Road Trip - Denver to Durango....

Road trip Day One - Monday 26th May - Denver to Durango...

You know that the States is big, no,.. huge, na... *&^%% Ginormous..when you have travelled for a whole day and you have only covered a small corner of 1 page in the 125 pg map book and you have seen 10 different kinds of scenery, it starts sinking in.

Pit stop just outside Aspen

Chris and I set off on our way to Durango through the mountain on the I70 West. We drove past many ski resorts incl. Veil and Aspen, who are all closed now for spring, but there is still sooooo much snow. Driving through stunning mountain passes, with the strong Colorado River flowing next to the highway in full force was an experience.

View from the car of the road through the mountains

Next we were driving through a semi-arr ed farming area, and almost like desert type landscape, then, without warning, you are next driving through a green farming area, with many rivers flowing strongly with all the snow melt.



At Palisade - Wine and Fruit Country



Today is also Memorial Day, and as you drive along, you see all the Cemetery's with flowers and Flags, remembering those who died in the War. Very sad to see.

The drive really got interesting from Ouray onwards. Steep cliffs and waterfalls, with snow now turned into ice made for and at times nerve wrecking driving.

Little Town of Ouray



The scary mountain pass road on the right - narrow and scary



As we drove into Durango, we were welcomed by the Durango/Silverton Stream Engine train. Durango feels like a real Wild West town, complete with Saloons. Chris and I had a drink at the Palisade Saloon where they were had a live band. The main street is quaint and you feel like you have gone back in time.

Palisade Saloon in Durango


What busy and exciting 1st day! Tomorrow we are off to the Grand Canyon, awesome!

Go West my son, Go West......

As they said in the Wild West days... Go West my Son, Go West. And so, Chris and I start our Road trip tomorrow, May 26th.

Our itinerary is as follows:

Denver to Durango

Durango to Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon to Las Vegas

Las Vegas to Phoenix Arizona

Phoenix to Scottsdale

Scottsdale to Tucson

Tucson to San Diego

San Diego to San Francisco

San Francisco to Sacramento

Sacramento to Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City to Denver via the Rocky Mountain Nat Park.

The trip should take us approx 40 days.

I will keep the blog updated as we go...

How time fly's by....

I know I've been a slack updating my blog of late, but we have been so hectic doing so many things over the last 2 weeks, so here's an update...


Trip to Colorado Springs

Chris and I took a day trip to Colorado Springs, which is a bout an hour from Denver (Don't ask me how far in miles, still trying to convert KM to miles).



View of the Highway from our car

We visited a place called "Garden of the Gods". There are these amazing Red Rocks, in which these stunning gardens surround them. We hiked up the side of the valley and then down to the gardens. Amazing weather and scenery.














Garden of the Gods - view onto the Gardens from where we were hiking


We then went into the old town of Colorado Springs for some lunch and found a real American spot where you could order burgers and other good food. Everyone is so friendly and keep asking us where we are from, clearly I have not lost my SA accent - and I do not plan to.












Chris in Old Colorado Springs Town











An old original in the Old Town

Getting our Drivers Licence

OK, it's not everyday that you feel like you're 18 all over again. Well, this week Chris and I had to re-write our Driver's tests and then once we passed that (Yay, both of us passed 1st time), we had to do a Driver's skills test, where, like I did years ago, have a person in the car checking that you do all the right things to pass your drivers. Well, Chris and I both passed that too, 1st time, so now we are legit Colorado Drivers.

Our New Car

So, Tuesday we received our drivers licences, and on Thursday, I collected my new Car. A stunning 4 cylinder, automatic, 4 w Drive, Toyota RAV 4. It drives like a dream and now Chris and I are ready to head out on our Roadtrip!! Yeah.

My new baby - drives like a dream

On our way to Morrison

Dinner with Melanie and Jenni

We have met such lovely people since we've been here in Denver. On Thursday evening we had dinner with Melanie and Jenni at a little Italian spot in Morrison. Mel and Jenni, who I met through Lorraine, loves the outdoors. They are into Rock Climbing, biking, snow boarding, camping, hiking etc. I am very keen to try Rock Climbing , will definitely give it a try when we get back to Denver after our road trip.

Snowfall in Evergreen

Denver is having strange weather at the moment, or maybe we just brought the funny weather with us from SA.

On Monday we had a lovely hot day here, and the next it just snowed like it was the middle of winter, with close to zero degree temps. The deer and elk wandered up the mountain to our place to find some food, wildlife right on our front door.

The deer right outside our front porch.


Having a little fun in the snow




What the weather looked like on Sunday.

Strange to say the least, but absolutely stunning!!! Some of the ski slopes have remained open due to the vast amounts of snow, so maybe Chris and I will try out our ski skills later this week.

Otherwise we have had fun trying to sort out cars and bank accounts and mobile phones. We basically do not exist in the USA, and thus, trying to buy things and open accounts prove very difficult. I have now received my Social Security Card, which without this you can do NOTHING!!!

Anyway, it's all part of the challenge we face moving to a new country, which will all hopefully be resolved soon.

We are hoping to head out on our road trip next weekend, where we will travel to the Grand Canyon, Utah, Las Vegas, Arizona, San Diego and last but not least, San Francisco.

Keep checking for an update on this.

Denver - Colorado

Our flight from New York to Denver took 4 hours, hard to believe you are still travelling within the USA after such a lenghty flight.
Denver Airport is amazing and big and clean. We arrived at night so we could not see the Rocky Mountain until the next morning.
We were collected in the morning by my Dad's good friends, Fred and Lorraine. The live in Evergreen, but I never imagined how stunning this place could be until I saw it with my own eyes. Driving from Denver into the mountains, we started to see trees, passed some Buffalo and elk, which is right on their doorstep.

Chris's bag also finally arrived which SAA Fed-Exed directly to Denver for us, Finally!!




Fred and Lorraine's place seems like something from a fairytale novel. It has the most spectacular views and wildlife, fox, deer, squirrels, the odd bear (seen the overturned dustbins), and the babbling brook at the base of the hill.











Lorraine has given us her car , a red Pontiac, to get around, it takes some getting used to, driving on the wrong side of the road, but I seem to get the grip of it better than Chris, old habits dye hard I guess.

We new things would not be easy, but that an understatement after this week. Firstly, you can not do anything without a Social Security Card. Luckily we applied for our in NY already. You need this to open a bank acc, book your drivers licence (yes, I need to re-write a leaner's and do a driving test, 18 all over again). Yet, you can not buy anything without a credit history, a car, a house etc. So we are having fun and games getting all this sorted out. I have found a car that I like, Toyota RAV4, new model. You need a 4x4 in the Colorado terrain, especially when the snow season starts.

Reagan, Fred and Lorraine's nephew has been showing us around, cars, houses and downtown Denver for a few drinks. Downtown Denver is stunning with clean streets, lots of bars and restaurants and horse drawn carriages. Such a wonderful energy to this place.

Chris and I are loving the new experiences, seeing all the sights of Denver, Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Arapaho National Park, Little towns in the mountains etc. We are now planning our trip across the West coast and I will tell you more when we have our final itinerary.

I will write more often now, so keep checking for my latest update on our adventures.

Love you all at home, miss you guys!

USA Update

Well, it's been 10 days since we landed on the Shores of the USA, and what a hectic but amazing time we have had.

Me in the yellow cab into Manhattan


We landed at JFK in the "Big Apple" on the 2nd May, on a very cold and misty morning, only 5 degrees c. I was a little anxious of what we were going to face to get our Green Cards officially stamped and prepared myself for a true US Interrogation, however, it did not happen like that at all. After going through customs and giving them our "Sealed Envelope" issued by the US embassy in JHB, we were asked to proceed to another customs desk, were this lady asked my to sign a form, took my finger prints, stamped my passport and then casually said "Welcome to the United States", and sent me on my was as a USA Resident. Still seems surreal.



Chris and I then discovered that my bag had arrived with the flight but his was no where to be seen. After filing a report, we jumped in a taxi to Manhattan, to our Hotel, St James (thanks Toni and John for the recommendation). This small little hotel is based one block away from Times Square, and wow, what seemed to be Millions of people!

Chris and I did the touristy thing and walked our feet off every day. The weather was crappy and misty and we could not see the tops of the Empire State or Chrysler building, but we took a long lovely walk through Central Park, passing Trump Towers etc. The next day we took a Ferry ride to Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and then went to see the amazing site of where the Twin Towers stood, eeerrrryy!!
Central Park, NYC



Grand Central Station



On Liberty Island, with the NY Skyline behind me.



A romantic carriage ride through Central Park

Chris and I then caught the subway (man is the NY subway confusing, give me the London underground anyday) to Brooklyn to see Torsten, Katja and little Noah. It was awesome to see them again and caught up on all the news over a late lunch.



Still no word of Chris's bags!!!



The last 2 days were spent seeing the rest of the NY sights and sounds, lazing about in Bryant Park with the rest of the Manhattan suites over lunch.
The Chrysler Building - HUGE!!!


and... still no bags for Chris.