Thursday, December 1, 2011

Gone East and West

Beautiful old barns on the east coast
Scenery in Maine
Acadia National Park (our lunch picnic spot)
Cadillac Mountain
Rick one of the carriage road bridges

We finished our tour of ten states over two months and, after 36 hours in Ashland and a quick change of gear, we were headed to the east coast to see the fall colors and visit Rick's mom. We arrived in Boston late evening, and the next day we were on our way to a Shaker village in Cantebury, New Hampshire. We learned some interesting things about the Shakers. They were a very progressive group of people. They were devoutly celibate, but loved ecstatic dancing and singing through all hours of the night. They were inventors and quite clever. They are primarily known for their lovely shaker baskets.  They kept the village population growing by taking in orphans, whom they treated very well. They educated and taught them music, crafts and trades to make sure they would do well in the world.  Next, we drove through the White Mountains along the Kankamangas Highway to see the foliage. We stayed with some lovely couchsurfing hosts in Bedford, New Hampshire, and were pleased to find wonderful people to exchange ideas and stories of travel. Later, we headed toward Bangor, Maine, where we contra-danced and stayed with fellow dancers.  We heard there was another dance the next night in Rockport, Maine, and again had a great night of dancing.  We made it to the Maine organic gardeners and farmers Apple Harvest Fair, on what they call  the Common Ground.  It was a beautiful and breezy fall day, perfect for tasting all the different varieties of New England apples and fresh pressed cider.  It was wonderful to spend a day with fellow organic gardeners.
Common Ground Apple Harvest Fair near Bangor, Maine

Acadia National Park
   From here, our next destination was Acadia National Park.  We immediately headed to Cadillac Mountain for the sunset.  We were impressed with both the sky and the views. We stayed with two wonderful college students in Bar Harbour, which positioned us perfectly for hikes and biking in the park over the next two days. There are about 45 miles of carriage roads (no cars, only horse and carriage, walkers and bikes). We biked about 32 miles of the roads and found ourselves taking lots of pictures and being "wowed" by the views around every turn.  We enjoyed all the massive stone bridges, and what was the last warm fall weather day to be had on the east coast.  We had the park to ourselves and managed to stay ahead of the big weather changes.  Later, we visited famous author and poet homes of Frost and Longfellow. We saw picturesque farm and barn scenes with fall colors and churches with their steeples high in the sky. On our way to my mother in law's home in Connecticut we stayed a night with a  couchsurfing family outside Portland, Maine. We had a terrific time getting to know each other a bit. Nicole had done her first skydive that morning, which was fun to watch on video. We had a tour of her beautiful yoga studio, converted from a barn, and found we had lots in common to share with each other. We woke up to vegan waffles the next morning, and shared breakfast together before Nicole had to teach her morning class. We hope this wonderful family will come and visit us on the west coast in the future. We really love the people we are privileged to meet, connect with, and be part of their lives for a brief time on our travels. We learn a lot from each other, and see who are in our karmic circles around the world.     Continuing on with our journey, we had a fun morning visiting the Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. This is a typical 1830's New England setting with historians and docents in costume to create the village as it was during that time.
Acadia

 By late evening, we were in Norwich, Connecticut, at Mom's house. It was a good thing, as the next day the east coast was hit with a pre- Halloween snow storm that left over 800,000 Connecticut residents out of power for up to two weeks. Luckily, we never lost power. The weather was crazy cold one day, and then t-shirt weather the next. We took full advantage of the good days and drove to Newport, Rhode Island, to see the mansions and enjoy the beautiful coastline and bays, so different from the west coast. While we were with Mom, we saw Rick's brother and his wife a few times, and also helped with some gardening and chores. We watched movies, played games, and showed slide shows of our travels, which mom thoroughly enjoyed. Our three weeks on the east coast were action packed, and we felt like we saw what we had hoped for, as we quickly found ourselves on a plane and heading west.
Beautiful scenery everywhere we go


Old Sturbridge village
 After two quick days to organize the van in Ashland, we were on a trip down the California coast.  On this journey we stopped in Sacramento to see my dad and son Zach, and then on to San Francisco to go to the Green Festival and see son Brian and Krista. We had one night to visit my cousin Mary and Larry in Los Altos Hills, and then a beautiful drive down the coast to Ojai,  and a visit with my good friend James. We had warm t-shirt weather for the trip, and found a great place to camp on the coast south of Big Sur. We saw elephant seals enjoying the sun, and butterflies that were migrating from Canada in Pacific Grove, which was a real treat to see.  

Well, 2011 brought us many varied and unique experiences in places new and familiar. We were blessed to have wonderful people who helped and guided us along the way. We shared in different ways that people live and some of the most beautiful and amazing sights that nature can provide. We are thankful for serendipity and for being open to what is brought before us.  Most of all we learned that it is not so much where you are but who you are with.
With joy and open hearts we say thank you for 2011. This year has taught us to face the fears of the unexpected and unplanned. We have been taken to places that we weren't intending to go and had pleasant surprises awaiting us. We are more trusting  and more conscious of living in the moment,  not worrying about what might, or might not, happen in the future.  Our lives are amazing adventures continuing to unfold....... Thanks for being here with us. We hope that your days and all your adventures will be blessed!

Looking down from bridge on Acadia carriage roads


5th generation butterflies that have migrated to Pacific Grove



Sunday, October 16, 2011

Traversing the Western states

The beautiful world of lower Antelope Canyon
Hiking in Arches National Park
The cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde
Descending into Lower Antelope Canyon 
Sunset from our camping spot
Great niece Lisa and kids in Boulder
Sylvan Lake at Custer State Park
After spending hours typing and inputting pictures into this blog, I lost everything as I was adding in  more pictures. I don't know where it all went, but after we unsuccessfully checked, I decided to complete an abbreviated form. So, here are lots of pictures with captions and the locations where we have been. These capture some the wonderful places we have been, and gives a taste of what we have done. All have made this trip worthwhile and further impressed us with our National Park System.  All the roads, trails, maps and activities have been created to make these beautiful places accessible to people from all around the world. Since our last blog, we have been to Yellowstone, Crazy Horse, Mt. Rushmore, Custer State Park, Thermopolis State Park, and Wind Cave National Park (one of the longest cave systems in the world), Rocky Mtn. National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Arches National Park, and the Grand Canyon. We also spent time in the Boulder-Denver area with both family and friends. We did some high altitude hiking, golfing, shared meals, contra danced and  had many good times. We toured the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory and went to a number of hot springs. We traveled through Eastern Washington, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Colorado, Southern Utah, Arizona, Nevada and are now in California. We will be heading  home to Ashland for two days, then leaving for the east coast to see the fall colors and my mother-in law. We have camped most nights and had some short stays with friends and family. We have been immersed with nature and loved every minute of it. We have seen tons of wildlife on this trip, including bison crossing the river in Yellowstone, moose, elk, coyote(hearing them howl and night which I love), pronghorn antelope, prairie dogs sunning themselves, bighorn sheep, whitetail deer, fox and manyl raptors and birds. We met up with our good friends Peter and Yvonne in Colorado, to camp and hike together. We have seen fall colors that would blow your mind, while wearing shorts and t-shirts. We woke up to snow outside Bryce Canyon National Park, which propelled us southward. An incredible highlight for me was hiking through lower Antelope Canyon and seeing the Horseshoe Bend. We have also discovered other slot canyons that we hope to hike in the future.
Praire dogs 
Riding bikes downtown Boulder with Lisa, David and family
Roads that seem to go on forever
Our van in the middle of this picture in the Wyoming expanse 
Again, we keep realizing that these trips are not so much to see places as to connect with nature and the people we encounter. We have had amazing interactions and seem to be in just the right place at the right time. We have seen pink highways in areas where the dirt is so red it bleeds through the aspalt and big blue skies that seem to go on forever. Fall colors of cottonwoods and aspens that seemed to glow, even after it was dark. Climbing up and down ladders at Mesa Verde to be stand in the cliff dwellings of the Anasazi people. The hot mineral springs we visited bathed our bodies with minerals and made us feel elated and ready for more hiking. We hiked up to 13,000 ft and saw long expanses of country. We have again realized that everything we have in the van and our backpacks is all we really need. We did bring some clothes; shoes, socks, underwear, some food and a couple of folding chairs and a cribbage board. We have read some great books and listened to books on CD in the car to get us through the long stretches of desert and plains  The territory we have driven through has entertained us with rock formations that look like castles in the sky, arches that are hard to comprehend, rock needles stretching high into the sky, as well as the red rocks of southern Utah and Arizona, the prairies, deserts, mountains, tundra, and much more. Travelling through some towns so small and remote one wonders why anyone would live there and trying to imagine what it would be like if you did. We have met up with friends who a were diagnosed with cancer and now are naturally finding the power and strength in themselves to trust and heal themselves. We are reminded of the precious gift of life and how it can be taken away from us at any moment in time. How to enjoy each day and go where our instincts lead us. We have flowed from one place to another, sometimes not knowing where we will stop for the night.  We are grateful for a car that has carried us over 6,000 miles in the last two months. Everyday, we are aware that just going to one of these places could be a whole year's vacation for some and they would feel like they had an amazing trip. Seeing so much has made us appreciate the pioneers, and the people who had the forethought to protect and preserve parts of this country. We can admire the people who live in the middle of nowhere, without hospitals or stores nearby for miles and miles. We have been less in touch with the daily news, but what we are seeing around the world with people protesting against corporations is refreshing. There has been a part of us that has been saddened by our country being given over to machines and robotic humans who do not think or seem to have lost all sense of love and beauty. Many people have become so out of touch with nature and living simply enough to enjoy the sunrises and the sunsets, or to feel the sun or the wind on their faces. We have come to assume that food comes from a grocery store and that somehow it will always be there. People have forgotten that without the bees we wouldn't have fruits and vegetables and luscious
Pink highways for miles and miles
berries. I will always be grateful for this time in my life when I could feel like an explorer, a pioneer, a farmer, a ranger and adventurer. I am lucky to have all my senses intact to feel and experience nature and all she has to offer. I hope that you can also be in nature, even in your own backyard, without a cell phone or other electronic device, and just listen and experience the wonder of all of God's creatures; the plants, the trees and even the rocks. To imagine all that they have been through to form this moment, how man and nature can work together to preserve and care for the space around us, and to see all that is given to us.
At the continental divide
Waking up to snow outside of Bryce Canyon
 Sunset at Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Hiking  narrow trails to get above the treeline


Fall colors so beautiful you thought you were in a painting

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

On the road again

 
Wildflowers  at Mt. Rainer
Grandkids
After four months overseas, we were home for the summer and I was back working again. However, we decided to continue our adventures since it was still 2011.  A tour of the western states for an extended summer and some of the eastern states during fall colors is our goal.  Our craving to be outdoors during the good weather months; wanting to hike and see friends near and far, have put us on the road again. We are being drawn at this time in our lives to go places and to fulfill our karmic connections. We have decided to live without regret and be an example of living without fear and trepidation on our journey.
Julie, Rick, Kanobe, Eowyn, and Ireland on the coast
 We left Ashland August 16th toward Sacramento for a family reunion at my parent's house.  My siblings,  children and grandchildren, as well as my sister's children were there.  Dad was ready to make some changes to the house after the loss of mu mother last year. All of us volunteered to help in this process and celebrated several birthdays.  We had a great time together and got lots accomplished with everyone's help. Next, on to Eugene to pick up the three eldest grandchidren for camping at Cape Perpetua on the Oregon coast.
We had terrific weather and a great time. The grandchildren have been homeschooled and have great curiosity and enthusiasm for life and its opportunities. We hiked and played games and enjoyed them completely.  My daughter and son-in-law are doing a beautiful job as parents, while we watch them grow up so quickly.
Rick and the grandkids
Ireland, Eowyn, Rick and Kanobe

Next, we were off for a few  days in Mt. Rainier. The morning was foggy, but as we ascended to the higher elevations along the White River, we camped amidst stunning scenery and hiked where the wildflowers were at their peak.
Rick driving Aunt Mary's convertible
On to Seattle. We met up with some friends, Jerry and Suzanne, who are part of the folk dancing and music community here. We enjoyed their wonderful hospitality for a couple of days and contra danced where Suzanne was the caller that evening. We then stayed with my adoptive aunt, who had mentioned to me last year that she would like to clean out her closets and needed some help. We offered to help with this project and had fun together reminiscing about when she and my Mom were in school together; going through  family photos and such. Mary Frances and my mom were best friends in high school, and throughout their adult life. I enjoyed hearing the stories about my mom in her high school days.
ferry landing on Orcas
On Labor Day, we headed north for the San Juan Islands. We drove via Whidby Island and hiked Ebey's Landing. We then boarded the ferry to Lopez Island. We stayed with our couchsurfing host, Carol,  a busy single mom who is the island's only nurse practitioner. She invited us for dinner with her extended family to celebrate Labor Day and her grandkids going back to school. They told us about the island's best hikes and activities, which took us to a secluded cove filled with seals, jellyfish and an orca whale.  From here we went to their namesake island, Orcas.  Our couchsurfing hosts, Keith and Abigail, work at Doe Bay, where Rick lived years ago.
Doe Bay at sunset

 They set us up with a nice campsite and use of the hot pools and sauna.  We visited their small cob house and picked blueberries in the evening. The next day we played tennis and swam in the lagoon nearby. We hiked in Moran State Park to Cascade Falls and met a couple that shared mutual friends in Ashland. We then hiked and swam in Twin Lakes and up to Mt. Constitution-- the highest point on the islands and a spectacular view. From here you can see Mt. Baker, Mt Rainier, and the islands below and those in British Columbia.
Abigail, Keith and Rick                                     
Top of Mt Constitution

Sunrise loop hike at Mt Rainier

View from Doe Bay hot pools
Wildflowers at Mt. Rainier


 While at the top of the mountain we ran into friends from Portland who are in the folk dancing and music community, who were also staying at Doe Bay for a wedding.  When we returned there we heard the familiar sounds of fiddles and music filling the air, as we  greeted some of our favorite musician and dancing friends from the Pacific Northwest. Our next island was San Juan. We went to Salt Kiln State Park and Roche Harbor, walking along the docks. While eating lunch, we watched a line of salmon jumping 2-3 ft above the water for half an hour. We stopped at a beautiful farm where the farmer invited us to see his garden and gave us some fresh artichokes and broccoli for our dinner that night: such island hospitality and charm... We then traveled from Friday Harbor to Sydney, Canada and caught a ferry from Schwartz Bay to the Gulf Islands. We went to Salt Spring (the largest of the Gulf Islands) and Galiano. On Salt Spring, we stayed on a farm with a group of people living in community. Erin  was our very special host.  On 9/11 we hiked to a small cove for a group meditation at sunset, then shared dinner and great conversation. We helped trim garlic to enter in the county fair, and collected seeds from hot peppers, as Erin is one of the island's seed savers. One of the other gals living on the farm is the founder of Mudgirls, a female cob contruction crew. They have a great website to check out if you want to see beautiful cob structures built by women, Mudgirls.com.

Mudgirl home

We picked blackberries, and added gooseberries for a breakfast cobbler the next day. YUM! Then on to Galiano Island, which only has about 200 residents and is very quiet. We found a beautiful high bluff to camp overlooking the bay.  The weather to this point had been sunny and warm, but changed a bit today as we headed toward Vancouver to visit the places on our list before it gets too cold. In Vancouver, we went to the VanDusen Gardens and then through Whistler and the Winter Olympic Park. We ventured through Canada's largest organic producing valleys and moved quickly, only staying two nights as the weather has changed and is cold and raining. We crossed over into northeast Washington and on towards Yellowstone. The weather was much warmer and we are coming into another warming trend so we should have some nice warm fall days ahead of us.

Van Dusen Gardens

Watching the ferries from our campsite on Galiano Island

Campsite on Galiano 

Van Dusen Gardens