Cowboys, Canyon, and Choppers

The Colorado River from the helicopter

"Not sure 'bout this" - it's not that big.

Wow!

Sunset in the Mojave Desert

Diamond Bar Ranch and Spirit Mountain

Nostalgia on Route 66

The Ranch

This is made out of M & M's in Vegas

Look at that holiday puku! Homer and his twin.

Cutesy

Hard spiky Joshua Trees that grow in the desert

Don't mess with me - Jerry "the Marshall" with his gun and all

Awwh romantic - champagne at sunset in the Canyon, riding Chip and Dorango

Dorango (left)







Well Gidday there from warm and balmy Los Angeles. As the title suggests we have had a fantastic two days and are now in Anaheim. Two days ago we left Las Vagas and "flew" to the Grand Canyon - by flying I mean that we exceeded the speed limit by 20 - 30 miles per hour. It seems that in the states a speed limit of 75 means 85-90 and if you drive slower than that then you get honked at. For our Kiwi followers 85 miles per hour is approximately 140-150km per hour. This equates to low flying in my terms. Who would think that a little red Toyota Corolla would go that fast. I LOVED driving that fast, there must be a speed demon hidden inside.

The drive to the Canyon was long and became challenging as we hit the unpaved roads and recently flooded roads. We were in need of a four wheel drive. We drove to a place called "Diamond Bar Ranch" on the West Rim of the Canyon. The Ranch was our destination for the night. The organisation was a little haphazard, but still an experience that we will never forget. As the pictures above show, we had the privilege of horseback riding in the Canyon sunset. It was very romantic and brought back my love of horseriding that I always had as a kid. Richard was funny and not quite so comfortable riding the horse. My horse "Chip" tripped on the way down the trail, and I nearly went flying over his head, but fortunately I had a good strong hold on the saddle and managed to hang on. We rode through the "Joshua Tree" forest. Joshua Trees are something not to mess with as they are hard, spiky and very strong. After Sunset we all sat around a table for some real Cowboy food - steak, refried beans, and baked potatoes. In our group there were travellers from all over the world and one other Kiwi. The only Kiwi that we have met on our travels (outside of the NZers at the ICMA Conference). After dinner we all shared a few ales around a campfire, watched the stars and sung some songs. All very romantic. Everybody retired for the evening relatively early, ours was to a pine cabin, but some braved the teepees. Apparently they are not very waterproof. The next morning - after a sleep-in and a bath in an old Iron bath - there were no showers here, we all shared a leisurely morning over breakfast, coffee, and laughs. The flight that was booked had been delayed as President Obama was flying out of Vegas and National Security had closed down all the air space. Not good for all the struggling businesses in Las Vegas and the Canyon. It was really great to have some down time as we had been on the go for two and half weeks and were getting quite tired. The helicopter flight was spectacular and really is the only way to see the Canyon. I do admit to saying a few choice words as we flew over the edge as it was a long way down, and I felt like I was falling out of the helicopter. The rocks in the Canyon were a range of colours from brilliant oranges and reds, to browns and ochres. it is a very old place. The oldest rocks in the Canyon are the oldest rocks on the planet and are 2Billion years old.

After our relaxing morning, we drove for what seemed hours to get us to Anaheim. We made a slight detour to "Route 66", just to say that we had been there. "Sandy" our navigator was not that great at finding rest stops along the way, and when driving through the Mojave Desert, there are not many safe places to stop. I didn't know that I could hold on for two hours!. My driving got faster and faster. Some of the places "Sandy" took us were less than desirable. Rest Stops at night, no matter how busting one is, do not appeal when there are "big buggers" standing outside the ladies rooms. SCARY. When we finally found a rest room, in a place called Barstow, there were detours in place, and "Sandy" got a little disorientated. Not to worry, if all else fails then read the signs and follow your nose.

Eventually we made it to Los Angles at 9.30pm. Richard did a fabulous job of driving us through the fog, rain, big,big trucks, eight lanes of traffic, (that is 16 in total), and got us to our destination just in time to see the Disneyland fireworks.