Dublin, May 2022

This year our humans were going to drive around California and other states. It would be Roger's 10th visit to America, and he was excited with the prospect of cruising the Pacific west coast on Highway 1 to Hollywood in Los Angeles. Then we'd tour deserts in Arizona, Utah and Nevada, before returning to California to follow some of the footsteps of the gold rush in the mid 18 hundreds.

Click each photo to enlarge

Having left Los Angeles, we headed north on Highway 14. We passed Mojave, a small town which has given name to the famous Mojave Desert.

The Joshua Tree, California, May 2022

We stopped somewhere on Highway 190 southeast of Owens Dry Lake. Before we left Dublin, McBear had planned our route and discovered this "spot" on Google Maps called The Joshua Tree. It's the Joshua tree which features on U2's album, The Joshua Tree. We stopped to see the site and the tree, which sadly withered and tumbled around 2000. There's a plaque which asks the question "Have you found what you're looking for?". Sources say the plaque was created by Ernie Navarre.
"Did we find what we were looking for?" asked Roger as we were leaving.
"Oh, absolutely!" McBear responded.

Stove Pipe Wells, The Death Valley, May 2022

We reached Stove Pipe Wells in the Death Valley. The last time we were here the thermometer showed 118 Fahrenheit in the shade - that's nearly 48 degrees Celcius. McBear however wasn't convinced that the thermometer back then was adjusted correct.
We paid an entrance fee - which we gladly paid as it would support the maintenance and support of the valley.
"Did we bring sufficient amounts of water?" asked Roger and then added:
"No, McBear, Coca cola is not considered water!"

Badwater, The Death Valley, May 2022

We stayed at the Inn at the Death Valley for the night and went down to Badwater. We had been here before; when we went Coast to Coast in 2002.

Nevada State Line, Nevada, May 2022

We left the Death Valley and headed northeast. On the border between California and Nevada we stopped to have a selfie.
"Are there any statistics indicating the number of selfies the Travelling Bears have taken over the years?" asked Grange.
"Well, not really, but I'd say there are hundreds of selfies on our website - close to a thousand." McBear said.

Rhyolite, Nevada, May 2022

Among the things we wished to trace in western US were ghost towns. We stopped at Rhyolite. It was said to be the most photographed ghost town, however, there wasn't much to see - apart from signs warning us not to step outside paths as rattle snakes might lurk under hidden places.

Gold Point, Nevada, May 2022

We also went to see the Gold Point ghost town. This place still has many houses of timber from old times, when Gold Point was a busy mining town i the 1800s. At first, miners found silver, later they discovered gold.
"Maybe we should set up a camp here and see if we can find any gold..." Roger said. He felt very inspired.

Las Vegas, Nevada, May 2022

After a long day on dusty roads we arrived Las Vegas. Roger was relieved to get inside a shadowy and cool Bellagio Hotel. Now, it took around 10 minutes to get from the car park to our room. McBear got a bit concerned when calculating how much time we would be spending daily walking just 3 times between the car park and our room.
Roger had his eyes on the lake in front of the hotel.
"I shall enjoy strolling along the water front," Roger announced.

Bellagio, Las Vegas, May 2022

We had a lovely room at the 11th floor. McBear warned us:
"If you take a bottle of water from the counter, we'll be charged 20 Dollars, and if you regret, you've only got 59 seconds to put it back before we get charged..."
"I swear I won't touch the water!" Tom said with conviction. "Is there a bar downstairs?" he asked.

Las Vegas, Nevada, May 2022

In the evening we went out to enjoy the fantastic scenery. Everywhere buildings were lit up in colours.

Ivanpah Solar Electric plant, Nevada, May 2022

The next day we headed southwest on the I-15. McBear wished to see the modern solar power plant, Ivanpah. Large areas of mirrors are layed out so they point the sun's rays to a tower in the middle. Water at the top of the tower is heated several hundred degrees, enough to make hot steam which in turn can run power turbines. This way, the sun can power up a great deal of the use of power in Las Vegas.
"Maybe we could build a solar mirror plant at home in the garden," Roger proposed.
"What a splendid idea!" Mcbear applauded.

Mojave Desert Preserve, May 2022

From the I-15 it was only a short distance to the Mojave Preserve. There were a large forest of Joshua trees. This desert is famous and features in many films.
"Did we bring enough water?" Roger wanted to know.
"Did we bring a flask of hot coffee?" McBear wanted to know.
"Did we bring cold beer?" Tom wanted to know.

The next day we went to the Valley of Fire northeast of Las Vegas. It's an incredible area with red rocks and parts of it almost looks like it's on fire. The Indians who lived in the area left petroglyphs on the rocks many places.

Valley of Fire, Nevada, May 2022

We did our own excavation and we found indications that bears in the past may have put their paw marks on the rocks. Roger felt very inspired as he walked the trial and found petroglyphs many places.
"McBear, we need to document our findings. I think I'll make a presentation on bear petroglyphs for future lectures..."

Hoover Dam, May 2022

From Las Vegas we headed east and did a stop to see the mighty Hoover Dam. The dam makes electricity and is powered by the Colorado River. The river also separates the states Nevada and Arizona.

Flagstaff, Arizona, May 2022

We arrived the Hampton Inn near the Interstate 40. From the hotel we could see the many volcanos in the north.
"Could they erupt any minute?" Grange asked a bit worried.
"Ah, no," McBear said. "They are all extinct."
"It's the third time we're in Flagstaff, and none of the volcanos have erupted in the meantime," Tom added.

McBear was keen to visit the Lowell Observatory. It was here the ninth planet Pluto was discovered in 1930.
"But that was before Pluto was demoted to a dwarf planet," he added.

Winslow, Arizona, May 2022

In Winslow, Arizona we were standing on a corner - just like in the old song by the Eagles.
"Perhaps we are the first bears to be standing on the corner," Roger said.

We headed north on Highway 87 and soon we entered the Navajo Nation - Indian territory. The Navajo Nation is a vast area as large as the Republic of Ireland and it's ruled by the Navajo Indians. We stayed for the night at the Hampton Inn in Kayenta.
"I presume the chances of seeing Indians with bow and arrow on a horse back is something from the past." Grange said.
"Well... We are more likely to seeing Indians using smart phones and driving cars..." Tom said.

Monument Valley, Utah, May 2022

Kayenta is the starting point of the scenic Highway 163 to Monument Valley. As per usual we stopped to admire the iconic views.
"So, the Travelling Bears have been here 5 times? Wouldn't it be enough to take a picture and look at it from then on?" Grange asked.
"Eh... that's a good point," Roger said. "But there is something enchanting about this place..."

We cruised the scenic Highway 95 and enjoyed the views. In Bluff, we got pulled over by the police because one of our humans hadn't seen the speed limit sign. God, we were mortified...

Bryce Canyon, Utah, May 2022

From Hanksville we headed west and followed Highway 12 through southern Utah. By 1870 this was the last area in the continental US to be mapped - apart from Alaska. On our wish list of things to see was Bryce Canyon. Actually, Bryce Canyon has several canyons and is a very populær place.

We went to Inspiration View to see this famous canyon you see on so many photos on the internet. We were not allowed to take a selfie here because of the fear the wind would push us over the edge...

Springdale, Utah, May 2022

The next stop was Springdale near Zion National Park. Like Bryce Canyon, this area is also famed for its beauty. We stayed for the night at the Majestic View.

Next morning we enjoyed some coffee on the balcony and watched the sun rising above the majestic surroundings.

La Verkin, Utah, May 2022

We stopped at the Coach Inn in La Verkin to have breakfast. Before we left, Roger wanted to try this game: Horse Shoe throwing. Each player will throw the horse shoe and try to hit a small steel pole. Roger really did his best, but he found it hard to lift the horse shoe. He ended up gasping for breath.
"Aren't you going to throw it?" McBear was teasing.

It was time to hit the highways as we had a long day of driving ahead of us. We crossed the state line to Nevada and stopped for some coffee in Mesquite. Our lady human tried some gambling. We tried it ourselves. Having spent 1 Dollar we ended up with a winning voucher on 33 cents...

Crystal Springs, Nevada, May 2022

Soon, we veered north on Highway 93. We were getting closer to the infamous Area 51. Many years ago there had been a secret air base, and there had been UFO sightings in the area. We stopped near Crystal Springs as there was an alien shopping centre here and a massive sculpture of an alien was standing outside.
"Alien Research Center..." Roger read on a large container. "Have we come to the right place?"

We followed Highway 375 - also known as the Extraterrestrial Highway. We had hoped to refuel in Rachel, and there was actually a petrol station here. However, a sign on the door said "Back in half hour" and we didn't know whether this would be today or it was yesterday. As we headed on, our humans watched the petrol gauge reaching critically low levels...

Tonopah, Nevada, May 2022

To our humans' relief we reached Tonopah and found an open petrol station. Tonopah is a small town and it has a great mining history. Apart from gold, lots of silver was discovered and it's the reason Nevada earned its nickname, The Silver State.