We chose a remote border crossing which had just opened two days prior and we were one of the first through it so the guards had to "grill" us before coming across. We passed and made it through. This area of Montana was pretty desolate and we did not see another vehicle until we hit the entrance to Glacier National Park. We did run into some wild horses though.
We rolled into St. Mary and stopped to replenish our supplies because we were going to spend a couple of nights camping in Glacier and our stock from our Costco run in Seattle had run low. I remember what it was like shopping in Kauai on a Wednesday and all the shelves were bear because the barge was due into town, but this store in St. Mary took the cake. We walked in and the entire area where vegetables, fruit and meat should have been stocked, it was completely empty, and I mean completely. If you needed anything more than chips, soda or beer you were in trouble. Thank God that is all we needed!! We were going to have to improvise for our dinners. Good thing I am the expert on 30 second meals. (amazing what we have been able to concoct with our jar of Pesto).
As we headed into the Park we visited with the Park Ranger to get some info on the trails and camping. She informed us that the Road to the Sun from the East Entrance to the West Entrance was not completely open due to over 75 feet (not inches but feet) of snow still on Logan's Pass. They would not be dug out until July. She did give us the names of a few trails which were open for hiking and the open campgronds. Being so early in the season not all the trails or campgrounds are open mainly due to too much snow. We found a great little hike to some waterfalls and as we were coming off the trail we ran into a group of skiers/hikers who hiked up one of the routes and then skied and snowboarded down it. We were jealous.
We needed to decide which end of the Park we were going to camp because it was getting late. We decided to stay on the East Side and enjoy the sunset so we set up camp at St. Mary's primitive campgrounds. (Primitive means no running water). No worries because we landed the most picturesque campsites known to man. We paid $200 for our view at Chateau Lake Louise but this $10 a night view at Glacier National Park may have topped it. Okay I'll admit our air mattress was not quite as nice as the king sized bed. But all else being equal this was a better deal.
This campground was set up to be "bear proof", special garbage cans, special bins for food storage and all campers had to abide by the strict rules of "bear proofing" their sites or be subject to a fine. We had our "pepper spray and big hunting knife" in the tent with us. With the sun staying up longer we had several hours to enjoy our view and hang out. The setting was so perfect and exactly what we were envisioning our trip would be like. We ended the evening watching the sunset and listening to Roby play his guitar. A picture out of a Rockwell Painting.
I somehow slept through the windstorm that night but we woke again to a perfect day. We did not want to leave our campsite so we prolonged it as long as we could and just sat in our Kukuiula camp chairs enjoyed the sunshine and read our books. Once lunchtime hit we headed to the West side of the park and checked out MacDonald Lake in the Apgar Village area and then headed up the other side of the Road to the Sun. We chose to do the hike to Avalanche Lake which was about 6 miles round trip but not too strenuous. It was one of the few trails open not completely covered in snow. Along the way we came across some great waterfalls and even ran into a deer. We came within 10 feet of it. It was just minding its own business chomping on the grass.
After the hike we decided to get on our bikes and continue up the Road to the Sun past the closed off area to vehicles. Having the road to ourselves, we enjoyed the views and saw some mountain goats and elk along the way. We were so psyched because we saw our first black bear!!
Having spent the majority of the day in the park it was too late to leave the park so we decided to camp another night but instead of a mountain view, we camped at the edge of MacDonald Lake. Not too shabby of a view. Due to our lack of food supplies, Roby tried to catch us some cutthroat trout but he was not too lucky. In fact it was probably the worst 30 minutes of fishing he has ever had. His line kept getting caught up in the rocks and debris he gave up. So we improvised and finished off the last of our spaghetti noodles and pesto sauce. After supper we settled in and read our books and enjoyed the evening. Unfortunately the weather turned on us that evening and we woke to quite a nice thunderstorm. Thankfully we have a good tent but our rainfly does not come all the way to the ground so the edges were catching some rain so we devised our plan on how we were going to break camp with the least amount of damage to our stuff. Fortunately we had to put everything away prior to going to sleep for "bear proofing" that we only had to focus on getting our sleeping gear and tent put away. We make a good team!!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
1st World Peace Park
May 17th 2009
The Icefield Parkway continued through to Banff and we did a quick detour through town and checked out the shops and the other "Chateau" but did not stay long. Our goal was to make it close to the border so we could head into Waterton/Glacier National Park. It is the 1st World Peace Park jointly owned by Canada and the United States. Unfortunately they both charge a separate entrance fee. We made it to Cardston Canada which is basically a blip on the map-a po-dunk border town, but they had a campground so we settled down for the night and were introduced to some blustterly 40 MPH Canadian winds. Thank God I didn't need to use the restroom in the middle of the night!!
As we woke the weather improved. We had a quick breakfast, broke camp and headed to the Park. On the Canadian side is the Waterton Park and of course it has a huge lake but also an area called Red Rock Canyon. Although not as spectacular as the Red Rock in Sedona it does have an area similar to Slide Rock, although no one gets in this water. It is also classified as a World Heritage site. We thought we would get a bike ride in at the park but we found out there is no bike riding on any trails in a National Park only on the designated roads. Also, the winds began to kick up again so we decided to cross the border and head to Glacier.
The Icefield Parkway continued through to Banff and we did a quick detour through town and checked out the shops and the other "Chateau" but did not stay long. Our goal was to make it close to the border so we could head into Waterton/Glacier National Park. It is the 1st World Peace Park jointly owned by Canada and the United States. Unfortunately they both charge a separate entrance fee. We made it to Cardston Canada which is basically a blip on the map-a po-dunk border town, but they had a campground so we settled down for the night and were introduced to some blustterly 40 MPH Canadian winds. Thank God I didn't need to use the restroom in the middle of the night!!
As we woke the weather improved. We had a quick breakfast, broke camp and headed to the Park. On the Canadian side is the Waterton Park and of course it has a huge lake but also an area called Red Rock Canyon. Although not as spectacular as the Red Rock in Sedona it does have an area similar to Slide Rock, although no one gets in this water. It is also classified as a World Heritage site. We thought we would get a bike ride in at the park but we found out there is no bike riding on any trails in a National Park only on the designated roads. Also, the winds began to kick up again so we decided to cross the border and head to Glacier.
5 star Living
With the nicer weather the views on the Icefield Parkway were even more incredible. The ice caves, frozen waterfalls and glaciers could be seen more vividly. In the summer they take these huge 4-wheeled drive buses out on the glaciers for tours. Three hours later we were in Lake Louise-an acclaimed World Heritage Site. Basically the townspeople live amongst the wildlife, much like Jasper but more so. We pulled up to the Chateau and I think the employees thought the Clampetts had arrived. The bellboy/valet wanted to help us with our luggage but we let him know it would be easier by ourselves. The truck was not a pretty site. Our bike clothes were strewn across our bags in the backseat trying to air out and it was not a pretty site to see or smell!! The truck is filled to the brim and it takes us a few minutes to decipher what is in there at times so we told the valet we would grab our own bags. He was more than willing to oblige.
As we walked into the Hotel, I felt like Cinderella before the Fairy Godmother came and turned her into a princess. I had on my hiking pants, ball cap and had not had a shower for a few days. But I guess our money was good enough for them and they let us in. Not only, but they upgraded us to a room with a view of the Lake. We were definitely styling. We decided to live it up for the night, no holds bar. We even got a bit of a show from our bedroom window-an avalanche on the glacier across from the Lake. A spectacular site to witness.
Our next order of business-a shower. No worrying on how long we took compared to the coin operated showers at the campground. We were going over 6 minutes whether they liked it or not. (but really 6 minutes is a long time for a shower we found out). Squeaky clean we put on our "fancy clothes" (synonym for clean jeans) we headed to the Tom Wilson Steakhouse. It was named after the first non-aboriginal who discovered Lake Louise and helped establish the town. I think we broke one of the commandments-gluttony. We had appetizers, dinners and dessert. Roby was wondering why it took us over 2 hours for dinner. We had visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads as we slept on the big warm comfy king sized bed. We did not have to wear our long underwear and fleece to keep ourselves warm this night.
We awoke to sunshine and a beautiful day. After a leisurely breakfast we took a tour with the in-house nature expert. He gave us the history of the hotel, Lake Louise and the climbing routes on Mt. Victoria and Mt. Fierd. To attract tourists, they sold the area as the only mountains which had not been summited. Europeans and Americans flocked to the area to be the first. An American doctor was so close but due to weather and darkness he miscalculated and fell to his death. At least he got an area named after him on the mountain called Abbott's Alley. A year later some Swiss climbers summited on the anniversary of his death to commemorate it. Not only is it a famous area for climbing but another tidbit of information-The Lake is one of the most photographed landscapes in the world. Very rarely do you see vast mountains come right down to a lake's edge. Just spectacular. Our photos do not do it justice and everyone needs to go. This being the first "long weekend" for Canada tons of tourist were out and about. The town normally has 1500 inhabitants but during peak season it swells to over 15,000.
After our tour it was unfortunately time to check out of our room. In fact we were a bit late getting back and our passkey did not work. We had to get the housekeeper to open our door. As we were leaving our "castle" and our fairy tale coming to an end, Roby was carrying the luggage to the car. He passed a young woman playing classical music on the harp in the lounge area and she saw that he was carrying a guitar with him. She stopped playing and turned to him and asked him if he wanted to "jam". He cracked a huge grin and said sure as he walked by. A perfect way to end our all "American Day".
As we walked into the Hotel, I felt like Cinderella before the Fairy Godmother came and turned her into a princess. I had on my hiking pants, ball cap and had not had a shower for a few days. But I guess our money was good enough for them and they let us in. Not only, but they upgraded us to a room with a view of the Lake. We were definitely styling. We decided to live it up for the night, no holds bar. We even got a bit of a show from our bedroom window-an avalanche on the glacier across from the Lake. A spectacular site to witness.
Our next order of business-a shower. No worrying on how long we took compared to the coin operated showers at the campground. We were going over 6 minutes whether they liked it or not. (but really 6 minutes is a long time for a shower we found out). Squeaky clean we put on our "fancy clothes" (synonym for clean jeans) we headed to the Tom Wilson Steakhouse. It was named after the first non-aboriginal who discovered Lake Louise and helped establish the town. I think we broke one of the commandments-gluttony. We had appetizers, dinners and dessert. Roby was wondering why it took us over 2 hours for dinner. We had visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads as we slept on the big warm comfy king sized bed. We did not have to wear our long underwear and fleece to keep ourselves warm this night.
We awoke to sunshine and a beautiful day. After a leisurely breakfast we took a tour with the in-house nature expert. He gave us the history of the hotel, Lake Louise and the climbing routes on Mt. Victoria and Mt. Fierd. To attract tourists, they sold the area as the only mountains which had not been summited. Europeans and Americans flocked to the area to be the first. An American doctor was so close but due to weather and darkness he miscalculated and fell to his death. At least he got an area named after him on the mountain called Abbott's Alley. A year later some Swiss climbers summited on the anniversary of his death to commemorate it. Not only is it a famous area for climbing but another tidbit of information-The Lake is one of the most photographed landscapes in the world. Very rarely do you see vast mountains come right down to a lake's edge. Just spectacular. Our photos do not do it justice and everyone needs to go. This being the first "long weekend" for Canada tons of tourist were out and about. The town normally has 1500 inhabitants but during peak season it swells to over 15,000.
After our tour it was unfortunately time to check out of our room. In fact we were a bit late getting back and our passkey did not work. We had to get the housekeeper to open our door. As we were leaving our "castle" and our fairy tale coming to an end, Roby was carrying the luggage to the car. He passed a young woman playing classical music on the harp in the lounge area and she saw that he was carrying a guitar with him. She stopped playing and turned to him and asked him if he wanted to "jam". He cracked a huge grin and said sure as he walked by. A perfect way to end our all "American Day".
Jazzed about Jasper
May 14th and 15th 2009
If the ride up the Icefield Parkway was any indication of how beautiful Jasper was going to be, we were in for a perfect trip. Check out this map-there are so many mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers and wildlife on this section of the parkway; it will blow your mind.
It is named one of the top ten most scenic drives in the world. It does not disappoint. On our ride up the parkway from Revelstoke to Jasper we encountered some weather issues. I guess you should expect snow in mid-May. The journey took us 6 hours to reach to the town of Jasper. We decided that due to the weather conditions we would not be camping in Jasper and decided on the "Swiss Chalet" hostel. (Chalet is being used loosely). We became intimate with our 40 hostel mates in our bunkroom. Thankfully no one snored!! Several of our housemates were from England and Australia. The English boys were enthralled with the guys from Holland and could not stop talking about how awesome they were because they were from Amsterdam. (the alcohol talking). The hostel had a big kitchen so everyone was able to do his/her own cooking. Roby and I made several good dinners. On the first full day the weather was not cooperating. We would get some sun sneaking through and then five minutes later it would start snowing, then the rain would come and then the hail. We were hoping to get on our mountain bikes but instead we decided to take a scenic driving tour of the area. Safer and drier. Of course once we got out and about the weather cleared. The number of lakes in the area is mind boggling, let alone the size of each one. The Maligne Lake also called Medicine Lake disappears at points due to the underground aquifers. The aboriginals thought it was a magical lake before they figured it out. Pyramid Lake is at the end of the road and has the perfect cabin lodge right on its banks. You get a unique perspective because many of the lakes are still frozen this time of year. We then headed into town and had a few beers at the Jasper Brewing Company and watched what else but hockey. Jasper is much bigger than Revelstoke and definitely has more of an Aspen feel to it whereas Revelstoke is more of a "locals" town. Definitely more money and tourism in Jasper, but it still has a quaint feel to it.
We were glad that we waited until our second day to test out the trails. The weather improved dramatically and we had the perfect riding weather-65 and sun. The hostel employees recommended the Old Fort Trail #9 which runs near what else but "Five Lakes". The trail had a great mixture of climbs and drop offs. Unlike the other forest trails in Washington where we had to maneuver around tree stumps and roots, we now were dodging big boulders. I am getting much better at riding the narrow wooden bridges across the rivers. Just keep your eyes focused on where you want to go and not where you are going (like in the water) and you will be fine.
After encountering quite a bit of wildlife in the middle of town (elk, bighorn sheep and deer)Roby strapped on his dive knife for his battle with the bears while we were on our ride. We put in a full day about 4 1/2 hours on the trail before we headed down the Icefield Parkway to Chateau Lake Louise. We had already checked out of the hostel so we whipped off our biking outfits at the trailhead on put on some "clean" clothes and headed to our 5 star rendezvous.
If the ride up the Icefield Parkway was any indication of how beautiful Jasper was going to be, we were in for a perfect trip. Check out this map-there are so many mountains, glaciers, lakes, rivers and wildlife on this section of the parkway; it will blow your mind.
It is named one of the top ten most scenic drives in the world. It does not disappoint. On our ride up the parkway from Revelstoke to Jasper we encountered some weather issues. I guess you should expect snow in mid-May. The journey took us 6 hours to reach to the town of Jasper. We decided that due to the weather conditions we would not be camping in Jasper and decided on the "Swiss Chalet" hostel. (Chalet is being used loosely). We became intimate with our 40 hostel mates in our bunkroom. Thankfully no one snored!! Several of our housemates were from England and Australia. The English boys were enthralled with the guys from Holland and could not stop talking about how awesome they were because they were from Amsterdam. (the alcohol talking). The hostel had a big kitchen so everyone was able to do his/her own cooking. Roby and I made several good dinners. On the first full day the weather was not cooperating. We would get some sun sneaking through and then five minutes later it would start snowing, then the rain would come and then the hail. We were hoping to get on our mountain bikes but instead we decided to take a scenic driving tour of the area. Safer and drier. Of course once we got out and about the weather cleared. The number of lakes in the area is mind boggling, let alone the size of each one. The Maligne Lake also called Medicine Lake disappears at points due to the underground aquifers. The aboriginals thought it was a magical lake before they figured it out. Pyramid Lake is at the end of the road and has the perfect cabin lodge right on its banks. You get a unique perspective because many of the lakes are still frozen this time of year. We then headed into town and had a few beers at the Jasper Brewing Company and watched what else but hockey. Jasper is much bigger than Revelstoke and definitely has more of an Aspen feel to it whereas Revelstoke is more of a "locals" town. Definitely more money and tourism in Jasper, but it still has a quaint feel to it.
We were glad that we waited until our second day to test out the trails. The weather improved dramatically and we had the perfect riding weather-65 and sun. The hostel employees recommended the Old Fort Trail #9 which runs near what else but "Five Lakes". The trail had a great mixture of climbs and drop offs. Unlike the other forest trails in Washington where we had to maneuver around tree stumps and roots, we now were dodging big boulders. I am getting much better at riding the narrow wooden bridges across the rivers. Just keep your eyes focused on where you want to go and not where you are going (like in the water) and you will be fine.
After encountering quite a bit of wildlife in the middle of town (elk, bighorn sheep and deer)Roby strapped on his dive knife for his battle with the bears while we were on our ride. We put in a full day about 4 1/2 hours on the trail before we headed down the Icefield Parkway to Chateau Lake Louise. We had already checked out of the hostel so we whipped off our biking outfits at the trailhead on put on some "clean" clothes and headed to our 5 star rendezvous.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Revelstoke Trail Rebels
Revelstoke Trail Rebels
Monday & Tuesday May 11-12, 2009
After driving for our mandatory 4 hours, we pulled into the Omak Motel for the night. No camping tonight. I needed a real bed after three nights under the stars. Unfortunately, this town exists solely for the rodeo so our choices for accommodations were limited. We became a bit concerned because the first two we passed looked condemned. We have definitely lowered our standards but camping seemed more hygienic than those two establishments. The town “drag” was coming to an end and our hopes of finding something were diminishing. I was resolving myself to having to camp another night. Lo and behold right before the highway entrance we saw a Days Inn and the Omak Motel. Both looked like they had been built in the last decade so we pulled into the parking lot. Visions of a warm soft bed and a hot shower were dancing in my head. Well, at least the shower was warm and I did not have to get up in the middle of the night with my “pedzel” light on and walk to the pit toilet. Although I did not sleep very well I still did not get out of bed until 9:00 am. Something about being retired!!! Therefore, our venture into Canada did not begin until noon because I had to get a load of laundry done and Roby had to practice his guitar. We have become quite adaptive to living on the road.
As we neared the border we realized we had to be consistent with our story if they asked us where we were from. That dilemma again. How do you explain that you don’t really have a home but have an Arizona mailing address and your driver’s license and vehicle tags are from Hawaii? We decided to make it easy and just tell them we were from Hawaii. Of course we had to recall our address just in case, which took us several minutes to remember. Thankfully it went smoothly with the border guard only asking us what was the abbreviation for Hawaii.
Once over the border it was like we had stepped into Wonderland. For the next forty miles we drove through the Okanagan Valley aptly named the wine country of Canada. We passed what seemed like hundreds of small vineyards and fruit orchards, not to mention huge lakes. I believe the entire ride to Revelstoke which took a good 6 hours was following a lake or river. They are definitely not lacking for water. If this was not enough the mountains make the Colorado Rockies look like “hills”. (sorry MaryKay). We stopped for a quick lunch at a park along a lake. There were so many parks and lakes; I can’t remember all their names. They had a park literally every 50 feet. In fact this entire region of Canada is a continuous National Park. Definitely an area we would recommend to anyone who wants to see spectacular scenery. However, I would advise to wait until at least late July or early August.
We arrived in Revelstoke early evening and ventured through town looking for a place to call home. It appears that camping in Canada is not going to work out for us. I am a real trooper but the weather has not been cooperating. 38 degrees at night is our limit and we were going to be hitting 32 and rain was expected. We definitely hit shoulder season so we had our pick of hotels. Although the dollar is up against the Canadian Dollar it is not that great. To our surprise the rooms at the Revelstoke Lodge (not really a lodge, more like a roadside motel-can you say Norman Bates) were very nice. The exterior was very deceiving. We finally got our soft fluffy king size bed for a mere $50. I made sure I was not going to lose out on a good night sleep so the Tylenol PM came out. Sweet Dreams!!!
That evening we went looking for a restaurant which turned out to be more difficult than expected. Many were closed and the few opened had no people in them. We decided on Emo’s a pizza parlor. We were hoping to catch the last half of the basketball game but forgot we were in Canada so the only thing on the TV’s was hockey. We got the scores off the internet when we returned to our room. We turned in early hoping to wake to blue skies and sun; okay we would settle for no rain. Noon arrived and we ventured out to Macpherson Mountain for a bike ride. The owner of the local bike shop recommended the area as the only spot ready for riding this time of year. We definitely caught the season a few months early, but we got lucky and the weather cooperated. For some reason every bike ride we do, our warm-up is always a huge hill. Thankfully it was mostly a jeep style road so plenty wide. At the top we ran into a “warming hut” used primarily by cross country skiers. Unfortunately we could not continue on the route due to too much snow on the trail. Yes, snow!! We turned around and found the second half of the single track trail –TNT to Black Forest- we wanted to catch at the top. In hindsight it was probably a good thing we did not do this single track from the top because it was hell but exciting. This ride has been the biggest challenge I have had on a mountain bike. This trail would even have been tough for our friend Troy who is an awesome rider. I spent a good part of the ride walking my bike. One section was so steep and tight I almost wasn’t able to even push my bike up it. You had to watch out for not only tree roots, branches, and stumps, but piles of snow strategically located at the bottom of downhills. Oh yea-don’t wear Teva shoes while mountain biking in Revelstoke in May. Needless to say this ride resulted in my first true biking injury. As I was expertly trying to avoid a tree stump with my bike I failed to see the large tree roots in the way. My bike tire washed out from under me. “knee meet tree stump/tree stump meet knee and then hip” I couldn’t have planned it any better-perfect head on contact just like two athletes hitting knees during a play. I am pretty proud of my double bruise and wear them with honor!!
Monday & Tuesday May 11-12, 2009
After driving for our mandatory 4 hours, we pulled into the Omak Motel for the night. No camping tonight. I needed a real bed after three nights under the stars. Unfortunately, this town exists solely for the rodeo so our choices for accommodations were limited. We became a bit concerned because the first two we passed looked condemned. We have definitely lowered our standards but camping seemed more hygienic than those two establishments. The town “drag” was coming to an end and our hopes of finding something were diminishing. I was resolving myself to having to camp another night. Lo and behold right before the highway entrance we saw a Days Inn and the Omak Motel. Both looked like they had been built in the last decade so we pulled into the parking lot. Visions of a warm soft bed and a hot shower were dancing in my head. Well, at least the shower was warm and I did not have to get up in the middle of the night with my “pedzel” light on and walk to the pit toilet. Although I did not sleep very well I still did not get out of bed until 9:00 am. Something about being retired!!! Therefore, our venture into Canada did not begin until noon because I had to get a load of laundry done and Roby had to practice his guitar. We have become quite adaptive to living on the road.
As we neared the border we realized we had to be consistent with our story if they asked us where we were from. That dilemma again. How do you explain that you don’t really have a home but have an Arizona mailing address and your driver’s license and vehicle tags are from Hawaii? We decided to make it easy and just tell them we were from Hawaii. Of course we had to recall our address just in case, which took us several minutes to remember. Thankfully it went smoothly with the border guard only asking us what was the abbreviation for Hawaii.
Once over the border it was like we had stepped into Wonderland. For the next forty miles we drove through the Okanagan Valley aptly named the wine country of Canada. We passed what seemed like hundreds of small vineyards and fruit orchards, not to mention huge lakes. I believe the entire ride to Revelstoke which took a good 6 hours was following a lake or river. They are definitely not lacking for water. If this was not enough the mountains make the Colorado Rockies look like “hills”. (sorry MaryKay). We stopped for a quick lunch at a park along a lake. There were so many parks and lakes; I can’t remember all their names. They had a park literally every 50 feet. In fact this entire region of Canada is a continuous National Park. Definitely an area we would recommend to anyone who wants to see spectacular scenery. However, I would advise to wait until at least late July or early August.
We arrived in Revelstoke early evening and ventured through town looking for a place to call home. It appears that camping in Canada is not going to work out for us. I am a real trooper but the weather has not been cooperating. 38 degrees at night is our limit and we were going to be hitting 32 and rain was expected. We definitely hit shoulder season so we had our pick of hotels. Although the dollar is up against the Canadian Dollar it is not that great. To our surprise the rooms at the Revelstoke Lodge (not really a lodge, more like a roadside motel-can you say Norman Bates) were very nice. The exterior was very deceiving. We finally got our soft fluffy king size bed for a mere $50. I made sure I was not going to lose out on a good night sleep so the Tylenol PM came out. Sweet Dreams!!!
That evening we went looking for a restaurant which turned out to be more difficult than expected. Many were closed and the few opened had no people in them. We decided on Emo’s a pizza parlor. We were hoping to catch the last half of the basketball game but forgot we were in Canada so the only thing on the TV’s was hockey. We got the scores off the internet when we returned to our room. We turned in early hoping to wake to blue skies and sun; okay we would settle for no rain. Noon arrived and we ventured out to Macpherson Mountain for a bike ride. The owner of the local bike shop recommended the area as the only spot ready for riding this time of year. We definitely caught the season a few months early, but we got lucky and the weather cooperated. For some reason every bike ride we do, our warm-up is always a huge hill. Thankfully it was mostly a jeep style road so plenty wide. At the top we ran into a “warming hut” used primarily by cross country skiers. Unfortunately we could not continue on the route due to too much snow on the trail. Yes, snow!! We turned around and found the second half of the single track trail –TNT to Black Forest- we wanted to catch at the top. In hindsight it was probably a good thing we did not do this single track from the top because it was hell but exciting. This ride has been the biggest challenge I have had on a mountain bike. This trail would even have been tough for our friend Troy who is an awesome rider. I spent a good part of the ride walking my bike. One section was so steep and tight I almost wasn’t able to even push my bike up it. You had to watch out for not only tree roots, branches, and stumps, but piles of snow strategically located at the bottom of downhills. Oh yea-don’t wear Teva shoes while mountain biking in Revelstoke in May. Needless to say this ride resulted in my first true biking injury. As I was expertly trying to avoid a tree stump with my bike I failed to see the large tree roots in the way. My bike tire washed out from under me. “knee meet tree stump/tree stump meet knee and then hip” I couldn’t have planned it any better-perfect head on contact just like two athletes hitting knees during a play. I am pretty proud of my double bruise and wear them with honor!!
Singing in the Rain
Singing in the Rain
April 7th-May 7th 2008
Traveling north on I-5 from Portland we were deceived by the riot of blooming color into thinking we were going to have nice spring weather for our stay in Seattle. We should have known better especially when you hear radio commercials pitching Vitamin D to the residents of Washington.
We settled in for our extended visit with Roby’s family. Our two priorities were to study for our LEED exam and help care for Roby’s Dad. After an initial scare with the doctor, we received good news his Dad’s cancer has not spread and the tumors in his lungs have shrunk. So the goal was to get him strong and feeling better. By the time we took off he was close to being himself again. We will keep tabs on him during our journey. We thank everyone who has sent well wishes.
Second, I don’t think I have ever seen anyone so excited to pass a test than Roby. He came running out of the testing center pumping his fists like Tiger Woods after the 18th hole at the Masters. The checkout person had to settle him down so she could complete the paperwork. He was so fired up!! I had to sit him down to keep him from having a heart attack. We have now accumulated more initials next to our name than any other unemployed person. Since putting it on his resume, Roby has received two email inquiries for further information for potential employment. (Shanghai and Hong Kong). Maybe they will pay for that portion of our trip for us.
Although we spent a considerable amount of our time studying or visiting with family, we did get out and play a little. We had two days without rain and “warm” weather. (Warm meaning we did not have to wear our fleece jackets). Both of those days were spent with Roby’s friend Erik. We met up at his house in Bothell and with his wife Kim and two kids Tessa and Catherine, we did an incredible mountain bike ride through the St Edwards Park and Big Fin Hill. These trails are right behind his house on the banks of Lake Washington. He is rather spoiled. This forest trail introduced us to tree roots, ruts, rocks and limbs. An eye-opener after having only ridden open exposed slick rock in Moab, and pretty scenic trails along the Deschutes River in Bend. The trail was a great single track with just enough climbing and excellent downhills. By the expressions on our faces you would have thought we were two kids in a candy store. I guess we had been cooped up in the house too long. Unfortunately, the nice weather went away the next day and we reverted back to being hermits. (good thing we had to study). A week later the sun came out again and we decided to head to Seattle and cruise downtown. We did a nice walk through Seattle Art Museum’s Sculpture Park near the Harbor area and watched all the Washingtonians try to soak up some rays. Many of them call in sick when the sun comes out. We tried to hook up with Mia from Kauai while we were in town but our schedules never were able to coordinate but it sounds like she is having a great time in the big city. Several days latter we met up with Erik this time to go sailing on the Puget Sound out of Everett. Erik’s friend Dave has a 32 foot Slup Sailboat. Although we only saw one distant whale spout we did see a huge sea lion plopped on top of a buoy. Being Friday afternoon we celebrated a “Pau Hana” (Hawaiian for Happy Hour) in style on the boat. We finished the perfect evening with a breathtaking sunset. We got our daily dose of Vitamin D.
Two days later we braved the weather and ventured down to Capitol Forest Preserve area outside of Olympia. Roby’s brother Jaime and his wife were down there for a big ORV event. It is an area completely dedicated to hiking, biking, and off-road vehicles. The area is well over 100,000 acres. After visiting with his brother we decided to complete a loop trail near the Fall Creek Campground. Being novices we ventured out without wearing any rain gear. The sun was out who needed a jacket. Needless to say we encountered every weather pattern while on our mountain bike ride. A little rain, a little hail, and a little sun, not to mention a whole lot of mud!!! Despite getting lost and having to sort of make up our own ride we found an excellent trail and it turned out awesome. Washington State does an incredible job maintaining its parks and trails. Kauai can’t compete. We keep wishing our buddy Leo was with us!!!
We extended our stay an extra week but really needed to get on the road so we decided to leave on Thursday May 7th, hoping to time the weather. Our initial plan was to head directly to Canada but we decided with the nice weather coming for the weekend we would detour a bit and do the San Juan Islands. It took us a good three days to get re-organized, purchase new supplies and do a few loads of laundry.
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo is not quite the same in Washington as in Arizona but we did at least eat Mexican food. We took Roby’s Dad and family out for dinner before we took off for our next venture. Thursday morning came and we said good-bye to his Mom and headed to the Ferry in Anacortes Washington.
April 7th-May 7th 2008
Traveling north on I-5 from Portland we were deceived by the riot of blooming color into thinking we were going to have nice spring weather for our stay in Seattle. We should have known better especially when you hear radio commercials pitching Vitamin D to the residents of Washington.
We settled in for our extended visit with Roby’s family. Our two priorities were to study for our LEED exam and help care for Roby’s Dad. After an initial scare with the doctor, we received good news his Dad’s cancer has not spread and the tumors in his lungs have shrunk. So the goal was to get him strong and feeling better. By the time we took off he was close to being himself again. We will keep tabs on him during our journey. We thank everyone who has sent well wishes.
Second, I don’t think I have ever seen anyone so excited to pass a test than Roby. He came running out of the testing center pumping his fists like Tiger Woods after the 18th hole at the Masters. The checkout person had to settle him down so she could complete the paperwork. He was so fired up!! I had to sit him down to keep him from having a heart attack. We have now accumulated more initials next to our name than any other unemployed person. Since putting it on his resume, Roby has received two email inquiries for further information for potential employment. (Shanghai and Hong Kong). Maybe they will pay for that portion of our trip for us.
Although we spent a considerable amount of our time studying or visiting with family, we did get out and play a little. We had two days without rain and “warm” weather. (Warm meaning we did not have to wear our fleece jackets). Both of those days were spent with Roby’s friend Erik. We met up at his house in Bothell and with his wife Kim and two kids Tessa and Catherine, we did an incredible mountain bike ride through the St Edwards Park and Big Fin Hill. These trails are right behind his house on the banks of Lake Washington. He is rather spoiled. This forest trail introduced us to tree roots, ruts, rocks and limbs. An eye-opener after having only ridden open exposed slick rock in Moab, and pretty scenic trails along the Deschutes River in Bend. The trail was a great single track with just enough climbing and excellent downhills. By the expressions on our faces you would have thought we were two kids in a candy store. I guess we had been cooped up in the house too long. Unfortunately, the nice weather went away the next day and we reverted back to being hermits. (good thing we had to study). A week later the sun came out again and we decided to head to Seattle and cruise downtown. We did a nice walk through Seattle Art Museum’s Sculpture Park near the Harbor area and watched all the Washingtonians try to soak up some rays. Many of them call in sick when the sun comes out. We tried to hook up with Mia from Kauai while we were in town but our schedules never were able to coordinate but it sounds like she is having a great time in the big city. Several days latter we met up with Erik this time to go sailing on the Puget Sound out of Everett. Erik’s friend Dave has a 32 foot Slup Sailboat. Although we only saw one distant whale spout we did see a huge sea lion plopped on top of a buoy. Being Friday afternoon we celebrated a “Pau Hana” (Hawaiian for Happy Hour) in style on the boat. We finished the perfect evening with a breathtaking sunset. We got our daily dose of Vitamin D.
Two days later we braved the weather and ventured down to Capitol Forest Preserve area outside of Olympia. Roby’s brother Jaime and his wife were down there for a big ORV event. It is an area completely dedicated to hiking, biking, and off-road vehicles. The area is well over 100,000 acres. After visiting with his brother we decided to complete a loop trail near the Fall Creek Campground. Being novices we ventured out without wearing any rain gear. The sun was out who needed a jacket. Needless to say we encountered every weather pattern while on our mountain bike ride. A little rain, a little hail, and a little sun, not to mention a whole lot of mud!!! Despite getting lost and having to sort of make up our own ride we found an excellent trail and it turned out awesome. Washington State does an incredible job maintaining its parks and trails. Kauai can’t compete. We keep wishing our buddy Leo was with us!!!
We extended our stay an extra week but really needed to get on the road so we decided to leave on Thursday May 7th, hoping to time the weather. Our initial plan was to head directly to Canada but we decided with the nice weather coming for the weekend we would detour a bit and do the San Juan Islands. It took us a good three days to get re-organized, purchase new supplies and do a few loads of laundry.
Celebrating Cinco de Mayo is not quite the same in Washington as in Arizona but we did at least eat Mexican food. We took Roby’s Dad and family out for dinner before we took off for our next venture. Thursday morning came and we said good-bye to his Mom and headed to the Ferry in Anacortes Washington.
Orcas Stoked Us
Orcas Stoked Us – San Juan Islands, Washington
May 8-11, 2009
Orcas Island is one of the four main islands in the San Juan Islands and was a recommendation from my old college buddy Erik Wuchter. He’s been going on about the beauty of this island and in particular a killer Mtn. Bike downhill ride there for years. Enough, enough Eric we’re checking it out for ourselves.
Because the forecast looked cool but clear we decided to save a few bucks and picked Moran State Park from a map to camp out in on Thursday night. Little did we know what a spectacular place this would be. We went through rolling pasture land, the quaint Eastsound village and the Park’s Arched gateway before arriving at Cascade Lake. We decided to continue uphill to the Mountain Lake Campground so we would be closer to the bike ride in the morning. Both of these lakes were gorgeous and surprisingly large alpine lakes for a small island but what was really amazing was there was nobody there. We drove in on a windy narrow road through large old growth cedar trees out onto a small peninsula on the lake and into a completely empty campground. We had the whole lake to ourselves.
We quickly set up camp and I decided that after almost 6k miles and several nights of camping on this trip it was time for me to use some of my new gear. So, in preparation for dinner I got out my new Coleman 22,000 btu double burner camp stove just like my buddy Sean’s, and my new trout size no stick frying pan. Now all I needed was some trout – oh goodness look what I have a little left of in my tackle box - power bait! In no time I had a nice 15’ rainbow trout freshly dressed and ready for the frying pan. Tomorrow morning I’m going to pull out my new French press coffee mug just like Sean’s – just wished I had some of that French vanilla creamer.
After dinner Patti went to bed early and I stayed up for a while to enjoy the full moon over the Lake and got a little deeper into my Desert Solitaire book. My fingers were cold but it was comfy sitting by the fire in a Kukui’ula beach chair with my petzel headlamp illuminating my breath as it fogged around my book.
Friday morning was still partly cloudy so we decided to hold off on the mountain bike ride for another day and explore a little on foot. We hit the Mt. Pickett trail for a 6 mile loop with a 1750’ climb through a naturally propagated, never logged old growth forest. Man I thought Kauai had a lot of moss everywhere. We returned to our private campground, kicked off out boots, cracked open a cold beverage and sat down to relax for awhile. About that time I heard the whine of a car and noticed a van appear across the lake on the approach road headed our way. It made its way to the campground and pulled in two spots over from ours. The doors flung open and out spilled into the quiet forest a family replete with two outside voiced kids in the 2- 5 range, a dog, a gianormous tent, bikes, toys, balls, fishing poles and the like plus two adults discussing the pending arrival of the rest of the caravan. By nightfall we were immediately surrounded by not only 3 additional families with a total of 8 children and 3 dogs but the entire campground had filled up with mostly mountain bikers. You see the trails in the area are so nice that they get really busy later in the summer – too busy to mix pedestrians and MB’s so they close them to MB’s after May 15th so a lot of rider’s show up for the last weekend.
Saturday morning we tuned up our bikes, stretched out a bit and headed up the 3 mile long, 2000’ road climb toward the Mt. Constitution summit. It was steep but not too long and the views from up high out over the islands can’t be described. We took a few pics around the lookout tower at the top and headed down the famous 6 mile long single track called the Spiral Trail. What an exhilarating 2 hour descent through thick forest with drops, logs, bridges, streams and lakes. Sorry Slick Rock but this is now definitely the best ride we have ever done.
May 8-11, 2009
Orcas Island is one of the four main islands in the San Juan Islands and was a recommendation from my old college buddy Erik Wuchter. He’s been going on about the beauty of this island and in particular a killer Mtn. Bike downhill ride there for years. Enough, enough Eric we’re checking it out for ourselves.
Because the forecast looked cool but clear we decided to save a few bucks and picked Moran State Park from a map to camp out in on Thursday night. Little did we know what a spectacular place this would be. We went through rolling pasture land, the quaint Eastsound village and the Park’s Arched gateway before arriving at Cascade Lake. We decided to continue uphill to the Mountain Lake Campground so we would be closer to the bike ride in the morning. Both of these lakes were gorgeous and surprisingly large alpine lakes for a small island but what was really amazing was there was nobody there. We drove in on a windy narrow road through large old growth cedar trees out onto a small peninsula on the lake and into a completely empty campground. We had the whole lake to ourselves.
We quickly set up camp and I decided that after almost 6k miles and several nights of camping on this trip it was time for me to use some of my new gear. So, in preparation for dinner I got out my new Coleman 22,000 btu double burner camp stove just like my buddy Sean’s, and my new trout size no stick frying pan. Now all I needed was some trout – oh goodness look what I have a little left of in my tackle box - power bait! In no time I had a nice 15’ rainbow trout freshly dressed and ready for the frying pan. Tomorrow morning I’m going to pull out my new French press coffee mug just like Sean’s – just wished I had some of that French vanilla creamer.
After dinner Patti went to bed early and I stayed up for a while to enjoy the full moon over the Lake and got a little deeper into my Desert Solitaire book. My fingers were cold but it was comfy sitting by the fire in a Kukui’ula beach chair with my petzel headlamp illuminating my breath as it fogged around my book.
Friday morning was still partly cloudy so we decided to hold off on the mountain bike ride for another day and explore a little on foot. We hit the Mt. Pickett trail for a 6 mile loop with a 1750’ climb through a naturally propagated, never logged old growth forest. Man I thought Kauai had a lot of moss everywhere. We returned to our private campground, kicked off out boots, cracked open a cold beverage and sat down to relax for awhile. About that time I heard the whine of a car and noticed a van appear across the lake on the approach road headed our way. It made its way to the campground and pulled in two spots over from ours. The doors flung open and out spilled into the quiet forest a family replete with two outside voiced kids in the 2- 5 range, a dog, a gianormous tent, bikes, toys, balls, fishing poles and the like plus two adults discussing the pending arrival of the rest of the caravan. By nightfall we were immediately surrounded by not only 3 additional families with a total of 8 children and 3 dogs but the entire campground had filled up with mostly mountain bikers. You see the trails in the area are so nice that they get really busy later in the summer – too busy to mix pedestrians and MB’s so they close them to MB’s after May 15th so a lot of rider’s show up for the last weekend.
Saturday morning we tuned up our bikes, stretched out a bit and headed up the 3 mile long, 2000’ road climb toward the Mt. Constitution summit. It was steep but not too long and the views from up high out over the islands can’t be described. We took a few pics around the lookout tower at the top and headed down the famous 6 mile long single track called the Spiral Trail. What an exhilarating 2 hour descent through thick forest with drops, logs, bridges, streams and lakes. Sorry Slick Rock but this is now definitely the best ride we have ever done.
Hosteling
Portland – Happy Hawthorn Hostel House
April 7-8, 2009
As previously mentioned, we are hostel virgins so we were excited to experience the Hawthorn House in, well, the Hawthorn District of Portland - a very clean, well run and interesting two story, turn of the century home converted into a comfortable Hostel designated as a “Sustainable Living Center”. Complete with an eco roof, non-potable toilets, extensive recycling, discounts for bicycle riders and $1 all you can eat pancakes made on appliances run with 100% renewable energy!
Our first Hostel suite mates were Lucas and Katie a friendly 20- somethings couple from San Fran on a long weekend excursion to Portland. We were in bunks 1 & 2, they 3 & 4 and nobody snored at least I hope I didn’t. She is a school teacher and he has a degree in Ag Sciences with a strong interest in the fermentables – beer and wine. Don’t we all! I told them that our home base was Kauai where we had a house on a private beach called the Na Pali Coast and that we were very prolific traveling Bloggers with over 10 followers so far. Pretty good work if you can get it. Well ok, everything was true but the blurb about the Na Pali.
The next day we drove downtown and toured around most of the sites including several notable elements of landscape architecture that I was familiar with and wanted to show Patti including Forecourt Fountain Plaza by Lawrence Halprin. We also drove through the campus and saw a bunch of what had to be Landscape Architecture students in small groups looking at, discussing, sketching, photographing and measuring what else but trees. Dorks! The whole downtown area was in full spring blossom with Flowering Cherry trees everywhere.
I then set my internal coordinates on Vodoo Doughnuts. A famous hole in the wall doughnuts only bakery with a tiny showroom with a tatted up counter attendant blasting death metal rock and a single turning glass doughnut showcase full of the most imaginative and tasty looking doughy and nutty creations of art that I have ever witnessed. I had the one with vanilla creme icing and captian crunch topping and Patti had– yes, Patti had one two – the chocolate icing one with a rice crispy topping and peanut butter drizzles. We waddled back to our car, hopped on I-5 and headed toward Skidattle.
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