MorleyRonTravels

Reference Books We Used

2008-04-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

These are books we found very useful:

The People’s Guide to Mexico by Carl Franz and Lorena Havens.
Publisher: Avalon Travel
This is a fun, unorthodox look at travelling and living in Mexico. It is full of useful information, but is not a place guide book. I recommend it to take with you.

Travelers's Guide to Mexican Camping by Mike and Terri Church.
Publisher: Rolling Homes Press
This book is indispensible for any Mexican camping trip. It is updated every few years and as things are changing so quickly I'd recommend you get the latest one.

Roadside Guide to Indian Ruins and Rock Art of the SouthWest by Gordon and Cathie Sullivan
Westcliffe Publishers
We used this to tour the four corner states. If you want the vantage point of the ancient peoples you'll love this.

Do as Mexicans Do by Herb Kernecker
McGraw Hill Publisher
Not essential, but fun reading, explaining some local customs.

A Cook’s Tour of Mexico by Nancy Zaslavsky
St. Martin’s Griffen Publisher
If food is your thing, and how can it not be in Mexico you'll enjoy this look at communities and the eating/buying options. Receipes too!

Exploring our National Parks and Monuments by Devereux Butcher
Roberts Rinehart Publishers
I am a huge fan of national parks, it's where the big bucks were spent, and there is never any question as to whether the visit is worthwhile: always! This book will make sure you don't miss any. National monuments are included too.

Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway by F.Lynne Bachleda
Menasha Ridge Press
A milepost by milepost guide to the Trace. If you drive it, and you should, you'll get your money's worth from this one.

The Natchez Trace A Pictoral History by James A. Crutchfield
Territorial Press Franklin, Tennessee
Non-essential but more in-depth reading.

Lonely Planet: USA and Mexico
My personal favourites, worth their weight and cost. There are apparently other great ones, but I like the irreverent look at travel.

Pueblos Magicos
You'll probably have to get this in Mexico, but if you did nothing but visit these especially designated towns, you'd have a great trip.

Rand McNally Road Atlas (from Walmart)
This baby is the road atlas you've likely seen before, but with additional Walmart listings and info, for those who like to sleep in parking lots. (not us)

Guia Roji (the atlas for Mexico)
You'll need one big map of Mexico (CAA is fine) but this atlas is essential. There is no substitute. It's 'updated' every year. I bought ours in a Mexican Walmart.

CAA Tourbooks
Surprisingly useful if you have room, but no substitute for a good guidebook.

Re: Birds
You'll see lots, so if you like them come equipped.
We used our old Golden Guide to North American Birds, and bought a Shibleys on the way home. We heard about an interesting book: A Bird Finding Guide to Mexico by Steve Howell

Home at Last

2008-04-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

Final Mileage:

It was almost exactly 8 months to the day from the time we drove out our driveway (August 7th, 2007) and headed west for the Queen Charlottes. Our van is in good shape, no accidents which seems a miracle given the vagaries of driving in Mexico. We're in good shape too, maybe a bit more fit and certainly more rested. It's fun to have lots of exciting things to show people, and lots of things to talk about. We have about 1000 photos to edit into something we can show people who don't have a week to view!

The crocus are blooming on our lawn, but the lake is still frozen, though 'puddly' on top. It's a great time to arrive home, and I still have until August to garden and play. One of the pictures I'll post is of our dog, Abbey the standard poodle. She turned into a sheep while we were gone. She was very well cared for by our son Patrick and his family, but they didn't believe in haircuts.

There's lots of things to say about having 8 months on the road, and seeing good parts of 3 countries on this continent. I'll list a few that come to mind in no particular order:

It's great to spend so much time with your partner, relying on each other and remembering how much fun we can have together day after day.

There are wonderful parts of the USA that I saw, and would still like to see. I'd like to go back to the 4 Corners, Grand Canyon and Utah. I'd like to get to Yellowstone, and explore the south properly: check out New Orleans, Lafayette and the Mississippi Delta.

I love Mexico, and can't wait to go back. Our next trip will be down the Eastern coast to the Yucatan. That trip could include getting to Urupapan, Colima, Taxco and back to Patzcuaro which is a great place.

There are lots of great folks out there RVing. I'd like to meet some of them again for sure. I hope some of them follow up on suggestions that they stay with us if they vacation East some summer.

I'd like to keep studying and practicing Spanish. I enjoyed speaking French to some to the Quebecers who we met on the road. It is great to bend your brain around another language or two. I'd like to see more folks taking some basic Spanish to deepen their Mexican experience. The onus shouldn't be on the Mexicans to always speak English.

The internet is a miracle! We could post to the blog, read email, bank etc. all from internet cafes and wifi connections throughout the continent. We used our friend goodle to ask questions on a variety of topics: the standard of living in Mexico, the formulae for mileage to km conversion and the ratio of bleach to water for drinking, the receipe for sopa de azteca, lots of maps and park descriptions. I also loved the personal correspondence that some folks kept up the whole time I was blogging the trip. You know who you are, and I thank you for your comments and insights and news.

Nachez Trace 3- Alabama and Tennessee

2008-04-02T17:45:00.001-07:00

The northern part of the Trace cuts through Alabama where it crosses the Tennessee River, and then travels though much more hilly, wooded terrain through Tennessee ending at Nashville. We saw lots of deer and turkeys, and the dogwood and redbud were in bloom.

Near Florence, Alabama we visited the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Florence is just across the Tennessee River from Muscle Shoals, which gave its name to the very famous recording studio. At the hall of fame we saw outrageous costumes, Elvis's first contract, the road bus used by Alabama, the great rock band and an amazing convertible customized with a performer who had money to spend. It had 6 shooters for door handles and silver dollars everywhere. We also visited the Helen Keller home. I had forgotten how incredible her story was. The property is full of gifts from countries around the world, honouring her achievements and example for deaf-blind people. I didn't know that she is the reason the Lions Club has vision care as it's prime intervention, world wide.

We visited some friends near Florence and got to visit a group of folks who meet twice a week and play guitar and dulcimer. It was awesome to see the enthusiasm and energy from this happy group of seniors. They said 'ya'll come back now!!'

Port Gibson, Mississippi

2008-04-02T17:37:00.000-07:00

More Grand Gulf Military Monument

2008-04-02T16:36:00.000-07:00

Windsor Plantation, near Grand Gulf Mississippi

2008-04-02T16:25:00.000-07:00

This great house was burned to the ground in the 1890's having survived the Civil War. This family had huge plantations in cotton, in both Mississippi and Louisiana. It was a beautiful and strange place to visit, just off the Nachez Trace.

Nachez Trace 2: Grand Gulf Military Monument and Vicksburg

2008-04-02T16:12:00.000-07:00

Image 3: The Re-enactment Guys
Images 1,2 and 4: From the Vicksburg Murals: The boat train, the siege of Vicksburg and Teddy Roosevelt's 'historic' sparing of the bear cub, the origin of the Teddy Bear.

From Grand Gulf Military Monument we were able to spend a few days checking out local Civil War history and the neighbouring community of Port Gibson. We watched a ‘living history’ re-enactment at the park on the week-end where a group of keen volunteers, emulating the local Militia, shot off their 20 lb Parrot gun and talked to us about the defense of Vicksburg and the battle for Grand Gulf, which was a strategic strong-hold of the Confederacy. The park is on the battlefield, and the old batteries and gun emplacements are everywhere. There is also a great little museum with lots of good stuff from the war, mostly artifacts collected locally. It all seems very real here and not so very long ago. For some of these re-enactment folks is their own family history. I spent the night before restlessly imagining what it might be like to be facing battle the next day. The Confederate soldiers had been well dug in, but the Union came down the river with 6 iron-sided boats and blasted away at them until they had to surrender, leaving the Mississippi River open to Vicksburg which was a strategic point on the River. If you go to Vicksburg you can see one of the Ironsides on display, which was amazing new technology for the time.

We drove up the Mississippi to Vicksburg and spent a day wandering around the old town. There is a huge, well interpreted battlefield there for the enthusiasts. We visited the Old Pharmacy, which is actually a modern, full-service pharmacy set in a private museum of old pharmaceuticals and civil war memorabilia. I love that kind of stuff as it’s there for you to touch and question and marvel at the dedication of the two generations who collected and annotated the materials. There were enough muskets displayed on the walls to equip a militia unit itself. The cannon on the front street even belongs to the store.

We also paid a visit to the jeweler next door to buy a strap for my old Navajo silver and turquoise watch, and noticed all the music stuff on the wall. The owner has been playing back-up guitar and vocals for all kinds of big names in music. He also told us a great story about finding tons of civil war stuff when he was a kid playing out in the fields. They recently took down a house that he had played in as a kid, and found all the walls stuffed with muskets. As he said ‘some of them just didn’t want to give it up at the end.’

The next day we checked out the Port Gibson festival. I ate some ribs and fried catfish, and bought a few crafts. The local Mississippi Crafts Guild had a terrific permanent display of quilts in a good display/workspace. I hope I win one for the raffle tickets I bought. With a very superficial look, the quilting seems to be an intra-colour activity. It is a tradition in both the cultures and the volunteers were both black and white people, which seems to be rare. This little town, which was apparently ‘too pretty to burn’ is struggling with survival. It is full of great houses, 8 churches, an amazing court house and the craft center. I’m not sure where people would go to work, even Vicksburg isn’t very big and it’s a ways away. We enjoyed our day helping out the local economy.

The Nachez Trace 1: to Grand Gulf south of Vicksburg

2008-03-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Image 1 and 2: The Old Country Store
Image 3 and 4: Emerald Mound

The Trace is today a scenic byway, through green woods and pastureland, running 484 miles from Nachez, Mississippi on the southern end to Nashville, Tennessee in the north. It roughly follows a path inland from the Mississippi River. It has its origins in animal migration routes, and by humans has been used by first nations people, Kentucky boatmen returning north, and was a significant postal route with up to two runs a week in its heyday. It fell into disuse when the steamboats were able to navigate the Mississippi upstream against the current. Through the efforts of many citizens and spear-headed by the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Trace was declared a national historic route in the 1930s. As such it is protected from heavy traffic and commercialization. It is littered with historic and scenic markers, and winds its way through beautiful countryside.

We began our journey up the Trace leaving Nachez on March 25th. The tiny leaves are out on the trees, and the dogwoods are in bloom. The mown grass at the edge of the parkway is emerald green. We stop for our first night at the Nachez State Park and rough camp in their ‘primitive’ sites.

The next day we visit the Emerald Mound, a significant earthwork covering 8 acres, and 35 feet in height, built by the ancestors of the Nachez Indians during the 1300s. We lunched, at ‘Mr. D’s Old Country Store Restaurant’ in Lonmore. Arthur Davis has been cooking fried chicken, collard greens, ham and black-eyed peas for 30 years, and uses his grandma’s recipes. He greeted us after lunch and sang us a blues song about chicken and corn bread. In the afternoon we visited the ruins of Windsor Plantation, burned in the 1890’s. We are camped at the Grand Gulf Military Monument State Park on the banks of the river, which was part of the Vicksburg campaign which broke the back of the Confederacy in the civil war.

Nachez, Mississippi

2008-03-30T13:35:00.000-07:00

Image 1: A Riverboat Casino
Image 2: The Pig Out Eatery where I had 'pulled pork barbeque'
Image 3: The Mississippi River from the bluffs overlooking Louisiana
Image 4: Afton Hall Gardens
Nachez is a small city built on the shores of the Mississippi River, at the first place of high bluffs north of New Orleans. It has been the homeland of the Nachez Indian people, who built ceremonial mounds, was colonized by the French, then became part of West Florida under Spanish rule, then became part of the United States, then seceded from the Union to join the Confederacy and has remained part of the USA since the end of the Civil War. Nachez overlooks the very flat Louisiana farmland to the west on the other side of the river. This land, and the land east of the town, was the economic powerhouse of the south when cotton was king. Some of the plantations in the areas were as large as 2,600 acres. At one point Nachez was home to more millionaires than any other city in the USA.

Nachez was also the place during the 1700s which was the southern most terminus of the river boats that floated down the river with trade goods from the center of the country, having used the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers to collect their wealth. At this point the boatmen sold their goods, including the lumber of their boats and headed back north with their year’s revenue to repeat the process. Nachez was the therefore the start of the Trace, the road where the overland trek started northward, through the woods back to the heartland.

Many wealthy plantation owners had ‘town houses’ in Nachez, where they could spend the social ‘season’. Nachez also had several grand antebellum homes within its boundaries. And of course, Nachez had a lower town, ‘Nachez below the hill’ where the boatmen could go to be relieved of their money, and ‘scratch their itches’, so to speak.

Since the 1930s, spearheaded by the ladies’ garden club, the town has been committed to preservation of their (primarily) antebellum heritage. The downtown has many streets of historic homes, large and small. The waterfront has been restored, and has a riverboat casino where people can still be relieved of their money.

We took a self-guided walking tour which took us up and down the historic downtown streets. We had lunch on the grounds of Stanton Hall at the Carriage House, and had mint juleps and fried chicken. There were several women wearing strange hats in the dining room. The winds were brisk off the Mississippi but the sun was shining and the azaleas and dogwood were stunning. It was a great place to visit for a few days.

Northern Louisiana- Saint Francisville

2008-03-23T13:27:00.000-07:00

We turned north again at Lafayette, and by-passed the cities of Lafayette, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. It was hard to do, as there are lots of wonderful things to see, but I yearn for small towns, dark skies, woods and flowery walks. We found that at Saint Francisville, which is one of the very old towns along the Mississippi River, which grew up to serve the great plantations of the antebellum age.

As our previous entry shows, we crossed the river by very small ferry, and arrived at the dock for the town, drove through the historic district, picked up a map and found a lovely RV park (Green Acres, is the place to see), and settled in for Easter week-end. The azaleas were in bloom on every lawn and lined every driveway.

We have toured two plantations, Rosedown and Oakley, both the property of the State of Louisiana. They were both lovingly restored to the period, Rosedown being more 'traditional' with white columns and grand interior, Oakley from an earlier generation in the Federal style, after the great houses of the West Indies, with serious nods to keeping cool.

Rosedown was restored by a wealthy oil family of Houston and then sold to the state at reasonable terms. It had been acquired only 10 years from the family having sold it, and was intact though run down at the time. Oakley was restored by the state after being bought from the original family's surviving member who wanted to see the house and land preserved. Both sit on significantly large acreage, and Rosedown has an amazing garden, apparently one of the best period gardens in the country.

John James Audubon spent several months tutoring a daughter of the Oakley family, and it was here that he completed 24 of his 32 "Birds of America" series. The state has acquired many first edition prints which hang throughout the house. This plantation was walking distance from our park, along a lovely road and up through the winding, tree-lined driveway.

Today we took a walk at a Nature Conservancy Preserve up the road, listened to the birds singing and enjoyed the dogwood which is just coming out in bloom in the woods.

Texas camping and crossing the Mississippi River

2008-03-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

Image 2: Turtle Bayou, a muddy, moving body of water right in front of our campsite. It was busy all day with fishermen coming and going in boats. There was no swimming recommended because of alligators. We didn't see any.

When we left there driving east on I 10 we passed a wildlife area where we stopped and saw hundreds of common egrets (the big guys) and roseate spoonbills, who are bright pink and might be flamingos except there aren't any in in the wild. They were mostly roosting in trees.

Image 3: The trees in Texas, and to a certain extent Mexico, are full of these epiphytes which are a bromiliad. They are about 3" across, and form on branches of trees and even overhead wires, and at some point in the cycle have blossom. Interesting...

Image 1: We headed north at Lafayette and ended up crossing the Mississippi River by a small ferry. We've ended up in a small, very historic town called Saint Francisville. The place is full of tiny little houses and old commercial buildings.

More Real de Catorce

2008-03-19T11:37:00.001-07:00

Real de Catorce

2008-03-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

Real de Catorce is a tiny ghost town in northern San Luis de Potosi State, in transition to being a ‘destination’. It is high in the Sierras, almost 3000 meters where the air is clear, and the vistas are long over arid, almost tree-less mountains. After the 25 km, cobblestone road switch-backing through the mountains the access to the town is through a 2.3 km long tunnel, originally cut as a mine shaft. It has been virtually abandoned since the early 1900s, when as a vibrant silver mining town it had 40,000 inhabitants. Today there are 1,400 people living there, a combination of Huichol Indians, decendents of miners and arty newcomers from around the world. The town has been designated as a Pueblo Majico and the infrastructure dollars are assisting with the sewage, water and burial of wire activities which are evident everywhere.

The town is perched high above a valley. All the buildings, streets, walkways and fences are made of stone or adobe brick. Many of them continue to be abandoned, with crumbling adobe walls and roof-less houses everywhere. At the same time there is ceaseless activity, digging, resurfacing, repointing etc.

The day we visited the town it was readying itself for Samana Santa, or Holy Week, when thousands of visitors will flock to the village to make pilgrimage to the Templo de la Purisma Conception where there is a statue of Saint Francis of Assisi on one of the side alters, reputed to assist with miraculous interventions. There is a room in the church which is covered floor to ceiling with tin retablos, which are tin folk-art depictions created by people who believe that Saint Francis delivered them: cured their cattle, cured their kids of measles, assisted them at the time of a car accident or crossing the Rio Bravo.

There is also a lovely older church with a surrounding ancient grave-yard, which has beautiful faded walls and paintings in the dome. Nearby is a very old stone bull ring, now doubling as a soccer area and a restored cock-fighting ring which looks like a Roman amphitheatre with its stone seating.

As we walked through the town we saw lots of new restaurants, one displaying pictures of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. It seems as if there are more important people besides Ron and Morley making a visit! Be there or be square! We wondered what it will look like the next time.

Corpus Christi to Austin, Texas

2008-03-19T11:18:00.000-07:00

We spent a few days at the beach on the Gulf of Mexico at Mustang Island State Park. Lots of lovely walking and light surf. It reminds me of Assateague Island State Park in Maryland, where we started our year of travel last April. It is hard to believe that since that time on the Atlantic we have traveled to the North Pacific at Alaska and the Queen Charlotte Islands, the Pacific off of the Baja and Mexico, the Sea of Cortez which divides Baja from the continent, and then the Gulf of Mexico.

Corpus Christi has a good Science and History Museum, where we saw the Spanish built replicas of Columbus’ Nina, Pinto and Santa Maria in which he reached the New World. Even though Corpus Christi wasn’t a landing for Columbus they won the bid to play permanent host to the ships. The museum had a great display on the change agents related to Columbus: Corn, beans, the horse and disease.

San Antonio has a wonderful downtown RiverWalk, where pedestrian walkways line the river, with restaurants, bars and hotels all facing the waterfront. We checked out the outside of the Alamo-‘Shrine of Texan Independence’ which was crowded with families for March break.

And then we headed north to Gruene, which is a tiny historic town embedded in the suburb of New Braunfels, located on the Guadalupe River. The old turn of the 19th C houses have great shops and the Gruene Hall is the oldest dance hall in Texas, and the reason for our visit. We heard Bill Kirchen and ‘Too Much Fun’ along with a few hundred other folk out on a Sunday night. We all sat at trestle tables and drank beer. Lots of people were dressed up in their best cowboy outfits. Bill was great, and had both a fiddle and an alto sax player sit in for a few songs each. He told us that he was at Newport in ’64 and saw it go electric in ’65. At Gruene Hall he stood on the table and the crowd went wild! What a great place!!

And now we’re at a nice little State Park near Austin where tonight we’ll check out the music downtown.

A rant on the wisdom of exporting pollution

2008-03-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

Driving from Leon to the American Border at Reynoso

Leon is a big, industrial city in the central highlands of Mexico. We took advantage of that by buying lots of leather goods that came from the many factories located there. There is a huge General Motors car plant on the outskirts. The city is surrounded by beautiful flat, agricultural land, which apparently grows some of the best strawberries in the country. There were many vendors selling baskets of juicy, ripe berries by the side of the highway. The valley extends to distant mountains which can barely be seen through the smog.

The brownish, yellow haze obscures the landscape. The farm workers are working in it, and everyone else is breathing it. In Leon we see many more people wearing gauze masks than we have in the rest of Mexico, and the numbers increase as we head north.

On the road from Leon to Zacatacas, our carbon monoxide detector for the van goes off, testimony to the choking fumes enveloping us on the freeway. We can hardly see the mountain peaks. I have a permanent sore throat and runny nose.

Yes, the old cars which are seen everywhere on the road in Mexico do not help affairs, but the extent of this air pollution far exceeds anything we have seen even in big cities like Guadalajara. We pass lots of factories, all belching black smoke. The streams no longer run clear.

We passed the Nissan factory, and VW is somewhere in this area. When Canada lost car plants to Mexico, which was bad for our economy, we not only lost jobs. In our zeal as consumers to pay as low a price as possible, we have moved the air pollution south of the borders. These manufacturers do not have to comply with the (more) stringent environmental regulations that we have in Canada. They have moved south, and appear to be able to pollute with impunity. The Mexican people will pay a big price for this in the next generation, as we now know how much disease and death is related to poor air quality. We North Americans will pay the price too. Air pollution, like acid rain, has no respect for borders.

Even More Zacatacas

2008-03-06T06:23:00.001-08:00

Image 1: A view of the back of Santa Domingo from the garden of the Pedro Coronel Museum, which is housed in the former Franciscan monastery. The museum, which was a bequest of the wealthy artist, has a huge collection of art including much of his contemporaries: Picasso, Dali, Chagall, Miro and others. His work is also displayed, including a sculpture which is used as his crypt, and is shown below in Image 2.

Image 3: The view from the restaurant at theHotel Quinta Real, which surrounds the oldest ex-bullring in Mexico. You are looking through the aqueduct and towards a lovely church, built in the last century partially with stone from parts of the aquaduct.

Image 4: Morley in the hall of the Quinta Real, showing the curved corridors. It is a very beautiful hotel and we had an excellant meal there.

You can tell from all the posts that we really liked Zacatacas. It is full of excellant galleries and museums, and interesting things to do. We enjoyed the Mina El Eden and the teleferico ride to the top of La Bufa, where we visited a museum about the Mexican Revolution. Zacatacas was the site of an important battle involving the Federales and Pancho Villa who led the revolutionaries.

More Zacatacas

2008-03-05T19:31:00.000-08:00

Image 1: The birds from the hotel roof on their way to the tree in the Hacienda del Bosque RV Park. It takes about 20 minutes for them to move in groups of about 50. They seem to arrive at the hotel roof about an hour before sunset and are gone from their tree by dawn.
Image 3: Centro historico Zacatacas from the overhead tramway. The Cathedral is in the centre.
Image 2: A lovely downtown street
Image 4: A Huichol art piece in the Zacatacas Cultural Museum. It is made of tiny beads and is full of fabulous images which are derived from peyote induced hallucinations which are an important part of their religious activity.

Zacatecas

2008-03-02T17:04:00.000-08:00

Zacatecas is a very old silver mining town located in the foothills of the Sierra Madres. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the ancient centro historico is perfect: stone streets lined with cream coloured old buildings, and the most elaborate cathedral in all of Mexico, built from rose coloured granite. The Eden mine is still being worked 400 years later, and it produced the 2nd largest amount of silver to be sent back to Spain in all the colonies. The wealth the silver created resulted in the beautiful churches and public buildings we can still enjoy today.

We visited the Rafael Coronel museum housed in the Ex-Convento de San Francisco, which has the largest collection of masks in the world, all well displayed and lit. Tomorrow we visit Mina El Eden and will take the cable car to a peak above town to look at the view.

Tonight at sunset we watched thousands of blackbirds gather on the hotel roof (where our RV park is) and swirl around eventually landing in one tree which is now full of twittering birds.

Moon Eclipse

2008-03-02T16:57:00.000-08:00

We spent a lovely evening testing tequila with a few other folks, and watching the moon eclipse. The photos aren't mine but thanks to a fellow tequila tester Drew Holloway.

Leon and even more San Miguel

2008-03-01T19:04:00.000-08:00

We visited Leon, the leather city, and bought some wonderful stuff for good prices. It is about an hour from Guanojuato, and has a nice down-town. In truth it is a big industrial city, and when we drove through later in the week we were stunned to see the pall of smog hanging over the city.

We also visited Dolores Hildago, and purchased Talavera pottery, which is decorated with beautiful flowers, birds and fish. We visited a balnearo on the way home to indulge in the hot pools.

Dolores is the town where Hildago, the priest turned revolutionary, extolled his parish and the country to arms against the Spanish ruling class. He, and his compatriots who included Allende, were rewarded for their zeal by public beheading. We visited the Algondigo in Guanojuato, where their heads were displayed for the next 11 years, until vindicated by the country finally achiving freedom from Spain. We visited Hildago's beautiful church and admired it, and the square in front, all of which are a destination for Mexican's from across the country.

More San Miguel de Allende

2008-02-25T16:36:00.001-08:00

San Miguel de Allende

2008-02-25T16:27:00.000-08:00

San Miguel de Allende is a beautiful as described, though if you want an untouched experience this is not the place for you. The city itself is unspoiled, very well preserved, and every view is a lesson in form, colour, architecture, flowers. The streets are cobblestone and make for some hard walking, but they are winding, and lined with shops and galleries displaying fabulous Mexican ware and art, much of it created by non-mexicans who make their homes there.

We had several fun days hiking around town, up and down, exploring back streets and alleys. The place is full of excellant restaurants, offering everything from authentic regional food to fabulous fusion. It's as expensive as you might expect from the style and services offered, but good value for money. We were not disappointed with any meal or purchase.

The main square, The Jardin Union, is a bit of a scene, from the amazing much-photographed cathedral to the folks seeing and being seen. We actually ran into 2 separate norte americano visitors who we knew from home. Folks seem to adopt a 'festival' costume for San Miguel, so we were treated to seeing lots older retired folks all decked out in clothing in which to be noticed: big colourful hats, statement t-shirts, big skirts, excentric wraps and scarves. Everyone is just having a good time!!

More Guanajuato

2008-02-25T16:20:00.000-08:00

Guanajuato

2008-02-25T16:07:00.000-08:00

A beautiful city of 70,000, lots of students and a cosmopolitain atmosphere. The city is on a deep ravine, and as a result is a maze of tiny streets and alleys. It is the home of the most rich silver mine in the Spanish empire, providing 50% of all sent back. They have exploited the exhausted mines and solved the city's traffic problems by routing roads through many stone tunnels.

El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary

2008-02-25T15:56:00.000-08:00

We hiked up the mountain on a well maintained dusty path, through beautiful fir forest. We started out at about 8000 feet and by the time we arrived at the end of the path we were over 10000, which means the walk was challenging. My heart was racing and we couldn’t hike far without a short rest, but then were able to start again, recovering quickly.

We had a guide with us, but then noticed that lots of other people didn’t, so it appears to be optional. He was a nice guy and seemed to have lots of knowledge, but only spoke Spanish. Seeing as how, as people from Southern Ontario, we think they are ‘our’ monarchs too, we didn’t need the detail we missed. It was a great chance to speak and hear Spanish, as he spoke slowly for my benefit.

It was later afternoon when we approached the site, which our guide book had said was perfect: a sunny afternoon in February. Apparently if it is cloudy or cold they stay in the trees. We seemed to cross some invisible line, from few butterflies to many, and when we arrived at the end there were millions! It was a as marvelous as we had expected, with the sun slanting through the huge trees, the butterflies filling the air like autumn leaves and completely covering the trunks. It was a truly spectacular sight.

When we headed back down we walked through a little tourist ‘village’ set up near the parking lot, with lots of craft vendors and little restaurants, each with their own little stove for cooking blue corn tortillas and lots of yummy smelling things. We bought a beautiful stitching from the little old Indian woman who had made it, and a pine needle basket that filled the van with the scent of the forest.

We headed down the mountain near sunset, and stayed in our van overnight in a lovely hotel for Mexican families, complete with a petting zoo. They served regional food in the restaurant and we treated ourselves to dinner and breakfast. These families were mostly from Mexico City, and were well-heeled. There was only one other group of non-spanish folks there. It was fun to watch the families with their children. We had a big chat with a young woman from Pueblo, who was very well spoken, and had even been to Quebec on a student exchange.

We set out, and were able to spend a few hours over lunch in another ‘Pueblo Majico’, called Tlalpujuhua which is a beautiful colonial town in the mountains. We bought Gorditas for lunch from a stand in the plaza, looked after by a smiling woman and her teen-aged daughters. Gorditas con Maiz quebrada, are sprouted corn tortillas, deep-fried and then split like pitas and stuffed. We tried the pork (Chicharron) , the beef (picadilla with papas) and the chicken ones, topped with green chile sauce and cheese. Really good.

After a few more hours on twisty roads we took the pay road to make time (spent about $20) and pulled into the park in Guanajuato at about 5 pm.

An Eventful Day

2008-02-25T15:44:00.000-08:00

We were all ready to leave Patzcuaro for the butterfly sanctuary in the morning, and sound asleep in our beds that night. We were awakened from our sleep by someone pounding on the door of the van shouting ‘fire!!!. It was 4 am and we violated one of the rules of camping in Mexico: to never open your door at night no matter what. Our neighbour said ‘ there’s a fire in the campground, get up and get ready to leave!’

We threw on our clothes and shoes and hurried outside towards the 8 foot high flames. All of the campground folks were there, and we joined the bucket brigade to try to douse the flames, which were threatening the fir trees over-hanging the pit where the fire began. The police arrived shortly and they got down in the pit and received our buckets, which we were filling from the hose end. Someone then had the bright idea to use the swimming pool and things began to look up then, as the water treatment moved along much quicker. Fortunately most of the RVers had buckets and the property owner dug up a few too, but that will be part of our equipment list the next time we go out on the road.

After 20 minutes most of the flames were out and then the fire department arrived. Their truck was a pumper with no water on board, but they also set up their hose to the swimming pool. There are no fire hydrants in most of Mexico, so I guess if you don’t have a swimming pool and a bucket brigade of retirees you’re out of luck.

The fire had started in the debris left from the adobe making operation on the property. The son of the owner is building a new home, and two guys had been making bricks all week. The earth for the bricks was dug on site, and mixed with pine needles by horse foot.

We all went back to bed for a few hours of sleep and then were underway east in the morning. Ron and I traveled on the old road, Mex 15, which is a wiggly line on the map. We crossed over a whole mountain range, and traveled for most of the day through beautiful piney forest. The road was paved, but the wiggly line denotes all the switch-backs, which made for hard driving for Ron and great scenery for me. It reminded me of the Adirondacks, probably a generation ago. We didn’t pass through many towns though there were lots of signs of habitation with horses and donkey tethered to graze in any open space. Mostly the forest came right up to the road.

We took a break at a big monument located at a great view. There was a small store and we stopped in to see about lunch fixings. There were 3 men hanging about in front, and when we approached one of them spoke to us in English asking us about our license plates. They were tough looking guys, and this was borne out when he proceeded to show us the big bag of green stuff he said was marijuana. We bought our milk and cleared out of there as quickly as we could.

By 3 pm we had arrived at Ocampo, the small town which is the launch for the El Rosario Butterfly Sanctuary. The road up the mountain to the start of the trail is a 12km cobblestone road. It was a very bumpy ride, but before we knew it we were there and hiking with a guide to see the buterflies.

Around Patzcuaro: Tzuntzantzun Ruins and the Dance of Los Viejos

2008-02-15T09:07:00.000-08:00

We had a busy day yesterday, visiting the ancient site of the local Tarascan people,called Tzintzantzan. It was an important religious centre. Then we were off to Santa Clara del Cobre, a village entirely devoted to making copper. There is a rich crafts traditional locally, as an early bishop established co-operative crafts centres in each village, and the excellance continues. We bought new kitchen sinks at Santa Clara.

In the evening we went to a local restaurant and watched the traditional dance depicting the old men and their struggles.It was held in a beautiful court-yard, which was covered with an awning. It was still cold, I was glad of my fleece. It apparently went down to 1 C overnight. Patzcuaro is at 6000 ft. and the butterfly sanctuary where we head tomorrow is even higher.

Patzcuaro

2008-02-15T08:41:00.000-08:00

We headed out on the Cuota, the pay road. $20 later we exited and headed over more winding, scenic (challenging) roads and ended up in Patzcuaro by 3 pm or so. Once again a 3 hour trip is 6 hours. We did see strawberries being picked along the way, and fields of agave. As we approached Patzcuaro we drove around the northern and eastern edge of Patzcuaro Lago (lake) which is one of the highest in Mexico.

Patzcuaro is another ‘Pueblo Majico’, and it has not disappointed us so far. It is a compact city of 48,000 people, set 7000 feet above sea level. It is chilly at night. The city itself is ancient, and predates the Spanish. The basilica is built on a native site (which means they tore down their monument and used the stone for the new (16th Century) church. The buildings are cream and the roofs are red, the squares are shady and spacious.

We took a day trip on the lake to Isla Janitzio, which is an Indian community devoted to fishing and tourism. We had a fun day wandering the crooked lanes of this tiny island, visiting shops and restaurants, and eventually climbing to the armpit of this weird statue of Jose Maria Morelos, priest turned freedom fighter. I am now confirmed as having a fear of heights, I officially quit climbing, but for those not as silly as I it would be worthwhile. It is perfectly safe says my brain, but my eyes tell me something else, and that is unfortunately translated to my wobbly knees.

I has breakfast at a stall in the market in front of the Basilica: A coronada, which is a tamale-like traditional breakfast food, and elote which is a hot gruel made with cornmeal, mine was flavoured with chocolate, but the choices included guava and tamarind. The coronada was a fist sized triangular package wrapped in green leaves, steamed beside the tamales. It was opened for me and put in a bowl and garnished with a cream sauce and green chili sauce. The cornmeal (moist, firm) package contained cheese and green chilies. It was a delicious and substantial breakfast sitting at the stall. I was entertained by a musician during.

From there we went to the Basilica. The statue of the virgin at alter is made from corn husk paste mixed with orchids. She is reputed to cure illnesses so I purchased some tiny legs outside at a religious items booth and placed them along with the other offerings.

We lunched at a lovely restaurant on the square, in their interior courtyard. A very beautiful atmoshere. We wandered through the town and checked out the marvellous shops selling local crafts. There is lots of hand-woven fabric to buy, both cotton and wool.

Around Patzcuaro-Isla Janitizio

2008-02-14T07:08:00.000-08:00

Guadalajara

2008-02-14T07:07:00.000-08:00

Guadalajara to Patzcuaro

We spent a half day in downtown Guadalajara, traveling by bus an hour, with no changes and let off within 3 blocks of the Cathedral. It cost 4.5 pesos which is incredibly cheap. Scenic too! To spend so little time in this city feels short changed all around, but I have discovered that we can’t do anything like what you imagine when setting aside 3 days for this big, beautiful city. We’ll simply have to come back some day!

Guadalajara is said to be a city that Mexicans visit on their holidays, and we did see a few families sightseeing along with small groups of us norte americanos. We walked from the Cathedral, which is impressive as they always are, visiting enroute a handsome 19th Century building which is now a city museum, with rooms set up to show how the upper classes lived in that era. I was thrilled to be able to ask a few questions of the attendant in Spanish, and actually understood the answers. Maybe there’s hope?

We walked along the very pleasant Pedro Moreno pedestrian mall, which is lined with restaurants, shops and filled with fountains and sculptures. We spent an hour or so in the Cabanas Cultural Institute, which was showing an impressive display of Pre-colombian work from the Gold Museum in Bogotá, Columbia. My globe trotting parents had loved this museum and it was thrilling to see the fabulous work: to our eyes primitive in design, but complex in execution. Bogotá isn’t a favoured destination these days, and I hadn’t thought I’d ever get to see the work.

We then visited the four story Mercado Liberta, which has a large number of shops selling everything Mexicana, including the food market with colourful and tasty offerings. I have learned to buy a container of finger-size cut up fruit anytime I’m in the mood. That day I sampled a pineapple and watermelon combo for 10 pesos ( about $1), which can be garnished with salt, lime and chili powder, but this time I opted for the lime only. Lovely!

We lunched at a good Mexican restaurant where Ron and I shared a mixed platter of meats, garnished with beans and guacamole. It included a chorizo sausage and carne adabo, both of which I had been wanting to try. I wasn’t disappointed. At both lunch and in the plaza we were entertained by live music. We made it home by dusk, tired and happy. The next morning Ron and I set out for points East, and managed to get out of this very big city in about an hour only making one wrong turn, Not bad…

More People at Work

2008-02-08T20:01:00.001-08:00

The Basket Maker: This woman was constantly busy with her hands, without even looking. She had a stall of beautiful purses and carry bags.

The Barrel Maker and his Family: Ron bought several of these little barrels when we were in Tequila. They are the real thing, made by hand, the way they were in the old days. If he wasn't spanish speaking, his name would be Cooper. When I asked to take his picture he brought in his daughter who was minding the store, and his little grandkids.

The Market in Tonala

2008-02-08T19:35:00.000-08:00

We spent much of the day at this huge market in Tonala, which is a city of 400,000, in it's own right, but actually a suburb of Guadalajara which has 6 million people. The market stretched along both sides of the main street for over a mile, and up several side streets. There are permanent stalls on the inside, and vendors under tarps along the edges, and multitudes of people hawking as they walked along. We bought hammocks from a walking vendor, and fabric goods from a stall. We also sampled cakes and fresh orange juice. There were exotic birds in cages (gosh I hope these were not wild caught endangered species) and little puppies dressed in hats and bows, women making baskets, many booths of ceramics including fruit, which seems strange given the amount and variety of fresh fruit in this country.

At Work in Mexico

2008-02-08T13:26:00.001-08:00

The Balloon Vendor Lady on the Beach near San Blas: she walks miles everyday, from beach to beach, up and down looking for sales. Every Mexican family who arrived on their national holiday had an inflatable toy for their kids.

The Street Food Vendor: This place was one of the more unusual ones we have seen. How many miles do you get to the taco?

The Palapa Maker: We had the pleasure of seeing a palapa re-built at our San Blas campsite. The structure was made of some wood that has a v-joint (crotch) so that it is stronger and the cross beams sit in the v. The crew then came back and put the palm fronds on laying them like shingles from bottom to top.

The Shoe Vendor in Tequila: This young women was managing a store with lots of leather goods: boots, shoes, auto seat covers. She was at work at 9:30 am and closed her shop at 7 pm. The minimum wage in Mexico has just been raised to $4.85 per day. Some workers make as much as $12 per day, but even on that it is next to impossible to get ahead.

Oooh Tequila!!

2008-02-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

A perfect little Mexican town. It has been declared a pueblo majico, which will bring infrastructure money but hopefully not ruination. There are no chain stores of any kind, it's just full of mom and pop places selling everything from Toyotas to brand new wringer washers (I didn't think they made them any more).
We took a two hour tour of a Tequila distillery, located in the blue agave hills in a former Franciscan monastery. The grounds have 250 year old mango trees, planted by the Brothers, and trees growing through the roof of their warehouse/retail area. Apparently they bring good energy.

The San Blas Festivities

2008-02-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

On January 31st this town celebrated the anniversary of Father Jose Maria Mercado, who in the early 19th century sent cannons to the aid of Miguel Hidalgo for his independence movement. He is truly a local hero, and today his statue in the plaza is decorated with masses of yellow and white flower wreathes. That night we visited the plaza after dinner and watched all the families, children, teens and old people hang out and listen to ballads and ranchero music. There were numerous vendors about selling fresh strawberries in cream, churros (donuts rolled in cinnamon and sugar hot from the fryer), tamales, flan and banana bread, which is a local specialty. We sampled many of these marvels, and watched small boys light fireworks under their running shoe heels. An elderly balloon vendor with pull behind iguanas was doing a brisk business. That night, when we returned home to our campsite a 15 minute walk away, we listened to the young band which pumped out loud, Mexican music until 1:30 in the morning without a set break!

During the next two days numerous events happened in the town, which was full of visitors from afar. The atmosphere was that of a home-coming. The Temple of the Virgin atop the hill was visited en masse, and yesterday someone saw the burial of ‘bad humour’, which involved several black-dressed, torch carrying persons carrying a coffin labeled ‘bad humour’. It seemed to work as the whole town was bubbling with smiling people intent on having a good time. In between all this the Mexican people carried on their daily work, as a day off is not usually possible for most.

Sunday I was awoken by by church bells and loud fireworks at 4 am. Fireworks, which sound like gunshots, have punctuated the air day and night. It is San Blas day, the day honouring the patron saint of the town. We went to the plaza for 2 pm, the proper time for lunch in Mexico, and had a good meal (fish, chicken, beer) at an outdoor restaurant in the plaza. We watched the finishing touches being put on the fuses for tonight’s firework display. A dance troop in bright costumes were gathering, and were happy to pose for pictures. Lots of folk were gathered around awaiting for the main event: the procession carrying San Blas (his life size statue in beautiful robes). The procession was marshaled together at 3 or so and marched through the town to the Port. Everyone fell in, including the tuba player and the cherry bomb boys, and they walked through the streets singing. We followed along tripping over cobblestones.

At the port the saint was loaded into the largest boat, the Mexican navy was doing donuts in the water, and lots of small boats filled with people and decorated with orange and yellow balloons roared off out of the harbour. A young man jumped from the dock to a waiting boat, and another loaded on a group of nuns who had to raise their skirts to get in. Everyone was cheering and talking in the sunshine. The Saint’s robes could be seen flapping as they left the harbour.

That evening there were more festivities in the plaza and a fireworks display. The tower is 50 feet high made from steel, supported on 4 sides by rope,a few of which also prevent people from standing below the tower. I was told that “you haven’t lived until you’ve seen Mexican fireworks, but of course you could die seeing them too!!” The entire display was loudly M/C'd, a play by play so to speak. It consisted of large pinwheels, set off one at a time, depicting symbols of the town. Just imagine flaming, sparkling pelicans, anchors, palm trees etc. It all culminated with a depiction of the saint being set off, then the cross atop the tower exploded and went high in the air over the plaza. WOW!!

Jungle Birding Trip at San Blas, Nayarit

2008-02-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

We shared a jungle boat tour with 5 other people in our RV park at San Blas, which is an international birding destination. It is deserving of its reputation, being on a spit of land between two estuaries off the Pacific in tropical Mexico. Our guide was Manuel whose business card says he’s a jungle man- un hombre del bosque, and he deserves his nickname. The boat had a quiet engine and comfortable seats. Jamie was our pilot and Manuel sat in the bow and gave orders to Jamie, who was a pretty good birder in his own right. He is lucky to work with Manuel who tells me he has spent his whole life in the jungle. (Manuel: 323-285-05-58)

We set off from the launch in San Blas up the San Christobel River at 3 in the afternoon so we could catch both the day and the night birds. After a short while we had numerous birds pointed out to us, mostly waders on the banks and sandbars of the river. We then entered a narrow passage amongst the mangroves, and spent the next four hours putting along amongst the lush growth at the side of the river. Though it was low tide the water was deep, dark and clear. We saw numerous small crocodiles basking in the afternoon sun at the side of the river. We also spied a raccoon munching on a fish.

The vegetation was beautiful, in places there were hills with large trees on them, mostly Cyprus and Strangler Fig, in others only the shiny leaved mangroves, palms and masses of Bamboo Reed, Leather leafed Fern and lilies, most of which weren’t in bloom but we saw a few and could only imagine how lovely it would be in June with them massed along the banks with their large white flowers. The trees were hung with bromeliad and orchids, though few in bloom.

When we arrived at El Tovar, which is the spring which provides the water for San Blas, we saw large Cuban Palms and fan shaped Traveller’s Palms, so named because their leaves provided a source of water. The pool at El Tovar was fenced off so daytime boat visitors could swim unmolested by crocodiles. We arrived at dusk and Manuel made me remove my hand from the water when I was testing the temperature (warm) as he stated he ‘didn’t trust crocodiles’. When we left the spring the night had fallen and Manuel and Jamie used flashlights to spy the birds who hunt at night. They had all woken up and were up in the trees ready to hunt. The flashlights reflected in their eyes. When we had seen enough of the river at night they roared us home through the twisty waterway, with the water splashing up on the shore and the lights picking out the turns and the snags. It was exciting and beautiful, with the stars above and the dark water and close vegetation.

We saw the following species:

KingFisher
Mangrove Warbler
Tri-coloured Heron
Whimbrel
Black Necked Stilt
Spotted Sandpiper
Snowy Egret
Black Crowned Night Heron
Little Blue Heron
Black Skimmers
Red Billed Gulls
Laughing Gulls
Common Black Hawk
Black Vulture
Elegant Terns
Green KingFisher
Boat billed Heron
Anhinga
Bare throated Tiger Heron
American Redstart
Social Flycatcher
Wood Ibis (stork)
Lesser Nighthawk
Tropical Kingbird
Great Egret
Grey Hawk

San Blas

2008-02-01T08:20:00.000-08:00

Teacapan was at the end of a long spit surrounded by water, and on the way there we passed through miles of flat, tilled fields. People were hard at work picking peppers, and we later saw them laid out to dry on tarps, red in the sunshine. Before we set out on our travel day we stopped in the big commercial town near the highway. We took on gas and propane, and went shopping at a big chain store called Leys.

In some ways Leys looks just like the supermarkets I shop in at home, but in other ways it is different. The produce is fabulous, and there is no need of a sign indicating its source as it’s all local: 2 kinds of avocados, 8 kinds of peppers, lots and lots of fruit including papayas, pineapples, juice oranges, hickima? which looks like a turnip but when peeled tastes a bit like an apple/raw potato cross, little limes by the kilo. We bought cheese, steak, milk, crackers, granola, lots of produce, charcoal and crackers. All for $39 which is a bargain. The bakery is a traditional Mexican bakery, where you take a tray and tongs, and fill up your tray with what you want. I’m trying all the weird pastries, but mostly I don’t like them. I did try a kind of bread pudding, which was in a large baking dish hot from the oven, tended by a smiling woman. When I indicated my interest she proceeded to tell me all about it: bananas, prunes, peanuts, sugar, peanuts all bound together by a bread-like substance. She provided me with spoons and a napkin along with my 75 C worth. It was good!! The groceries get packed by little kids (who only go to school half days, so they all work the other half) for tips. Ours insisted on pushing our cart to our car.

And then we set upon our journey to San Blas, down the coast. The drive, on the free/Libra road, was through hilly, lush country. The palms come right out to the roadside, and the fields behind are filled with orchards of nut trees. I find it very hard to resist the fruit and vegetables on offer as we travel through these rich lands. I did pass the huge squash, feeling a 3 foot long one might spoil before I eat it. We passed through several villages where the highway was lined with vendors all selling tamales with camarone (shrimp) secco. They were in packages of 12 so needed a family to consume them. The roads are full of truckers, are they the customers? Then we came upon a small village with a verdant oasis look, and needing a break we stopped at the watermelon fruit stand. We bought the smallest one we could find-tomorrow’s gorge- but also bought a cup of prepared fruit all ready to eat. The young girl who sold it to us said in English “ I’ll get you the limes”. We ate it sprinkled with the salt, chili and lime juice provided.

When we reached San Blas it was well into the heat of the day, but our campground is in the shade of the cocanut trees beside the Coco Loco restaurant. Everyone we see riding a bike has a passenger, and most scooters hold two or 3 people. At dusk we saw a drover driving a small herd of cattle right down the main street. We went to the bar and tested their Coco drinks, something with a lot of alcohol served in the cocanut. Tomorrow we’ll go exploring and set up a jungle boat tour to look at birds and crocodiles.

Teacapan Photos

2008-01-28T11:08:00.000-08:00

Teacapan

2008-01-28T11:04:00.001-08:00

Casa Bonita and Old Mazatlan

2008-01-28T10:47:00.000-08:00

We spent two days and nights at the villa, Casa Bonito, in old Mazatlan. It is a beautiful home built in the 1850’s with 30 foot ceilings and tile floors, great kitchen and a walled patio with swimming pool. All this is located 1 block from the Malecon, the 12 mile waterfront walk and 3 blocks from Plaza Machado. The neighbourhood is filled with old Spanish style buildings, mostly newly refurbished, on narrow cobblestone streets. It is quiet, tree-lined, and as you walk along and peek into doorways and through wrought iron gates you glimpse fountains, and bougainvillea spilling over high walls.

We ate in the plaza both nights, on the Sunday the streets surrounding the square were closed to traffic and the restaurants moved tables and chairs into the street, the better to enjoy the views of the palms, lovely old buildings and ornate bandstand. The square was filled with diners, families strolling, buskers, musicians and little flower selling girls. Our meals were great, fish one night (how can you go wrong so close to the sea) and a hot pot the other, whisked from the oven in a stone container filled with chicken, beef, shrimp, cheese, hot peppers, all roasted in a sauce and served with tortillas and guacamole.

We visited the cathedral and covered market a few blocks further along during the day. The atmosphere is that of any good covered market with lots of little, crowded shops of goods and food of all variety. The vendors were aggressive but not unpleasantly so, and I had fun buying lots of things. The next morning we returned but went even further along the street to the open air shrimp market and then the flower market. In between were all the kind of shops the Mexicans patronize selling kitchen gadgets and western clothing, along with Indian men sitting at the side of the street with wood, chipped to sell (herbal remedies we wondered.) I bought flowers for our host, Ron bought pizza.

Another day we walked for several miles along the Malecon, enjoying the crashing surf, the sun, the amazing statuary, the Mexican families with their little kids, the teenaged lovers holding hands and the assortment of goods on offer from the vendors. We bought silver at a good price, kites for kids, a home-made foam wind up rat ( sure to be useful) and fresh coconuts. The vendor lady chopped the top off a green coconut, which she had on ice. She stuck a straw in it, we drank the very refreshing liquid, returned it to her and she proceeded to pry the coconut from its husk, chop it up into bite size pieces and after consultation around our wishes, dressed the hunks with lime, red sauce and salt, all in a plastic bag with toothpick implements. Yum! What could be better to eat in the fresh air? Ron topped it off with a fresh roasted corn served on a stick, dressed similarly.

When we returned back to the Celestino Resort RV Park for a few more days, we enjoyed ourselves playing in the surf on the boogie boards, hosted a beach wiener roast, drank lots of different tequilas, went to dinner at the local restaurant (El Dorado and Shrimp), visited a small town called El Quelite where were entertained at lunch to the traditional game called Ulama, and all in all had a great time at a wonderful little park. For information on both Casa Bonito and the RV park check out:
www.celestinorvresort.com

From there we headed south along the free highway to Teacapan, a few hours south of Mazatlan, a small village off the highway and at the end of a long spit into the ocean. Our El Pelican , RV park is on the beach, in a palm grove. There are about 30 RVs and today we got to know the folks at the Mexican Horseshoe Tournament, which was lots of fun. We didn’t win but had a great time.

This morning we hired a local guy, Aron, to take us bird watching up the estuary. We were proud of ourselves as we made the arrangements all in Spanish. It all went off without a hitch, and we succeeded in filling the boat (panga) with 3 other bird enthusiasts and had a very good morning. The water was flat and there were lots of birds to see, which I’ll post on the birding section in this blog, located a few entries back. The day before we had spied Roseate Spoonbills as we drove along the estuary on our way in, so we weren’t disappointed at not seeing any on our boat trip. They are large flamingo like birds, unlike anything we’ve ever seen. We were also taken to a place on the shore and saw an oyster midden. The whole shoreline, where it was cut away by the waves was shell, and the hill behind the shore, with trees on it was composed entirely with shell. To honour the oysters I had a plateful at dinner at the local restaurant. Having a restaurant in a campground is a welcome feature of Mexican RV parks. We watched the sun go down and ate fish and drank Margaritas and Micheladas.

Tomorrow we’ll walk to the little local village and check that out, and then be on our way again after that.

Mazatlan and surroundings

2008-01-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

We're at a great little RV park at Celestino, about 40 kms north of Mazatlan on mainland Mexico. We had an uneventful crossing from La Paz to Topolabampo. There's some good body surfing here, but I can't say I exactly have the hang of it. And we had a great day trip with the park (which is full of Canadians) to an old colonial town called San Ignacio, where we visited a broom factory, the cathedral and the bar where we had a rest. Today we're off to another small town and then tomorrow we've lucked into a space in the guest house of the park owner, who had a cancellation, so we'll spend two nights in old Mazatlan. Lots of shrimp and life continues to roll along very happily. Adios amigos!!

Cabo San Lucas and beyond

2008-01-11T18:47:00.000-08:00

Cabo is a party hearty town and we didn't take advantage of it, true to form. The rocks at land's end are amazing and we hired a water taxi to take us across the bay to the very, very tip of the whole penisula and were left on 'lover's beach' where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez. On one side of the point the waves are 'reasonable' and on the otherside it was too scary for me to get in the water. The whole place is developed in a big way and we probably missed nice things but decided to skip the fumes and fuss and headed north to finish the loop.

We headed off Mex 1 and went to Los Frailes and the Cabo Pulmo National Park which is an underwater reserve of the only living reef on the Pacific in Mexico. We rented some gear and slipped below the waves to view the wonderful fish and coral life, Ron for his first time.

We camped with a bunch of gringos, most of them long-stayers in an arroyo in view of the beautiful, long, pristine beach. Our fridge gave up (no ice for the Margaritas) and we had to give all our once frozen meat to the dogs. The dogs owners gave us fish that they catch in abundance: bonito and yellowfin tuna, eldorado (maui maui). We reluctantly tore ourselves away today and are back in La Paz.

On the way we stopped in a few small towns, one being an old gold mining town with a museum, that turned out to be the museum of music. The lovely building was full of musical instruments

On the Road to Cabo San Lucas

2008-01-04T08:54:00.000-08:00

We've finally reached the end of the Baja Penisula, and have driven 1506 kms on Mex 1 and Mex 19. I read somewhere that this is the longest penisula in the world. It is certainly my only experience,except for perhaps a tiny island, where I have driven somewhere where there mostly is only one road. There are lots of 'off roads' and gravel roads of dubious quality, but there is only one highway running the length of the Baja. One highway, two time zones (Pacific and Mountain), and a crossing of the Tropic of Cancer, which is for me quite significant being from the land of ice and snow.

And on the way, as it got warmer and warmer, we passed through some amazing topograpy, with lots of changes to observe from north to south. The cardon cactus is ubitiquitous in the landscape, as are some others, but the cerillos cactus (called the boojum tree in earlier entries) is restricted to the middle of the penisula. When water permits, the arid landscape is now relieved by oranges, lemons and palms, and the markets are full of exotic fruit grown locally, including lots grown at oasis for the northern markets: strawberries, lettuces, avocados etc. Where there is water the fields are tilled by huge machines and planted in rows as far as the eye can see. The people who do the work live in towns nearby.

Once we left Playa Santispac south of Mulege where we spent Christmas, we headed to Loreto and spent an overnight in that lovely little city on the Sea of Cortez. The old part of town has streets which are covered in ficus trees which are pruned in an arch over the street. Mex 1 moves from one side of the penisula to the other so the next night found us in Cuidad Consitution which is a large,new farm town filled with people hard at work or supporting those folks who work in the agribiz surrounding the area. It is high on a flat central plain and the farming is ideal given enough water. We stayed there at a campground with the first pool (brr) and in wonderful plantings dividing the campsites. We had our first oranges and limes off the trees.

Most of the driving on Mex 1 is hair-raising. The road was built in stages and continues to be improved. The northern part was completed first, and is the scariest, with little or no shoulder to speak of. The drop offs from the shoulderless road are mostly 12 to 15 inches, as the road has washed away in lots of places with out any underpinning being done. If you veered off, say to avoid a transport or an animal a roll would be guaranteed. This situation is much scarier than the sheer drop offs and cliffs which predominate in the mountains. You are much more likely to run into trouble with another vehicle (mirror clip) than driving off a mountain cliff. Ron says you can just never let your guard down, just when you do you spy two donkey one on each side of the road, or a gringo coming north who is scared by the outside edge and is over on our side. Someone else said 'four hours of driving in Mexico is equivalent to 12 hours here in the North'.

We stayed a few nights in La Paz, which is the big southern city where the ferries to the mainland leave from. From there the road loops around the bottom of the penisula and back in a circle on both coasts. La Paz was a pleasure, a delightful combination of small city, good shopping, beautiful waterfront walk called La Malecon with lots of sculptures and people strolling along. The market area north of downtown was fun to wander through on Saturday morning, as was the margarita bar on the water late in the day. I had a wonderful ceviche.

From La Paz whe headed West to the Pacific and ended up at a tiny campground in Todos Santos which is a small town with many, many resident artists and studios. We had New Year's Eve lunch at the Santa Fe, which is worth it's reputation as one of the best restaurants in Baja. The food is italian, and prepared with care. The atmospere under the palapa was stellar, complete with hummingbirds. I had yellowtail tuna, grilled with lime and olive oil. For New Year's Eve we went to Playa Los Cerritos, reputed to be the best surfing beach on the Baja. I got suitably pounded into the sand body surfing (remember to dive through the waves if you're not taking them), and listened to a spanish reggae band (interesting). Orion is almost overhead, just a bit to the south, and after a bit of a search we found The Big Dipper hanging low in the East with the handle pointed down. So was able to find the direction home to send mental new year's greetings- felice anjo amigos!! The campground at Todos Santos had a small town Mexican environment with chickens and donkeys. Apparently it was like Beruit on New Year's Eve with all the ordinance, whereas on the beach we had fireworks.

And now we're in Cabo (the Cape) San Lucas. It is land's end for the Baja, and where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez. It is a bit of a scene, pretty touristy, but we've found a very nice campground with bungalows as well as campspots, a pool and jacuzzi , 20 minutes walk from downtown- the Hotel Club Cabo Inn.

Mexican Birds

2007-12-26T18:56:00.000-08:00

Baja

We had terrific birding at Guerro Negro, where the old port has been converted to a bird walk on the long spit jutting out into the salt lagoon. This place on the West coast of Baja is famous for it's salt mine, which is the major industry, and for the whale watching in January and February when the Grays are calving.

After that we spent two weeks on Playa Santispac just south of Mulege on Bahia Conception. At the end of the beach is a salt lagoon with water in it at all tidal levels. When you paddle in at high tide you're in a perfect little space with water up to 4 or 5 feet deep, dark green and surrounded by glossy leafed mangroves. The trees are space for lots of birds resting in the heat of the day.

We saw the following birds, in additon to several we couldn't identify:

White Pelicans
Brown Pelicans
Osprey
Black Brants
Double Crested Cormorants
American Oystercatcher
Black Crowned Night Heron
Magnificant Frigatebird
Vermillion Flycatcher
Least Grebe
Common Egret
Snowy Egret
Great Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron
Western Gulls
Short billed Dowitcher
Least Tern
Heermans Gull
Roadrunner
Anna's Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Gila Woodpecker
Phainopepla
Caracara

and many more we can't identify...

The Baja

2007-12-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

It had been very cold the night before we went to Mexico, only two other campers in the site all Canadians. I had Menudo for lunch in the little local restaurant which was a mistake as it turns out to be tripe and hominy soup with little flavour. Apparently a hang-over cure which wasn’t needed. Ron however, lucked out with a georgeous breakfast burrito.

We crossed at Tecate from Southern California, and were waved over the border. At Ensenada we went to migracion to get our papers and were grateful to Betty and Walt (fellow campers from our California site) who assisted us. We had to visit two separate banks to obtain the correct stamps. Ensanada appears to be the kind of town it would be fun to spend a few days in but we spent a few hours being anxious to get south. We’ve been so cold for so long…We did have lunch at the fish market. Everything was beautifully arranged. We bought huge shrimp for $13/kg and smoked tuna for $3 for a huge piece. I had fish tacos for lunch. Yum! The place was spotless and festive with Christmas decorations.

We headed South on Mex 1 which will be our route for the length of the Baja. It is a good road, but winding and very narrow, with no shoulder. At first we drove through beautiful flat farmland, covered with crops, much in massive greenhouses and row covers. Agribiz. Apparently much of our winter food comes from Mexico. We saw oranges for sale. We followed Walt and Betty to El Pabillon on the beach south of San Quintin. We arrived just in time for a georgeous sunset and short beach walk and looking forward to a beach day (yoga, reading, tanning) but woke to beating rain so headed out after a salty shower.

Mex 1 is challenging. People drive very fast, following close, passing on hills etc. There is little or no shoulder and the big trucks coming north take up lots of road.
We met someone our second day who had been clipped and lost a mirror, lucky that’s all he lost. The driving rain continued most of the day, called the ‘Pineapple Effect’ with the weather coming from Hawaii to the West. At El Rosario, towards lunch time, which would have been a good stopping point, we couldn’t get off the road as water was running through the town, turning it to a sea of mud. Locals were stuck everywhere up to their axels. The road through the town is as much as a foot higher than the verges where we would have liked to pull off to buy a drink or propane.

,We continued on to an rv park called Santa Inez in a small town in the center of the Baja called Catavina in the center of the desert. We took a walk up behind the campsite into the hills. It was the most beautiful cactus and succulent display I have ever seen distributed amongst interesting rock formations. There were many thorny bushes and cactii greening up and budding from the recent rains. The Baja has several species unique to it, the Boojum Cactus, which looks like a 30 foot leafy upsidedown carrot, and the elephant tree which is bonsai like with a huge white peeling trunk and tiny green leaves. It would look fabulous as part of a landscape display as would the scarlet fairy brush with it’s tiny flowers. We were entertained by the whistling phainopepla which looks like a dark navy bluejay.

We got through our first gas fill up, $500 pesos, and got a language lesson- quintientos- and ?jena for fill it up. Our attendant refused the tip.

The next day we continued on through the rain, finally crossing to Baja Sud, maybe it will warm up. I’ve been cold since August 15th. We camped at a hotel, the Mallarimo, in the town of Guerrero Negro, a salt exporting town. Hot showers , electricity, occasional wifi (in not out) and a great restaurant where we treated ourselves to dinner of local scallops. This is the town where the grey whales calve nearby, and once the scallop boats are done their harvest the whale watching begins. So no whales, only scallops. We took a walk on the old port, which was recommended for bird watching, and we saw lots of black brant geese and grey and white pelicans who were diving for their dinners. What a laugh to see them splash in from 10 feet up sending up a huge splash.

Bahia Santispac

2007-12-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

Here we are on the huge Bahia Conception south of Mulege which is a small town on the east side of Baja. We have our own little palapa (palm hut) and we've hung our hammock and feel at home. The beach is large, but not endless as the large bay breaks into a series of little bays for it's entire length. There are little islands with sandy beaches in our view and the far side of the bay away off in the distance. The water is calm, azure and the tide change is only about 4 feet. We have a resident group of shore birds endlessly parading themselves in front of us up and down the beach earning their living: common egrets, snowy egrets, little blue herons, western gulls, leastgrebes who are little divers related to loons who swim underwater to make their catch, and lots of pelicans who are very amusing to watch.

The vendors visit us everyday, calling out 'we have your blankets' or 'almost free!' They tell us they buy them from the Indians on the mainland. So far we have held them off and have only bought 2 blankets and a new straw hat for Ron.

The fish, fruit and vegetable vendors also come by, and so does the tortilla man will hot tamales and empanadas, making for an interesting but greasy breakfast.

We got picked up on the beach by some lovely local folks who live in the next (expat) village down the bay. They invited us for dinner and have been very generous with their shower, washer and charming company. Gary's house is for sale as they have upgraded, and I'll post his ad if I can figure out how. (technology remains a real pain...). I am sitting in their dining room of the for sale house uploading this. The house is in a truely picturesque little village right on the beach with sandy streets , a shared beach and a large hut for shared events. Yesterday we were invited to attend the Christmas fiesta put on by the children of the Mulege boarding school who are supported through scholarships to attend longer than the government supported grades 1 through 6. It was like a school play at home, fun smiling children.

We have been invited to join them for their Christmas celebration and have accepted. They are housesitting on our beach in a stunning hacienda owned by folks from San Diego. It is long and low with high ceilings, lots of art, stunning views both directions. They are having 21 people so far.

Last night we had a calling back the light, solistice celebration and hosted some fellow Canadians for a bonfire. We had their catch of the day: seabass topped with shrimp which are plentiful. It was very windy and not warm either, but the moon rose and all was well. Yesterday before the wind came up we toured the bay in a double kayak and checked out a few other bays.

Tucson and surroundings

2007-12-07T15:06:00.000-08:00

Arizona cotton fields, bales the size of freight cars waiting for shipment, ghost towns sitting on renewed copper mines between Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona are part of the scenery on a roadtrip north from Tucson. Between the two cities, Miami, Globe and Superior have antique store lined streets and some of the best Mexican food we have had so far. In the huge rainstorm of last weekend, the streets with their foot high curbs were flooded with water like a thunderstorm back home, but this 3" is a third of their entire yearly rainfall. There are huge drain systems throughout the towns and everyone's roofs were leaking in Main st.historic buildings. Even the new Renaissance Hotel in Phoenix had pots out to catch the leaks!

In Phoenix we took the low brow tourist route and visited the 'Mystery Castle' an odd 8000 square foot castle, once in the wilderness now surrounded by sub-divisions. The old lady for whom the castle was built by her eccentric dad, still lives there. It is made from old car parts, adobe, rock, tiles and is filled with shrines, memorablia, ghosts etc. See pictures...

Tucson is a lovely city of about one million, fast growing. I swam in a year around out door pool at the YMCA, and lots of folk have oranges in their back yards, though there are still no local citrus to buy. Our campsite, Catalina State Park is in the shadows of the Catalina Mountain range. There's as much good hiking as you want up through the cactus and mesquite scrub to the dry rocky hills. We took the same 5 mile hike two weeks in a row, and on the second ascent (1000 feet) the run-off streams were roaring and the pools were full. We heard the cactii singing!

There are many birds, and this morning I took a bird walk with an expert which was fun- saw 30 species including an Anna's Hummingbird which follows the Gila Woodpecker and eats resin when the flowers are gone in the winter. We had javalinas (small pigs) and Antelope Jackrabbits running through the site.

See you all in Mexico next...

Saguaro National Park, Tucson

2007-11-24T11:22:00.000-08:00

The Gila Wilderness, Silver City, Pala Altos

2007-11-24T10:49:00.000-08:00

We headed West over route 60 from Socorro, after we left the Rio Grande Valley and the bird event. It is an isolated route, but good surface, following old cattle drive trails and also part of the Camino Real, which runs from Mexico City to Santa Fe. We stopped at the Very Large Array (VLA) which is this huge series of radio telescopes in the middle of the desert, all trained in series on outer space, all trying to determine if anyone is out there. Interesting, huge concave disks 85ft across, all lined up facing in 3 different directions.

Magdalena is a small town, pretty ghost-like, where we had an ice cream in an old cafe that used to be the bank. M was the head of the railway to Socorro, where the cattle drive from further west arrived. Real wild west. Talked to some guys sitting on the porch of the trading post, refugees from the East coast who are pretty content with their alternate, simple life. They recommended a saloon to be sure to check out in Palo Altos, near Silver City.

We spent the rest of the day driving around the edge of the Gila Wilderness arriving at last in a tiny town Glenwood. We checked out the local bar The Bluefront, and the barmaid recommended a local campground where there were hotsprings. After a phone call we checked into the 90 acre site, with 10 camping spots, very hot showers and private pools available for reasonable hire. Oh bliss! A moonlit hot pool in the middle of a big horn sheep sanctuary. It's called Sundial.

The next morning we checked out Brenda's recommendation: The Catwalk in the Gila. It is a wonderful 2 mile hike, up the site of an old water pipeline, over the White water creek. The trail is partly in a slot canyon on catwalks and suspension bridges, and is particulary interesting because of the riparian (edge) nature of the habitat, being both very dry ( ponderosa pine etc) and moist from the year around creek, so lots of cotton woods and related species. It was fun to find a great hike 2000 miles from home based on the advice of a friend who had been there.

We then travelled on to Silver City, New Mexico, which is a biggish town of 13,000. It has a fairly decent economy based on the huge copper mine in the local. It is a very western feeling town, wide, wide streets, flat store fronts, a bit seedy. Had a great gelato, go figure! The next morning we headed up an amazing twisty road into the Gila again, to visit the Ciff Dwelling National Monument, another interesting ancient pueblan ruin. The Gila is georgeous and I understand the facination of those who want to do more serious hiking into it's depths. The mountainous terrain is covered with ponderosa pines and huge yucca, rocky outcroppiing, sparse undergrowth, far blue views. I'd happily take a few weeks there to do some hiking.

And then on the way home we stopped at the Buckhorn Saloon and had a great meal. It was built in the 1880's during the gold rush, and has an opera house attached, which offers locally grown melodramas in the summer. What a place! The whole thing is original, and grand in a rustic manner, with roaring log fireplaces at each end of the dining room, and a pot bellied stove in the bar. It was well attended on Thanksgiving Eve, and the food was great.

The next day we left Silver City, began crossing the Great Sonoran Desert, and have arrived in Tucson. See the next update for views of marvellous cactus at Saguaro National Park.

Birdlovers alert

2007-11-20T16:00:00.000-08:00

It pays to pick up those fancy travel magazines, which are full of glossy advertising of things you can't afford. I saw notification of the 'Festival of the Cranes' south of Santa Fe, so off we went to the Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge, south of Socorro and SF. We managed to snag a space in the 'birdlover's rv park', and rushed into the refuge and stopped at the first pull out that had watchers. They were friendly folk and didn't mind chatting to us about the show. The refuge is part of the wetlands of the Rio Grande, and is managed by the parks folk to simulate the seasonal rise and fall of the river. The big ponds at the side of the road were filled with ducks, and at sunset we got to observe the 'fly in' of the sandhill cranes who over-winter there. They are big guys, bigger than great blue herons, and very vocal. All in all it was a great afternoon standing around drinking tea, chatting, admiring the lens of the maniac photographers and listening to them call out to each other things like 'incoming on the right, good angle!!" They were all trying to catch the birds silhouetted against the setting sun and blue mountains.

The next morning we did the driving tour and saw lots of Snow Geese in the fields along with Canadas and more cranes. I didn't see as many Snows as Mom and I did in February a few years ago in the corn stubble east of Maxville, Ontario. That cold day they wheeled around us by the thousands. But this place was a real treat, as it was easy birdwatching for us amateurs.

The next morning at the Rv park we saw Gambels Quail who are a bit like grouse only prettier with a great topnotch. They were scratching and pecking in the dirt just like chickens. Perhaps the greatest thrill of all was our sighting today from the car, as we drove through the Gila Wilderness, of a Roadrunner. No wiley coyote in sight, fortunately for it.

The Best Margaritas in Santa Fe

2007-11-17T17:48:00.000-08:00

Santa Fe has more to recommend than Maria's, but it sure is a pleasure to have a local recommend a restaurant and then have it meet the expectations. "Again in 2007, Maria's is voted the best place for M's in SF". The chili rellenos were pretty good too.

We spent our 2nd day in Santa Fe by checking out the 'museums on the hill', two of which were the Museum of International Folk Art and the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture. At the latter I took a docent tour, and after a few hours of informative wandering, Docent Anne helped us explore the libations the city had to offer.

The Museum of International Folk Art was simply wonderful. Some of what was on display was familiar, us being folk and all, but the vastness of the collection and the charming way of the work being displayed was impressive. Folk art is ever so accessible and there was not a turn I made that did not open up something new to delight my eye, from the quilts based on log cabin but taken so much further from a small black town in Alabama, to the personal but huge collection of every whimsicle item from all over the world: tapestries, doll houses, train sets,village people etc. I especially enjoyed 'Needles and Pins' textiles and tools from the world over.

Yesterday we spent the day in the lovely old downtowm of Santa Fe. Small streets, low scale building mostly adobe style, many galleries and stores selling high end art and jewelry. We ate at Sophia's which was just luck, it being conveniently across the street from the Georgia O'Keefe Gallery, and enjoyed some pretty good Mexican, this time washed down with iced tea. (They do know how to make iced tea in the southern US).

Santa Fe is beautiful. It's a small city about the size of Kingston. There are no high rises that I could see, and the whole city is surrounded by mountains. Apparently New Mexico is a poor state, but Santa Fe is the capital with all those benefits. Like much of New Mexico there is a mix of languages on the street which adds to the charm. That coupled with the historic downtown and the liberal leanings of the citizenry made it a wonderful time for Ron and I.

Ojo Caliente and Taos

2007-11-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

What can one say about the supposed centre of the universe? A few days of R&R at a lovely low key 140 year old spa, 'taking the waters'. We've been on the road now for 3 months and found that there is nothing like a lot of hot water, a few pleasant walks and a good meal or two to put things to right. I had another wonderful Thai Yoga Massage and feel more aligned and road ready.

Earthworks.com On the way to Taos we stopped at an off the grid intentional community where all the houses are made of re-cycled materials. They are all in the desert, which consists of low growing plants, not a tree in sight. At the edge of the view are the beatiful mountains. The houses are all interesting organic shapes with walls made mostly of tires covered with cement, which allows them to build all kinds of roundish shapes. Most of them are bermed into hillsides, using lots of solar and wind, of course, and recovering water from rain and snow. Very interesting, but surprisingly ugly with a fairly snotty visitors centre host who isn't a great ambassador for the community. The juxtapositon of the very interesting and seemingly sucessful concept with a messy and somewhat neglected site left us scratching our heads.

And Taos: Famed for skiing and art, what a great combination. We spent the afternoon wandering in the historic town centre (1600s), visiting galleries and beautiful boutiques filled with amazing native pottery and jewelry. The town is tiny, and surrounded by mountains. The downtown is adobe, which fits perfectly into the setting, being low and brown and not in any way distracting from the surroundings. It is very tasteful, beautiful and affordable. All the gallery hosts were friendly and happy to show us their work. We visited a gallery that was adobe dating to the earliest years, beaufifully renovated with coloured trims and marvellous art. Adjascent are 'casitas' which are yours for $250 per night, but sleeping 6, filled with marvellous furnishings and art.

Tomorrow we visit the modern day Taos Pueblo, which has been continually lived in for over 1000 years.

More incredible ancient puebloan ruins

2007-11-14T17:32:00.002-08:00

We spent a few days at Chaco Canyon which is a beatiful high desert site, with over 4000 ruins of ancient habitation and religious sites. The archeologist think that Chaco may have been a place where all the ancient people visited rather than many of them living there full time, as there is not that much evidence to support permanent full time dwelling. The great houses which have been excavated neither have large middens (dumps)nor burial sites to compare to the size of the buildings, some of which have up to 100 rooms. The ruins themselves are beaufifully excavated, re-built as much as makes sense, all without roofs which would have been made of poles with brush and then covered with earth. The walls are elaborate masonry, which would have been plastered inside and out.
The archeologists believe that by 1050 ad, Chaco was the administrative and cultural centre of the ancient pueblans. There are 'roads' leading from all the other ancient sites: Canyon de Chelley, Mesa Verde, Aztec and Salmon ruins being the ones we visited but there are many others. These people also had their great houses aligned with the cardinal points (true north), solar events such as solstices and the lunar 18 year cycle (which I had never heard of).
We had a great time there, first driving around the car trail which stops at 5 or 6 interesting sites in the canyon, and then hiking into some more remote places. Our second day we hiked the Pueblo Alto trail which involved climbing a slot up to the top of the mesa (250 feet or so, a bit of a grunt but not scary unless you looked down) and then hiking the mesa to 2 other ruins called Alto and new Alto. They are both out of sight of the canyon great houses, but exactly orientated to them. We continued on past these places, which were littered with black and white pottery shards, and viewed Chacoan stairs cut into the canyon walls, evidence of the ancient road, and carved holes in the rock which may have been offering places.
The next day we hiked to a canyon cliff that was full of beautiful petroglyphs. We started our hikes after breakfast each day with many layers of clothing to protect us from the chill. By the time we were hiking back the temperature was in the
low 90s F. Amazing!
It is a great place to visit, a bit off the beaten track, but an excellant visitors centre, decent campground and well worth the effort.

Canyon de Chelley and Mesa Verde

2007-11-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

We've spent the past few days exploring these fabulous places, sites of the ancient pueblo people. They build quarried sandstone Pueblos (villages) in the shelter of towering sandstone cliffs. They occupied these sites between 800 AD, and abandoned them by 1200. Leaving no written record the exact reason is unknown, though climate change is suspected, making the agriculture in this very dry land untenable.

Canyon de Chelley is a series of pink canyons with flat arable land in the bottom. We visited a cliff dwelling site called the 'white house'.The Navajo people tend the site and to some extent still live off the land. They are also famed jewelry makers and we offered the extensive selection at every turn. Some stuff is cheap bead work, but they also have collector quality work available. I had fun looking and buying. The Canyon was also the site of a terrible massacre of the Navajo people when they were being driven out of Arizona by the white settlers. Lots of the jewelry depicts that sad time as part of their story told in silver.

Mesa Verde is also a series of canyons, and the cliff dwellings of this site are extensive and impressive. We visited Spruce House and Cliff Palace, which was on a ranger led hike involving climbing ladders. The palace is over 90 rooms. Very beautiful and mysterious in the setting sun.

Today we are continuing our travels eastward towards Santa Fe, and will continue to visit ancient ruins. There is a 40 degree difference between daytime and night-time temperatures. We run the heater at night and are all bundled up in the morning, and then by noon have to change into shorts and sandals. We were at Mesa Verde at sunset, and the instant the sun left the sky the temperature began to plunge. Today we are travelling through big, ranch valleys with walls covered by Ponderosa Pine.

Master Mule Skinner

2007-11-07T08:50:00.000-08:00

Willow, my trusty steed and I descended into the Grand Canyon earlier this week, along with a small group of others keen to experience the Canyon and the 'old Arizona'. We took the Bright Angel trail, which was developed by prospectors and according to our cowboy leader, is a trail that only allows the hikers on as a secondary feature. The day was georgeous, the smoke was beginning to clear from the canyon, and we were all in high spirits as we began. We were in the capeable hands of handsome wrangler Rich and pretty (dressed in Dale Evans style) Judy, who kept us moving along. I had to suspend my fear of heights discovering that mules are not as scary as ladders, and put my faith in the mule god as we switch-backed our way down on rocky ledges for 5 hours.

The views were stunning, and I only closed my eyes on a few tight corners, and occasionally found myself staring down without even thinking about death. They have never lost a rider yet in 100 years. We had been instructed, and occasionally had to use our 'mule motivators' (crops) to keep us tightly nose to tail in a line. At lunch we were at Indian Gardens, a beautiful spot with cottonwoods in full autumn colour and a campground for the hikers enroute to the bottom. After lunch we followed a rushing brook most of the way to the Colorado River, the water of which watered the Indian Gardens in the old days. Our first views of Phantom Ranch were from far above.

The Ranch is a lovely place, located by Bright Angel Creek where the North Kaibab trail descends from the North Rim. The mess hall/bar/snack bar was crowded with happy hikers and mule riders, some of whom had come from the North Rim, others from the South like me, some of whom were camping, others of whom were in the dorms and cabins of the ranch. At dinner I sat with a 70 year old who was on his 28th hike down, and his real estate mogul son who is an enthusiastic hiker and was to spend the next days exploring all the side trails. Later in the evening I met a children's author from Gr. Britain in the company of a Grand Canyon Village school teacher. Her typical time down was 2.5 hours and up 3.5. The author kept trying to trade his hike back out for my mule ride. No go... After dinner I checked out the ancient pueblo ruin on the edge of the Colorado River in the evening dusk as the light left the peaks surrounding our space.

The next morning we launched our slightly stiff bodies onto our waiting mules and began the ascent up the South Kaibab Trail. This was a completely different experience than the way down being ridge trail rather than creek. The views were spectacular, thrilling, I don't know enough words. We made good time after our 7:30 am departure and were out on top by 1:30pm. It was fun to meet in the lounge of the historic El Tovar Hotel and compare bruises with other travellors. We were entertained by the soaring antics of 7 condors sailing the thermals, sporting their id tags. There are only 161 in the world, how lucky I was to see 7.

After a welcome shower (mule rides are very dusty) and a good night's sleep we were off Eastward to Navajo territory and ancient pueblo ruins. More to follow....

The Grand Staircase

2007-10-31T12:45:00.000-07:00

Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and the Grand Canyon National Park form a landmass where the bottom of Bryce forms the top of Zion, which forms the top of the Grand Canyon North Rim, speaking from a geological perspective.

From a human perspective this is the most beautiful and impressive series of parks. We have spent 3 or 4 days in each one, and now are on the south rim of the Grand Canyon at the village, in the lovely empty campground.

Bryce is a huge amphitheatre (sort of like a canyon but not formed by a river) with hoodos and spires and peaks all formed out of pink limestone. Unlike any limestone I have ever seen. It is very pretty, and we had a great hike to the bottom to walk amongst the strange shapes and interesting trees and plants that live on the Canyon floor.

It got so cold ( and snowed ) overnight we decided to leave, as we froze the water in our van. It unthawed by noon, no damage, luckily. Bryce is at 9000 ft.

Zion is about a half day drive away and is a true canyon formed by the Virgin River. Small but mighty. All the camping and facilities are in the canyon bottom, which is fertile, flower and bird filled, and much warmer than Bryce. Most of the valley floor is at about 6000 feet. The rock walls tower over your head and as you drive or walk up the canyon it narrows and closes in. It is also pink, with red and white layers.

We did a fair bit of hiking, mostly on the walk along the river. It is easy and goes for miles. We did venture up a few times, I checked out the watchman hike which was switchbacks up for about 2 hours and fairly pleasant as I took my time. When I arrived at the top I was on a desert mesa, a flat rocky outcropping with pinion pine, juniper, agave and prickly pear cactus. With the peaks still surrounding me it was like desert heaven. There is an ancestral pueblo ruin in the same area that I also hiked to.

We saw California Condors at Zion, which are an endangered species which have been raised in captivity and released into the wild. They are now sucessfully breeding. Zion has a 'gateway' town called Springdale which is full of cutesy restaurants and galleries. We also saw an Imax on Zion which was great.

Another 4 hours away, mostly across desert with pink mountains in the distance, we climbed up until we reached cooler levels, entering ponderosa pine forest, heading for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on the advice of a ranger even though I thought it was closed. As it turns out the facilities were, but the campground was available, and we had our choice of fabulous rim sites in the campground. There were a few other intrepid travellors there to enjoy the sights. There were no views of the Colorado River from the North Rim where we were, but pretty amazing nonetheless.

We had ravens, scrub and stellar jays, wild turkeys, mule deer, grouse all in our campground. I hiked down the trail to the canyon bottom for about an hour with a friendly family group and Ron and I checked out the Bright Angel View point and Rim trails. The rangers were doing controlled burns in the Bright Angel Canyon, and we won't have any pictures that don't look like San Diego. They apparently closed the North Rim, due to smoke just after we left.

We proceeded from there through the Vermillion Hills (smokey, beautiful) and drove to the edge of the Colorado River to a place called Lee's Crossing, part of Glen Canyon Park. It is a historic crossing of the Colorado, used for millenia. The Colorado is dark green and very fast. Even though the land goes easily right down to the edge, crossing it would not be easy. We camped overnight there on a high plateau, the only shade being provided by screens put up over the picnic tables. The land is orangey pink and the surface is gravel. We were surrounded by stark pink peaks. The Colorado River shore had an actual sandy beach and lots of people were fishing (trout apparently). Someone caught a 10" as we watched. Our campground had a view of the river from high above. There were lots of groups meeting there on the shore to go on Colorado River rafting trips. Just after this point the River forms the deep cliffs and leads on to the part of river we know as the Grand Canyon.

After leaving the river, we travelled through Navajo Reservation lands which were a dry, sagebrush and cactus covered plain between strangely formed pink and black hills. We turned west on #64 and soon after entered the Grand Canyon National Park South Rim.

On Friday I will be taking a mule ride down to the bottom of the (smoke filled ) canyon, staying overnight at the Phantom Ranch and then back up the next day. More to follow....

PICTURES:Craters of the Moon; The Oregon Trail Interpretive Site

2007-10-17T15:11:00.001-07:00

Pictures: Columbia Gorge, Stonehenge, Oregon Trail overnight

2007-10-16T20:45:00.000-07:00

Craters of the Moon National Monument

2007-10-16T16:26:00.001-07:00

After spending a few hours in Boise, Idaho, we set off cross oountry to our next destination. Boise would actually deserve a few more hours than we gave it, being a state capital with a well preserved downtown, filled with lovely old buildings and lots of sculpture. It apparently has the only geo-thermally heated state capital in the US.

The land we travelled through seemed completely empty except for occasional ranches far off the road, and rare sightings of grazing cattle. We stopped for a few groceries at a cross roads and disoovered that there is a whole other world out there in Idaho, the store being full of happy men stocking up for their hunting outing. We passed all kinds of gravel roads with 'sportsman access' and interesting names like '
Wild Jack Williams'. We didn't try the roadkill burger, nor did we see any game.

We found the landscape surprising beautiful. It's as if you can really see the bones of the land. It is not so much a land for botanists, but geologists. Though if we had been here during the spring or summer, the sage and some tall plants with yellow blooms (of which there were a few lingering)would have been in bloom.
That would have been great, but at the same time it might have been 150 degrees f!!

We gradually moved out of ranchland, and entered a landscape increasingly dominated by volcanic activity. You do have to go to Hawaii to see active volcanoes, but this huge area was covered by lava as recently as 2000 years ago. It is all part of the Great Rift Valley which feeds the hotsprings and indeed the Capital geothermal, and extends to Yellowstone National Park to the East.

The campsites were georgeous, being separated from each other by piles of lava rock, and all on a bed of crushed cinders. Limber pine trees, so named because of their capacity to bend and adapt to the very harsh lava enviromment, grow throughout the park and are twisted and bent like large bonsai. They are apparently very old, some over a 1000 years. The whole landscape looks like a well planned rock garden of black and gray with the green trees and spent flowers picking out colour.

We spent 3 days, and saw almost no one. We walked miles, climbed into lava caves (very scary), climbed up cinder cones, hiked over beautifully managed paths through the surreal landscape. We saw lots of birds and squirrels. It was warmish during the day, shorts if you were determines, and very cold at night. We were cosy in our van, and made sure we had our bar-b-que over before the sun went down as the temperature plunged. The stars were spectacular. We were at over 5000 feet, frost was on the picnic table in the morning.

As I write this we are camped half a days drive south from Craters, in Nevada. It's a bit of a contrast. The town is called "Jackpot" and we spent the evening at the casino. No gambling for us, but had fun watching the customers and drinking/eating cheap. Tomorrow we head out again south on Nevada 93 to Ely, to see some old neon light. After that we head for Great Basin National Park and on to Bryce Canyon. Let's hope it doesn't snow.

The Columbia Gorge

2007-10-12T09:59:00.000-07:00

We reached the Columbia River the morning of the second day south of Vancouver. We were detained at the border for possession of Canadian beef and garlic. We gave it up and carried on South.

The river gorge is the border between Washington and Oregon to the south. It is a huge river basin, explored by the Lewis and Clarke Expedition. We chose the Washington side, rather than the interstate on the Oregon side. At the Pacific end we travelled through very high mountains on a good two lane highway, mostly high above the beautiful shining river. We could see the interstate
highway and railway across the river, and see our own railway far below at the river level. The river had large barges being pushed up and down by tug-boats.

We stayed overnight at Maryhill which is a town founded by Sam Hill, an early 20th century industrialist and Quaker. He purchased 6000 acres of ranchland and gave it to the people of the state. He also established an art gallery and build Stonehenge high on a hill top over looking the river in both directions.

Stonehenge you ask? It is a cement replica of the original dedicated to world peace, and his grave site is located just below the monument. He is the same Sam Hill as 'where in the Sam Hill did I put that ....', and expression my grandmother used.

We stopped in a few wineries located on this south slope of the Columbia, spectacular settings with the river irrigation nurturing the vines. We bought fall fruit and the last peaches and corn of the season. Our campsite was on the bank of the river, good birds and a pebbley beach.

We carried on the next day through the gorge through much more sparse environment of ranchland, though with irrigation lots of onion and corn fields. I saw several truck-loads of onions. We headed on South after we left the big river and checked out the Oregon Trail Museum, where we walked through sagebrush and could see the tracks made by those early american pioneers. That night we camped at an Idaho state park which was apparently a site for the wagon trains to stop for water and rest after negotiating the Blue Mountains. The next day we carried on to 'The Craters of the Moon' National Momument.

A Rant on Urban Sprawl

2007-09-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

For the past few days we have been visiting our old friends who live in Surrey, southeast of Vancouver. They have been farming on the family farm for their adult lives, and have had the dubious opportunity to preside over the complete erosion of their life as they know it.

Their farm will soon be completely hemmed in on all sides by suburban development. Their views in 3 directions are blocked by new townhouses and condos. They will soon be alone on their hilltop as their last remaining neighbour is beginning negotiations with developers. They have to have all their drapes closed at night because of the steady stream of 4 lane traffic by their door, and earplugs are a necessity for sleeping. They can no longer see the stars because of the soccer fields nearby. They have to lock their cars, house and outbuildings. They have to make a dangerous turn into their driveway at the top of a hill with cars coming up at high speeds.

Urban people who I share this story with all react similarly in that the land is worth big money, just take it and go blah blah, but the issues go beyond the necessity of dividing up the family farm, cashing in and then funding re-location.

It seems to me that the complete loss of community far exceeds the bizarre encroachment at their gates. All of the people they knew all their lives, and their parent's lives too, are gone. When people re-locate they don't just pick up as a community and set down together somewhere else, they disperse. It's not just the loss of friends it's the loss of neighbours who were acquaintances and those other nameless members of community who worked together to make up a social network. They are all gone, and no matter what my friends end up doing, nothing will ever be the same again.

In regards to the new people, they seem to not have the green spaces and retail mix that urban planners have been telling us for years make successful communities. If my friends can no longer go for a walk unless it is along city streets, then neither can the newcomers. If Surrey has just taken away the small farms and woods and replaced them with endless rows of houses, why didn't they set aside continuous green space so people can walk their dogs, jog and have their kids bike ride without being on city streets with 60km per hour speed limits? Why are there not well planned city hubs with small retail outlets so people can bike or walk to corner stores to pick up their daily supplies?

It looks like the culture of greed gone mad. The newcomers don't necessarily have the community they deserve, based on sound principles of community planning, and my friends certainly don't have what people need to feel rooted and safe.

Vancouver

2007-09-26T20:02:00.000-07:00

What can you say about this city that hasn't been said before? Having lived here for several years, and visited often since, my perspective isn't quite the same as that of some other tourists. We are also eased by having dear friends who are eager to accompany us, especially to restaurants!

The sky is filled with cranes, construction ones that is. There is a huge building boom going on, and it can't be all to do with the Olympics upcoming in 2010. The Sky Train is being expanded, which is terrific, as Vancouver has never really addressed the mass transit needs of the city.

The city should continue to do some work on accessibilty. The bus system is very impressive, with kneeling buses on all routes which is great. The washroom situation is less impressive. People in chairs need not just larger stalls, they need grab bars and higher toilets. Even in public places (the Aquarium, Stanley Park) there were seldom high toilets.

We spent 5 days taking public transport downtown, from the Main St/Mt.Pleasant area and were very favourably impressed. Fast, courteous service by the bus drivers. Fellow passengers making efforts to humour some of the folks who might cause a disturbance. It's as if the city has taken 'let's get along training' for transit providers/riders. One evening I took the Main St bus north to the Sky Train and then on to the Sea Bus over to North Vancouver. All for $2.25 and an amazing view of the city.

We've had a few amazing meals out. Four of us had lunch at Feenies of "Lumiere" fame. Feenie's is the Bistro partner to the high end eatery of Rob Feenie, who is Vancouver's very own Iron Chef. The lunch was great. I liked the cream of mushroom soup the best, which was dark brown (wild?), with a top of garlic mousse and truffle oil. Ron had a Peking Club, go figure? This was thinly sliced peking duck on a pecan/raisin bread, skinny fries on the side. My calamarie was perfect, but I don't quite understand why it was on a bun, except it was lunch.

We had an incredible meal at the Jade Restaurant in Richmond. For those of you who don't know, Chinatown has virtually relocated to Richmond. The meal was for 12 and was ordered ahead by an expert. We got each little course one after the next, over a period of 4 hours. Thanks again Joe!

Here's the menu, read it and weep:

Smoked salmon with melon
Peking Duck
Scallops, Prawns and mushrooms in a hot pot
Soup-egg drop/tofu etc
King Crab
King Crab deepfried (with little corn flakes on the plate which turned out to be garlic)
A little lampchop
Duck, diced with rice and condiments in an iceberg lettuce bowl
Alaskan Black Cod-deepfried and then stirfried with greens
Snow peas and mushrooms stirfried
Rice baked in the crabshell
Mango custard with cream

The duck was served to us 3 ways: the Peking, the iceberg and the soup
The crab was served 3 ways as well.

We also had a very nice lunch in North Vancouver at the Dundarave Fish Market: great crab cakes, fish and chips, mussels etc. We walked there from Ambleside along the sea wall.

Lest you think we've only eaten you might be right, but have had some nice walks on the beach, to Lynn Canyon and Lighthouse Park. The scenery is fabulous!!

Photos from Haida Guaii

2007-09-24T13:11:00.001-07:00

Pictures from Haida Guaii: The Anvil Cove, the inter-tidal beauty, Ron and I, Skang Guaii

On the Anvil Cove

2007-09-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

Haida Guaii feels like the end of the earth in some ways, very hard to get to and worth it in the end. The guided tour exceeded all expectations. It was fun to meet 6 new people all passionate about the outdoors, and our guides Barb and Keith are real experts, offering very knowledgeable comment on everything from the cultural history of the islands to the flora and fauna. The food was outstanding, which was a bonus given we were on a sailboat.

Here's a summary of our trip:

August 29 Picked up at 8 am by taxi in Queen Charlotte City, and transported over logging roads to Moresby Camp. On route saw mushroom picker camps and lots of evidence of logging activity. We stopped to admire our driver's favourite fishing hole. No logging trucks anywhere in BC on the road during this time as they are all out on strike. We were met on the beach by Keith in the zodiak and greeting by Barb who served lunch promptly. We departed Moresby Camp at 11 am. There were lots of other outfitters there, but no boat as beautiful as the Anvil Cove.

It is a 53 foot schooner, which they operate by diesel during kayaking expeditions as the kayaks are all on the roof of the wheelhouse. Ron and I were assigned the focsul? the tiny pointy bow end. No one had great accomodation but the bunks were solid, and I was delighted to discover a shower and toilet. We ate at a table for 6 and gathered in the wheelhouse while we were motoring.

Shortly after setting off we entered Carmichael Passage which set the tone for the rest of the trip. There was so much acquatic life to see you could look at sea anenomes and starfish from the deck as we passed along, very close to the shore and the towering trees. We moved from the shelter of close islands to the Hecate Strait side where the ride was much more bumpy. We made a stop at Windy Bay on Lyell Island shortly after entering the Guaii Haanas National Park Reserve. Keith led us on a walk through the forest, on a boardwalk under the canopy of huge trees. We saw culturally modified trees (cmt) which were trees that were used as sources of bark, boards, root etc. harvested by the Haida people to make clothing, lodge frontpieces, rope etc. The cmts have been used as evidence for the as yet unresolved land claim of the Haida. These trees are still living, it is worth noting, and would have been a source of these raw materials for an infinite period of time.

You might recall hearing about Lyell Island which was the site of the stand-offs between the government, loggers and first nations people in the 1980s. The Haida 'drew a line in the moss' so to speak and the result was the 147,00 hectare South Moresby/Guaii Hanas National Park Reserve. The management of this 'place of wonder' is between the Haida nation and the federal government, and though there is a relationship with Parks Canada it is not typical, nor is the development such as you would see at other parks. There are no docks, landing places, outhouses etc. Camping is not established and is expected to be truely without trace. The Haida Watchmen live at the cultural sites, the old villages and provide interpretation and ensure that the visitors respect the sites. This group, who are employed by Parks Canada, grew out of the need to ensure that no more pillage of poles and other artifacts occured.

We motored on and arrived at our anchorage at Murchison Island by 8pm.

August 30th We kayaked around a small island off Murchison for several hours in the morning. It was low tide, and the intertidal life was stunning. Many creatures were exposed and others were easily visible under the clear water. The colours and variety were in every way equal to anything I have seen in the tropics.

We were underway by noon and arrived at Looscoone Inlet for overnight by dusk. The day's excitement was provided through our rendez-vous with a float plane at Harriet Harbour delivering the lost luggage, a cost-shared delivery between Air Canada and one of our fellow travellers.

August 31 We motored in the zodiac to Sgang Gwaii, which is the UNESCO World Heritage site at the southernmost tip of the islands. We were toured through the site by an excellant Watchman interpreter. Sgang Gwaii is the only place in the reserve where there are poles standing. They are actually mortuary poles and there are many, in good weathered condition. We were honoured by sunshine and could walk along enjoying the marvellous poles in front of the remains of the houses of the people. All the paths are lined with clam shells, and the poles have been cleared around from the constantly growing undergrowth. Apparently these poles, which were re-erected several decades ago, will be allowed to fall again and then melt back into the earth. This is a decision of the Chiefs. It was a very special place and I feel privledged to have visited. At Sgang Guaii we were actually looking through the tip of the islands through to the open Pacific Ocean.

In the afternoon we paddled up Looscoone Inlet. It was very easy paddling with the tide and wind in our favour. We began our journey back north on the ship, and anchored in Ikeda Cove at dusk, a very sheltered, narrow cove.

September 1 Underway at 9:30am and within an hour we were back on the more open waters of Juan Perez Sound. Keith called out 'whales'. We spent an hour floating and watching the feeding frenzy, with as many as 40 humpbacks sifting small fish through their baleen, sieve-like mouths. They dive and scoop, surface and dive again, over and over. The sound of their blowing was as audible as the sight of their giant fins and tails (flukes). There were also fins and minkes. One dove under the boat and splashed us with the dive. The air was filled with gulls joining in the feed.

We arrived at Hotsprings Island after lunch and spent a few hours in the pools and ajoining showers. The view from each pool which all varied in temperature from almost too hot to bathwater temp, was of the islands and coves and bay beyond. Marvellous. Apparently the Haida used the hot mud for cooking. By 4pm we arrived at Hoya Creek to take on water. There is a long dock there, as there are almost no sources of fresh water in the preserve and this site gets lots of use. We anchored overnight along the dock which floated with the tide. Below the water line the dock was lined with sea creatures of every shape and hue.

September 2 We paddled from Hoya to Klumkwoi Bay. Saw a bear fishing crabs in a tidal creek, flipping rocks. Then we headed for Tanu, but the going was too rough, so turned around at Kul Rocks.

September 3 We toured the heritage site at Tanu. There are no poles left, but with interpretation we were well able to see the huge village that once existed there. The canoe skids are still quite visible as are the excavations for the 3 'streets' of homes and lodges. Even though this village has been abandoned for over 100 years (smallpox), there are still standing corner posts, frontpieces and beams crossing the foundation excavations. Bill Reid is buried on Tanu.

From Tanu we motored north, passing through the Dana Passage with all of us quietly tense in the wheelhouse as Keith steered us through a narrow section with as little as 2.5 fathoms showing on the depthfinder. Masterful. We arrived back at Moresby after lunch to rendezvous with our taxi again.

Sightings:
Bat Starfish- four colours
Yellow, Purple, Orange, Ochre Starfish
White and blue sun stars
Huge orange sun stars
Hooded Nudibranch
Sulphur, strawberry and plumose anenome
Urchins
3 kinds of jelly fish (my favourite being 'by the wind sailors'
Baby Octopus
Turban snail
Whelps
2 kinds of mussels
Leather stars

Minke, Orcha, Humpback, fin whales
Moli moli ?
Lots of Bald eagles
Tufted puffins
Shearwaters
Black Oyster Catchers
Pigeon Guillemot
Marbled Murrlets
Rhinoserous Auklets
Common Murres
Glacous winged Gulls
Great Blue Herons
Kingfishers
Ravens
Black Bears
Seals
River Otters
Stellar Sea Lions
Sitka Black Tailed Deer

This is what it used to be like everywhere on the BC coast.

The Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Guaii

2007-09-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

The archipelago lies 6 hours by BC ferry off shore, south and west of Prince Rupert. We saw humpback whales from the ferry as we left the Prince Rupert harbour, having been alerted by the ferry captain. As always, the BC ferry folks are professional and the boat, though old is in good condition. I took advantage of the shower facilities while on board. $2 for 10 hot water minutes and a private room. Bliss! We met some very interesting folk on the way, who we ran into during our Haida Guaii time, which was fun. They have liquidated their assets and are on the road for two years, and are following roughly our itinerary of the continental 'loop'.

When we arrived in Skidegate we headed north directly, based on the advice of a friend, and arrived in Masset by 7 pm. We camped at Hidden Valley, and took advantage of the excellent home-made halibut and chips on offer at the campsite eatery. The campsite is recommended. The next morning we set out in the pouring rain to Naikoon Provincial Park and the Agate Beach campground. The Park occupies the north east corner of the islands, is very large and is mostly wilderness. They boast that they have the longest beach in BC, from Rose Spit south to Tlell, half way back to Queen Charlotte City. We stopped at a funky little restaurant/bakery which served delicious baked goods/soup etc. all without the benefit of hydro. It is wonderful to enter a 'commercial' space and realize they are 'off the grid'.

By the time we arrived at Agate Beach the rain had stopped. All the campsites are on the beach, separated by logs from the pebbles which range in size from a foot across above high tide in descending order to sand at the low tide mark. The sites faced the sunset and we could look back towards Masset one way and towards Tow Hill the other way. I could have stayed a week and walked the beach hunting agates and pondering the tides. As it was, the next morning we walked to Tow Hill and around the base of this volcanic, basalt remnant, viewed the 'blow hole' ( big, scary guyser-like spouting through the rocks) and through the beautiful forest to the next beach which went on forever, or actually to Rose Spit in the far distance and then south. We met a fellow who unloaded his 3- four wheelers off his pickup truck, along with his 2 kids and his seventy-ish mother all of whom set off on the wide, empty, hard-packed beach towards Rose Spit, which they would round at low tide, spend the day on East Beach, and the return at low tide again. Good use for 4 wheelers. I proposed we return and get our van and follow them but we hiked up Tow Hill instead.

Climbing for half an hour through huge cedars over a well-maintained boardwalk we emerged to the view point where we could look up and down, and across to Alaska! The boardwalk would have been treacherous except that it was covered with asphalt shingles. In the afternoon we combed for agates, with some sucess, then cooked with a view of the sunset and slept with the sound of surf in our ears. The next day we had to head back south to meet our tour guides Barb and Keith Rowsell and board the Anvil Cove for 6 days.

About Campsites

2007-09-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Having driven across Canada from Ontario to BC, we have some observations and generalizations to make. On the whole public is better than private. We stayed in two excellant private places during the trip, but even they tended to not give people any sense of privacy or solitude. The good ones however, were squeaky clean with good general services such as showers, firewood, high speed internet.

What makes the public (ie provincial) is the configuration of the sites so that you actually have the illusion that you are experiencing a bit of solitude. They also have the advantage of being located at some place of significant interest. For this I thank those who had the foresight to set aside the beautiful lakes, falls, rivers etc. for us to enjoy. The sites on our trip that come to mind as being in spectacular settings were: The Chutes and Kaministiqua in Ontario; Cyprus Hills in Saskatchewan; Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta; Naikoon Provincial Park (Agate Beach) on the Queen Charlottes.

Speaking of Dinosaur PP. The setting is spectacular, the campsite was grubby. The operation of the campsite is apparently privatized, which several in BC were without quality deterioration. It seems to me that with hoards of tourists lining up to see the place, and with no other accomodation options, that the standard of maintenance would be higher. For shame. And the quality of interpretation was outstanding, an unfortunate contrast to the camping setting.

The only really poor campsites we experienced were private. Neither was deserving of any stars though each one was in the BC book which provided accomodation advice. The campsite in Prince Rupert located only a half mile from the ferry was dirty, crowded and we were assigned a broken picnic table. All for $27 which was the most we've spent so far.

It is worth mentioning that there are some poorly advertised but very good municipal sites. Ask at the Info booth. They tend to be low cost( under $10) We stayed in a very good one at Queen Charlotte City, which was an alternative to the dirty, scary one listed in the accomodation guide.
We also stayed in a wonderful one at Port Hardy on the Northern tip of Vancouver Island. Located on a salmon river, sharing the site with a hatchery, we could walk all the way to town on a lovely trail following the river to the busy little port. Couldn't be nicer.

The Grizzlies of Hyder Alaska

2007-09-14T10:35:00.001-07:00

The National Forestry Service (USA) has build a boardwalk/cage for the humans so we can view the bears safely and they can do their thing unmolested by us. Not being into bear molestation I thought that was fine.
When we arrived at the site we rushed to the boardwalk, paid our 5 dollars entry and learned that there were a few black bears feeding and that the grizzlies do their thing in the morning. The boardwalk runs along a georgeous shallow, gravel bottomed stream (all surrounded by the snow capped peaks etc etc.). The stream itself was full of salmon all facing up stream, in water so shallow their fins are out of the water. For those of you who have forgotten your salmon spawning science, they hatch in the stream, live for a while as 'fry', travel to the ocean, live to adulthood, live for a few years and then return to their spawning stream to lay their eggs and die. We learned they defend their nests for a week or so after spawning and then just fade away (euphanism for die). I was totally impressed by these brave and wonderful salmon who had to defend their nests from poaching bears, seagulls etc. Inspiring! I was also impressed to think of all those baby pinks and cohos in the Pacific just waiting for the human nets and my bar-b-que. Inspiring!

Back to the bears. Yes we saw the 'little' black bears that afternoon, and was thrilled. We hung out for an hour or so with about 30 other people. We were the ones with the camera lens' under 2 feet. Ron talked to some guy who finances his travels by selling wildlife pictures and is working on a children's photo book about the capitals of Canada. I guess the wildlife are the MPPs.

We returned the next morning, at 6 am I'll have you know! and were told that the G bears were feeding. We saw mama and her 3 two year cubs, who spent and hour splashing in the stream, trying to catch salmon and wrestling on the bank with each other. One cub was a diligent fisher and actually caught a salmon, who death throes or not, frantically swim away from them. The little guy bent small trees down and walked out over the water on them, fell in, righted himself, caught a salmon, had a few yummy bites, played with the sibs and so on. The other two spent all their time rolling around and even spent 10 minutes standing on their back legs wrestling with each other. (bear hugs?) Mama finally threw a salmon at them and they settled for a while. During all this the air is full of the sounds of the brook and the click of the cameras. The humans are silent otherwise, or speaking in whispers like church. The air is full of the cries of sea gulls (feedme) and it is a tad smelly, shall we say redolent of old salmon.

We were on the way by 9 am, back to the Yellow Head and heading west. We passed the Great Bear Glacier enroute on 37 and continued to be awed by the mountains and scenery in general.
We stopped at a Parks Canada National Historic site called Gitwangaks, which is a hill which was the site of a first nations battle (between Terrace and Smithers). It was a fortified village and was defended by rolling spiked logs down the hill upon the attacking warriers. It is located near the 'grease' trail, which was the trail used to transport Ooolichan grease in bentwood boxes, inland to trade.

We arrived in Prince Rupert by late afternoon, in time to check out the Museum (very good) and settle into our disgusting campsite to wait for our ferry to Haida Guaii the next morning.

North to Alaska

2007-09-09T14:57:00.001-07:00

With the tune of that corny song ringing in my head we set off Hwy. 37. Continuing past Watkins Lake, the road is touted as part of a great Northern Circle Route to the Yukon, and eventually links to the Alaska Hwy. Having been told to check our gas we left the Yellowhead Hwy. at Kitwanga, just West of Hazelton.

Our first stop was a small First Nations village, just off the road. People live in little aluminum sided bungalows. There were a number of small houses partially destroyed by fire. The people of the village have many erect and intact weathered poles lining the road behind which is the river, which rose above it's banks and flooded out many bridges and villages in the area this past spring. The little museum was closed, and looked neglected. We bought drinks at the little restaurant/ post office,/community bulletin board, nodded at a few locals and headed back on the road.

By noon we were at the Nass River Bridge and rest stop. We saw the same 3 German folks we had seen in Hazelton there as well as people heading south. The Nass Valley has been logged and fished for millenia. We have been steadily rising with long slow grades. We pass a few highway work crews, and abandoned lumber camps with small sawmills. At Meziadin Junction we look at the sign that sends us north to Watson Lake and points beyond or, as we did, cut off on 37A heading West to Stewart BC, Hyder Alaska and salmon eating grizzly bears. We are both excited and delighted.

As soon as we turn our car west, we start climbing. Soon a huge rocky range comes into view. When we reach it we turn north and run between the rushing river, murky with glacial melt and the mountains. We feel very small. The vista is inpiring and intimidating at the same time.

We arrived in Stewart as the sun was heading down towards those high peaks. Having made note of the municipal campground, we couldn't resist heading out to explore. Stewart BC, is located at the head of the Portland Canal which extends the Portland Inlet and the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The town is built where salt marsh converges with snow covered peaks. The town has a little one two-storey main street with several hotels and restaurant. It has an air of prosperity in a very basic,frontier way.

We headed around the salt marsh on a road clinging to the mountain edge, past docks and pilings to Hyder Alaska. We crossed the boarder, which is undefended by the Americans and entered a tiny village on an unpaved, pot-hole filled road lined with derelict and once funky little houses and shops. Ron hopped out of the van to have a chat with the proprietor of the first place right after the border, a lovely women who was advertising Tom Yocky dulcimers for sale. She had a shop selling fudge and great things from Alaska. Turns out she plays the dulcimer too and played a few songs for Ron, to his delight. After ten minutes of dish-rattling, jarring road we arrived in the National Forestry Service park Misty Fiords National Monument Wilderness and the bear viewing boardwalk.

British Columbia at last

2007-09-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

We took the YellowHead highway from Edmonton to Prince Rupert. It cuts diagonally across the North western side of the continent, passing through nothing but incredible scenery: pristine, rushing rivers; snow capped mountains. Mount Robson, the highest peak in Canada was swathed in clouds through which we could just catch glimpses of the stratification for which it is known. We settled in to the Mt. R campground. It was great to be back camping in BC: clean well tended campsites in tall trees.

'Ksan Village near Hazelton. We camped in the adjoining site to the native heritage site. The village of 'Ksan is a reconstructed Gitxsan village with traditional long houses in the style of the northwest coast people. These folks are First Nation people of the 'Upper Skeena River System'. We took an interpretive tour, which was a 'sound and light' tour, very professional. They had a terrible time in that part of the country this past spring with terrible flooding of the river which is wide, deep and rushing past the site at high speed. Swimming it, if you could bear the temperature would be like swimming the St.Lawrence in terms of swiftness. The site was still sandbagged, and lots of evidence of the river being up over it s 10 foot high banks. I got the impression their season never really started as they only dug themselves out in July and we were there mid-August.

We saw lots of beautifully preserved button blankets and reproductions of marvellous paintings (from the McCord Museum, Montreal) of the people at the time of first contact.

The campground was well organized and almost completely empty (which turned out to be the case from then on). We were completely surrounded by steep, sun-lit snow capped mountains as we sat outside and bar-b-qued. When we got up the next morning the mountains were hidden in the clouds and if we hadn't known they were there....

At the info booth in Hazelton, when we asked the standard question of ' what should we see while we're here. ' She said 'the salmon are spawning in Hyder Alaska, which was the 2nd time we had heard that. Thank goodness for the extra days built into our intinerary, and off we went early the next morning.

From the Prince Rupert Library 6,980 kms since Ontario

2007-09-05T12:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick run down of what we found that was interesting enroute from Ontario to British Columbia.

The Chutes Provincial Park in Ontario is well worth checking out. It is just off the TCan and has a great hike up one side of the river and down the other. Quite rugged in places. The swimming at the foot of the falls was incredible. The Chute was the way to get the logs past the falls, and there are really no remnants of it left . The falls cascade into this deep pool which is clear to the bottom, filled with sand bars which can be waded out to and lounged upon. The water swirls around but isn't too fast. The Chutes is just before Sault Ste. Marie. We had to move on from there the next day, but I would have loved to linger. That is the story of travelling across Canada however.

The Cyprus Hills of Saskatchewan/Alberta
I heard about this place on CBC radio, during that contest for the Seven Wonders of Canada. It is the first Interprovincial park established in Canada. The hills rise up out of the Prairie before you as you approach. We chose to go to the wilderness (West) side of the park. There is a 'core' area to the East which has services. The road we took was quite winding, and there actually was a place where they suggested you drop your trailer. We found it fine in our van, though we didn't want to go back to see the National Historic site, a North West Mounted Police fort, which we missed by going to our part.
The camping area was georgeous, on a stream surrounded by grassy meadows. All around us were the hills covered with flowering shrubs and grasses. The cattle are free range here and our campsite was protected by one of those bumpy cattle fences on the road.
We hiked up the hills twice following a 'road' used by ranchers and ended up high above our campsite. The hills were sunlit with big shadows of the clouds upon them. We actually hike a piece of the TransCanada Trail which passes through.
The next day we drove West through the hills and passed through incredible open valleys where we could see a little trail of dust in the far off distance which turned out to be a vehicle approching us. We passed an old United Church with the windows boarded up, but a new memorial in the graveyard giving the ancestral names of the pioneers who were buried there. Most of the original markers were either gone or laying down. We crossed over the border in the park and rejoined the TCan in Alberta.

Dinosaur Provincal Park
Having visited Drumheller with the kids many years ago, we wanted to go back to the Badlands again. The Red Deer River runs through both Drumheller through to the Park, having eroded away the land leaving behind huge tracts of land full of Dinosaur bones of all kinds. The landscap is incredible with strange rock formations in fabulous colours. We took a few tours into the protected area where you have to either be registered for scientific research or with a guide.

August 5th

2007-08-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

Back from Blue Skies: Well even with good behaviour we are exhausted, having had more R&R than I can handle. Saw wonderful acts and heard great music. The gospel was magical. We leave tomorrow morning, odometer set to zero. Then we'll have to find places to log into the web.

August 2 2007 We're still at home

2007-08-02T14:24:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we're off to Blue Skies Music Festival for a little R&R and then Tuesday morning we hit the road. Our van, the 'Pleasure Way' is mostly packed, and the house and our affairs are mostly wound down. I for one, am wound up. It seems strange to be on the cusp of a year off that has been planned for so long.
Ron is out topping up the propane for our stove, fridge etc. and has taken the dog to the kennel for the weekend. We are very fortunate that our son, Patrick is taking the dog in for us when we are away travelling. We are also fortunate that a friend is staying in the house so things will be mostly tended to. I will only feel qualified to write the book on 'how to get ready to take an extended trip' when I get back. It seems as if every eventuality has been planned for. Time will tell what is missing.