Julie and Rick's 2011 Travel Adventures: 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.