RED ROCKS PARKS AND AMPHITHEATRE

With a capacity of up to 10 thousand people, great acoustics and amazing suroundings the Denver Red Rocks Amphitheatre has been a concert venue to some of the worlds top performers such as the Beattles. Mass is also celebrated here during Easter.

DENVER- THE MILE HIGH CITY

Well I'm here after a long train trip. I got here at about 10PM.

Did you know that the heart beats a little faster up here since the air is thinner! and that the atmospher between here an the sun is 20% thinner and hence people get sunburn quicker! One thing I also realised is that its can get hot in the sun but real cold in the shade.




The road comming back from Bufallo Bills Memorial. Its a sportscar drivers dream road!

OFF TO DENVER

Onced again i'll be off on the road again. After spending two days here in Salt Lake I think i'm ready to go. Its not a very big town in terms of what you can do, although I would have loved to visit the biggest open pit mine. The mine is for mostly copper and apart from the Great Wall of China it is the only visible man made creation that can be seen from the space shuttle.

Also I didn't actually see the salt lake which is about 30mins away. It is 6 times saltier than the ocean but why?... because it is a dead end lake and water evaporates from it as fast as it flows into it from streams.

Anyway I have a 4am train to catch tommorow morning to Denver so its going to tiring!

By the way today i've been away from OZ for exactly a month! It feels like alot longer though. Although time flies when your travelling.

This is the lounge car of an Amtrak train, it is where I spend most of my time during the day while travelling on the trains. Sometimes I just sit here for hours on end listening to my mp3 music (thanks Maryann for all the cool songs you downloaded) and just watching the endless scenery passing by me. Its absolutely amazing. Sometimes I imagine I'm back in oz and i'm just in a 3D Imax Theater show or something travelling through the US and that if I wanted to I can just step outside and go home! Snow capped mountains, endless icy cold rivers, dessert storms in the dessert, this is some of the scenery you can expect to see, all in one day sometimes!

TIDY SALT LAKE CITY.

The view from the top of Salt Lake City Library- and yes the structure you see is a stairwell to the top of the library!



This is the view from the stairwell.



This is Temple Square-the center of the city and of the Mormon Faight's HQ?.



And this is the view from the entrance of the University of Utah Library. I seem to be making a habit of going to the American Universities. It takes me back to my Uni days I guess.

SALTLAKE CITY.

Well I've made it here. Stay tune for photos.

Amazing train ride views from the viewing coach on my way to Salt Lake.

OFF TO SALTLAKE CITY, UTAH.

Tommorow i'll be off to catch the train over the rockies and unto Saltlaike City. I leave at about 9am and wont get there till 3am the following day- yeh so its a long trip, should give me alot of time for contemplation!

26KM BIKE RIDE OVER THE BRIDGE TO TIBURON

Today I did the Alcatraz tour- did you know they had a hotwater sytem for the prison showers specifically so that the prisoners would'nt be able to acclimitise to the cold water!
Afterwards I rented a bike and inadvertently did a 26km bike ride over the Goldengate bridge, around Richardson bay and to Tiburon where I caught a ferry back to San Francisco Ferry Building. It was a cool bike ride.
Yeterday as you can see from the pictures I went to Berkeley UC, their universities here are so much cooler than in OZ- for starters the buildings are real grand. And yes Edester I did meet some hippies!! rings through the lips and nose that sort of thing! : ) but they were quite tame!

Finally at Tiburon Ferry Wharf.

Just before my ride over the bridge.

St Peter and Paul Church Cathedral and Coit Tower in the background.

Golden Gate Bridge - Walkin it tommorow!

 

Sunny San Francisco!

University of California Berkeley.

Alcatraz.

 

"The sun may rise in the East but it settles in a fine location". (Califoniacation-Red hot chilli peppers)

University of California Berkely Clock Tower.

SAN FRANCISCO

WE'LL I'M FINALLY HERE IN SAN FRAN! I'M STAYING AT THE FORT MASON HOSTELLING INTERNATIONAL (HI) HOSTEL WHERE I HAVE READY ACCESS TO VIEWS OF THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE AND ALCATRAZ (WHICH IS SPANISH FOR PELICANS) JUST OUTSIDE THE HOSTEL. tHE TRAIN TRIP WASN'T AS BAD AS I EXPECTED - THE SEATS TRAIN SEATS ARE QUITE COMFORTABLE AND U CAN WALK AROUND TO THE VIEWING CAR OR THE DINING CAR FOR MEALS. ANYWAY AS SOON AS I CAN FIND A NET CAFE I'LL START DOWNLOADING SOME PICS SO PLEASE STAY TUNED FOR SOME.

PORTLAND

The Rose City! I got here on Friday and had to walk about 3kms with my backpacks from the station to my hostel - all 25 kilos of it! The weather I was told has been rain and overcasted for the past month! But yesterday I enjoyed a dry but overcast day! I went to the Mission Movie Theater last night and watched 'Be Cool' for $3- its the coolest cinema i've been to - its like a play theatre with an upper balcony and 1920's style decore, tables, chairs and lounges and a bar where u can buy drinks and a meal u can eat while watching. We certainly dont have it in Oz! I think thats what makes America a little bit more interesting place to live in- so much more variety. I guess with 270million people thats what you can get!

Anyway I'm off to San Fran today- it's an 18 hour train trip and a half hour on the bus! I'll be there till Friday then off to Saltlake City then Denver.

Cheers.

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE! : )

If you watch "Frasier" you might recognise the view behind me!



And Mum... dont worry about my diet because as you can see i'm eating quite well! This is part of my $US40(including gratuity's)lunch at the Space Needle Revolving Restaurent.

BACK IN AMERICA.

We'll I'm here in Seattle- back in the US of A. They searched my bag at the Canadian/US border for a piece of hotel soap that I got in my toiletries- it was dense so they thought it was food! but really they should only be looking for citrus and meat products which i thought was interesting because the piece of soap was small and circler - maybe they thought it was a small mandarin or something!

Anyway another city, another hostel and more people to meet and talk to. I cant wait to check out the city tommorow.

OFF TO SEATTLE.

Tommorow i'll be catching a 3 and half hour bus trip to seattle.

AWESOME BUTCHART GARDENS

THIS PLACE IS AWESOME!

OFF TO VANCOUVER ISLAND

Yesterday I spent a glorious sunny day (for a change) riding on a bike around Stanley Park with a friend I met at the hostel from Germany (hi! Isabelle : ). Today i'm cathing a ferry and going to Vancouver Island to Victoria (the capital of British Columbia). I'll be staying there for a few days and then i'll be heading south to Seattle. Its amazing how many people u meet from different countries while travelling especially if u stay at hostels. Its kinda weird because u may never see them again.

Anyway i'm off to catch my ferry.

VANCOUVER!

Yes folks i'm now in Vancouver Canada! From perfect Oahu to crispy downtown Vancouver. I unexpectedly stayed another night in Waikiki after Air Canada offered me to stay in a 3 star hotel + food vouchers + $us300 towards any future flight with AC... all because they've over booked their flight.

I'm sorry the picxtures on this blog have been posted at different dates... i still yet to master how to format it properly but it bear with me for now.

So far all is going to plan, i'm healthy considering my diet! and finance wise well after blowing $auxxxx on the skydiving maybe I should be more conservative!

Well hope everyone is keeping track of where i'm at...I think this is the best way rather than emailling everyone. But i've enabled commenting so please comment and let me know how things are!

So yes looking forward to exploriung this city!