Thursday 30 September: Boulder City, Nevada to Tropic, Utah

The highway went through interesting countryside, rising in places to 700 - 1220 metres (2000 - 4000 feet). As we got closer to the mountains we could see how rugged and jagged they were. At one point the road went between steep reddish cliffs of rock : it looked like we were going to drive right inside a mountain. Then we started climbing higher and higher, and the low scrub was replaced by towering pines and tall aspens in autumn colours. Against the pinks and reds of the rocks, it was pretty spectacular. This was the Dixie National Forest, which covers a large area of the southern part of the state.

The road took us through Red Canyon, aptly named. The rocks were an amazing red, and were eroded into amazing shapes high above the road. At one stage the road went through two rock arches.

We came down a winding mountain road to the tiny town of Tropic, where we will stay for a couple of nights.

Tuesday, 28 September:Monterey to San Luis Obispo

This was mostly a driving day to get us started on our road trip. We have had a gentle day of getting the hang of driving on the 'wrong' side of the road, and using controls that are placed differently in the car.

We followed the coast road south. The Pacific coast is pretty rugged, with jagged rocks and smashing surf. There weren't many beaches, and those we saw had warning signs about dangerous currents.

The indoor pool

At San Simeon we went to Hearst Castle, which was built in the 1940s by multi millionaire William Randolph Hearst, owner of a San Francisco newspaper. He hired architect Julia Morgan to design his dream house, perched on the top of a high hill. The job was expected to last two years, and took twenty, mostly because Mr Hearst kept changing his mind. There are several large guest houses but the main house has huge rooms filled with art works, sculptures and wall panels Mr Hearst brought back from European travels. There is a huge outdoor swimming pool, an indoor pool and tennis courts.  The indoor pool has a mosaic floor, including gold tiles, of the night sky. The ceiling has paintings of the sea floor.

Today the mansion and guest houses are open to the public. People are ferried up the hill by bus, and taken through by guides. It is a glimpse into the life of wealth and power of that time, and the many famous guests who visited.

We drove on to the pretty town of San Luis Obispo for the night.

Monday 27 September : Monterey, California

Today we explored the charming historical area of Monterey called Cannery Row. In the 1930s and 40s, Monterey was a 'sardine town' : huge schools of sardines swam in the Bay, and catching and canning them was the main occupation of the town. It was a boom time, particularly during the Second World War when the US Army bought huge quantities of canned sardines for the troops. By the late 1940s, Monterey Bay was fished out - there were no more fish and the canneries closed.

Today the canneries have been restored and contain shops and restaurants. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is the biggest cannery conversion, and researches the Bay and teaches visitors about conservation of marine habitats. The exhibits are exciting. Some are very big, like the kelp forest, and some, like the different seahorses, are small. It is an inspiring place.

The Kelp Forest exhibit includes a small school of silvery sardines.

The Aquarium's research institute is fascinating. There is a deep ocean trench in Monterey Bay and they use robot submarine vessels to go deep into the ocean with cameras. Some of the creatures that are filmed have yet to be identified.

You can find out about their research work here: http://www.mbari.org/

Sunday,26 September: Melbourne to Los Angeles to Monterey

We took off at 11am on Sunday, and almost 14 hours later landed in Los Angeles at 8 am on Sunday! We had to find our way to another terminal, which took ages, then we had to sit around for a few hours before flying north, in quite a small plane, to Monterey, a charming place on the central coast of California. We picked up a hire car, and then came the challenge of getting used to driving on the other side of the road! The driver's seat is on the 'wrong' side of the car for us, and you move the drive controls with your right hand, not your left. The turn indicator is the lever we would have for windscreen wipers, so we kept turning them on when we were turning! We have driven about a bit and have located the historic part of the town we have come to see, called Cannery Row, so we know where to begin our day tomorrow, but first we need to catch up on much-needed sleep.

Shirley on the road in the USA

A friend and I fly out from Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne on Sunday 26 September, headed for Los Angeles and the start of our long-awaited road trip in the USA! We will travel a loop from Monterey, California across the state of Nevada into Utah, then we'll go south into the states of New Mexico and  Arizona and back into California again.  We are very excited that part of our journey will take us into areas of the Navajo Nation, which  overlaps into four states.
  Here is a map showing the location of the Navajo Nation

I'll be posting more details about what we see along the way, but first we have to get there! Melbourne, Australia to Los Angeles and then Monterey in California, USA is a long trip.