On the Road with T and S

On a crisp, dry and cold morning we left Yellowstone and drove to Jackson, WY. Our journey took us through some spectacular country. We soon caught sight of the majestic Grand Teton mountain range with snow-capped peaks towering above 12,000 ft.  As the road turned one bend after another we were rewarded with wonderful views.  Oxbow Bend on the Snake River We reached our hotel in Jackson in the afternoon.  The front of our hotel We took the hotel shuttle into the centre of Jackson that evening and went to the Silver Dollar bar. It turned out to be a very lively place as all the patrons seemed to be tuned into the music of a  local  Bluegrass band with the unusual name of One Ton Pig.  We were surrounded by men and  women of all ages dressed in cowboy/cowgirl style.  On Wednesday we drove a short distance to Teton Village where we took the aerial tramway to the top of Rendezvous Mountain. When we reached the top at 1...

After a brief shopping trip to buy some more warm clothes we left Idaho Falls and began our drive to Yellowstone National Park where we would stay in a Frontier cabin at Lake Yellowstone. The morning was cold and crisp and we drove through some beautiful countryside. We stopped for a picnic lunch at Island Park State Park, ID and it was the coldest al fresco lunch we have ever had. We drove through Montana for about 10 miles, stopping in West Yellowstone, a really Wild West cowboy town for a warming cup of coffee. All that was missing were the cowboys' horses tethered outside the saloon! We reached the Park about three o'clock and as we were driving along we had to stop to allow a mother black bear and her two cubs cross the road. It was an amazing sight.  Mother bear and cubs crossing the road in front of us Yellowstone was America's first National Park, opened in 1872. It has over half the world's geysers, the world's largest high-altitude lake (7...

We left South Lake Tahoe on a cold and overcast Wednesday and headed for Winnemucca in Nevada for a one night stay. Part of the journey was on Hwy 50 which has been nicknamed "The Loneliest Road" in the USA. At times we drove for miles without meeting another vehicle or seeing any form of human life.  The Loneliest Road Winnemucca appeared to consist of a main strip filled with small casinos, motels and eating houses. It was difficult to appreciate the surrounding landscape due to the persistent overcast conditions.  Winnemucca We carried on to Idaho, our third State for a two night stay in Twin Falls. We experienced many types of weather on our journey - overcast skies, extremely low cloud, rain, strong winds and recent snow on the sides of the roads on our 290 mile trip through some very high country.     Overcast weather Snowy mountain tops in the clouds On Friday we visited the Shoshone Falls Park to catch a view of...

We touched down in a sunny San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon feeling very fortunate to be setting out on another great holiday in the USA. We overnighted in a hotel close to the airport so that we could pick up our car on Wednesday morning and begin our road trip. Our Jeep Compass We hit the road and headed north towards the Golden Gate Bridge which due to the weather was partially covered in mist. A misty Golden Gate Bridge from our Jeep M The weather improved as we left San Francisco and when we reached Sonoma the sun was shining to welcome us.  The historic picturesque town of Sonoma is home to Sonoma State Historic Park - site of the northernmost Franciscan mission in California and birthplace of the California State Bear Flag. Located in the heart of the beautiful wine country between Napa and Santa Rosa the town surrounds a central plaza (the largest of its kind in California),  filled with charming shops and restaurants. The town centre also ha...

On Sunday morning after breakfast we began the drive to Yosemite National Park where we were to spend two nights. We headed south towards the Park through a golden landscape  which became more verdant the closer we got.   We stayed in Wawona in the south of the Park. Our hotel - Big Tree Lodge (4012ft) - was a Victorian style hotel surrounded by giant Ponderosa pines and Redwoods.                                                                        Our hotel in Wawona The lounge in hotel It is almost impossible to describe the beauty of Yosemite in words. From the dizzying heights of granite cliffs such as El Capitan and Half Dome to the river Merced meandering through the valley there was always something to take our breath away.        ...