Festiva in the Park: day 9

SATURDAY JUNE 9th, 2012

What a great day! We filled up the car and met up with Charlie for the drive up to the Grand Canyon. Charlie's Festiva is the one I wrote about in an earlier post. His is a 130mph+ track car that is very streetable. You can see just how fast his car is in the videos I posted.

Meeting with Charlie at the hotel.

With it being a Saturday we expected it to be a bit busy but it was made even busier with free admission! We stopped at the visitor center just to stretch our legs.

Welcome to Grand Canyon.



Parking is never an issue in a Festiva



Sharon, B, me, I and E at the first viewpoint.

Sharon, me, B, E and I at another viewpoint

B enjoying the view.

Leading the way up to Desert View.

E, I and B at the Desert View lookout

E with a great verse!

Me and Charlie at Desert View.

Charlie led us along Highway 64 and we made a few stops along the way. Our last stop was at Desert View and the Watchtower for a bite to eat. We parted company after lunch and headed east. Charlie left ahead of us but 5 minutes later Charlie flagged us down at one of the roadside vendors. Right away I noticed a blue Festiva which turned out to belong to the owner of the stand. Elmer was really happy that we stopped by. He told us he just recently started driving his Festiva and loves it... why wouldn't he? Charlie left some contact info in case he needed parts, we also told him about fordfestiva.com so hopefully there will be a new member soon!

Red, white and blue! The first "Southwestiva"

Charlie dubbed our little mini-meet "Southwestiva"... lets hope it's the first of many to come! Sharon and I want to say thank you to Charlie for spending the day with us. We really enjoyed our time with him as he shared his love of driving and Festivas, and his knowledge of the area.

We parted company again, Charlie heading south and us north. Our target for this leg of the trip was Cedar City UT. We stopped for gas in Page AZ and headed back west across the Glen Canyon dam.

On Highway 89 south of Page AZ

Heading west across the Utah desert.

The drive from Page was fairly uneventful until we reached SR 14 in Utah. There was a sign just after the turnoff that said road closed 7am-7pm. It was about 7:30pm by the time we were there so we forged ahead. This road climbed up to 2980m (9974ft), almost as high as Tioga Pass! It started to get dark on the downward stretch and this is where it got interesting. This is prime deer grazing area and we were being fairly cautious, not just because of the deer but also because it was an unfamiliar road. A car caught up to us and passed then within 30 seconds we saw him swerve and then hit a deer!! We stopped to make sure he and his passenger were OK. They were a little shaken up as can be expected and the front right bumper was pushed into the tire. Fortunately the air bags didn't blow. We were even more cautious from here on down to Cedar City as we also discovered the reason for the daytime road closure... major construction.

After a bit of a stressful drive dodging pylons in the dark we finally made it to the hotel. Day 10 is to be a light driving day as we plan to spend the day in Zion National Park.

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 10

Festiva in the Park: Day 8

FRIDAY JUNE 8th, 2012

Two words for today... long and hot. We left Bishop fairly early and headed out across the desert. We headed south for a bit and then turned east. We crossed at least three mountain ranges/ridges before turning south again toward Las Vegas. The country is very sparsely populated as can be expected in such and hot, dry and barren area but the road seemed well traveled.

Across the desert....

At our first gas stop.

When we reached Las Vegas the temperature was 98°F (37°C)! The car did run a little hot but we were thankful for the air-conditioning. Our only real "tourist" stop was the Hoover Dam. The water level was extremely low. It was worth the detour off the main highway as the dam can't be seen from the new overpass.

Hoover Dam on the upstream side!

Spillway and the new overpass in the background.

Welcome to Arizona

Welcome to Kingman AZ

We joined the Historic Highway 66 at Kingman AZ and headed east to Flagstaff reaching our destination in good time, at around 7:00pm. We had arranged to meet Charlie, a friend from the Festiva forum (www.fordfestiva.com), that evening. He and his friend Kelsey met us for dinner and showed us a little bit of historic downtown Flagstaff. They recommended a great restaurant, the Beaver Street Brewing Company Whistle Stop Cafe. Really enjoyed the food and company after a long 9 1/2 hours in the car. We made arrangements to meet up in the morning to head out on our next leg of the road trip... Grand Canyon.

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 9

Festiva in the Park: Day 7

THURSDAY JUNE 7th, 2012

This was Yosemite National Park day. It started with a visit to one of the brightest and cheeriest grocery stores we have ever been in. Most of the staff was Spanish, the music playing was Spanish and the first announcement we heard was in Spanish! A great way to start the day.

From Tracy CA we took a very scenic drive up to Yosemite. Spent some time at the visitor center, watched a movie and walked up to Lower Yosemite Falls. We were there for most of the afternoon and have decided that it is one of the places we want come back to and spend at least a week.

The drive in and out of Yosemite was just amazing. Lots of climbing and lots of twisty bits. It wasn't quite as enjoyable for Sharon as it could have been seeing as she was on the "drop off" side of the road most of the time and she's not comfortable with heights.

Yesterday had us at sea level and today we were at almost 10,000 feet. The east entry to Yosemite is at the top of Tioga Pass with an elevation of 9,941 feet. That makes it the highest we've been in the Festiva, beating out Powder River Pass by 275 feet. The drive into Bishop CA, our overnight stop, was mostly downhill as we dropped to about 4000 feet.

B, I and E with a baby palm tree in Tracy CA

Bright and cheery grocery store... now imagine Spanish guitars playing...

The road into Yosemite from the west side.



Welcome to Yosemite




Who wouldn't want to drive on this road?




I, B and E at our lunch stop in Yosemite NP




Me and Sharon




Festiva in the park




Sharon and Lower Yosemite Falls




B, I and E at the Lower Yosemite Falls




Half dome... one day we'll climb it.




GPS showing 3030m elevation. Located at the top of Tioga Pass.



The road down from Tioga Pass.



The road into Bishop CA. You'll notice the unwanted souvenir... a rock chip.

 Day 8 will be mostly driving as we make our way from Bishop CA to Flagstaff AZ. It will be our second longest day in the car on the trip.

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 8

Festiva in the Park: Day 6

WEDNESDAY JUNE 6th, 2012

Lots of driving today but well worth the stops. We left Medford early and headed south for a six hour drive. We were all surprised at the "border crossing" all traffic had to stop at as we entered California. Our initial destination was Muir Woods National Monument which I had visited as a child back in 1964. Other than 40 plus years of growth things haven't changed much. The trees were as tall and impressive as ever! Strolled about the woods a bit and saw a couple of deer but none of the large banana slugs that are prevalent.

After an hour or so there we headed into San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge. We were expecting to have to pay a toll but there was no booth before we got on. We did have to pay though as the toll booth is at the end of the bridge... you pay to get off it! Once across the bridge we headed down to Pier 39 and we were  blessed with a parking spot right across the street.

It was a little cool and breezy but we still walked the length of the pier and visited a few of the many shops including the Candy Baron. They give you a bucket, you load it up and pay by the pound. No, we didn't buy any. Had a look over to Alcatraz but didn't have the time to take the tour... next time.

Mount Shasta in all its 14162ft / 4317m glory.

I, Sharon, B and E at the entrance to Muir Woods.

Look up.... waaaayyy up!

One of my favorite kinds of signs!

Over the Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz from Pier 39

Now that's a candy store.

We headed out at about 7o'clock and headed for our hotel in Tracy CA which is about an hour east of San Francisco. Our route took us over the Oakland Bay Bridge. There are five lanes of eastbound traffic on the lower deck and, I assume, the same number of lanes westbound on the upper deck.


Driving was mostly on the Interstate and we had no rain all day. In fact today was the first time we had to use the air conditioning.
Tomorrow we head east to spend a good portion of the day in Yosemite National Park. We'll end the day in Bishop CA.



Over the Bay Bridge... five lanes going the other way on the upper deck.

 

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 7

Festiva in the Park: Day 5

TUESDAY JUNE 5th, 2012

Today started out with somewhat clear skies but the rain had stopped. Loaded up the car, had our breakfast and then headed off west to Florence OR to see the dunes.

We ran into some rain along the way but it had cleared up by the time we arrived in Florence after another enjoyable drive. We stopped by the visitor information center and a rather large thrift store. It started to rain as we left there for a short drive to the dunes but when we got out of the car the rain had stopped, the sky cleared and we were able to enjoy some time on the beach.

I and E enjoying the surf

The camera timer in action... I, B, Sharon, Ian and E.

Festiva in the park!

We left the dunes area, picked up some lunch at Safeway and headed south. Next stop was the Umpqua lighthouse. Beautiful spot with some awesome views of the ocean. We had hoped to see a whale or two but being late in the whale season there were none to be seen. The sun was still shining when we left Umpqua and headed for our hotel in the Medford OR area.

At the Umpqua Lighthouse

I and E enjoying the view.

Beautiful drive along the Umpqua River.

If you're getting tired just follow that truck.

We have been blessed with sunshine when we needed it for the past few days. The forecast looks a lot better for the next few days and we're looking forward to driving without having to use the windshield wipers. After a swim in the pool another day comes to an end.

An early start tomorrow will see us on our way to the Muir Woods and San Francisco.

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 6

Festiva in the park day 4

MONDAY JUNE 4th, 2012

We woke up to overcast skies and a bit of rain. We left Kelso, crossed the Columbia River on the Lewis and Clark bridge and headed west to Astoria to visit the Columbia River Maritime Museum. I am really enjoying the driving off the interstate. Lots of twists and turns again with the road in generally excellent condition.

First look at the Maritime Museum

It's OK B... it's just an exhibit.

Showing I where to aim

E, B and I in control.

E, I and B  outside the Maritime Museum with the Lightship Columbia in the background.

If you are ever in the Astoria area I would highly recommend stopping by the Columbia River Maritime Museum. After our all too short visit we heading back east to Silverton to visit the only Frank Lloyd Wright house in the state. This drive offered up more enjoyable driving with just a bit of rain to dampen things.

The "Gordon House" is one of only a few remaining of FLW's "Usonian" style homes. It was almost lost to the demolition crew but was moved to its current location next to the Oregon Gardens in Silverton in 2002. This is the first  Wright house we have been to and it has encouraged us to seek out more of them.

Festiva at the Gordon House, Silverton OR

Outside the Gordon House.

 The next stop after the Gordon House was Silver Falls State Park. There are a total of 10 waterfalls at this park. We had hoped to see 4 or 5 of them but as we got there it started to pour with rain. We stopped by the lodge and the "Nature Store", both beautiful log structures built in the early to mid thirties.

E, B and I in the lodge.

The 177 foot South Falls

If you look down in the bottom left you can see Sharon, B and E.

I, E and B behind the falls.

At the lodge on the way back to the car.

 One thing that struck us as ironic is the number of tree farms in the area. In the late 1800's thousands of families braved hardship after hardship on the Oregon Trail to homestead in the area. They cleared hundreds of acres of trees so that they could plant crops and now the current generation is planting hundreds of acres of.... you guessed it... trees!

One of the many tree farms

Another great day! We would love to come back and spend some time in both the Astoria and Silverton/Silver Falls areas.

Tomorrow takes us back to the coast for some sand dunes and lighthouses.

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 5