Home Again

Travelling home from San Francisco after nearly 5 weeks away. In all 3920 miles by car around mainly California with a small amount of time in Nevada and Oregon.
Enjoyed every minute of the USA.

USA Week 5 Final Week

Pumpkin Patch near San Rafael. Americans are mad about halloween the shops are stuffed full of halloween products especially costumes. Adults as well as children enjoy dressing up. We have seen lots of gardens decorated with pumpkins and witches and there is still 2 weeks to go. Farmers grow the pumpkins and then lay them out in a field for customers to walk round and choose one.There wasn't many left in this field. Many Americans now believe that Halloween is being celebrated more than Thanksgiving .










Lighthouse at Point Reyes has 300 steps down to it. They are numbered so you can count down on the way back up.













Point Reyes National Seashore Park near San Francisco. Park has many miles of beaches, bird areas, whale watching for grey whales at certian time of the year. In addition they have Northern Elephant Seals and Tule Elk.



They are noisy and can be heard from half a mile away.









Roosevelt Elk seen in Elk Meadow on the journey back south to San Francisco. Allegedly there are large herds in this area of Prairie Creek State Park but we only saw small groups. Elk can be very dangerous oif approached especially during calving or the rut which is August to October.

Crescent City is a good place to stop for the Redwood National Parks. We stopped for 3 nights but it is also the biggest Tsunami area in mainland USA. Since 1933 there have been 31 recorded Tsunamis in Crescent city the worst being in 1964 following a 9.2 earthquake in Alaska . This Tsunami resulted in 11 deaths within Crescent City and large amounts of the town being damaged. The most recent Tsunami to hit Crescent City was in March this year following the Japanese earthquake.

The Picture shows the harbour which is situated just round the corner from our hotel with large groups of sea lions which are common on this area of coast. Compare this picture with the You Tube video clip of the March 2011 Tsunami in the harbour. Mr Lockwood had a Tsunami escape plan under his pillow!!! There are signs all round the city warning you are in a Tsunami area and the visitor centre has advice leaflets on what to do in the event of an earthquake/tsunami warning . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ltLkvZYnxQ&feature=related

Turkey Vultures are frequently seen soaring high in the sky above trees which grow right down to the beach and cliff edges.

Other large birds seen along the coast paths are brown pelicans which are very graceful in flight before plummeting into the sea after fish.

Other common sights particularly round the Klamath River Estuary are Gray Whales which can be clearly seen from the cliff tops. Gray Whales are about 14m long and migrate from Alaska to Mexico in Novemeber and back to Alaska in March. However round the Klamath River there is a resident pod of about 20 which we saw regularly each day we were in the area.

The Gray Whale feeds on Crustaceans and is itself often covered with barnacles. The first sign whales are about is often the sight of the water spout as the whales first surface.

Other sights on the coast path and parks are snakes. Mr Lockwood saw 3 including a whipsnake and a racer. All the snakes were non venomous and moved very quickly away. Too quick to photograph.

Woodpeckers, deer, salamander were also seen. No humans were seen for 9 miles!! They were all in their cars!!!

The beaches around Crescent City are good for surfing and barbeques as there is alot of driftwood on some of the beaches.

These are the California Redwood trees the tallest trees in the world. They are taller and thinner than the Sequoia trees earlier. Their habitat is wetter and more rainforest jungle like to walk in. The fog of the California coast helps the trees to stay healthy.

These are in the Jedediah State Park where we also saw a bear.

Mrs Lockwood walking a trail in Prairie Creek Redwood Park.

Stopped at Mt Shasta on way from Lassen Volcanic to California Coast. Mt Shasta (14,179ft) is also known as the white mountain and is an active volcano within the Cascade Range which last erupted 200 years ago. Native Indians believe it to be a spiritual mountain.

Mrs Lockwood in Lassen Volcanic is keeping in practice making the tea!

USA Trip Week 4

Lassen Volcanic Area. Mrs Lockwood stood beside the lava flow from the base of Cinder Cone

which erupted in the 1600's. The lava was a slow moving mass which cooled to form the large dark rocks in the photograph. Below is Cinder Cone itself which formed at the same time but was formed by ash and small rocks being blown into the air next to the vent forming a perfect cone.

This is a Cone Volcano.

The path to the summit was steep and strenuous to climb up but Mrs Lockwood made it and stood on the top by the crater rim.

This is Lassen Peak (3187m,10457ft) which is a Plug Dome Volcano. It is the 2nd largest Plug Dome Volcano in the world and is still "active". There had been a lot of snow in this area 45cm above 6000ft altitude. This peak last erupted in a series of explosions between 1914 and 1915 with the last most dramatic eruption in May 1915. The area just off centre right is known as the devastated area and is approximately 2.5 miles across and descends over 5 miles from the summit. This area is where the hot gas cloud (Pyroclastic Flow) and then the melted snow , hot lava rocks and ash ejected during the explosions formed a raging torrent of mud that flowed down the mountain wiping everything in its path. (Lahar).

Lassen Volcanic Park is the largest hydrothermal area west of Yellowstone. The area is one of the few areas in the world that has all 4 types of volcano within the park area. Composite, Shield, Plug Dome and Cinder Cone.
This lake is a just below Lassen Peak on the opposite side to the devastated area and is a tranquil spot. In contrast to the hydrothermal areas of Devils Kitchen which is a mass of steaming fumaroles, boiling water and mudpots.

Mrs Lockwood sat by Terminal Geyser which is close to Boiling Spring Lake. The water in the lake is warm at 120F. Hydrothermal areas are very dangerous to walk in and access is often prohibited except on official trails as the earths crust is thin and people have been known to break through and fall into boiling water and mud which is often very acidic causing severe burns.

Prior to Lassen Volcanic Area we were at Lake Tahoe. When we travelled to Lake Tahoe from San Francisco we were caught in an early winter storm on October 5th. It snowed very heavily and many roads were temporarily closed. At Lake Tahoe which is a famous ski resort (Heavenly) in the winter they expect to get 6 metres of snow annually.


Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the USA
at over 500 metres (1650ft). It is renowned for its clear water which is measured by how deep you can see a white disc in the water. It is still clear at least 20metres down.

It is a very popular year round resort with skiing in the winter and sailing and watersports in the summer. Hiking is done year round in the resort but you have to wear snow shoes in the winter.
The snow often comes very heavily in November and last year it lasted till July before all the roads were open.

The Lake has only one island within it but it has many sandy beaches. The snow melted very quickly when the sun came out.

This old paddle steamer sails daily around the lake for tourists.

The cold weather started the freshwater Kokanee
salmon spawning. This process starts in Taylor Creek where hundreds of salmon swim up the shallow river to lay their eggs in the gravel.

The female salmon die 2 days after spawning and become food for many other animals. The males become more brighly coloured and their shape changes with a hook nose. We saw several groups like the picture to the right with hundreds of salmon and they were very colourful.

This whole area has many historic as well as scenic trails. Although the Washoe Indians have lived for thousands of years in this area the first european explorers first discovered Lake Tahoe in 1846. We walked part of the overland Pony Express trail which ran across very wild terrain.

USA Trip Week 3

Moved onto Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park. The Montecito Lodge that we stayed at was situated on a lake where we canoed every morning before breakfast and venturing into the park. The lodge offers many activities like climbing walls , tennis, archery, mountain biking and riding (just like year 6 residential).

They also have a hot tub outside where you could watch the stars in the cold night air and hot water! (Year 6 may not have had this on their residential - why not Mr Madeley?)


There is one main road (The Generals Highway) that runs through the park area but the other 2 main areas Kings Canyon and Mineral King are along roads that follow deep canyons cut by rivers and glaciers.
Kings Canyon is said to be deeper than the Grand Canyon.

There are many hikes passing waterfalls and meadows in the canyons. Sometimes the hikes are above the canyons to granite domes with steep cliffs and stunning views like this one from Moro Rock. Not a place to be in a thunderstorm!

Always on the lookout for wildlife such as squirrels , deer and bears. Keep your eyes and ears open and you may see them.

Mrs Lockwood nearly walked into this bear. We saw 3 this day and 3 the day before in the Giant Forest part of Sequoia National Park which has some massive trees.

Some of the large trees that have fallen in the Giant Forest have had holes cut in them so you can drive through them. The largest tree ( by volume) in the world "The General Sherman Tree" is in this part of the park.

Mule Deer (note the big ears) were seen regularly in every part of the park, by the lake whilst canoeoing, in meadows or in the forests. This one was spotted high up in the Alpine Meadow of Mineral King.

Even in San Francisco you can see wildlife. These California Sea Lions arrived on Pier 39 in the main waterfront tourist area after the 1989 San Francisco earthquake. They are very noisy when they are all barking together.

San Francisco is famous for its cable cars (trams) and hilly streets many of which have featured in blockbuster movies involving car chases. You can ride the tram sitting down or you can hang on the footplate leaning out experiencing the thrill.

San Francisco is also famous for Alcatraz Island. "The Rock". Made famous in numerous Hollywood Films with Clint Eastwood and Sean Connery making daring escapes from the island. Alcatraz started life as a fort before becoming a military prison and finally a federal prison. It housed many notorious criminals from the gangster era before it closed in 1963. Nobody is known to have escaped from Alcatraz other than movie stars. The last escape in 1962 involved 3 people who dug their way out of the cells using spoons. Their whereabouts is unknown but many assume they drowned on the mile and a half swim to the mainland which has treachorous currents.