Easy Ride on a Coach around the Western USA Part 3 - The Coastal Route

Death Valley in the backyard of Las Vegas is below sea level

The first thing you notice outside the Las Vegas man-made metropolis is the vast nothingness of the desert. Miles and miles of scrubby bushes interlaced with sand, rocks and gravel. We were in an air-conditioned luxury coach and grateful for being spared from the searing heat. It was also nice to have a tour guide like Joan who was so devoted to her group of beady eyed tourists. Today we head for the desert, the rocks and heat of Death Valley.

During the trip on the bus to Death Valley  Joan told us all about the Roswell incident near area 51 and the nuclear experimentation and testing that took place a few decades ago. So by the time we reached this barren wasteland we were all very excited and took lots of photos of the hot rocks and sand (probably in the hope of shooting an alien or a foreign object or entity that nobody could explain). How did all that alien trash get there and what was it made of? 

Area 51 home to aliens, the Roswell incident and nuclear testing

 Death valley is as hot as hell and people died trying to cross the desert

We walked up to the viewing site at Death Valley and embraced the vastness of the lonely wastelands. Earlier pioneers who tried to reach the Californian coast via a shorter route through this desert died here because they could not find any food or water to sustain them. We took photos and returned to the air-conditioned bus for a drink of water and a snack. Joan explained about the borax mining that used to be a lucrative source of income for the area. Borax is a mineral that comes from volcanic regions and has a crystalline almost glass like structure. We use it at home to kill cockroaches or as a household cleaner to enhance the effects of dish washing liquid. It is obviously wonderful for cleaning glass and is used industrially for paint, textiles, ceramics and other products.  In Death Valley you can have a game of golf at the lowest depression on earth at Furnace Creek. A mere 56 meters below sea level. This small oasis provides lush emerald green fairways that are nourished by an underground aquifer. We enjoyed the Museum of Natural History at the visitors center and continued on our journey.

We reach the Sierra Nevada mountains and head for Mammoth Lakes

The Mammoth Lakes are housed in the craters of extinct volcanoes high up in the Sierra Nevada mountains. We spent a chilly night in Alpine chalets that double up as a ski resort in winter. We flew over this area on the way over from the North Pole and I took pictures from the air, including the crater lakes and the Sierra Nevada mountain range. So nine days after leaving Cape Town we arrived at Mammoth at a chilly altitude of over 2 600 meters  from 60 meters below sea level in the heat of Death Valley.

The Yosemite National Park

Yosemite is the oldest national park and is one of the most popular places for both winter and summer holidays. Americans love to pack up and travel to places like this in their mobile homes or Recreational Vehicles as they are called. The steep white granite walls of El Capitan are majestic and the atmosphere is pristine. A resonance you can sense from ancient crystals as you stand on domes of rock, surrounded by pine and cedar trees. The air is fresh and the lakes are deep and cold. But they reflect the warm sunshine, the autumn colours and the towering monoliths in a friendly way. A few tame deer parade in front of the camera for us, followed by squirrels and blue birds.

Modesto is a typical modern Californian Town with a gigantic Wal-Mart store, supermarkets and a lot of restaurants. A boring, regular middle class hangout on the main highway to the coast. But this is where most of the agricultural produce is grown, on a flat plain that is divided into fields of fruit trees, nut trees and vegetable patches. I also took pictures of it from our aircraft when we flew in from over the North Pole. Down below it looked like a sprawling checkerboard of precise, neat patches of green and brown. The terrain is flat and hopelessly drought stricken by the prolonged Californian drought. Some of the fruit trees were dead. They need rain!

San Fransisco with flowers in my hair

I picked a gardenia at the hotel and wore it in my hair. We baby boomers remember the hippie era, the love rallies and gay times that put San Francisco on the map. We enjoyed taking pictures of the Golden Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf and the exquisite Victorian style architecture. The Holiday Inn where we stayed had been refurbished and the business-like interior was efficient, clean and comfortable. All the gadgets worked! The view from the 21st floor provided constant entertainment with spectacular sunsets and night life. We were woken by a gentle pink sunrise the next morning. Fitness is an advantage when the street levels rise and dip at steep angles. Some of the upward stretches were more strenuous than any stepping machine at the gym. What made it more exciting was the countdown timer at every pedestrian crossing - 5 seconds or less it took to race over the tram tracks to the other side. We took our own picnic along and spent a happy day doing our own thing with no particular agenda. Here are the places we visited:

The tram station museum

Our first surprise was the trams charging up the steep hills, loaded with excited tourists who paid over R 90 for the thrill of riding around the streets. Nope, not with our tight budget but we took plenty of pictures. We stumbled upon the transport museum and found out how these trams and trolleys run. The trams are driven by an underground system of cables and pulleys. The museum is actually the original working station for the trams that are still running. Here you can see all the machinery at work. In the viewing gallery underground huge steel wheels and cables are driven by engines in a ghostly cavern - like something out of science fiction.

Chinatown - cheap clothes and gifts and loads of fresh fruit and vegetables 

We could see a small section of the Bay Bridge bridge from our hotel window, way in the distance. Chinatown was somewhere down there, on the way to downtown San Francisco with its the modern skyscrapers. Along the way we kept stopping to take pictures of the beautiful Victorian facades of the apartment buildings. Many exquisite examples of this period of architecture are well preserved and many of them have miraculously escaped the ravages of earthquakes and fires. We were told that the term "Bay Window"originated in San Francisco as residents of these houses wanted a view of the bay and hence projected the windows out from the walls.  Chinatown is characterized by fruit and vegetable shops and cheap mass produced clothing that smells of plastic and synthetics. Little Chinese people scurry up and down the streets where there are feeding frenzies at the eating stalls along the pavements. Eat as much Dim Sum as you like for a few dollars. Then quaff down a cardboard carton of Chop Sui, like they do in the movies. Chinese love their traditional food, based on fresh meat, vegetables and rice. Here in Chinatown food is cheap and abundant. Uncle McDonald is not welcome here and these people are not like the super sized blubbery blimps we have seen elsewhere. I was delighted by their selection of sweet potatoes. The red sweet potato is what I used for my studies on progesterone boosting as a way to alleviate menopausal issues. No shortage here, and what a selection of these root vegetable for enjoying at just about every meal. 

Downtown skyscrapers and the piers.

There is a connection to eating habits and the way you look and feel. Especially as you get older. Sooner or later a steady intake of starches, sugars and fats to the exclusion of fresh fruit, vegetables and lean protein will take over and manifest as morbid obesity and what we call "syndrome X". But in San Francisco people have a keener leaner mindset and a leafy lunch followed by a workout along the pier or in a nearby park is a popular option. We saw many examples of the greening of the dinner plate in this area. A welcome change to the Golden Arches and the stench of old cooking oil.

At the waterfront the old pier warehouses have been renovated and now they provide unique accommodation for offices, design studios and food markets. There is an abundance of fresh organic produce, locally grown in the fertile coastal agricultural areas of California. We sampled olives, olive oil, a variety of unique mushrooms and delicious pickles and preserves. But no preservatives! A gluten-free specialist stall provided all the ridiculously expensive and often not so healthy alternatives to wheat products. But to any gluten-free vegan green bunny, this place is heaven. People tuck into plates of salad and business corporations provide health incentives for their employees. The promote wellness and walk their talk.

Silicone Valley just outside of San Francisco

An efficient highway system heads out of the city and races towards the famous Silicon Valley, Who was to know that it was such a beautiful hilly area abundantly wooded with trees and shrubs. So this is the home of computer technology: Microsoft, Google, Facebook and Steve Job's Apples and applications. We flash past the turning to the famous Stanford University where people from all over the world come to study for IT degrees. Ironically, the greatest innovators like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs did not have any academic degrees. Genius is genius and no certificates are required, it seems. How pleasant this area is in a clean environment away from industrial pollution and grimy concrete. 

The Mysterious Death of Inger Stevens

Ingeborg was a Norse princess with a star crossed love life. Her name was the inspiration for Mr. and Mrs. Stensland to call their first born daughter Inger. Inger Stensland grew up to be a beautiful star crossed actress better know as Inger Stevens, whose dramatic death at a young age remains controversial even today. 

Inger was best known for her role as Katy Holstrum in the 1960’s television series The Farmer’s Daughter. It was a breakout role for Inger, leading to more high profile roles on screens large and small. Less well known was Inger’s string of impetuous love affairs with her leading men, which may have led to her sudden death on April 30, 1970.

 To understand her death it is best to start with her life, which began on October 18, 1934. Growing up in Stockholm, Sweden, Inger became attracted to acting after watching her father, Per Gustaf, perform the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in a local amateur production. 

Inger was the oldest and only daughter born to Per and his wife Lisbet. Inger had two younger brothers, Carl, and Peter, each born two years apart. Unfortunately for the children, both parents deserted them. When Inger was four her mother abandoned the family for another man, returning only to take Peter with her, which upset the two remaining children even more. Inger and Carl lost their father when he moved to the United States when the Second World War started in 1940.

 Inger and Carl were left with the family maid. Eventually they were taken in by their aunt, Karin Stensland Junker, who was also an actress. By 1944 Per Stensland had an American bride and a job as a university teacher in New York City. He arranged for ten year old Inger and eight year old Carl to take a freighter from Sweden to America. 

The children, who knew no English, got off the boat in New Orleans. Their father was not there to greet them. Instead, the Salvation Army performed an act of mercy by taking the two frightened children to New York to reunite with their dad and to meet their step-mother. 

Inger and Carl were thrown into the New York public school system. Inger proved her competence and inner drive by learning English quickly, and so thoroughly that most movie goers thought she was American born: she had not even a trace of a Swedish accent. 

Despite her intelligence and will power, Inger felt frightened and lost. "I fit no where," she recalled. "I was awkward, shy, clumsy, ugly with freckles and had no chance of winning a beauty contest." Just as Inger and Carl started feeling comfortable, Per got a better teaching position at Kansas State University. In 1948 the family moved to Manhattan, Kansas. 

Feeling no love or support from her parents, fifteen year old Inger ran away from home. Hopping a bus to Kansas City, the girl who saw herself as ugly starred in burlesque shows for a tidy $60 a week. Per tracked his daughter down and dragged her back to Manhattan. Biding time for her next getaway, Inger participated in theater and glee club. She graduated high school in 1952, packed her bags and left town, eventually landing in New York City to pursue an acting career. 

Contrary to her poor self-image, Inger was strikingly beautiful, with natural blonde hair, fine facial features, and a graceful, natural manner. She partnered with advertising agent Anthony Soglio, who Americanized Inger’s last name from Stensland to Stevens, and got her in some TV commercials for detergents and cigarettes. Another break was being accepted into Lee Strasberg’s Actor’s Studio. Stevens joined a class that included Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, James Dean and Robert Redford. 

Rolling the dice, Inger married her agent in 1955. Inger and Tony Soglio had a successful business relationship, but their marriage was a disaster from the start. Tony was very jealous and possessive, and Inger was independent. They split up in January 1956. It was the beginning of a pattern for Inger: falling for men who were emotionally unavailable or abusive to her. When the relationships ended Inger felt like the abandoned little girl she once was. Then she would fall in love again. 

The next time was with a man old enough to be her father: Bing Crosby. Twenty two year old Inger won a supporting role in the 1957 MGM drama Man on Fire. Crosby, playing the male lead, was thirty years older than Stevens. The tabloids probably dramatized the situation by reporting that Stevens became suicidal when Crosby married another woman. Later Inger would become suicidal for real. 

She got positive reviews for Man on Fire. Now under contract with Paramount, Stevens got another plum role in 1958’s Cry Terror! Her performance as the wife of male lead James Mason won positive attention from critics. Oh, and she almost died. Stevens and several other cast members were overcome by carbon monoxide poisoning during filming. Inger was in an oxygen tent for two days before recovering. (It was her second brush with dramatic illness in a year. While filming Man on Fire Stevens was rushed to the hospital with acute appendicitis).

Then came a wannabe epic, The Buccaneer(also 1958).  Inger co-starred with heavyweights Yul Brynner and Charlton Heston. Despite the stars, and the influence of Cecil B. DeMilles, the movie fell flat, ending the directing ambitions of actor Anthony Quinn. Quinn's other ambition, to bed Stevens, was more successful. After shooting was over Quinn returned to his wife, leaving Inger alone and depressed. Later she would remark, “When the cruise is finished the romance may linger, but the relationship seems to shift and change. You tell yourself you’ll never fall in love that way again, but it happens…” 

It happened with another married man, Harry Belafonte, the male lead in MGM’s The World, the Flesh and the Devil. Inger was the female lead. Nature ran its course, the two had a passionate romance, the movie ended, and Belafonte returned to his marriage. On New Year’s Day, 1959, Inger overdosed on pills and would have died but for the intervention of a friend who worried when Inger missed a social engagement and couldn’t be reached by phone. Later Inger called her suicide attempt was “stupid” and said she would never do it again.

 The 1960’s were Inger Steven’s most visible years as an actress and TV personality. She rebounded from unhappy affairs and a suicide attempt by refocusing on her craft and staying busy, always in the public eye either through movies, theatrical productions, commercials, or television series. 

In 1961, however, Stevens had another brush with death. She was vacationing in Europe when a plane she was in bounced off the runway in Lisbon, starting a fire that spread to the passenger cabin. Stevens was one of the last passengers off the plane, which then exploded. In her short life Inger had her full share of near death experiences. 

Speaking of death, Stevens starred in one of the most famous Twilight Zoneepisodes,“The Hitchhiker.” She played Nan Adams, a young woman trying to cheat death, as personified by the hitchhiker stalking her throughout the episode. It is a chilling story. Stevens portrays her character’s gradual awareness of her fate in a nuanced, gripping, and finally shattering performance. 

In 1962 Stevens played opposite Peter Falk in a stand alone episode called "The Price of Tomatoes," which aired on The Dick Powell Show. Inger was a pregnant Romanian girl evading immigration police, and Falk was the truck driver who befriended her. The show was so well done Stevens and Falk were both nominated for Emmy awards. 

The television show Stevens is most remembered for, however, was The Farmer’s Daughter, a network situation comedy that aired from 1963 to 1966. Stevens had to relearn her Swedish accent to play the role of Katy Holstrum, governess to Glen Morley, a widowed politician played by William Windom - one of the few leading men Stevens did not have an affair with. Windom later described Stevens as “a woman with many secrets.” Only after her death would the truth of that statement fully penetrate.