Good on you and don't forget to tell us all about it!

Dimpz, what is the USA tour that you are doing that goes to Sedona, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion NAtional Park and Yosemite? I am curious as it sounds remarkably like the one we did some years ago.

By the way I loved Bryce Canyon including the walk down to the bottom and back up again.

Make sure you do take the helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. My wife doesn't like heights etc but she did the trip without problems.

Sitting on the edge of the Canyon and watching the sunset at night and the sunrise the next morning are also quite spectacular as the Canyon changes colour as the sunlight comes across it. Not the extreme colour ranges of Uluru at sunset but certainly worth seeing though.

Puff ~ It is the "Western Discoverer" let me know what you think.

We are flying Thursday to northern California for my brother's 50th wedding anniversary. The party is in Concord. My other brother who lives in Sacramento just emailed that the smoke is very bad again there after a couple of good days. He thinks it is better around Concord/Walnut Creek. Hope he is right.

Thanks to all your thoughts & prayers during these wildfires here. I have never seen anything quite like this before.

We've had a very large one burning about 1 1/2 away from our house since the lightning strikes two weeks ago. (We do have a small lake in-between us & the fire & haven't been evacuated) The air quality has been HORRIBLE, but thankfully getting getting better....the fire is around 40% contained now.

I did hear that Big Sur was getting hit hard. My prayers go out to all being evcuated & firefighters down there!

suegreg...I do think the air quality in Walnut Creek is better down there...I ahve some family down there. Have fun on your trip!

Dimpz-You will LOVE CA! It's just lovely... you'll have to visit the "real" Northern CA someday to get a true taste of it's beauty though. The coast all up & down Hwy 1 & into Oregon is SO beautiful.

quote:

Originally posted by Dimpz:
Puff ~ It is the "Western Discoverer" let me know what you think.

Hi Dimpz.

Sorry for the delay in responding but I have only just now read your post and looked up your tour itinerary. Unfortunately my computer crashed about 4 weeks ago and even the tech workshops have not been able to breathe life into it again. A new PC was received last Wednesday and that crashed Wednesday night and is now in the workshops. Talk about Murphy’s Law. I think Murphy was an optimist. I am currently hopping on line occasionally with a jerry rigged temporary setup I have put together with some components borrowed from a friend.

The tour you have chosen looks pretty good and, although the routing is slightly different, it is very similar to our tour of that area in 1991.

Of the many places that you will visit, one of my personal favorites is Bryce Canyon and The Hoodoos. IMHO Bryce Canyon is quit extraordinary and I hope you have the time available for your group to take the walk down to the floor of the Canyon, around some of the Hoodoos and back up to the rim. It takes about an hour and is an extra touch to your visit to the Canyon. By the way, we also stayed at Ruby’s Inn back in 1991.

If you are able to do the sunset (and sunrise) from the rim of the Grand Canyon then do them. They will be memorable events for you and definitely do the helicopter flight across the canyon.

In Los Angeles the visits to Universal Studios and Knott’s Berry Farm are both excellent as of course is Disneyland.

When in San Francisco, taking a cable car ride is almost a must do experience for visiting tourists and while doing so you can hop off and take a walk down Lombard Street (the crookedest Street in the world). A visit to Alcatraz is also interesting and, if you like seafood, then find the time for a meal at Fisherman’s Wharf at Pier 39.

Although it doesn’t mention it in your itinerary, looking at your route map it looks as if you may travel through Death Valley as well – now that can be a really hot place.

Well Dimpz, I am only on for a few minutes today and I’m not sure when I will get back on here again at the moment. I have my 2 granddaughters staying with us for a week and I also have 2 trips interstate before we leave for Europe again in 5 weeks.

Have a great trip and I look forward to reading about it when you return.

Puff ~ Thanks for your good wishes & as always your great advice. I have been given some great info from Colleen Anne & our BB friends from over the pond have been extraordinarily generous. All in all it is building to a great tour.

Good luck with the b@&&^% computer! When next I see Mr Murphy I will kick him for you.

Just come back from my long weekend in Northern California. It was hot Thursday in Concord, but it cooled down a bit for our anniversary celebration enough to hold the reception outdoors. Talk of fires was still there, but not the lead story.

By the way, one day, perhaps Thursday I heard on TV that Death Valley had temperatures of 120 F (almost 50C, I think)and the ground temperature in full sun was a record 200 degrees F.

quote:

One thing I am really looking forward to is the helicopter flight in the Grand Canyon. Helicopters were one thing I swore I would never have anything to do with, but Colleen patiently assured me all would be well & I thought 'well why not?' I

Dimpz,

Make sure you go in the big dark red helicopters, not the little white ones with stripes. Our TD offered both (the heliports for the two operators are next to each other); the red ones are a bit more expensive but the quality of the ride (silent, smooth and vibration free) is vastly superior. Our TD told us that it was worth the extra money, and indeed it was.

Have no fear my dear it will certainly be in one of the biggest they have, I doubt I could cope with the tiddlers. I have had this paranoia (read terror) for so long it will be nice to put it behind me.

quote:

When in San Francisco, taking a cable car ride is almost a must do experience for visiting tourists and while doing so you can hop off and take a walk down Lombard Street (the crookedest Street in the world). A visit to Alcatraz is also interesting and, if you like seafood, then find the time for a meal at Fisherman’s Wharf at Pier 39.

YES! YES! Dimpz all must do! There is NOTHIN' like grabbing a bowl of clam chowder in a bread bowl off the street at the wharf or a freshly cooked dugeness crab...yummmmm! drool!

You are going to be so close to us here Have TONS of fun!

[YES! YES! Dimpz all must do! There is NOTHIN' like grabbing a bowl of clam chowder in a bread bowl off the street at the wharf or a freshly cooked dugeness crab...yummmmm! drool!

You are going to be so close to us here Have TONS of fun![/QUOTE]

Yes, I love that clam chowder.

We did a tour over the Olgas in a rock-hopper (small helicopter)- no doors, hubby on one side and me on the other and son squished in the middle. It was fun but rather scary as you had no place to hold on even though you were strapped in the urge to hold on to something is instintive. In hubbys case is was the door frame and in my case the edge of the seat. Talk about white knukles.

quote:

Originally posted by rmcrf:
It was fun but rather scary as you had no place to hold on even though you were strapped in the urge to hold on to something is instintive. In hubbys case is was the door frame and in my case the edge of the seat. Talk about white knukles.

That type of story is not what I need to hear.

quote:

Originally posted by Hibiscus:

YES! YES! Dimpz all must do! There is NOTHIN' like grabbing a bowl of clam chowder in a bread bowl off the street at the wharf or a freshly cooked dugeness crab...yummmmm! drool!

You are going to be so close to us here Have TONS of fun!

We have an included dinner at Fisherman's Wharf. It is a place I have always wanted to visit since my daughters very 1st O/S trip, without parents, at age 17. I was so worried about her & she rang us from Fisherman's Wharf & was ecstatic about it.

quote:

Originally posted by Dimpz:

Good luck with the b@&&^% computer! When next I see Mr Murphy I will kick him for you.

Please don't do that Dimpz, I know him and I can assure, he is a lovely man who never has anything go right