USA 2017 -  OUR LATEST TRAVEL ADVENTURE

      
Sky and I are back home in England again after a busy, enjoyable  five and a half weeks in the USA.
     
Our journey started with a brief three days enjoying the company of our  family members in Boston..

Astrid and Aidan
Kyle and Ian

...and then it was off to Indiana to spend a couple of days with family there.

Megan, Sonya and Aunt Jean
Sonya and Mike
     
After that, we went westwards, Sky to SoCal to visit Gareth and me to Hawaii to spend five days with Mia.

What an amazing time I had there!
   

Mis greeted me at the airport on the traditional Hawaiian way, with leis.
And proceeded to show me all the wonderful sights of the Big Island.


Traditional Hawaiian canoes

An absolutely amazing banyan tree!

                                                                      
Farmers market in Kona

Rainbow Falls, near Hilo, on the east side of the Big Island
Mia at Waipi'o - another gorgeous beauty spot

These  are White Ginger flowers - we saw them growing wild everywhere.
The Hawaiian landscapes are so lush. Except, of course, where lava from the volcanoes has scoured the land. The picture below is a kind of lava known as pahoehoe
Mia and I flew over to Honolulu for the day to see my lovely grandson Taylor.

Hawaii is all about volcanoes and a highlight of this trip, for me, was a day spent at Volcanoes National Park.
Here, we stood next to steam vents and felt the hot breath of our ancient Mother Earth on our faces. And, most spectacular of all, we stood at the edge of a vast caldera from where we could see red hot lava bubbling up from a lava lake, the surface of which was just below the rim of the crater.
Back to the mainland, then, to meet Sky in San Jose and set off on another adventure, this time with the van we had rented from Lost Campers. Our plan was to spend a few days in California,camping in some of our favourite places. I was especially keen to visit my beloved redwood trees for what will probably be the last time.
We visited our long-time friend Jan, whom we had not seen for several years. She made us very welcome, as she always does. And then we headed eastwards...



 ...towards the Sierra Nevada. Luckily for us, the weather was still warm
and the passes were all open.
We chose the Sonora pass (el. 9,624 ft.). The scenery up there was absolutely stunning.
Down the other side to Bridgeport and then on, across the border into Nevada and the lonely, beautiful high desert. Mile after mile of straight roads that go all the way to the horizon. Always mountains in the distance. How wonderful to be back amongst all this spaciousness!On to Tonopah, then Ely, stopping on the way for a short hike in Cave Lake State Park
Our next stop was a tiny little place called Baker, NV. A small dot on the map, miles from anywhere, it has a mere 100 houses, but the most delightful people live there.
And every morning, at the Magic Bean Coffee Cart, they congregate for some of the most delicious coffee I have ever tasted (from a state-of-the-art espresso machine, no less!).
The lovely woman standing next to Sky in the picture, as they line up for their coffee, is Margaret, owner of The Bunkhouse, where we stayed for two nights.
Staying at the Bunkhouse was a most enjoyable experience. We especially loved the peace and quiet, the dark nights
and the view from the terrace past the baby aspen trees and across miles of sagebrush to the distant mountains.


We ate all our meals outside on the terrace. I made us a tasty salad for lunch each day, and Sky made us a mushroom omelette for dinner.

Baker is the gateway to Nevada's Great Basin National Park. We visited the Park and walked around one of the interpretive trails.
Here we met one of the local residents, a pretty little gopher snake, who obligingly stayed around long enough to be photographed.
Eastwards, then, into Utah, and towards one of the highlights of our trip: Canyonlands National Park

There is really nothing to say about the Canyonlands scenery except "Wow!"


After a second night at Green River (our base for the Canyonlands visit), we headed north towards Salt Lake City,
where the van was due to be handed in to the local office of Lost Campers.
We enjoyed the Fall colours of the trees along the highway.
In Salt Lake City, it was time to go our separate ways again for a while.
I spent four days there at the University of Utah Guest House,
hanging out with my 'wise women' tribe for the annual Crones Counsel gathering.
Lots of storytelling and sharing, and lots of fun and frolicking...



...and for me, since I hadn't been to a Crones Counsel gathering since Atlanta 2009, there were lots of happy reunions.

 Meanwhile, Sky flew to Albuquerque New Mexico, from where he spent a week revisiting some of his favourite places in all the world

Road to Cave Creek - Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona.
Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico - cliff dwellings

Jemez Mountains, New Mexico
Gila cliff dwellings, New Mexico

Tent Rocks, New Mexico
We met up again a week later,  back where our journey began, in Boston with our beloved family.
So endeth another wonderful adventure. Stay tuned...all being well, there will be more.