October 20, 2007 – 10:04 pm
We are going to Las Vegas today. We went through a mountain tunnel which was about 2km long. This tunnel took us to the Zion National Park. At the Zion National Park I saw some deer and elk. The rocks at Zion are monoliths; which is a single piece of rock. Uluru in Australia is a monolith. We walked around the place called the Court of the Patriarchs at the bottom of the Zion National Park. Once we visited the park we then stopped off at buffalo farm, where we saw big buffalo. I got to pat a buffalo which we named Bob.
When we arrived in Las Vegas we had a night tour, all the casinos were lit up and had a theme. . The first thing we saw was a show outside a casino called Treasure Island. It was a pirate show called Sirens Treasure Island, during the show there was fireworks. The building I liked the most was Paris, because it had the Eiffel Tower that looked so real. It felt liked day time inside when it was night time outside, because the ceiling was painted blue with clouds. It had little buildings inside that were shops and made you feel like you were in Paris.
On the other side of Paris there was a large fountain that danced to music and shot water up really high.
October 15, 2007 – 6:51 pm
We drove to Bryce Canyon from Page first we stopped off at Lake Powell. Glen Canyon Dam forms Lake Powell by damming the Colorado River. When we there I saw real dinosaur tracks fossilised into stone. We made a couple more stops on the way, then we headed to Bryce Canyon; our main stop.
Bryce Canyon is very different to the Grand Canyon because it has hoodoos; hoodoos are pillars of rock in different shapes, I thought they looked like castles. We got to walk along the edge of Bryce Canyon. We saw people walking inside the canyon really wanted to do that. Then we arrived at our at our hotel.
October 10, 2007 – 8:53 pm
We travelled from the Grand Canyon to Page. Page was only built 50 years ago and was used by the people that built the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River.
On the way to Page we stopped and visited Navajo Nation. This is a reservation for the Navajo people; who are Native Americans. Back when houses did not exist the Navajo lived in buildings called a hogan. There were two types of hogans; the female hogan and the male hogan. There was also a little hogan which was called a sweat lodge. The sweat lodge was used for special ceremonies.
When we visited Navajo Nation we went on bus ride. The person driving the bus was from the Navajo people, his name was Preston Isaac Holiday. The bus was old, rattly and had no glass where the windows should have been. When the other cars or buses drove past the red desert dust would blow into the bus. We crossed the state border from Arizona to Utah while we were on the bus, as Navajo Nation is in both states.
I had my photo taken on a horse that one of the Navajo people rode. The bus driver showed us some of the spots where Western Movies had been made and also showed us some rock formations that the Navajo had named. We also got to look at Navajo craft.
After this we hopped back on the bus and headed to our hotel in Page.
October 9, 2007 – 9:11 pm
Today we headed for the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon was created by the Colorado River over 6 million years ago and is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
On our way there we visited the Red Rock Canyon, just outside of Sedona. It is a popular tourist area because of its beautiful views. We stopped in Sedona for lunch and sat outside a cafe and looked over the valley - it was very pretty.
After Sedona we headed to the Grand Canyon airport where we took a helicopter flight across the Grand Canyon. This was really cool and was my favourite part of today. Mum got to sit in the front of the helicopter where she could look at the views underneath her feet and out of the front of the helicopter. The Grand Canyon is very pretty, rocky and big!
After the helicopter flight the coach took us to the Bright Angel Lodge; which sits right on the rim of the Grand Canyon. This is where we were able to walk along the rim and take photos.
The helicopter ride was Daddy’s favourite part of the holiday so far.
I have also collected thirty quarters with different states on them. Only ten to go!
October 9, 2007 – 8:07 pm
Today we visited Bisbee and Tombstone.
Bisbee is an old fashioned town where the buildings are over one hundred years old. Bisbee was a copper, gold and silver mining town. When we were there we saw an old copper mine which was called the Lavender Pitt - the hole was very deep. Now Bisbee is a tourist town, there are lots of arty and antique shops in the old buildings. My mum really wanted to buy something, but most things were too big to put in her suitcase.
After Bisbee we visited Tombstone, Arizona, were all the cowgirls and cowboys lived. Tombstone is famous because of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The gunfight took place on 26 October 1881, between the lawmen and the cowboys. We watched a live show called O.K. Corral and it was about the gunfight. The actors used blanks in the show and it was really loud when they shot their guns.
It was during this trip that I became friends with another girl on the bus, called Kirby.
October 9, 2007 – 7:37 pm
Today we mostley sat on the bus because we had to Tucson; which is in Arizona in the desert. On the way we stopped at petrol stations and a village where we ate lunch.
We saw large sand dunes, 8 desert twisters, 4 military bases, big long trains and cacti.
When we got to the hotel I hopped in the pool and had a swim.
October 9, 2007 – 7:28 pm
We had to get up really early to get a taxi to go catch our coach tour bus. We went from Los Angeles to San Diego, it took three to four hours to get there. I slept most of the way, we have met a couple of Aussies on the tour bus.
I am collecting the American quarters (25 cents) because some of the quarters have different states of the USA on them. Even though there are fifty states in the USA there are so far only forty quarters made. The bus driver has put me to the test to see if I can collect all forty.
On the way to San Diego we stopped off at Old Town San Diego. This is the site of the first permanent Spanish settlement in California and began in 1769. We visited the courthouse which was built in 1847. I tried to put my dad in the jail house, but he kept sneaking away - a very naughty prisoner. We saw the first primary school which was built in 1865. The desks were old and wooden and all in single file. On the window there was a teacher’s rule page and a children’s rule page. The children’s rule page listed lashes for when they broke the rules.
We went on a boat cruise to see some sea lions and the navy base. The navy base had navy ships, aircraft carriers and jets. When we saw the sea lions they were all lying together on pontoons sunbaking.
October 5, 2007 – 10:02 pm
We arrived in Hollywood at about 9PM Wednesday night at the Renaissance Hotel; which is just up from the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The porter gave me a handful of red, white and grey M&Ms; he was a really nice porter.
On Thursday morning after breakfast we we decided to go and look at the stars along the Walk of Fame before our bus arrived to take us to Universal Studios. The Walk of Fame is not well looked after and it looks tired.
By the time our bus took us to Universal Studios it was peak hour traffic; very busy! My most favourite attractions were the Special Effect Stages, where I got to make the sound of Tinker Bell and the live show of Waterworld, where Mum and I met some actors who had small roles in CSI and Hero’s
My favourite attractions were Shrek4D and the Studio Tour where Dad got to see part of the King Kong and the War of the Worlds sets. I did not like the House of Horrors - it was really scary.
Another fun day.
October 5, 2007 – 9:15 pm
On Wednesday we visited Disney’s California Adventure Park. It was a sunny day
Dad took Mum and I on the Twilight Zone Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror. This ride was a falling elevator ride; it was freaky. You should have seen my Mum’s face, she nearly broke my hand. Dad laughed at us. The elevator took us up to the top of the building it opened the doors to the open air and we could see outside just before it dropped us.
We watched a live Aladdin Musical Spectacular show. The genie was funny and made lots of jokes. I also watched a live show from High School Musical Two. People from the audience were able to dance with the performers. I played drums on a bucket and got to dance. This was my favourite.
Mum, Dad and I went on another ride called the Grizzly River Run. It was spinning boat ride in water; my Mum got really soaked.
That was my last day in Disneyland.
October 2, 2007 – 10:19 pm
I have been in Los Angeles for two and a half days already!
We arrived on Sunday at 12:30PM; we went backwards one day! The plane trip was long and I did not sleep very much but I fell asleep on the shuttle bus to our hotel. To stretch our legs, and to keep us awake, we walked to Downtown Disney; about 3.4km. There were lots of shops here to buy souvenirs and food. After we finished looking in the shops we walked back up to the hotel. Near the hotel was a restaurant called Joe’s Crab Shack. We met some people from Canberra who lived in Flynn. After dinner we went back to the hotel where I fell asleep very quickly.
Mum, Dad and I have been busy at Disneyland since we arrived. We decided to attack Disneyland by doing one half one day and the next half the next day. When we first walked into the gates I was chosen by the Mad Hatter to sing the Very Merry Unbirthday Song. I danced with the Mad Hatter and Alice and then I conducted the band.
At the moment, Disneyland is decorated for Halloween and Main Street USA is decorated with lots of large pumpkins. We went to Adventureland, New Orleans Square, Critter Country, Tom Sawyer’s Island and Frontierland. My favourite attractions were Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion (all set up for Halloween - see Wikipedia) and The Parade of Dreams.
Today we did the other half which was Fantasyland, Tomorrowland, and Mickey’s Toontown. My most favourite attraction was the Princess Fantasy Faire where I danced with the princesses and had my hair done up like a princess. The other attractions I liked were The Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, The Matterhorn Bobsleds and the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. I also got to meet Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
I wonder what will happen tomorrow at Disney’s California Adventure…?
We are going to link to some of the photos later when Dad gets a chance to load them onto Flickr.