Beginning of our beautiful road trip adventure in the USA... Which will make us cross California, a small part of Nevada, Utah & finish in beauty under a burning heat in Arizona... But to be honest, we organized this trip because I wanted a "simpler" trip compared to our last adventures in Mongolia, but we were afraid to be disappointed... first of all because we had already seen all these landscapes in magazines or in movies, the crowd of tourists, the American mentality & of course the food... but this trip was way beyond our desires and our expectations... in 1 word : GREAT !

DAYS 1 à 3 • San Francisco

Our road trip in the west starts with 3 days in San Francisco... No need to tell you that this city deserves to be visited at least a few days before hitting the road and driving down all those miles... We suggest you to discover it with our "to-do" list & in pictures...

Union Square... Arrived in the evening, it is the first district that we discover & it is here that our Hotel Zepplin... The district, very central with all the conveniences, is practical but it is not by far the most charming district... There are the big chain stores, a lot of restaurants & hotels and also a lot of beggars... Honestly, there are plenty of other more attractive neighborhoods to stay in on a future visit. However, our hotel was very original & design, although the room was really tiny, and the breakfast delicious. On the other hand, in this area... the famous Cable Cars are omnipresent, not to be missed under any circumstances: the Cable Car hub at Powell Station.

Cable Cars & son museum... This is the only thing Tracy remembers about her first trip to SF when she was 5 years old with her parents... Mythical is the word! 30 years later... As soon as you get on it, the feeling of being a kid on a merry-go-round is back... and on top of that you discover SF quietly... we love it! There are three different lines, a trip will cost you 7 $, it's not cheap, so to take advantage of the trip here are some advices: try to get on at the end of a line to cover a maximum of the trip and to have the best seats... but there are sometimes many many many people... so you have 2 options: come very early in the morning or later in the evening (with the evening lights it's very nice, sun setting through the streets and the lights of the city start to light up) or get on the way if there is still room even standing, the price will be the same but no line...
In the Union Square area, don't miss the turntable at Powell Street: the drivers, always by 2, jump off the Cable Car to make it turn on a wooden platform in order to make it go back the other way. These small urban trains will have no more secrets for you & especially it allows to admire the cables which pull the 3 different lines... In fact everything starts from here... Impressive & deafening!

Alamo Square & Hayes Valley... efinitely this neighborhood is our favorite... all these Victorian houses and all the other picturesque houses in this area made us want to settle down... In addition the district of Hayes is filled with small cafés too "chou"... the small more was to ride in electric scooter Lime... with 2 on the same one, it was sport but so ludic... we still do not return from having traversed the streets of SF like that... (almost dangerous)...

Limebike... one word GENIUS... a concept that is also coming to Switzerland ... Lime is a network of bicycles (nothing very innovative so far) and electric scooters for rent... The mega plus of this concept is that these scooters can be found anywhere in the street... To start : you just have to download the application on your smartphone, introduce your credit card, have a 3G network or wifi (there is a free wifi in SF but not always available) and your smartphone battery well filled... That's all... Then you just have to find a scooter in the street thanks to the map in the application that geolocates the available and charged scooters... Once in front of your future scooter scan the QR code and off you go... (⚠️ don't move a scooter without delocking it with your smartphone... because it will start screaming and threaten to call the police... experience made 😝 because I was looking to get closer to a wifi network)... once you arrived at your destination, you delock and leave your scooter almost anywhere according to your common sense... to be tested absolutely!

Chinatown... Honestly parr our way, there is nothing to see... it is by far not the most impressive Chinatown that we have seen... there are only small stores without soul and without consistency, only bad gadgets... After Bangkok it is difficult to compete.

North Beach… The Italian district... This district can be spotted by the green-white-red flag paintings on all the signposts in the streets... we had dinner at Acquolina, chatting in Italian with the waiters, in French and in German with our Swiss-German tablemates... a very nice moment... take the time to stroll in this district at the end of the day to drink the Italian aperitivo... "un Spritz per favore!"

Fisherman's Wharf... The star of this district which is indeed a line of piers filled with restaurants, souvenir stores & museums, is Pier 39 or rather The Pier 39... where sea lions have taken up residence... they are there next to the passers-by basking in the sun or doing a pseudo fight show... I found it hypnotizing... the other particularity of the district not to be missed a little further on Taylor street & if you are a fan of crab and seafood, go to the Fisherman's Wharf Carb Stands... beware however of the seagulls always ready to steal your meal directly from your hands!

Lombard Street… A street of eight hairpins & full of charm on the slopes of one of the many hills of SF was built to allow the inhabitants to climb the 27% difference in altitude... Only big problem: the horde of tourists who take selfies or drive down the street as if it was a merry-go-round... We pity the inhabitants... But the view of this small street from far or near is still worth the detour.

Golden Gate Bridge... the STAR of San Francisco! The bridge whose name comes from the gold rush in the Sierra Nevada, was inaugurated in 1937, is 2.6 km long and overhangs the bay by 67 m, it contains 1 million tons of steel and 129'000km of cables... 25 painters work all year long to renovate it... The purpose of the paint is indeed to protect the steel from rust facilitated by the salt contained in the air & the color is called international orange (Pantone 180)... So much for the official info! You can cross the bridge on foot, by bike or by car... (beware of the toll if you enter SF)... but for me the walk towards Crissy Field with a view on the bridge is more fun than the crossing itself. To get to the Golden Gate Bridge from downtown, take the 28 bus, it's the closest to the bridge, then if you're lucky, try to find an electric scooter and you're free!

Apple Park... Marc being literally a big FAN of Apple... we couldn't avoid making a small detour to Cupertino, to go to the visitor center of Apple Park and be as close as possible to the Apple world: virtual visit, apple store, café, panoramic terrace.

In 3 days there are obviously many things and places that we did not have time to see... here is our little list for a next visit...

The climb of the Coit Tower early in the morning to avoid the queue and to enjoy a great view of all SF
A guided night visit to Alcatraz to feel the chills again
A walk to the Marine Headlands to see the Golden Gate Bridge & San Francisco from the other side of the bay, it is said to be the most beautiful view in SF
The Catsro, SF's gay district
Here is an overview of this magnificent city, the most European of the USA... now let's hit the road to the west...

DAY 4 • Groveland

[ 198 miles • 4h00 via Cupertino ]

Groveland, a small village with a typical American Wild West look... Arrived at the end of the day with the last rays of sun on Main Street & after a short walk in the little town... We chose the Iron Door Saloon to soak up a little more of the local atmosphere... The saloon is the oldest in California, has original steel doors to protect the inhabitants from a possible fire and the ceiling is covered with banknotes stuck in projectiles mode... We feel good there and the meat is delicious... this road trip in the west starts very well... We stayed just next door in the very very charming Groveland Hotel... a lovely surprise!

This small village is ideally located on the west side of Yosemite Park. Our basic itinerary would have led us to discover Yosemite on day 5 & cross the Sierra Nevada via the Tioga Pass (3031m). Unfortunately, the pass was still closed when we passed through (it opened the following weekend... lack of boll)... we had to, with a lot of regret, bypass Yosemite and take the Sonora Pass... to reach Lee Vining! You will find all the access information below.

You will find practical information about access & roads on the website of National Parc Service.

DAY 5 • Lee Vining

[ 215 miles • 4h30 via Sonora pass ]

Even if we had to change our itinerary because of the winter closure of the Tioga pass... the Sonora pass was a very nice mountain road to pass the Sierre Nevada... With beautiful granite landscapes.

Arrived on the other side of the Sierre Nevada, we made a small detour by Bodie State Historic Park... a mining town frozen in the time of the gold rush... we are in the GOLDEN GATE STATE!!!

We decided to sleep in Lee Vining to enjoy the sunrise on the Mono Lake... so, to spend a nice evening in this very small village without much soul, go to Epic Café where the welcome with a strong accent ("soup or salad" or "super salad"... ???), the garden and the dishes are at the top...

The Mono lake is a salt lake with a salt content 2,5 times higher than the oceans... The particularity of this lake are the numerous limestone formations which rise above the level of the lake...They are called tuff towers... Go early in the morning and to the south of the lake to see the most beautiful landscapes and walk through all these tufs :)

On the way to Death Valley... a short stop at the Hot Creek geological site: hot springs, fumaroles and turquoise waters. We also wanted to discover the Devils Postpile National Monument, 60 m high basalt columns, but they were still closed for the winter when we visited at the end of May.

DAYS 6 & 7 • Death Valley

[ 228 miles • 4h00 via Hway 395, 136 & 190 ]

Here are the great desert landscapes... the valley of death... arriving from Lee Vining, after the fork in the Hway 136, the landscape starts to change drastically to leave place to the desert and a burning heat! Moreover the road goes up and down... The car sometimes shows some signs of weakness...

Little advice: don't forget to take a lot of water!

Our Hotel, Furnace Creek Resort, is located in the very center of Death Valley with all the "attractions" only a few miles away. Small plus of this hotel with a colonial style, the swimming pool... welcome in the middle of the day when the temperatures are not bearable otherwise. Indeed, to make the most of your stay in Death Valley, you should plan to get up early to enjoy the magnificent morni

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes... A nice walk through the dunes... (yes, Tracy has a fascination for the dunes... that's how Marc was convinced to come and get hot!) to be done preferably in the morning to avoid the heat that rises very quickly!
Artist's Palette... Here we feel like at the Color Run... Colorful spots on the ground and on the sides of the mountain... Green, purple, pink & turquoise... It's crazy what nature can offer us as a show! To get there, make a 15km loop from Badwater road... Ideally to do at the end of the day to have the sun rays on all these colors!
Badwater Road... Hway 178 to go to have access to different viewpoints, it's a very beautiful road & even more when the storm threatens...
Badwater... The lowest point of the USA at -84m below sea level... here it can be very very hot, a real furnace... The salt marsh is not as beautiful as in Uyuni in Bolivia, but the landscape is still worth the trip... It is best to do it at the end of the day (but be careful with the heat) to have a better exposure to the sun... because we were there in the morning and the basin was still in the shade.
Zabriskie Point... A magnificent point of view to be done at sunrise to see the formations light up one after the other...

DAY 8 • Springdale via Las Vegas

[ 118 miles • 2h10 Las Vegas + 163 miles • 2h45 Springdale ]

Direction Zion national park... but on the way, we couldn't miss Las Vegas... Honestly we were not excited to spend time in Las Vegas in the middle of our road trip in the nature... But the extravagance of the place was in fact fascinating... Not to be missed: the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign, the Bellagio hotel, the Paris Las Vegas & of course playing at the casino... After this day, we would have liked to add a night in Las Vegas to discover it in light ... At the Bellagio of... Next time!