Heading back to California

After Grand Canyon, we didn't have that much time and hundreds of miles to drive over the next two days. We were not going to go back to Las Vegas, but to Williams, then Kingman, Barstow then LA along the Route 40 ( a highway) and incidentally along the old Route 66 too. Williams, AZ was fun, we stumbled across some vintage car show and it was like stepping back in time. 30's, 40's, 50's cars were great, what a shame I had left my camera in the boot. Kingman, AZ was forgettable except for Mr D'z Dinner, a cute caf' where we had breakfast ( thanks to the Rough guide to South West USA). Before Barstow Christian was bored with the higway so we continued on the route 66, not well maintained, but we came across the Bagdad Café from the 1988 film "Out of Rosenheim" in English It had been very susessful in France so the walls were covered with cards from French tourists!!! Strange in such a barren land.
Driving back to Thousand Oaks we crossed the Mojave Desert again, Joshua trees still lurking in the background. We avoided Los Angeles this time, Palmdale, Santa Clarita and the 126 to Ventura at last, then Moorpark, and Thousand Oaks! What a week!

Grand Canyon

The last leg of our journey was the Grand Canyon. We set off in the afternoon from Bryce Canyon so we travelled throughout the evening to Arizona. We had a few "Waow" moments approaching Cameron with the sun setting over huge plains and canyons, when you can see hundred of miles around and the nature is outstanding, bare plains, deep valleys and red cliffs. We drove to Lake Powell and stpped to admire it. We arrived at Grand Canyon Village on the South Rim at night and really discovered it in the morning. The size of it made it difficult to comprehend, It is more thean a hundred mile wide, a huge opening in the mountain. We walked along the Rim for part of the day, and had to get used to the heat again, after Zion and Bryce. Of course we were in one of the most famous spots in the world and had been caught up with mass tourism, buses and coaches poured out the crowds, and we realised August wasn't the best time of the year to come here. We din't have enough time to embark on a hike, for that you need at least two days on a mule trail, which is the way we had enjoyed Zion and Bryce, shame really. Staying in Bright Angel Lodge was great. It had been bult in the late 19th Century by odd adventurers/ travellers/ miners and restaured in the 1930's. A few old buildings had been restaured. We didn't spend more than a day, it was already saturday and we had to head off to California.

Bryce Canyon

Then we continued to Bryce Canyon, which is about two hours from Zion. We drove, well Christian did, through landscapes similar to those in Thelma and Louise, really outstanding red or black stone, mountain roads, canyons. We arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park for the sunset and headed to Sunset Point. More amazement, more red sandstone, amazing yellows, pinks, and whites. Here the erosion has created a geological curiosity, thousands of little chimneys called "hoodoos" in the canyon. Very different from Zion, really surprising. More French, Italian, and German tourists everywhere... The following day we walked in the canyon, Peek-a-Boo Loop Trail, with and elevation of 1555 feet/473 m. The landscape changed everywhere you looked and I got carried away taking pictures.
At last it was a bit fresher, and we even saw a bit of rain! The following day we left Utah with a feeling of amazement and certainly wanting to come back again.

Zion National Park, Utah

On Tuesday morning we were relieved to leave Las Vegas and continued on Road 15 to St George, Utah while singing Beatles tunes in the car. Back in the desert, back in the heat. St George couldn't be more different from Las Vegas. The place is all very sober and sweet looking on a hill.
We continued uphill towards Zion National Park and found the most relaxing town called Springdale where we stayed for two days. Zion Canyon is amazing; it is a small canyon, made of red sandstone, with natural arches. The hikes are among the most beautiful ones we have ever walked, Emerald Pool trails, Angel's Landing, with an elevation of 1488ft/453m, and the most amazing of all the Narrows, a hike along and in the river towards where the canyon narrows. I sacrificed my walking boots wading through muddy waters for four hours, and have to say the sights were amazing. As you go along the Canyon walls get narrower and we reached a place where they are six metres apart! The only danger is flash floods, so we had to keep an eye on the weather and be ready to get clear of the river.
The small town of Springdale is gentle if touristy, full of arty shops, and we stayed in El Rio Lodge. I must say Zion Canyon was full of French and Italian tourists. Is it just the strong Euro or Sarkozy spending his holidays in the States?

Las Vegas

First of all, when Christian arrived we knew we were going on a trip, but hadn't finalised it. So with the precious help of the excellent Rough Guide to Southwest USA by Greg Ward, we sorted out everything in one afternoon. We set off on the Sunday to Las Vegas by car and saw the most amazing Mojave desert sights. It is a huge desert in the South East of California, complete with sandy plains, rocky mountains, big cacti called Joshua trees for miles on end. Arriving in Las Vegas at night was amazing. From Interstate 15 you start to see tall buildings illuminating the desert night, huge neon billboards, and smoke billowing from a pyramid of glass. And then as you leave the highway and drive to the center you see crowds of tourists in disbelief walking the Strip (Las Vegas Boulevard).
This is the town for which superlatives were invented: Las Vegas is the hottest town we have ever been to, the most crowded, the biggest, the most ridiculous. At times it makes your head spin. Overstimulation of the senses is everywhere, scorching heat, blaring colours, the fake electronic sound of slot machines, sexy girls in exotic costumes trying to entice the punters, advertising flashing everywhere, "Spend, Spend, Gamble, Gamble" is a constant message in "Sin City". To avoid the sun we had to stay in the over air-conditioned casinos. The most ridiculous themes, Excalibur, Luxor, Paris, Venetian compete with strange attractions, tropical gardens, lions in glass cages, rides overlooking the city, the Crazy Horse, Celine Dion, Cirque du Soleil shows. "Disneyland for adults" as a taxi driver described it. I did like the old-fashioned side, though, everything 50's -60's. But it is a town which continually destroys its past and builds bigger, better, more outlandish casinos and attractions for the future.
It is the oddest town I have ever seen, an architectural mishmash planted in the middle of the desert, where people happily waste vast quantities of water and energy. The history of Las Vegas is just as eccentric. The Hoover dam workers needed a place to spend their money and the gambling started in the early 20th Century. Later the mobster Bugsy Seigel built a casino, yet six months later his associates realised he was cheating they had him killed in Los Angeles. It is a risky business starting up a casino.

Fortunately we only stayed for a day and a half, saw a show, the Beatles' Love by Cirque du Soleilat Mirage Casino, gambled six bucks and won fifteen at the black jack, walked miles and saw people gambling night and day!

En francais
Quand Christian est arrivé nous savions que nous allions partir pour une semaine ensemble tous les trois mais la destination était encore incertaine. C'est grace à l'excellent Rough Guide to Southwest USA de Greg Ward que nous avons tout préparé en une après-midi. Nous sommes donc partis le dimanche matin pour Las Vegas en voiture et avons traversé le Désert de Mojave. Une chaleur incroyable, des paysages lunaires et des arbres de Josué nous attendaient le long du chemin. Une pause à Barstow nous a fait croiser la route 66, et découvrir un peu d'histoire de la conquête de l'Ouest.
L'arrivée à Las Vegas de nuit est une expérience étrange. Déjà sur l'autoroute 15 on voit d'immenses bâtiments illuminés, pyramides de verre d'où s'échappe de la fumée, publicités géantes qui clignotent dans la nuit. Puis on entre dans cette ville démesurée où tout converge vers une avenue centrale, Las Vegas Boulevard, the Strip et toujours plongés dans une chaleur écrasante on essaie de trouver son chemin. Des passants ébaubis parcourent la ville de la démesure. Nous avons réussi à trouver notre hôtel et nous sommes précipités au Casino Mirage pour voir le spectacle que nous avions reservé, the Beatles' Love du Cirque du Soleil.
Las Vegas est la ville des superlatifs: c'est la ville la plus chaude dans laquelle je suis jamais allée, la plus folle, la plus ridicule et qui vous donne le tournis. La chaleur étouffante, les couleurs criardes, le faux bruit des machines à sous, de belles filles sexy vétues de quelques plumes essaient de convaincre les badauds de jouer leurs économies au tapis vert, des panneaux publicitaires clignotent de tous les cotés. Le message est clair: " Venez consommer, et entrez dans la folie du jeu!". Las Vegas est même surnommée, "La Ville du Péché" et il y a un slogan publicitaire: "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas..." Nous voilà donc là où tout est permis!!! La chaleur nous oblige à rester dans les casinos climatisés à excès. Des thèmes ridicules, Luxor, Excalibur, Paris, le Vénitien, disputent la vedette aux attactions les plus insensées, des jardins tropicaux, des lions en cage de verre, des manèges surplombant la ville, Céline Dion, le Crazy Horse, des spectacles de Cirque du Soleil. Pourquoi, oui pourquoi, ai-je dit oui à Christian et Stephen? " Disneyland for adults" nous a dit un habitant du coin!
Toutefois je dois dire que j'aime bien le coté kitsch. Les chapelles pour se marier à la va-vite, comme Elvis, ou Joan Collins, le design des années 50-60 avec son univers de pacotille, nous font sourire. Mais Las Vegas est un peu comme Los Angeles, elle détruit son passé au fur et à mesure et construit des attractions encore plus grandes, plus éblouissantes, plus extravagantes pour les années à venir. Des chantiers gigantesques montrent cet optimisme sans limite.
C'est la ville la plus étrange que j'aie jamais vue, un mélange architectural sans queue ni tête, plantée au milieu du désert, où les gens dépensent sans complèxe l'eau et l'électricité du barrage Hoover. Ce barrage, construit au début du XXième siècle est à l'origine de Las Vegas; les ouvriers qui l'ont construit avaient bien besoin de distractions, perdus au millieu du Névada! Plus tard le malfrat Bugsy Siegel y a construit un casino, mais ses associés decouvrant ses malversations l'ont fait assassiner à Los Angeles six mois plus tard! Métier à risques s'il en est.

Au bout d'un jour et demi (j'ai compté ) nous voilà repartis, ayant vu un spectacle, joué six dollars et gagné quinze au Black Jack, marché sur des kilomètres à regarder une ville de carton pâte, et vu des gens jouer au machines à sous et autre roulette du matin au soir et du soir au matin.

1551 miles!

Here we are, back at home, after having travelled 1551 miles through four states, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and back in California, having seen Las Vegas, Zion Park, Bryce Canyon, Lake Powell, the Grand Canyon, the Route 66 and many more things for a whole week!
I will start telling the story tomorrow when Christian, Stephen and I have settled again in Thousand Oaks.

Version française:
Nous voilà de retour après avoir parcouru 2500km environ et avoir traversé quatre états: la Californie, le Névada, l'Utah, et l'Arizona.Nous avons passé la semaine à visiter Las Vegas, le parc Zion, Bryce Canyon, le lac Powell et le grand Canyon! Nous avons aussi emprunté la route 66 et déjeuné au Bagdad Café!
Je me mettrai demain à raconter notre périple à trois, Christian, Stephen et moi, après que nous ayons repris notre souffle.

4.5 on the Richter scale

We have just had our first earthquake, which woke me up last night around 1am. Nothing dramatic but Stephen didn't want to believe me. Victory! It is in the Los Angeles Times:
4.5-magnitude quake rattles Southern California
"From the Associated Press 3:35 AM PDT, August 9, 2007
A moderate earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area early Thursday, waking residents and knocking some items off shelves and walls."

So we do live in earthquake country after all...

Version française

Nous avons eu notre premier tremblement de terre qui m'a reveillée vers une heure du matin la nuit dernière. Rien de dramatique, heureusement. Ce matin, j'en ai la preuve: c'est dans le Los Angeles Times!
4.5-magnitude quake rattles Southern California
"From the Associated Press 3:35 AM PDT, August 9, 2007
A moderate earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area early Thursday, waking residents and knocking some items off shelves and walls."
/" Un séisme modéré a fait trembler Los Angeles et ses environs, tôt jeudi matin, réveillant des résidents et renversant quelques objets."

Je me demandais ce que ça faisait; impression étrange de voir les murs danser pour quelques secondes!