Outside Portland, Oregon June 5, 2013
The problem with blogs is trying to keep up with them!
Life moves too quickly, the days morphing into weeks and
then into months -- especially when one is on the road daily, changing towns
and often states! How can you capture that movement in words and photos? Traveling
everyday means tearing down camp; finding a new place up the road by searching the
internet for the “best” (i.e. cheap, clean and natural) choice for camping, and
then setting-up again. All this, on top of the normal daily activities that
seem to occur in slow motion because of the modest amenities, leaves little
time for absorbing experiences fully. Life on the road is sometimes more like a
blur than anything else. We seem to adapt to the constant change rather than
fully participating in it.
Experience has shown us that we are happier when we stay in
one place for several days (which we did in most of the big National Parks –
Arches, Bryce, Grand Canyon, etc). This allows us to get a real sense of each place
and get out of the “Dory mobile” (as we affectionately call our van) and
explore the places we are visiting more actively. Unfortunately we can’t always
take the time to do this. We decided from the beginning not to make
reservations in the campgrounds so we could have freedom to change our
itinerary as we felt like, when we felt like. This has worked out remarkably
well. Of course, most of the National Parks have been completely reserved for
months and the park attendants look at us with astonishment when we inquire
about a site for the night! But fortunately for us, other organizations such as
the State Parks, County/city Parks, the Bureau of Land Management, and Forest
Services have alternative first-come-first-serve campsites (which are really
nice and often less expensive). Thanks to these options we haven’t been without
a place to sleep on any single night. Things might be different in the middle
of the summer when even these alternative campgrounds fill rapidly. On more
than one occasion we have resorted to overflow camping at these alternative
places, which is not great but by being onsite you walk around and find who is
leaving the next morning and have first crack at a good site.
Recently, since we started up the Coast of the Pacific, the
pace has picked up again. We have been on the road daily and although we take
the opportunity to walk the beaches (they are soooo beautiful and expansive)
and watch the sunsets, we only really do so superficially, regretfully. It is
probably a good sign that we are regretful since it means that we should come
back to this area another time, soon.
June 8, Vancouver, British Columbia.
We are back on Canadian soil. That is the longest I have
ever left Canada, I think! We have had an amazing experience in the US (and
people have been warm and kind for the most part), but it is nice to be “home”.
It is especially nice that we are about to visit my family who I don’t get to
see often enough since we live so far apart.
This weekend we are hanging out with my nephew Matt and his
girlfriend, Elaine, in Vancouver. After that, we travel inland to the Okanagan
Valley (Kelowna) to see my mom & dad. In one week from today, we will be in
Banff to see my sister Denise, and Bruce, Karen and other friends. And as if
that wasn’t a big enough treat, we are also staying in Calgary to see my niece
Susan and her lovely family (Ray and my great-niece, Louisa and my
great-nephew, James!). Calgary is also home to my niece, Caitlin, who we will
get to see. A short side trip to Red Deer will bring us to my brother, Larry
and his girlfriend, Vicki and hopefully my nephew Mark and his girlfriend,
Alexis. Even if it is just for quick visits, I feel very fortunate and happy to
see my loved ones!
I realize that I haven’t written about the places we
travelled to recently. After the last entry, we left the National Parks and
moved into Las Vegas – a transition that I made with trepidation since Las
Vegas doesn’t appeal to me. I have always thought of it as an adult Disney
Land, which forgive me for saying, it is! But it was interesting to walk
endlessly and see all the glitz.
We went to two amazing Cirque du Soleil shows:
Love (Beatles) and Kà. While staying in Las Vegas we were hosted by a Québecoise
ex-pat, Marylène and her family. Marylène is a performer for the Cirque du
Soleil in Kà, which made the experience of the show even more exciting and special
for us. Marie-Andrée posted photos of us with some of the cast including
Marylène, backstage on her previous post. Marylène generously took the time to
show us the sets, costumes, etc.
The person who set us up to stay at
Marylène’s, was her aunt, Sylvie, who is a colleague and friend of
Marie-Andrée. Sylvie and her husband, Michel, have the same type of van as we
do (a competitor version!) and they too were traveling in the Southwest.
It is
a small world! We all camped at Marylène’s and Sylvie and Michel, who have been
in Las Vegas on several occasions, generously toured us around the city, day
and night. All this – great accommodations, great company and VIP treatment at
Kà – made the whole experience unforgettable! I left Las Vegas happy.
After Las Vegas, we crossed over to California and headed
back to the National Parks: Sequoia and Yosemite. We didn’t get any extensive
hikes in but we were able to get an overall idea of the highlights of these
parks before we ventured towards the Pacific Coast.
I must admit that I have been anxiously waiting to get to
the ocean again! I love the water and although the desert experiences were very
interesting, I could never live that far from water. There are lakes in the
desert – Lake Powell and Lake Mead were two that we stayed at, but lakes that
are human-created by damming rivers are not the same as natural lakes. They
feel harsh and unyielding to me. They are beautiful in their own
austere way.
Our first stop on the coast was Westport Beach,
approximately 200 miles north of San Francisco. We decided to start high up the
coast of California since Southern California felt too expensive (campgrounds
are between $7-15 a night in the Southwest and minimally $20-50 a night on the
coast!) and too crowded to attract us on this particular trip. Also, we had a
holiday in San Francisco and the Napa and Sonoma a few years ago so we bypassed
them this time.
On the first evening on the Pacific we took a bottle of wine
and headed for the beach to watch the sunset. As we climbed a few rocks to find
a spot protected from the wind, we came across two people sitting where we were
heading. We knew these people! We had met them in Port Aransas, Texas when we had
camped directly on the beach. They had stopped to talk to us because they are
also traveling in a Safari Condo (the type of van conversion we have). The Safari
Condo company is a relatively small one and the vast majority of owners of
these vehicles are French Canadians, so when you see one, you are also see
someone from “home” who is also probably French Canadian. There is a real
camaraderie amongst owners. It was highly unlikely to meet up with the same
people twice on such a long and expansive trip. The irony is we really didn’t
“click” with them, despite having so many interests and recent experiences in
common!
Up the coast we continued and our next stop was Patrick’s
Point State Park – a foggy, rather rugged area of shoreline. Our campsite,
although nice, had the disadvantages of the coastal climate (humid, cold and
windy) without any views of the ocean.
We vowed to get a spot were we could
really profit from the ocean and the next day we drove to Lincoln City, Oregon
where we opted for a free overnight parking in a casino spot. It had a clear
view of, and access to, the beach! Oh what a beautiful beach, too! The Pacific
is too wild and too cold to swim or even kayak in this time of year but the
guys on the Kite-boarders (very experienced and with full wetsuits) sure took
full advantage of the ocean. I could have watched them for hours.
Casino “camping” is a lot like Wal-Mart “camping” and
although it has really helped us out a few times, we would rather stay almost
anywhere else if we have a choice. Most of the people at these places almost
never come out of their vehicles. It is considered bad etiquette to put out
chairs or tables in these places. We don’t have the luxury of much choice
though and if we want to eat or have a coffee, we need to get out of the van a
bit!
The people staying in parking lots are a mix of frugal, well-off retirees
living in huge rigs, vacationers on a tight budget that requires the occasional
free overnights to make their trip possible and people who are living in older,
run down vehicles and are “full-timers” – sometimes homeless from poverty and
sometimes due to eccentric personalities. At the casino in Lincoln City a van
pulled up and parked too close to us. At first I was annoyed that they were so close and then I
realized it was an older woman travelling by herself and being close might
provide her a sense of security. I smile and greeted her when she later came
out of her van. To my stupefaction I saw she had a traveling companion and that
the companion was a Serval (medium sized, wild, African feline that looks like
a leopard with a small head).
Apparently the ‘cat’ is her service animal (she
had no visible handicaps) and she lives with him – his name is Rajah, meaning
King, in Sansrit – in this tiny van which is not converted into a camper, just
a regular, old van. She wanted me to see in. Rajah has most of the space for
his litter “box” and bed as well as two large coolers (likely one for his food)
and several small suitcases that she had neatly organized around
the floor of the van. Her name is Carole and her state of ‘residence’ is Alaska
but she travels full time and lives in the van. She had just been in California
to see her son. Wow! She said Rajah is the best thing that ever happened to
her. The sacrifices she makes for this feline are evident everywhere. Alaska,
and most of the US, are not keen on her keeping a Serval as a pet so she is
constantly on the move to avoid persecution. She dreams of buying a larger
campervan where she can have a little kitchenette and a bed, but it is unlikely
she will ever be able to afford one.
Since leaving the coast late last week, we have had several
fun urban experiences. We visited Portland, Oregon for a few hours of walking
and sightseeing.
On the same day that we visited Portland, we traveled onto Seattle where we stayed in a stranger’s driveway. I joined an internet group called ‘Boondockerswelcome.com’
which helps connect people who are traveling with people who are willing to
host them in their driveway. We have only used the service twice so far. This
latest time was primitive – just park and sleep – no outdoor space to use the Colman
stove or put out a chair. Not much different from staying at a Wal-Mart (In
Panama City our experience was much nicer – the woman opened her door to us and
was very generous with her offers of showers, bathroom facilities, laundry,
etc.). We took the bus into Seattle and visited the Pike Public Market and ate
lots of yummy things, people-watched and then took a ferry to a nearby island,
Bainbridge, just for the fun of being on a ferry.
Donna a
profité de son kayak en masse car le lac était calme et très accessible à
partir du camping (provincial, Haynes Point) que l’on était. Donna était
heureuse !
