California

Hi

I seem to be always apologising about not updating the blog sooner, so again sorry, but we have had a hectic week or so.

Last time, we left Santa Fe to stop in Denver for 2 nights.

We stopped in Colorado Springs on the way to Denver to visit the garden of the Gods, some very impressive rock formations of red sandstone, once horizontal but now tilted vertical up into the air. We met a hiker whom we met in Southern Maine/ New Hampshire, called Smiley, and he gave us a tour, followed by dinner on him, thanks Smiley!! The garden of the Gods is overlooked by a large Mountain, with lots of aerials on top, with is hollow inside, and houses NORAD. This is the joint armed forces base featured in the film 'War games' and is probably where the button will be pressed to end the world as we know it, good to know.

The driving is taking its toll, and when we arrived in Denver we had to really force ourselves to head out and enjoy the pre Christmas festivities. Denver is one of the largest growing cities in the U.S. and also boasts the fittest population, with access to the Rocky Mountains so close by and all the outdoor sports that can be indulged, it makes sense.

I stopped by the Rockies Baseball stadium for a visit, then watched the Broncos on TV, who were playing just a stones throw away. We were very impressed by a very clean city, with good public transport, if not a little chilly. One would expect the 'mile high city' to be cold in December though.

Driving out of Denver took us through the Mountain range that had been to our West for hundreds of miles as we approached Denver. We stopped at a ski resort called Vail, and hitched a free ride to the top of the slopes on a cable car. This took us above 10,000ft, which is the highest i have ever been, and the snow covered mountains were breathtaking, or maybe that was the altitude sickness.

We drove out of Colorado, through snowy (!) Utah a little, stopped over in a place called Green River, then onward to Las Vegas Nevada, which did not have snow. This drive was long but we saw the landscape change so much it was worth it to do so quickly. From snowy desert to the dry dusty Nevada desert in one day, and driving into a basin with a large man-made money maker in the centre, looming out of nowhere, was surreal. Lets face it, it shouldn't be there. But, 2 days before Christmas, the place was as busy as ever, and more and more people arrived while we were there, so as they could spend Christmas there.

We stayed in the Luxor, a large glass pyramid, with hotel rooms for walls, and a huge open atrium housing a village below, with shops, restaurants and a casino - of course. Floyd joined us, another friend from the trail, who lives 3 hours drive away in Arizona. It was great to see him again and we hope it is not the last time on this trip, watch this space. We walked up the strip from the Luxor taking in the Excalibur (medieval themed castle), the MGM grand, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and it was hard not to stay out of the casinos, literally. The paths and layout lead you into the casinos, then try to overload your senses and make you spend money. Nicole spent 25 cents, one some tokens (you never win money back, that's too easy), then we couldn't find a cashier to cash in our chips. They were kiddies chips from the child's casino, and we would have won a cuddly toy, and we did try, its amazing, the casinos even screw kids over!

Leaving Las Vegas (;0) was not hard, we couldn't spend Christmas there, it just wasn't right, so on Christmas eve we headed for San Francisco, and after the longest drive of the whole trip, we arrived late and collapsed to bed. We woke up and made our phonecalls home then headed to China town for dinner.

Oh no, Library closing in Inverness California, i'll tell you how we got here another time!