The 12th of November dawned brilliantly fine again as we drove north-east from Oceano through extremely dry hill country obviously suffering from a prolonged drought.
On our trip across the plains areas, where irrigation water was available ,we saw fruit and nut crops growing on a huge scale. We passed through the uninspiring Bakersfield ,and as we drove further into the mountains the scenery changed to vast, dry desert with the only vegetation being tumbleweeds and yukka trees.
We went over a 4500-ft pass and down into Nevada, and finally stopped for the night in Las Vegas.
By burning my toast the next morning I managed to set off the fire alarm and woke up the whole hotel much to everyone's amusement. From Vegas we drove on into Arizona and then Utah gaining altitude all the time. By the time we made Cedar City it was snowing and the ground was white.
We then climbed over a high pass in thick snow before dropping down into Bryce canyon.
We quickly swapped our shorts and jandals for long johns, thermals and woolly hats and set off to explore the canyon.
Bryce canyon was at its very best ,a snow storm even passed through while we were there ,making the vivid contrast between the burnt orange rock and the fresh snow even more remarkable. Bryce canyon is a special place where mother nature seems to put on a spectacular show of her own unique and unparalleled beauty. We were actually lucky to even see it as the whole area shuts down for the winter in early November.
We all horse trekked out to the canyon rim and enjoyed exploring the myriad of amazing trails in and around the canyon.
From here we took the alternative route back to Las Vegas including a 3-hour detour to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.
The far more remote north rim is 12 hundred feet higher than the more visited south ,and we arrived in snow to the incredible viewpoint at Bright Angel Point. This detour made for a very long day and we were a tired lot, as we drove into Las Vegas and settled into our home for the next 3 nights the dated castle themed casino called Excalibur.
The casino was a little seedy, but the hotel is located in a great central spot right on the strip and our room cost only $30 a night. We enjoyed exploring the strip, the Venetian and Bellagio being the highlights. The massive fountain in front of the Bellagio is beautiful and puts on a remarkable show regularly through out the night.
The Venetian has to be seen to believed, a real Grand Canal complete with Gondoliers runs right through the centre of the hotel which is designed to replicate the streets of Venice, complete with an amazing ceiling that permanently imitates the lovely light you get just on dusk . We also watched a memorable volcano show at the Mirage and saw live lions at the MGM Grand and watched the roller coaster careering round the New York skyline at the New York New York hotel. We also spent a great night at the Excalibur's Tournament of Kings, which was a live show of jousting, sword fighting and acrobatics. It was amazing how realistic it looked with sparks flying off the clashing swords. It was quite a spectacle.
We also managed to fit in a side trip to the nearby Hoover Dam, which was built in 1935 to solve the problem of flooding on the Colorado River and to provide much needed employment. The Hoover Dam is the largest concrete dam in the world soon to be eclipsed by a massive 3-gorge dam in China.
From Las Vegas we drove into Arizona ,and arrived late ,at the lovely Best Western hotel located 12kms from the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We awoke next morning to another brilliant day and were quickly trekking along the awesome rim trail between Mather and Navajo points.
The Grand Canyon redefines the word vast and the contrasts between the different shades of red rock and the green areas inside the canyon make for an unforgettable experience. The park covers 12 million acres and the canyon is a mile deep and 10 miles wide and you can trek the 24 miles across it in 2-3 days.
From here we put in our longest drive yet ,800 kms for the day but the freeways make it easy as you can set the cruise control at 75miles an hour and forget about it. That is until you hit the traffic of LA where 6 lanes of traffic travelling at 70 mph at night is not fun ,especially when your lane can suddenly come to a complete and unexplained halt.
We found our lovely hotel and collapsed into bed. We were up early the next morning to rush off and join the thronging crowds at Disneyland. 14 million people visit the park every year and we were lucky to strike a quiet morning allowing us to do all of the more popular rides without much waiting.
We had a spell in the middle of the day before returning in the evening to watch the special fireworks display and Christmas parade. We finally got home about 11.30pm after an exhausting 14-hour day.
But it was great fun being a kid for a day ,and reliving those wet Sundays of our childhood when we eagerly watched the adventures from Frontierland, Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland.
We had a lot of organising to complete before our flight home so the only other trip we managed was a day touring Hollywood and Beverly Hills. We used a cunning trick of following the top deck bus tour in our car. LA is not our sort of place, 16 million people in a vast residential area connected by 8 lane freeways.
So our 8-month journey has come to an end leaving us with a lifetimes worth of shared experiences and memories. It has been a hugely rewarding experience to travel the world as a family and if anyone is thinking of doing the same thing- JUST DO IT!!