JOMEL Adventures

The Chilkoot Trail

jomel — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 08:54:00 GMT

On Sat 14th June we splurged on breakfast at the Haines Chillkat bakery as we hadn't had dinner the night before. Then we checked out the farmers market, bought some food supplies and packed up our gear in preparation for a huge 3 day hike along the historical Chilkoot trail. We left our car in Haines and caught a ferry to Skagway. Once in Skagway we set about getting organised for the hike; bought some hiking boots, rented some gators, talked to the trail information office, registered for the hike, and wandered forever trying to find somewhere to leave our valuables. Finally the local hiking store helped us out. We stayed in the Skagway hostel that night as we couldn't set out on the trail til next day.

On Sunday afternoon we caught a bus to the start of the Chilkoot trail- just 15 minutes from Skagway and off we went. A Novia Scotian guy named Chad was also starting the trail at the same time as us so we hiked to Finnigans Point campground together where we planned to camp that night. On the way we passed an amazing beaver dam while walking along narrow planks over a swamp which were almost under water. I was already scared of bears before starting the hike but the preparation and information we sought and read made me even more so, and so did teh bear scat we kept seeing evrywhere. Chad had a bell with him, plus we chatted along the way so the noise should have warned off any bears which kept my heart from racing too fast.
Next day we hiked a lot further, to Sheep Camp- we arrived not long before a large group of boy scouts who took over the shelters and made it a little less pleasant for the rest of us. There were also 2 Danish girls, Chad and an English guy who camped at Sheep camp that night. At least I wasn't worried about bears, but it wasn't quite as peaceful as hoped. We planned to leave before 5am next day on the rangers advice (we needed to cross the snow early in the day before it was melted by the sun).

We thought we were first to leave camp next morning but the English guy was not far behind. There was a lot of snow! The information office had described there being "patches of snow" but really there was blanket white everywhere. You could hear the water rushing underneath which also made it a little more tricky, and we often fell knee deep into the snow. We were glad we'd rented gators and bought proper hiking boots- which were a lot more waterproof than my joggers. We also needed to pull out our gloves as it was chilly! We lost the trail numerous times (it was not marked well at all along the snow) and misguided the English guy who was just behind us as we fumbled along. But we finally made it past the scales where the goldrushers back in 1898 had to weigh their goods to ensure they had more than 1000 pounds of supplies before they were allowed to hike the Golden Stairs. A thousand pounds is a lot of weight and they made trip after trip to the top of the stairs and back down carrying 100 pounds each time. Sme hired natives to carry it for them, some did it themselves. The going was slow for them though as they had to queue to climb the stairs each time, and could only go as fast as the slowest or laziest person in the line in front of them. Thinking about that we had it easy with maybe 22 pounds of weight and much better clothing and equipment. Still, it was steep and slippery- much steeper than when the goldrushers did it, as they had thousands of people trampling the snow- we didn't. We had to climb on all 4's as it was easy to slip, and just keep slipping. It was icy, and windy, and the going was really tough which kept us warm. Boy it was steep though! And then we made it to the top and we were in Canadian territory! On the other side of the pass it was sunny and beautiful, but lookig back we saw some mean looking clouds gathering and we knew we needed to get a move on before the bad weather caught up with us. We hit avalanche territory so could not stop but still managed to snap a few photos of the glacier lakes and mountains we passed as we trudged through the snow.

We reached Happy Camp where we had planned to stay that night but it was unprotected and there was no stove so it was going to be freezing. We met the Danish girls there who had obviously set out even earlier than us. They were soaked, in tracksuits pants and joggers, they were ill equipped for the amount of snow we had to walk through. Not that snowshoes would have helped much as the hiking was steep. We had enough day light to push on to the next camp so we did even though we were hurting. We ate and dried our socks a little then kept moving- barely. We made it to Deep Lake camp in late afternoon- we'd been hiking about 10 hours that day and were completely exhausted. But the sun was shining and the camp was proected from wind. There was a river running just below us- it was a really stunning place. We fought sleep, well, Jo slept and I set up camp and then we ate and crashed out at 6pm. There were no bear containers so we had to keep all food and products that have any smell up on tree logs. Chad and the Danes also made it to Deep Lake that day- all were very tired, but at least there were no boy scouts! The Danes had bought the wrong gas tank for their stove so we lent them ours, otherwise it would have been just dry food for them for the entire trip- and it's questionable whether they would have had enough.

Next day, Wed 18th it was raining- we had rain coats but they were cheap and soaked through pretty quickly. We had planned on camping our 3rd night on the trail, but it was freezing and wet and the campgrounds along the way had no stove. And we'd had enough. We were ready to get clean and warm and eat some real food. So we hiked all the way to the end of the trail- to Bennett. We should have been making noise to warn bears off, but we were too tired even to talk so we were just lucky we had no bear encounters though there was still plenty of scat around. We had booked our train ride back to Skagway for the following day so had another night camping in the rain to look forward to. But....luck was on our side! We got to Bennet at 1:50pm...and there was a train there. We bolted for it as it leaves 2pm daily but we'd been told there was no train on Wednesdays. We asked the conductor if we could get a ride a day early and it was granted. We were so happy! They put us in the back cabin away from the tourists who take the train ride instead of hiking. We couldn't blame them as the tourists were annoying, and we stunk! It had been 4 days since our last shower- and a lot of hard yakka in between. But half way through the 2 hour ride someone maybe noticed my blue lips and told us there was a stove in te front cabin. We were soaked through and freezing so squeezed our smelly selves past the nicely dressed tourists and stood in front of the stove the rest of the way back while the tourists took photos out the window. We saw our first grizzly while on the train. It was big and was heading towards the 2 Danes we'd passed a little way back. They were headde for a differnet campsite that night but had obviously stopped for a drink and something to eat. So back the train went and picked them up- no chances are taken with grizzlies. So the Danes got a free ride back to Skagway (tickets cost $90 each!) so they were even more lucky than ourselves. All in all we hiked 37 km over 3 1/2 days- it was hard going but very rewarding, but I could not wait to get warm and clean. We caught the ferry back to Haines that afternoon with all the cruise ship tourists (again stinking them out!) picked up our car and checked into a motel for a well earned shower, cooked meal and bed.

Alaskan Ferries along 'The Inside Passage'

jomel — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:52:00 GMT

From the hostel we stayed at in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island we drove north to Port Hardy where we put the car on a ferry to Prince Rupert, and from there, on another ferry to Alaska. On the drive we saw two black bears along the side of the road which was pretty cool being our first bear spotting. There's no brown bears or grizzlies on Vancouver Island, but plenty of black bears which are pretty cute and not all that big. Vancouver Island is pretty and the north part is not developed at all. It would have been great to stay a while and check it out, but time didn't allow as we had a boat to catch!

In Port Hardy we camped at the best campground I think I've seen. Showers were clean and free, woodfire was free, a laundry was available- it was great! On Wed 11th June we got up at 5am packed our tent in the rain and headed for the ferry to wait in line for an hour or so. We dried the tent out over the car in the car deck which was handy. The ferry was nice and new- we got a good seat and set ourselves up. Me with my knitting, Jo with his book. There was plenty of time to watch the gorgeous views and before even leaving the dock we saw a bald eagle ripping apart a seagull it had caught! We also saw some whales and porpoises during the day. The sun came out in the afternoon and the snow capped mountain views were absolutely beautiful. By the 15th hour on the ferry though we were wishing we had brought our own food as the food on the ferry is pretty nasty and very expensive!

We got into Prince Rupert at 10:30pm and found a quiet spot to sleep in the car. It was raining again so the car was the best option. We had to be up at 5am again anyway to get to the ferry terminal to go through US customs. This ferry was not so new and it was a good thing we'd packed some food the night before. The views were again amazing though very cloudy for most of this trip. We saw many whales and dolphins on this part of the trip and our first ever iceberg (although small!) We also had a shower on the ferry while in motion... which made it interesting.

We stopped briefly in Ketchikan where we stretched our legs and stocked up on food. Then we set up for sleep in the observation deck on the ferry as we were too cheap to book one of the tiny cabins. If only the old dude who kept snoring didn't follow us around (or so it seemed to me who was desparately trying to get some zzz's).

We were amazed at how many Aussie's were on the ferry though. Seems Aussies are attracted to Alaska...and we felt like just another one of them. Most got off at Petersburgh though and we were going all the way to Haines so that was good.

Next day we arrived in Juneau where we had to change ferries. Juneau was pretty touristy as the big cruise ships stop there, still, it was beautiful. It sits at the bottom of a snowy mountain and along the water. This is where we saw our first glacier as well as Juneau pretty much sits in front of a glacier. It was impressive.

The last ferry ride was from Juneau to Haines which was only a few hours. This was a pretty interesting journey though because we met the author of 'Lonely Planet- Alaska' in the bar! Jim DuFrense was a really nice guy and gave us loads of information about hiking Alaska and we had a great chat over a few beers. He signed our book and convinced us we needed to stay in SE Alaska and do the Chilkoot trail- in his opinion the best hike in Alaska. And so we started planning how we could do this.

Finally we arrived in Haines after a few days on the ferries and it was back to driving. It was about 10pm and we were exhausted from such a long day so we drove into a state park a set up for sleep in the car.

Vancouver Island

jomel — Mon, 9 Jun 2008 22:20:00 GMT

So we were a little slow to get ourselves organised with the whole online travel journal thing (despite miss Mary's best attempts before we left) but better late than never right?! Backdating to the very start of the trip seems like just too big of a job to contemplate at the moment so I'm going to start the journal today and just add entries from earlier whenever I feel inspired.

We're currently in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and arrived in Canada from Washington via ferry yesterday afternoon. The day went suprisingly well and we managed to get on to the ferry with our car without a booking and even get to the ferry loading dock on time.

We spent the previous night in Seattle staying with a cool US couple, Angie and Allen who put us up through couchsurfing.com. It was our first couch surfing experience and they were awesome hosts! We'll definitely be couchsurfing again.

Anyway, so we made it to Canada on the ferry yesterday afternoon. We landed in Victoria on Vancouver Island and had to go through immigration. All went well with out Canadian work visas which had been pre-approved, but still needed to be processed and we can now legally work in Canada. Jo's BB gun which he bought for $30 from Walmart somewhere in the states, purely for novely value, and had never been fired, however, did cause some issues. Another $25 to register it and a fair dig of a paperwork and it was 8pm.

Victoria is beautiful and we set up camp in Thetis Lake campground. Nothing particularly special about the campground, it was just near by. Fortunately we did manage to get set up and cook dinner before the rain started. And it hasn't stopped since.

Today we checked out cold and rainy Victoria; Old Town, Fisherman's Wharf etc but thankfully I stood strong and we didn't visit the Maritime Museum despite Jo's best persuasive attempts (too boring to spend any money on I say) and started driving north, conveniently at peak hour!

As the rain is kind of on the persistant side we unfortuantely can't camp so have holed up in an empty hostel and currently enjoying the warm and dry (so is our tent which is hanging in the kitchen).

Tomorrow we continue our drive north towards Port Hardy where we'll be jumping on another ferry to Prince Rupert.

Columbia River, Mt Hood, Eagle Creek and Seattle

jomel — Wed, 4 Jun 2008 13:00:00 GMT

After leaving Banks we drove north to the Columbia River on the Oregon/Washington border and set out to find the Wind River Hotsprings. There were a few things I had on my "list" to do during this trip: learn to play a new instrument, go white water rafting, and visit some natural hotsprings. Wind River Hotsprings was meant to be as natural as they come- John had told me about it and given us directions. After a couple hours drive and couple hours hike, including traversing a suspension bridge with many "do not cross!" warnings we found the hotsprings. Unfortunately with all the rain and the time of year it was there was only 1 of the 3 hotsprings still in operation- the others were flooded. Aand the one that was running had two nude old men in it. Unbelievable! We'd come so far and now couldn't even take a dip. We said our polite hellos and made a lame excuse about not getting in and then departed. Well, in reality I did the talking while Jo stood uncomfortably several metres away. While leaving one of the guys jumped out and came after us to give us some more info on one of the flooded hotspinrgs, thankfully he wrapped a towel around himself. Dissappointing but we were proud to have at least found them.
We had planned on camping that night, 4th June, but as it was raining, hard, we only managed to drive in to the campground (along the Columbia River) and find a quick excuse to splurge on a cheap hotel. So we stayed in motel that night in Cascade Locks- and felt royally treated having a tv- something we didn't really notice we missed. I continued my sad attempts at knitting- without much success.
Next day was raining but we wanted to do a hike along Eagle river off the Columbia River (there is a tonne of great hikes around there). Eagle River has some spectacular waterfalls along it. It rained a bit though so we brought out the dodgy poncho's I bought at Walmart. That night it was still raining and cold- so we ditched camping again and splurged on another hotel, this time in the snow at the top of Mount Hood. The snow was beautiful and it was wierd being in a ski town with no people there. As much as I was hating the cold it was beautiful watching the snow fall and got us pumped for the winter we had ahead of us.
Next day was Friday 6th June and we visited some different hotsprings that TJ had told us about; Bagby hotsprings. They were awesome! It was cold and raining and we thought no one would be there- but they were still so popular! We were lucky to get there in the morning because by early afternoon there was a queue. Bagby had 6 private rooms which were great as I am still not that comfortable with public nudity. Each room had its own tub and then there was also a much bigger public bath house near by. The entire bathhouse was made out of cedar, tubs, pipes and all. It was aweseom and gave you a natural, relaxing feeling. Even the rain was relaxing, it was just a shame that we could hear the couple next door to us and the group of men the other side of us.
Next stop was Portland again to catch up with Lan and his girlfriend Jen. We crashed at Jen's place which was awesome. Jen took us out and showed us around Portland which was really cool. Portalnd is a very chic city- we loved it. There's some really cool bars, restaurants and lots of things to do. We were only there one night and had to leave after breakfast next morning (Sat 7th June) to pick up Renault who was staying with Emily and drive to Seattle. It was a shame we had to leave because Jen and her mates were heading on a massive pubcrawl that arvo and then on a winetour the next day. It sounded like a lot of fun and I love wine tours.
We dropped Renault off at his back packers in down town Seattle and headed to our accommodation for the night. Tis was our first time couchsurfing. Kendra had told us about it at Kings Valley Gardens and it sounded like an awesome way to travel cheap, comfortably, and meet some cool people. And it was awesome. We hooked up with Allen and Angie who had a great apartment near the Space Needle. Our first couching surfing experience was awesome. Angie and Allen were so cool and we got along well. We did a little grocery shopping, cooked dinner at their place and just chatted the night away. They were planning a huge trip in the next year so we had a lot to talk about and information to share. And it was so much more comfortable than camping, comfrtable double mattress, hot showers, and heating! We definitely will be couchsurfing again! We didn't really check anything out in Seattle- it was more just along our route to Alaska.
Next day, Sunday 8th June we drove to Port Angeles to catch out first car ferry for the trip and leave the US for Canada! It was such a nice change from driving- a lot more cruisy and less stressful. We docked in Victoria, on Vancouver at about 6pm and then we had to get through customs. A few things made that a little more difficult than it shoudl have been:
1. We had to get our official working holiday permits in our passports.
2. Jo had a BB gun which goes 750 feet per second and thus in Canada has to be registered as a firearm.
3. We had firewood in the car which we shouldn't have had and we stressed about them searching the car!
Anyway we finally made it through after a fair bit of paperwork, but one of the customs guys pointed me in the right direction for our campground that night: Thetis lake. It did rain again that night, but we managed to cook dinner and set up camp before it came.
Next day we checked out Victoria. It was raining a lot, which kind of limited what we could do but I did have some awesome eggs benedict at a cafe while we used their wireless internet for a while. Then we walked around to the fishermans wharf and watched the tourists feeding a couple of fat seals who must get fed a lot by tourists! Then we walked back in the rain and hid in the tourist information centre from the rain- but a lot of tourists were doing the same thing! It's a very beautiful city with enormous old government buildings, but nothing is really all that enjoyable in the rain. On we drove to Nanaimo! We couldn't camp in the pouring rain so stayed at St Nichol hostel where we were the only guests and enjoyed having a house to ourselves with heating, a kitchen, free wireless internet and hot showers!

Killin Wetlands Farm

jomel — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:00:00 GMT

After Kings Valley we headed for Banks, Oregon where we were going to stay with TJ, who we'd only just met a few days earlier, but as it turned out that's the direction we were driving and she was just so nice and invited us. She may have been joking but we took her literally and off we drove to Banks, getting there on Thurs 29th May. Banks is a tiny little town with not much going on, but it's in a beautiful area with a lot of character. TJ, Marilyn and John greeted us warmly and made us feel so welcome in their home. Renault was also staying their whcih was cool- it's always fun to have a Frenchy around. TJ, being the generous girl she is, gave Jo and I her room while she slept in the wool shed outside- a room she swore she preferred, despite the cold. I felt so guilty, but loved loved loved having another comfortable bed and a room to myself!
Killin Wetlands is the name of their farm, a sheep farm with probably 20 odd sheep, plus a few adorable lambs. They have about 20 acres but only 4 have been cleared for their home and farm, the rest was wild forest, very green, very beautiful, with a river running through it. Their home has such a peaceful feel about it. John, being an architect built their home, and it was amazing. Marilyn was director of the child care centre for Nike- they have a huge office just nearby- we heard it's like a little city with fort walls and all! And TJ is an incredible girl, so kind hearted and in tune with nature. She would just walk through the woods and collect wild plants for the salad for dinner- this is something I wish I could do so I vowed to learn more about edible plants when I get home. Australian plants seem to be so different to those in the US though, everything in the US seems to be edible!
It seemed like multicultural week in the Harrison household with a traditional french meal one night, then what we called 'Australian cuisine' the next and a traditional Sunday roast with one of their lambs on the menu- delicious! We worked on a nearby organic farm that TJ volunteers at, just around the corner. Greg ran the farm which was on land owned by Dianne and her mother Jean. While there we got to shovel mule poo, and lots of it!, fertilise and plant rockmelon seedlings, make rope from twisting yarn, weed (a never ending garden job),feast on the magnificent lunches provided, drink beer and have fun in the sunny afternoons. Greg was an awesome guy- told us lots of crazy stories about when he lived in Alaska and got us really pumped for our trip there. He made us swear to send him a postcard from 'The Salty Dawg' an infamous pub on The Spit in Homer.
We checked out Portland while at TJ's as well as it was less than an hour away. Portland is a cool city, kind of similar to San Fran in feel. Not like the typicsal US cities full of chains, fast food and everything being so huge! Portland has lots of character, individualism, and has a hippy arty feel. It's also a uni town and they're always winners. We crashed TJ's brother's birthday drinks at a microbrewery and then checked out what was going on in town. We went to the markets, looked at the rose festival parade floats, visited Powells book store and the city library. Then we met up with TJ's friend Emily again and headed to a bar for a drink or two then this awesome Cuban restaurant for dinner where just about everyone at the table spoke Spansih and I feel incredibly uncultured. Great food, music and decor though!
One of the most significant learnings on my travels to date was at Killin Wetlands when Marilyn took Renault and I on a arts day in her home. She showed us how to card wool that they shear from their sheep, and told us the process of cleaning the wool. Then she showed us how to prepare that carded wool for spinning, then we learnt how to spin! Spinning is not to be underestimated as just something little old grannies do- I love it! I'm not so crash hot at the drop spindle but give me a spinning wheel and a glass of vino and I'm happy girl! Renault and I also learnt how to knit but I think I am still learning that even now. Poor Marilyn never got a chance to sit at her spinning wheel with me in the house- it's just so relaxing and soothing. This is a learning I am very grateful to Marilyn for- she was such a wonderful teacher and I think she appreciated Reanult's and my interest in it. She's since bought another spinning wheel so next time visitors drop in and steal her wheel for a week they can do dome spinning together. We all made felt wool balls as well, so we learnt the process of felting; warm water, soap and agitation- that's about it!
A sad thing happened one day we were there though. One of their sheep died- Molly. It was a really sad time, Molly had a difficult birth so Marilyn and John had intervened and thus were very close to her during her life. They found her lying dead one morning- Jo and I think it had something to do with how big her gut was- she was as wide as she was tall- it didn't look healthy- but we don't really know much about sheep. Even John had to fly out of town for a couple days for work so we couldn't even bury her immediately because we needed the tractor- which only John drove. Then the rain started. It rained for a couple days and John's flight was delayed a day. So, one day, with no other option, Marilyn went out to start digging a hole in the mud when she got home from work. Joe and I went to help. Skunk plants, bugs, mud and a smelling sheep. It was pretty gross- and the mud was so heavy. But we did it. It was horrible dragging Molly into the hole- an awful smell. And then Marilyn tried to burst her stomach which was grotesquely distended- but the pick did not pierce her stomach so we just threw mud back on top of her, all the while listening to the horrible airy sound in her stomach as the mud bounced off. Gross huh? But we did it and Molly was now resting- I think it made Marilyn feel a whole lot better- no need to worry about coyotes getting her anymore.
Our time at Killin Wetlands was memorable- a beautiful home- TJ was building an empire of a garden which drove my desire for my own garden even more. The Harrison's are a wonderful family we were so happy to have met. We were there a week and then it was time to move on again.

Kings Valley Gardens

jomel — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:13:00 GMT

Our 3rd organic farm was in Kings Valley, near Corvalis in Oregon. It was a beautiful 7 hour drive to Kings Valley- so green! It was cool though, a little more sunshine separating the rain would have been nice. We arrived on 21st May.
Andrea and John are the couple who run Kings Valley Gardens. They were the most positive couple we have ever met! I swear neither uttered a single negative word during our stay there. Their house was full of smiles, laughter and terribly lame jokes.
Andrea and John run an organic farm and sell jellys, jams, and spreads which Andrea makes herself at the local farmer's market. But they also both have day jobs as it is just so hard to make a living from a farm. They had self sustainability down to an art though, with a solar powered shower (backed up by their wood heater for periods when there isn't much sun- exactly like the week when we were there), a tractor that ran off biodiesel so it smelled like french fries, and a composting toilet (which I was not game to try!). Plus they had a huge garden, blueberry patch, and green house.
Jo and I had our own room inside the house- and a double bed! This was a luxury we had not had for a while and it was very much welcomed, especially as it was a pretty cold and wet week in Oregon and we didn't want to be sleeping outside. We didn't start work til 10am there- yay for sleeping in! (which I did a lot of :).
There were two other wwoofers at Kings Valley, Kendra and Crystal. Jo found he had a captive audience at each meal and went on and on about Australian this and that- we all learnt a lot about Australia at that dinner table! :)
Kings Valley Gardens had a few different practices to ourselves- but that was all part of the wwoofing and learning experience. Before we began each meal everyone around the table held hands, closed their eyes and said what they were thankful for, one after another. Jo and I were both pretty uncomfortable to start with, but after a while I began to appreciate it, (despite my food gettig cold on my plate before me) I thought it was good way of reminding yourself of the good things in your life. It wasn't a religious practice, it was anything you wanted it to be. By the end of the week however Jo and I were having trouble finding new and creative things to be thankful for. Sad to say we have not continued giving thanks before each meal since leaving Kings Valley, but it will be a lasting memory of our time there.
Another interesting fact was that Andrea and John are vegan so we ate a completely vegan diet while there. And the food was awesome! Very tasty, very fresh and lots of it! Though you needed to eat a lot to fill you up. It's not a diet I could continue on my own as there is just way too much preparation needed to be vegan.
The first few days we worked in the garden, mostly around the blueberry patch- I'd have to guess they had 200 bushes and each one needed to have the long grass pulled (by hand) from around the base, and then mulched. It was a tedious task, especially in the rain but we managed to finish it before we left! We also did a little planting and transplanting. This is where I first discovered my love for gardens.
Next day we started making lavendar jelly. Jo was not so keen on this so he remained at the farm and dug up the green house (expanding the indoor garden) while the girls hit the kitchen. It was great learning the process of jamming- something I had never done before- and it is a long and time-consuimg job! We were using a local school kitchen which had been hygenically approved so the products could be sold to the public. The lavendar jelly was oh so sweet and we learnt the difference between the types:
jelly- super super sweet and sugary!
jam- sweet but not as much
spread- much less sugary
I'm very keen to do some of my own jamming in the future- though I might opt for a spread rather than a jelly.
On Friday one of Kings Valley's oldest and dedicated wwoofers, Emily, came for a visit and brough two friends, TJ from Banks nearby and Renault from France. It was fun having such a full household and meeting some more new people. Turns out TJ's dad is Aussie so we hit it off and TJ even offered for s to visit her and her family.
On Sat 24th May we helped Andrea at the farmer's market. Her jams were a hit! We couldn't keep up with the samples- everyone loves free food.
Corvalis is a great town- we loved it there. Small, but funky, a really nice vibe. Definitely a town worth visiting.
Suddenly a week had flown by and it was time toleave. We decided we needed to stay longer at our next farm- a week is just not long enough! We said our goodbye's and hit the road again.

Redwood National Park, California

jomel — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:18:00 GMT

We did not yet have the camping and national parks out of our system so next stop was to see the giant redwoods in Redwood National Park in the far north west of California. We arrived at the Redwoods on Mon 19th May, that is 3 months ago (I'm a little behind withh journal entries!) so I may have forgotten some of the details sorry!
We got into the national park pretty late, after a 9 hour drive- that tended to be our way of doing things. Jo had booked our campsite online so as not to have to actually speak to anyone and had read the directions on how to get there wrong. So after a couple wron turns we ended upat an exposed and nasty looking camping beach. This would not do so I waved down a parks officer who pointed us in the right direction for our real campsite, in the trees. And it was beautiful- alongside a running river, so lush and green. Northern California was so so green and beautiful after the hot and dry we'd just been in. Of course, it did rain a lot though. So we set up camp, had dinner and crashed for the night.
Next day we headed out for a couple shorter hikes, but not before seeing a herd of elk, with long legs and white bums! Aa great photo opportunity reminding us that we really are just tourists.
After talking to the state and national parks office we decided to hike the Rhododendron trail. Supposedly not the tallest trees in the forrest (not that you can tell from the ground) but much more green and beautiful. Alas, we took another wrong turn (my fault this time) and the hike which should have taken just a couple hours, ended up taking 5. We did see a lot of banana slugs though! They're these huge, yellow, slimy things, and we saw lots of moss and funghi...which funnily enough I am finding more and more fascinating (much to Jo's disgust). It was getting to late afternoon then, and it was raining so we took a change of pace and drove to out next trail head, the top of Tall Trees Grove. We debated whether to hike down Tall Trees Grove. We had one of those "but when are we ever going to be back here" conversations and eventually we hiked at speed down to the bottom and back up. A pretty hike, but we probably did it for the wrong reason :)
We camped a second night at our stunningly green campsite and then set out early next morning for our next wwoofing stop in Oregon.

Wwoofing at Safan Ranch, CA

jomel — Mon, 12 May 2008 06:39:00 GMT

On Monday 12th May we set our course for inland California to a small town called Fiddletown about an hour or 2 east of Sacramento. This was to be our second time WWOOFING at a place called Safan Ranch. Angela and Steve are the couple who own and run Safan Ranch where they have a large vegetable garden, 39 goats, 40 something guinea fowl and chickens, 1 peacock, 3 dogs, 1 cat, 3 ENOURMOUS pigs, 5 sheep and 1 cow...oh yeah and a 1 week old baby goat named Chocolate- so so cute! Angela also makes her own wine (1 of which won a gold ribbon last year) and beer. They have a hand in everything and seem to do really well at it all.
There were already 5 WWOOFERS at Safan Ranch (plus Steve's son and girlfriend were there for the week) so it got pretty busy but it's quite an established ranch and Angela and Steve are very organised with rosters and daily lists of tasks needing to be done. As it happens we also came at a very busy time for the ranch because the next weekend was the annual party Angela and Steve put on.
The set up of the ranch is fantastic but hard to explain. They have trailers (caravans, for us Aussies) dotted around the place which have all been painted by graffiti artists (Steve is a passionate supporter of graffiti art)- I tried to appreciate it but in the end I realized I really just prefer art with images, not just words. The WWOOFers each had a trailer and Steve did all the cooking (breakfast lunch and dinner).
A lot of interesting things happened while we were at Safan that it's hard to know where to start. Being a long way inland the weather was hot so we had a chance to stop complaining about the cold and sweat for a good solid week. We were outside, got our hands dirty, watered the garden, dug holes, shovelled dirt, cleaned out old trailers, cut wood, harvested vegies, washed them, I milked a goat, we cleaned dishes, set tables, and prepared for the party that weekend. It's a beautiful ranch and I loved being around animals again. We started work at 8am and had an hour break for lunch at 1pm. Then finished at 3pm for the day after which you could do as you pleased. The first day we just hung around but after a while we got to know the other WWOOFERS- all of whom were American and hung out with them a bit. We also did a wine tour one afternoon of the surrounding area. We went to town (only a couple hundred people) a few times to play pool as Dan, one of the WWOOFers, seemed to have a slight addiction with the game and was always keen to play.
One of the standout memories at Safan was witnessing two of their goats being killed for the party. As a meat eater I thought it only right that I watch and be ok with the killing process. Though I was shocked at how young the goats were (3-6 months) and a little upset by the distraught mother who didn't stop bleating until she could no longer hear her kid bleating back, which of course was when the throat had been cut. The skinning was quite gruesome and it just didn't seem like that much meat in the end. But after seeing the whole process I made sure I ate some, along with the pig they had killed before we arrived.
Then suddenly the week had gone and it was Saturday afternoon and the party was starting. Technically, as WWOOFers, we were there to help at the party but once it got underway we got a little distracted to say the least. One of the bands, called "The Jugs" were awesome; a group of women with homemade instruments belting out old classics. Another band was a reggae style and then there was a rockin DJ who started up later in the night. The homemade wine and beer was flowing and the ranch was packed with people (estimations were about 300 people over the course of the day). I had some interesting conversations with some of Angela and Steve's friends and acquaintances.
Sunday we were pretty hung over and missed the morning after party but we didn't mind too much. We went for a drive that afternoon and visited a gorgeous local swimming hole (with a rope swing!) which helped us both feel a little more alive. Then we said our goodbyes, swapped details with the other WWOOFers and packed up ready for another long drive the following day.

San Francisco!

jomel — Sat, 10 May 2008 06:34:00 GMT

We were catching up with and staying with my footy mate JLo in San Francisco and arrived late afternoon on Sat 10th May. On the drive we saw hills and hills of southern California covered in wind mills. They are enormous- so much bigger than we realized. It was quite a sight.
Sat afternon JLo gave us a little tour around San Fran through the Haight Ashbury region where there were lots of cool and interesting shops and even more interesting people some of whom walked and talked with us down the street for a good 5 minutes. We decided on Mexican for dinner and it was delicious, the Mexican I've had in Australia just doesn't even compare to the states, I can only imagine what it's like in Mexico!
Then we hit up a local micro brewery for a few bevvies and some chat. We tasted chilli beer which wasn't bad though not sure I could handle a whole schooner of it!
San Fran was a very cool city, different to most other American cities. There are hardly any franchises and fast food places, everyone rides bikes and there seems to be much more diversity in the food, people and interests of the locals. We really liked it. Down side is San Fran never gets much above 20 degrees celcius...year round! And these incredible fogs just sweep through the town most afternoons. Sat night night we all called our mums to say happy mother's day and touch base with home.
Sunday morning JLo and I went to mass at the famous Glide church. It was mother's day so the sermons were based a little around family relationships. There was a gospel choir and lots of hugging the stranger next to you. But we came out feeling very positive and ready for the day. Jo was still back at JLo's in her incredible comfy bed which she so generously sacrificed for us for the weekend. Thanks JLo!
Sunday afternoon JLo went to her wood working class and Jo and I headed to Alcatraz to what we thought might be an incredible cheesy tour. Turned out the tour was not cheesy at all and very well done. You walk around at your own pace listening to a portable voice recording with the narration done by some of the men who lived on Alcatraz. It amazed me to think non criminals also lived there. The guards families for one, their kids as well...that small island full of criminals was there home. Argh! It was cold there and windy- you can understand why it was chosen as a prison location...but it had a beautiful view of the city.
After the tour Jo and I wandered around Pier 39 aimlessly and joyously amoung the jossling tourists. I bought a San Fran beanie which has been needed many times since and we splurged on delicious strawberries and chocolate. Plus....more sea lions- they laze around on wooden platforms at Pier 39 in downtown San Fran for a couple months a year while tourists mingle around photographing them. A strange partnership but it seems to be working. We took a ride on the famous cable car and checked out Lombard St (the crookedest st in the world). It was a beautiful warm day for once so we thrived on being outdoors and doing the tourist thing.
Sunday night we had dinner at a great authentic Thai restaurant that did Sydney proud and met up with JLo in a seedy bar that had been recommended to us by a mate. JLo's flatmate even came out for one with us but we called it quits fairly early being a work day for those that have to work, and we had a long drive ahead of us next day.
In summary- we have great things to say about San Fran- just pack your woolies!

The California coastline and Yosemite

jomel — Wed, 7 May 2008 06:22:00 GMT

That Wed we were priveledged to see literally hundreds of sea lions that pull up on a beach right next to the road for a couple months each year to malt. The beach was alive with them flicking sand on themselves, grunting, and flopping around in large groups. We couldn't believe just how many there were.
We had wanted to WWOOF at a place called the Bridge Street Inn at a tiny little holiday town called Cambria, half way between Santa Barbara and Monterey on the Califonia coast. They didn't need any help at the time, but we decided to stay one night there anyway to break up our drive north because we really liked the look of it. I fell in love with Cambria- despite the bitter cold! We could have stayed there a few days to relax and unwind but one night was enough to give us a taste of the beautiful seaside town, boutique shops, wholesome quality food and quaint accommodations.
Next day, Thurs 8th May, it was back to camping and this time in Yosemite National Park. We got to the campground much too late and had to set up in the dark. And once again it was freezing. There was snow on the ground not far from where we camped. And to add to the discomfort we didn't know our campsite number and there were no rangers around, but there were plenty of bear warning signs which were enough to put me on guard and take extra ordinary precautions with our food. So that night we slept in the car in case we were woken during the night and asked to move out of someone else's campsite. We didn't have to move and turned out we randomly picked a site just 2 away from our designated one! But boy was it cold overnight! Below freezing and my sleeping bag was just not up to par. Yosemite is amazing. Unfortunately due to the frequency of us moving around we were not organised enough to do a proper full day or overnight hike while there and that is definitely something I want to go back and do. However we did walk through the giant sequoias at Mariposa Grove Friday morning. These red woods are the biggest trees in the world and can be as old as 5000 years. They were absolutely enormous and very impressive. Friday afternoon we did the lazy tourist thing and drove up some absolutely stunning roads to some gorgeous viewpoints and waterfalls. At one of the stops while looking at half dome (a popular challenge for very adventurous rock climbers) we got talking to an eldery couple who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. They were celebrating it at Yosemite because that's where they went on their honeymoon 50 years earlier. They were the sweetest couple I have ever seen.
Our second night in Yosemite was much more relaxed as we set up camp earlier during daylight and enjoyed the beautiful campsite we had by the creek. Saturday morning we hit the road again, back toward the coast to San Francisco.

Las Vegas and LA

jomel — Sun, 4 May 2008 06:16:00 GMT

Las Vegas was better than I had anticipated. I really didn't think I'd like it, but once there I realized why so many people have hens and bucks parties there. It is a never ending party! But it's sort of sad a little as well, a little depressing to see how much money people can waste and the extravagance of the hotels, although impressive, is just crazy! I don't like gambling and Jo tends to only like it when with mates so we didn't hit it up much but we did check out a lot of neon lighting and one of the hundreds of buffets they have in every hotel. And yes the hot shower and room, although simple, seemed like a decadence to us! We found out the next day that 2 of our mates were in Vegas that same night as us- not that we were in any shape for a big night....we needed to recuperate from hiking.
Once showered and rested our next stop was Santa Monica in LA to stay with a mate, Lan. So on Mon 5th we kept driving west to the coast until we arrived at the Google palace where Lan was being put up for a few weeks. And then it was straight onto the beers. That night just happened to be Cinquo de Mayo- a Mexican celebration so the theme of that evening was tequilla.....a bad, bad decision. The night started out civil enough; we strolled along Sunset Boulevard and checked out a few bars and pubs in Santa Monica, played some pool and darts, made friends with the locals etc (I also got my first, and probably last bullseye!). Then it got a little messy. To summarise, there was: a broken phone, a lost hoodie, a husband strolling the streets at 3am talking to bums, a wife sleeping on a couch in the lobby of a hostel and Lan snug as a bug in his own bed :)
Next day Jo and I were battling big time. Lan however, somehow miraculously went to work- I guess it was a Tuesday after all.
So Tues evening, 6th May, was a little tamer. We did pizza and saw "Ironman" and wished we hadn't wasted the whole day hung over in bed craving the safer and quieter life of the country.
On Wed 7th May we started our drive north along the west coast but not before doing a drive by through Beverly Hills and taking a quick snap of the unimpressive "Hollywood sign".

The Grand Canyon, Aarizona

jomel — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:07:00 GMT

The drive to the Grand Canyon from Monument Valley was a little scary to say the least. The wind was howling and the sand was beating against the side of the car. Most RV's had to pull over and wait it out, but we saw a number of crazy motorcyclists still on the road, covered up from head to toe. We pushed on but Jo had a very strong grip on the wheel and had to direct the car to one side to offset the wind. I tried to capture the sand storm on camera but the photos didn't do it justice. We couldn't see more than 10 metres in front of us and the car took a good beating. After that drive and Monument Valley the car was full of sand, and we were a little worried about the engine. Our temporary license plates also took a beating and we found it hanging by one bolt when we stopped, but at least we still had it.
We stopped in Flagstaff, Arizona to pick up some supplies as we were told it was a great town. Can't say we saw anything special about it, but granted we were only there for a couple of hours.
We arrived at the Grand Canyon late in the afternoon and people were everywhere. It is a very popular place and the south rim is very developed. But with that development comes luxury. We camped in Mather campground at the top of the rim that night and absolutely froze! It got well below zero during the night and the sleeping bags we bought at REI were not made for those kinds of temperatures. Despite wearing pretty much all of the clothes I had I still froze- it was not fun. We were suddenly very acutely aware that spring in the states is not warm like in Australia. Actually it doesn't really get warm until late June!
Next morning, Thurs 1st May we made a bee line for the backcountry office as our application to camp for 2 nights below the rim sent 4 months earlier had been rejected. As it turned out the backcountry office was choc-a-block but we waited our turn and the ranger was very helpful. He gave us the option to hike down a more difficult and much less used trail, rather than waiting in the queue system for a few days to go down one of the main corridors. We jumped at the chance and were due to set out very early the next day. For the rest of that day we wandered along the top of the south rim. It was really cold but the sun was out, the sky was clear and the view was SPECTACULAR! Very impressive! Despite the masses of people and development it is definitely a must see if travelling the US. The sheer size of the canyon is amazing.
Freezing the next morning Friday 2nd May we packed up at 6am and set off to meet the ranger who was driving us out as close to the Waldron trailhead as possible. We would have no such help on the way back and would have to add the extra 3 mile firetrail walk to our trip. After talking to the ranger at length about Alaska and the evolution of the Grand Canyon possum we finally set out a little after 7am. Less than an hour into the walk we realized our mistake. We wore way too many clothes as it was freezing when we started out, but the walking warmed us quickly and we ended up carrying a lot of extra clothes down the canyon (and then back up again!) which could have been avoided, making our packs lighter and smaller. The views were stunning and we only passed one person as we hiked the 12km down the Waldron trail to meet the hermit trail. We felt like we had the canyon to ourselves and it was breathtaking. The best advice I could give is to avoid the main corridors down the Grand Canyon. There are many other trails which are much less frequently used and offer amazing hikes- though they tend to be a little tougher for this reason. The first couple of km we dropped dramatically in height and the switchbacks were steep with lots of loose rock to slide on. They call this a black trail (equivalent to black ski runs) and we were not looking forward to it as the last part of our hike out.
After a couple hours the trail eased a little to blue but we started to struggle with the weight of our packs. We were too prepared and had too much food and water....but better to be overprepared right? The wild flowers, deer and hundreds of lizards we saw made up for the sore shoulders though.
We made it to the bottom of the canyon in pretty good time and arrived about 1:30pm. We were camping for 2 nights at Hermit Creek. There were about 8 other people also at the camp site so we sussed out a little sandy spot on the river and set up camp after having a refreshing swim in the cold creek and a chat with old mate who hung with us while we had a cup of tea and told us all about Vegas. I slept incredibly well and was warm during the night for once as it is pretty hot down the bottom of the canyon.
The next day we were feeling the muscle fatigue a little so didn't push ourselves too hard and just walked the 3 miles along Hermit Creek to the Hermit Rapids where we sat for a couple of hours and swam in the freezing Colorado River at the very bottom of the canyon. The water was too cold to stand in for long but we had to do it for bragging rights! It was a stunning place to sit and look around. We set up camp slightly up river that night at a better spot. A large group arrived and had lost 2 of their group memebers so there were a few dramas until they were all reunited.
On Sunday morning we began our hike out early around 7am. With our packs a little lighter than the hike down we made good progress but it was really hard going. But even so we managed to make it to shade before the sun really started to heat up the canyon and thus managed to avoid a lot of the heat. We saw a group of deer bounding around the canyon- right near us and many more flowers and lizards. The scenery was just as beautiful on the way up but we kept the photos to a minimum as we had captured much of it on the way down. The steep inclines were tough but we took it slow and steady and managed to climb our way out by 2pm. The last 2km of switchbacks were an absolute killer though and we thought our calves might snap from the strain we put on them! And finally we made the 3 mile walk back along the fire trail to where our car was parked....but our spirits were a little diminished as we were absolutely exhausted! So first stop was the pub all smelly and sweaty for a big feed and a beer. Then we decided we didn't want a 5th night of camping where it would again be freezing at the top of the rim so we drove straight to Vegas and checked in at a hotel old mate had told us about...the Gold Nugget. We decided we deserved a hot shower and comfy bed for one night after all the hiking we had done.

Monument Valley, Utah

jomel — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:01:00 GMT

The next destination on our road trip was Monument Valley, Utah. There was plenty more desert to look at on this drive and we were getting pretty bored of the sandy desolate scenery, but almost instantly as we turned a corner all the sand and rocks turned red. It was very impressive! The roads were straight and boring but the scenery was getting more and more pretty. Upon arriving at Monument Valley which is located in the Navajo Indian Reservation we were informed that the camping site we had booked at no longer existed as they were building a hotel there, but for $20 we could set up camp on a rocky, exposed carpark. Awesome! But we took up the offer anyway as we pretty much had no other alternative.
We thought we had been prepared by putting up our tent in Sandra's backyard in Albuquerque but realized it didn't help that much because the wind was roaring and we had neglected to work out how the fly attached to the tent with our practice set up. We managed to get the tent set up but not without a good bucket or two of red sand getting blown in. The wind and stinging sand put kind of a downer on the experience and neither of us slept well with the tent flapping around but you couldn't mistake the beauty of the place as the sun set on the red rocks.
Next morning, Wed 30th April, we drove down through the trails which went around some of Monument Valley's most impressive buttes and plateaus and took about 100 photos like a good tourist. Jo was enjoying driving the car through sandy banks and roadways but karma set in when we delibertaely took a 'no entry' road and got bogged in the sand about 10m in. That was the first time we both wished we had bought a 4WD, rather than just a rear wheel drive.
I tried putting rocks under the tyres and even digging the wheels out but they just kept getting deeper and deeper and I was getting more and more angry! So Jo was sent to find help while I fumed in the car. Help arrived half an hour later with an overly prepared Yankee who happened to have a tow rope in his 4WD and promptly pulled us out. Then it was time to drive to the Grand Canyon!

Starting to road trip...Albuquerque, New Mexico

jomel — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:53:00 GMT

Our first night on the road trip landed us in Odessa, Texas. We got in late, so rather than set the tent up, we decided to test out sleeping in the car, which was one of the requirements when we bought it. We had heard back home that Walmart car parks are open 24/7 so we pulled up at one of the Walmart giants and set up for sleep. Neither of us slept well however and we decided against Walmart carparks as a place to sleep in future. Despite the 24/7 toilets, it is noisy, too light and not necessarilly the safest place to stay as it attracts many interesting characters.
Next day, Wed 23rd April, we drove to Albuquerque where we due for our first WWOOFing experience. For those that aren't aware WWOOFing stands for (World Wide Opportunities on Organice Farms)- an acronym I can never remember! Before we left Australia we registered with WWOOF USA as we had heard about it from friends and thought it would be a great way to travel cheaply, meet some cool people and steer clear of the more typical tourist destinations. The scenery along the drive prooved deserted but interesting. We saw many oil wells in action- something I had never seen before. It was a little shocking to see just how many there were scattered over the incredibly desolate land, how bad it smelt and how polluted the air was. And we stopped in at Roswell for lunch and to check out the dodgy UFO museum....Jo found it kind of cool, but me, not so much. I think the UFO gimmicks are a little over done and didn't seem to be attracting that many tourists either.
Our first experience WWOOFing was with a large scale organic farm operation in Albuquerque called Los Poblanos. And by large scale we mean they made over a million dollars profit a year and needed to produce 1000kg of tomatoes each month to satisfy their customers! The interesting thing about this farm is that we couldn't stay on site as with most WWOOFing places. The farm was also an expensive Inn where guests could stay, and dirty farm hands didn't quite fit into the serene environment they were trying to create :) Instead we stayed with a lovely South African lady named Sandra listed in the WWOOFing book, and drove to the farm each day. We started work at 6:45am and it was freezing at that time. But by 12 noon we were getting sunburnt. We were definitely noticing the desert climate. We were the only WWOOFers at Los Poblanos and the long term apprentices took a while to warm to us. We later found out this was due to some poor experiences with WWOOFers in the past who really didn't do much work. The farm manager said we were the best WWOOFers they'd had though so hopefully we changed their opinion a little. We spent 3 days at Los Poblanos plus the weekend in Albuquerque and the farm work consisted mostly of weeding (we learnt how to use a hoe really well!), a little harvesting for the farmer's markets and preparing/planting a sunflower bed. If we had of stayed one more day we would have been able to join in the 1000 CSA membership party Los Poblanos was holding. CSA stands for 'Community Supported Agriculture' and many organic farms provide fruit and vegetables to CSA members. Overall we had a positive first WWOOF experience and Sandra was a very welcoming host who took us to some really cool alternative short movies, recommended some places to eat (The Flying Star!) and took us on a hike on the nearby La Luz trail. While in Alburquerque we also checked out the outdoor Earth Festival on Sunday where we saw salsa dancing, bought Sandra some sunflowers which we planted in her backyard as a departing thank you gift. We also managed to get Jo some much needed new reading glasses in Albuquerque which were lost with his stolen backpack in Atlanta. But 5 days after arriving it was time to move on again.

Austin, Texas

jomel — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:44:00 GMT

So the jomel adventure actually started in Austin, Texas on Friday 18th April when I arrived after 40 hours of flying and lay overs. I was exhasuted to say the least- not the best slying experience but at least the hotel changed our room so I could got straight to bed at 11am for a few hours sleep before Jo and the boys arrived in town. We stayed at Extended Stay America in Downtown Austin- walking distance to all the great spots. We had dinner at Hooters (classy I know but I was with 6 guys) and then Jo and I called it a night for some much needed sleep and a catch up.

Sat in Austin was cruisy as I was seriously jet lagged. That was when we were first introduced to Chipolte, WholeFoods and REI. Three places we have since been back to many times while in the states! Some of the supermarkets in the US put Australia's to shame. So many fresh and delicious foods. We also did some pretty serious car shopping. And by serious I mean we bought the second one we looked at and the first one we test drove. A 2000 Ford Explorer, very well looked after and seemed to run well (according to us two mechanically ignorant nomads).

With Jo's replacement passport in hand (stolen while they were in Atlanta) we hit the town with the grid iron boys on Sat night; Simmo, Gumby, Mick, Jimmy, and Marco. Patrone was the theme for the evening and it did not end pretty! I should try not to drink one for one with any male, especially those who have been on a drinking spree for 3 weeks!

Sunday was all about battling. Big time. I felt shocking! Could barely leave the room. Jo was also dying as his old liver did not like the 3 week drinking binge. We are definitely out of uni practice. Needless to say the boys went out without Jo and I that night.

Monday however we had recuperated enough and after spending a fortune on camping gear at REI and picking up our new car we hit the town again with a slightly less shameful performance. We did tapas and cocktails, then cards and late nght banter at a pub where the bar walls were completely covered with different kinds of beer on tap. Not bad for a Monday night.

Tues 22nd April we said good bye to the guys and departed Austin, but still without Jo's wallet which he had left at the hotel in the last town he was at (obviously hungover). So we chased the UPS truck around for a good 5 hours before finally starting our road trip.

Gallery: Profile

jomel — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 12:49:00 GMT

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