22.07.12 - The Final Leg

The next door neighbour started revving their motorbike engine at 6.30am and I could feel the temperature rising already. It was 90F by 9am. I made an early exit, heading for the coast at Carmel,

The country just West of Mariposa was absolutely stunning. Rolling hills of yellow grass so bleached that it was almost white. It looked like a ski resort but instead of snow the hills were covered in grass and instead of rocky outcrops there were small patches of low, shrubby trees. But not a sole on it, barely even a bovine one. It made me want to stop and get lost in the seemingly endless country, it felt as if you could have gone miles without meeting anything.

 The landscape then flattened out into fruit farms and pistachio orchards. I stopped and bought some delicious strawberries, some average pistachios and a bag of dry, hard cucumbers. There is definitely a lore Hispanic vibe around here, lots more Spanish radio stations. I did also happen across the The Rush Limbaugh Show, the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United States. Care of Wiki; “He criticizes what he regards as liberal policies and politicians, as well as what he perceives as a pervasive liberal bias in major U.S. media. Limbaugh is among the highest paid people in U.S. media, signing a contract in 2008 for $38 million a year through 2016 or nearly half a billion dollars.” Even I was considering backing Mitt Romney after half an hour so if this is the biggest talk show in the USA then he must have a lot of groupies agreeing with him.

What I found most interesting were his arguments about Obama not understanding what being a true American is all about. The rhetoric is so different from UK politics; we have had our moment of glory as a nation, our empire is behind us and we no longer see ourselves as a super power. But, apologies for sweeping statements, there is a lot of talk about being a super power, being the envy of the world, etc. When you mix this strong national pride and religion together it can be a dangerous mix. The mindset and idea of national identity is so different to ours. Maybe we were the same 140 years ago when we thought we ruled the world. What does irritate me, though, is not understanding the hypocrisy of international tub thumping about how great you are whilst some Americans basically live in conditions that any developed nation should be ashamed of. E.g. 3% of people in Washington D.C. are HIV positive, in the UK it is 0.15%. You are not allowed to be in the Boy Scouts of America (as a scout or a leader) if you are gay, this has been upheld by the Supreme Court as within their rights, according to the constitution. Even the BNP have to allow non-whites to join. Maybe this is not surprising when it was only in 2003 that homosexual activity was made legal throughout the country.

Anyway...back to the stunning scenery. The flatlands gave way again to rolling hills. Yellower in colour this time but similar in style to what I’d driven through in the morning. California has 119 State Parks, 8 State Forests, 9 State Recreation Areas, 11 State Wildlife Areas, 1 State Historic  Site, 11 State Reserves, 9 State Fish Hatcherys, 9 National Parks, 19  National  Forests , 3 National Historic Sites, 1 National Seashore, and 31 National Wildlife  Refuges. The most of any state, and a lot of financial upkeep needed.  Some are obviously very well known and popular whilst others are virtually unpopulated. The state was going to get rid of some of them due to lack of funds but only two are going to be axed in the end.

I stopped at St Juan Bautista, a small town based around one of the missions on El Camino Real, the long line of missions that run down the California coast. This one was built in 1796. Lots of Latino tourists. I pushed on to Carmel, the fog descending. I didn’t stop there but paid my toll to drive along the headland, past all of the famous gold courses, and stopped at the beach which was grey and windy and felt like the English seaside. I stopped in Monterey for lunch, desperate for fish and chips but only offered mediocre tourist gunge. I didn’t have time to explore so I ate my sandwich on a rocky outcrop looking over the sea. At first I thought that there were two massive otters in the bay but they were divers in black hoods. Lots of divers and kayakers.

I kept on along the sea before heading in land at San Jose and up into the Redwood forests there. The road was again very windy, the lack of gears, frustrating but the scenery was stunning. Redwoods are definitely better viewed from below, the light streaming in from above amongst the huge trunks. It was worth the detour and slow roads. Then the drive through Palo Alto was again stunning; more rolling, parched hills with short, stubby trees. I will have to come back here as it’s not far from SF. The final furlong into town was a bit sticky but traffic here is so different from in the UK, although everyone seems to drive everywhere there is just more space and less people. I made it home, exhausted. Sandra was super impressed by the ground that I had covered. It was a great way to see lots of places but I did wish for a second driver by the end. On a very rough estimate I think I did 850km.