Advertisement
Published: January 26th 2008
Back to Seattle
Well I had a short couple of weeks at home and it was time to get on the road again. I did not sleep well and was tired, not the way I wanted to feel to continue this trip, but that is the hand I had been dealt so I had to just go with it. Mark dropped me off at the airport and as soon as I walked into the airport some guy was telling another guy in the airport a supposed joke about the people Chelsea Clinton was most concerned about with the answer being Osama Bin Laden and her mom being president. The joke really made no sense it was just the guys way of campaigning against Hillary. This guy was on the same plane as I and continued telling this joke to everyone he met at the airport. One lady who worked at the airport told him he had already told her that joke. He was obviously crazy.
The flight to Seattle was uneventful and as I landed I felt a little worried about getting my truck. Maybe the place would be closed? As soon as I landed I called the storage place
and they said they were open until 5:30. That would be enough time barring nothing catastrophic happened. I got the luggage and hailed a cab, well not really hailed one, just went to the place where they are cued and one pulled up. I ask him how much to Kent and he said around $25. I told him last Spring when I was here the same trip cost me $20. He said it maybe only that as he wasn’t sure. I really had no other options so I gave the address to him and he was not sure where it was. He then decided to plug it into his gps. This was all taking time, during which time I was being charged. As we drove to the place I ask him where he was from? He appeared to be in his late 20’s and was black and spoke with an accent. He said from Ethiopia I ask him why does a person want to come to America. He said America is great. He said in America you can talk about politics and the president is only in office for 8 years. In Ethiopia the ruler is in power for a
life time and if you talk negative about him you disappear. I asked him if it was hard to get into the US. He said yes they have a lottery system and if your drawn out you get scrutinized even more. Most people are turned down. But if you make it through that review and have a clean background you are allowed to come to America. I told him he must have had a clean background and no tickets for being illegally parked. He laughed and said in America if you are willing to work you can make it here. In Ethiopia that is not the case. I asked him why he did not go to Europe? He said in Europe they are more racist. He said they talk about racism in the US, but he doesn’t see that at all. After he said that I thought about seeing blacks in Europe and outside of France I did not see many. I told this guy a little about my trip and gave him contact information and hoped he actually contacted me. He said he originally lived in Boston, but it was too expensive there and then he moved to Seattle.
A view from the Summit of Mount Constitution
This is on Orcas Island one of the San Juan Islands. This was a grueling day of biking.He said he wants to start school soon. I think this guy is going to do just fine in America.
I looked at the meter and we were already at $25. I mentioned that to him and he said not to worry about the meter. I was not sure what that meant, but I liked what I thought it meant. We pulled into the region very close to where the storage place was and I told him this is close enough and to just let me out. He said not to worry about the meter as he would take me where I needed to go. We managed to make it there and got the stuff unloaded. I asked him how much and he said $20 even though the meter was over $27. I asked him if he was sure he would not get in trouble for doing this and he said it was no problem. I gave him $22 which really was quite cheap and I should have gave him more. I really liked talking to this guy and was hoping our conversation would never end, but like all good things it came to an end. I gave him
a big wave as he pulled away and he waved big back with a big smile. I think this guy is going to do just fine in America.
I walked into the office and told the attendant I had called earlier and was looking to pick up my long lost truck. He opened up the gate for me and I asked him if he thought a truck sitting that long would start. He said it probably will if not I have jumper cables. He was very nice as well. Since I got back from Europe I have really been looking for nice gestures in America as I really was on the look out for them in Europe and I see them everywhere. Americans are generally very nice people. I was feeling proud to be an American again. More so now having seen how other countries live. The language barrier makes it difficult to fully understand a people and see nice gestures, but I see and hear nice things being done all the time in America. I am thinking about Bruce Springsteen’s song Born in the USA and see fireworks going off around the Statue of Liberty. Even though in
all actuality the song is an antiwar song and the statue is a gift from France who we are taught not to like. We live in a confusing world. A person really needs to think for their self after hearing both sides of the story.
I pulled the tarp off the truck which was in surprisingly good shape and the truck looked ok. I became more excited to drive this guy as I really like my truck and my set up on this trip. I do not think the way things are layed out could be better for how I am traveling. I love it.
After several minutes I had the tarp off and layed it out on the hot asphalt for it to dry as it had a little water on it. The truck was a little dirty. I jumped in it and it started right up, but then coughed a little and died. I cranked for a while and pumped the gas pedal and it tried to start, but once it got going I did not want to really rev it up as I wanted it to run slowly at first to make sure all the
engine parts were well lubricated before getting the rpms up. As a result it continued to die. After about 5 minutes of this it did finally start and stayed running. Alright we are back in business. I pulled the truck up and got things reorganized. Everything seemed to be in good shape. I loaded up the tarp and headed out. On the interstate traffic was a little crazy and slow. I decided to go against the wishes of my gps and try another route. It was nice to hear her voice again though at times her telling me I am off route does get old. This was a good move as I was now moving right along. I saw a sign that indicated my next turn had a wait time of 50 minutes. I thought this surely will not take that long for me and I took the road. The wait was indeed quite ridiculous and to pass the time I made a couple phone calls. The drive through east Seattle into downtown is quite scenic as you cross a bridge where you can really see the shore well. Once you got on the bridge however the traffic sped up.
I took several pictures while trying to keep the truck on the bridge and then continued on to my couchsurfing host place. Astrid is a German lady working on her PhD in Seattle. As I pulled up to her place I noticed this beautiful view across the water of downtown Seattle. I took a pic. and then walked to her place and noticed from her place you have this same amazing view. We sat out on the porch and had a glass of wine. She mixed this white wine with some Black Currant which really made it easy to drink a lot of wine. Astrid fixed some supper and I had to stop myself after two glasses of wine as I could have really drank a lot of that mixture. The view was even more impressive after dark and the Space Needle is clearly visible in the distance. She pointed to where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed, which was across the water from where she lived. I love couchsurfing.
I was wiped out as was Astrid, so we called it a night around 11:00. It actually feels quite good to be back on the road. Well I am
sleepy in Seattle. Good night!
8-31-07
I woke up around 6:00 and took some pictures of downtown Seattle at daybreak. It was a very cool lighting, but not sure I got the picture I wanted. The one that truly depicts how cool the warm morning light looked on the buildings. I went back to bed which consisted of a cushion on the floor with my sleeping bag over it.
I then got back up around 7:30 and took some pics of planes landing on the water, between Astrid’s place and downtown Seattle. I was hoping to get some pictures with the planes a little farther left allowing for a good Seattle skyline backdrop, but they would not cooperate. I tried several times then went back and laid down since Astrid was not up yet.
Finally at 8 I decided to get the day going so I took a shower. After the shower I did some stuff on the internet. Astrid got up around 8:30 and we talked for awhile. I told her I would like to grab a bite to eat for us for breakfast as a small token of my appreciation. Her boyfriend works the night
shift and made it to her place around 6:30 I think as I heard him come in. I ran out and grabbed a few muffins and we had our breakfast.
Astrid was going to Germany and Turkey the next day so I exchanged some Euros with her as I still had 750 from the European trip. I needed cash so I cashed her check, but I still had 500 euros left, but couldn’t find a place that would exchange them unless I had a bank account with them.
By the time I had complete all this running around it was noon so I grabbed some lunch. I got a hotdog, chips a drink and it was about $7.00. I couldn’t believe how expensive it was. Seattle is an expensive City as this was just a fast food gas station like place. I talked to the attendant and told him about all the weird people I had run into at the banks and on the streets. There was one guy that had a bunny. I am not sure what all that is about and two people in the bank were acting real goofy. One guy ask the teller a
question then went storming out of the bank before she even got a chance to answer him. The person making the hot dog said yes there are a few around here. We talked about Europe a little and talked about the US being more dangerous. He said it is hard to figure out why such a rich country has all this violence. He acted like he had studied that very question in college recently. He appeared to be college age and I assumed attending the nearby college.
I hit the road again to find the traffic slow going in downtown Seattle. I was on my way to Mount Ranier to do some hiking and camping. I was actually pretty excited because the place I slept best during my travels was in the back of my truck and I also enjoyed the eating as well although the food was not that great. Camping is just fun for me. I had originally thought Mount Ranier was just a place to go to see a high mountain, but there are lots of hiking and camping to be done there. The trip there went pretty quick about 1.5 hours from Seattle and it
was a very wilderness area. This area had been ravaged last year with lots of flooding and a lot of the trails were still in disarray.
I made it to White River Campground and got my spot. This sight is located right near the White River. I liked the camp sites a lot. I walked in the wrong direction on one trail at least I thought it was a trail and then walked back to the camp site and the ranger said I was going in the wrong direction. I got going in the right direction and saw a couple other people on the trail. To cross the river they have a make shift bridge which consisted of a log and a rail on one side made out of wood. It all was quite flimsy but seemed to serve the purpose. The current was so strong in the river that I could here rocks being moved by the rushing water and hitting other rocks under water. I bet rocks were up to 50 lbs. that were being moved, but it was all happening under water. The sound was a little muffled since this was happening under water but nonetheless
was quite loud.
I walked down the trail for about a mile and then turned around. I enjoyed the walk, but it was time to get back. My neighbors had moved from the campsite they were at as one of the ladies in the group had gotten stung by some bees. She had an ice bag on her face. The ranger put a sign stating where the bees were and not to disturb them. They simply moved across the road. The bite must had really swollen up as another camper was considering staying where she got bit, but decided not to after seeing what her face looked like. I never saw it, but it must have been bad based on this guys vocal reaction.
I cooked supper and went to this talk that a ranger was doing about Mount Ranier. He talked about how global warming had been happening over the years as the glacier keeps receding further up the mountain and that they have more vegetation growing higher up on the mountain indicative of longer growing seasons. He talked about Mount Ranier being dedicated as a National Park because it has Glaciers. I am convinced you can
pretty much go to any National Park in the USA and be impressed. This park exceeded my expectations. After the talk I went back to my truck, typed and called it a night. Another busy day. Good night from Mount Ranier!
9-1-07
Labor Day. Do I get to enjoy labor day too if I do not work? Well I am going to enjoy it. A person needs to enjoy everyday for that matter. You only live once that I do know. As I previously wrote I think pretty much all National Parks have something to offer and you can not go wrong by visiting them. Some of course are going to be more phenomenal than others, but they all are cool.
I had a quick breakfast and went for a hike with a apple and a little water. It was over 10 miles, and as usual I over estimated my abilities. My way of thinking when I see a trail is lets do it after briskly looking at the distance not considering the difficulty of the hike just the distance. This is one of those days. I started out on the trail then the trail went down into
a stream bed because the original trail was washed out due to the rain this same year. The trail was simply flagged in these washed out areas. Another hiker came up behind me and passed me as I was taking pictures. It is always kind of nice to run into others on the trail, which helps to reaffirm a few things. First your on a worthwhile trail, your on the right trail and it is nice to have occasional company even if it is for a fleeting moment. We spoke briefly and it turned out he was from a town very close to Mount Ranier. He continued on as did I staying about the same distance behind. The trail went up through the woods and you had a great view of the mountain and the glaciers on it. This was the glacier the Park Ranger said recedes every year due to global warming. It was a beautiful site and I continually took pictures of it knowing that most likely the view will only get better.
After about 1.5 hours of hiking I came to an intersection. One direction went to a backcountry tent camping area and the other trail
was in the direction I ultimately want to go. I decided to go the extra mile plus to the campsite to check it out. The hike was worth it as the view at the camp was awesome. The campsite itself was very good as well. The sites were spaced out and there was neat shelter around each site. I was thinking about the Glacier trip I took a few years ago and how I wanted to get back into this backcountry hiking.
I walked back down to the intersection point and then went up to the trail in the direction I needed to go. For about the next hour I was going up the mountain. I really did not expect this kind of elevation gain, but it was here. Finally I started getting out of the woodland area and saw more grasses. The previous night the ranger said they are seeing more and more grasses and small brush farther up on the mountain due to global warming. Yes and the politicians say this might just be cyclical so lets not do nothing about it while they spend billions of dollars on other things with Iraq being the biggest added
expense. I don’t get it. At least they are saving billions of dollars by not helping New Orleans. I seem to remember them helping the white farmers in 1993 who built and farmed in the floodplain as well as the government subsidizing farming which has become corporate these days. But the blacks in New Orleans are on there own.
I walked across a lady who worked for the parks systems and I assume was just cleaning the trail. I asked her when this trail flattened out and she said not for a while. I came across additional park workers and they were building a wall for the trail. They appeared to be doing a pretty good job and were very young and may have been doing community service work. Not sure. As I finally got closer to the top of the mountain I saw other climbers. Everyone was walking the opposite way than I. I wondered if maybe I was going the more difficult direction. It was around 11:00 and I decided to have my only food. A apple. I tried to eat it as I walked, but this was not working very well as I was breathing too
hard to both eat and breathe. I stopped and ate my apple The only thing that remained essentially were the seeds as I really chomped down. I saw several other hikers who appeared to be pretty out of shape. I was glad they were hiking. I do not mind over weight people that try to be in shape but those that do not even try to improve theirself I do not have much sympathy for. All I have ever asked of anyone is that they try. That is really all we can do.
I saw a mountain lake, but felt hurried as my next couchsurfer on the San Juan Islands expected me earlier in the day, which I obviously was not going to make. I decided to not go closer to the mountain lake as it would take about 30 minutes to get a better view. I was able to see most of it from where I was at so I was not overly concerned about not seeing something awesome. We always think there is something awesome around every corner. Sometimes we find it other times we do not.
I was now on a downhill path predominantly back
to the campsite. I expected to make some time. I met a few other people on the trail one being an Australian lady, which I always saw in Europe, but have not seen many in the US. I asked for her to take a picture for me and she obliged. She said she had a person do the same thing for her just down the trail. There was an observation point with a block wall that made for good viewing of the mountain. I made good time back to the camp and popped out of the woods near my campsite. It was good to see the campsite again as I had enough hiking as it was quite a grueling hike in the uphill areas.
I jumped in the truck and got on the road, as I had already packed and was on my way to the San Juan Islands which was about a 5 hour drive. The traffic in Seattle was pretty busy but not too bad. I got to Anacortes the location where I had to hop a ferry that would take me to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. I got lucky as the ferry was just
pulling out and it had room for me. I paid the hefty price of $45 and boarded. The fare included the trip back as well thankfully. I called my couchsurfing host Ken and told him I was on the ferry. He said he had company so it was going to be a little crowded. I told him that was fine I would just get out of the way. I was excited to get there and meet Ken. I knew he lived in the Country on the Island and was a semi retired chiropractor. That was about all I knew. I stayed in my truck and typed for most of the ferry trip. I did look out a few times to check out the islands we were passing and thought immediately of the Archipelago Islands in Sweden. They looked very similar except there are 20,000 of those islands and only 170 of these islands. But these are cool too! This might be a problem me having seen so much. I need to see the beauty of each place without regard to other places. We however learn by comparisons since we are a kid and therefore it is a hard habit to
break. I have been a kid for a while now.
At Friday Harbor I let the gps take over and we were on our way. Ken does not look to for outside of Friday Harbor so I was there in about 10 minutes. He definitely did live out in the boonies. I knew I was getting close based on Microsoft Mary (my gps program) telling me so. I saw a driveway and thought this must be it. I pulled in the 200 ft. driveway and saw 3 deer playing reindeer games near the house. I decide to take a picture of the deer from where I was at as I was concerned that I would spook them if I got closer. I then decided to drive a little farther down the road as it appeared no one was home here. As I drove down the road I saw this place that looked like Sanford and Son and then to my horror I saw the address of my couchsurfing host. I considered just driving on past and forgetting about this place and just emailing later and say I decided to stay somewhere else. Then cooler heads prevailed and my self
thoughts told me to maintain my composure and see what was happening here before I went off doing something irrational. What is the most rationale thing in situation. Stay or go.
Anyway I pulled the truck over to the side of the road and walked towards the old sailboat in the driveway. Behind the sailboat there was an old Minneapolis Moline with a front-end loader and a backhoe on the back. This must be the backhoe Ken said he made. Ken’s friends showed up in a pretty nice truck and Ken came walking out of this house. The house itself was a little rough as you might imagine. Ken was taking the remains of some Salmon and putting them in a bucket he said this is crab pot bait. He wore no gloves when handling the fish. He then came over to shake my hand which was a little disturbing in that he was just handling these fish remains. I went ahead and shook his hand. I was introduced to his friends family which consisted of 2 boys. The youngest son who was probably about 17 had some sort of mental disorder not sure what it was but his
dad and brother were really good at taking care of. They showed him lots of love and caring. I was really impressed at how they cared for him. They did not do everything for him but helped him a long when necessary and teased him a lot. They were just getting ready to head out to check there crab pots and rebait them. They invited me a long. I left my truck parked in the middle of the road which was about the only place to leave it.
I hopped in with them. We drove about 25 minutes and then came to the place where the crab pots were. Ken’s friends really bragged up his cooking abilities as we drove and Ken discussed what to cook for supper. The more I was around Ken the more I realized this guy is an extremely intelligent human being. Ken had a boat docked near a friends house and him and the oldest son jumped in and went out to check the pots. The three of us, Ken’s friend and his other son, sat at the bank and waited. They came back in after about 20 minutes with 1 crab. They said
they had not put much bait in the pot so the catch did not surprise them.
We headed back and ken’s friend went to grab some food. I walked inside with Ken and saw his house. Ken is really into green technologies and had an all black floor in the south facing room so heat is absorbed and radiates back into the room at night. The wall between what used to be the porch and the kitchen/ living room had been removed. Ken has lots of small engine parts as well as many other items including an archery bow laying there. In the kitchen there were lots of items stacked all around which is how the living room was ordered as well. It seemed nothing worked too good. The couch looked to be a little makeshift something so I suggested I just sleep in my truck if he could give me a place to park it on his 5 acres. It was getting dark so Ken found a place for me to enter the backside of his property to park the truck. I was parked back by an old rv that looked liked it had sat in one place
for many months or maybe many years not sure. Ken also has about 3 chicken coops, a duck coop, a greenhouse thing for tomatoes, a corn field and many miscellaneous items like fruit trees and zucchini etc. Nothing is very neat.
They came back with some pork cuts and Ken went out to get a fire going as he was going to cook these over the fire and was needing to get a good bed of coals. He had two bed frames he put up over the fire and then some old weber grill tops that sat on top of the bed frames. Yep it was a little rough, but as long as at the end of the day these steaks were cooked I guess it didn’t much matter how it looked.
As the fire was burning Ken made some of his famous salsa from scratch that Ken’s friends had raved about earlier. I thought the salsa was ok but I like the type made on the stove better. This is not cooked at all.
We went out and cooked the steaks, all along we held our breath that the bed frames would not fall down spilling
the steaks into the fire. As I said earlier Ken is a very intelligent man and has an awesome science background. He could talk intelligently about anything and everything. It was interesting listening to hear him tell jokes and then went onto to talk about vitamin supplements. He has a great medical background. I guess when he was studying to be a chiropractor he had extensive medical studies.
Well the steaks were taken off the fire and brought in. I think everything would have been ok if things were just a little neater and had the appearance of being sanitary. I was way out of my element and comfort level here. I was given one of the biggest steaks on the plate which was nice, but it did not appear to done when I cut into it. I ate it but was a little concerned about a multitude of things while eating it. Ken’s friend’s eldest son said grace and was very good at it. I said man you are good enough to be a preacher and then surprisingly he said he had been for awhile. I think these people are very nice just live a little different life
than I am use to.
After the meal Ken adjusted all there backs and I was really surprised at all the popping that was going on. I was tempted to ask Ken for adjustment as well, but decided against doing such. Ken seemed to be very good at it. I helped do some dishes and then went off to my truck. I was a little wound up with all the excitement here but decided to call it a night around 12:30. Ken’s wife works at a restaurant nearby and pulled into another part of their property and just walked through the weeds to there house. Most women would not do that. I would meet her tomorrow. I was already in my truck and in my sleeping bag when I saw her pull in about 200 ft. from where I was at.
Good night from somewhere in the country on the San Juan Island. It has been a very interesting series of events this evening. Lets see how the night goes? Some nights you just think positive things and shut your eyes hoping for the best. This was going to be one of those nights!
9-2-07
When I
woke in the morning about 7:00 there was a spike buck standing about 20 ft. from my truck. I guess there was already so much human smell around the house the buck did not think my smell was nothing to get excited about. That was kind of cool. I decided to sleep awhile longer so I rolled over and slept maybe another 20 minutes. When I awoke the buck was still nearby and not until I made a little noise to open my camper shell did the deer slowly begin to move away. I enjoyed seeing the deer. There are lots of deer on the San Juan Islands.
I walked into the house around 8:00 and Ken was working on the computer. We talked for awhile and slowly other people started getting up. Ken’s wife got up and offered me some coffee or tea and they also asked if I was hungry but thanked them and told them I was going to get going soon as this was the day I was going to ferry to Orcas Island and do some biking. I actually had quite of bit of biking on this day. Ken’s friends all were up by
now as well and began taking showers. They were going to try and get there sailboat in the water today. They originally planned to put it in the water the day prior but had to do some repair work on it. I mentioned the other camp grounds in the area to see if possibly I might want to stay there but Ken said there is no problem staying there again tonight. Ken is a nice person just a little messy so I told them I would be back.
I went ahead and left. I drove into town with the objective of getting a bite to eat and finding out when the ferry left for Orcas Island. I drove to the ferry and realized I had about an hour so I went to the restaurant I had driven by on the way to the ferry but it was jammed packed with people. I parked and went to the grocery store. Those folks were very nice and told me where to park even. I seen a tourist office so I headed that way. She was very busy but I was able to get some maps and information from her. I parked
my truck near a truck that had a bumper stick that said Bush Lied Thousands Died. I tend to believe Bush thought Sadam had weapons of mass destruction but I also think he had a lot more reasons for going to war but did not say that because people would not support him for his other reasons. So saying he lied is not totally correct in my mind, but I believe he withheld other reasons for going to war. I think thousands died is a an underestimation unless that means 10’s of thousands died or even 100’s of thousands died. He has God on his side and lots of money. He is the religious candidate after all. He is against abortion after all. These kind of religious wackos scare me. Bush scares me but I do not think he has time to get us into another war before he leaves office. Letterman was right Bush’s exit strategy in Iraq is leaving office.
I got my bike out and headed down to the ferry. It is free to take a bike onto the ferry. You can leave San Juan Island free but you have to pay to come back but
My Couchsurfing Accommodations
The CS host had other people staying with him so I decided to sleep in my truck on his property. It worked fine. it was only a few dollars. I gobbled down some donut like things at the truck and was now beginning to wish I had not done that as I felt really full. On the ferry I went outside for awhile to snap a few photos and then went inside as it was relatively cool. They have puzzles on the tables that you can do to help pass the time. I talked to a few other people on the boat that were also going to bike on Orcas Island.
The ferry arrived and I got off and was on my way. I started pedaling up the first hill off the ferry and could feel myself winded already. Partly because I had just eaten a box of donuts and partly because I was not in that great of shape. This was going to be a long day as the total trip was 42 miles and I was only an 1/8 th of a mile into and already winded. I am crazy.
I took my sweatshirt off and put it in my backpack as I definitely would not need that today. I found a few downhill stretches that was nice, but
I just kept thinking man I am going to have to go back up these on the way back. My thinking at this point was that glass was ½ empty. I was thinking I should try to hitch a ride, but knew it was not likely with the bike to be successful. I kept going. I was seeing blackberries all over the place. I stopped and had a few. Unlike the donuts these would burn clean. I took a signed detour and came across lots of roadside blackberries and ate more. Not sure if I enjoyed the blackberries that much are the rest. There is nothing like putting a perfectly ripe blackberry on your tongue. I really enjoyed the blackberries.
The bike ride was everything my pessimistic mind expected. Lots of ups and downs and cars oh my. I just kept shifting and pedaling and I finally made it to the town that to me signified the ½ way point although it was really past the ½ way point. Well not really when you consider the difficulty of pedaling up Mount Constitution. For some reason I envisioned the next few miles downhill although I know there was no reason
to expect that as I was essentially pedaling around a lake so I would be staying closer to the water which would be flat of course.
The road had some ups and downs but all in all was not too bad. The downs were long enough for me to get some speed up to help make it up the up portion and then when I would be completely wiped out it was time to go down hill again. These ups and downs seem to provide me with just enough moral victories to keep my spirits high and to stay motivated. Before long I was in Moran Park. Another moral victory but the next part of the trip was by far the most grueling as I had to pedal up Mount Constitution. This was not going to be an easy undertaking as it was like 3 miles and all up hill to a summit of around 2,500 ft.
About a ½ mile up I saw a sign that said waterfall so I pulled in there. You could take your bike down the path as well so I did. The fall was only about a ½ mile off the road
and was not that great. Remember I just got back from Norway where there are some amazing falls. I have become a Falls snob. I turned around and walked the bike up the ½ mile back to the road. I started pedaling for awhile but did not last long as I was already tired. I got off and pushed the bike for about a ¼ mile then rode for a ¼ mile and pushed and rode, and pushed and rode. You get the picture. This was iron man stuff and I am nowhere near that level of physical shape. In fact to even mention me in the same sentence that contains ironman is ludicrous. Sheer madness, craziness, Bushness etc. You get the picture.
After plodding along I made it to the little summit and went up to take a visual. It was pretty cool the sky was a little hazy. In talking to other people there the main summit was another mile down the road. I really wanted to go down now, but I plodded on. I had to make it to the summit and I did. It was quite marvelous, but the sky was a little hazy. That
Moran Park on Orcas Island
This is the gateway to Mount Constitution. is mountaineering. You work hard for something and sometimes you are rewarded and sometimes you are not and sometimes you are in between. This was an in between day. I spent about a ½ hour there looking around and then decided to head down. There was one lady there with cancer which is always inspiring to me. I know my pain is not that bad.
The trip down was quite fast as one might expect. I was flying down I suspect near 30 mph at times. There were lots of switchbacks so a person always had to be able to slow down enough to make the turn and you had no idea what was around the blindside of the corner. So you had to stay under control.
I felt like I had my second wind and decided to stop at a gas station and grab a bite to eat at the gas station as I had had nothing since the donuts earlier in the morning. This was a mistake. All the momentum I had gained was pretty much gone after eating. It just seems like these days I am better off not eating while exercising. I plodded on
and eventually did make it back to the Orcas ferry. I had about an hour before the ferry arrived so I grabbed a bite to eat. The food was extremely slow so when the ferry arrived I had to get the food to go. The ferry folks said they were not going directly to Friday Harbor but said they were the next ferry to go there so if I wanted I could either ride the ferry for the next 2 hours or wait here. I decided to jump on the ferry. I had wished I had brought my phone and keyboard to type but I hadn’t so I worked on one of those puzzles. I was hoping to complete one with a cat and a bunch of mice. The ferry actually went back to Orcas Island where I had just left from and picked up more passengers before making the final crossing to Friday Harbor. Some drunk lady had just got on the boat from a day of golfing and was telling me how she loved puzzles and decided to help me for awhile. She was pretty hammered and I think her husband was glad for me to entertain her
for awhile so he could take a break.
We finally made it to Friday Harbor and I was still about an hour away from completing the puzzle. I got off the boat and could barely pedal to my truck which was up a small hill. I was spent. Back at Ken's I talked to him for awhile. He was asking me about water and wastewater treatment as he recently bought property in Mexico with some other people and they were going to have to put wastewater treatment facilities on the property and water. He had some ideas about producing energy from the fecal matter but I was not up to speed on that and told him I was not sure if his contraption would work or not. This man has projects out the wazoo.. He is a very sharp man but just has a few too many things going on in my opinion. He was talking about moving to Mexico and renting his place out. I was thinking there is no way I would live here. Way too messy for me. He mentioned too starting a chiropractic practice there. He said he lost his practice here and mentioned attending
AA so I assume he drank too much in the past. Alcohol ruins a lot of lifes. I would be willing to bet that it does more than marijuana does, but I do not know the statistics.
We talked a lot longer than I planned as I was beat. Around 12 I headed out to my truck and called it a night. I could have slept on a hot bed of coals this night. I wondered if I would see that deer again in the morning. I wondered if my mattress would hold air as it did not the previous night. After a few seconds my wondering stopped as I was asleep. Good night from Ken’s Ranch on the San Juan Island.
9-3-07
I got a few hours of sleep but not a lot. After about 3 hours I awoke realizing I was laying on the bed of the truck with the 3 inch air gap gone. Yes my air mattress was no longer inflated. When a person first falls asleep it seems like the first couple hours happen without a person being comfortable, but after that it requires a somewhat still mind and a minimum level of
These folks are really ready for Bush to leave office as I am finding the rest of the world is as well.
That is a picture of Orcas Island with 2008 written on it with people dancing around the bottom of teh barn in celebration. comfortability. Sure there are lots of other factors as well such as age, and sleep patterns but for me it seems like the first couple of hours happen. Sometimes too it seems if I am overly tired and have some aches and pains from the previous days activities I sometimes do not sleep as well. I went back to sleep though after initially waking up some I did get some sleep in.
My goal this day was to get off this godforsaken island. No it is a quite nice island I am just being a little overly dramatic to make the reading more interesting. I am wanting to get to the Olympic Mountains for some camping. That was my goal. Everyone has to have goals don’t they?
I went and talked to Ken for awhile. He was on the computer. I told him I was going to get going and thanked him for everything. Ken is a very intelligent man and there was never any security issues in staying with Ken he is just a lot messier than the average human being. I was glad I stayed there as it was an interesting experience and I enjoy talking
to him and learning about his thousands of project. In a way it was rejuvenating as I too liked to get into some of the stuff he was into like alternative forms of energy. I recently too decided to give auto makes outside the US my business if the US automakers are not going to provide greener automobiles. The American companies have just stepped back and not worried about pollution and it’s harmful effects. If when it comes to buy a new auto they have a product out there that suits me sure I will buy American but they no longer get my business regardless of product. I am buying according to how I think the planet will be best served. I do not believe we are doing enough to fight global warming. As I have said before I am not sure the effects of global warming, but polluting less and driving vehicles that get better gas mileage makes since to me from a lot of vantage points. The American auto makers in my mind have taken a non environmental approach to that. I am not sure if it is because they have money tied into the oil industry. This
approach has torn into there pocket books in recent years as American Cars are not selling nearly as well as the foreign products. I wonder too if gas prices are in anyway connected to Bush’s presidency. He is an oil man and his buddies I am sure are profiting from these high oil prices. Do you think the Republicans will have George W. speak at there fund raisers after his presidency is over. It seems to me he has just been the front man for them and not really running the show. I would not pay to see him speak that is something I do know. I would be interested in Bill Clinton’s views though on world issues. Then again wait a minute he had sex in the White House, that makes him an idiot. Man I am glad we impeached him over that. We are lot better off now that we have a guy in the White House that does not do that immoral stuff and is a God fearing man. He just takes us to war, lowers taxes on rich people, revises environmental reports, trys to sell national parks to raise money, tries to drill for oil in
pristine areas, uncovers undercover FBI agents who have husbands speaking against him. Yep thank God we no longer have those crazy Clinton happenings in the White House.
I left the Circle K (Ken) Ranch and headed down to Kiln Lime Lighthouse. This was supposedly the best place in the world to see Orcas whales. I saw a few porpoises but no whales. I asked the lady working there and she said there are 3 pods in the area, but two went out to the open sea a month or so ago and there is just the J pod hanging around the Islands now. The sign outside said they were last spotted the previous day. The lady working there said there are 24 in the pod which is many more than I expected. I stayed there for about an hour but then decided “I really did enjoy my stay, but I must be moving on” as the song goes.
From there I went to the American Camp. A hundred plus years ago this area was disputed territory between the Americans and the British. So the Americans built a camp there and the British Built a Camp there to protect
their interest. The courts finally decided the camp was the Americans based on prior legal documents. This area had been left out of the original survey when this land was originally divided and the mistake was found many years later that these Islands were not included in the original survey.
The American Camp was interesting to see, but then again not all that interesting. I was glad I saw it but I did not see any reason to stay very long. I decided not to go to the British Camp which everyone said had more remaining buildings and was more interesting. I just didn’t think anything there would really astound me so I headed back to Friday Harbor. I drove to the ferry waiting area and they directed me around to the waiting area and said I would be on the 1:00 ferry. This was a wait of about 2 hours which I thought was acceptable considering this was one of the busiest travel days of the year with it being the Monday of Labor Day weekend. In the parking lot it appeared I was one of the last people to make it into the parking lot. I was
lucky as I suspect the people just after me were going to have to wait much longer.
While waiting I found a pizza place that had internet access. I went back to my truck and got my computer out while waiting for the pizza to bake. I spent the waiting period eating pizza and typing. For me the pizza was just ok, but very filling. On the boat ride back to Anacortes I typed longer. When the ferry took off there were lots of car alarms going off. This seemed kind of funny to me and everyone was scrambling to turn them off. Announcements were being made for people to shut them off. I got some typing done on the ride over.
After the ferry ride the traffic was pretty intense just off the ferry. I saw a hitchhiker who held up a sign that said Bellingham. I told him I was going to Port Angeles but otherwise would have given him a lift. The drive was a little farther than I was thinking and I came across the bridge Ken talked about on my way and stopped to take some pictures. I had to take another ferry
to Port Townsend to get to Port Angeles without going all the way down to Seattle. I only had about a 25 minute wait and then we were sailing. I had not even realized we had taken off when all of the sudden we were unloading. I had no idea this was such a short trip. I drove for a ways and then saw some hitchhikers that were headed to Port Angeles. I decided to stop and pick them up. They said they were heading to an organic farm near Port Angeles. They do this through a website called wolfing.com . A lady I had met in the Cinque Terra area of Northern Italy was doing the same thing in central Italy. You work on these farms in exchange for room and board. It is a great way to see the world on the cheap. I wish I had known about stuff like this when I was a kid. I was always working though which I guess is what made my current trip possible. It was nice talking to them and I thought man have I changed I would not have even thought about picking a hitchhiker up in the
past. It was a little effort to fit them in as I had to move a lot of stuff around but I was glad I had. If someone is standing along the roadside and appear fairly clean and have a backpack I am confident to pick them up. More likely to pick women up than men as I feel safer with them especially because I am traveling by myself.
After dropping them off I headed into Port Angeles and up into the mountains where I was camping for the night. The Camp Sight on my way to Hurricane Ridge was very nice and one of the favorites of mine on this entire trip. Big trees and plenty of spacing between other campers. It was very cool. It rained a little just as I was getting into my bed. Man this camper shell is nice. No wet tent to dry out in the morning. Good night from the Olympic Mountains. These are very cool mountains and for me the best spot I have been to in the Pacific Northwest. On the other side of the mountains from where I slept this time is a rainforest and to think I did
not even know there were rainforest in the US until now. I have learned a lot on this trip that is one thing I do know. Only regret is that I had not done this trip sooner!
9-4-07
I got up thinking how great it is not to have to mess with drying out a tent. I got breakfast and headed to Hurricane Ridge. This is supposed to be a great view. The fog was thick though so I was a little concerned might not see much. At the park entrance the attendant said a person just came down and said there is not much visibility up there. I was already there so I decided to go on up. I have a National Park Pass and this is a National Park so I was in free. The road up was quite winding and I saw several deer along side the road. I got to the top quicker than expected and there was not much to see. I walked around and looked at some of the signs that had a picture of what you would see if the fog wasn’t as thick as pea soup. I decided I would
just have to come back tomorrow.
After about 10 minutes I headed back down all along listening to Bruce Springsteen’s Tunnel of Love album. Even though it was foggy I felt in my place. I wound my way, like a corkscrew down the mountain. Mountains are like life. Sometimes they workout and sometimes they don’t. This time it did not.
I stopped at the Park’s Visitor Center and asked them about the hot springs that I heard about in another Canyon and ask her about a place to shower. She told me where I could take a shower in town and said the Springs are unregulated meaning I could get in them if I liked. It was funny the way she talked about the Springs and that they are unregulated. It was like I can not tell you to go ahead in get in them but you should just go ahead and get in them when you read between the lines. I decided to just head for the hot springs and then to camp near the stream below the springs.
The drive through Port Angeles took a little longer than I expected but I was back into
the Park sooner than expected. I stopped at the entrance gate and flashed my Park Pass and told him I was going to hike to the Springs. He said they are very popular and there are sanitary concerns. He said there are two campsites one by a stream, the more popular one, and one in the woods. I asked if the stream was noisy as I do not sleep well near noisy streams and he said not really.
The drive to the trail head took about 20 minutes and there were about 10 other cars there. I began the hike which was a little over a mile and most of it was at a gradual uphill climb. I talked to three guys in there late 50’s early 60’s that were on a 8 day hike. I was impressed by this as I have been on 3 day hikes and realized that they were really pretty grueling and respected what they were doing. I really like those kind of trips as they make you really appreciate things more when you get back to civilization. I made it to the Hot Springs and all my visions were pretty much shattered as
the pools were very small taking up an area about the size of a compact car and only about 18 inches deep at the deepest points. Essentially this 100 deg. water comes out of the ground and people have made damns out of rock and mud to create a pool. It was ok but not that great. I looked around and found a pool with 3 other people and got in. It was soothing but the area smelled like Hydrogen Sulfide or rotten eggs. After a little while the smell was not too bad as your body got use to it. I sat in a pool with a family from Michigan.
After about an hour of this I was ready to head back down the mountain. I saw about 8 decent pools. The trip down went really quick and I actually met a few people that were going up yet and it was about 4:30 in the afternoon.
I stopped at an old hydroelectric damn that is being taken out soon so Salmon can run this stream. I thought for a moment about damn removal that produces electricity to protect the Salmon. I am not sure what resource
Olympic National Park
The View in the fog. I can't see a thing except some pea soup. is more valuable. I guess we can find other forms of electricity whereas creating salmon streams is much more difficult. I guess they are doing the right thing?
I got to the campsite and drove around the one by the stream. In one area the stream was really noisy and that appeared to be the more popular site even though I didn’t want to be there. I found a spot where the stream was not that noisy and got set up. I saw another guy there sleeping in his truck like I do and talked for awhile. He too said it was fantastic doing it the way we are doing it.
I did some typing that night and went to bed. Good night from the banks of the Elwah River in Olympic National Park!
9-5-07
I slept pretty good and actually slept in until after 8 which I guess is not all that unusual these days. I often sleep that late these days. I had breakfast and was on my way around 9:30. I was heading back to Hurricane Ridge and needed to get to Portland as I had a couchsurfing host expecting me. As I came
Olympic National Park - Hurrican Ridge
And Everyone said this is supposes to be a phenomenal view. out of the ravine where I stayed everything was bright and sunny. I was optimistic about having a clear view at Hurricane Ridge but I know enough about mountain weather to know they are unpredictable so I kept my expectations low. As I got closer to Port Angeles there was fog again. I still remain neutral. You just never know what you will find when you get to the mountain top. I flashed my National Park card and continued up the mountain. I wasn’t seeing deer along side the road today like I had yesterday. I guess this is a good thing. It did appear significantly more clear this day.
Sure enough at the top there was a pretty spectacular view. I could see Victoria, British Columbia across the Sound of Porta Fuca or something like that. There were still a little fog in places, but overall it was quite beautiful.
I drove farther to sunrise ridge to get a better view. I was tempted to hike the mile plus to get another view of the same thing I had just seen but thought I better not as I had a lot of driving to do to get
Hurricane Ridge
This is what the view looks like when there is no fog. I went back the next day. to the same location. Quite the difference. to Portland. I used better judgement for a change on this trip and got back in my truck and headed out.
The next 6 hours were essentially spent driving and I soon arrived in Portland. The GPS program took me right to the CS host home. This host has her own company as a casting company. She is doing very well as she recently landed a gig to cast a Jennifer Anniston movie. We went into town and stopped at a Microbrewery and I had some pasta that was really good and had a wheat beer like I had in Munich. I miss Munich and the beer there.
She had a potential business meeting this night so she had to stay really close to her phone. Her business is about getting out there and being seen and meeting people. She has done and is doing very well. Portland is a really liberal area that absolutely despises Bush and for a Party she organized an Impeach Bush party. She did not expect it to be very big and just had a small venue and then just within a couple weeks it got huge. The donations started pouring in and
before she knew it they had raised $30,000 dollars just in a couple weeks. She said businesses all over town donated foods and services for the event. She said it was all pretty crazy and luckily she had friends to help organize it as she was at pretty much a loss with regards to throwing this kind of party together for this many people.
We walked to her cousin’s place of business and looked at an art display that was about Blondie and the Ramones. This lady was kind of a groupie and followed Blondie around and took pictures of her. Her pictures were more of the behind the scenes type of thing. She would describe the uniqueness of her pictures as these were not posed pictures but of Blondie's actual life. She said sometimes she would take pictures of a photographer taking a picture of her. For me it all seemed a little much. For me it was just a lady who hung out with a rock band and now is trying to benefit from her friendship. The pictures were for sale for several thouands of dollar. It was a little over the top for me, but I
lack an artistic eye. We went to the Powell Book Store which is famous in Portland. Portland is known for 3 B’s - Books, Boobs and Beans(coffee). They have strip joints even in the downtown touristy area. I bought a Stephen King book, a tape on Spanish. Not sure when I am going to get all this read as the journal alone seems to be a full time job. Is retirement going to be this busy for me as I said this is a year of retirement for me?
We then went to a bar that had a strip of ice built into the bar about 4 inches in width. It was kind of cool and they had lots of beer on tap so I was in heaven. I had two beers and my host had wine. It had been another full day and we headed back. At my host house I stayed in the basement where I had a blow-up mattress and a tv. I never did watch any tv but did have internet access and used the wifi to line up future couchsurfing host. It was a nice setup quite different from Ken on the San Juan
Island. Another busy day in the books. Good night from Portland a town I like very much!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.072s; Tpl: 0.038s; cc: 8; qc: 26; dbt: 0.0222s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
