Day 8: From Flagstaff to San Diego

This stint was the longest drive we will have on this road trip. The only must-see thing for us on the way was the ghost town of Jerome, which is located only an hour's drive from Flagstaff. In Jerome there is an abandoned mine and around it has been built a little tourist attraction.

We got there early, just before opening time, and as it was Sunday, there were basically no other people but us. Just four employees and us, and on a sunny morning like this it was a delight for us and the kids. For the few dollars' entering fee I can highly recommend it for anyone interested in the history of the Old West.

At the dentist:

They even had goats the children were allowed to feed, some chickens and a possibility to pan for gold for a few dollars. The boys found gem stones on their pans and even a little gold nugget!

Day 7: Grand Canyon

Against all odds we slept really well at Super 8 hotel in Flagstaff. The walls were paper thin and a big road just next to the hotel, but at night it was peaceful and quiet and the beds were comfy. A very cost-efficient choice and I always appreciate friendly and service-oriented staff.

We jumped in the car, over-excited about what was to follow; a helicopter flight over Grand Canyon and a 2-hour jeep tour. The package had been very expensive ($1070) and had to be paid beforehand, but Jani was determined from the very beginning that we should do it, and as I have always loved flying, I had no objections. This would be one of those once-in-a-lifetime -experiences and we wanted to make the most of it.

We drove to the Grand Canyon National Airport, checked in with the helicopter company (we had also had to reconfirm our participation 24 hours prior to the flight from Las Vegas) and then waited in the lobby with some other guests. I was wondering why everyone else looked so serious and maybe even bored, while I was grinning from ear to ear, walking in circles and couldn't wait for the flight to take off! Our boys were also excited, laughing and joking around.

We had been weighed at the check-in and were then given tickets with numbers. I got number 1 and as it happened, I got to sit next to the pilot on the front seat!! I couldn't believe how lucky I was! Jani and the boys, together with two other male guests, were sitting in the back. An attendant fastened my seat belt, gave me the headphones and closed the door. YIKES!!!

I looked at the pilot, said "hi, this is really exciting", took a picture of him, and we were ready to go! The pilot had a kind of a joystick between his knees (not "that" one, hee hee) and very carefully he maneuvered the copter in the air. It wasn't scary at all, but almost felt like flying in a balloon; softly flying around in a smooth way, catching some air currents and going with the wind this way and that.. Maybe the birds feel like that when flying?

At first there were only trees below us. We were flying really low and I could still easily see all the details on the ground. They were playing classical music on the headphones and the pilot was saying some basic things ("hi, my name is Nick....."), but I couldn't concentrate on the things he was saying. I only stared at the ground, holding my breath. Knowing I would never be the same after the next moment. And there it was:

Seeing all that from so close makes one feel like a crumb of sand in Sahara.. and all our worldly problems so unimportant. I took the scenery in with every cell of my body, laughing and crying at the same time. I was so deeply impressed. I will never, ever forget this place and the way it made me feel.

When the helicopter landed, I and the boys were all grinning as madmen. Jani confessed that he could barely feel his other leg, as he had been so horrified about the flight (not about flying as such, but about being so high in a closed, tight space scared that the door would somehow open by itself) and was in desperate need of a tight Scotch. Thank goodness I had my Jaloviina bottle, the great hiker and the gambler, in our back-bag and could offer him a sip of it. We all thought it was the greatest thing we had ever experienced. How lucky am I to have such a husband who was scared to death but still wanted to offer me this opportunity? I can never thank him enough as it was all his idea.

The jeep tour with our guide Sean a few hours later was comfortable and entertaining. We were supposed to see the sunset at some amazing place with an amazing view, and that we did.

Leväsalos copy, over and out... good night, y'all!

Day 6: Hoover Dam

We made an early start again even though we weren't in a hurry. Somehow we are always more alert in those mornings when we know we are going to pack our things and start moving again. Somehow it's always kind of a relief to get going again; maybe there's some unknown gypsy blood in our veins?

We decided to visit Blueberry Hill diner again to get some breakfast, because we had really liked the whole experience the day before. We had a lovely chat with our waitress for today and chose to order a different kind of an omelette (mushrooms, ham, onion and tomato for me) and oh MAN how delicious it was!! A big steamy cup of coffee and we were ready to hit the road.

Our only goal for the day was seeing Hoover Dam, which is only a bit more than an hour's drive from Las Vegas. There were a lot of tourists in the Dam area and almost all parking lots were full. First we stopped at the famous bridge (Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge) to get some great photos of the Dam. Jani, who can't stand heights, took a few steps on the bridge and soon went back to the solid ground, while I and the boys walked a bit further and got some magnificent pictures. I found the scenery magnificent and the Hoover Dam is undeniably an amazing piece of work, but as we didn't go to the Tourist Center to listen to the history or other details concerning the Dam (the boys still can't understand enough English to follow the tours), the site had soon been marveled at.

As we had plenty of time to reach Flagstaff, we were hoping to find an Indian reservation we could visit. There is a Hualapai Indian Reservation  almost on our route, so we drove there hoping to find something traditional Indian stuff. I would have loved to visit a museum and teach the boys about the history of Native Americans, but it isn't that easy.. When we reached the reservation, we found out that the Native Americans of today live exactly in the same manner as other Americans. At least looking from the outside. The residential area of the reservation looked maybe a bit poor, but normal houses, schools and everything.. nothing really interesting. After pondering about it for a while we decided to continue to the actual reservation area, where visiting hours are limited to outsiders, I was somewhat scared that they might not like tourists coming to take pictures of their everyday life, but in the more rural area We. Saw. Nothing. Only some desert and dry bushes. That's all, folks! 

Day 5: Las Vegas

We woke up well-rested in the more than comfy beds of the Hard Rock Hotel. The bed was definitely one of the best ones I have ever slept in! From our room on the 10th floor there was a great view of the city and we took the morning easy just enjoying the luxury hotel and the view. The efficient air-conditioning was very welcome after the excruciating heat of the day before.

When it was time for breakfast, the hotel staff recommended us a diner called Blueberry Hill, which was easily accessible by car and near enough to the hotel. The atmosphere of the place was like a breeze from the past, like a real American diner as we have seen in the movies! Very authentic and lovely. We were greeted by a friendly staff and got a table immediately, even though the place was packed. We ordered the "daily special", a 4-egg omelette with ham and cheese and 3 buttercream pancakes, big mugs of coffee and Tropicana orange juice. OMG the size of the dishes!!!

"We'll never make it... omnom, yummu!!!"

With our tummies full we drove around downtown Las Vegas. We had seen the magnificent casinos and hotels when arriving to the city the day before, so now we headed to the military airport to see some fighter planes. YESSS we saw many at the same time leaving the base and the kids were shrieking on the backseat!! How cool is that!

It was actually quite difficult to find something interesting to experience in Las Vegas with children, so we decided to go visit Madame Tussauds wax cabinet. We had received a discount coupon from the hotel and yet the admittance fee was $80 in total. Exploring the attraction took as maybe 30 minutes and we were surprised to be out of the door so quickly, so for our family Madame Tussauds wasn't worth the money. I have visited the equivalent in London and that one I really liked with it's Chamber of Horrors.

To cover the disappointment we bought coppas of Ben & Jerry's, but it was too hot even for ice cream. Too hot to be outside and too hot to do anything. No wonder there aren't any outdoor places to visit in Las Vegas, no pretty parks to stroll in, no outside cafes or anything. You have to go everywhere by car and even the shopping mall has been built indoors. We were trying to imagine the amount of energy the city uses every day to keep it's people well. We decided that we had loved Yosemite and it's amazing environment, whereas Las Vegas didn't make an impression.

While the boys took a little lie-down in our hotel room, I and Jani went downstairs to hit the casino. I mean, you have to try it once in a lifetime, don't you?! (I have been to San Remo, but none of you probably knows that, so it doesn't count.) We bought drinks to get in the mood, sat down to pull the lever, and... nothing. I didn't get into the right gambling mood. You just sit there and pull the lever and wait if you get lucky. I don't really get the sense in that. I ended up playing poker, winning enough to keep the game going, until Jani said I would be sitting there all night that way, so I took the money out, went back to the "one-armed bandit"and lost everything in a minute. Phew. I'm obviously not in a risk to end up being a gamble-a-holic. 

Then it was time to take the boys swimming in the hotel pool. It was such a surprise to notice that the pool had a sandy bottom like a real beach! It didn't feel like a pool at all. The sun was shining already lower behind palm trees, but it was still really hot. The water in the pool was even hotter than the air, so one couldn't actually call it refreshing.. but it was lovely to relax and have fun with the boys. They loved it!

Dinner @ Hard Rock Café, obviously. Pulled pork burgers and nice, crispy fries. And we bought the souvenir glasses as we have done everywhere we have been to. 

As the day had passed and we were ready for bed, we all felt that we had seen enough of Las Vegas. The heat was too much for the kids, they couldn't bear for more than a few minutes walking in the sun, so unless you are willing to drive around the city all the time, Las Vegas in the summertime isn't the place for kids. 

Day 4: Death Valley

Everyone was up already at 6 in the morning. However the jet lag seems to be finally disappearing. Also our facial skin damages have nearly been defeated. It was a chilly morning outside the cabin, but yet beautiful and sunny. We had a quick breakfast, packed the car and started towards Death Valley. We stopped to wash the car windows to be able to get as good pictures as possible while driving.

There were mountains to the right; Sierra Nevada is a majestic sight, absolutely breathtaking! I instantly named this scenery as one of the Absolutely Must See Things in the US. I could again almost hear the hooves of the cowboys' and Indians' horses while they were galloping over the spiky bushes. I time-traveled back to my childhood to those lazy Saturday evenings, when I and mom used to watch old Westerns on TV. This was exactly the same view. It felt like nothing had changed in these deserted places for hundreds of years. Seeing the mountains always makes me feel a bit small and to think that no matter how great the man is, these mountains will stand here. No matter what. It also makes our worldly problems feel less magnificent. Kinda soothing, you know?

The temperature started rising, first slowly and then suddenly it was close to 35 C degrees. When we turned to the road leading to Death Valley, I was hoping we had enough gas to take us to the next gas station, which was still tens of miles away deep within the valley.

In the car there were constant ooh's and aah's and wows as we went upwards and downwards between the mountains. It was getting really hot as the temperature was already about 40 C degrees. I took so many pictures of the beautiful landscapes that we passed, that the memory card of my camera might be getting full soon. We got to the first gas station and as soon as I was starting to feel relieved, we noticed a note attached to the gas pump.. "temporarily out of stock". Arrrggh! Ok, we still had enough gas to get us to the NEXT gas station, which would be the last one in the valley before exit. We visited the small store of Stovepipe Wells and bought some souvenirs; I found a pretty copper thumb ring and a bracelet, the boys got sheriff's stars (naturally), and Jani bought himself a key chain with some pictures of Death Valley.

On we went through the magnificent scenery. We finally made it to the next gas station, took a tankful and paid for an entrance fee to the DV National Park. After this point we drove to Artists Palette to enjoy the spectacular colors of the wilderness, and then forward to Dante's View, which is supposed to be the number one attraction in DV. At one glance we saw the highest point and the lowest point of 48 states of the US. Definitely worth all the five starts!

Artist's Palette; look at the huge number of different colors!

Dante's View; the number one scenic view in Death Valley. 

With too little to eat and drink we finally drove out of the park. Horribly tired due to the awful heat (the max was about 47 C!), but at the same time overwhelmed by everything we had seen during the day, we proceeded towards Las Vegas. When we finally got to our destination, the Hard Rock Hotel, we were still wondering whatever became of the man whom we passed on the road riding his bike. Everything was so far from everything that it was hard to imagine him actually getting somewhere by bike. Hope he's OK though.

Day 3: Yosemite National Park

We had a slow morning, even though I woke up already at 5 AM. I'm still jet-lagged, God only knows for how long. I had to wait for two long hours for the others to wake up, watching the sun rise. Finally a quiet moment for myself. The groceries we had bought the night before at a local store were well enough to serve as a proper breakfast. Everyone was in good spirits and well-rested, ready to explore the surroundings. The sunburns had gotten slightly better, but Jani and Veikka both still had blisters on their foreheads and earlobes. And I still feel horribly guilty about it.

We stopped at the same grocery store to get some snacks and water for the upcoming hiking trip. It was supposed to become a sunny and warm day, about 26 C degrees, so we carefully put on highly effective sun lotion. We drove back the same road we had come yesterday across the mountains, went to a Yosemite National Park Visitor Center to ask for some advice, and headed towards the hiking trek they had proposed to us. I asked for a gentle route we could cross wearing only sandals and very basic equipment (= "we don't do hiking -kinda tourists").

The choice was a bulls-eye; the path was wide and easily walkable and we saw wonderful scenery and even some small wild animals. Passersbys greeted each others and I had to share our traveling plans to a few parties we came across to. Happy people enjoying the wildlife and the wonderful weather. The boys enjoyed our little adventure in the forest a great deal, climbing on the hills and looking for squirrels and, of course, having a little snack at the prettiest place we could find. There was a small river flowing in the forest, old wood trunks lying around and birds singing in an unfamiliar tune. Exciting and wonderful.. and the kids being a bit annoying at the same time; you can't let 8- and 10-year-olds out of your sight for a second, because in a blink of an eye they have thought of something they are not supposed to do. I was a bit worried about meeting black bears and mountain lions, which apparently live in the area, but of course the kids don't understand this. They run around, climb on every rocky wall that might collapse at any possible moment, and run across rivers trying to jump on stones.. I suppose every mother would be a little overprotective of their little angels, but in the end I decided to let them play.

And ohhh how they enjoyed it! I'm sure they will remember this hike for the rest of their lives.

Even though traveling is not always happy-happy-joy-joy, especially with the kids, I will remember the look on their faces when they saw all these new things today they have never seen before, the excitement and acceptance.. that this is the way the world is, these are the people living on it and we all basically enjoy the same things we share. I sit on the porch of our little cabin writing this and feel so content that it's barely possible. The pond is singing and the kids are laughing inside. The muffins were yummy and the insect spray really effective. This must have been one of the best days of my life.

Tomorrow, Death Valley and Las Vegas. Good night and goodbye, Yosemite!

Day 2: From San Francisco to Yosemite national park

After the skin-burningly sunny and intensive day in San Francisco we were ready to hit the road again. First we checked the status of the injuries: Veikka's forehead and nose were horribly red and aching, Jani's forehead and neck were horribly red and aching, the back of my hand was horribly red and aching (I always wear day cream with sun protection) and Lassi's cheeks and nose were slightly red, but not aching. I feel horrible about having let the kids get sun burnt and usually it is my number one priority to take care of everyone's well-being when traveling, but Veikka just looked at me in the eyes and said that Mom, I really don't think it was your fault. Makes my heart burst.

So please, please ALWAYS put on sun lotion even if it's a cloudy or windy day. The weather may change really fast and it is quite an easy thing to prepare for.

As we had woken up really early, partly to avoid the morning traffic in the city center and partly due to jet-lag, we jumped in the car right away. We decided to avoid freeways and use smaller roads instead to see as much of the "original life" as possible. We weren't in a hurry as Yosemite was only a few hours' drive away and so we took a little detour through Southern San Francisco. With a GPS it's relatively easy to drive around in the Windy City even though the traffic can get a bit messy at times. After driving in Florence in Italy this was nothing.

After a while we stopped at some small suburban town to have breakfast at Starbucks. A quick, smooth and pleasant way to start the day.

Our rental Buick had started to make some whirring sound, but the car still worked like a dream so we decided to ignore it. For now.

We had googled shopping outlets in SF and found one in Livermore (San Francisco Premium Outlets) and it happened to be almost on our route. I needed new sunglasses as I had just stepped on my old ones (don't ask, how it happened) and Veikka needed a hat with larger rim to protect his burnt face from the sun. Even if I had been upset about having destroyed my beautiful Giorgio Armani sunglasses two weeks earlier, I was delighted to find a lovely and well-fitting model by Oscar de la Renta. Their RRP had been $250 and here I got them at $49! Money well spent! Veikka, too, found himself a cool mafioso stray hat for $14. When shopping in the US they only show the basic price in the price tag; there will always be a tax added.

On our way to Yosemite the temperature started rising rapidly. After a while the surrounding nature had turned to dry and brown hills. I could easily imagine cowboys riding their horses in the hills herding their cattle. It was really hot, around 36 C degrees, and the air was still. Suddenly we saw fruit trees. And some more fruit trees. Endless rows of green fruit trees and grape vines. The farms must be huge here! At the end of the road we already saw the mountains looming in the background.

Before starting the rise to the mountains it's important to make sure that you have enough gas. There is one gas station quite up along the way, but after that there are none in the national park. At times the rise is so steep that there is a sign that says that you should turn off your AC to prevent the car motor from boiling. The speed limit is very low and due to some road work we were stuck in a queue, and the trip took us somewhat longer than we had anticipated. I didn't mind though as the scenery was truly amazing... just look at the pictures. There are no words to describe this magnificent place.

Sorry about my finger in some of these pictures... I only today learnt to take pictures properly with my new mobile phone.

Getting better all the time... Whenever I thought it couldn't get any better, the next view was even more amazing!

Our hotel Double Eagle Resort and Spa is located behind the valley and the mountains (there are not that many lodgings available in the national park) and it was easy to find. Amazing scenery of a pond and mountains from our cabin. Fantastic beds and a lovely countryside-style wooden furniture. I simply love this place!