Port Hueneme to Los Angeles

a moment we never forget

We made it save into Santa Monica, close to Los Angeles International Airport. Our extraordinary journey of 8700 km ends here. In the remaining days before flying home for Christmas we will visit our aunt and cousins with their families, they live in Los Angeles, do some sight seeing and shopping and of course, we will pack up our bicycles into boxes and sent them home.  

Looking back we are very greatful that we made it safe without any accident or other mishap and still healthy for all we have experienced and we want to thank:

• First of all the many outstanding people we met, some of them we want to mention
  -  Patti from Great Britain whom we met the first days in St. John´s Newfoundland. She gave us the idea to cover our journey with this blog
  - Josie and Jim in Nova Scotia in their Red Roof B&B, they treated us like their family and helped us to get Katrin´s bike fixed again
  - Jim and Luanne from the Recapture Lodge in Bluff, they also helped greatly us when we were stranded with Frank´s bike broken down
  - Al Chaddick, the humorous painter from Nova Scotia, who took us on an unforgetable sailing race and saved Katrin, who had fallen overboard into the cold water
  - Esther and Rene, the Swiss family who moved to Canada and is now fabricating wonderful chairs there, for the fine barbeque with Swiss chocolate as dessert in their garden
  - Micheline and Denis from Montreal, who invited us to their home and showed us Montreal by bike
  - Faith from the King George B&B in Nova Scotia, who after a very tough and long day gave us a room with a jacuzzi and fireplace, which was a great gift for us.
  - The brave and funny Jane from the Bras dÓr Lakes Hideway in Nova Scotia for driving us at night to a good restaurant and the organizing a pickup for the bikes the next morning.
  - Eva and her family for the evening in their home in Toronto
  - Jim from Amarillo in Texas who picked us up in from a highway the night, where we had again a flat tire and could not fix it.
  - Cindy and Dee whom we met in a Mc Donald´s in the middle of the US and who just organized a journalist to make a article in the local newspaper. That was much fun.
• The Canadien and American people! They were outstanding. Always thinking we are crazy with our adventure, always incredibly open and helpful and also, a lot of fun to met and discuss with. They certainly changed the way we will ever look at these countries again. 
• And especially, our families, kids and friends with whom we mailed, skyped and enjoyed to hear, that things at home are allright.

Some things we learned and would do different though:

• Drive from West to East, less head-wind and a less blinding sun in the afternoons and evenings
• Drive without an electrical supported bike. It made the start easier for Katrin, but was difficult to get fixed when broken down. And, as we just learnt, it can´t be transported normally on a passanger plane, but needs a special transport with DHL. Very expensive and complicated.
• Have better and specialized biking clothes from the start and train more before starting

We learnt a lot on this journey. Especially what everyone can do by his own forces and will. Biking is a wonderfully slow and sometimes exhausting way of traveling, but very rewarding and not damaging the environment. It gives plenty of time to observe and think, or to just let the brain come to rest. And it is a perfect way to get fit and loose weight (Frank lost about 8-10 kg). Also we learnt how open people are here, how easy they make a contact and how welcoming they are.

Through traveling so slow we couldn´t but observe the carelessness towards nature. Trash along the way was a sad experience, traffic noise and light and air pollution an other. We hope, this journey helps us to stay aware and to try to make a difference, at least in our small world. At least, we think about to write a little book about our journey.

If anyone likes to contact us or has questions, please mail to: frank.rumpe@bluewin.ch

Our blog will be continued until we are back in Switzerland, but not daily anymore.

Thanks for sharing our journey with us!



Also here on Santa Monica piers ends Route 66 on which we often drove



along the Pacific Coast Highway towards LA

  

Ojai to Port Hueneme (57 km)

Rain hiting the roof woke us up, a sound we haven´t heart since a long time. But this didn´t stop us from the urge to make it to the Pacific. Strange, when we started in rainy Newfoundland it was a very warm sunny day and here, in sunny California when we almost have reached our goal, it rained. From Ojai a peaceful biketrack leads all the way to Ventura. And then in Ventura, all of a sudden, the Pacific was in front of us. We were just very happy, proud and touched!
A woman came towards us, asking whether this was the end of our journey. "Almost", we replied, "just one more day to get to Los Angeles." But anyway, she was happy with us, congratulated and told us that also she did once the West Coast by bike and now with 65 she would love to do it again.

We drove on, we wanted to get a bit more direction LA. The day remained cold and wet, but we didn´t feel it.

Taft to Ojai (127 km)

Taft main street early morning

For any biker, Route 33 is a must. It leads from the North via Taft (were we stayed) to Ventura, through valleys with pistachio tree and wine plantations, later through the Los Padres National Forest, deep canyons and after Pine Mountain Pass it drops spectaculary down to the Pacific. Once it leaves the National Forest, Orange- and Mangoplantations fill the valley with their deep green.
We had the road almost the entire day for us, some Harleys thundered by, a few cars but otherwise nature and silance. So we could watch the scenery pass, this time with a bit of sadness, as our journey now is very close to its goal, the Pacific.
We will miss this beautiful parks and places, still unspoiled and incredible pretty. And we hope, more people see this beauty and help to protect it.

View back to the North, from were we came

After the pass, clouds from sea hung in the air, something we
not seen for weeks

Although we had left very early, the sun was just setting when we arrived in Ojai. That made our decision easy, we stay here in this small town. We found a nice little hotel, with Jacuzzi just to give our legs some nice relaxation.

Bakersfield to Taft (60 km)

Oil pumps all over the place

Just a short ride to get closer to the Pacific. We would have liked to drive further, but there is no other place to sleep available between here and the Western side of the Mountains. But it is also good to rest our legs before the final leg, because tomorrow there will be an other last pass to climb. Taft, were we stay tonight is again an oil town, all over the land are oil pumps and we could even smell the oil.

Bikepark in Bakersfield

Bakersfield has a surprisingly good bike line web. We drove 25 km out of town along the river on a magnificant paived bike trail. On the way we meet a few bikers, all curious where we come from and where we are heading to. It seems that as soon as there are good possibilities for save biking, people go out and do it.

Also on the way we bought some food in Trader Joe´s and found German Christmas Cake, (Lebkuchen). No question, we bought it right away and enjoyed a bit of Christmas taste. Although here lots of shops and lobbies are decorated with Christmas things, sometimes even Christmas music is played, but all is plastic or glowing in all kind of colours, so to us it just doesn´t feel cozy or peaceful. But the tradition here is different and it is also interesting to see it.

Mountain Mesa to Bakersfield (80 km)

Lake Isabella

Today in the morning we realized, that we are still in a dry area, but out of the desert. In front of our motel was Lake Isabella, a unusual view after such a long time in the desert. Although, the lake´s waterlevel is very low, at least 10 meters below its normal level, what shows that also here, the drought is a concern. 

We went on, driving through the Sequoia National Forest, admired the beautiful pine trees with their gigant fir cones (Tannenzapfen). From Mountain Mesa it went 50 km downwards through the river valley and while the secenery was of utter beauty, it was probably the most dangerous road of the entire trip. Very narrow and some cars passing impatiently und very close, which each time made us nervous. Falling here would have been very unfortunate, the valley was deep and full of stones. But we made it safe!

In the valley 

All of a sudden we were out of the valley and into the barren plains again. To our surprise, they were planted with Millions of Orange trees (all irrigated) and the harvest is just going on. We stopped and saw the pickers, all looking very Mexican, picking the oranges at a unbelievable speed. It´s a hard job, they carry a bag which they fill with the oranges When full, we estimated it bag arround 30 kg heavy. Then they dump it into boxes which are constantly being loaded on waiting trucks. Very impressive organization. Depending on the tree, a picker can fill such a bag every 10 minutes. One told us, that he works 10 hours a day, he said, it´s now less tiring than in summer when the sun is mercyless hot. Then he gave us a orange to try and on he went. Not much time to discuss! For him, time is really money.

We drove into Bakersfield, got a motel with a laundry and did some really necessary washing.

The guys playing away

In the evening we had a musical dinner in Buck Owen´s Steakehouse. Country-music, guys with hats and big steaks. Great fun! And even with our tired legs, we danced!

Trona to Mountain Mesa (141 km)

LA temptingly close

Now we are so close to the Pacific, but it still needs a lot of endourance to get there. The distance between towns remain a challenge for us bikers.
First we drove on Route 178 to Ridgecrest, which is mainly a military airport dominated town. Jet noise all day long, close to here is a shooting range for the jets.

In Ridgecrest we found the Mc Donalds, they usually have free WiFi. On the internet we saw, that to the next hotel it´s roughly 60 miles and decided to go, even though it was already 12 noon. So of we rushed to buy some food in a nearby supermarket. There Frank met an interesting lady, while queuing to pay. As they were discussing she said "I´am not a conservative!" ´This is very interesting, most people we meet are open minded and take pride to be Democrats, not Republicans. We can´t figure out why. Then again, listening to the Republican Candidates on TV, one might be ashamed to belong to a party that offers such a choice.  

Ridgecrest from far

Again a pass had to be climbed, this time 5450 feet, but not from 0 feet, so it semed much easier. The route we choose leads through the Sequoia Forest Area, it´s a very scenic drive but again a detour. Just before the pass was a junction, were we could have taken the direct, easy way to Los Angeles. For a few moments we considered it, but then we opted for the quiet scenic detour. It was well worth it (Route 178 again), Walker Pass was ok, but while climbing we felt the weight of the bikes with all our equipment and probably our tired legs too.



The last light and still 50 km to go



It was definitly dark when we arrived in Mountain Mesa, only the moon gave some light.

Stovepipe Wells to Trona (115 km)

Leaving Death Valley means passing the mountain ranges surrounding it. And the passes are high, especially when you start below sea level. It was a usually winter morning here, a cloudless morning, just a bit frosty. From the hotel, we had to climb on route 190 West and it was a step climb up to Towne Pass at 4956 feet. On the way a black pickup was standing on a parking line, with two guys watching us in disbelieve. "Hi" we all shouted at each other. Just when we had passed them, they saw óur little Swiss Flag and in Swiss-German a "Grüezi" followed. So we turned and had a long chat with them, two young farmers from Neyruz in the French part of Switzerland. They were just two weeks in the US and it was their 3rd day, on which they were heading to Las Vegas. 

View from the pass down into the next valley

From the pass we descended into a next huge dessert valley, which isn´t part of Death Valley anymore but still looks like it. Very dry dessert!!!! From time to time we passed in a distance old ghost town, most had their glorious times late in the 19th Century. Gold and Silver was mined there, but obviously not enough to give this places a future. In the dry climate, old building conserve very well, so some are still there to be seen.

We did not have time to make a detour to see them, as we had a second pass to get over and we were runing late. The problem traveling this time of the year are the short days. Sunset is now at 4.15 pm, at 5 pm it is dark and becomes very quick very cold. The short days are on this long daytrips a real concern. 

Our Motel room, at least we had a big empty refrigrator

The whole day we did not pass one gas station or village and even though we though to have enough liquid on us, it was not enough. When we finally arrived in Trona in the dark, we were not only exhausted but also seriously dehydrated.
The was just one Motel in this dying village, 45$ the room. Very basic, the heater did not work properly, but we were just glad to have a room.    

Furnace Creek to Stovepipe Well (97 km)

The lowest point of our journey and at the same time, the lowest point of the US! From Fournace Creek we took a little detour and went to Badwater Point, 282 feet below Sea Level. It´s a huge salt lake, from far it looks like a frozen up lake. The area here gets arround 2-3 inches (50-75 mm) of rain per year, while temperatures climb easily above 120 degres (45 Grad) in summer. Everything is dry here, and yet, some animals and plant survive here, even 5 kinds of fish!!!
Death Valley used to be a area were Borax was mined. But arround 1920, the mining was not that profitable anymore. The company owning a huge part of the mines, had originally set up a farm at Furnace Creek, were they grew clover and grass to feed the mules used for mining. When the mining was abandoned, they opened the beauty of Death Valley to tourism, and changed the farm into a lodge. That was the lodge were we stayed and as we learned here, Ronald Reagan liked the place too and was often a guest here.
It was a nice sunny day, just warm enough to enjoy sitting in the sun for a picknique. Late in the afternoon we took the road again and drove to Stovepipe Wells, saw a awesome sunset. Death Valley was an other highlight of out trip, and at this time of the year its very quiet, perfect for bikers like us. Sometimes we felt like the only living people on earth.  
(No pictues today, the internet goes via Satelite and is very slow) 

Pahrump to Furnace Creek, Death Valley (104 km)

The morning was ice cold, a strong north wind brought cold air over the mountains. But the air was so clean it made the view of the mountains arround us unbelievably clear. It felt as if we could touch them, although the were still many miles away. We didn´t find the way out of Pahrump straight away, so we asked a real sheriff who was just going to get his 9 o´clock coffee. He was wearing a hugh sheriff star on his chest, a reminder of the old days. And very nicly he told us some good bikers ways to get into Death Valley.
Riding into the Death Valley is simply very colourful. The mountains and hills have no vegetation on them, but a lot of minerals in them, what gives them colourful lines and patterns. And an other remarkable thing, was, that whenever we stopped to take pictures and a car happened to pass, they would stop and ask, whether we are ok or need some help.
After entering the Monument Valley you constantly loose altitude, we started at arround 4000 feet and endet at about 100 feet below sea level, were it was also much warmer. Found a nice hotel, took a swim in the pool and went to bed early, the drive had been tough.  

Las Vegas to Pahrump (96 km)

Ready to leave

Early morning we left into a sunny and cold day. We were eager to be on the road again, enjoyed riding out of a still sleepy town We took road 160 direction Death Valley and as we climbed, snow showed up and it was getting really chilly. Apart from that, not much to say, we drove through the desert, enjoyed the scenery and the silence.

In Pahrumpe we decided to stay, the next hotel seemed to far, we didn´t want to risk a night drive.





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A last glimpse of Las Vegas, far behind





Finally on the highest point of the day



2 Restdays in Las Vegas



Inside the pyramide



Las Vegas is a crazy place, one side is attractive, fun and entertainment, but the other side it is also loud, overcrowded and certainly not in any way sustainable. We stayed two days because of wind warnings and we enjoyed it too. 

The nicest event we saw was the waterballet in front of the Bellagio Hotel. Water dancing to music, with magnicifient light in it. Really a highlight of Las Vegas. We also saw the vulcano in front of the Mirage Hotel, also very well done. 

Apart from that, we behaved like everyone else, did some urgent shoping (new jeans for both of us), gambled, went into nearly every hotel on the strip to be amazed by their size and pomp. Some have more than 4000 rooms! For us, the most impressive was the pyramid, its size is overwhelming, especially from the inside. For Frank, the most terrible thing was the rollercoasterride in the New York hotel. He felt sick the whole day afterwards!

The gambling was ok, lost some money but it was fun to play and also to watch others play. Some guys play for a lot of money, young people in their 20 to 30-ties, they played for several hundreds of dollars.



The volcano



The gambling is extremly well organized. When you play you get free drinks, including alcohol. That certainly helps to be a bit easier on the money. Also, we were surprised that smoking was still allowed, but that might also help to make people stay longer and play. And of course, it goes on 24 hours!

All in all, Las Vegas is fascinating to see it and to be there. But it left us with mixed feeling, is this kind of energy consumption and wasting, just fun and money oriented way of live not destroying values and the future of the generations to come?    

Windwarning and Uhaul to Las Vegas

Our little truck......

Wednesday we went to bed under a clear sky and woke up in heavy wind and rain. The mountains arround Kingman were all snowcovered with fresh snow. The weather canal had issued windwarnings before and the were right. Unfortunately for us, the wind came straight from the North, our direction to Las Vegas. Impossible to fight this wind all the way up to Las Vegas. So we checked the internet, called arround and finally found a small Uhaul truck to drive to Las Vegas.  

To describe Las Vegas is impossible. It´s a planet for itself, full of funseeking people and probably  , everyone hopes more or less secretly to be th big winner. (so we guess..... and at least Frank hopes also to leave here rich).



Katrin trying on new shoes



Of course we gambled too, had some luck and at midnight, when we went to bed had made a very few dollars.

And, we enjoyed an incredible buffet. We ate and ate and ate, it had so much food we had missed for long and found it here again, like a good bread, an apple pie or some buffalo cheese.  

Seligman to Kingman (138 km)

Early morning just out of Seligman 

Route 66 the whole day and most of the day, it was exclusively ours. Very little trafic, desert as wide as you can see. The entire day we had to bike with little breaks, because we had a nasty and steadily increasing headwind that at the end had us completely exhausted.



A gas station along the way



with many antics

Easy job for the postman

The last 30 km were one straight line with a very rough shoulder. That and the hard headwind slowed us down to 15 km/h. So for two hours we saw Kingman, but it approached painfully slow. And, of course, driving on these shoulders easy gets biker in trouble because of all the debris and busted tires on it. Frank started losing air on his back tire. But we had god luck. Luckily we quickly found a piece of tire steel wire sticking in the tire. We could pull it out and at a nearby gas station we could pump the tube up again. We were curious, whether the liquid in the tube seals it as promised. It worked, we did not have to disassemble everything. After a short break, we could continue, with great relieve.

Tusayan to Seligman (152 km)

The Grand Canyon accompanied us a long time, slowly fading in away in the past, while we were driving direction Williams. From time to time we stopped, looked back and still saw the North Rim in the shining sunlight. We felt a bit sad to leave this World Wonder (it is one of the 8 Natural World Wonders).

In Williams, we hit again the old historic Route 66 and we saw the first sign, indicating the distance to Los Angeles. That made us feel proud and at the same time, it becomes obvouis that the journey soon will be over. 

Soon after Williams we took the old Route 66 again, which meant peaceful driving, almost nobody drives on it anymore, because the freeway is so close. At one little gas station we stopped, talked a bit with three guys working there (but at the moment there was no work). They told us, that in spring many pass here on bicycle, while in summer and fall when it is too hot, mainly the bikers on motorbikes from Europe are thundering through.



Seligman in the evening



After a long run, we made it to Seligman, a little funny 66 town, still living in that tradition. The steakhouse here in town has the slogan: You kill it,we grill it. That means, whatever you run over by car, bring it in, they will prepare it as a meal! We has dinner at Lilo´s Cafe, an old German lady who somehow landed here. The highlight of the evening was a enourmous piece of Schwarzwälder cake, tasting like the real thing.

   

Our hotelsign

Descending into the Grand Canyon

Sunrise over the Grand Canýon

Today we got up early, saw the sunrise and then we hiked down the Grand Canyon on the Bright Angel Trail. Not all the way down, but 1000 meters in altitude down. The track went from snow covered step slopes to the Indian Gardens, a little oasis in the dessert with tall trees and a little creek. Further we went to Plateau Point, which offers a breathtaking view of the rivergorge where the Colorado River runs another 400 further down.

The gorge with the Colorado River

Hiking in the Grand Canyon is very different to mountain hiking, because first it goes down and it is very important to have enough reserves of water, food and strengh to get back up again. Our hike was finally 20 km long, it took us 7 hours and at the end, we were glad to be up again. Only by walking or hiking through the canyon it becomes possible to feel the size of this place. We also read, that every year several people die here, mainly because they carry not enough water and underestimate the distances. In summertime it gets extremly hot in the canyon, almost no shade to hide and then it becomes a question of life and dead to be well prepared. Today the heat was not a problem, but still it was arduous undertaking. 

But, other people do even more! We met a couple who had just hiked and camped 6 days in the Canyon. And, they we going toward 70 years of age!    

The National Parks are really one of the best things the US have. The parks are well organized and very good information is given. Especially we admired the guys looking after the path going into the Canyon. That is tough work, at some places they have to ride two hours on mules to get to their working place.

Way down on Plateau Point

In the evening we drove back to Tusayan and found again a descent hotel there.

Indian Garden



Restday in Grand Canyon

From Tusayan we drove back to Grand Canyon Village where we spent one night. Wonderful evening with a colourful sunset. Walked along the rim and Katrin took thousands of pictures.

We stayed overnight in the Bright Angel Lodge. Horrible rip off! The room was very, very basic, you could hear every word, snor and more from the neighbouring rooms. No breakfast included. Just a place that only exists because it is at such a marvelous place. We had wanted to stay two nights, but after one night we had enough!

It´s hard to believe, that apparently no one really cares much to make the hotels here more of an good experience. So many hotels and motels we sleep in are ok., but we you almost never feel a personal touch. Staff often is badly informed and not very attentive. But at the same time, we always find very nice staff, but those are not the rule.
What is really striking is, that although we are in the dessert, saving water is not a issue, for example in the shower it is in general only possible to choose hot or cold, but not how much water to flow; at most places an awful lotz of water flows. This in the 21 century! Doors never look tight, neither do windows. So noises are a common nuisance here in the hotels.

Cameron to Tusayan (Grand Canyon) 101 km

Early morning in the dessert

The Grand Canyon south rim rises about 2250 meter above sea level, the Colorado River runing through it lies 1500 meters down. For us that meant a heavy climb, we had to gain 1000 meters in altitude. As it was always going up and then down agaoin, we estimated, that we did about 2000 meters, sometimes with headwind. It was a tough ride, starting early morning in the dessert, then climbing over about 55 km. But very interesting! At one point we drove over a little mountain range and all of a sudden, the dessert was gone and forest had taken its place. First with small, twisted ceddar trees, but the gratualy became taller and taller with pine trees mixed in. The air got again icy, in the forest we saw snow patches. After 55 km the entrance to the Grand Canyon National Park. It costs 12 dollars per bicycle to get in. A few minutes later, the first outlook to this natural wonder, the Grand Canyon.

The first trees

We stood there, looking down with emotions and happiness. To reach the canyon by our own force had been one off the goals we definitly wanted to reach.

From the first glinpse into the canyon, the road follows the rim for about 40 km, through wonderful smelling forest, from time to time an outlook comes, where one can see the ever changing canyon below. We saw deer on the road, not at all afraid of bikers and over the canyon condors circling. 



The first view of the canyon

 As it was weekend, all hotels in Grand Canyon village were full. So we had to drive another 10 km south to the next village, Tusayan, were there are many hotels. This evening our criteria for the hotel was, does it have a Jaccuzzi or not. We found one with and had a wondeful relaxing bath, todays tour had been very exhausting and it was nice to just sit in the warm water and relax.    

Tuba City to Cameron (105 km)

We had read in the internet, that close to Tuba City is a very hidden and beautiful canyon, Coal Mine Canyon. It was a detour of 60 km but well worth it. The canyon was kind of difficult to find, we were out in nowhere, but no canyon in sight. So Katrin bravely stoped a car and the very helpful Native American driver told us where to find the canyon. There, we were the only 2 living humans on earth, no traces of civilisation, no noise but the wind blowing. The colours went from black to red and yellow, a hidden treasure.

Katrin´s foot next to millions of years old dino footprint 

40 Kilometers further, we passed a place with dinosaurer footprints on the ground. Very impressiv! It must have been a wet place, where the dinos came to drink here, left traces on the ground which then somehow survived until today. They had big feet and claws and it sends you back thousands of years looking at those traces. 

This region is in a Indian Reservation and it surprises us again and again how few white people we see here. The population is mainly Native American. They still look very "indian", dark brown skin, the women have wonderful long black hair, the men often have a pony tail. Alone in Arizona there are 21 active tribes, together more than 250´000 Native Americans, about 5% of Arizona´s overall population. In the Reservations no sale of alcohol is allowed, probably because alcoholism amongst them is a huge problem. Even in the hotel yesterday, I had to sign, that we will neither smoke nor drink alcohol in the room. Unfortunately, the roadside is heavily littered with bottles, mainly beer and whisky. So somehow, they still get alcohol and drink it.

To us, it is remarkable how very friendly they are, its´a pleasure to be here and see that they try hard to keep there culture alive.