Newbie from Ohio,USA

[SoCal Adv Tourer]

Doogle:

>Have you ever ridden Superstition Mountain, Ocotillo Wells, or Glamis?<
I drove my 4x4 to the top of the Superstition Mtn at night during a new moon to service VZW cell sites.... It is quite difficult to navigate at night with poor directions and no landmarks. I've ridden Ocotillo Wells and Anza Borrego State Park many times. I hope to visit Glamis this winter.

Returning to China...

I visited Zhangjiajie National Park in March. If you visit the area, I suggest making time for the local gondola ride and certainly consider motorcycling 99-bends road in the same area. There's a glass sky-walk at the top which provides great views.

"It also has the world’s longest cable car ride, which takes 30 minutes to travel 7km and concludes with an incredibly steep 37-degree drop. Passengers look down across the forest-covered valley and can see the notorious 99 bends road – a winding mountain route leading to Tianmen cave, a gaping hole in a rock wall, better known as Heaven’s Door."

Chengdu is also a nice city to attend a Sichuan Opera.

"Sichuanese Opera is big in Chengdu and a good introduction to this beautiful art might be at the Shufeng Yayun Teahouse, which offers a mix of performances that can be easily understood even if you have never been introduced to this type of Opera or if you don’t speak Chinese. Face changing performance, comedy, fire-spitting, those acts are a real treat that you will enjoy."

Also, if you visit the Chengdu region, please consider Jiuzhaigo National Park or Nature Reserve. (Reference links below.) The local minorities provide a really nice lamb BBQ with alcohol, live traditional minority music within very decorative dining hall. It is a fun experience. Be careful....The local minority women may have more than one husband. The young ladies at the BBQ were quite frisky, so watch your six o'clock!<g>

Dive in... the research is half the fun.

Cheers!

David
(In general, plan to arrive very early at most tourist attractions, especially national parks. Lines will be long.)

https://www.google.com/search?q=Tian...HacWCWsQsAQILA

https://www.google.com/search?q=jiuz...CeDI4Q_AUIBygC

https://www.google.com/search?q=chen...Ha_lBooQsAQIGQ

https://www.google.com/search?q=chen...IBigB&dpr=1.25