Hi all!
It's been a bit quiet here and in my shop! That's because we just got home from an amazing road trip crossing through 7 of the US states. We spent 5500 km [3417 miles] in the car in 18 days, surrounded by gorgeous views everywhere. The first half of our trip we traveled from Denver to Phoenix, stopping at several National Parks. The second half we drove north from San Francisco to Seattle, where we visited a very dear friend of mine.
Of course I took way too many pictures to share here! But here are a few highlights!
We started our journey in Denver. Unfortunately we had very little time to explore the city. We went to Hammond's candy factory which offers a free tour and a huge candy store :-) I loved Denver's downtown area. It looked clean and inviting and there was a free shuttle service. Wish we had more time here to sample some craft beers and explore, but that's on the list for next time :-) We had to move on to the south of Colorado: Durango. Famous for it's narrow gauge railroad, it was an absolutely stunning 3,5 hour trip up to Silverton!
We visited several National Parks on this trip: Monument Valley, The Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon. I've been to Bryce Canyon before, and this one is my absolute favourite. It's an almost alien like landscape, especially when you look at the surrounding area. There was a thunderstorm in the distance, but fortunately the weather was fine during our hikes. We did a rim trail starting at Bryce point and then the Navajo Loop trail which takes you down into the canyon... and back up! It started to rain heavily just as we got back into the shuttle bus after the second hike, which was great timing. Bryce Canyon is a relatively small park with few parking spaces at the view areas so I highly recommend taking the free shuttle bus if you plan to visit.
In Holbrook Arizona we shortly stopped at the Wigwam Motel. I really loved this place, the decoration, the cars, the fifties vibe :-) From here we went to Petrified Forest. It's a very nice park and you could easily spend a full day here. There are lots of viewpoints and trails to hike. I had never seen petrified wood before, so fascinating! There are numerous pieces of it in the park, ranging from little pieces to huge chunks.
We also made the trip to Tombstone, the town famous for it's wild west shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. It is very touristic but you can still paint a good picture of how it was back in the day. There are lots of things to see and do here, old buildings, mine tours, shoot-outs, saloons etc.
We flew from Phoenix to San Francisco early in the morning and arrived to find a gorgeous day in San Francisco. Our first stop was the Golden Gate Bridge, and later in the day we went to Alcatraz. I went to Alcatraz about 10 years ago and did the same audio tour back then. But it's still fascinating! I love the look and feel of this place, there's so much history here. As a bonus, there's a gorgeous view of the city from Alcatraz island :-)
A more unusual stop in San Francisco was Musee Mecanique at the Fishermans Wharf. If you love old coin operated arcade machines, this is the place for you! I could easily spend several hours and a truckload of quarters there! As I reluctantly left the museum, the Blue Angels were performing their show over Alcatraz :-)
As we moved on north, we stopped at Sacremento Zoo which was a nice small park with a few big cats. A good place to spend a couple of hours. We spent the night in Grants Pass Oregon. The next day we continued our trip to Portland. Unfortunately it rained like crazy here, so we spend two days at different malls and museums.
From here we started the journey to our final destination, Seattle. But on the way there we took a detour to see Mount St. Helens. We were very lucky to be there on a sunny and clear day! The volcano is absolutely beautiful and the visitor centers are very informative. I learned a lot about the history of the volcano and the story of the 1980 eruption and aftermath.
As you can see we had beautiful weather in Seattle too! It was my second visit here, and also my second trip to the Space Needle. I know a lot of people say that there are better places for great views and I agree that admission is too expensive for what you get, since you only spend about 30 to 60 minutes up there. But it's such an iconic building and one of those "musts" when you are in Seattle. Now this time I went up there again because my boyfriend had not been here before. Now it's definitely crossed off our list for next time ;-)
We also went to EMP which is my absolute favourite museum of all time. The main part of the museum is all about music. The history of the electric guitar, Jimi Hendrix, and you can try different instruments and make music with friends. The Nirvana exhibit takes me back to my teenage years. I was 13 when Kurt Cobain died and only started to listen to their music shortly after his death. Their cd's are the soundtrack of my years as a teenager and they still are one of my top favourite bands.
Also very cool are the horror and sci-fi exhibits, with lots of movie props, costumes, artwork and information.
We were so lucky to spend time with my friend and her family, it was wonderful to see her again! She took us to Redhook brewery in Woodinville which I also highly recommend! I loved the spacious warm pub, they served some great food. We did the tour of the brewery which was very informative and included lots of sampling :-) The Blackhook Porter was a definite favourite :-)
All good things come to an end and we headed back home to Netherlands with a fat travel journal, heavy suitcases and lots of memories :-)
It's been a bit quiet here and in my shop! That's because we just got home from an amazing road trip crossing through 7 of the US states. We spent 5500 km [3417 miles] in the car in 18 days, surrounded by gorgeous views everywhere. The first half of our trip we traveled from Denver to Phoenix, stopping at several National Parks. The second half we drove north from San Francisco to Seattle, where we visited a very dear friend of mine.
 |
| Pages in my travel journal |
Of course I took way too many pictures to share here! But here are a few highlights!
 |
| The narrow-gauge railroad trip from Durango to Silverton |
We started our journey in Denver. Unfortunately we had very little time to explore the city. We went to Hammond's candy factory which offers a free tour and a huge candy store :-) I loved Denver's downtown area. It looked clean and inviting and there was a free shuttle service. Wish we had more time here to sample some craft beers and explore, but that's on the list for next time :-) We had to move on to the south of Colorado: Durango. Famous for it's narrow gauge railroad, it was an absolutely stunning 3,5 hour trip up to Silverton!
 |
| Clockwise: Monument Valley, Capitol Reef NP, Grand Canyon NP, Petrified Forest [Painted Desert] |
 |
Bryce Canyon National Park
|
We visited several National Parks on this trip: Monument Valley, The Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon. I've been to Bryce Canyon before, and this one is my absolute favourite. It's an almost alien like landscape, especially when you look at the surrounding area. There was a thunderstorm in the distance, but fortunately the weather was fine during our hikes. We did a rim trail starting at Bryce point and then the Navajo Loop trail which takes you down into the canyon... and back up! It started to rain heavily just as we got back into the shuttle bus after the second hike, which was great timing. Bryce Canyon is a relatively small park with few parking spaces at the view areas so I highly recommend taking the free shuttle bus if you plan to visit.
 |
| A little taste of Route 66 |
In Holbrook Arizona we shortly stopped at the Wigwam Motel. I really loved this place, the decoration, the cars, the fifties vibe :-) From here we went to Petrified Forest. It's a very nice park and you could easily spend a full day here. There are lots of viewpoints and trails to hike. I had never seen petrified wood before, so fascinating! There are numerous pieces of it in the park, ranging from little pieces to huge chunks.
We also made the trip to Tombstone, the town famous for it's wild west shoot-out at the O.K. Corral. It is very touristic but you can still paint a good picture of how it was back in the day. There are lots of things to see and do here, old buildings, mine tours, shoot-outs, saloons etc.
 |
| San Francisco! Clockwise: view from Alcatraz, the Blue Angels over Alcatraz, Fishermans Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge |
We flew from Phoenix to San Francisco early in the morning and arrived to find a gorgeous day in San Francisco. Our first stop was the Golden Gate Bridge, and later in the day we went to Alcatraz. I went to Alcatraz about 10 years ago and did the same audio tour back then. But it's still fascinating! I love the look and feel of this place, there's so much history here. As a bonus, there's a gorgeous view of the city from Alcatraz island :-)
A more unusual stop in San Francisco was Musee Mecanique at the Fishermans Wharf. If you love old coin operated arcade machines, this is the place for you! I could easily spend several hours and a truckload of quarters there! As I reluctantly left the museum, the Blue Angels were performing their show over Alcatraz :-)
 |
| Mount St. Helens, what a beauty! |
As we moved on north, we stopped at Sacremento Zoo which was a nice small park with a few big cats. A good place to spend a couple of hours. We spent the night in Grants Pass Oregon. The next day we continued our trip to Portland. Unfortunately it rained like crazy here, so we spend two days at different malls and museums.
From here we started the journey to our final destination, Seattle. But on the way there we took a detour to see Mount St. Helens. We were very lucky to be there on a sunny and clear day! The volcano is absolutely beautiful and the visitor centers are very informative. I learned a lot about the history of the volcano and the story of the 1980 eruption and aftermath.
 |
Seattle! Clockwise: view from Space Needle, Space Needle, Pike Place Market, EMP museum
|
As you can see we had beautiful weather in Seattle too! It was my second visit here, and also my second trip to the Space Needle. I know a lot of people say that there are better places for great views and I agree that admission is too expensive for what you get, since you only spend about 30 to 60 minutes up there. But it's such an iconic building and one of those "musts" when you are in Seattle. Now this time I went up there again because my boyfriend had not been here before. Now it's definitely crossed off our list for next time ;-)
We also went to EMP which is my absolute favourite museum of all time. The main part of the museum is all about music. The history of the electric guitar, Jimi Hendrix, and you can try different instruments and make music with friends. The Nirvana exhibit takes me back to my teenage years. I was 13 when Kurt Cobain died and only started to listen to their music shortly after his death. Their cd's are the soundtrack of my years as a teenager and they still are one of my top favourite bands.
Also very cool are the horror and sci-fi exhibits, with lots of movie props, costumes, artwork and information.
We were so lucky to spend time with my friend and her family, it was wonderful to see her again! She took us to Redhook brewery in Woodinville which I also highly recommend! I loved the spacious warm pub, they served some great food. We did the tour of the brewery which was very informative and included lots of sampling :-) The Blackhook Porter was a definite favourite :-)
All good things come to an end and we headed back home to Netherlands with a fat travel journal, heavy suitcases and lots of memories :-)
No comments:
Post a Comment