In the desert

Palm Desert really lives up to its name: It's in the desert and has lots of palms everywhere.

Temperatures today were about 110 degrees Fahrenheit. So, the name of the game is to move as little as possible. Or even better to just stay in the pool (or inside air-conditioned buildings). Some of the shops/restaurants have little water sprays outside to make things more bearable...



Palm Desert is part of the "valley" as the locals affectionately call this area. The "valley" includes, most famously, Palm Springs, but also Palm Desert, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, Cathedral City etc. - basically one city morphs into the next in this huge valley which is surrounded by high mountains on both sides.

What is surprising is the contrast between the very barren desert surroundings and the plush, green, man-made places. For example, the valley has over 130 golf courses and over 200,000 swimming pools.



Today we drove around Palm Springs and, in doing so, did a little tour of some of the homes of the movie stars who used to come to Palm Springs to "play". We saw, amongst others, the homes of - you guessed it - Elvis (see photo above; the only other home outside Graceland he actually owned), Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan, Sammy Davis Jr. etc.

Below is Marilyn's place - with her new fan no.1 in front of it:



Tomorrow, we are planning a drive into Los Angeles (with a possible overnight stay)...

On route to California

We spent some more time in Kingman, Arizona, on Route 66. Including a lunch stop at Mr. D'z, a proper diner on Route 66. The kids, and Lucy especially, kept asking questions about a certain "Elvis" and a certain "Marilyn", whose photos were decorating the walls of Mr. D'z establishment.



We then drove across the Hoover Dam. Probably one of the last drives across the actual dam, because the construction of the adjoining mega bridge is almost finished. And from then on all traffic will be directed across the bridge rather than the dam (which will probably cut out the inspection of all vehicles for explosives, which caused a rather long traffic jam when we were there).



Back in Las Vegas for one final night. Time to swap vehicles! After spending the last night in the RV, we returned that vehicle (which we really got used to by now - even Sabine finally stopped bumping her head inside) and picked up our rental car for the next week.



As we left Las Vegas we stumbled across the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. So - slightly out of sequence - we stopped there for a final photo in Las Vegas.

In a normal car (i.e. with proper speed and far less noisy vs. the RV) we drove to Southern California - to Palm Desert, to be precise. For a week of relaxation in a proper hotel in the "United States of Convenience" before heading off to "Terra Incognita" (aka Australia).

The mother of all canyons – the Grand Canyon

What Antilope and Bryce do with intricate details, the Grand Canyon does with awe-inspiring size.

We already got a first taste of it on our way from Lake Powell, right after Page, when we stopped at the aptly named “Horseshoe Bend” where the Colorado bends, well, like a horseshoe through a canyon. However, it was quite an exhausting trail to get to the actual viewpoint in the heat, especially for the kids. And, when we finally got there, again it was quite a tough one for the writer of these notes (given that there were again zero safety barriers, which made it all rather uncomfortable to watch for me as people were trying to get as close to the edge as possible for the best photo angle possible). Personally, I rather more enjoyed watching Germany beat Ghana that same day on ESPN.

Anyways, I digress... Yes, the Grand Canyon. About 3 hours from Page (everything seems to be a 3 hour drive here, we have noticed), we got there just in time to see some of the later afternoon light before we set up our RV in the Mather Campground on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

The real treat was getting up extra early the next morning (...and this time not to watch a World Cup game in the early hours on TV) - but to see the sunrise over the canyon. While the rest of the family went for the beauty sleep option, I got up in time for the 5.13 am sunrise, which really is something that neither words nor pictures can adequately describe. Every few minutes as the sun rises, the canyon’s image changes. This combined with the vast space of the canyon itself makes this experience truly one of the greatest nature attractions in the world.

After I re-connected with the rest of the team and after a proper breakfast, we spend some more time at the canyon rim. Or rather time waiting for the shuttle buses and then being carried around in them from viewpoint to viewpoint. Because by now the assembled tourists of this world were all in full flow, and the heat was back on again, too.

I definitely preferred the morning experience...

Leaving the Grand Canyon behind, we drove – you guessed it – again approx. 3 hours on our way to Kingman, Arizona. Just really a convenient stop for the night before the final stretch back to Las Vegas to return the mobile home. Also a good “excuse” to revisit good-old Route 66 on one of its still existing and nicest parts (from Seligman to Kingman). Sabine and I drove the entire Route 66 (or, better, what’s still left of it) from Chicago to Los Angeles back in 1999, so it was nice to revisit at least part of the “mother road”.

Since we last visited, Seligman has really accelerated branding itself as the “spiritual home” of the Route 66 with every shop and every piece of merchandise being Route 66 related (and perhaps overshot the mark slightly in doing so).

By contrast, it was nice to see that things at one of our old favourite places, the old store in Hackberry, hadn’t changed a bit. It still looks like it did years ago. Including being run by the same owner. Just the dog Max wasn’t there 11 years ago...

Small and narrow, but extremely beautiful – the Antilope Slot Canyon

What came next was without doubt one of the highlights of the trip so far: Just outside of Page (within the Navajo Indian reservation territory) is the Antilope Slot Canyon. This one is not nearly as well known as, say, the Grand Canyon or even Bryce Canyon or Zion Canyon, but certainly deserves to be in that league for rather different reasons though.

It’s a very narrow canyon, sometimes only a few feet wide, through which the Navajo Indians guide the visitors. While it’s extremely narrow, the canyon is at the same time rather tall and open at the top. Therefore, especially at mid-day, some sunrays shine inside and create the most beautiful images on the canyon floor and walls. A photographer’s dream. Something which seems to have made the rounds all the way to Japan, as our group consisted mainly of Japanese tourists equipped with the intimating-looking tripods and the latest cameras.

The photographic trick as we found out really is to find those few precious moments when the canyon space ahead you is free of, ... well, in our case Japanese people. And then one could enjoy (and photograph) some of these amazing moments. It was absolutely fantastic. After about an hour we were back in our tour jeeps which got us there in the first place.

Moving on from Utah to Arizona

After we left Bryce Canyon we drove through Southern Utah into Arizona. Even though both states share more or less the same longitude they have an hour time difference in Summer ... go figure.

We stopped along the way in Kanab, Utah, whose claim to fame to date was that a lot of Western movies have been shot there (hence they call themselves Little Hollywood). However, from now on another news item will have to be added to Kanab’s credentials – it’s there that Fiona finally lost her first wobbly tooth. A piece for the Southern Utah News, no doubt!

Speaking of the Southern Utah News (which is a weekly paper), we couldn’t help smiling when we saw on page 1 of the current issue under the “weather” section the comment “No weather available this week”. Anyways, for all we know it’s been hot (certainly during the daytime)...

We celebrated that fact that we are now travelling lighter (i.e. without Fiona’s front tooth) with a proper lunch at Houston’s Trail Ends restaurant, where the waitress reminded us with her outfit (incl. a proper gun in holster) that we are in the Wild West. So we made sure we left a big enough tip...just in case.

Before we arrived at our next stop (Wahweap Campground at Lake Powell, near Page, Arizona) we already noticed an ever-increasing number of boats being towed on the roads in what could at best be described as an almost desert-like landscape. The solution was, of course, that we were approaching Lake Powell, the artificial lake that was created in the early 60s after President Eisenhower approved the construction of the Glen Canyon dam near Page. (Not to be confused with the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead, which are both further West, even though of all them feed of the same river, the Colorado).

Lake Powell was a nice refreshing surprise with not only lots of boats, but also some beaches, which were most welcomed, given the heat during the day. Quite a surreal setting to have this barren landscape and in the midst of it Lake Powell...

In Southern Utah – Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks

First Stop (after about 3 hours drive): Zion National Park in the Southwestern part of Utah. One advantage of an RV (vs. sleeping in a tent) is that you basically just have to park it, connect the electricity and water (as long as these connections are available) - and you are done!!!

Therefore there was enough time for a quick and rather cold swim in the Virgin River before our first outdoor meal under the Western sky. Followed by a Ranger talk about Zion National Park in the national park’s open air theatre.



The next morning we then went up the canyon with the shuttle bus service. Quite convenient, at least this way you don’t spend half of the day stuck in traffic or looking for parking spaces. We did a few hikes and photo stops along the way to see (a small part of) this majestic park. Unlike in the Grand Canyon, here in Zion you are on the base of the canyon with massive sandstone walls all around you. It’s a bit like Yosemite, just that somebody coloured the rocks in red.



The highlight of the hikes was that we saw a snake that was at least 2 meters long. Quite impressive to all of sudden find yourself face to face with something like this. At least it wasn’t a rattlesnake...

In the afternoon we then drove another 3 hours to our next stop: Bryce Cannyon Nationalpark. With plenty of stops along the way to keep up morale and ice cream intake-levels.



One of our favourite moments was a small village general store in deepest Utah backcountry where the store owner offered a new copy of the “Book of Mormons” to every customer. Well, that’s the holiday reading sorted then...



Once we arrived at Bryce Canyon Campground, things had to move quickly. Because it was only a few more minutes before the Saturday night rodeo started in town. A welcome opportunity for cowboys of all ages to show off their skills and bravery. The grown-ups tried to stay on top of bucking broncos and wild bulls (for at least 8 seconds), whereas the future generation cowboys tried their luck on little calves. And for the smallest ones (who could barely walk) it was holding onto little lambs.



After a really cold night (close to zero degrees outside), we then woke up to first celebrate Fiona’s 6th birthday. With birthday candle, presents and the whole works...



We then went on a long hike along the rim of Bryce Canyon. As people say, you always discover new aspects about yourself when travelling. Well, I learned today that I had a real feeling of panic when I saw Lucy and Fiona running around the (largely unprotected!) canyon rim. Strange because I certainly don’t suffer from vertigo when it’s just myself. Well, at least there are two grown-ups and two kids of us, so we could resort back to man- (or better kid-)marking. Still, I have to say, I was fairly relieved when we finally had completed our hike. A shame because of it I couldn’t really enjoy the awesome scenery.

Once we “survived” the rim trail we had a picnic back at the campground and a refreshing swim in the outdoor pool here. While it’s freezing cold at night, it is really hot during the day. In the evening we saw a movie about Bryce Canyon National Park (which was much less emotionally stressful, I have to ay). And then we finished off Fiona’s special day with an open campfire. Whoever said that grilled marshmallows tasted well; I thought, they are just a sticky sort of mess...

Our home for the next 9 days

After a rather annoying 3 hours wait things were finally ready and we took over our RV from Cruise America, our home on wheels for the next 9 days.

The first impression from the designated driver’s POV: Well, that’s quite a big ship! About 4 meters tall and 3 meters wide (with two side mirrors that really stick out and cannot be folded in). Well, you cannot help it, but images of low bridges, narrow tunnels and low-hanging trees come to mind straight away...

First stop: WalMart, to complete our camping-equipment and to store up on food provisions. It was also here that every tour member got the quintessential equipment piece for every US-roadtrip: a baseball cap from WalMart.

So then, we filled up the RV, and we are ready to go...

City of superlatives and contradictions

After we caught up on sleep yesterday during the day, we were ready to hit the Las Vegas nightlife last night.

And what a city it is! So much here just doesn’t make any sense and somehow it still does somehow “fit”, because it is “Vegas”. It feels a bit like some crazy architects and city planners came together for a brainstorming on “what would be the craziest thing I’d love to build” and then got the go-ahead to turn their ideas into reality.

Because why would you...

...build such a city in the middle of nowhere (in the desert),

...create the largest man-made lake (Lake Mead) right next to it,

...construct many of the world’s largest hotels more or less on one street,

...hardly see any people during the day, but at night be hardly able to cross the road because of the sheer number of people,

...hand out the most explicit strip-club flyers right outside the M&M superstore (i.e. one of the highlights for the smallest in the family)

and

...have Barry Manilow and Cher still on stage with 100 years of age (or something like that)?

Answer: Because it is Las Vegas. (And perhaps also: If we don’t do it here, then Dubai will do it.)

We were back in our hotel around midnight – somewhat tired, overloaded with impressions, but also fascinated by what this city has to offer. Lucy and Fiona thought that they had dreamed it all, but, ...hey, where would this photo with the Elvis Brothers then come from...?!

This afternoon we will pick up our RV / motorhome / campmobile (i.e. our home for the next 10 days). And then we are off to the National Parks of the American West. I suspect, we won’t have regular internet access in the days to come; but we’ll see...

Viva Las Vegas

Not even 10 meters into the airport terminal and already there they are: the first slot machines. One of the first posters (and we are still in the airport terminal!, not even at the baggage carrousel) invites you officially to some sort of gun-testing place.



Well, this can only mean one thing: Welcome to Vegas! Welcome to the Wild West!



Somewhat tired (after an almost 5 hour flight and 3 additional hours of time difference to Washington DC), we arrived late last night here in Las Vegas. This whole time difference thing has its merits, too (at least for the writer of this blog), as it means I’m awake in the early hours of the morning when the World Cup games are on TV here. For example, coverage of the next Germany game (against Serbia on Friday) starts at 4.30 am (local time)...

Today, at our first day here in Las Vegas we took things rather slowly. To be honest, you can only really be outside until about 11.00am anyways and then it just gets too hot.

Also one obviously wants to save energy and get ready for “Vegas by Night”...

Leaving Washington DC

After 2 fantastic weeks in Washington DC, it's (sadly) time to pack the suitcases again and to move on...

Looking back, we had an 'awesome' time here. Fantastic museums, monuments, historic sites, etc. But what we will remember (and miss) most about Washington is the fantastic hospitality of Mike, Lori, GraceAnn and Evan. They have been wonderful hosts!!!

Therefore, fittingly, the last blog entry from Washington DC is to look back at some of the nice activities that we undertook together.





For example, we had a lovely evening picnic at the famous Iwo Jima war memorial to watch the US Marine's music corps put on a great performance. Without a single audio command, dozens of soldiers simultaneously threw their riffles up in the air (...and caught them!), all in exactly the same movement. Plus they did other amazing synchronized movements, too. (And we cannot even get our two kids to put their shoes on in the morning at the same time, ...and that with numerous "instructions"!!!)



We went to church to see GraceAnn put on a great performance in the "Jonah and the Whale" story. Complete with props, settings (and free pizza afterwards).



We were treated to lots of improvised theater performances by the "triplets" (GraceAnn, Lucy and Fiona) in the evening, while Evan did a mean Michael Jackson dance impersonation.

A real blessing in the Washington DC heat was the swimming pool in the Fort Myers army compound, where we spent a lot of great time. And where the kids perfected their diving skills...



And we had lots of great dinners together, shared some busy mornings in the kitchen, and enjoyed relaxed evenings in the garden (with the kids catching fireflies) and so much more.

Mike, Lori, GraceAnn, Evan - thanks again for the great time & we hope to see you again soon!

Where the big decisions are being made

Many things that get decided in Washington DC have consequences not just for this city or country, but for abroad, too. Like the old saying goes "When America has a cold, Europe has pneunomia". It was therefore great to see some of the places where these major decisions are being made...

Four places in particular: The White House, the Capitol, the Pentagon and the CIA-HQ.

Our insights (and access) into these four places differed largely.

With the CIA-HQ, that carries George Bush's name these days and which has an inviting big exit sign on the highway, that we passed everyday on the school run, it was a relatively brief affair. Upon approaching what must be one of the tightest security gates anywhere in the world with our car we weren't welcome with the usual "So nice to see you" and "Where are you guys from", but rather the opposite... - So not much luck there. I'd say, these guards really have to go back to charm school...



The White House at least had a great visitor center (and gift shop). Access to the White House, while being possible, is something that has to be organised quite a long way in advance; so we'll keep that one for our next visit.



The Capitol was more of a success. We managed to book in advance a timeslot for a guided tour of this impressive building, which houses both the US Senate and Congress. The slot we got coincided with the USA vs. England World Cup game, which - come to think of it - was probably why that slot was still free. The tour was, however, somewhat brief and superficial and really just focussed on three or so big symbolic rooms inside - with historic paintings and statues. One didn't actually get to see the rooms where the Senate and Congress meet.



By far the best tour we had was through the Pentagon. Mike, whose family we are staying with, works there and had kindly offered to take Sabine and me on a tour of the building on the weekend. The Pentagon, which is supposedly the largest office building in the world, has close to 30,000 people working there. Its corridors measure over 28 km in length - but due to its pentagon-shape one is supposed to get from any place in the building to another is less than 7 minutes.



The Pentagon is not just huge in size, but also very informative with many displays. Plus we were also very lucky with our "tour guide"; Mike gave a great tour. At the Pentagon there are some very moving memorials to commemorate the fact that on Sept. 11, 2001, one of the hijacked planes also crashed into this building, killing almost 200 people (something that often gets forgotten, when the attacks on the "twin towers" are being remembered). It's one of the ironies of history that the Pentagon's construction started officially on Sept. 11, 1941 - i.e. exactly 60 years to the day of the terrorist attack.

Last but not least, it was at the Pentagon that we finally got really close to one of the key decision-makers' office - the US Secretary of Defense. Well, at least to its office door...