Alcatraz

Here is the welcome room of Alcatraz...The communal showers.

North side

South side

If you're going to San Francisco

Be sure to rent some bikes and go for a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge!

We did the ride from Fisherman's Wharf to Sausalito which was fun apart from the crazy pedestrians on the bridge. Also the ferry back made no sense. We had to put out bikes on the lower deck and then to get off we had to carry then up the stairs onto the upper deck before we could leave. Craziness.

Bigfoot

I thought this looked like the place of the famous Bigfoot sighting. Not sure if it is but alas, he wasn't there.

More stuff from Yosemite

Here's a big waterfall.

Barry on his bike

Alcatraz

We went on the tour of Alcatraz prison this evening. The tour was amazing, we saw the cells where three prisoners dug their way out with spoons, Al Capone's residence and the hospital wing where The Birdman of Alcatraz - Robert Stoud - stayed. The nighttime tour was extraordinary, you get to see loads more information than the day tour plus it's a little extra spooky, especially when they tell you about the bad men that were inmates there. Earlier today we hired bikes and cycled over the Golden Gate Bridge. Only one more full day of our Treasuremoon left so ciao for now! E x

Grizzly Giant

Yosemite bears all

Yes that's right folks, we saw a black bear in its natural habitat today.
We had just been to Glacier Point - a spectacular viewing spot overlooking a quarter of Yosemite - and on the way back traffic pandemonium unfolded in front of us. On a tiny, narrow mountain road, cars were double parking and people were leaning out of windows trying to get a glimpse of the bear which was quietly searching for food. Barry pulled over and I leapt out of the car before it had even stopped to get a couple of pictures. I have only go them on our super swish new camera and not my mobile so can't upload them until we get back. Earlier in the day we went to see Giant Sequoia trees, the one pictured is called Grizzly Giant and is taller than a Boeing 747, is 29ft in diameter and is more than 1,800-years-old. Bye for now! E x

Bodie

A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...

What a day we had yesterday! We woke in the morning at -190ft below sea level in the desert and ended up in snow-capped mountains at 9,000ft. We stayed at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley on Wednesday night before starting our epic journey to Yosemite National Park.
On the route we stopped at Mesquite Sand Dunes (pictured) in the blistering heat. It felt like 1,000 hair dryers were all pointing in our direction but we persevered to trek over them to take a couple of snaps as these dunes aren't just any piles of sand - this is where Star Wars was filmed! Well, scenes from A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. After we made it back to the car and I had a private moment with the air con unit we struggled on to the next destination - Mono Lake.
The lake, one of the oldest in North America, is saltier than the sea an was once a test facility for the US military.
It has two volcanic islands in the middle and strange rock formations surround the rim which, according to Barry, are calcium sprouts.
Continuing our journey we headed to Bodie, a ghost town from the gold rush era.
The mountain top town sprung to prominence in 1859 when prospectors struck gold there. In less than a decade, more than $21 million of gold was mined from the lawless area.
Only 5% of the town remains but it is enough to give you a true feel of what it was like to live in the wild west.
To complete the journey we travelled 150 miles through the incredibly scenic Yosemite National Park. Unfortunately, the sun set quickly and we missed a lot of the views, but never mind, more to explore today! Ciao! E x

Get me to the helichopter!

Ella and I had an amazing time at the Grand Canyon. The views from the south rim were exceptional, with views of mountains up to 57 miles away. As we only had one full day there, they guys at LN were kind enough to buy us a helicopter trip the following morning. Here we are about to take off...