The rest of my southwestern expedition was good. After sleeping like rocks, we woke up and drove west on I-40 through forests, mountains and fields, with our first stop at Dunkin Donuts in Kingman, AZ.There are not many Dunkin Donuts in Arizona, in fact, Dunkin Donuts and Google were both incredibly confused about this one existing at all. If we hadn't seen the sign on the highway, we wouldn't have known.
We drove back down through the mountains to the desert, passing by the occasional trailer or shack on our way to Hoover Dam. Fascinating landscape. So apparently there is this history of forestry and mining in the region, but I don't understand why someone would just build a tiny house in the middle of the desert with nothing and no one for many miles. I mean, I saw outhouses. Legit outhouses. And not all of these places were connected to the power lines. Very interesting.
Lots of cactus.
We arrived at Hoover Dam in the middle of the day, and were very disappointed at how much money we were fooled into spending just to see the thing up close. We paid for parking-- ok, reasonable. But then we were charged to enter the visitor center, with no real clue that you didn't have to go through there just to visit the dam. We just wanted to walk across the damn dam. It was impressive though, tons and tons and tons of concrete and so much water backed up behind it. I kind of hate the ecological impact of something like that, but it is kind of impressive. Lake Mead is mind blowingly large.
We drove to Vegas with a stop at Del Taco, which was very tasty. We stayed at Circus Circus-- really nice room for super cheap, probably because they expected us to throw all of our money into their machines. Free parking, too. We took a cab down to the main part of the strip, spending the evening being exhausted by over-stimulation, but it was cool to see the lights and fountains and madness.
I'm home in New Jersey now, and have survived the first day of classes at both William Paterson and Rutgers Brookdale. I'm excited about teaching again but I definitely have my work cut out for me. I have a few small outings planned but will pretty much be staying in New Jersey this semester-- at least, as best I can guess right now. After I left camp last fall, I didn't expect to do much traveling this summer, if any besides the Jr. High Mission trip. Lucky for me, my life is more exciting than that--
From June to August, I visited 16 states (NJ, CA, NV, PA, OH, MI, NY, DE, MD, VA, NC, CT, MA, NH, ME, AZ) and 4 provinces (Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island), took 4 flights (Philadelphia to San Francisco and back, Philadelphia to Las Vegas and back), drove/rode in a car for over 6500 miles. I took 1475 pictures and experienced an infinite number of beautiful and awesome things.
I am pretty fortunate.
07 September 2012
02 September 2012
CHARISMATIC GEOMORPHOLOGY!
Today, we woke up early and watched the sun rise in the Grand Canyon. I don't even know how to begin to describe how incredible it was to stare into this giant, awesome hole in the ground all day.
We left Bullhead City a little after 2 AM to make it to the South Rim in plenty of time for sunrise. It was cool and rainy, but the weather stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the sun pouring through the clouds, lighting up the canyon brilliantly. Even overcast, it was just so beautiful. Mike will tell you his favorite stupid thing I said today was probably just after sunrise, as we took pictures of the stunning canyon. I turned to this lovely Utah Juniper next to me and said, "I love this tree." You know, while standing next to the Grand Canyon. I was just in awe of everything I could see.
We decided to hike about a mile and a half kind of southeast from Mather Point (a great overlook closest to the first visitors center in the park) to Pipe Creek Vista. It just rained the entire time, and was so chilly and windy. I enjoyed the biodiversity along the trail in addition to the changing view of the canyon itself. It was really nice to just have a walk by ourselves, without loud tourists and worrying about getting in the way of other people's photos. We were so cold and soaked by the end of it that we were thankful when a park shuttle pulled up to the vista just as we finished a timer photo of our sad, soggy selves. We weren't really that sad though, just in need of some hot tea.
After we warmed up and dried off a bit, the rain mostly stopped for the day, just occasional spitting. We packed some snacks and my tree book into a backpack and took off, hiking along the rim trail about four miles to the west of Mather Point, stopping often just to soak it all in. I felt so small all day, but it didn't make me feel lonely or pointless. It felt cozy. I'm such a small part of such a big world, but things are pretty great. I mean, come on, I spent my day at the Grand Canyon. Didn't expect that this summer!
We hiked down the Bright Angel trail a little bit, though we had a short night of sleep to make it out to the canyon in the first place, and had already hiked quite a bit at a way higher elevation than either of us are really used to having grown up at sea level. We sat for a while on one little outcropping. We were tired. It was glorious, but we decided to take the shuttle back to the main parking area mid-afternoon.
I'd been doing so well, but as soon as I sat down on that bus, I was just beat. Done. I kind of nodded off a bit as we took the trip back, until we passed one little road with a lot of cars and people stopped and crowded around this little gully. The bus driver announced that we might want to look out the left side of the bus-- a bull elk was feeding there.
!!!
Charismatic megafauna of the day: BULL ELK. That woke me up! We got off at that next stop and hurried over to get some pictures. The elk didn't really give a care that everyone was watching him, just kept munching on trees and grass and knocking down branches that got tangled in his enormous rack. It was incredible. It almost didn't seem real. He was huge! And very peaceful. We kept a safe distance to keep it that way.
While taking pictures of the elk, we spoke to a nice couple from Flagstaff, where we're staying tonight. They recommended a sweet brew pub downtown. We made the trip to Flag, through some really heavy rains and some really interesting national forests-- Arizona just keeps blowing my mind. Rain! Trees! FORESTS?! It's so green at 8000 feet. I was also amused that the part of the Kaibab Forest that we drove through on Route 180 didn't even really have trees, it was mostly just open rangeland. Still really beautiful, and just awesome to see storm clouds in the distance dumping rain on the mountains surrounding us.
So that brewpub in Flagstaff: Beaver Street Brewpub. Really great beer and food. Good end to a great day.
Beer of the day: R & R Stout, a really smooth, rich but not offensive stout that even Mike liked
Tree of the day: That Utah Juniper probably deserves it most, but I also enjoyed familiarizing myself with Pinyon Pines (they look vaguely sprucey), Ponderosa Pines (really cool looking red and black bark once they mature), and the Gambel Oak (just because I was sitting at the edge of the canyon with my tree book open at one point, with one of those in front of me)
Charismatic geomorphology of the day: Grand Canyon. And when the term "charismatic geomorphology" is a thing in the coming years, I want everyone to remember where they heard it first...
We left Bullhead City a little after 2 AM to make it to the South Rim in plenty of time for sunrise. It was cool and rainy, but the weather stopped for a few minutes to enjoy the sun pouring through the clouds, lighting up the canyon brilliantly. Even overcast, it was just so beautiful. Mike will tell you his favorite stupid thing I said today was probably just after sunrise, as we took pictures of the stunning canyon. I turned to this lovely Utah Juniper next to me and said, "I love this tree." You know, while standing next to the Grand Canyon. I was just in awe of everything I could see.
We decided to hike about a mile and a half kind of southeast from Mather Point (a great overlook closest to the first visitors center in the park) to Pipe Creek Vista. It just rained the entire time, and was so chilly and windy. I enjoyed the biodiversity along the trail in addition to the changing view of the canyon itself. It was really nice to just have a walk by ourselves, without loud tourists and worrying about getting in the way of other people's photos. We were so cold and soaked by the end of it that we were thankful when a park shuttle pulled up to the vista just as we finished a timer photo of our sad, soggy selves. We weren't really that sad though, just in need of some hot tea.
After we warmed up and dried off a bit, the rain mostly stopped for the day, just occasional spitting. We packed some snacks and my tree book into a backpack and took off, hiking along the rim trail about four miles to the west of Mather Point, stopping often just to soak it all in. I felt so small all day, but it didn't make me feel lonely or pointless. It felt cozy. I'm such a small part of such a big world, but things are pretty great. I mean, come on, I spent my day at the Grand Canyon. Didn't expect that this summer!
We hiked down the Bright Angel trail a little bit, though we had a short night of sleep to make it out to the canyon in the first place, and had already hiked quite a bit at a way higher elevation than either of us are really used to having grown up at sea level. We sat for a while on one little outcropping. We were tired. It was glorious, but we decided to take the shuttle back to the main parking area mid-afternoon.
I'd been doing so well, but as soon as I sat down on that bus, I was just beat. Done. I kind of nodded off a bit as we took the trip back, until we passed one little road with a lot of cars and people stopped and crowded around this little gully. The bus driver announced that we might want to look out the left side of the bus-- a bull elk was feeding there.
!!!
Charismatic megafauna of the day: BULL ELK. That woke me up! We got off at that next stop and hurried over to get some pictures. The elk didn't really give a care that everyone was watching him, just kept munching on trees and grass and knocking down branches that got tangled in his enormous rack. It was incredible. It almost didn't seem real. He was huge! And very peaceful. We kept a safe distance to keep it that way.
While taking pictures of the elk, we spoke to a nice couple from Flagstaff, where we're staying tonight. They recommended a sweet brew pub downtown. We made the trip to Flag, through some really heavy rains and some really interesting national forests-- Arizona just keeps blowing my mind. Rain! Trees! FORESTS?! It's so green at 8000 feet. I was also amused that the part of the Kaibab Forest that we drove through on Route 180 didn't even really have trees, it was mostly just open rangeland. Still really beautiful, and just awesome to see storm clouds in the distance dumping rain on the mountains surrounding us.
So that brewpub in Flagstaff: Beaver Street Brewpub. Really great beer and food. Good end to a great day.
Beer of the day: R & R Stout, a really smooth, rich but not offensive stout that even Mike liked
Tree of the day: That Utah Juniper probably deserves it most, but I also enjoyed familiarizing myself with Pinyon Pines (they look vaguely sprucey), Ponderosa Pines (really cool looking red and black bark once they mature), and the Gambel Oak (just because I was sitting at the edge of the canyon with my tree book open at one point, with one of those in front of me)
Charismatic geomorphology of the day: Grand Canyon. And when the term "charismatic geomorphology" is a thing in the coming years, I want everyone to remember where they heard it first...
31 August 2012
THREE corners
Yesterday, Mike took a half day from school to get his Arizona driver's license and plates. Obviously other adventures ensued...
After 2.5 hours at the Motor Vehicle Department, we set off to find the Three Corners. That's right, three. It's not really a thing, I just wanted to find the spot where California, Nevada and Arizona came together at the Colorado River. The earth view on Google Maps suggested that there would be agriculture on the Arizona side, desert in Nevada, and a small access road in California.
View Larger Map
Leaving Arizona, we drove into the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation, which I learned from NRCS this week is actually kind of checkerboarded with BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands and privately owned lands. It was amazing to smell the greenness (I'm serious, it smells way different than the desert) of the alfalfa and cotton along the river.
The road that I saw on Google Maps turned out to be a dirt road, which we didn't feel super comfortable going down 1. without four wheel drive (the sand is pretty soft in places) and 2. not knowing whose land it was. We were just about in three states at once when we crossed the bridge though--
View Larger Map
So instead we went back into Arizona to drive down to Needles, California because I wanted to visit California on this trip. There is pretty much nothing in needles though, but we did find a riverfront marina park, and I got to put my feet in the Colorado River. It was cool water, but very refreshing.
We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Fort Mohave on our way back to Bullhead City. Upon getting home, Mike changed his license plates over, and we washed the New Jersey plates and hung them on the wall.
We've planned a trip to the Grand Canyon this weekend before I fly out of Vegas. It will be the first time for either of us to visit there. Pretty excited!
After 2.5 hours at the Motor Vehicle Department, we set off to find the Three Corners. That's right, three. It's not really a thing, I just wanted to find the spot where California, Nevada and Arizona came together at the Colorado River. The earth view on Google Maps suggested that there would be agriculture on the Arizona side, desert in Nevada, and a small access road in California.
View Larger Map
Leaving Arizona, we drove into the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation, which I learned from NRCS this week is actually kind of checkerboarded with BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands and privately owned lands. It was amazing to smell the greenness (I'm serious, it smells way different than the desert) of the alfalfa and cotton along the river.
The road that I saw on Google Maps turned out to be a dirt road, which we didn't feel super comfortable going down 1. without four wheel drive (the sand is pretty soft in places) and 2. not knowing whose land it was. We were just about in three states at once when we crossed the bridge though--
View Larger Map
So instead we went back into Arizona to drive down to Needles, California because I wanted to visit California on this trip. There is pretty much nothing in needles though, but we did find a riverfront marina park, and I got to put my feet in the Colorado River. It was cool water, but very refreshing.
We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Fort Mohave on our way back to Bullhead City. Upon getting home, Mike changed his license plates over, and we washed the New Jersey plates and hung them on the wall.
We've planned a trip to the Grand Canyon this weekend before I fly out of Vegas. It will be the first time for either of us to visit there. Pretty excited!
30 August 2012
AZ hot as I thought...
So, I'm in Arizona. That makes 15 states and 4 provinces since June, 4 states and 3 provinces of which were new for me. And I thought I wouldn't get to travel much this year...
This is my first time to the southwest. I've had a layover in Las Vegas before, but that only counts so far as running through the slot machines at the terminals to make my next flight and seeing nothing but darkness surrounding all of the lights of Vegas as we landed and took off.
I landed around 10:30 PM local Friday/1:30 AM EDT Saturday after spending a sweet day in Philadelphia with a few friends. Mike kindly watched my flight status and was there waiting for me at baggage, even though I was half an hour early. We left the airport for our hour and a half drive back to where he's now living in Bullhead City, AZ, and I swear I felt like I was on the moon (a little bit tired, but really the landscape with nothing but headlights on it looks like the moon, hilly and rocky and sandy).
Mike had a blood-borne pathogens test to take at his school on Saturday morning, so I got to see his classroom and his school (there is NOTHING around it but desert and some far-off looking mountains) and met a few of his fellow faculty members. Other than that, I admittedly spent most of the weekend napping. I find it remarkable how much I love traveling, given the fact that I am terrible at time zone changes (not to mention excessive car sickness, which thankfully hasn't been an issue so far this trip). We did have dinner with a woman he teaches with and her husband, who live at the edge of a country club-- it's very weird seeing grass, but there are quite a few golf courses here in the desert (Mohave County at least borders the Colorado River, so they aren't pumping water too terribly far...)
While Mike goes to school, I've mostly sat around working on my Soil Science course online, or my syllabi for the three courses I'm teaching at William Paterson and Rutgers this fall. I have spent two days this week volunteering with the local NRCS office, which has allowed me to get out and adventure a little bit. I've mentioned once or twice on here that I've been volunteering with them since April, and I LOVE IT. Seriously. I just adore the things I've been able to see and learn about in the name of conservation all over New Jersey, and now in a small part of Arizona.
On Tuesday, I drove from Bullhead City through Union and Coyote Passes (~3500 and 3700 feet, respectively), through the Golden Valley and into Kingman to meet up with Erin, a rangeland specialist with NRCS. She took me to Peach Springs, in Hualapai Territory, via Old Route 66 for a meeting with some producers and conservationists about concerns and conservation practices in the area.
View Larger Map
It was a long day, but I got to see a lot of upper desert, into the mountains and across a plateau. I asked poor Erin about a million questions about Arizona vegetation, landforms and conservation, but she didn't seem to mind (she chose this as her career, after all). It has rained a little bit recently, so there are a lot of new grasses popping up all over the place, making the desert a lot greener than I expected.
Yesterday, I got to help Erin with a Natural Resource Inventory, which is basically taking note of every soil, rock and plant (and animals, which there weren't really any where we were) in a circle 150 feet in diameter. It took us about five hours, and we finished measuring and sampling just before noon. I was very grateful that there were some clouds and it was cooler at the higher elevation in the Kingman area, but it was a very cool experience getting to know the ecosystem pretty closely. Hopefully my Soil Science course will land me a job with these people in the future.
In the meantime, having a wonderful stay in Arizona!
This is my first time to the southwest. I've had a layover in Las Vegas before, but that only counts so far as running through the slot machines at the terminals to make my next flight and seeing nothing but darkness surrounding all of the lights of Vegas as we landed and took off.
I landed around 10:30 PM local Friday/1:30 AM EDT Saturday after spending a sweet day in Philadelphia with a few friends. Mike kindly watched my flight status and was there waiting for me at baggage, even though I was half an hour early. We left the airport for our hour and a half drive back to where he's now living in Bullhead City, AZ, and I swear I felt like I was on the moon (a little bit tired, but really the landscape with nothing but headlights on it looks like the moon, hilly and rocky and sandy).
Mike had a blood-borne pathogens test to take at his school on Saturday morning, so I got to see his classroom and his school (there is NOTHING around it but desert and some far-off looking mountains) and met a few of his fellow faculty members. Other than that, I admittedly spent most of the weekend napping. I find it remarkable how much I love traveling, given the fact that I am terrible at time zone changes (not to mention excessive car sickness, which thankfully hasn't been an issue so far this trip). We did have dinner with a woman he teaches with and her husband, who live at the edge of a country club-- it's very weird seeing grass, but there are quite a few golf courses here in the desert (Mohave County at least borders the Colorado River, so they aren't pumping water too terribly far...)
While Mike goes to school, I've mostly sat around working on my Soil Science course online, or my syllabi for the three courses I'm teaching at William Paterson and Rutgers this fall. I have spent two days this week volunteering with the local NRCS office, which has allowed me to get out and adventure a little bit. I've mentioned once or twice on here that I've been volunteering with them since April, and I LOVE IT. Seriously. I just adore the things I've been able to see and learn about in the name of conservation all over New Jersey, and now in a small part of Arizona.
On Tuesday, I drove from Bullhead City through Union and Coyote Passes (~3500 and 3700 feet, respectively), through the Golden Valley and into Kingman to meet up with Erin, a rangeland specialist with NRCS. She took me to Peach Springs, in Hualapai Territory, via Old Route 66 for a meeting with some producers and conservationists about concerns and conservation practices in the area.
View Larger Map
It was a long day, but I got to see a lot of upper desert, into the mountains and across a plateau. I asked poor Erin about a million questions about Arizona vegetation, landforms and conservation, but she didn't seem to mind (she chose this as her career, after all). It has rained a little bit recently, so there are a lot of new grasses popping up all over the place, making the desert a lot greener than I expected.
Yesterday, I got to help Erin with a Natural Resource Inventory, which is basically taking note of every soil, rock and plant (and animals, which there weren't really any where we were) in a circle 150 feet in diameter. It took us about five hours, and we finished measuring and sampling just before noon. I was very grateful that there were some clouds and it was cooler at the higher elevation in the Kingman area, but it was a very cool experience getting to know the ecosystem pretty closely. Hopefully my Soil Science course will land me a job with these people in the future.
In the meantime, having a wonderful stay in Arizona!
18 August 2012
multiple trips
On Wednesday, July 4, we (Mike, Katie, another leader from our church John, and I) decided to take a trip into Michigan to celebrate Independence Day on the American side of the St. Clair River. We thought it would be so cool to have our passports stamped on July 4, but were disappointed that the border guard flat refused to, claiming it doesn't get stamped for land crossings. The Canadian officer said the same thing, even though I know that's a lie, since I have several stamps from Canadian land borders, the most recent from a few weeks ago...
At the end of the awesome week, Katie, Mike and I decided to take the scenic route home through southern Ontario, Niagara Falls and the Adirondacks. We saw a lot of beautiful, peaceful things. Between Walpole Island and Niagara, if you take a more southern route (we took Route 3 pretty much straight across) you'll find lots of farmland, some wind turbines, apparently some vineyards (I slept through that part), more agriculture...
Peaceful.
Niagara Falls was cool. I'd been there once before with Jamie, Amanda and Katie, but having Katie with a very, very broken foot, it was difficult to explore. This time, Mike, Katie and I were able to wander all along the river. I was absolutely mesmerized by the upper river, watching all of that water pouring over the edge and noticing what little weeds had managed to root themselves and grow along the edge.
After a good dinner at a pub and some wandering around, we decided to take our tired selves back into the US for a good night's sleep in New York, at a place to be determined once Mike had domestic service for his magical smart phone. Well, we made it into New York, and then while Mike was looking down at his phone and Katie was focusing on not getting car sick and I was driving on I-190 North... right back into Ontario. There was no way to turn around before the border check, so I hung my head and told the guard how embarrassed I was to go the wrong way. Well, it's also New York's fault for not putting any sort of LAST EXIT IN THE US sign before the last exit.
So we spent another night in Canada, in Niagara Falls, before returning to the United States to search for moose in the Adirondacks. No such luck spotting any, but we did find a lot of beautiful lakes, the gorgeous Roosevelt-Marcy trail, and some great trees.
Of course, the fact that Katie and I had our passports scanned into and out of Canada four times in the month of July had me a little nervous heading back through customs at the end of JACK's recent Maritime madness, but we clearly sailed through without a problem.
Exhausting, but a very good adventure through multiple mission trips and many new places.
At the end of the awesome week, Katie, Mike and I decided to take the scenic route home through southern Ontario, Niagara Falls and the Adirondacks. We saw a lot of beautiful, peaceful things. Between Walpole Island and Niagara, if you take a more southern route (we took Route 3 pretty much straight across) you'll find lots of farmland, some wind turbines, apparently some vineyards (I slept through that part), more agriculture...
Peaceful.
Niagara Falls was cool. I'd been there once before with Jamie, Amanda and Katie, but having Katie with a very, very broken foot, it was difficult to explore. This time, Mike, Katie and I were able to wander all along the river. I was absolutely mesmerized by the upper river, watching all of that water pouring over the edge and noticing what little weeds had managed to root themselves and grow along the edge.
After a good dinner at a pub and some wandering around, we decided to take our tired selves back into the US for a good night's sleep in New York, at a place to be determined once Mike had domestic service for his magical smart phone. Well, we made it into New York, and then while Mike was looking down at his phone and Katie was focusing on not getting car sick and I was driving on I-190 North... right back into Ontario. There was no way to turn around before the border check, so I hung my head and told the guard how embarrassed I was to go the wrong way. Well, it's also New York's fault for not putting any sort of LAST EXIT IN THE US sign before the last exit.
So we spent another night in Canada, in Niagara Falls, before returning to the United States to search for moose in the Adirondacks. No such luck spotting any, but we did find a lot of beautiful lakes, the gorgeous Roosevelt-Marcy trail, and some great trees.
Of course, the fact that Katie and I had our passports scanned into and out of Canada four times in the month of July had me a little nervous heading back through customs at the end of JACK's recent Maritime madness, but we clearly sailed through without a problem.
Exhausting, but a very good adventure through multiple mission trips and many new places.
17 August 2012
multiple trips, part 1
This was totally crazy, but I did two mission trips back to back this year.
This all started because Katie, Mike and I were thinking about going to where the Sr. Highs would be and camping for a few days, visiting them on their half day off, because those all used to be our Jr. Highs and they asked us about a million times if we were going with them. If we went with them, who would go with the Jr. Highs? Well, it so happened that the organization we go on mission trips with needed volunteers for the Walpole Island, ON trip that our Sr. Highs were going on. Specifically, worship leader... and after a lot of thought, I auditioned. And got it. And talked them into taking on a few extra site coaches so I could drag my friends into this with me...
Week one: Jr. High trip to Irwin, PA. The Pennsylvania Turnpike was basically the same as always, and Irwin is a typical rust belt kind of town, just a little outside of Pittsburgh. My assignment for the week was to paint a shed and repair some porch steps and paint a porch and its ceiling for a very sweet elderly woman. My crew was super awesome and hard working, so we finished that project early and were able to talk the organization into letting us stain the neighbor's deck.
It was a good week. Our middle school group is a bunch of really good, hilarious kids. They attempted at one point to create some drama for themselves, but quit as soon as the adults called them on it. We had a lot of fun together. Our leadership team was pretty stellar, four men and then my dear friend Katie and me for the girls.
Week two: Sr. High trip to Walpole Island, Ontario. We had managed to keep it a secret from the high school group that we would be there, and really the only chance we had left of them finding out before their arrival was if their younger siblings on the Jr. High trip called/ sent a text when they got home. As the Jr. Highs prepared to depart on the bus, Katie and Mike and I did not board, explaining that Katie and I get too carsick to handle the bus, so would be riding with Mike. Didn't lie, just didn't tell the whole truth.
In fact, when they were dragging their feet getting packed up and on the bus, we started joking with them that they were being SO ridiculous, we should just drive to Canada instead. None of them noticed our jokes. It was 6 AM.
So to Canada we went. We drove through northern Ohio, stopping at a bird reserve and the Toledo Botanical Gardens, as well as a Waffle House (probably the best stop we made). Walpole Island is a First Nation Reservation just across the river from Algonac, Michigan, just a little north of Detroit. We took a short ferry ride to get there, across some very blue water.
I unfortunately didn't get out and about as much as I'd have liked, but did get to see a bit of the island and meet some of the residents. Interesting people, and a good range of people who were happy to welcome visitors and share their culture and history, and people who think that all people who are different from them are only on this planet to screw them over. It was very sad to talk to them. One of my favorite people I met was a woman who wanted to tell me about her trees. She was very proud of the Crimson King she had planted on the property before she could even afford to build a house there. Crimson Kings have very dense foliage and make wonderful shade trees. It was pretty glorious. Tree of the day, for sure.
This all started because Katie, Mike and I were thinking about going to where the Sr. Highs would be and camping for a few days, visiting them on their half day off, because those all used to be our Jr. Highs and they asked us about a million times if we were going with them. If we went with them, who would go with the Jr. Highs? Well, it so happened that the organization we go on mission trips with needed volunteers for the Walpole Island, ON trip that our Sr. Highs were going on. Specifically, worship leader... and after a lot of thought, I auditioned. And got it. And talked them into taking on a few extra site coaches so I could drag my friends into this with me...
Week one: Jr. High trip to Irwin, PA. The Pennsylvania Turnpike was basically the same as always, and Irwin is a typical rust belt kind of town, just a little outside of Pittsburgh. My assignment for the week was to paint a shed and repair some porch steps and paint a porch and its ceiling for a very sweet elderly woman. My crew was super awesome and hard working, so we finished that project early and were able to talk the organization into letting us stain the neighbor's deck.
It was a good week. Our middle school group is a bunch of really good, hilarious kids. They attempted at one point to create some drama for themselves, but quit as soon as the adults called them on it. We had a lot of fun together. Our leadership team was pretty stellar, four men and then my dear friend Katie and me for the girls.
Week two: Sr. High trip to Walpole Island, Ontario. We had managed to keep it a secret from the high school group that we would be there, and really the only chance we had left of them finding out before their arrival was if their younger siblings on the Jr. High trip called/ sent a text when they got home. As the Jr. Highs prepared to depart on the bus, Katie and Mike and I did not board, explaining that Katie and I get too carsick to handle the bus, so would be riding with Mike. Didn't lie, just didn't tell the whole truth.
In fact, when they were dragging their feet getting packed up and on the bus, we started joking with them that they were being SO ridiculous, we should just drive to Canada instead. None of them noticed our jokes. It was 6 AM.
So to Canada we went. We drove through northern Ohio, stopping at a bird reserve and the Toledo Botanical Gardens, as well as a Waffle House (probably the best stop we made). Walpole Island is a First Nation Reservation just across the river from Algonac, Michigan, just a little north of Detroit. We took a short ferry ride to get there, across some very blue water.
I unfortunately didn't get out and about as much as I'd have liked, but did get to see a bit of the island and meet some of the residents. Interesting people, and a good range of people who were happy to welcome visitors and share their culture and history, and people who think that all people who are different from them are only on this planet to screw them over. It was very sad to talk to them. One of my favorite people I met was a woman who wanted to tell me about her trees. She was very proud of the Crimson King she had planted on the property before she could even afford to build a house there. Crimson Kings have very dense foliage and make wonderful shade trees. It was pretty glorious. Tree of the day, for sure.
11 August 2012
post dated
This post is not actually being posted when it happened (4-6 June). Right now, I am secretly in Reno, Nevada.
"Ne-vă-da! Short A!" -Mike
I don't even know where to start with this. Mike had an interview in Reno and decided to fly into San Francisco and make a trip of it, and talk me into joining him, mostly by promising me redwood trees. Twist my arm, will you. It worked.
EPIC.
We landed in San Francisco and got on the road about 10AM local time. We'd already been awake for 11 hours at this point, with all of the adventures ahead of us still. Excellent. We wandered around Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, acquiring caffeine and Ranier cherries and checking out the sea lions.
Drove up and down Lombard Street. Drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. Glorious.
At my dad's good recommendation, we stopped in Golden Gate National Recreation Area and drove up the windy, windy (one of those was weather and one of those was the adjective describing the not straight roads) road to an awesome vista of the bridge, the bay and the Pacific Ocean. The clouds even lifted for about thirty seconds of ridiculous scrambling to take pictures.
Next on the docket was an important, life-altering, beautiful thing. Tree of the day: Muir Woods. Because I was secretly on this trip, I couldn't tell anyone that this was happening AND IT WAS KILLING ME. I offered this on facebook in hopes that the few people in the loop would share my joy, but... REDWOOD TREES... and I couldn't tell anyone. It's like nothing I've ever seen. They're just so tall, and... tall. So tall. My mind was blown by one that was measured and determined to be as old as the United States. This 236 year old tree just seemed so tiny, because others around it were hundreds more years old. Just stunning.
Sadly, I had to leave that place because we did need to eventually make it to Reno. Driving on I-80 in this part of the country is very different than at home in NJ. We drove through Tahoe National Forest and into the Sierras after a brief stop for lunch in the Napa Valley. We noticed it was getting chillier as we drove up, and were shocked/ amused by the signs we passed announcing the elevation (for two kids who grew up at sea level, one of whom had not left the time zone before in his life? It was kind of awesome.)
We continued to ascend until we reached Donner Pass, which was kind of mind blowing to see in real life when I'd mostly only known it through the Oregon Trail computer game. I can imagine how one would get stranded there in the spring or fall, given that we were there in JUNE and there had been several inches of snow that morning. Out of the ordinary, for sure, but it still happened. In fact, it was so unusual that a news team was parked at the rest area where Mike and I stopped to have a snowball fight... and then they interviewed us for the evening news.
Reno itself was very interesting, just a big empty town in the middle of mountains and desert. We stayed at a casino just a few miles from his interview, just absolutely passing out after a full day (and a half, when you consider travel time and time change!) of adventures. The next morning we drove around town a little bit to kill time before Mike's interview, which went really, really well.
We celebrated at Great Basin Brewpub in Sparks (which is basically just the other, slightly-nicer half of Reno). Great food-- jalapeno wonton poppers? We need to figure out how to make those at home. But the beer was also really good. We tried samples of just about everything they had on tap, some better than others. The Cerveza Chilebeso (chili kiss beer) was pretty awesomely done, but we were most impressed with the Ichthyosaur IPA, also known as Icky. In fact, we brought a six pack home with which to celebrate whenever he would eventually get his first full time teaching job.
The rest of the trip was kind of hurry-- we didn't really leave much time for wandering off the beaten path, but we woke up early enough to see dawn in the Sierras (gorgeous, and now we more fully understand what "purple mountain majesties" means) and head back to San Francisco via Lake Tahoe, which was REALLY chilly for it being June. Beautiful though.
Cool trip. I loved seeing a part of the country that I had never seen anything like before. Also cool was finding out when we landed in Philly that he passed the first round interview and was eligible for hire in Washoe County, NV... except, we now know what would come of that... but it gives me a new place to visit in less than two weeks!
"Ne-vă-da! Short A!" -Mike
I don't even know where to start with this. Mike had an interview in Reno and decided to fly into San Francisco and make a trip of it, and talk me into joining him, mostly by promising me redwood trees. Twist my arm, will you. It worked.
EPIC.
We landed in San Francisco and got on the road about 10AM local time. We'd already been awake for 11 hours at this point, with all of the adventures ahead of us still. Excellent. We wandered around Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, acquiring caffeine and Ranier cherries and checking out the sea lions.
Drove up and down Lombard Street. Drove across the Golden Gate Bridge. Glorious.
At my dad's good recommendation, we stopped in Golden Gate National Recreation Area and drove up the windy, windy (one of those was weather and one of those was the adjective describing the not straight roads) road to an awesome vista of the bridge, the bay and the Pacific Ocean. The clouds even lifted for about thirty seconds of ridiculous scrambling to take pictures.
Next on the docket was an important, life-altering, beautiful thing. Tree of the day: Muir Woods. Because I was secretly on this trip, I couldn't tell anyone that this was happening AND IT WAS KILLING ME. I offered this on facebook in hopes that the few people in the loop would share my joy, but... REDWOOD TREES... and I couldn't tell anyone. It's like nothing I've ever seen. They're just so tall, and... tall. So tall. My mind was blown by one that was measured and determined to be as old as the United States. This 236 year old tree just seemed so tiny, because others around it were hundreds more years old. Just stunning.
Sadly, I had to leave that place because we did need to eventually make it to Reno. Driving on I-80 in this part of the country is very different than at home in NJ. We drove through Tahoe National Forest and into the Sierras after a brief stop for lunch in the Napa Valley. We noticed it was getting chillier as we drove up, and were shocked/ amused by the signs we passed announcing the elevation (for two kids who grew up at sea level, one of whom had not left the time zone before in his life? It was kind of awesome.)
We continued to ascend until we reached Donner Pass, which was kind of mind blowing to see in real life when I'd mostly only known it through the Oregon Trail computer game. I can imagine how one would get stranded there in the spring or fall, given that we were there in JUNE and there had been several inches of snow that morning. Out of the ordinary, for sure, but it still happened. In fact, it was so unusual that a news team was parked at the rest area where Mike and I stopped to have a snowball fight... and then they interviewed us for the evening news.
Reno itself was very interesting, just a big empty town in the middle of mountains and desert. We stayed at a casino just a few miles from his interview, just absolutely passing out after a full day (and a half, when you consider travel time and time change!) of adventures. The next morning we drove around town a little bit to kill time before Mike's interview, which went really, really well.
We celebrated at Great Basin Brewpub in Sparks (which is basically just the other, slightly-nicer half of Reno). Great food-- jalapeno wonton poppers? We need to figure out how to make those at home. But the beer was also really good. We tried samples of just about everything they had on tap, some better than others. The Cerveza Chilebeso (chili kiss beer) was pretty awesomely done, but we were most impressed with the Ichthyosaur IPA, also known as Icky. In fact, we brought a six pack home with which to celebrate whenever he would eventually get his first full time teaching job.
The rest of the trip was kind of hurry-- we didn't really leave much time for wandering off the beaten path, but we woke up early enough to see dawn in the Sierras (gorgeous, and now we more fully understand what "purple mountain majesties" means) and head back to San Francisco via Lake Tahoe, which was REALLY chilly for it being June. Beautiful though.
Cool trip. I loved seeing a part of the country that I had never seen anything like before. Also cool was finding out when we landed in Philly that he passed the first round interview and was eligible for hire in Washoe County, NV... except, we now know what would come of that... but it gives me a new place to visit in less than two weeks!
This is how JACK feels about Canada:
(at the Citadel in Halifax, created by Katie)
After Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, we traveled back into New Brunswick over a very long bridge. I know there are no moose on Price Edward Island, but I am sad and disappointed to report that we did not see any moose for the remainder of our trip.
We drove from Charlottetown, PEI to Fredericton, NB, stopping along the way to see a few statues of giant things, which seems to be our new thing to do. Maybe http://www.bigthings.ca will sponsor JACK's third tour of Canada? (Probably not, as it was last updated the summer after we all graduated from high school, but it was still a pretty helpful website in planning our adventures.)
Fredericton was a quiet city for it being Saturday night and the opening of the Olympic games. We had dinner at a place called The Snooty Fox, which had great food and a decent selection of Canadian craft brews. Most curious to me was a sandwich on the menu called the Wyatt Earp... the only sandwich on the menu named after someone. Apparently the cooks just really liked the movie Tombstone. I was still pretty amused. It's a steak sandwich, so I had an epic quesadilla instead, along with a beer from Picaroon's Brewery right there in town. It was really fun to watch the opening ceremonies and the Parade of Nations during dinner-- the US didn't get to see it till prime time!
We walked around town a little bit after dinner, mostly along the waterfront, enjoying a humid but otherwise beautiful evening. The hostel we stayed in was just a few blocks from downtown, so we walked everywhere. Eventually, ACK went back to Snooty Fox to enjoy a bit more of the opening ceremonies and a few more Canadian brews.
Our last real day of vacation involved the trip from Fredericton and Portland, back into the US. Katie and I were nervous because this would be the fourth time our passports were swiped back into the US in the month of July, but the border patrol didn't seem to mind us (guess I didn't explain all the exits and entries yet, will get to that after I finish writing about JACK's Canada excursion). We stopped in Nackawic on the way to see a giant axe representing the importance of the logging industry to New Brunswick's history.
In the Portland area, we were able to find a few more large things-- the world's largest chocolate moose (1700 pounds of pure milk chocolate, accompanied by a few dark chocolate bears ranging from 80 pounds to 300) and also the world's largest spinning globe (three stories high!). We relaxed in Portland and watched some Olympic swimming and beach volleyball.
Driving back to New Jersey wasn't particularly impressive. I drove us out of New England, Jamie took over in Connecticut. We made good time and arrived home to sunshine, which was helpful in unpacking the Fundy wreckage. It smelled pretty rough but didn't knock us over. All in all, another wonderful adventure with my beloved JACK!
(at the Citadel in Halifax, created by Katie)
After Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, we traveled back into New Brunswick over a very long bridge. I know there are no moose on Price Edward Island, but I am sad and disappointed to report that we did not see any moose for the remainder of our trip.
We drove from Charlottetown, PEI to Fredericton, NB, stopping along the way to see a few statues of giant things, which seems to be our new thing to do. Maybe http://www.bigthings.ca will sponsor JACK's third tour of Canada? (Probably not, as it was last updated the summer after we all graduated from high school, but it was still a pretty helpful website in planning our adventures.)
Fredericton was a quiet city for it being Saturday night and the opening of the Olympic games. We had dinner at a place called The Snooty Fox, which had great food and a decent selection of Canadian craft brews. Most curious to me was a sandwich on the menu called the Wyatt Earp... the only sandwich on the menu named after someone. Apparently the cooks just really liked the movie Tombstone. I was still pretty amused. It's a steak sandwich, so I had an epic quesadilla instead, along with a beer from Picaroon's Brewery right there in town. It was really fun to watch the opening ceremonies and the Parade of Nations during dinner-- the US didn't get to see it till prime time!
We walked around town a little bit after dinner, mostly along the waterfront, enjoying a humid but otherwise beautiful evening. The hostel we stayed in was just a few blocks from downtown, so we walked everywhere. Eventually, ACK went back to Snooty Fox to enjoy a bit more of the opening ceremonies and a few more Canadian brews.
Our last real day of vacation involved the trip from Fredericton and Portland, back into the US. Katie and I were nervous because this would be the fourth time our passports were swiped back into the US in the month of July, but the border patrol didn't seem to mind us (guess I didn't explain all the exits and entries yet, will get to that after I finish writing about JACK's Canada excursion). We stopped in Nackawic on the way to see a giant axe representing the importance of the logging industry to New Brunswick's history.
In the Portland area, we were able to find a few more large things-- the world's largest chocolate moose (1700 pounds of pure milk chocolate, accompanied by a few dark chocolate bears ranging from 80 pounds to 300) and also the world's largest spinning globe (three stories high!). We relaxed in Portland and watched some Olympic swimming and beach volleyball.
Driving back to New Jersey wasn't particularly impressive. I drove us out of New England, Jamie took over in Connecticut. We made good time and arrived home to sunshine, which was helpful in unpacking the Fundy wreckage. It smelled pretty rough but didn't knock us over. All in all, another wonderful adventure with my beloved JACK!
26 July 2012
Things That Have Happened Since the Last Post
After Alma, we began our trip to Halifax, stopping first at Hopewell Rocks in The Rocks Provincial Park. So cool. We hiked down to the beach and wandered around during low, low tide. I spent the whole time staring at the rocks, trying to figure out the patterns of weathering and how high the tide goes without consulting any of the signs in the visitors center.
I'm a nerd.
We drove into Nova Scotia and made it to Halifax by late afternoon. Our hostel was an old building, conveniently located across the street from another old building that housed a restaurant and bar. We had some really great food and Amanda and I had some really great beer from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Meanwhile, Mike had an interview for a teaching job in Arizona.
After dinner we decided to walk around the city, which really resulted in us wandering down the waterfront, taking pictures and acting ridiculous (surprise, surprise). There were a few large sculptures and anchors that we thought it was necessary to climb on, and the sunset was gorgeous. We went back to the same place for dessert and beer before unloading the car and turning in. We had left our wet shoes on the hood of the car to dry a little more (and stop making the car smell awful) as a social experiment, figuring if someone stole our worn out, soaking wet, nasty smelling shoes, they really, REALLY needed them more than we did. Well, apparently no one in Halifax was that desperate for shoes.
Around midnight Mari-time (11PM Eastern time, 8PM Pacific time), we received word: Mike got the job. Yay! Except that means he has to leave on Friday, at least two and a half days before I get home from Canada. While that is excessively unfortunate, let's focus on the yay job part! Congratulations, Mike.
This morning, we visited the Citadel in Halifax, a historic naval base. It was interesting to read a bit about the War of 1812 from another perspective... beautiful structure, interesting to wander through some of the creepy passages and look over the ramparts.
We took a creative route to Prince Edward Island, stopping in Stewiacke for a picnic lunch and a picture with a huge statue of a mastadon. The ferry was huuuuuuuuge. Thankfully, despite 50% of us being the carsickest people I've ever met, we didn't have too much trouble on the boat. It was a gorgeous day for a ride across the Northumberland Strait.
The drive into Prince Edward Island was interesting. Guess I should have review my Eastern North America notes, because somehow I was surprised by the myriad of agriculture happening around us. It may also just have been seeing things that I just associate with much different scenery-- corn, soy, wheat, other things that I see growing at home, or associate with the midwest, where the windbreaks are not spruce trees and they don't grow right next to the beach. Very pretty and peaceful here though, and I always enjoy a nice drive through farm country.
We watched the sun set on Brackley Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park, where I would learn what sand fleas are.
...
We are now settled into our enormous lighthouse suite. Seriously, there are multiple rooms and floors. If you are logged into facebook, and friends with me, you should be able to view our tour video:
And, in case you were wondering what the dancing was about, we did seriously spend our evening learning this (although we improvised some of the crazy foot work, especially at the end).
Tree of the day: Red Oak, the provincial tree of Prince Edward Island, as well as the state tree of New Jersey (more specifically the Northern Red Oak, one of many red oak varieties in NJ but the only one that grows this far north, according to my tree book and eyes)
Next up: Fredericton, New Brunswick, via Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and the Confederation Bridge, and giant lobster, rooster and magnet statues
I'm a nerd.
We drove into Nova Scotia and made it to Halifax by late afternoon. Our hostel was an old building, conveniently located across the street from another old building that housed a restaurant and bar. We had some really great food and Amanda and I had some really great beer from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Meanwhile, Mike had an interview for a teaching job in Arizona.
After dinner we decided to walk around the city, which really resulted in us wandering down the waterfront, taking pictures and acting ridiculous (surprise, surprise). There were a few large sculptures and anchors that we thought it was necessary to climb on, and the sunset was gorgeous. We went back to the same place for dessert and beer before unloading the car and turning in. We had left our wet shoes on the hood of the car to dry a little more (and stop making the car smell awful) as a social experiment, figuring if someone stole our worn out, soaking wet, nasty smelling shoes, they really, REALLY needed them more than we did. Well, apparently no one in Halifax was that desperate for shoes.
Around midnight Mari-time (11PM Eastern time, 8PM Pacific time), we received word: Mike got the job. Yay! Except that means he has to leave on Friday, at least two and a half days before I get home from Canada. While that is excessively unfortunate, let's focus on the yay job part! Congratulations, Mike.
This morning, we visited the Citadel in Halifax, a historic naval base. It was interesting to read a bit about the War of 1812 from another perspective... beautiful structure, interesting to wander through some of the creepy passages and look over the ramparts.
We took a creative route to Prince Edward Island, stopping in Stewiacke for a picnic lunch and a picture with a huge statue of a mastadon. The ferry was huuuuuuuuge. Thankfully, despite 50% of us being the carsickest people I've ever met, we didn't have too much trouble on the boat. It was a gorgeous day for a ride across the Northumberland Strait.
The drive into Prince Edward Island was interesting. Guess I should have review my Eastern North America notes, because somehow I was surprised by the myriad of agriculture happening around us. It may also just have been seeing things that I just associate with much different scenery-- corn, soy, wheat, other things that I see growing at home, or associate with the midwest, where the windbreaks are not spruce trees and they don't grow right next to the beach. Very pretty and peaceful here though, and I always enjoy a nice drive through farm country.
We watched the sun set on Brackley Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park, where I would learn what sand fleas are.
...
We are now settled into our enormous lighthouse suite. Seriously, there are multiple rooms and floors. If you are logged into facebook, and friends with me, you should be able to view our tour video:
And, in case you were wondering what the dancing was about, we did seriously spend our evening learning this (although we improvised some of the crazy foot work, especially at the end).
Tree of the day: Red Oak, the provincial tree of Prince Edward Island, as well as the state tree of New Jersey (more specifically the Northern Red Oak, one of many red oak varieties in NJ but the only one that grows this far north, according to my tree book and eyes)
Next up: Fredericton, New Brunswick, via Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and the Confederation Bridge, and giant lobster, rooster and magnet statues
24 July 2012
Epilogue for Alma
I am overjoyed to be wearing dry clothes for the first time today.
We did go to Alma Beach, where the tide was pretty much right up to the deck where I took my first picture of the water further away than I could see. Mind boggling. Looking forward to sharing pictures. While Jamie and Katie went swimming, Amanda and I went to some of the places we visited in the morning to get shots of the high tide.We also visited our campsite to figure out just how bad the situation is... it's bad. We imagine the cleanup tomorrow morning will be pretty comical. We plan to wear bathing suits.
Seafood dinner at one of the little places in Alma. JAK seemed pretty pleased with their various forms of fish and lobster. I was pleased enough with my sexy iceberg salad (seriously, that's what it was called on the menu) and Katie's french fries. After dinner, Amanda and I made ourselves at home in the Village Laundromat, enjoying beers while our laundry washed (and more importantly, dried). I discovered late in the day that my suitcase did not fare as well as I'd thought; everything seemed dry when I rescued it from our flooded tent, but it turns out the jeans at the bottom had absorbed a lot of the water and slowly soaked everything else over the course of the afternoon. Thankfully I noticed this before dinner, and thankfully there was a laundromat in this tiny town.
And so, I sit here in my warm, dry pajama pants with warm, dry socks on, winding down for bed. We're all just kind of hanging out. It ended up being a really great day despite the weather plotting to ruin things for us. It's kind of a good thing that we all adore each other. I'm very fortunate to have such great friends and travel partners.
We did go to Alma Beach, where the tide was pretty much right up to the deck where I took my first picture of the water further away than I could see. Mind boggling. Looking forward to sharing pictures. While Jamie and Katie went swimming, Amanda and I went to some of the places we visited in the morning to get shots of the high tide.We also visited our campsite to figure out just how bad the situation is... it's bad. We imagine the cleanup tomorrow morning will be pretty comical. We plan to wear bathing suits.
Seafood dinner at one of the little places in Alma. JAK seemed pretty pleased with their various forms of fish and lobster. I was pleased enough with my sexy iceberg salad (seriously, that's what it was called on the menu) and Katie's french fries. After dinner, Amanda and I made ourselves at home in the Village Laundromat, enjoying beers while our laundry washed (and more importantly, dried). I discovered late in the day that my suitcase did not fare as well as I'd thought; everything seemed dry when I rescued it from our flooded tent, but it turns out the jeans at the bottom had absorbed a lot of the water and slowly soaked everything else over the course of the afternoon. Thankfully I noticed this before dinner, and thankfully there was a laundromat in this tiny town.
And so, I sit here in my warm, dry pajama pants with warm, dry socks on, winding down for bed. We're all just kind of hanging out. It ended up being a really great day despite the weather plotting to ruin things for us. It's kind of a good thing that we all adore each other. I'm very fortunate to have such great friends and travel partners.
Fundy
Dear Mom,
If I concede defeat and admit you were right, will you enjoy that feeling and get over it before I get home?
You were right. I was wrong. The tent leaks.
Love,
Colleen
After a pleasant morning and afternoon in Saint John, we drove to Fundy National Park, travelling via a road with a really creepy horse skelton statue. We sent up the tent and explored the park a little on our way into the nearby town of Alma for chocolate (we had marshmallows and graham crackers!). We decided on a chill evening-- campfire, a couple of beers, and a good night of sleep with the sound of the wind running through the spruce trees surrounding our little campsite.
Woke up early to search for moose. It was really, really overcast and the camp office had posted a weather report of 90% probability of precipitation. We decided to hope for the best and head out hiking anyway. We did three short trails: one called Caribou Plain, through some wetlands and peat bogs (no moose, though we hear it's a popular place for them to hang out), one along Dickson Falls (totally lovely, despite a LOT of stairs), and Shiphaven, which was along the Point Wolfe River with coastal views... that were largely obstructed by the heavy rains. By then we were all soaked, so we just kept going.
We decided to check on our campsite since we were nearby, and lo and behold, bad news, my sleeping bag was UNDER WATER, as I had slept at the bottom of the slight incline we parked the tent on in the first place. Everyone's things were soaked. We decided to go visit the low tide at Alma Beach and find a cafe in town to regroup and book a hotel.
I feel really silly for wimping out of camping in poor weather, but we don't really have any other option.
The beach was really cool. The tide was really, really far out so we walked down on the beach, which is covered in rocks of all colors, shapes and sizes. Can't wait to see it again at high tide, which is in about fifteen minutes.
We spent some time warming up in a little cafe, where we sorted out the hotel situation. We couldn't get into our room for at least half an hour, so to kill time we went searching for the "neaby" lighthouse at Cape Enrage. Terrible car ride, but lovely scenery. We've just been hanging out the rest of the afternoon, reading and napping. Right now we're gearing up to visit Alma Beach again for high tide (about ten minutes from now, about a ten second drive from here) and then visiting a heated salt water pool in the park that's apparently on the edge of a cliff or something pretty sounding like that. It's still rather misty out, but we're glad to do something.
Tent reconnaissance is scheduled for tomorrow morning since it can't really get any wetter.
Tree of the yesterday: red spruce
Beer of the yesterday: Rickard's Dark, a porter-style beer with a slight maple syrup aftertaste
Tree of today: Hemlocks, which I'm going to miss when the wooly adelgid totally wipes them off the face of the east coast in the coming years
Tomorrow: Halifax, Nova Scotia!
If I concede defeat and admit you were right, will you enjoy that feeling and get over it before I get home?
You were right. I was wrong. The tent leaks.
Love,
Colleen
After a pleasant morning and afternoon in Saint John, we drove to Fundy National Park, travelling via a road with a really creepy horse skelton statue. We sent up the tent and explored the park a little on our way into the nearby town of Alma for chocolate (we had marshmallows and graham crackers!). We decided on a chill evening-- campfire, a couple of beers, and a good night of sleep with the sound of the wind running through the spruce trees surrounding our little campsite.
Woke up early to search for moose. It was really, really overcast and the camp office had posted a weather report of 90% probability of precipitation. We decided to hope for the best and head out hiking anyway. We did three short trails: one called Caribou Plain, through some wetlands and peat bogs (no moose, though we hear it's a popular place for them to hang out), one along Dickson Falls (totally lovely, despite a LOT of stairs), and Shiphaven, which was along the Point Wolfe River with coastal views... that were largely obstructed by the heavy rains. By then we were all soaked, so we just kept going.
We decided to check on our campsite since we were nearby, and lo and behold, bad news, my sleeping bag was UNDER WATER, as I had slept at the bottom of the slight incline we parked the tent on in the first place. Everyone's things were soaked. We decided to go visit the low tide at Alma Beach and find a cafe in town to regroup and book a hotel.
I feel really silly for wimping out of camping in poor weather, but we don't really have any other option.
The beach was really cool. The tide was really, really far out so we walked down on the beach, which is covered in rocks of all colors, shapes and sizes. Can't wait to see it again at high tide, which is in about fifteen minutes.
We spent some time warming up in a little cafe, where we sorted out the hotel situation. We couldn't get into our room for at least half an hour, so to kill time we went searching for the "neaby" lighthouse at Cape Enrage. Terrible car ride, but lovely scenery. We've just been hanging out the rest of the afternoon, reading and napping. Right now we're gearing up to visit Alma Beach again for high tide (about ten minutes from now, about a ten second drive from here) and then visiting a heated salt water pool in the park that's apparently on the edge of a cliff or something pretty sounding like that. It's still rather misty out, but we're glad to do something.
Tent reconnaissance is scheduled for tomorrow morning since it can't really get any wetter.
Tree of the yesterday: red spruce
Beer of the yesterday: Rickard's Dark, a porter-style beer with a slight maple syrup aftertaste
Tree of today: Hemlocks, which I'm going to miss when the wooly adelgid totally wipes them off the face of the east coast in the coming years
Tomorrow: Halifax, Nova Scotia!
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