Maltan

By now you probably all know that Barak Obama, during an interview with the ABC, declared that he supports gay marriage this Wednesday. I don’t know how you guys feel about this, and my personal opinion about politics is usually kept out of the class room, but this is such an important statement by one of the most powerful leaders in the world that I cannot keep quiet. I was utterly delighted. The question about same sex marriage is about civil rights, I believe. I’m saying this because I’m staying at a campground just about 80 miles north of San Francisco (for you music lovers: try to find The War doing ‘Cisco Kid’ – turn it up to 11 and shake your butt), on Lake Solano. I travelled along highway 101, and then highway ... read more

Oh dear, my love for Montana has found a rival, Washington State’s northern islands close to the border to Canada: San Juan Islands. One of the best campgrounds I’ve ever stayed at. Right on the beach, each camp had its separate terrace and hardly anyone around. These islands seem to be the playground for the rich and famous. The town of Friday Harbor is so pretty and clean I dared not walk on its bitumen. Just kidding, but sort of true. I drove around the island (tiny) and most of the coastline is private property,’ no trespassing’ signs everywhere. Bit shocking really and I snooped around the houses a bit from the beach with my binoculars. Jeez, they had helipads and some of their fronts where only glass … money dripping from the ceiling. I talked ... read more

I don’t know if I ever told you guys about this, but when I went to UNSW I completed a double major in English/History. If there was such a thing, I would actually have a triple major including Film Studies, I had enough credits, but that doesn’t exist and to become a teacher it was more important to do History. Anyway, I somehow specialised in American History, especially in Environmental History and know quite a bit about the start of preservation and conservation in this country (or used to). I don’t want to put you to sleep here, but John Muir and the Sierra Club (I hope I’m getting this right, it’s been a while) started to voice their opinion about 150 years ago to put areas of interest and beauty aside for nature and animals ... read more

I haven’t written for a few days because I was feeling a bit sick and stayed in hotels to get over my bug. I’m back to normal now, thankfully. I was basically just hanging out in Jackson Hole waiting for the weather and myself to get better. Before I got to Denver, Colorado I stayed in the most amazing National Park called Mesa Verde, just on the border to Arizona and New Mexico. I have seen docos on Mesa Verde on the History Chanel and always wanted to come here. I’m sure when you see the photos you recognise it as well. The Ancestral Puebloans decided to move to the canyons of this area and build little buildings/towns into the caves. They were farming the land above about 1400 years ago and now they are called ... read more

Omigod! I have spent the past three days around Moab, Utah and am in hiking, treking heaven. I will have to visit this place again only for the outdoor fun such as kayaking on the Colorado River, riding the rapids in a blow up boat, mountain biking, climbing, walking, canyoning, motorbike riding and I’m sure I forgot heaps of other stuff one can spend money on around here. Moab is surrounded by National Parks, State Parks and BLM areas and the camping is fantastic. I spent two days on the Colorado River, one of them by birthday, and while I spent the day walking every trail I could find without needing a backcountry permit (not easy to get) and returned every afternoon for a dip in the river watching climbers scale the famous Fisher towers, stand ... read more