July 2004 Study Tour

Wednesday 28th July to
Monday 2nd August

A unique group of 44 are embarking on a spectacular 8,000 km journey of North America. We have the usual amazing array of modified genetic organisms (people) on tour. Isn’t nature wonderful? We are learning of the adventuresome Beeck’s, the skilled yarns of Daniel Morgan, the keen mind of Bec Ifould, the politeness of John Doncon, the great people skills of Zoe Fulwood and the willingness of David Cook to pre-empt problems. Not to mention the great energy of Jim – our bus driver!

The people on tour, are listed below and in the order of their state. There are 23 from WA, 10 from SA, 7 from Vic and 4 from NSW. They are; Gavin and Jodie Beeck, Gordon and Sheryle Browne, Arlie and Robin Carter, Bill Crabtree, Bill and Maureen Dickson, Zoe Fulwood, Jeff and Mary Kelly, Bill and Janet Robinson, Roger and Charlotte Fletcher, Robert Jefferies, Peter Lynch, Rodney Allen, Brad Starcevich, John Doncon, Joe and Charlotte Della Vedova, Andrew and Annette Cass, Alistair and Bec Ifould, Daniel Morgan, Paul Simmons, Clinton Tiller, Nigel Wilhelm, Neville and Debbie Will, Paul Anderson, Greg and Carolyn Gason, Mark and Leiticia Harmer, John Alexander, David Cook, Jim Laycock, Graeme Mason and Peter and Nelke Wiencke. Most of us put a mark on a map (see below) while in Texas.

We were amazed by LA’s Venice Beach and the Santa Monica Pier. The muscle-building bodies, out in the open air, were a curious site, and serious basketballers in the setting sun, the 64 half-court tennis players in view of the surfers, sailors and the hundreds of beach-front stores. See http://www.venicebeach.com/. Amongst all this were the painters, singers, beggers and other unique people – an unforgettable experience!

See http://www.santamonicapier.org/. Perhaps the two saddest thing were the smog that spoiled the view and the sweet and fatty food. Just give me some fresh fruit and veges! Don’t worry Monique I have been good—only one icecream so far.

Disneyland and Universal Studios did not disappoint us - but it was either one or the other! The famous names on the street foot-stones on Hollywood Boulevard and the overwhelming feeling of too many choices and limited time had us all in a spin. There were some great characters to be photographed next to. But we soaked up what we could.

Friday 30th July

We were pleased with the LA temperatures being in the mid-20°C max. But that changed today as we went to Las Vegas with 43°C and that only dropped to 34°C when I went to bed at 3:30 am. There was so much to see and do in Vegas, including Elton John who was performing and many other shows for A$100-300 per ticket.
See http://www.vegasinform.com/ .

The lights at night, down ‘The Strip’ were overwhelming and the water and light show, in the open street, was "wickid"! But we expect more thrills tomorrow with most of us choosing an aerial view of the Grand Canyon and a ground view as the sun set and a full moon rising in the Canyon. We are all well, happy and ‘stuffed’.

Saturday 31st July

The amount of electricity required to keep Vegas going is huge - a third of the power generated by the spectacular Hoover dam at the western end of the Grand Canyon. With gambling, I stood amazed as I witnessed someone blowing US$300 in a 1 minute game of poker!

The next day we headed for the Grand Canyon. Some 14 flew there and the rest went by bus. The bus group were held an hour in a traffic jam from a suspected fatal accident on Interstate #40. The canyon is breathtaking and the lightening show on dust was one of those magic moments in life. However, that night became our testing moment. Three things combined, firstly; we lost Paul Anderson who was the only one to follow the instructions as to where to meet, secondly; all the food places were full, and thirdly; we were all very tired from the late night at Vegas. Happily no-one said anything too silly.

Sunday 1st August

Half our group slept poorly, at Flagstaff, from the regular railway traffic. But it was great to eat normal cereal and OJ for breakfast. We were fascinated with the amazing red, yellow and cream coloured hills of the Petrified Forest and the broken chunks of tree trunks (petrified wood) lying on the soils surface in north-south direction – exposed by soil erosion. The gift shop had an incredible array of items for sale. The Petrified Forrest is now a desert, with perhaps 150 mm of annual rainfall, which was obviously filled with large trees in a distant past. This created some interesting comments about how these things came into being - we talked of the recorded event of a great flood.

The drive from Flagstaff to Santa Fe, through the desert, was a scenic pleasure with many interesting dry cliffs and hills confronting our view. The amazing speed limit of 75 mph with a 45 mph minimum speed limit was new to us and with lots of traffic on Interstate 40 & 25. This was the old Route 66! That evening, at Flagstaff, we had our first group dinner and slide show. The slides were a pick of everyone’s best digital photos and were projected onto a wall - what a laugh!

Monday 2nd August

Santa Fe, an art town, is nestled in the Rockies where snow and hunting recreational activities are popular in winter and fall. This causes land prices of the pastoral country to be inflated to US$1,000 per acre. It is hard to fathom why the houses in this ‘arty town’ area would have ‘Flintstone’ houses. The elimination of burning causes trees to invade the prairie, which lowers their watertable and consequently reduces the grass growth.

We enjoyed the knowledge of Consultant Kirk Gadzia who travelled with us to Adrian where farmer John Perrin entertained us. John, the Texan, showed us the importance of residue or stubble for wind and water erosion control in his windy environment. John has been no-tilling for 3 years in an area where no-till has yet to be realised for its power to fight drought in dry regions. John amazed us by hosting a sunset BBQ with 50 of his neighbours and friends. It was hard to say good-bye to them all. And it was interesting to see the Cadillac’s half buried in the sand.