Day 8 - Grand Teton NP, WY to Salt Lake City, UT

Morning started for Janie and I with a 5:30 am stroll through the Colter Bay area.  Not much on the move other than some park vehicles and workers starting their day. We did happen upon a lone deer feeding in the campground.  He didn't give us much attention though, only to seemingly "strike a pose" while he went about his business.

The kids were ready to roll quickly and wheels were turning by 6:30 am.  We had an excellent drive out of Grand Teton, using the lakeshore route to view the mountains, lake and pine forest.  With little or no traffic, we took our time moving through the broad open plain nestled within mountain ranges to the east and west.  We stopped for coffee and breakfast at a covered picnic area in Jackson Hole.  It seemed tiny but affluent, in appearance, and definitely catering to what must be substantial tourist traffic into Grand Teton and Yellowstone beyond. After our mug up Janie followed the "Santa Claus" route into Idaho and drove it excellently.  It was a superb choice!

Following the Pioneer - Historic Byway, we got a perfect glimpse of rural Idaho.  Livestock ranches and farming over the wide open fields nestled within the mountains... Picturesque country for sure.  Our crossing went around the foothills of several ranges reminding us of Appalachia out east.  Some rocky outcrops, but mostly worn and tree covered mountains.  Pioneers that used this must've been thankful to have gotten past the divide.

Our destination for the day was Salt Lake City.  Disappointingly, we stopped at a state Visitor information centre to secure a map but it was closed.  No luck there. After connecting with the I-15 we quickly moved due south through Idaho into Utah, down a river valley with gorgeous gold and green fields surrounded by mountains.  Communities layered themselves within, getting larger and larger until we met the city itself.

We were, at this point, interested in food, showers, and lodging as a group.  We had gone a couple of "outdoorsy" days and it was time to rejuvenate. We had booked a room near Salt Lake City Int'l Airport at a Hampton Inn for just this purpose.  We located the hotel, then found some grub to hold us over.  We returned for a late afternoon and evening of total rest and relaxation.  Everyone got their internet fix and chimed in with home and friends, while I checked travel routes, accommodations, and did some planning ahead. Janie also threw the kids in the pool for at least an hour!  I slept fully, crashing early and staying asleep until 5:00 am.  Cha-ching!!! Salt Lake proved to be an oasis for us, a step back for an afternoon and evening to replenish before our dash to California.

Day 9 - Salt Lake City, UT to Reno, NV

Strictly a travel day... Salt Lake City to Reno, Nevada.  Really 500 plus miles of driving across salt flats, desert plains, mountain passes and, eventually, city freeway. Great run as we were all in better shape after our night in Salt Lake. I drove all the way, having my best day of driving since the run from South Dakota to Sheridan, WY. Tackled all mountain passes on the easier (so far) I-80W.  Felt better about that!

Couple of neat things we saw during the excursion.  At one point we could definitely see mountains reflected in the sand when making our way out of Utah.  Really cool. The sight line was warbling from the heat... Which steadily increased from a departure temperature of mid twenties to a high of thirty-eight sliding down into Reno.  Old Betsy, our trusty Toyota, worked well... Mountain highways, big heat and AC/igear running full tilt.  I did drive between 60-70 mph the majority of the run, not pushing too hard.

Another item picked up by Janie was intermittent "dust devils", kind of like little tornadoes pulling hot air and sand up from the desert floor.  Neat phenomena.  I've heard of the same thing on water, commonly described as water spouts. Some went quite high into the air and could be literally seen from miles down the road.

Lastly, we saw what was probably once (in the spring) a lake which had, for the most part, disappeared.  We thought we saw steam/fog actually being sucked into the air above the final remnants.  It's so lush and wet where we hail from. Not used to earth without water. 

Saturday night we ended up staying in a Holiday Inn (Hampton was full) in Reno.  Monica and Mom had a big swim... Dad hot tubbed and ran the I-pad and Peter sought some solace in front of the tube.  Sunday, if all goes as planned, should place us at our furthest point westward and a couple of days in the same room.  Looking forward to San Francisco.

Day 10 - Reno, NV to San Francisco, CA

We departed from Reno at about 7:00 am for the journey across the Sierra Nevada range into California... Roughly a 3 hour 45 minute run.  Entering California we had to stop for an Agriculture Inspection road check that we weren't expecting. Just a few quick questions about our intentions while in California - Agriculturally speaking. Kind of weird, but we only were there a few seconds, and were given a pass card that we needed to have with us while driving in California. This pass through the mountains was very drivable and we made great time with the early jump. The route skips around Sacramento, then makes a strong surge for San Francisco.  Everyone had a great view of the city while cruising in via the Bay Bridge.  We quickly got a sense for the "hilliness", if there is such a word, of the city. Steep streets lined with a good mixture of residential and commercial properties that indicated to me a healthy city core.  We drove across the Fisherman's Wharf district and parked (for free no less) on our way to our initial attraction.

Our first stop in San Francisco was the Exploratorium, and purposefully designed to let the kids stretch and hopefully get their heads in gear after a lot of driving.  Great Science Centre, but in the throes of being moved and really showing its age.  We have visited science museums in Boston and Chicago and the kids (and adults) always seem to enjoy them.  This one was packed with hands on activities from one end to the other, much like a working warehouse of science.  We were about 2 1/2 hrs making our way through.  Electricity, sound, light, earth science... a very eclectic collection of informative experiments ready for the trying.  Monica raced about and was very keen.  Peter, like myself, warmed up to it as he got oriented.

Being a little ahead of check-in time, we left the Exploratorium and strolled Crissy Field, just adjacent to the science centre.  There were windsurfing and para-surfing events taking place, and the Bay was full of color.  We took the chance to splash our feet in the Pacific and just sit in the sand and people watch.  Great view of the Golden Gate Bridge here as well.  Janie scrounged some sandwiches and we nestled out of the breeze in one of the local eateries to just get our bearings.

After four we made our way back across traffic to the Radisson to check-in.  All went smoothly and we lugged in the bags for a rare two nighter!  Great location... In the heart of the Fisherman's Wharf area... Littered with tourists, close to attractions, and plenty of food options.  We quickly got out into what were very busy streets to scope out the area and see the sights.  Lots of vendors and street side stuff happening. The city uses the water well, with the marinas packed with vessels and tour opportunities. Along the way we also sourced a California Highway map... To help in post-San Fran planning.

Somewhere in time, Peter and Monica have become Hard Rock Cafe fans.  We've visited in Times Square and Universal Orlando, and Sunday night we added San Francisco to the list.  I usually find these places loud, but we struck a funny stretch of music and video, and Janie and I enjoyed what seemed to be a retro hour of tunes (BeeGees, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston).  Big supper... With all hands entirely full on the way out... (And new Hard Rock T-shirts no less).

After minimal prompting Janie maneuvered the gang into the pool to swim off the huge pulled pork sandwiches. Then all hands settled in for showers and a huge sleep.  Not much noise overnight, that's for sure!

Day 11 - San Francisco, CA

San Francisco all day baby... Yeah!  It was nice not to be moving... The thought of staying here an extra day is creeping in already.  I got out for a very peaceful morning walk... A few joggers on the move and garbage pick- up / street cleaners doing their thing.

First item on the agenda was coffee and breakfast.  We got the kids mobile by about 7:00 and the IHop around the corner already had a line.  We stuck it out though, and had a monster ($65 monster) start to the day.  It was good though, and figuring the day would have its share of footsteps it just seemed appropriate to start strong.  I had some fancy "Butter Pecan" syrup I rather liked... Monica ate twice her weight.

First item of business for Monday was boarding the cruise line to the island of Alcatraz smack in the middle of the Bay.  I love this type of option as it not only gets one on the water to catch a tour of the Bay, but has the Alcatraz Island National Park as a destination.  Alcatraz is best known for its history as one of the nations grittiest maximum security prisons, but it was also the home to a civil war period fortress and a 1960's first nations demonstration which lasted some 16-18 months.  We had purchased tix online and got in without too much wait or confusion.

The sail over, in a choppy San Francisco Bay, was very scenic.  We stayed inside but enjoyed the view of the city from the water. Upon docking, we headed for a brief video that does a fine job of orienting the pertinent events and significance of the site.  It grounded the visit nicely for the kids, and Janie and I as well.  We were quite interested in the cell house and made that our first stop.

We also viewed the recreation area, administration offices and caught up with a ranger in the mess hall, who gave us an excellent description of two celebrity inmates, Al Capone and Robert Stroud.  It was well done... He had a big group of about 60 held pretty attentive for at least half an hour. We also went to the lighthouse area in front and got some great shots of San Francisco in the background.  In total, we spent roughly 2 1/2 hrs on the island, and Monica even got a new stamp in our Frommer's guide.  Great trip.

On our way back from the Alcatraz Pier we settled on visiting The Aquarium of the Bay.  We have loved our previous aquarium stops, especially New England, and this aquarium didn't disappoint. The underwater viewing tanks were a real highlight, and we also liked the universal aquarium focus on species native to the Bay area. Caught a 3D Film on sharks in the adjacent theatre while we were there as well. Then it was poolside for an afternoon dip.  I hung out with the kids while Janie grabbed a light lunch for all.

We spent an hour or so rejuvenating before the evening and a visit to AT&T Ball Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. I think, after counting this game, it would be our fourth family ball game.  It has always been a huge treat to get to pro games for us... This was no exception.  We loved the evening game, the lights, the sounds and just getting to interact and watch the locals.

We got in early ... Super fun to see batting practice, see the players and watch the kids yell for balls.  We had left field seats 9 rows back, just above the bull pen. It was great with balls flying everywhere.  Nearing the tail end of the San Diego BP one of the players tossed a ball at Janie... unfortunately the left hander kind of mucked the opportunity. Oh well we thought.  But moments afterward one of the players pointed at Monica in the stands and brought her down to field level and put the ball in her hands.  Really great of him to do that.  I think he might have seen Mom miss the catch prior! We were tickled with all the goings on.

So, by game time we had a ball, some beers, pops, snacks and were ready to roll. We watched the home team give San Diego a pretty good spanking. Lots of hits, a home run, a spectacular catch diving into the stands just a couple of rows down by Melky Cabrera (now suspended for performance enhancing drug use) and a great home team win. All hands left the park happy!!!

We strolled all the way back to Fisherman's Wharf from AT&T and enjoyed the whole journey... Walking, talking and checking out the evening scenery.  Janie and I decided on the way to opt out of Yosemite and spend an extra night in San Francisco... It just seemed like we hadn't had enough time and that there was unfinished business.  So when we arrived Janie pumped up an extra night and we all agreed to enjoy one more day in San Francisco.  With that accomplished... We retired for a great night of sleep.

Day 12 - San Francisco, CA

Ooops, we slept in... Then a $70 stop for breakfast at IHop... Ouch!  Good though ;). The plan for the day was to get up to the Golden Gate Bridge area, spend some time relaxing on the beach, and doing a couple of "walkabouts".  I guess most of all, we weren't quite ready to move on.

So off we drove to the Crissy Field area at around 10:00 am and parked for the morning.  On the beach, catching the breeze of the pacific and San Fran joggers running by, we headed for Fort Point.  Fort Point National Historic Site is located directly under the south end of the Golden Gate... A civil war era structure that was part of a triangular defense system designed to protect San Francisco Bay.  It was forty minute walk there.

Fort Point is still very much intact and carefully overlooks the Golden Gate and entry to the harbor.  It is designed with an open central courtyard and thickly walled with cannon openings.  There was significant muscle in regards to the cannon used at he fort, which could reach all the way across the bay.  Janie and the kids went to the top level while I caught a presentation done by a ranger on loading and firing cannon. Other points of interest were the armory, second floor exhibits and the actual courtyard itself.  All set in the roar found under the Golden Gate Bridge.

On the walk back we watched dolphins in the Bay and walked barefoot through the warm sand on Crissy beach. The beach was quite vacant except for dog walkers and us.  Despite Janie's best efforts, everyone got a bit of sun burn as the mixture of breeze, sun, and water touched us. The early afternoon was stunning. At 3:00 pm we made our way back to the Radisson and got checked back in (we moved rooms on the last night).

Then off again to explore the area of the city north of us, including some of the outdoor markets / vendors and Ghiradelli Square, where we loaded up on fancy ice cream.  On the return stretch I gathered a couple of bottles of wine and Janie grabbed some suppertime sandwiches. The evening was relaxing, with sights on the journey ahead and some small scale planning for the remainder of the week.  Great last night in San Francisco.

Day 13 - San Francisco, CA to Bakersfield, CA

Set aside as a driving day, Day 13 had a couple of key elements.  Firstly, to get safely out of San Francisco without getting tied up in a traffic catastrophe.  We solved that by departing prior to 6:00 am... We had no issues.  We were, in short order, out of Dodge and on our way.

Second order of business was to successfully ride through to Bakersfield, and our entry across into the state of Arizona and the Grand Canyon.  We made great time fully supported by the huge and hearty breakfast we ate at a Denny's we found along the I-5 South in a roadside town that looked and smelled like an orchard -apricots - beautiful.

Lastly... We were absolutely in need of some maintenance.  Most importantly, 'ol Betsy needed a fresh drink of water.  After 7500 hot kilometers we needed a solid oil change.  While in Bakersfield we decided to get 'er done, finding a "Jiffy Lube" located there.  Nothing short of a pit stop... All fluids and tires checked with oil switched out in less than 12 minutes.  Those lads were fun to watch.  All business.

We also required some fixin' and trekked into the grocery store for sustenance.  The food cooler had been depleted since our arrival in San Fran... So we loaded her up with some sandwich and breakfast supplies, as well as plenty of fluids for our trip into the desert.  Mission accomplished.

The journey from San Francisco to Bakersfield was an interesting one.  We drove through what I'd guest-imate was three hours of orange groves this day.  It was mixed with grapes, tomatoes, apricot, almond and pistachio trees.  Quite unbelievable watching the open topped tandem semis (2 full trailers) tugging tomatoes north and migrant workers moving watermelon.  There were also a series of signs erected by a group that must be in the process of lobbying for more water access.  The signs were to effect of "Gov't Sponsored Dust Bowl".  Regardless... big business agriculture going on throughout central California. 

In Bakersfield we enjoyed the hotel pool, a little TV time, the hot tub, and pizza for supper.  Janie went to town on another clothes washing expedition, doing her best to keep our caravan clean! It got warm this day, roughly 35-36 Celsius.  Best spot for us was out of the heat.

Day 14 - Bakersfield, CA to Grand Canyon NP, AZ

Another big stretch of road today... Crossing some elevation mixed with desert.  Basically about 8-9 hours taking us out of Southern CA and into the state of Arizona.  Just outside of Bakersfield was the first set of mountains which Janie navigated perfectly.  In Mojave I drove the open desert as well as the mountains through to Needles, the last town before Arizona on the I-40 East. During the last leg Janie drove again, until our destination at the Grand Canyon.

Beautiful, but very foreign country to us.  As we watched the temperature rise and pushed through the rugged terrain and geography, one wasn't long surmising that the region is quite inhospitable.  You really have to push mother nature in order to exist here.  Sparse vegetation, limited water, mountain passes, 40 plus temperatures... A survival activity in itself.  Towns were few and services negligible. We had prepped to snack in the car, and Peter and Monica made sandwiches for all from the back seat while we forged ahead.

One interesting surprise during this stretch though. We were in need of an Arizona Highway Map so decided to stop in the first larger community on the I-40, Kingman, and see what we could source.  We found the tourist bureau in a refurbished power station. After finding a map we moved to the information desk to chat... Diane was the lady at the desk and we started to talk.  One thing led to another, and we came to find out she was familiar with Nova Scotia, to the extent that she had purposefully visited during Stanfest number nine!!!  Too funny... She was absolutely all over it and was heading back to Nova Scotia in September for another visit.

We exchanged information and she provided us with several maps and options for seeing great attractions and routes that made sense in regards to mountains passes and traffic. I ran out to the car and grabbed my 2012 Stanfest Volunteer shirt and gave it to her prior to leaving.  I think she appreciated the gesture. After goodbyes we departed, giggling through the rest of the day's drive at how small our world really is... This one was quick on the degrees of separation!

Back on the road, where we made our way up the two lane road to Grand Canyon National Park.  We stopped in Tuslayan just before the park for a special Grand Canyon I-MAX show (which was very good) and a quick supper.  The pass I purchased got us through the gates and we headed directly for our tent site.  It was perfectly situated in the forested hill adjacent to the visitor services. We popped things together, and while Monica and I put on finishing touches, Pete and Janie went to grab a few sticks of firewood and even a sunset shot over the canyon.  They got the wood, but also were privy (while somewhat lost) to meet up with an Elk grazing at the canyon edge... And pictures to prove it.  Too much fun.

The temperature cooled nicely and the fire burned with the smoke and crackle of dried pine.  A glass of red wine, at the edge of the Grand Canyon, after a long days drive... Everything came together.  All hands were in bed at 10:00 for a restful night's sleep.