Going West 2009

GOING WEST 2009 Going West 2009 - California Michael and I flew into Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Frontier Airlines, May 16, 2009. We changed planes in Denver and flew over the Grand Canyon. We returned, May 22. I used expedia.com to purchase our plane tickets. They were $640.60. We reserved an economy car, a Toyota, from Hertz. It was waiting at the airport. They honored my AAA membership. We got unlimited milage for $302.65. Rented cars are expensive. At least there were two of us benefiting. While out west, we were not using our vehicles or buying gas in Nashville so, to some degree, things evened out. We drove straight to Sequoia National Park. We headed for the trees. We drove up Interstate 5, got onto 99 and 198. We went through Bakersfield and Visalia. We called the Park at 1-559-565-3341. People out that way know how to get to the park and we got directions. It is about 220 miles from the airport to Sequoia Park. I reserved a room at the Comfort Inn in Three Rivers outside Sequoia for the night of May 16. We were six miles from the park entrance. Three Rivers is a resort town. We toured the park twice. Karen and I came down from Kings Canyon in 1979. Michael and I drove north from Los Angeles. There is still no road crossing Sequoia National Park from east to west. We came out the same way we went in. It was one night at Sequoia. I recalled Michael thinking two nights at the Grand Canyon was too much. The biggest Sequoias are in Giant Forest. This is where the General Sherman tree is, the largest living thing on earth. We walked along the trail to it, and Michael spotted a deer. We saw bears. The top of the Sherman tree is dead. The tree called The Sentinel sits in front of the museum. Giant Sequoias are an orange-copperish color. Looking up through their green tops into the blue sky, one experiences a healing. Their presence is reassuring. The air was still. No wind. We climbed Moro Rock and looked down on the surrounding area, something Karen and I did not do. That topped it off. Leaving the Park, we patted trees and told them goodbye, promising to return. We drove back from Sequoia the evening of May 17. Michael stopped along side the road, and I picked oranges from a tree. Michael said it was one of the best oranges he ever tasted. Los Angeles has the biggest complex of freeways in the world: six lanes going, six lanes coming. We had to be careful. We met traffic with patience. Michael drove. I reserved a room for five nights: May 17-21, at the Best Western Media Center Inn in "Beautiful Downtown Burbank" as Johnny Carson used to say. The AAA rate was $866.20. Our address was 3910 W. Riverside Drive, Burbank. We were near the NBC Studios. Michael and I were in bed when the bed and building shook for a few seconds. It was an earthquake: my first, Michael's second. It was on the news. We had tickets for Jay Leno and the Tonight Show. I was stunned when they arrived in my mail box. Michael said it put the icing on the cake. There were two tapings, and we saw both. We stayed in line several hours to make sure we got in. Cameron Diaz and Terry Bradshaw were guests. Announcer John Melendez brought people on stage to warm up the audience. I went down and sang Dancing Queen by ABBA. The crowd went wild! We met Paul Crunk and his wife. Paul helped us get oriented, and we appreciated his company. The four of us ate at the Outback. These were Leno's 9th and 10th shows from his last on May 29, and we were fortunate to see him. The shows were taped at NBC Studios in Burbank at 3000 W. Alameda Avenue. I had the idea to structure the 2009 trip something like the ones before it. Keep it in the same frame. We concentrated on Burbank, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Malibu. We went to the Hollywood and Highland Center at the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. We got pictures of the Kodak Theatre. This is where the Academy Awards (Oscars) are given. Michael knew about it. Grauman's Chinese Theatre is there, and we saw the handprints and footprints of Tom Hanks in cement. It was nice to stroll down the Hollywood Walk of Fame with my son 31 years after I did it the first time. We got a picture of Jay Leno's star. We were prevented from entering the Capitol Records Building because of 9/11. We roamed through the Hollywood Hills trying to get a picture of the Hollywood sign. After several wrong turns and some frustration, we got it. Roads were narrow and the houses in the hills were jammed together like sardines. Michael said he could not live in Hollywood but admitted that the Hollywood sign was like the Statue of Liberty to him. We drove by Hollywood High (School). Hollywood is part of Los Angeles. Beverly Hills is separate but surrounded by the city. Michael wanted to see Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. It is where the stars shop! We went into Brooks Brothers, Michael's favorite. Michael said it is a different world going from trashy Hollywood to classy Beverly Hills. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and drove through the Beverly Hills Hotel. We noted the abundance of expensive cars on Rodeo Drive. The statue we photographed in the parking garage is called Embrace. Laguna Beach was a big deal. It reminded me of Daytona. Michael wanted to go there because of the TV show of the same name. We drove to Laguna Beach down the Pacific Coast Highway and returned to Burbank on Interstate 5. Our road. Michael saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Our last full day, we rode up the Pacific Coast Highway to Malibu. "Michael B. in Malibu." The city of Malibu is a strip of Pacific coastline and home to many movie stars. We took Sunset Boulevard coming back and drove through Bel Air, where Elvis had a house while making his movies. Michael rolled down the window and asked, "Do you smell that? It smells like money!" We passed through Hollywood, getting a picture of the billboard advertising Night at the Smithsonian. We dropped the car off at L.A. International, settled our account and flew out. Michael had his friend meet us in Nashville. We had the idea that one plus one equals three. There was me, and there was Michael. The third person was me and Michael together. Going West 2007 - Las Vegas Michael and I flew to Las Vegas June 7, and returned June 13, 2007. We spent the first two nights at the Sahara at the north end of the Strip. The third and fourth nights we were in the Red Feather Lodge at the Grand Canyon. We stayed at New York-New York the last two nights. We flew Southwest Airlines. I bought tickets at the airport using my check card. We concentrated on the new side of Vegas. We rode the monorail which links the Strip from the Sahara to the MGM Grand. Themed hotels are the stars in today's Vegas. We landed at McCarran Airport and took the shuttle to the Sahara. We travelled light, taking things which were necessary. The city of lights came to life on our first night. We relished the view from the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas. The Tower is a 1/2 replica of the real thing. Vegas sprawled into the desert. Its population has grown to 1.8 million. Las Vegas has changed since I was there in 1993. There are mega-hotels: New York-New York, Paris Las Vegas, Bellagio, Venetian, Mandalay Bay and Luxor. They exist for the purpose of making money for the people who own and operate them. We spent conservatively and aimed for an experience consistent with our needs. We knew why we were here and what we would do. We bought a digital camera, and Michael got 140 pictures. We walked through the hotels. The Bellagio fountains put on a spectacular show while Elvis sang Viva Las Vegas. The Bellagio is Michael's favorite. He called it a "5 star high roller." We saw Bob Dole in the casino. Our second day began with Michael having his picture taken with a showgirl. He glowed! We visited the antique car collection at the Imperial Palace. I posed behind a 1955 Cadillac Elmerado. People were everywhere. We kept moving. We played video poker, and I helped Michael with the hands, having played poker in my younger days. We ate well while keeping the cost down. When we were tired, we rested. We walked to Mandalay Bay at the south end of the Strip and watched the Yankees play the Diamondbacks. The Bay was home to Mamma Mia!, and I told Michael we would see the movie. They had started the Luxor when I was there in 93. I kept thinking, "It looks like a pyramid." Then someone said it was. The beam from the top can be seen 250 miles away. The Sphinx and the obelisk are out front. An obelisk is a four-sided stone needle with a pyramid top. The idea of a curse always surrounds Egyptian stuff. It is not true, of course, but it plays with your head. Phase 2 We rented a car and drove to the Grand Canyon, stopping at Hoover Dam on the way. A bypass is being built. The dam provides electricity for California, Arizona and Nevada. Michael drove. We took 93 south to Kingman, Arizona, and went east on Interstate 40 to Williams. We headed north on 64. It is a 4 or 5 hour drive. We had reservations at the Red Feather Lodge in Tusayan, near the park entrance. I spotted it, the Grand Canyon! the most awesome spectacle on the planet! We pulled over for a picture. We stopped at a number of overlooks along the south rim. We attended the star party at Yavapai Point. We looked at Jupiter and Saturn through telescopes. I pointed out the Big Dipper and North Star to Michael. The Grand Canyon Star Party (GCSP) takes place each June. We drove to Desert View Watchtower at the eastern end of the south rim. We climbed it. At Desert View, Michael and I saw the Colorado River at the bottom of the Canyon. We saw hikers rehearsing at Bright Angel Trail for a descent the next morning. Michael said that when he comes again, he will go to the bottom. The Canyon is 277 miles long. It took the Colorado River 7 million years to carve it. The rocks at the bottom are two billion years old. The Colorado flows from the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains through the Canyon. It dumps into the Gulf of California. The Grand Canyon was made a national park in 1919. We were at the Canyon two nights. Michael thought one night would have been enough. I insisted it is not every day that two guys from Nashville see the Grand Canyon. There is a sameness about the red buttes and mesas which makes it hard to focus on them. Valleys are in the east. Canyons are in the west. Phase 3 Back in Vegas, we checked into New York-New York. We were on the 25th floor. New York New York is a replica of the New York skyline. We find the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and the Bar at Times Square. I soaked in the tub each morning and wore my straw hat to keep the sun off my head. I had the bag Charlotte bought me when I went to Sweden. Michael took a suitcase. We watched TV in our room before going to sleep. Michael sat by the pool while I visited the Atomic Testing Museum. We checked out the Palms because it had a Playboy club. We ate at the Outback. I had "shrimp on the barbie." We went to Fremont Street downtown and got pictures of Vegas Vic and Sassy Sally. We saw Jubilee! our last night in town. I saved it for the finale. Jubilee! was started by Donn Arden. I had outgrown my showgirl fantasies. We went to Red Rock Canyon the morning before we left. Red Rock is a National Conservation Area protected by the Bureau of Land Management. It is a 13-mile loop out Charleston Boulevard. The red sandstone formations make an interesting drive. Michael saw Joshua trees for the first time. We made our way back to McCarran and flew to Nashville. It was a direct flight. Karen met us. My goal was to introduce Michael to one of our most exciting cities and to give him an experience in the west. I try to bolster his confidence and his ability to get around. I told him the city is a magnet and that he will do doubt return. GOING WEST 1979 The west is like another country, at times like another planet. Its variety is endless. It can be thought of in terms of its major cities or be approached from the standpoint of its National Parks. The National Park system is an effort by the federal government to preserve nature's masterpieces. Fees are minimal, geology the theme. The parks are linked by a system of highways and Interstates that are the best in the world. America's roads are her greatest achievement. It is all transportation. Going west on I-40, the real change takes place in New Mexico. The town of Tucumcari looks as much like Mexico as the United States. But when you think that the southwest belonged to Mexico until 1848, it is easy to understand Spanish influence. A few weeks in the southwest will make one see U.S. history from a whole new perspective. There are some marvelous sights in Arizona. The Painted Desert and Petrified Forest lie side by side. From several vantage points, we gazed at the colored streaks of sand. We saw Newspaper Rock, a rock covered with Indian petroglyphs. Inside the Petrified Forest is a spot called the Crystal Forest. There can not be a more peaceful place on earth. We saw it at sunset. Bits and pieces of petrified wood lay scattered about, and Karen and I felt the sensation of being at the dawn of creation. There were no people for miles on either side. The orange sunset, turquoise sky and quiet blended in perfect bliss. Near Winslow lies the fabulous Meteor Crater. It is a circular hole three miles in circumference. It was created by the impact of a prehistoric meteor. Pictures can not portray its enormity. Astronauts have used the spot as a training ground. In the distance stands Mt. Humphreys, the highest point in Arizona. The Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is the greatest single phenomenon on the face of the planet! It seems to stand totally out of time. It makes the great literary and musical achievements of mankind seem insignificant. During my first visit, I wondered at the amazement of those who ventured upon it having seen no previous pictures or post cards. They must have doubted their eyes. Indeed, from the rim the Canyon hardly seems real. All sense of distance is defied. The Canyon is a mile deep. It averages 10 miles across, rim to rim, and runs for 277 miles. It is Arizona's pride, and tour buses leave regularly from Flagstaff. The Colorado River cuts through it but looks like a tiny ribbon from above. Geologists speculate that cutting action from the Colorado is what created the Canyon. This was hard to accept at first, but after seeing other wonders, I realized that geologists see with different eyes. They are attuned much the way astronomers are. It took 7 million years for the river to carve the Canyon. I looked over the rim to see a mule train crossing the Canyon floor. The mules looked the size of ants. There are trails leading to the bottom of which Bright Angel Trail is the most famous. People were ascending on foot. They were exhausted. During the second trip, Karen and I saw both the north and south rims. The north rim is less dramatic, but we caught it at dusk and during a thunderstorm which made it particularly austere. We walked out to a point where the wind was up. The Canyon was dark and ominous. We were virtually suspended over the chasm. The austerity of the scene was enhanced by the lightning in the distance. We circled the Canyon that night to see the south rim in the morning. We slept in the car in Cameron, Utah. We beelined to the south rim at daybreak and caught the sun rising. We got a series of pictures which showed the sun's rays filling the Canyon with light. The river below seemed to be without movement. Las Vegas Sprinting from Kingman, Arizona, to Las Vegas, Nevada, you can feel the thrill and enchantment of the city drawing you on. There is an anticipation of something great. Most of the action in Las Vegas is found in two places, Fremont Street downtown and the newer and sprawling Las Vegas Boulevard. It is a city of lights. It never sleeps. At first, it is hard to believe such a place could exist, that little old ladies can be seen gambling their hearts out at 6 o'clock in the morning. But there are rows and rows of slot machines, and the gambling is not just limited to casinos and hotels. There are slot machines strategically placed in restaurants and supermarkets as well. I theorized that Las Vegas is a spinoff from southern California and that only the desert could make such liberties possible. The basic unit on the Strip is the hotel. Driving down Las Vegas Boulevard, one is amazed at the marquees and famous names. The hotels are like gigantic malls. There are shops and boutiques of all kinds. Most of the hotels have names consistent with the desert atmosphere. There are the Sands, the Desert Inn, the Sahara and the Aladdin. We spent time in all of them. The most distinctive and appealing of the hotels are Caesar's Palace and Circus Circus. Caesar's Palace at night is a gorgeous shade of green. An escalator carries patrons from the sidewalk to the front entrance as a recorded message provides the welcome, "I, Caesar, welcome you to my Caesar's Palace..." Replicas of famous statues exploit the Roman theme. When we arrived, Ann-Margret was at Caesar's. Circus Circus is like a never-ending carnival. It features circus acts at intervals through most of the day. There are games and stuffed animal prizes to lure the young and unsuspecting. While we were there, artists worked on a statue of a gorilla in front of the hotel. All the big hotels have shows, and no one should go to Las Vegas without seeing a couple. They run the gamut from comedy to music to animal acts to burlesque. They are Broadway in style and are for the sexually liberated. We saw two major shows. They were Folies Bergere at the Tropicana and Razzle Dazzle at the Flamingo Hilton. Razzle Dazzle was on ice. It occurred to me that girls in their twenties flock to Vegas from all around to sell their legs. We lived for a month on Deckow Lane, down the street from the Tropicana. We were in the Ali Baba Apartments. We worked a couple of days. I worked for an office equipment place, and Karen worked at the phone company and the Golden Goose Casino. Take away the hotels and casinos, and Las Vegas would be like any place else. There are some interesting sights surrounding Las Vegas. Old Nevada, a replica of a western mining town, sits at the foot of some tall and scenic bluffs. There is a petting zoo there and some beautiful peacocks. On the way to Old Nevada is Red Rock Canyon. The blue sky, red sandstone cliffs and green desert landscape merge in silent beauty. Yucca plants prosper. The peacefulness of the scene matches that of the Valley of Fire State Park. In the Valley of Fire, we stopped to look at a petrified log. Again, we were totally alone. I yelled, and my voice echoed off the distant hills. This kind of environment was a pleasant relief from the turmoil of the city. It was hot in the Valley. At the tourist center, the thermometer read 118 degrees. The twisted rock formations in the Valley of Fire have taken some extraordinary shapes. One grouping is known as the Seven Sisters, and there are several so-called elephant rocks. When my Greyhound crossed the Hoover Dam in 1978, it was at night, and I could not see anything. I was barely aware of where I was. When Karen and I returned to the spot, we were amazed. The dam captured our imaginations. It was built between 1931 and 1935. Hoover Dam blocks the Colorado River in its journey from the Grand Canyon to southern California. Lake Mead sits behind the dam. It is in the middle of the desert and complete with beaches. The Desert The desert is so eerie and yet so compelling. Trees become remembered as an eastern vegetation. Brown landscapes become normal. We were most aware of the desert during our journey from Las Vegas to Yosemite. We felt our isolation most keenly when viewing some white sands from a high elevation and thinking it was a body of water. Our car ran short of gas, and we just made it to Big Pine, California. These were our most apprehensive moments. We were glad when we espied the Sierra Nevada. The Mojave Desert lies between Las Vegas and southern California. For the most part, it is flat and featureless. Joshua trees are abundant as they are in all southwest states. Around Barstow, the power of the desert is strong. The presence of Death Valley can be felt. We did not cross the Valley but passing a few miles from it, the heat hitting my face was like a blast from a furnace. The thought of Death Valley instills wariness in the tourist. A temperature of 134 degrees was once recorded there. It is the lowest place in the United States, 282 feet below sea level. The mountains of the west present a contrast to those of the east. They appear sculpted. They are flat on top and treeless. The buttes and mesas are formed from rock, whereas eastern hills are primarily earth. Paradoxically, there are a lot of flash floods in the desert because water runs off ridges and stands on the desert floor. Yosemite National Park Yosemite lies across the Sierras in California. This is where we spent the night of July 4, 1979. The stars were beautiful shining through the Ponderosa pines. We slept in a tent. The mountains of Yosemite are breath-taking. They had snow on them in July, and Karen made a snowball. From above, we satisfied ourselves with the explanation that the valley was carved by glaciers. The scale is a grand one. The one thing all National Parks have in common is a quality of magic. Natural beauty is their offering. They are raw, primeval. We got pictures of Yosemite Falls. It is the highest falls in North America. It divides into upper and lower. We crossed the bridge leading around the lower section. El Capitan is the second attraction, the world's largest exposed mass of granite. It stands 3,000 feet above the valley floor. Yosemite is full of domes shaped by glaciers during the Ice Age. The Sequoias San Francisco seemed pleasant for such a big city. I stormed the bay area, but never saw the Golden Gate Bridge. That was 1978. I headed for Reno, where I learned the devastating power of gambling. A guy at a street corner told me he had just lost $7,000, his life's savings. From Reno, I was going to the Sequoias. I got as far as Carson City and turned back. I played the slots all night in Carson City waiting for a bus. The big trees were exerting their pull. The following summer, Karen and I saw the Sequoias. We toured the three adjacent parks while on an excursion from our base in Las Vegas. We saw our first Sequoia in Yosemite. My reaction must have been comical as I jumped from the car and ran to it. Karen said I looked like a little boy. The Wawona Tunnel Tree is in Yosemite. This is the one they used to drive cars through. It fell in 1969 and still lies there. Sequoia National Park lies south of Kings Canyon N.P. We got more exposure to the big trees. There are 75 groves strung across the western slopes of the Sierras. The epic proportions and otherworldliness of the Sequoias put them in a category with the Grand Canyon. Some are as much as 3,500 years old. They were living when man's civilization was in its infancy, when King Tut reigned in Egypt. Their age is attributed to a chemical in the sap which resists bacteria. The bark is soft and spongy and may be from six inches to a foot thick. The crowns are small compared to the rest of the tree. Before the Ice Age, much of North America was covered by Sequoias. Certainly, there is a prehistoric quality about them. Many have been ravaged by lightning and fire, but the older ones are being replaced by younger ones even today. The General Sherman Tree is the largest, located in Sequoia Park. Southern California. My experiences in southern California in 1978-79 were limited. In 1978, I took a city bus to Hollywood and Vine. I entered the Capitol Records Building and saw gold Beatle discs hanging on the wall. On the sidewalk, I saw the Walk of Fame, celebrities' names inscribed in a series of star patterns. In July, 1979, Karen and I left Las Vegas for Anaheim and Disneyland. Karen had been to the park in Florida, so she conducted the tour. The rides were thematic. There were Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. Disney's secret was in making the most of his knowledge of children's literature. To this, he added his own characters. I had a migraine headache. I was too old for Disneyland. Yellowstone National Park After six days and nights dozing on the Greyhound, I finally took a room in Salt Lake City. The next morning, I observed the Mormon Temple, or temple of the Latter Day Saints. Only Mormons are permitted inside. Salt Lake City is a clean town. No slums. From Salt Lake City, I rode the bus north to Yellowstone, Through the window, I glimpsed the Great Salt Lake. A lady was telling me about the Mormons. After a few night time hours awaiting the bus in Idaho Falls, crossing and recrossing the Snake River, I arrived at Yellowstone ready for the tour. The brightest and most scintillating things about Yellowstone are its waterfalls and geysers. I saw the geyser Old Faithful. It spouts water once every hour, thus its name. The hot springs are sulfurous and smelly. Yellowstone is in the northwest corner of Wyoming. I spent the night in the tourist town of West Yellowstone, Montana. Southern Utah and Colorado The canyons and grotesque bluffs of Zion National Park made the ride through it an exciting one. We were not able to linger long enough to appreciate it as we would have liked. We hurried to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes. They were 11 miles off the main road. We came close to getting the car stuck in the sand, so we kept moving. Our next stop was Kanab, Utah, known as Little Hollywood. Many of the old westerns were filmed there. Lunch was pricey. Southern Utah sports some weird terrain. The traveler almost expects to be confronted with dinosaurs. It is never dull. We stopped at Four Corners to look at the monument. This is the spot where four states touch: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. It is the only such place in the nation. People like to say they were in four states at once. Mesa Verde National Park is in southern Colorado in a mountainous area 20 miles off the main drag. There are sites on which ruins of the Cliff Dwellers are found. The most famous and the one we explored is the Cliff Palace. It rests under a rock ledge. The descent is a precipitous one, and the Indians who lived there must have been in good condition. It was inhabited between the 7th and 13th centuries, when Europe was in its Middle Ages. The circular structures or kivas were used for religious purposes. From Colorado, the west disappears rapidly. We saw Pike's Peak from a distance and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Pike's Peak is a mountain 14,110 feet high and not unlike the mountains of the east. Jim Colyer Originally written in 1980 to cover the trips of 1978 & 1979