The days tick down to”T” day :)
Do you ever feel that 24 hours in a day is just never enough? Yep, I swear as I get older (currently 43) Im going to bed thinking where on earth did that day go to? Let alone… usually a swear word followed with… what did I have for breakfast lol.
Its been a little “q” here lately (LEO superstitions…. never use the word “q…..uiet”).
Work has been chaotic with one of my work colleagues passing (suicide) and a few other major headaches (Leo jobs). All of which are emotionally taxing. Fortunately I have a supportive wife and family.
On a plus and in prep for my trip Ive replaced my camera bag with a F stop bag and some new LA Sportiva hiking shoes. Next acquisitions are a tad more pricy so will be getting those closer to “T” day (tour day).The current plan has changed ever so slightly with flying into Vancouver 2 weeks later as opposed to Seattle and re looking into Air BnB. Im hoping that this will give me more chance to see some snow.
- 4 Days in Vancouver. Will cover much of Seattle during this part including Space Needle, Kerry Park lookout, Discovery Park, Snoqualmie Falls, Lake 22, Deception Pass, Granite Falls, Seattle Japanese Gardens, Capilano suspension Bridge. maybe Mt Rainier
- 1 Day in Kamloops. Maybe drive through Whistler on the drive up.
- 5 Jasper NP – Maligne Canyon, Valley 5 Lakes, Pyramid Lookout, Sumwapta Falls, Athabasca Falls, Tangle Creek Falls, Willox Pass, Angel Glacier, Beauty Creek Trail, Abraham Lake.
- 5 Banff NP – Johnston Cave trail, Lake Louise, Crescent Falls, Takakkaw Falls, Natural bridge, Emerald Lake, Plain of 6 Glaciers, Bow Falls View Point, Banff Surprise corner, Marble Canyon, Moraine Lake.
- 1 Spokane WA – Palouse Falls
- 4 Glacier NP MT _ West Glacier – Avalanche Trail head, GTTSR, East Glacier, Swift Current Lake, Two Medicine, Running Eagle Falls.
- 1 Missoula MT
- 4 Days in Yellowstone WY – Old Faithful, Mammoth Hot springs, Inspiration Point, West Thumb Geyser point, Tower falls, Hidden Falls, Grand Teton, Wind River Range.
- 4 Days in Idaho Falls ID – Saw Tooth Mountains, Idaho Falls, Shoshone Falls (Twin Falls)
- 1 Day in Provo UT – Via Capitol Reef Hickmans Bridge.
- 3 Days in Moab AZ -Island in the sky, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park, Corona Arch trail head, Double Arch, Dead Horse Point
- 2 Days in Kayenta AZ – Monument Valley, Grand Canyon South rim, Mesa Verde.
- 1 day in Tuba City AZ – South Rim, Tuba City, Tonalea, Coalmine Canyon.
- 4 Days in Page AZ – Horseshoe bend, Vermillion Cliffs, Lake powell, Antelope Lower canyon, Kanab NP
- 1 Day in Las Vegas NV – Via Bryce Canyon, Valley of Fire State Park
- 2 Days in Death Valley CA – Rhyolite, Mesquite Flats, Bad water Basin, Furnace Creek, Beatty NV, Race Track Playa, Artists Drive, Zabriskie Point, Dantes View.
- 4 Days in Yosemite CA – Glacier Point, Tioga Pass, Bridal Veil Falls, Upper and Lower Falls, Mono lake (sunrise)
- 2 Days in San Francisco CA – Big Sur, Golden gate Bridge, Military Cemetery, Lombard, Russian Hill, Knob Hill.
- 1 day in Redding CA – Burney Falls, Sundial Bridge
- 3 Days in Roseburg OR – Watson Falls, Tokette Falls, Willamette/ Lillian Falls, Susan Creek Falls, Crater Lake
- 2 Days in Bandon OR – Wizards Hat, Samuel H Boardman State Park
- 2 Das in Florence OR – Thors Well, View Crest, Sweet Creek Falls, Siuslaw River Bridge, Cooks Chasms, Oregon Dunes, Hecta Beach, Zumwalt Park, Cape Perpetual Look out.
- 3 Days in Newport OR – Yaquina Lighthouse, Cooble Beach, Depoe Bay, Otter Rock, Seal Rock, Drift Creek falls, Silver Falls, Tillamook lighthouse, Opal Creek.
- 3 Days in Seaside / Astoria – Haystack Rock, Astoria, Ecola Beach, Deamans Cove , Cape Disappointment WA.
- 2 Days in Portland – Japanese Gardens, Moulton Falls, Cedar creek Grist Mill, Mount St Helens, Iron Creek Falls.
- 3 Days in Stevenson / Columbia River Gorge – Multnomah Falls, Beacon Rock Trail head, Bridal Veil Falls, Horsetail falls, White river falls, Pool of Winds, Bridge of the Gods, Lower Lewis Falls, Eagle Creek Falls. (currently closed)
- 5 Days in Olympic NP (Port Angles) – Mount Rainier if not able to get there first time, Hoh Rain Forrest, Sol Duc Falls, Madison Falls, Quinault, Shi Shi Breach, Rialto Beach, Ruby Beach, Quillayute Needles, Butchart Gardens BC?
- 1 night in Vancouver BC and fly out.Going on the above, Im looking at about 500 miles of hiking and over 17000 miles of driving.
Never said it wasn’t going to be a challenge 🙂
Let me know your thoughts?!
Photo travels. (Funny and some swearing)
I thought Id document some of my travel experiences to the USA. Hopefully, you will all get a laugh out of it. 🙂
Ok.. here we go, so strap yourselves in!!. So my first trip to the States was back in 2012. I started in LA and ending in MN after a month of travel. Seems easy enough. Everything was pre-booked and paid for soooo.. what could go wrong? All I had to do was follow the yellow brick road/itinerary that the travel agent sent me 
. I cant tell you how eager I was to do this trip!
Now the flight from my home town at the time in South Hedland West Aust to LA was in the 20-26hr mark via Sydney, plus jet lag and about as excited as an Amateur photographer in a camera store with a million buck gift card really made for an uncomfortable fidgety flight.
The flight itself was a mix of pleasure and terror. The pleasure of in-flight movies, food, chilling and anticipation of what I would see and what I could get up to when I landed.
I didn’t even mind the young babies crying, its all part of the trip. On the other hand…
Terror as the 3 teenage kids in front decided that they wanted to fight and be morons. I really had a moment that I wanted to knock a couple of heads together, but I’m sure someone wouldn’t like that…. I reclined my aisle seat back once the kids did their seats so my nose wasn’t pressed up against the TV screen. A bit hard to see a movie with your condensation on it fogging it all up. Three cheers for “cattle class” (Economy)!!!
Only for the woman behind to complain to the stewardess that I was encroaching in on her space and had to raise it again. I’m 6 ft. 1 and about 220-230 pounds, I’m sure lots of other people are taller and bigger than I have the same issue about their knees touching the seat in front and space in general… it’s a tad cramped in the “poverty seats down the back”, next time I will have to join the elite and go business lol. The rest of the time I was mortally wounded by the food trolley smashing into my elbow like the Titanic into an ice-burg. But at least I knew when chow time was up . I didn’t even have any issues with armrest etiquette. (Google Jim, Jefferies for a funny comedy show about this… has lots of swearing)
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Landed in LA and after getting the 3rd degree from customs that I wasn’t there to meet a new wife (I told my wife this and her only comment was “Hell no! You are not leaving me with all the kids” lol) or stay any longer than I planned…somehow managed to get to the car hire and missed out on the chance of a cavity search from my new found annoyed friend doing his job at Customs. His luck might have changed if only he brought me a meal lol… just kidding.. (Please don’t get me wrong… I think they do a great job and needed for airport and security etc.)
Handed over all my documents, licenses, blood sample, second-born child… etc. and the dude at the car hire place and he asks “Where are you heading?” I mentioned my trip.. giggling like a giddy school girl…, “heading to Grand Canyon etc, Utah and all the way up through South Dakota to Minnesota to see a photography friend”. The dude stops what he is doing and says… “I cant hire the car to you, you’ll take it off-road?” Ergh.. you what now???. The only way I can give you a car is to upgrade to a SUV… what I had booked before was a little hatch about the size of a Honda Civic. So I had to shell over another 1000 odd bucks before they would give me a car. Or I could come back in a couple of days after I decide to change my mind… (The trip to Grand Canyon was only ever going to be done via chopper…)
I really needed to get a move on and still groggy from the flight I metaphorically dropped my strides and took one for “Team Geoff”. ( I mentioned this to the travel agent later and she made some inquiries… apparently, the refusal never happened and it was my request to upgrade lol, yeah right..)
Jumped in the car and drove off, dodged falling into the Monterey canyon (aka pothole) in the bitumen by the driveway and on the way out ended up on the correct side of the road lol. Miracles do happen! Hell… I even got into the correct side of the car! LA… your road repair system lacks a bit.
Now, amongst my lost travels (lets call them… “unplanned adventures” ) I found a Target store, pulled over and went hunting for a gps and a sim card for my ipad. Found one of each, got back to the car, plugged it in and it went straight to requiring software update and sim card wouldn’t work in ipad (unlocked ipad). By this time I had already driven off. I couldn’t even use either to get back to the store. So… no phone… (because Im a clown that thought… There’s a phone over there for sale…, I wont need one as I have my ipad…) no way of figuring out where I was supposed to be and getting rather frustrated by the minute at my stupidity, as I hadn’t planned on any other options. (Now I have plan upon plan upon plan).
So after driving around for about 7- 8 hours around other tourists, LA motorists and, nearly getting sideswiped by a garbage truck, I finally found my hotel. Literally… fell over it in West Hollywood.
Even asked a dude walking his dog where this street was.. “Sorry, I don’t know!” Drive to the end of the street like maybe 20 yards and there it is lol.
Before I get any further, lets get the stereotype right. I’m a Caucasian male, cropped hair, no tats, no earrings. I might have been unshaven, but definitely no beard. I dont look like a gangster, thief, pimp or hooker, my pants sit on my hips and certainly not rocking any gang colors But West Hollywood dude seemed shit scared when I approached him.
Find a parking bay and head up to the front desk. Speak with the nice lady at the front counter who kindly informs me that she did not have a booking. Now… Im thinking… wt..? Is someone having a lend of me?
The dude behind me stands there patiently after the hotel works out that they had booked me under another name, then upgrades me. Must say, Australia has absolutely nothing on US for customer service in hotels etc.
I get the “ you are a peasant look” just ordering a 7 buck coffee in Aus. You know.. that crappy look they give down the line of their nose?? The voice in my head pops up with a really posh accent of “How dare you to interrupt me whilst I stand here and breath the filthy air you have just pushed towards me whilst begging for 1/2 a coffee bean in septic water and sour goat piss for milk.”
The dude, in this case, is another Aussie. Go figure. Fly all this way to another country and basically the first person I have a reasonable conversation was with an Aussie named Simon. ANNNND he understands my accent Double boom and an added fist pump!
Simon politely informs me that he is having a function up on the top floor. All expenses paid for and needed a few extra people. I thought Schweet!! Besides.. Simon said I had to go lol. Things are turning around!. Ill be there with bells on.. nothing else.. just bells 
. I Wonder what Simon does?
I throw on my best threads, foot falcons (thongs/ flip flops) and mosey on up. Turns out Simon.. was the publicist or similar job type for…. Wait for it “Playboy” lol. I nearly died! Teenage bucket list checked off in one night!
The event was a bit of a get together for a couple that had won a guided tour around Heffs mansion from selling the most amount of condoms during some sort of promotion between stores.
Met some really nice people, an Aussie rock band that is doing well in LA and some models (fully clothed). No photo opportunities though lol. Spent a good 10 minutes explaining to a young lady how we Aussies have trained all our Kangaroos to deliver mail to reduce the carbon footprint?!?…. (sorry…. But no…. we haven’t achieved that, she started with something silly in conversation so I upped it for a laugh). It ended with her nearly slapping my face for saying that roo meat is sold in restaurants.
Woke up the next morning being shaken out of my bed from an Earth Quake lol. But I was that tired I figured that someone would come get me if I needed to get out of Dodge fast.
Had an awesome night and after that.. started off an amazing trip with a few other unplanned adventures and one more small hiccup between Las Vegas and Denver, but all in all. Awesome!
Just missed out on a Aussie footy player falling from a balcony at the Flamingo Hotel. I had been there moments before I had left as all the excitement was else where… Probably a good thing eh?
I didn’t think I got that far but some crappy phone pics says otherwise. hehe.
So on my way to what I though was towards Denver being my next stop (that’s what the documents said), I then realized that I was supposed to stop off at Zion and had to double back. It was pouring down, rock slides and all sorts of things. It took f**king hours and I was wrecked by the time I got there at 1am. All the time talking to my wife on my Aussie phone trying to get directions and help keep me awake so I didn’t fall asleep. I paid for that conversation later with a 2.5 grand phone bill…..
What really got me was the signage… Road works… next 200 miles…. Here I am thinking Jesus Christ…… 40 km/h or equivalent (because that’s what it is here) for 200 miles? That’s gonna take years. Hell no…. signage for 70-80 mph still up and I’m rocketing past workers like I’m doing warp factor 10!
I didn’t dare speed. 10km/h in Aus will give you the gift of a speeding ticket. Last thing I wanted to do was get on the wrong side of Police.
Its funny….. a govt official, teacher or someone in authority get in trouble, its all over the news. Teacher or Cop… issued ticket for illegal parking/ speeding/ assault. Never get the Brickie or panel beater getting a mention in the news. But I get that some occupations are held to a higher standard and so they should be and I’m ok with that.
I spent a few days in Zion, First day I was walking up to Emerald Pool. I think I overestimated my abilities lol. I had my camera bag on my back and brought a backpack and threw my gigapan on my front. Slightly unfit I started on my trek. I get halfway up to take a breather and a elderly couple sail by me as though Im going backward with a oxy tank in a trolley attached to them. Im looking around to see if I’ve just been “Punked”… argh.. nope… lol
Made an accidental turn off towards Moab, glad I did and probably the last thing of interest that happened…. I dropped a filter holder over some falls out by Hastings MN .. with filters.. jumped the fence and climbed down, nearly plummeted to my death lol. I managed to get the holder back, but the rest was gone.
Step forward to my last trip in 2015. I think I was a bit wiser this time , I started at Karratha West Aus to SF via Abu Dhabi which if you haven’t used this option allows for customs to do all their stuff before you land. Good idea to be honest. This flight is about 25-30 hours. The flight back was pushing 36 hours with stop over and already had delays.
I land in Abu Dhabi, and have about an hour in connection time, so I grab my carry on and follow the crowds to the next plane terminal. Get through all ok and find my seat on the plane. This time, the plane was half full and increasing and I fell asleep straight away.
Next minute… I have security and flight staff standing over me, ordering me to get off the flight and head back to customs. I pretty much “s…t” myself thinking what on earth have I done.. or haven’t done now? I stand up and they strip the seat down? … Im like ok? Maybe its part of the protocol? Don’t panic yet?!
I grab my carry on and escorted back to US customs under guard. Meet a nice dude there who asks me what is in my bags. I explain its camera equipment and a small Laptop that didn’t make the trip and died (I found out afterwards when I landed)… The US Customs agent asks if he can have a look. “Yeah sure, knock yourself out”. (His demeanor changed when I explained that Im a Police Officer on holidays, he relaxed heaps.) Id left a couple of extra cable ties in the pelican case as they chopped my last padlock up on the first trip lol. Last time, my bags were destroyed when I collected them and held them together with wrap. He didn’t even bother with my carry on luggage and having a look at that
Literally 5 minutes later. He’s done, thanks me, shakes my hand and I’m running back to the plane. Running… yeah right… puffing like a asthmatic in a sand storm is more like it.
The kicker… I sit back down in my seat, by this time there is a elderly gentleman is seated in the isle row with a seat between. He’s wearing a full grey balaclava, like full face covering except mouth (rolled up) and nose and full attire that one would expect for Abu Dhabarians. He was wearing it when he boarded and had only lifted it above his lips. Id assume it’s a cultural thing or a burns victim? Not as though it was cold or anything. Im not really fussed by this sort of thing.. what ever floats your boat I say!
One thing I have learnt in nearly 20 years of law enforcement. It takes all kinds to make the world spin and never have anything against anyone … well except… bullies and wankers.
He asks me if everything is ok and takes off the balaclava. I said, yeah… Customs just wanted to ask me about some robotic equipment I had for my cameras in my luggage (easiest way to explain a Gigapan to someone that may not know what it is). He cuts me short, calls for the stewardess and demands that he be moved away from me! There I am… thinking, wow! Yep that’s me.. third world assassin right here!…. Anyway…. It ended in 3 seats to myself and could completely lay down, curled up, but I could lay on my side! And when I wasn’t asleep. I could look out the window and shoot an Aurora or 3.
Landed this time without issues and sat there watching a young couple go through the same process of car hire that I did the first time. It must be like… Hey… newbies….. come in spinner!! for these hire places. Got my car and headed to my first hotel at Pier 2620. Seriously, SF is far better flying in than LA and cheaper for Aus ticket. Really liked SF.
Next day… walked into Walgreens to grab some cold and “man” flu tablets as I figured I would end up with something from the flight (took about a week to catch up with me).
A dude starts fighting with security, manages to shrug him off and makes a bee line for me… Im thinking… what are my rights as a tourist? Can I detain? Wouldn’t have been hard …watching this dude flounder around on the floor like a new born elephant on national geographic. I watched the security guard and he didn’t appear to be in a overly desperate need to catch this character and had a bag that he had taken off him, so figured I should just behave myself and step aside. Walk out of there and onto the main strip by the Pier and low and behold, SF finest are cordoning off the area with the bomb squad robot reversing off a trailer. Im thinking WOW, this place is insane! Not to mention the dude on the side walk busking for cannabis lol.
And the rest of the trip you have an idea about already. SF- Yosemite- Vegas- Arizona -Utah- Idaho- Montana- Oregon and back to SF over 2 month period.
I did come close to having a head on in Arizona but hey, they made it back onto the right side after over taking the truck.
From there, 6000 miles and not one major issue. Had a ball of a trip. Seriously I would do the exact same locations again without hesitation. Again, met some amazing people throughout the time I travelled including the marvelous people at Heaven and Earth.
The meeting people is actually part of the highlight of the trip. Sure I come away with some cool photos, but make some friends as well.
Over 2 years later and I am still processing those photos.
Cant wait to head back again.
Time flies
My last trip to the USA was from Sept-late Nov 2015. Of that I took about 22 gig of images. Soooo… almost 18 months later Im still processing photos from it.
Now I have never hid the fact that I love shooting in the US. I literally saw 4 seasons in a few days driving through Oregon. You just can’t get that in Australia.
I miss it, I miss the feeling of being able to explore, the life style and great customer service. Australia, you can pay 7 bucks for a coffee and only be offered a grunt for conversation. We are quite behind the times when it comes to that.
I would dearly love to spend more time over there.. Im not worried about living in some major city… just somewhere I am close by to nature with power and internet. If anyone knows how to achieve this Ill happily listen.
Im still sitting on my backside at the moment with my busted foot 😦 Feeling the misery of not exploring and photographing the world. It has given me some time to go back through and appreciate what I have seen and plan some more.
Have a great weekend if you are already there and if not, it means Happy Saint Paddy’s Day!
Below are some shots from Montana.
Getting close now
Well it’s 8.62 days, 206.97 hours or 745,091 seconds before I commence my trip back to the US of A. Seriously can’t wait! and yes I am counting every second 🙂
I am currently printing out maps, tour passes and all sorts of stuff to make it easier.
Last time i was over in the States I had a few issues with directions etc. Started with buying a gps which needed an immediate software update and turned out that it wouldn’t work. (Didn’t get one from the hire company as the rental costs alone I could have brought 3.) Stuffed up itinerary from the travel agent (though I take blame for this as I should know where Im going 🙂 ) and a few other things. Long winded… My wife on occasion rung me with directions and then fb messaged some as well. So this time I plan to have a back up for my back up for my back up.
Things I found helpful last time?
*240v inverter for the car. Why you say. Because I am doing about 4000miles which will give me a chance to charge my equipment.
*Seriously comfortable and supportive hiking boots.
Last time I scored! I walked into a store in Perth WA who were having a sale. I managed to purchase some Asolo hiking boots for about a 1/3 of the price. I still have those boots and wear them when ever I am out and about. This time I wasn’t so luck on the sale but dang, they are worth every cent spent. the new ones are better equipped for snow which I hope I see.
*Thongs, aka, flip flops, aka, foot falcons, jandals (for our kiwi friends). I hadn’t thought this one through before I left. I thought I probably wouldn’t need these being a cooler country. I ended up purchasing a set of flip flops in Utah after I went hiking through some canyons and ended up knee deep in water and must say that whilst they were good and still have them, they were well over priced in comparison to Aus.
*Missed last time, Camel back… say no more, hydration is important.
This time I will be spending some decent time in Yosemite, Page Arizona, Zion (have ensured that I have enough time to do Angels Landing), through to Glacier and many parks throughout Oregon. This isn’t to mention time that I will be spending in the Muir Woods, Redwood National Park, Alcatraz and a few other places to boot!
Im hoping to catch up with my friends at Heaven and Earth Designs in Oregon and a few other people 🙂 So if you see me, say g’day!
Tour Plans 2015
Its been a while since I have updated my blog, my normal day job is intense and spend a lot of time away from home, whilst I take my camera gear with me for some down time Im usually that fatigued its not possible to get out. Besides that the extra money comes in handy with my tour plans.
The plans for my tour next year are slowly falling into place which being 14 odd months away and being excited about it is going to make it a painfully long time to wait.
I tried this week to book my flights but It appears that I cant actually book over 10 months away. Fair enough I guess.
The plan (at the moment as things do change is)…… this time Im jetting in to San Francisco, spending some time photographing around the Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge, Muir Woods and a few other spots, then following the coast north to Oregon, hanging a right hand turn towards Glacier National Park where I hope to spend a week, heading south through Idaho Falls (Yellow stone) towards Utah where Ill be spending more time at Zion, then Page Arizona across to Monument Valley, back up past Moab then following my previous trip through Denver up towards South Dakota and back into Minneapolis to see my friend Amy.
I contemplated travelling through Nebraska, Iowa but there appears to be limited National Parks that way. Its a lot of driving but I swear its the only way to go unless you own a chopper and a couple of tankers of av gas. There is no chance of me considering a Coach Bus as a) too my gear to take, time lines of the service and what I saw last time at Moab was a tonne of people getting off a bus for 5 minutes only to be dragged back on again…. Some of my shots take hours to complete and just cant handle being rushed with my photos.
I constantly miss not being in the US, its literally on my mind every hour of every day and have asked the question of can one actually be “home sick” when they dont live there? I had a wonderful experience last time meeting some awesome Aussies as well as some amazing Yanks! Ive now found that most (if not all) of my close friends are American. Why that is I dont know.
Im hoping this year that Ill experience some snow (never seen the stuff), I expect that I may see some at Glacier but last time I left Minneapolis I missed out by like 2 days…..
Everything is always subject to change though but I think I have settled on my departure and arrival dates, anything in between is a bonus.
I love fall, I love the reds in the leaves, such contrast with the green grass etc.
Some of the smaller places I travelled last time were amazing, Sioux Falls is quite small, but very interesting, same as Wall Drug in SD. I hadnt heard about that until Amy told me so I kept a look out and well worth the stop. Have to go there again so I can load up on Jackalope Shirts again :).
Anyway I almost salivating at the idea of travelling again so before I start getting static shocks from my keyboard I better stop 🙂
Stay safe
Geoff Pritchard Photography 