Devil's Postpile and Yosemite

8/13/2016

Dear I-,

How are you? I got your letter. I haven't played Pokemon Go, mostly because my little brothers really liked Pokemon when it first became popular years ago. I wasn't interested in POkemon then because they were. Now, I guess that old idea is still stuck in my head! It sounds like you've been having a good time in Tokyo.

Last night, I stayed in a city called Tonopah, Nevada. This town was a gold mining town in the early 1900s. This morning, I got the chance to explore the town. I walked through the cemetery that was used from 1901-1911. I also walked in the downtown area and even checked out some really old mining equipment.

Tonopah cemetery

downtown Tonopah, Nevada

 I dropped off a couple of letters for my students at the old post office downtown then got back on the road. My next destination was Devil's Postpile in Mammoth Lakes, California.

It took a bit more than 2 1/2 hours, but I finally arrived at the shuttle bus stop. The only way to see Devil's Postpile is to take a bus to get there. The problems were that the bus ticket booth had a long line AND the nearest parking spot to the bus stop was 1/2 mile away. I was surprised by how many people were there already!

After waiting in a very long bus line and riding on the bus for 30 minutes, I arrived at the Devil's Postpile trail. I hiked the trail and arrived at the Devil's Postpile National Monument.

Earlier in my trip, I saw Devils Tower, a national monument with clusters of geometric tubes clumped together that rise out of the ground.

Devil's Postpile is a similar, unusual rock formation. This formation was created by lava around a hundred thousand (100,000) years ago. I took a bunch of photos and finished the hiking trail back to the shuttle bus. 

My next stop was Yosemite National Park. I've been there quite a few times, but this time, I entered the park from a different direction. I was able to see a part of the park I've never seen before. 

mule deer in Yosemite

along Tioga Pass

Unfortunately, I didn't get to stop very many times since I had to meet some friends at a cabin in Oakhurst, California for a camping trip. This camping trip is the very last part of my trip.  

I look forward to seeing you this week.

Your teacher,

Elaina

Weird Nevada

8/12/16

Dear NH,

How are you doing? When will you be leaving on your trip? You might even leave for your road trip before you get this letter.

Yesterday was such a crazy day. I started out in Las Vegas, Nevada. I had been to Las Vegas four times already, so I already knew a lot of things about that city.

I stayed at a giant resort hotel called Monte Carlo. This hotel had something like 25 floors, a wave pool, and a lazy river.

After eating a giant breakfast in one of the hotel restaurants, I spent some time in the pools. It was already really hot outside, so being in the pool was kind of nice.

Finally, it was time to go. I still had to get across Nevada and head toward Mammoth Lakes, California. I started on my way.

I wasn't planning on stopping on the way, but I encountered some really interesting places. First, there was a place called Area 51 Alien Center. This place was a combination gas station, diner, convenience store, alien enthusiast site, fireworks stand, AND spot for setting off fireworks! How crazy it was! I took a couple of photos and bought a pin with an alien on it as a souvenir.

I continued on the road northwest across Nevada. I next stopped in a ghost town called Rhyolite. This city is actually a part of Death Valley National Park. Most of the park is in California, and Rhyolite is the only part in Nevada. I had been to Rhyolite once before, but that was years ago, so I wanted to stop by again.

When I arrived, I found several buildings in ruins. (These buildings have been in ruins for years.) I walked around some of these buildings and found a lot of pieces of rusted metal, old drink cans and parts from a machine. Some of the metal pieces were probably even from old mining equipment since Rhyolite used to be a mining town.

One really interesting thing I found was a grave for a woman named Mona Belle. Next to her grave, I saw many trinkets: beaded necklaces, drink bottles, high-heeled shoes with messages written on them, and old silk flowers. There are several tall tales associated with Mona Belle. One story is that she got into a fight with her husband. She shot him first and hurt him. Then he shot her and killed her. Now, people leave small trinkets for her in tribute. I left a bottle of nail polish!

The other really interesting thing I found was a real mine shaft. It was blocked off, so you couldn't go all the way inside, but you could go in the entrance area and look inside.

There was even a really old cemetery down a dirt road nearby. Most of the graves were marked by pieces of wood. Some were marked by stones, and some were not marked at all. Rhyolite was such a good stop, but I had to continue.

Not far out of Rhyolite, I stopped again. This time, I stopped because I saw wild donkeys. There was a whole herd of them. Some were eating. Others were crossing the road. I took tons of pictures and moved on. However, I saw more donkeys, so I stopped again. This time, there were baby donkeys! They were so cute!

I finally pulled myself away from the donkeys to continue my journey. By this time, it was late enough for dinner. It was decided that the next stop would be in a town called Tonopah. Tonopah, Nevada was a strange city. It was prosperous around 1900 because gold was found in the area. Of course, the gold "dried up" and the town went bust. Now, the town still exists, but it's not as big or as successful. I went inside a casino/hotel called Tonopah Station for dinner. The inside of the building was full of unusual antiques. There was a giant, taxidermied bear with a sign that said his name was James. There was also an old doll propped up next to a doll-sized sink. A doll-sized toilet was next to her, too! There were mannequins in Victorian clothes and old signs from now-defunct (closed) businesses. The place was like a museum!

After dinner, I needed a place to stay since it was dark. I looked no further than a place called Clown Motel. This was one creepy motel. Inside the motel lobby are hundreds of clown figurines. On each room door, there is a funny-looking clown ready to greet you. The creepiest part is that the motel is next door to a cemetery! This cemetery is the final resting place of miners, gold prospectors, and townspeople who died between 1901 and 1911. I bravely entered the cemetery after I got my things settled in my room. I was a bit too scared to go very far into the cemetery. I'm not usually scared of cemeteries, but I guess they are more unnerving at night.

That was my interesting day! I hope you are having interesting days too, and I look forward to hearing from you about your trip.

Your teacher,

Elaina

Traversing Nevada

7/30/16

Dear B-,

How is your weekend going? Mine is pretty good. I hope you have been able to do something fun.

I have already started my road trip. Yesterday, I spent the day traveling across Nevada. Nevada is mostly just hot. The car said it was over 110 degrees in one place. Does it get that hot in New Mexico?

While driving across the state, I stopped several times. One stop was to see a cave called Lovelock Cave. This cave is not very big, only about 35 feet by 150 feet. (150 feet is half of a football field). Today, there is not much inside that is interesting, but when the cave was discovered in the early 1900s, there were many artifacts from ancient people. There have been 2 or 3 excavations that uncovered bones of humans, plant material, and so much more.



I have attached a picture to this letter. This is a picture I took when I was standing next to the cave. This is what Nevada looks like.

I look forward to getting your next letter.

Your teacher,

Elaina

And we're off!

7/29/16

Dear NH-,

How is camp going? I hope you are getting the chance to do a lot of fun activities.

I left for my big road trip Thursday night. I'm traveling with a friend, so the trip has been pretty fun so far.

The first destination was Reno, Nevada. That town is mostly famous for its casinos. A casino is a place where you can risk your money trying to win more money. I don't like risking my money, so I don't do that part. Casinos in Reno also usually have nice restaurants and hotels attached to them. My favorite part of a casino is when it has a buffet, and I can eat tons of different kinds of food until I almost explode!




Reno is about 4 1/2 hours away from home, so that's where I stayed last night. Today, I will be traveling through Nevada.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Your teacher,

Elaina 

Tuesday, June 15th The Last Push Home Las Vegas, NV to Santa Clara, CA

Our road trip ends today.  It is 9 am - checkout time is 11.  I still have to get ready for the long 9 hour drive from Vegas to Santa Clara.  Greg still has $200 burning a hole in his wallet and is determined to lose it before we leave, but not if I can help it.

I’ve been told that the next 9 hours will be uninteresting - we aren’t driving through particularly nice parts of California.

Time to pack.

UPDATE:


The 9 hours of driving was completely uninteresting, and very hot.  Much of it was driving through the desert.  I must admit that I’m very glad to be here.  And I’m glad to be done with all the driving (although Greg did do most of the driving).

So, here ends another great trip.  We saw some really cool things and did some really cool things and made a lot of stops.

Until next time…

Monday, June 14th Vegas, Baby, Vegas! Las Vegas, NV

We didn’t gamble last night any, mostly because I was too tired to I guess.  We figured out that we probably walked something like 6 miles roundtrip.  I swear it didn’t look that far.

Greg was itching to lose some money today.  We started out in our own casino, walking from the elevator, across in front of the “dealertainers” (dealers dressed up like celebrities… but most only have a passing resemblance… with a nametag) and over to the blackjack table.  After winning about $30 (any amount of money on the table made me nervous because I think in terms of how long it took and what had to be done to earn that money) Greg told me the odds were unusually bad.  We moved on to craps where Greg won another $60 or $70 before he left the table.  (I kept thinking his luck would run out and a total of $100 won was good enough for me).

We moved to penny slots where we had a $5.00 credit as a bonus for signing up for something.  Over the next hour or so, we slowly, but surely lost it all (but it was fun and not our money).

Ready to get out of the casino, we ventured across the street to Caesar’s Palace where we waited in line for their lunch buffet (we were coming to the close of our 24 hour gorge).

Caesar's Palace

Most of the casinos had some sort of cool or fancy way to enter... but once you were in, you are more or less trapped (of course, that's the way they want it).  Often, the way in isn't the way out.  

While the deserts were fancy and the crème brulee tasty, there weren’t as many choices as we had had at the Flamingo or at Harrah’s.  So after our first lunch, we raced back across the street to the Imperial to partake in our last of 5 meals (in 24 hours).  After 2nd lunch and an afternoon rest, we left our casino again to walk in the opposite direction of last night.  We had not yet seen the Mirage, Treasure Island, or the Venetian.

We happened to be on time to see the volcano show in front of the Mirage (where a large “volcano” spits water and fire) and the Treasure Island Siren show (where pretty, skimpy girls try to seduce piratey boys).

Treasure Island Siren Show

After the show when the Treasure Island show crowd thinned out, we crossed the street and explored the Venetian, but it was late and we were tired and having trouble finding the casino area, so we gave up and walked back toward the Imperial Palace.

The Venetian - it's totally reminiscent of Venice isn't it?

Gondolas were everywhere!  That's my one regret about Venice, actually - I never rode on a gondola (nevermind that it costs something like 60 Euros)

On the way back, we passed a smaller casino called… Casino Royale.  While it didn’t look very James Bondish, we went in anyways.  Greg immediately found a craps table he wanted to play and somehow managed to win another hundred dollars before I couldn’t take it anymore.  I was done for the night.

I like Vegas (although… I wonder if my opinion would be vastly different had we lost money??)

Sunday, June 13th “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” Kingman, AZ to Las Vegas, NV

Today was supposed to be an easy day, but most definitely wasn’t.  Kingman, AZ turned out to be a great stopover point, only 2 hours away from Las Vegas.  The drive was easy; we stopped only once at the Hoover Dam.  We parked on both sides for photos, but didn’t actually walk on the dam (because we weren’t interested in paying for close parking and didn’t feel like walking down to the dam).  Actually, I think it’s closer to the truth to say that we didn’t feel like walking back up the hill after we walked down to the dam.

The "back" of the dam

The "front."  I guess I expected gushing water similar to Niagara Falls (by the way I haven't been there), but this is what I got.  From our vantage point, we weren't able to see any water on this side.

We soon arrived in Las Vegas and drove the entire length of the Strip before choosing a casino hotel to stay at.  While not the fanciest by any means, the Imperial was the cheapest ($25 a night) with the best location (tucked between Harrah’s and the Flamingo).

The Paris is visible in the background (the Eiffel Tower)

Paris! (our favorite as far as ambiance is concerned)

We immediately found a lunch buffet and gorged ourselves on meaty things (Greg) and waffles with hot fudge sauce (me).  Having purchased a buffet meal deal ($30 each unlimited food for 24 hours at any of 7 casino buffets), we positively delighted in the long binge that followed.

After our initial casino buffet meal, stomachs happy, we began walking down the strip.  We walked from the Imperial to a little past the MGM Grand, stopping in almost every casino along the way just to see what they were like inside.  We crossed Las Vegas Boulevard and meandered into the New York and the Excalibur before heading back towards our hotel.

The New York

The Excalibur

The King inside the Excalibur.  I had wanted to see Elvis... and I did.  I saw a couple of bad knockoffs, and then here, in the Exaclibur lobby, the real deal.  

We only made a couple of stops on the way back, including the Bellagio, but the damage was already done.  The feet were aching and sore and I for one was very tired.  

The Vegas lights

View of the Bellagio water fountain show in front of the Paris

The inside of the Bellagio was very cool.  Not only was there the blown glass flowers display on the ceiling of the lobby, but there was also a large garden display featuring both live plants and flowing water and giant flower and bee creations.

The Bellagio lobby

The Bellagio seasonal flower display

Much later than we had planned, we finally stumbled back into the Imperial. I am too tired to do anything but sleep.

The rest of what Sin City has to offer will be experienced tomorrow.