travel
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We drove across the Central Valley to San Francisco. Coming across the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, it was easy to see why San Francisco had developed into such an important city. The bay is simply huge, and the harbour is well-sheltered. It offers easy access to the interior of California, including the goldfields that would
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We went on to Yosemite. Yosemite was awesome in several ways. First, it was stunningly beautiful; second, it was stunningly busy. Yosemite has to be one of the most special spots on earth. Nothing had prepared me for the grandeur of the site. The park’s elevation ranges dramatically from 2,127 feet to 13,114 feet
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After visiting Carson City, we visited an authentic western mining town, Bodie, in California. Bodie sits high in the Sierra Nevada, where snows linger well into the spring. Indeed, the site does not reopen until May because the winding dirt road is blocked by snow. After climbing along the narrow dirt road for thirteen miles,
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Heading west, we pushed on to Virginia City. I found this a strange town. In some ways, it is the best preserved of the western towns, with the wooden sidewalks and old saloons and gambling dens. But in other ways, it is a caricature of itself with gun-fights performed three times a day and a
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We drove from Salt Lake City to Carson City, mainly on US Route 50. We stopped off in the Great Basin National Park and explored Wheeler Peak in the Snake Range—driving up the scenic drive almost to the peak itself. I was shocked at the mountain. We started off in scorching 40-degree heat in the
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We travelled on to Salt Lake City. I had visited the city in 1984 for a day, but my memories were very sketchy. I was disappointed that Temple Square was covered in building work. However, the city was an eye-opener. It is in a beautiful setting, nestled between the Wasatch Mountains and the Great Salt
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We drove down to the Golden Spike National Historical Park. The park, a testament to human ingenuity, commemorates the joining of the Union and Central Pacific railroads. It is the site where the final golden spike was driven in to celebrate the uniting of East and West. In many ways, this is a significant site,
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We pushed on to Yellowstone, one of the leading destinations of our trip. The park was stunning, and we were left with some indelible memories. In particular, I will remember an early morning walk along the shores of Yellowstone Lake and encountering a small group of bison grazing close to our cabin. The scenery is
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One thing we noticed first up at Wounded Knee, particularly around the memorial, but then again today at Devil’s Tower, were pieces of brightly coloured cloth tied to the branches of trees. I realised that these were Native American prayer ties. Prayer ties, deeply rooted in the spiritual traditions of Plains tribes such as the
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We drove from Rapid City through the Black Hills. We came upon the Black Hills expecting to see hills, but instead, we saw mountains, at least as grandiose as the Appalachians. The name ‘Black Hills’ comes from the Lakota words Paha Sapa, meaning ‘hills that are black.’ From a distance, the densely forested slopes appear
Early American Musings 