Cable workings

As promised, here is the guff about the workings of the cable trams.

Cables for the tram run continuously underground. The 'grip man' uses a lever to engage with the cable. At intersections, where cables cross, he has to release and regrip. He also has brakes.

The cables come into the cable house from the various routes and wind about these powered wheels. 

These sheaves in the wheel house are not powered but guide the cable to where it needs to go, including around corners. 

Other underground sheaves are located as required to guide the cable and make it available for the trams, throughout the route. 

The cable tram network was much more extensive but much of it was destroyed by fire and earthquake at different times. The remnant routes are used by a few locals as transport but their main purpose is tourism.

Trolley busses powered by overhead electricity run on rails in other parts of the city. These restored examples can be caught at Fisherman's Wharf. Other more modern trolley busses operate elsewhere.

Trams

Maybe you can take the girl out of Melbourne but not the Melbourne out of the girl.  I have such a fond feeling for trams and I loooove the cable variety of San Francisco. The trams themselves are cute, the hills they navigate are, to stay the least, spectacularly steep, and the mechanism behind their operation boggles my mind. It is the last manually operated cable tram in operation in the world.

It is hard to show how steep the streets are but if you straighten out the street, the buildings lean more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The trams fly down the hills and the conductor applies the back brakes to slow the tram, but not by much!

And of course, there is Lombard Street, the crookedest street in the world. If you look carefully you can see all the cars winding down through the hydrangeas. The residents pay a couple of guys to keep order and amuse the gawkers.

Back to the trams.

The trams are turned by hand on a wooden turntable

The trams have no motors of their own, but a mechanism which grips a cable running below the road. For some reason, Blogger thinks I have included enough photos. So I will have to show you the workings of the trams in the next post! 

Some Californian Giants

The coastal redwoods of California once covered many of the hills around San Francisco. They are slow growing and the timber they yield is hard and extremely durable. These characteristics led them to be logged extensively.  If you drive over the Golden Gate bridge and for about 45 minutes north  you will find the Muir Woods. In a sheltered valley, you can walk through old-growth forest. It is truly the land of the giants and is so significant it has been declared a National Monument. 

Enormous in height and girth, they are quite shallow rooted and would make a mighty noise when they fall. California has a small rainfall, these trees, rely on the coastal fogs which roll in from the sea and are able to absorb moisture through their leaves. 

It is sobering to think that the many bald hills traversed on the way to Muir wood, would have been covered with these colossal trees.

Too small to read, the labels on this cross section of a log which fell in 1930,  indicates it was 'born' in 909 AD and has various events marked.  Interestingly only the bottom four, near to the edge of the circle,  occurred after european settlement. 

Who has the tallest trees?

Redwoods are often awarded the title of the largest trees in the world, and they are. They are conifers, meaning they are non-flowering. However, Australia can lay claim to the largest flowering trees - mountain ash in Tasmania. 


My bucket list isn't very long, because having an actual list can limit one's experiences. I like to see what comes along and then act on it. However, there are a couple of things I hunger to see. One is to see water on Uluru (I came pretty close a few weeks back and I am still hopeful) and another is to see the salmon running in northern America. Apparently, the quiet meandering stream in Muir Woods becomes a torrent at a certain time of the year and the salmon swim upstream to spawn and die. A month or so later, the trout do the same.  I hope I have the chance to tick off both of these.

Fog City

Yesterday, San Francisco lived up to its title of Fog City. There were clouds and then there was the fog, rolling in from the ocean.

A slice of the deck of the Golden Gate Bridge.

If you are planning a trip to San Francisco and wish to tour Alcatraz. Book on line before you come.

View of the city from the ferry on the way to Sausalito.

But the real business of Fisherman's Wharf goes on, unaffected by visibility.

Right on the footpath, these steaming crabs had been cooked in a boiling vat and were cooling in ice.

These guys were taped but alive, waiting for their fate.

It was fun to watch this Japanese family haggling over their crab.  Which one? How much? The vendor, gave a price for
the live crab (based on weight), and agreed to serve it with salad and chips. He clinched the deal by also offering  seafood  chowder. Deal!

And, like Disneyland, the cleanup crew wear spotless white uniforms.

Walt's dream.

Walt Disney's dream of a perfect, happy place lives on. The rides, streetscapes, buildings, characters and various 'lands' are what you experience. But what I notice is the attention to detail. In each land,  the plants, balustrades, signage, buildings, pavings, light posts, and costumed staff all combine to create atmosphere and transport a visitor to another place and time.

Balustrade on the Matterhorn ride with a definite Swiss atmosphere.

The 'alpine meadow' on the Matterhorn Ride.

This is my favourite! A recreation of the desert in Radiator Springs, home to the Cars Ride. Note the plantings. That mountain range in the background and all the rocks are fake. They are huge and three dimensional.

Even the rubbish bins change.

Generic bin at the entrance to the theme parks.

Toon Town, Disneyland

New Orleans Square, Disneyland

Tomorrow Land, Disneyland

Main Street, Disneyland

The Matterhorn, Disneyland

Main Street, California Adventure

Radiator Springs, California Adventure

Pacific Wharf, California Adventure

Paradise Pier, California Adventure

The whole place is amazingly well-maintained. There is no peeling paint, no broken or worn parts. Both Disneyland and California Adventure Parks are immaculate because they are attended by an army of men and women wearing spotless white uniforms. They empty bins, wipe up spills and swoop to sweep up the tiniest bit of rubbish and even errant leaves.

I didn't see a single gardener while I was there, but evidence of their work was everywhere. Check out the precise edge between this lawn and garden bed.

I must say the Americans do 'fake' really well. Have you ever been to Las Vegas? 

La, La Land

A few shots of the Qantas A380 that flew us here so smoothly.

Gotta love a plane with a spiral staircase!

Only in Hollywood are you going to find such a specialised museum.  I reckon I qualify for, at least an honourable mention, but apparently not, so I am boycotting them!

The flow has me on the go!

There is a popular saying, that if you see the Todd River in Alice Springs flow three times you will never leave. Well it has flowed twice during my current visit so lucky I'm heading home.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the nature of australian outback rivers, they are mostly dry, flowing only a few times a year. The sandy river beds, edged by magnificent ghost gums and grasses look so welcoming, many a traveller has fallen for the temptation to camp there. The danger is, that the rivers are prone to flash floods and it may be from a rain event many kilometres upstream.  The latest flow in the Todd surprised locals as there had been no rain in Alice Springs before it occurred.

Because the Todd River is usually dry, a local service club runs an annual 'boat' race in Alice Springs called the Henley on Todd, featuring bottomless boats powered by runners.

Water in the Todd is such a novelty, that people go out of their way to have a look.

Some, otherwise very sensible people, allow their small children and dogs to go crazy in the water. 

Roads may be closed

But some people will just not take no for an answer.

I do feel very fortunate to have seen this rather rare phenomenon of the outback. It was, however, enough to have me packing my bags and heading south. From the blue skied outback to cold, wintery Melbourne.

Don't go far, Dear Reader, I am off to the United States in a few days. I know this is a blog about my travels around Australia, but I may have the time and inclination to write the odd post from the other side of the ditch.  Then, I am on a road trip up the centre of Australia, back to Alice Springs for another extended visit. Please do come along and tell your friends!

Horizons # 8

The Gap, from atop Meyers Hill, Olive Pink Botanic Gardens, Alice Springs.

Alice stinks!

There is a heady, gaseous odour throughout Alice Springs at the moment. One could be forgiven for calling in a tradie to check one's appliances or for blaming last night's boiled cabbage. The smell was even a topic for talkback radio last week. However, there is no need for concern it is just the acacia cambagei. This tree endemic of Australia is found in semiarid areas throughout various states. It is commonly know as the gidgee, stinking wattle, or stinking gidgee.  In the dry, red soil areas such as those around Alice Springs it occurs naturally along waterways and in depressions in the soil or, as in this example, as a street planting.

It may be stinky, but it's pretty with typical wattle foliage and flowers.

On the street near the Alice Springs library.

Alice is electric

Here's something I haven't seen before, electrical outlets on all the power poles in the Todd Mall in the middle of Alice Springs. They are utilised by the stall holders at the fortnightly market but are available to all.