The Places In Between

Rescuing a feral bee hive

2011-04-03T04:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went to relocate a feral beehive that was in somebody's yard. The hive had apparently been hanging on the branch of a pine tree for a year or two, and the homeowner wanted it gone. I heard about it through a local beekeeping club and was intrigued by the whole process of getting a wild hive or swarm as opposed to paying the $90 to get nuc. A lady from the club agreed to help me get it out of the tree.

When we arrived, the hive was much bigger than I expected and much higher too, about 30 feet off the ground. I immediately had second thoughts, as getting on an extension ladder 30 feet off the ground with several thousand stinging bees(possibly africanized) seemed pretty stupid.

I propped the ladder up against the tree and climbed up to get a better view of things. The bees took little notice of me. I tied a rope around the branch then threw it over a higher branch, with the intent of lowering the branch slowly to the ground so as not to piss off the bees or damage any of the honey comb. I retreated down the ladder and started cutting the branch with the pole saw. When I got about half way through sawing the branch.... WHAM.... the branch snapped and came crashing towards the ground. The hive exploded with thousands upon thousands of bees angrily flying about. Fortunately, the branch didn't slam into the ground but got caught up in lower branches at head height.

We waited a moment to let things calm down before we started transferring the hive to its new home. The air smelled sweet with the aroma of honey. The outer comb was completely filled with honey and we carefully removed it from the tree branch and placed it in the hive. Next came the inner comb which was filled with brood cells. I couldn't find the queen, but after an hour or two, the bees were already flowing into and out of the box, so I took that as a sure sign that she was in the new hive box.

I sealed up the hive with ample amounts of duct tape, loaded up the hive and drove home. The hive is now in my back yard.

Here are some pictures... The iphone doesn't take pictures with gloved hands and I was a touch reluctant to get too close without gloves...

2010-06-09T06:56:00.000-07:00

Sou and I went fishing yesterday in the fading afternoon light. The simple repetition of cast, reel, cast, reel, cast was relaxing. The fish weren't biting or weren't fooled by the ruse. Never mind though. Standing lakeside and watching the sandhill cranes, herons, and the wind in the pines while spending quiet time with my wife was reward enough.

Paddling in the Keys and Everglades National Park

2010-06-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

Crossing from Key Largo into Everglades National Park

Taking a break and going for a swim

Taking shelter from the sun.

Sou and I rented kayaks in Key Largo this Memorial Day weekend. We paddled into Florida Bay, through some mangrove channels and into Everglades National Park. After a 3 mile open water crossing, we arrived at North Nest Key. While we had perfect weather on the crossing, 3 miles of open water is a long way! We kept paddling and the island didn't seem to get any closer. We stopped for a swim break during the paddle. North Nest Key is surrounded by beach and mangroves. We camped right on the beach and woke up early the next morning for the return trip.

Random alligator

2010-05-24T05:35:00.000-07:00

By the side of the road, no water in sight.

Keep out!

2010-05-24T05:30:00.000-07:00

While out on a bike ride yesterday morning, I came across this sign.

Canoeing on the Wekiva River

2010-05-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

Sou and I headed to the nearby Wekiva River to go canoeing on Saturday morning. From the put-in, we paddled upstream towards Wekiva Springs. During our paddle we saw an alligator, herons, egrets, and turtles. We had a refreshing swim in the blue waters of the spring that remain a constant 72 degrees throughout the year.

Brown Pelican

2010-05-20T07:30:00.000-07:00

While canoeing on the Inter-Coastal Waterway in FL

Castillo de San Marcos

2010-05-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

St. Augustine, FL

Rice paddies, mountains and beach

2009-12-28T21:23:00.000-08:00

This trip is drawing to a close rapidly; perhaps too much so.

The lack of posts can only be attributed to a general lack of internet connections and regular brown-outs. Since we've been here, at least every other day has had several hours of no electricity.

Enough.

So, from Lovina, we headed inland on steep mountain roads to the town of Moundok. Moundok is perched on a ridge and has stunning views in all directions. The slopes of the nearby hills are carpeted in clove, vanilla and coffee trees. The smell of roasting coffee was ever-present. We continued upward and reached several alpine lakes in the calderas of extinct volcanoes. One of the lakes had a Hindu water-temple which was perched on several islands. The variety of plant species is mind-boggling as we found when we visited a botanical garden in the mountains.

We spent two nights in Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali. We took early morning walks (to beat the heat) through river valleys and rice paddies. We visited a few art galleries, but I can say that the real highlight of this town was the food. Two dishes in particular: roasted duck marinated for 36 hours in a plethora of spices AND suckling pig. Divine.

From Ubud, we took a five hour ferry ride to the nearby island of Lombok. Lombok, unlike Bali, is predominately Muslim. We drove around this island also, which was delightfully devoid of tourists. We stumbled upon a small homestay where we were the only guests. We had a pristine beach shaded by coconut palms to ourselves.

The last couple of days, we've been back in Kuta, Bali. I took two days of 'surf school' while Sou worked on her tan, read, and got massages. The surfing has been a blast: I was able to stand up the first day and I'm now trying to perfect turning....

That's all for now.

Beachbound in Bali

2009-12-13T20:34:00.000-08:00

We are in Bali! The flight here was uneventful and we had a good view of the island on our approach to the airport, which is on the southern end of the island. Bali is a beautiful volcanic island with one large volcano and several smaller volcanoes. The first day, we wanted to get situated, so we headed to the main part of the island, which was only about 10k from the airport. The main tourist area, Kuta, is a bit like Miami Beach with tons of very tan people, surfing, stores, hotels and restaurants. There is a Hard Rock Cafe and many other international chains as well. Our first afternoon, we went swimming in the ocean, walked around Kuta, and had a nice dinner.

The next day, we decided that we wanted to rent transportation. The public transportation system here is abysmal and very expensive compared to renting transportation. We'd read that you are supposed to have an international or Indonesian drivers license to rent a car. Most people we talked to said that not having this was not a problem and that if you got stopped, you paid a bribe to the 'mosquitoes' (aka corrupt police) and are done with it. I was on the fence about doing this, but the clincher was that your insurance would be invalidated if there were any 'issues'. So, in the end, I decided to get an Indonesian motorcycle license. What an experience it was at the DMV! There were long lines and a test in Indonesian. Fortunately, the answers were also provided to the test and foreigners who pay the foreigner rate are ushered to the front of some of the lines. After two hours are the DMV, I am now licensed here in Indonesia to drive a motorcycle....

So, we went back to Kuta and rented a moped. The moped is loaded down with a duffel bag between us and a shoulder bag on Sou's back. Getting out of Kuta and Denpasar, the capital, was a challenge all it's own. Sou and I tried to follow signs to Sanur, another beach town 15k away. The lack of signage allowed us to see a fair amount of the capital, like it or not. We finally made it to Sanur; it took us an hour and a half to go 15k. Fortunately, we found a hotel just off the beach on the leafy grounds of a museum. We strolled the beachside walkway, read and lounged on the beach, and had a candle lit dinner overlooking the water while listening to Bob Marley.

The following day, we followed the coast road around the island about 70k. We diverged from the main road and traffic got much lighter. We took a non-direct route and followed the coastline around one of the smaller volcanoes. The coast went from lush forest with stands of bamboo, coconut palms, banana trees, and rice paddies to a semi-arid landscape of rock and brush. In Ahmed, a town known for its snorkeling and diving, we found our hotel from a friendly guy by the side of the road (who owned a restaurant next door). The room was really nice with an outdoor bathroom. We rented snorkel gear and swam just off-shore to the reef. The reef was in about 2 meters of water and was teeming with aquatic life. We saw a wide variety of fish that reminded Sou of "Finding Nemo". Yesterday, Sou was excited to find a free copy of the last book in the "Twilight" series and spent the day reading with pauses to swim in the pool and snorkel.

The "King of Fruits"

2009-12-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

No Durian allowed.

Wikipedia says: "The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust. The odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia."

We haven't had any Durian yet, but we've smelled the 'sweet' aroma while walking through the markets.

Back in Bangkok

2009-12-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

We're back in Bangkok after a 10 hour bus ride from Chiang Mai, Thailand. The bikes are boxed up and stored until our return trip. Sou and I just booked tickets to Bali, Indonesia where we'll spend Christmas lounging on a beach. It's a hard life....

Happy Holidays, all

Christmas decorations in Bangkok

Up the Mekong on a slow boat

2009-12-07T05:53:00.000-08:00

From Luang Prabang, we boarded a slow boat and headed upriver on the Mekong towards Thailand. Two days on the boat with an overnight stop brought us to the Thai border. The scenery along the river was beautiful -- limestone karst mountains, sandy beaches and small villages. No roads run to the Mekong along this part of the river, so it felt very remote. You'd travel an hour or two upriver before seeing a small village.....

Luang Prabang and Elephants

2009-12-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

Sou and I are now in the world heritage city
of Luang Prabang. We arrived here the other night by bus but first an
update from the last couple of days.

We went to the backpacker haven of Vang Vieng which is in a river
valley surrounded by limestone karst peaks. We rented a motorcycle
and cruised up the valley to visit a cluster of caves. One cave had a
tributary running out of it, so we rented tubes and pulled ourselves
through the cave. We travelled back about two hundered meters into
the cave. It was a very cool experience to be dragging ourselves
through the cave and only hearing the sound of rushing water.

After emering from the cave, we hiked around for a while, went for a
massage, then went back to the river to go tubing. The tubing was a
bit like Cancun at spring break. Enterprising locals had set up
several bars with rope swings and really loud music. Sou and I
bypassed the throngs of inebriated twenty-somethings and headed
downstream.

Two days in Vang Vieng was enough for us, so we got back on the bikes
and headed up highway 13 towards Luang Prabang. We muscled through
several mountain passes, but realized we had too far to go before the
day's end. Moreover, we heard that the passes got much much longer.
So... we decided to bus it to Luang Prabang.

Luang Prabang is a world heritage city surrounded by mountains. It
has a plethora of wats (temples) and we visited just the highlights.
We climbed the 239 stairs that led to the mountain-top wat in the
center of the city and visited a few others nearby. We wandered the
streets and alleys checking out the french colonial architecture and
dined at a restaurant on the river. One of the great remanants (in my
view anyway), are baguettes -- the baguettes make great egg sandwiches
for breakfast. For lunch they're eaten Lao-style, mixed with shredded
green papaya, carrots, and hot peppers. Delicous. The other remnant
of the french is bocci ball....

After checking out the city, we were ready to do something else. Sou
saw signs for Mahout training (elephant driver) and was intent on this
trip. So on the spur of a moment decision, we decided to go on a two
day mahout training course. It was just amazing! There were 9 female elephant the oldest being 65 and the youngest 17. We arrived at elephant camp in the morning and went on an hour long ride through the river and forest. It was quite the experience riding on these magnificent creatures. They are so graceful and majestic. After that, we took a Mahout (elephant driver) training course and learned how to drive, mount and dismount. The Mahouts make it look so easy but I can assure you it is not. That afternoon, we took our elephants to the forest where they are left to forage and sleep until morning. We returned for a nice dinner at elephant camp and after a short boat ride under the full moon, were returned to our guest house. The next morning, we woke early to retrieve our elephants from the forest. Another ride back through the forest and then elephant bathing. It was so much fun!!! The elephants walked halfway into the river and layed down submerging us and themselves into the water. With a brush, we cleaned and washed all the dirt away. You can see there trunks swinging around drinking water.

Now we are headed up the Mekong by slow-boat on our way back to
Northern Thailand....

Catching Sunset

2009-11-27T22:40:00.000-08:00

From the guesthouse balcony.

Into the North

2009-11-27T22:30:00.000-08:00

We've left the Mekong river valley and have entered the mountains of Northern Laos. The roads are rarely flat, which is a nice change from the south.

Sou weding her way up a hill.

Lotus blossoms

Bussing back to Vientianne

2009-11-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

I knew it was going to be a long trip after the bus stopped not a hundered yards from the bus terminal to pick up another passenger. So began our two bus trips back from Southern Laos to Vientianne. Riding the bus was an experience to say the least... The bus was packed full of passengers and stopped repeatedly to either pick up more people or let off people. When all of the seats were full, people sat in the isles on plastic stools. Lao karaoke played on an endless loop. The bus had all manner of luggage from chickens, sacks rice, our bikes and a motorcycle tied down on the roof. We were very happy to arrive back in the capital.

Our bus averaged 25 miles per hour over the course of our trip.

Si Pan Don (4000 Islands)

2009-11-27T22:08:00.000-08:00

After Wat Phu, we rode another four days, with a short stop in the city of Pakse, to the 4000 Islands. Si Pan Don, as its know in Lao, is an archipeligo in the Mekong. This is one of the southernmost spots in Laos, and we were looking forward to a few days of relaxation and swinging in a hammock before bussing it back to Vientianne and heading north.

Champasak and Wat Phu

2009-11-27T21:52:00.000-08:00

After visiting Sou's family, we headed South towards the old provincial capital of Champasak and the ruins of Wat Phu. We turned off the highway and headed towards the Mekong. The ferry crossing consisted of two canoe's lashed together with planking overtop and a lawnmower engine.

Campasak was a sleepy, one street village which we both found really laid-back and pleasant. After finding a guest house with views of the river, we rode 10k out to the ruins of Wat Phu. The temple was built around the 16th century and is built into the side of a mountain near a spring. A set of perfectly straight stairs leads to the terrace which houses the temple complex. There are several different temples all with spectacular views of the Mekong river valley. Sou and I looked around the site and found a couple of other carvings: a crocodile, an elephant, and several buddas.

Laab Flavored Lay's

2009-11-19T00:40:00.000-08:00

Sou writes:

Laab is a national Lao dish made of beef, chicken, pork or chicken. It is a salad made of minced meat and mixed with chili flakes, paddek (fermented fish sauce), lime juice, khao khua (sticky rice roasted until black and then made into a fine powder), cilantro, mint and shallots. The meat mixed in can be raw or cooked. It is eaten with sticky rice and various vegetables including lettuce, cucumber and other fresh herbs. It is one of our favorite dishes to eat!!! It is often spicy and is definitely a wakeup call for the tastebuds.

Imagine our surprise when we came upon Laab flavored Lays potatoe chips!! We took our tasty package back to the guesthouse in great anticipation.

Not as we expected but a something to write home about.

This package went for about .25 and had about five chips.....

A Present First .... Lost in Translation

2009-11-19T00:34:00.000-08:00

Going Home

2009-11-18T01:00:00.000-08:00

Sou writes:

We are now in a a town called Pakse, 659km from Vientiane. It's been quite the whirlwind few days with two nights in my parents village, two blessing ceremonies, harvesting rice and lots and lots of family. Uncle in Savannakhet drove us to the village with our bikes in tow. When we left the paved road and started on the dirt path to the village, things started becoming a little surreal. As uncle pointed out, 'this is the road I walked on for 7km and the river I had to swim across to take my finals to pass the 6th grade.' And, 'these are the palm trees your grandfather planted so many years back.'

After a bumpy ride, we arrived and walked through the forest to a small clearing where I believe is the stupa of my ancestors. (I am not certain) But we lit incense and words to the effect of "your child and son-in-law have come home. Please do not be surprised." A small pig was offered to the spirits. We ate and drank there and the story of our biking from Vientiane was told to much laughter. They laughed at my brown tanned skin and they wanted to know what Bryan eats. "Does he eat sticky rice like us?"

We went to several houses, my dad's birthhome, my mom's, my aunties. We went to several wats to light incense at the stupa of many relatives who have passed. An afternoon later, city Uncle returned home and we went to village Uncle's (my mom's younger brother) house where we had some quiet time to relax and chat. He took us on the back of his pickup to tour the village and see his fields. It was very nice. We saw his fish pond and his organic garden. He showed us how he harvests rice. I saw his water buffalos, ducks, chickens, cows, pigs. I saw how he catches crickets to sell in the city (a delicacy). We toured the old village where he pointed out craters formed from bombs during the war and stupas where clearly bullets had left their mark.. It was an amazing experience.

The next day, we went to Auntie's house (dad's younger sister) They took us out to the field and we harvested rice. It was funny. Auntie gave me her shirt to wear so my skin wouldn't turn dark and she gave me one of those cone hats to wear. Bryan even tried chewing betal nut with Auntie. It was hilarious -- his mouth was all red!! We returned to Auntie's for a blessing ceremony and ate lunch. We returned to Uncle's house that evening for another blessing ceremony. The next morning, Uncle dropped us off at the main road and we have been on the road to Pakse ever since.

Pictures from Savannakhet

2009-11-12T20:26:00.000-08:00

Pedalling South

2009-11-10T20:23:00.000-08:00

Sou and I headed south out of Vientiane on Highway 13, the national highway. We've had to leave really early in the day to try to beat the tropical heat and the unrelenting sun. Our days thus far have consisted of waking up around 4:30 or 5:00 and heading out under cover of darkness. Orion's belt, the big dipper, and the milky way are visible until day starts to break around 6:30. Fortunately, the traffic is light. We quietly slip through small villages, rice paddies and farm land. Roosters crow and we dodge the morning traffic: cows, goats, or the errant dog. As morning progresses, we accompany kids on bikes en route to school. They barrage us with "Hel-Low!" or "Sa-Bai-Di!"

The terrain has been mostly flat thus far. The highway is nicely paved and has kilometer markers that read the distance from Vientiane and to the next town. The Mekong is usually meandering along somewhere to our right and the mountains are off in the distance to the left.

Once the sun is up, the day turns hot very quickly. We bike usually until around 11AM or noon, then try to find a guest house. We spend the rest of the day exploring the town or sightseeing. We are now in Thakek, about 332 km from the capital and are continuing to head south.

In Vientiane

2009-11-06T05:25:00.000-08:00

From Bangkok, we flew to Vientiane, Laos. We've been experiencing sensory overload since we've been here.

How do I describe it in a few words?

Read:

Hot, humid, soupy air.

Delicious street food cooked to order. (prawns, grilled chicken, sticky rice, mango, french bread)

Maniacal drivers (pedestrians and bicyclists beware)

Diners next to the Mekong River while enjoying the sunset

Wats and temples everywhere

Monks browsing at the shopping mall

A steady stream of motorbikes

Construction and modernization amid memories of the past

Sou enjoying the sunset.

Sunset over the Mekong.

Sushi in Japan

2009-11-06T04:59:00.000-08:00

Sou and I had a brief layover at Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan while en route to Bangkok. We wanted to try some 'authentic' Japanese sushi, so we found a sushi restaurant in the airport. We should have figured out the exchange rate in advance, because our tiny tray of sushi went for a whopping $25. Whoops. (But it was delicious....)

Sunday Sail on Lake Union

2009-11-02T18:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Sou and I headed to The Center for Wooden Boats on Lake Union in Seattle. The Center showcases Northwest maritime culture and also offers a free afternoon sailing on Sundays. The wind was a little calm, but it was great to float around Lake Union on a sunny afternoon.

http://www.cwb.org/

Flying around Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula

2009-11-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

Scott invited us to tag along on his afternoon training flight. We took off from Tacoma Narrows airport and flew over the Olympic Mountains and out along the peninsula. Awesome. Here are a few photos that I took from Scott's phone (forgot the camera again...)

Halloween Wedding

2009-11-02T17:06:00.000-08:00

Sou and I tied the knot again weekend in Tacoma. Thanks to all who took part in our traditional Lao wedding

Photos: Gabriel "Toaster" Nagmay

http://gabriel.nagmay.com/

Fun with Holga

2009-10-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

I recently picked up a new Holga camera. These cameras are cheap plastic medium format film cameras that are well known for vignetting and light leaks.

Farewell Portland

2009-10-29T17:07:00.000-07:00

Sou and I woke up early to pick up our moving truck. We picked up the our truck but Penske didn't have the car carrier. No bother, we headed home and loaded up the truck and cleaned the apartment.

When we arrived back at Penske, the still didn't have the car carrier. Fortunately, Penske (thanks Joyce!) offered to pay for our lunch while we waited for the carrier. So we enjoyed lunch at a Hawaiian restaurant on Sandy before getting our car loaded and heading out of Portland.

Harvest

2009-10-27T15:45:00.000-07:00

By Louise Glück from A Village Life

It's autumn in the market—
not wise anymore to buy tomatoes.
They're beautiful still on the outside,
some perfectly round and red, the rare varieties
misshapen, individual, like human brains covered in red oilcloth—

Inside, they're gone. Black, moldy—
you can't take a bite without anxiety.
Here and there, among the tainted ones, a fruit
still perfect, picked before decay set in.

Instead of tomatoes, crops nobody really wants.
Pumpkins, a lot of pumpkins.
Gourds, ropes of dried chilies, braids of garlic.
The artisans weave dead flowers into wreaths;
they tie bits of colored yarn around dried lavender.
And people go on for a while buying these things
as though they thought the farmers would see to it
that things went back to normal:
the vines would go back to bearing new peas;
the first small lettuces, so fragile, so delicate, would begin
to poke out of the dirt.

Instead, it gets dark early.
And the rains get heavier; they carry
the weight of dead leaves.

At dusk, now, an atmosphere of threat, of foreboding.
And people feel this themselves; they give a name to the season,
harvest, to put a better face on these things.

The gourds are rotting on the ground, the sweet blue grapes are finished.
A few roots, maybe, but the ground's so hard the farmers think
it isn't worth the effort to dig them out. For what?
To stand in the marketplace under a thin umbrella, in the rain, in the cold,
no customers anymore?

And then the frost comes; there's no more question of harvest.
The snow begins; the pretense of life ends.
The earth is white now; the fields shine when the moon rises.

I sit at the bedroom window, watching the snow fall.
The earth is like a mirror:
calm meeting calm, detachment meeting detachment.

What lives, lives underground.
What dies, dies without struggle.

_______________________________________________

The days are growing short, leaves litter the ground, the rains have come again. It's time to migrate to warmer climes!

Harvest Season

2007-09-05T07:37:00.000-07:00

The falls

We crossed the border back into the US at Niagara Falls on Labor Day weekend. Being a holiday on both sides of the border, the falls were inundated with people. Crossing the border, customs officials wouldn't let us use the pedestrian bridge, so were were forced to wait in the traffic jam of vehicles on the bridge. It was a bit daunting waiting in line for customs with several hundered vehicles.

After crossing back into the US, we rode over to the Erie Canal Trail along the Erie Canal. The canal was once a major transportation route to upstate New York, which helped in fostering the economic development of New York City. Now the canal is no longer used for commercial purposes. The canal trail was 80 miles of perfectly flat, crushed gravel, with NO CARS. This was a nice break from the shoulder-less roads of Canada. The canal passes through small, sleepy towns. After reluctantly getting off the canal trail, we headed north along the coast of Lake Ontario. We've also gotten back into some rolling hills, which we haven't experienced in at least a thousand miles or so. The roads of NY state are fantastic. The shoulders are so wide that it's almost as if they're bike lanes.

Harvest season is in full swing. We pedal through apple and peach orchards, vineyards, and corn fields. Further west it was fields of wheat, sugar beets, and soy beans. There are farm stands at almost every turn and the eatin' is good. We've been feasting on fresh fruit, apple cider, and of course.... pies!

--

After a few weeks on the road, the life of cross country cyclist becomes pretty routine. We wake up shortly after sunrise and pack up camp. We either eat an appetizing breakfast of granola bars and fruit or head to a nearby cafe/diner. After breakfast we pedal throughout the morning breaking for water, snacks or to consult the map. Lunch is usually another diner or a quick trip into a grocery store. Back on the bikes, we pedal into the afternoon, usually stopping for diner at yet another restaurant. We find a place to camp for the evening and set up camp, relax, and read. Then repeat.

Canada, Eh?

2007-08-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

Roadside breakstop

Fields of color in North Dakota.

In Canada right now, taking a short cut across the top of the great lakes after pedalling across the upper peninsula of Michigan. We've been riding on the Trans-Canada Highway, which has NO shoulder whatsoever. Also, being the trans-canada highway, trucks and other traffic zoom by continuously. To complicate matters, it's rained the past two days.
We finally got off the TransCanada highway and headed south on Manitoulin Island. The 40 miles on the island were rolling farmland. We'll take a ferry back to the mainland and head south back to the border and Buffalo, NY.

Where in the world?

2007-08-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

We've crossed the 'unofficial' boundary of West and East, the Mississippi River. The source of the mighty Mississippi is the not so mighty Itasca State Park. In the park, you can wade through the stream that eventually will become the river.

Pictures

2007-08-15T09:48:00.001-07:00

Sunset in Nashua, MT after a storm.

It's all downhill from here...

Early monring at Diablo Lake, North Cascades National Park

Misty morning road

One of many barns, near Colville WA.

Stillwater Landing Music Festival. Bob featured on the right.

Pedalling through Big Sky Country

2007-08-10T13:33:00.000-07:00

Distance Travelled: 1350 miles.

My fortune cookie at lunch read: "Expect some help within the next week. Accept it graciously." I took this for a good omen, because who can't use a helping hand along the way? I just didn't know that help would come so soon....

A bit after lunch, we were in the middle of our longest day yet, and were hoping to call it quits for the day at Duck Lake. As we approached our 75th mile, we started looking for this so called Duck Lake but couldn't find it. There were no signs, so we just kept pedalling away, looking for a place to sleep for the night. At 82 miles, we were getting a bit weary and came across a beautiful camp on a lake. The sign said "No Trespassing" (as everything does in Montana), so we decided to check it out anyway. Either they'd take pitty on us or point us towards a camp spot down the road a bit. We started talking to the first person we saw and they directed us to Bill. Bill was the man in charge and he'd certainly let us know where we could camp. As it turned out, we found Bill and he let us know that, yes, we were trespassing but that we could stay and join the festival. It turns out we'd stumbled on a private music festival put on by Bill.

We set up camp, went for a swim in the lake, and then staked out a grassy spot near the stage. The night had multiple musicians playing bluegrass and folk. The fun continued long into early hours of the morning, though after our long day, we didn't make it quite that long..... As we sat there with new friends, enjoying fantastic music, I realized that this is why I love to travel -- you never know what could happen by the day's end.

---------

A few nights back, we entered Glacier National Park and prepared to pass over the Continental Divide. We woke up early in the morning because the road closes to bikers at 11am. We started the winding 17 mile road to the summit. We met a guy at the campground that bet us a dollar each that we couldn't beat him to the top. Needless to say, I won the dollar, but he never paid up. The mountain views were beautiful but obscured by the smoke from the forest fires. (it seems that the whole western part of the state is ablaze)

After the fantastic downhill from the divide, the landscape changed markedly. The mountains gave way to patches of aspen trees and then to arid plains. The plains have their own stark beauty, but there is almost no vegetation (no shade to speak of). The plains are featureless -- a sea of grass. The winds whip over the plains. If they're going your direction, you can cruise at 18 mph without pedalling. The last three days, we were able to make 300 miles. When the winds change, and you are pedalling into the wind, you can pedal as hard as possible and only make 9mph.

----

2007-08-01T14:41:00.000-07:00

It had been raining since we left Portland and hadn't let up until we left the campground early Sunday morning. The plan was to drive the last 60 miles to Cape Flattery, then bicycle back to the campground, beginning the 4000 some odd miles to the Atlantic Ocean. Riding the last 60 miles in the car to Cape Flattery, I was much more cognizant of every hill and mountain, knowing that in a few hours that I would be pedaling back over this same ground.

I must admit, hiking down reach Cape Flattery, the most Northwest point in the continental US, I was feeling a strange mixture of apprehension and excitement. The dream was finally becoming a reality and the only thing left to do was pause for a few pictures, then start pedaling. Fortunately, the trip began with a six mile downhill. We rode along Route 101 bordered by the Straight of Jaun de Fuca on our left and verdant forests on our right. We arrived back at the same campground some 7 hours later, both exausted. My Dad hadn't quite bargained for the hills, coming from Florida, where the third tallest mountain is Space Mountain. I was also a bit unprepared, never having biked further than 50 miles before.

We crossed the 120 miles of the Olympic Peninsula in 2 days, then took the ferry from Port Townsend to Fort Casey on Bainbridge Island. From Bainbridge Island, we were treated to our first views of the Olympic Mountains when the clouds finally cleared. At the northern end of Bainbridge Island, we crossed Deception Pass and headed through Anacortes and then towards North Cascades National Park. The road to the park followed the Skagit River and passed through temperate rainforest and farmland.

Once we got into the park, it was a brutal 30 mile climb to Washington Pass. The uphill slog began at 7 am and lasted us well into the afternoon. At the pass, the landscape changed dramatically. The Douglas Fir forests gave way to sheer peaks then gave way to Ponderosa Pines, sagebrush, and cottonwoods. We paused briefly at the pass and then started 17 miles of glorious downhill.

If there is one great thing about riding a bike, it's riding it downhill as fast as you possibly can. At the top of the pass, I downshifted to my lowest gear then start pedaling as hard as possible. All this yields hair-raising speeds of about 40 miles an hour and ear to ear grins. As we descended from the pass, it was like heading into a blast furnace. You could feel the temperature rising with each thousand feet that we descended. Eastern Washington has been nothing but sunny and hot. With temperatures consistently in high 90s, I drink at least a gallon of water a day and I'm still dehydrated. Any body of water large enough to swim in, we do. This includes lakes, rivers, streams, ect. The locals seem to congregate here also, which makes for some interesting interaction.

Today we finally left Washington State. We're in the town on Sandpoint Idaho and will be entering Montana tomorrow. I have to say, I love the short states - real confidence boosters. The only low point in the trip thus far was getting stung in the face by a bee. My left eye was swollen shut which put me out for a day. Biking with only one eye proved to be too difficult, especially when some drivers try to brush-you-back over the white line.

The Sandpoint librarian is giving me the evil eye, which means it's time to sign off. More to follow....