Hwy 395, CA & OR

Against all odds, we did it! We left again heading for Montana to pick up where we left off! The smoke from the enormous Yosemite forest fire determined our route through NE California and SE Oregon.  I have repeatedly heard how "there is nothing in eastern Oregon".  Its true that southeastern Oregon lacks any large civilization and much to do but the land is stunning.  Lake Albert, one of the largest lakes in Oregon, is an alkaline lake that offered beautiful scenery along our drive.  However, after two full days of desert, we were happy to reach some greenery again.

Back Home

Photo by Clint Hudspeth

After two tedious weeks of dealing with the insurance company in regards to our trailer, the tow truck came and pulled it away.  The frame was bent into a 'diamond condition' which in the end translated to it being totaled.  We were in Portland at the time considering our options on how to continue our trip, which in the end proved to be a great opportunity to re-dream our adventure.  

With hesitation over the size of the vehicle but with much excitement, we ended up buying an 84' VW Westfalia.  We drove it back home to deal with registration and a few repairs. What we thought would be one week of work on the van slowly turned into six weeks!

Our time was extended by: waiting for parts, discovering new problems and projects taking much longer than expected.  With the exception of a few repairs we had a mechanic do, we did all the work and upgrades on Jadey ourselves.  Including: fixing the fridge, installing and auxiliary battery system, sanding and repainting rust damage and upgrading the alternator harnessing wire to name a FEW! Some unexpected problems included not passing smog and needing to replace the eleven year old tires, one of which turned out to be defective and needed reordering! 

In the end, it was really great learning how to work on our car.  Although summer and money seemed to slip away during our time home, it was great spending time with family and friends and of coarse eating those famous California burritos again! 

Mount St. Helens, WA

Photo by Joel Schat.  Lights of Portland behind Mt. St. Helens

The Mt. St. Helens experience was one of the best nights of my life. It was spontaneous, adventurous and inspiring.  Lugging the trailer behind us and being anxious to have the trailer looked over we were reluctant to visit Mt. St. Helens at all.  We settled on just going part way into the monument and heading back thereafter.

We stopped for a beautiful hike down to Spirit Lake where we witnessed new life springing back into the land. All life in this area was swept clean by the eruption of Mt. St. Helens thirty-three years ago.  Always wanting to see around the next bend, we ended up driving the whole way to the mountain.  From the parking lot, I noticed some steps leading up an adjacent mountain.  We thought "we're already here, why not just go up!". So the climb began up the endless steps to the spectacular view of Mt. Rainier, Hood Mt. and Mt. St. Helens.  

Atop the mountain we met Joel, a young Canadian traveling for photography in an 88' VW Westfalia. Instead of heading back as planned, we decided to hang out with Joel and be a part of his astrophotography.  We all slept in the parking lot right next to Mt. St. Helens. Joel inspired us to get a Westfalia and pursue photography as a means of funding our travels.  Click here to visit Joel Schat's homepage and see more amazing photos/time lapse video. 

Mt. Rainier, WA

Mount Rainier National Park and Forest is a wooded wonderland.  I have never seen so many trees in my entire life! Mountains beyond mountains, trees beyond trees surrounding the glacier chiseled snow capped mountain of Rainier.  Epic water falls from a trickle to a gushing torrent move down the mountain sides around every turn. We drove through the park stopping to hike, explore and play in the snow.  Rainier is a place not to be missed in your travels.  It is one of the most magical places I have ever experienced.

Historic Iron Goat Train Trail

Trains.  I love trains and train history.  On the Historic Iron Goat Trail near Leavenworth, WA the three of us, and Clovey, had a close look at a distant time in train history.  One of the last and most triumphant portions of The Great Northern Railway was the segment that crossed the Cascade Mountains at Stevens Pass, which was completed in 1900.  We walked along snow sheds, tunnels and bridges of this pass.  Walking among railway built by hand over 100 years ago was an incredible experience.  Improvements to the rail were prompted by numerous delays and a tragic accident caused by an avalanche. A new eight mile tunnel soon replaced the old segment in 1929.  Click here to read more about the Iron Goat railway segment

Vancouver Island

In looking at Vancouver Island on a map, I was under the impression for quite some time that I could bicycle the length of the island in a days time.  You can image my shock when I discovered it would take six and a half hours to drive up one side! We only spent two days on Vancouver Island visiting Victoria, the stunning English style capital of British Columbia, and driving a beautiful and very windy loop around the southern portion of the island.  I was sad we didn't have more time to explore the wonderland of Vancouver Island. We learned a valuable lesson through the Vancouver Island experience:  Do  your homework and don't rush!

I bet you didn't know Darth Vader
plays fiddle, eh?

Vancouver, B.C.

Natalie, Erika's sister, joined us for a ten day stint from Seattle, WA to BC, Canada and back. While traveling on the highway to Vancouver, CAN a lady rammed into the rear of our trailer.  We didn't know it at the time, but this accident would drastically alter the course and means of our trip.  Not realizing the severity of the damage inflicted on the trailer, we continued our journey.

Self-cleaning public washrooms...
 can be scary!

When crossing into a new state, there are typically a few differences to be learned such as the rules of the road, cultural norms and state laws. Overall there is a lot of constancy from state to state.  Crossing over the invisible line into Canada on the other hand definitely felt like crossing into a different country!  It was a bit intimidating adjusting to kilometer signage, oddly narrow roads, a dozens new forms of signage and strange blinking yellow traffic lights. A friendly motorist informed us that the light meant pedestrian controlled crossing. Keep in mind we where pulling a trailer and where not able to use any sort of technology as were where outside of the US.  So we got a map, asked around and stumbled upon the great, the bad and the ugly.
The great: Stanley Park, The International Busking Festival, friendly, welcoming people, bountiful bridges overlooking a charismatic city.
The bad: Finding a place to sleep, parking and being lost, lost, lost!
The ugly: Syringes in porter potties in the not so good part of town.

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