Death Valley

We’re in the heart of Death Valley at a place called Furnace Creek. Yes, you get the picture, it’s hot and it’s only springtime. We arrived via a stopover to break the journey in Ridgecrest, a moderately sized town about 50 miles from the national park, whose principal purpose seems to be mining and to support the nearby naval base. Why the Navy needs a base in the desert, we didn’t ask.

I was hoping for some Wild West action; saloons with swing doors, card games, dodgy looking characters, and long tales. Well OK, we know its 2011 but we were expecting to find a bar of some sorts and failed miserably. There is the usual assortment of drive through take away places and not much else. We settled for a Chinese which was drive through but also had a few tables, and of course a couple of fish tanks. The food was actually OK, but I wouldn’t put Ridgecrest on your must do list just yet.

Back to DV where the landscape really looks like another world. George Lucas shot some scenes for the first star wars films here and you can see why. The barren land is twisted into some incredible shapes through millennia of seismic activity fused with a Van Gogh like array of colours from the mineral rich rocks. There are some sand dunes, although not many, and ranges of rocks that look like frozen sand dunes. At Dante’s view, about an hour from our base, there’s an everlasting view of the valley below including the lowest point at Badwater , 282 feet below sea level with the salt pan a dazzling white streak along its length. On the valley floor you can walk out onto the salt where the crystals form hexagonal plates. At Panamint Springs in the West of the park, we walked up to the spring where a small waterfall emerges from the arid rock to provide an oasis of flora and the water for the nearby camp. There’s a scenic road along “Artists‘ Drive” where we took a short walk into a kaleidoscope of colour from an assortment of rocks laden with minerals from Borax to Iron ore.

We stayed in the very comfortable Furnace Creek Inn, which has a rich history being the first tourist hotel built in Death Valley. At one point it was an exclusive retreat for the rich and famous. Clark Gable got married here and Marlon Brando used to stay in our room (so we were told anyway. I’m a bit doubtful as the bed was no way big enough – OK, going native there, it wasn’t large enough)

Palm Springs

We finally escaped the clutches of LA and motored out to the beautiful Palm Springs, wedged between two mountain ranges. We arrived about lunchtime and thought we’d pop into downtown which is about a mile south from our motel. After 5 minutes, a bus pulled up which we though was handy, so we hopped on. We were starting to regret climbing aboard as the driver appeared to be disinterested in continuing the journey. The prospect of progress looked bleak when he pulled out a novel and settled back in his chair. Eventually we did move on. A huge lady asked us where we were from. “Aw England. That’s where the food is expensive and the portions are small”. That’s us in a nutshell really.

It’s hot, hot, hot here with the mercury approaching 90F. Naturally, this requires frequent refreshment. We found a very cooling Mexican place serving wonderful Margueritas so we settled in there for a few hours. The restaurants here have water pipes spraying a fine mist onto the diners outside to keep everyone cool, very impressive considering we’re in the desert.

Next day we met up with Chris and Joan who took us to a very good restaurant overlooking a recently built golf course near where they live in Cathedral City. There really are a lot of golf courses here. Despite the desert climate there apparently is an abundance of water from underground aquifers that are constantly being replenished from run off from the mountains. I managed a few holes with some clubs borrowed from Chris which was a bit of a challenge in the heat (99 degrees) and the clubs hadn’t seen the light of day for 30 years so were not quite state of the art. I hooked up with a few local gents, one of whom popped into his house next to the eighth green and reappeared with a few refreshments – fabulous.

On our final day we took the sky tram (cable car to you and me) up to the top of the Chino Canyon and found ourselves in another world. The lift ascends 800 feet and we were suddenly in a forest of pine trees with snow on the ground. The temperature here is typically 30 to 40 degrees cooler than the desert floor, but on our visit we were still able to walk around comfortably in T shirts. There are several well marked walking trails. We followed one called desert view which gave up some tremendous views of the desert valley below.

All in all we were very impressed with Palm Springs and wished we had a few more days but we were booked into Death Valley so it was adios amigos and slap on that sun cream.

Dana Point, Orange County

Southern California, Pacific coast – its so laid back here even the seagulls can’t be bothered stealing your lunch. We’re in a very modern condo about 300 meters from the beach. Early morning exercise on the beach is the done thing either surfing, power walking, jogging, or there’s a new sport which involved standing on a surf board with one paddle. What’s wrong with good old fashioned sit down rowing? Walking along the beach on Monday, we were so inspired by the locals we both spontaneously broke into a jog, causing a few local earth tremors, and the odd sideways look. We decided to spend the day hanging out the beach so had our shorts, packed lunch, and novels to hand. We found a quiet spot near the marina to read for a few hours. Unfortunately we both now have lobster legs and have to cover up for a few days.

Spent yesterday morning whale watching, or more accurately described as ‘searching for whales to no avail’; but we did spend a very pleasant few hours on the water and saw plenty of common dolphins surfing the bow wave in front of the boat.

Los Angeles

LA, the definite French article, or alternatively, Los Angles - a small coastal town north of San Diego. We spent an eventful first day on an urban treck from Hollywood to Beverley Hills. Although it looks like the two districts are next to each other on the map, this was actually a 5 mile hike. This came as a small surprise to me as I thought we were popping out for breakfast.

We’re staying in a small bunglalow just off Sunset Boulevard not far from Sunset and Vine for those who know the area.

Our walk didn’t last long initially as Mags had set off in her thongs (aka sandals, not underwear) and was bleeding into the concrete before long. A quick diversion to a shoe shop and a pharmacy and we were back on our way. It was fun to wander along some of the famous roads such as Santa Monica Boulevard (“This ain’t no disco……All I wanna do” and all that), but these avenues are extremely long and I think its fair to say that we weren’t seeing the best parts which I expect are closer to the coast. There was a fairly generic strip of concrete dotted with fast food outlets, cafes, shops, and gas stations. At the edge of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills we entered an upmarket area with ultra expensive couture shops. Suddenly, there were lots of Mercs, and coiffured women carrying small dogs.

We trudged on into Beverley Hills, wandering the immaculate streets and impressive dwellings looking unsuccessfully for the home of the Beverley Hillbillies. We did find a very fine Italian restaurant near Rodeo drive and Wiltshire where we saw the second half of the champions league game between Chelsea and Man U. Unfortunately we lost 1 nil but the lunch was superb.

Thursday we spent a very enjoyable day at the Getty centre which has a fine, but modest collection of impressionist paintings including Degas, Monet, Turner, Cezanne and Van Gogh. The building itself is very impressive, dazzling white columns and stone perched high in the Santa Monica hills with the rest of LA laid out below with views all the way along the pacific coast.

We’re now in Dana Point, Orange County chilling out on the beach. We’re theoretically south of LA but its really another suburb. We drove out south along the pacific highway and LA just goes on and on and on ……… and on. There’s no break in the concrete jungle yet, and we still haven’t seen a cow or a sheep – not still alive anyway.

Palm springs next, so I’m off to purchase the Zimmer frame.