We continue our journey north via the Olympic Highway, Goldfields Way and Newell Highway.

Silky oaks were common in town and in paddocks around Gerogery.

Morning commercial flights – vapour trails.

Impressive old building at a small town called The Rock. It is named after a prominent local peak, The Rock. I just call it Dwaynejohnsonville.

Old shopfronts in The Rock

Kurrajongs (Brachychiton populneous) in the main street.

The Rock (rock) – zoomed image from The Rock (town).

Kurrajong flowers in trees on the outskirts of town.

Kurrajong seed pod

The Rock

Trail at The Rock

The Quinty Bakery in Uranquinty is just south of Wagga Wagga and highly rated. We had lovely fresh salad there.

These cows look like they were also in need of a good feed.

Everlasting “paper” daisies growing in masses beside the highway.

Most had gone to seed…..

…but not all.

Temora  Post Office – this is a very mail dominated workplace.

Paleface Adios was a champion pacer locally known as the “Temora Tornado”. He was the winner of 108 races in the 1970s and was also a very successful sire. Paleface Adios was the best known of many outstanding pacers which have made the Temora district famous as a centre for Australian Harness Horse Racing.

Temora also honours its sporting heroes at Paleface Park.

Parkes is named after Henry Parkes, father of Federation in Australia. Henry was a great orator so I took a lesson and gained a few tips from him. One of Henry’s quotes, “In one hand I have a dream, and in the other I have an obstacle. Tell me, which one grabs your attention?”

Parkes has a huge Elvis Festival every January drawing crowds from all around Australia and overseas. This is the organising centre. Many of these fans refer to Elvis as “The King.”

Over the road is a Christian Bookshop with a different opinion.

Elvis is also immortalised with this statue in Parkes.

Elvis wisdom

“Thank ya, thank ya very much.”

After all that gyrating, Elvis’s back went into spasm. “Oh…my back! I’m off to the physiotherapist ….. I’m all shook up!”

Spaceman in Parkes – in recognition of the radio telescope outside town that monitored Apollo missions to the moon and referenced in the movie, “The Dish”. I asked if he had been to the moon and he replied, “Yes, Neil before me!”

The spaceman was over the moon when this lovely woman entered his orbit.

A few smart Alecs in this town.

The Dish visible from the highway.

Wheat harvesting

The Peak Hill Mine Experience

Two old prospectors – if they were any tougher, they’d rust….oh, they did.

Open cut mine at Peak Hill Open Cut Gold Mine. Gold was discovered at Peak Hill in 1889. Peak Hill contains large masses of iron, ferruginous quartz and quartzite.

Plant growing on the old tailings.

Paper daisies

Callitris

The mine ceased production and was closed in 2002. Original gold workings date back to 1890s.

Ominous warning on a wall as we were leaving….“don’t come here at night.”

So what did we do late in the day? We went to the local cemetery.

Peak Hill Cemetery – we came to pay our respects to Frances Wallace, a direct ancestor of our family; my wife’s great great grandmother.

On to Dubbo for the night. We has a good Thai dinner before a visit to the main street. This is the historic Dubbo Jail.