors though I did a couple of amazing hikes, especially on my second full day when I hiked three miles of the South Kaibab Trail, an amazing trail along a ridge into the canyon which after those three miles also offers views of the (still distant) Colorado River.
After three nights at Grand Canyon it was time to move on again and the plan was to go to Arches National Park in Utah. The drive was about six hours and took me through some desolate areas again such as the Painted Desert and Monument Valley. I didn't enjoy the drive, I'd had a disturbed nights sleep and the trip seemed to be taking forever and the isolationism was setting in again. Eventually I made my way to Moab, the gateway town to Arches park. I approached the park gate to see the sign I'd been dreading ever since I decided to camp certain areas - Campsite Full. Disappointed I headed into town to try to get a hotel room as it was getting late and I was already tired. Sadly this was pointless too as all the hotels were seemingly fully booked! The Holiday Inn recommended I head onto Grand Junction in Colorado where I'd have more luck, this was only another 90 minutes away!
On crossing the state line back into Colorado it felt almost like a homecoming and was oddly emotional. I found the Holiday Inn in Grand Junction to find that they had three rooms left - all suites with three beds at $175 a night! After calling another cheaper hotel to be told they were full I just thought "sod it" and plumped for the ridiculous suite. Best $175 I have spent in a long time! However, such luxuries cannot be sustained so I called the hostel I was going to stay at next and arranged to arrive a day early and stay an extra night. I took the scenic route via Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park to Glenwood Springs. The park was another amazing canyon and offered some good short hikes. The drive turned out to be five hours in total though so by now I am exhausted from mammoth drives and glad they should all be pretty much behind me. I plan to chill in Glenwood for a few days before heading back to Breckenridge, where my midwest US adventure began three short weeks ago....
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Las Vegas, NV
Saturday, 13 September 2008
Las Vegas, Sin City. Or as I like to call it, a testament to everything that is wrong with planet earth and mankind. It truly is a place where you cannot have no opinion. You either love the city or you hate it. I imagine you can work out where my feelings lie. Its wrong in so many ways, peel back the veneer of the casinos and the main strip and you see poverty, alcoholism and drug abuse, crime levels higher than most cities in the US, but so long as the casinos keep ticking over its all shoved over to one side and forgotten about.
At the same time though I am glad I came here to see what the fuss was all about, having satisfied that itch I know when I leave tomorrow morning I will never ever have to return to this neon infused hell-hole!
Taking a walk down the strip one evening it was strange to see how unhappy most of the people looked! They appeared to me to be faceless robots strolling from one casino to another, the money almost pouring out of their pockets to fund an endless oblivion of construction and more debauchery. Endless vendors hand out flyers for strippers and for every person that came here seeking their fortune another life gets lost to the 24 hour American dream. Plus beer on the strip is expensive.
The hostel has been pretty good though, despite being on one of Vegas's more questionable streets (lots of cop cars about!) it is well equipped with a good kitchen, decent rooms (I have had a four bed room to myself all the time!) a cool pool area (essential in the stupefying heat) and I have hung out with some cool other travellers.
Just outside the city is the world famous Hoover Dam supplying water and electricity to South Western USA. Its a short drive and well worth the effort, even if its just an excuse to leave the city for a few hours! It truly was a testament to what man can achieve, although they were keen to stress that no bodies are left in the dam as a result of construction injuries! I took a tour down into the power generation area which shows how water is sucked in via the intakes and forced to turn the turbines. It was good fascinating stuff, and also had a tour area showing how the dam was built. There is also a new bridge being built over the canyon which when completed will not only relieve traffic issues in the area, but also give an amazing view of the dam and lake beyond.
I have one night left in Vegas before heading to find a campsite in Grand Canyon National Park tomorrow morning (another good six hour drive awaits!) and so this is being written a little early as I anticipate no Internet access for about a week until I return to civilisation and real beds back in Breckenridge next weekend. I'm looking forward to heading back to Breck and from there on to Chicago. Hopefully the camping experience this time will be a little warmer!
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Salt Lake City
Thursday, 11 September 2008
After several nights under canvas it really was good to be in a proper building again, with wifi, a giant TV and a proper bed! The hostel was not as polished as the ones I had been used to in Canada, but it was cheap enough and so I opted for a private room to try to catch up on some sleep. My room was pretty good, although rather than having an en-suite bathroom, it had a shower, sink and toilet along one of the walls! It was quite strange to be able to watch TV from the comfort of a toilet!
After sleeping in a proper bed for a change I woke refreshed to go explore the downtown area. Salt Lake City was founded by the Mormon prophet Brigham Young in 1847 after he was "guided" there to build a temple and community (for guided read persecuted and forced west). The Mormon church headquarters are based here in an area known as Temple Square which also holds the main city temple, a smaller daily church, a huge amphitheatre and a tabernacle which used to be used to hold meetings. The Missionaries there offer short tours around some of the buildings whilst explaining some of their beliefs. The Mormons seemed a pleasant enough bunch, although I have to admit don't share their ability to believe all the teachings in the book of Mormon, the so-called third testament! That said they run a clean peaceful city, which thanks to miles of piping and sprinklers is a very green oasis in a desert area.
Other parts of the city include a nice open air shopping mall and a library building designed by the same architect as the library in Vancouver. The Library really was an interesting design and the staff there have devised a self guided tour around the building. The highlight was the spectacular roof garden which offered views of the surrounding mountains, university campus and the Great Salt Lake itself. The Utah Capital building is situated on a hill to the north of the city and resembles the US Capital building in Washington DC, from there further excellent views of the city can be found.
I actually enjoyed my short time in Salt Lake City, its a clean productive city with some interesting landmarks and a quirky religion throughout the city gives it a unique charm I have not found in other parts of the US. However, as is usual in travelling once I got comfortable and relaxed it was time to move on again, this time to the almost polar opposite of Salt Lake City, Las Vegas. The drive was a fairly straightforward one down the interstate, although after over 6 hours behind the wheel it was fairly tiring. Having found the hostel I was pleased to discover that I was the only person in my 4 bed dorm room! Initial thoughts are that the city couldn't be more different, I'll explore the strip after a good nights sleep! One plus side, this being Vegas, the hostel has a pool and hot tub!
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Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks
Wednesday, 10 September 2008
Setting off from Rocky Mountain National Park I headed to the Grand Teton National Park, a magnificent national park in North West Wyoming. The journey took over 8 hours and by the end I was fed up to say the least. The worst part was when I spotted a state trooper a little too late, but just in time to brake back to the speed limit! He followed me for a couple of nervous miles, but I got lucky and he turned back! I eventually arrived and found my campsite and set up my temporary home.
The Tetons were my first camping trip and the campsite was right next to Jackson Lake and a short drive from some excellent hiking in the mountains. The Teton range is a series of mountains running north to south literally rising out of the plains. Because the adjacent land is so flat they really look dramatic and the hike into the canyon between two of the biggest mountains was really enjoyable and complete with a moose sighting!
The second night under canvas wasn't as much fun though as it was absolutely freezing, the tent had frost on it in the morning! After that night I had to pack up my frozen tent and relocate to Yellowstone and another campsite. I picked one with showers and laundry so I could get clean after two days cleaning myself with wipes, but it turned out the shower block was almost a mile from my tent! Even though the showers were $2 a go though they were still worth every penny.
Yellowstone National Park has acres of geyser fields including Old Faithful from previous volcanic activity which are pretty amazing when they erupt. There is also a grand canyon of the Yellowstone, which is like the Grand Canyon in miniature. There were some good hikes around the canyon, but due to some road constructions I got a bit lost trying to find one of the trail heads, it didn't ruin the day though as I backtracked and found the trail I needed. Unfortunately it wasn't a brilliant trail even when I found it so I headed to one along the north and south rims which offered some amazing views of the waterfalls
Even though the canyon area was spectacular, I was less impressed with Yellowstone. Most of the area is covered with forest so there are not as many views as the Tetons, also once you have seen one geyser field you have pretty much seen them all! Also as the area is so big and the speed limit is only 45 mph it takes ages to get anywhere. Plus if anything it was colder in Yellowstone and after my third night camping there with another frost I was quite glad to set off to Salt Lake City!
The journey to Salt Lake was a lot easier and didn't take anywhere near as long. One of the weird things along the journey is once you leave the park via the West Entrance you instantly re-enter civilization and McDonalds! Salt Lake is easily reached via interstate and the hostel was pretty easy to locate. It was good to sleep under a proper roof and in a real bed! After here its on to Vegas, but I'll fill you in on Salt Lake in the next post.
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Rocky Mountain National Park
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
I have been at the Shadowcliff Lodge in Grand Lake for a few days now and have really enjoyed my stay (apart from the first two nights sharing a room with an insomniac, but those kind of things happen sadly when you are travelling!). The place is an amazing building with a great view of the lakes and mountains around. There is a great log fire to the side of the lounge area and for the past two nights I have been lucky enough to get the 8 bed dorm room all to myself. The staff here and some of the guests have really made me feel welcome, and I even managed to join the staff for dinner last night which consisted of very delicious local bison burgers. I was glad that they let me join them as I was really shattered after a good 14 mile hike into the National Park.
The hike went from the head of Grand Lake up into the park following the valley of the East Inlet River. It was a really pretty hike and a lot easier than the one in Breckenridge. I had walked the first half mile the day before to picturesque Adams Falls, a short loop leads off the trail an overlook by the falls. This time however I hiked the pretty much the entire length to two lakes - Lone Pine Lake and Lake Verna. There was an unadopted trail onto Spirit Lake, but time was against me and the weather was beginning to threaten so at Lake Verna I headed back. It was still one of the most rewarding hikes I have been on. Shortly after Adams Falls I saw a family of Moose and on the way back I caught sight of a deer. After the hike though I was glad to get back to the hostel and a good hot shower and someone else's cooked food.
Today was spent travelling the short distance up to the top of the National Park. Highway 36 is the highest highway in the United States, reaching over 12,000 feet at its peak. At this height the road is above the 11,500 feet treeline and into an area of tundra. There is also a visitors centre along the road in the tundra area and when I arrived I was surprised to see the centre had a rapidly melting layer of snow on its roof. There were a couple of short hikes across the tundra by the visitors centre and it was good to get the amazing scenery with very little effort after the day before! The whole park was stunning, offering amazing views of mountain ranges far into the distance and glacial valleys in the foreground. It felt amazing to be able to stand at around 12,000 feet and witness first hand some of the most spectacular places in the world.
On return to Grand Lake I went for a final walk around the town before leaving tomorrow for the 8 - 9 hour drive to Grand Teton National Park. The town felt oddly empty as all the tourists who had been here for Labor Day had now left to return to work and school. The town has a touristy feel to it, with wooden boardwalks along each side of the street and some very tacky stores! It also has a fantastic ice cream shop and a pretty beach along the lake. On one of my nights here I went to the local micro-brewery pub with one of the staff and enjoyed tasting some of the locally brewed beers, much better than the usual domestic US lager!
Tomorrow morning though I have to motivate myself to leave early and face the long journey north. I am still not too sure how I am going to find camping, I hope I am not too late getting to the campsite as I don't really want the prospect of building a new tent for the first time in the dark! I am sure once I have camped for a couple of nights I'll settle into it, and its not going to be that many nights before I head to Salt Lake City where a Hostel will (hopefully) be waiting for me! That said this may be my last blog entry for several days as I am going to have to face the daunting prospect of staying without not only wifi, but electricity as well! It'll go quickly though and before I know I'll be in the land of modern connections once again.
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