Roadtrip, long version

Sidste uges ferie var planlagt i et godt stykke tid. Min søster og co. skulle på roadtrip, og det passede lige med, at jeg kunne komme med, hvilket jeg selvfølgelig var mægtig begejstret for! Jeg har aldrig været på roadtrip før, og eftersom jeg hverken har kørekort eller bil, er det vist heller ikke noget, jeg lige kommer igen.....
Efter en enkelt, sidste nat i deres hus, lagde vi ud med at køre til Yosemite. En "kort" tur på bare ca. 4 timer (med stop ved diverse toiletter og mad-steder).
Yosemite var vildt imponerende, og jeg har vist de første 30 billeder af "Half Dome" på mit kamera, men her får I bare ét af dem. Med niecen. Hun pynter, ikke?

Last weeks vacation had been planned for a long time. My sister & co. were going on a roadtrip, and the timing was perfect for me to join, which I was really excited about! I've never been on a roadtrip before, and since I have neither drivers license, nor car, I guess I'm not going on one again very soon, if ever.....
After arriving, I slept for one last night in their house, and we started the next morning by going to Yosemite. A "short" ride of just 4 hours (including stops at restrooms and places to eat).
Yosemite was really impressive, and in my camera I have at least 30 photos of "Half Dome", but I'll show you just this one. With my niece. She is very decorative, don't you think?

Selve Yosemite er på størrelse med Sjælland, så det tog sandelig noget tid at komme igennem! Læg oveni bjergsider og hårnålesving med påkrævet lav hastighed, og pludselig tog det endnu længere tid....
Der er så smukt, at det virker fuldstændig overjordisk, og det føltes nærmest som at få taget billede foran en eller anden urealistisk fotostat-væg. Der var så mange høje bjerge og vandfald (og jeg tog selvfølgelig billeder af dem alle sammen!) - det ene flottere end det andet.

Yosemite is about the size of Zealand, and that is pretty big for a Dane! It took a while driving through it, including all the mountainsides and hairpin-turns, all making you drive very slowly.
The nature is so beautiful, it seems super-natural, and it felt like having your picture taken in front of some un-realistic picture on a wall. So many tall mountains and waterfalls (yes - of course I photographed all of them!) - the next one prettier than the one you just saw.

Denne klippe påstod mindste-nevøen at han da gerne ville klatre på! (Gæt selv, om han fik lov!)

My youngest nephew would love to climb this rock! (Guess for yourself, if his parents let him do it!)

Efter 2 dage i Yosemite kørte vi en laaaaang tur til Death Valley, hvor vi skulle overnatte. Heldigvis blev vi forsinket og kom først frem sent om aftenen efter solnedgang. Heldigvis, for på det tidspunkt var solen gået ned, og temperaturen var vel "kun" omkring 30 grader.
Næste morgen (tidligt!) skyndte vi os videre inden det nåede op på de 40-50 grader, og gennem bilruden kunne man få en ide om, hvorfor det hedder "Death Valley". Der er ikke meget liv, vel? (Hotellet lå dog i en lille oase.)
Meget mærkeligt at have været på det laveste sted på jordoverfladen. Det føltes ikke anderledes.....

After 2 days in Yosemite, we had a loooooong drive to Death Valley, where we slept overnight. Fortunately enough, we were delayed and didn't arrive until after sunset. Fortunately, since the temperature then was "only" around 30 degrees Celsius.
Very early the next morning, we left before the temperature reached the 40-50 degrees Celsius, and through the car window you got the idea why it's called "Death Valley". Not many signs of life! (The hotel was in a green area, though.)
Very weird to think that I've been in the lowest place on earth. Didn't feel very different.....

Midt ude i ingenting var der en lillebitte by, og i den lå der - - - - - - et operahus!

In the middle of nowhere was a tiny city, and in the city was - - - - - an opera house!

Vi kørte til Las Vegas, hvilket kun tog et par timer, og blev der natten over. Sandelig en mærkelig by! Meget, meget varm om dagen, fyldt med bling om natten (og billederne er rigtige. Vi så ikke en eneste sky på himlen!) - og alle casinoerne!
I kan nok gætte, at jeg aldrig har været der før! Hotellet var superfedt, og vi fik nogle vildt gode, møre bøffer på Cesars palace. Alting på "The Strip" er så overdrevet og sjovt at kigge på, men jeg er egentlig meget tilfreds med, at jeg fik "familie-udgaven" af byen.

We then went to Las Vegas, which was a very short ride, and stayed there overnight. What a weird city!
Very, very warm during the day, and filled with bling at night (and the photos are correct. We didn't see one single cloud in the sky!) - and then all the casinos!
You might guess that it was my first time there! The hotel was great and we had some wonderful steaks at Cesars palace. Everything on "The Strip" were very interesting and funny and big, but I'm somehow very satisfied I had the "family version" of Las Vegas.

Derefter kørte vi til Bryce Canyon. Helt utroligt smukt! Man kan gå tur ned mellem alle klipperne, og det fik vi da et par timer til at gå med.... Det var lige inden solnedgang, og farverne var fantastiske! Naturen er helt, helt anderledes end Yosemite, og helt fantastisk.
Det mærkelige var, at mens Yosemite var så kæmpestor og man kørte og kørte rundt inde i nationalparken, så var indkørslen til Bryce Canyon bare en fyrreskov. Totalt almindelig, til man kom til kløften!

Then we went to Bryce Canyon. So extremely beautiful! You can take a walk among all the cliffs, and we spent a few hours doing that.... It was just before sunset, and the colors were amazing! The nature is completely different from Yosemite and just fantastic.
The weird thing was, that while Yosemite is so gigantic and you ride your car forever inside the national park, the entrance to Bryce Canoyn was just through a pine wood. A bit boring, actually, until you reached the canyon!

Vi sov i en lillebitte by, der hed "Tropic". Der var 3 moteller, en restaurant og et supermarked. Langs en landevej. Men bare fordi byen er lille, kan man da godt have både en Main St. og en Center St., ikke?

We slept in a tiny little village called "Tropic". It held 3 motels, a restaurant and a super market. Along the same road. But just because your city is small, you can still have a Main St. and a Center St., right?

Den sidste dag kørte vi (igen en meget lang tur!) til Salt Lake City, hvor jeg blev sat af i lufthavnen. Derfra fløj jeg til San Francisco og overnattede i nærheden af lufthavnen, lige der, hvor man kan se alle flyene flyve lavt ind over vandet for at lande. Virkelig flot! Det var en dejlig afslutning på den 2. tredjedel af min sommerferie, og min sidste tur på familiebesøg i San Francisco. Nu har jeg ligesom også udnyttet det rigtig grundigt, at min søster har været derovre......
Den allersidste uges sommerferie kommer om et par uger, og der bliver det vildeste en tur til bryllup i Nordjylland. Det glæder jeg mig til gengæld også til!

The final day we drove to Salt Lake City and I was dropped off at the airport. From there I went to San Francisco and slept in a hotel very close to the airport, where you can see all the airplanes flying very low over the water before they lang. Impressive sight! It was the perfect end of the second third of my summer vacation, and my last trip to visit family in San Francisco. I guess I have done my very best to take advantage of my sister staying there......
My final week of summer vacation will be in a few weeks, and the most crazy thing planned is going to a wedding in Northern Jutland. I'm looking forward to that!