Take a hat

Präauhochalm 1830m Präauhochalm It's a long hard ride up to Präauhochalm. Unfortunately, I chose to do it in late season and there was no food at the Alm. The Farmer and his wife were packing up the Alm for the winter and stacking wood ready for next year. The Farmer told me to help myself to a cold beer from the cattle trough. Very refreshing it was too. The dog gave me a barking good welcome and happily joined me as I supped my ale. The ride up starts on the road from Dorfgastein to Unterberg. There is a turning off to the left signposted to the Strohlehenalm. I did not go there, I had loftier ambitions. It's a long climb, over 1000m signposted all the way. My new friend I told the Farmer I found the ride hard.  He told me I was right - only the best make it up here! Anyway its a lovely rustic hut and another one ticked off on my biking to do list. View from the Alm Strohlehenalm - on the way up

A walk on the Graukogel On the shelf - Zirben Schnapps is getting ready Zirben Schnapps is an ancient home remedy claimed to be sure sure-fire cure for anything from melancholy to upset stomachs. Zirben Pine Cones It's made by adding sliced up pine cones to sugar and alcohol. Not any old pine cone of course. They have to come from the Zirben Pine, a conifer that grows high in the Alps above 1500m. The Graukogel is home to a number of the trees and the Cafe at the top has a sideline making this extremely tasty and, erhmmm, healthy liquor. Of course we were up there just for a walk. It is a 40 minute bus ride from home. The bus rattles its way up the valley, through Bad Gastein and then takes a left along a winding road to the bottom of a two stage chair lift. The lift operator at the bottom was in a jolly mood and wished us a great day as the chair whisked us away.  It's a slow lift so there was plenty of time to enjoy the scenery. Not much wildlife today, just one Nu...

Taking the High Road The Schmaranz Alm - Scotty on Tour I like to ride my bicycle. And, just like the old Queen song, I like to ride it where I like! On this occasion my extremely likeable target destination was the Schmaranz Hutte high above Bad Hofgastein at nearly 1800m. It is the Summer Alm for a valley farm in the Wieden area  of Bad Hofgastein. The Schmaranz Farm's main claim to fame, in my eyes anyway, is its Bio Brewery. They brew the most delicious beer and the reward for a near 1000 metre climb on my Scotty comes cold and wet in a half litre glass. The route starts behind the Railway station and, today, the time on the Station clock was 11:15 as I passed by. The narrow road winds up through a small community of farms and dwellings before reaching the typical Alpine pastures peppered with a few fruit trees. They were laden with Apples but no scrumping today.  The big lumbering Austrian cows did not take any any notice as I pedalled slowly past. They were mo...

How the West was done.... Oh what fun we had! We have brought back some good memories after our whizz around the West. We probably tried to see too much in the three weeks but it is a long, costly flight and we needed to make the most of our time on the ground. Staying three nights in San Francisco was about right, plenty to see and do. The Peitite Auberge was a great place to shake off the jet lag. We should have flown direct rather than fly via LAX but flights to Los Angeles were cheaper. We also originally planned to drive South to North on Highway One. Adding Yosemite to our itinerary was well worthwhile. It is a stunning place. Where we stayed, near the Park entrance at Yosemite Lodge, meant we could go into the Park early and then leave late to avoid the traffic queues. The Park must be very busy in High Season. Buying our National Park Pass before we left saved us both money and time at the various Entry Gates. One the coast, travelling Highway One from North to South w...

Life on the Ocean - Day's 17 to 21 Pelican on the rocks Up bright and early for the flight to San Diego via Phoenix. We were warned that we needed to be at the Airport with time to spare because of the queues for security. Just as well as we had a bit of a wait, about an hour. We still had time for a good breakfast before boarding. Alamo car return really slick again and our Sonata was gone in no time. I thought it was a Honda but apparently it's a Hyundai, nice car anyway. Amazing desert scenery as we flew towards Phoenix, there isn't much water around in Arizona. We had a lunch break at Phoenix Airport of about an hour then another queue to check in. American Airlines like to put you in your place. They call you for boarding in a strict hierarchy. Needless to say we were the lowest of the low Category 3 Economy - and now finally all those insignificant twerps who do not fly with us very often and are left handed. Anyway it was a nice flight and there was still room...

Day 16 - From Natural to Egyptian TW stepping out on the Hoover Dam With Grand Canyon behind us we headed South on the 50 mile long straight road towards Williams and the long drive to Las Vegas. Just a single carriageway and people in a hurry which meant it was risky drive. A slow vehicle like a Camper Van tends to develop a string of cars behind and they start jockeying to get past. The impressive Hoover Dam We came across a six car pile-up at the crest of a hill. We were the first car to arrive from the Canyon direction but were nowhere near being involved fortunately. Makes you think because it happened in the middle of a desert area quite a way from Emergency Services but, happily, they appeared to have phone coverage. Ambulances were already being called but we were some way down the road before we saw them speeding to the scene. We helped clear the road and then got out of the way. After the Hoover Dam A hard drive today but we were probably a bit weary...

Day 15 - Grand Tour to Grand Canyon Grand Canton South Rim A big old drive in store today of about 330 miles. This was made worse by our TomTom Lady having a lie-in and sending us in the wrong direction. When planning our day we had seen a route to the right out of Bryce but expected to go left. TomTom said right and we followed. When TomTom awoke she advised a U-turn but we pressed on like selfie-dummies until a Visitor Centre told us to go the other way. You'll never make it, it's a dirt road! So back toward Bryce, Red Canyon and past the Galaxy Diner on Route 89. Route 89 goes from Canada to Mexico so a wrong turn can take you along way from home. It took a while to get into new territory and eventually into big vistas. Lake Powell was our first stop. The Glen Canyon dam was pretty impressive. Amazing that a small band of concrete can hold back all that water and a mighty River. Mind you this one may have sprung a leak as the tide mark is some way above the current wate...

Day 14 - Helluva place to lose a Cow! - Off to Bryce Canyon  Hoodoo at Bryce If you had to design a Canyon to be a tourist attraction it would probably look something like Zion. Built in would be a tree lined river with steep rock faces in a nice warm colour. Unobtrusive development with just the shuttle served road and a decent Lodge with a Cafe and Restaurant and of course it would have loads of different Hiking options. Meeting the locals Time to move on though, next stop Bryce Canyon. Quite an easy drive today, only about 70 miles. We have not seen too many traditional US Diners on this trip but happily we found the Galaxy Diner in Hatch. Be rude not to stop off for a coffee and apple pie and to listen in on the locals conversations. Hatch is on quite a busy tourist route but prosperity looks to have passed it by. Not too far from the Canyons and some skiing so things might pick up. The population is only about 130 and at a deceptive 2,109 metres it must be bitterly ...