On the way to Canada

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*Yellowstone

If you think you are almost there, most of the time you are not.
We had 600 + miles to go ( since we took the " other" road, a long 10 hr drive through, Gillete, Black Thunder cole mine, Casper and the middle of nowhere.
Worth mentioning is the vibe as you pass the Black Thunder Coal Mine ( especially after reading a sign saying stuff about orange clouds and the need to avoid them...).
Black Thunder’s has a dragline excavator that is the biggest in the world and produces enough coal to load up to 20-25 trains per day, and please, think of trains with 40-50 wagons long, a 100 million Tons of coal per year! (If that was food, imagine how many people could eat from it, wow.)
After that Prairie and more Prairie...nothing else.
Getting stucked in here would be something like the Fargo movie, not something we were looking for.
Half way in Riverton we decided to spend the night at our favorite wild camp site, The Walmart.
Early morning we continued towards the park.
As we approached Shoshone the scenery started to change, first by Dubois,rivers and canyons with red walls, then green hills with lots of trees as we approached Grand Teton by Moran.
An hr later we had made it to the South entrance.

Oh....we were looking fwd to this, we both felt like little kids about to enter a candy store, we were ready for all the nature's beauty but first we needed a campground.
Thinking that we didn't need a reservation as this was the end of high season was probably ours and many others thoughts...turning out to be wrong.
Size does matter when driving such a huge vehicle there are simply less spots to park it, so at times there's place but not the right size.
First we heard that there was no place, also on the second camp further down the road and that it was very busy.
Fortunately Sam and Steve told us luck was on our side and that someone had cancelled and we could stay, joy!
Just after parking the RV we walked, literally 50 meters and got down to an amazing view from the lake's shore where a small lagoon had been formed next to the huge lake. In it the clouds reflected on the tranquil waters like on a mirror, a shade of blue showing as if trying to match with the water.
As we walked back to our site we discovered our new hobby - spotting squirrels -they are the Jack Russel of the rodent species. Hyperactive, they all seem to need a Ritalin or at least a herbal tea, jumpy, funky, funny, and restless.
The day after we faithfully visited the old Faithful, a great opportunity to meet people whilst you wait for it to spit its fumes and boiling water.
Here we met Barbara and Neil, although it was clear and sunny the temperatures were pretty low, but talking keeps you warm.
B and N had traveled and lived in Europe for a while and there were enough topics to talk about, after all we had to wait for 1:15 hr mins. ( average interval between eruptions is 90 mins ).
The closer the estimated time got the crowder the place became, for us it didn't matter as we were front row, there's a reward for freezing your butt.
Crows fly above the geyser, fooling around, teasing it, and you wonder how many have actually being boiled while airborne.
The whole water-steam display lasts a couple of minutes but it sprays around 30,000 liters of water 50 + meters up the air, pretty cool.

After visiting the old guy we got to drive around and stopped at view points to admire the beautiful gift mother nature is. It's landscapes, sceneries and animals.
There's something magical about seeing -watching animals in the wild, from far and close by, it makes you feel truly awed and you just want to spend hrs watching them, and so we did.
Bisons (official name for Buffalos, Buffalo Bill should have bern Bison Bill then ) Elks, Foxes, Bighorn sheep, Chipmunks and Squirrels, Moose and the eternal search for the Bear / Grizzly Bear, these last ones we were not able to spot, unfortunately.
What we did do was getting an educational presentation from a Ranger. In here she explained the do's and don'ts in Yellowstone and you are " trained" in how to react to a Bear attack...one of the technics being " play dead" since running wouldn't help ( unless you are in a group and can run faster than at least one other person ).
She also talked of the stupidity ( my own words ) of some people ( say, tourists) that get too close to ANY animal even though there are signs all over the place to keep a very decent distance between you and the animals, after all, they are WILD.
Time to hit the sack.
Sleeping in the forest, we should all do it, peaceful, quiet, calming, and, cold.
Day after we headed to the Norris Geyser Basin. If it wasn't for the trees and other people you could think you are on a different planet, an excavation site or even on a chemical waste-land. ( that sounds nasty, huh?)
The truth is, it is very interesting, walk around on a deck, looking at all the different colors on the surface of the hot springs, the fumaroles and the mud pots on this geothermal area.
It is breath-taking, and not only due to the potassium fumes. :D
If you get lucky, as we did, you could have very little people walking around which gives you more space and opportunity to get nice shots, this was at the end of the afternoon btw.
Although it was the end of the season Yellowstone is still busy, but in the busy summer months the park can turn into a zoo, waaay to busy, so getting a place to park and admire the nature turns more challenging. Keep in mind there a a bunch of tourist buses full of ( mainly) Chinese on the peak hrs so not only campers.
Now at the end of the season LOTS of Europeans were touring the same way we did, it might be less crowded with the local Americans but it fills with other regions of the world.
On our way back we stopped at a huge yellow field next to the river to admire this gigantic arch created by a rainbow, it looked like the Arc in St. Louis Missouri, but only prettier.
It was in the moment of twilight, clouded and darker on one side whilst the light on the other side refused to leave.
Yellow field, dark clouds, light mirroring on the river water, the huge rainbow and our RV in the middle of it....
That's a Kodak moment right there.
Just when we thought it wouldn't get any better than this, as we drove home we stopped to see the sun go down, we don't know if it was because of all that yellow we had seen that the colors now were more impressive against the darkness of the falling night, but, wow! Purple, orange, pink, black, grey, blue, on the skies and reflecting on the water, between the trunks of leafless trees, the bit of rain falling on us wasn't felt at all - maybe only in our mouths as they were opened admiring the beauty of Mama-nature, speechless we stood there and sighed.
We visited the Grand Canyon ( the Yellowstone one ) as well as the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone just before it.
At the falls ( keep in mind you will have to go down a good chunk and then of course climb back again on your way back) we met Jeremy a 23 year old kid who as ourselves, thought that it was about living life, not just being alive, he better than us had the reason to say so.
Whilst being in the gym and thinking he just had a bit of a flue, Jeremy had gotten a heart attack as he was " stretching", at 23 !
Luckily for him a girl who was doing her workout session knew how to do CPR and saved his life, it was then when he learnt that he, as for us all, should live his life to the max.
After that we took off to Mammoth at the North entrance, as we drove we encountered a couple of traffic jams caused by Bisons and Longhorn Sheep.
Mammoth has a Hot Spring and a cute " downtown" invaded by tourist and more important,Elks and Moose.
When we walked towards the city hall from the springs we witnessed a frisky Moose that wanted to get one of his ladies but they all seemed to have a headache and non were interested. As he chased them around he became more and more frustrated, suddenly he turned his attention towards a big black pick up truck's shiny grill, head down and with his anglers swinging like Bruce Lee's Chinese fighting sticks all over the air, hitting the big car left and right - unfortunately for our 4 wheel drive friend he was stucked in traffic and couldn't move forward nor backwards. Just when the horny Moose walked away the cars started to move what made him come back for more, only this time he " leaned" his tree-like crown against the side of the car, we could see the guys face asking himself how was he going to explain that to his insurance as his car rocked like a baby's cradle, oh well,it was a Dodge Ram he was driving, what do you expect in the wilderness.
Time to go visit Tess and Jasper, and Jasper and Banff, hundreds of miles up north.

*Amsterdam in British Columbia.

Tess is a dear friend and ex-colleague of mine who decided to leave everything behind in Amsterdam to follow love.
With her cat and all she moved to British Columbia, somewhere in a not so populated area lets say.
We couldn't possibly go to that side of Canada and not visit her.
To get to Tess we needed to cross the whole state of Montana as we headed towards Canada.
On the way we visited the Glacier National Park, it was an entree to our main dishes coming up, the bigger National Parks.

Home's where the heart is.
So when we visit our loved ones-family or friends-, the first feeling is to be at ease, relaxed and at home.
That was instantly the case when we visited our dearest Tess and her husband Jasper, their 2 dogs and cat. ( plus deers, bears, squirrels and longhorn cows and bull, no, they don't own a zoo, they live in Brisco, BC.
Brisco, it sounds like the name of a big town in a western film, but it is a small town - so small you don't even know you are in it, leave alone that you have passed it- and when we entered the address on the super-modern-RV navigation system, 3 letters showed up, WTF.
Purely by chance ( or destiny) we bumped into Jasper as he had just come back from work and we were trying to figure out if that dirt road was to take us to their place or to Jetty territory.
As we arrived we were welcomed by Tess and the dogs, " little Jack" and Dana, later on the cat too, and of course our savior, the man of the house.
Tess had cooked a deli diner for us and we enjoyed it just as we did the talks with her and her husband.
We talked about their wedding and ours, about her journey and ours for a couple of hours, then bed time arrived.
Living remotely this far must be for some difficult to adjust, especially coming from a big city ( not that Amsterdam is that big or anything) but it certainly has a charm.
It is quiet, peaceful, picturesque, calming and gives you the opportunity to admire,to respect nature and to love it.
In Yellowstone Nadine and I searched all over the place for a bear, imagine how thrilled we were when Tess had sent us a picture of 2 bears picking pears and apples in her grandma-in law's- garden, just a mile or so away form her place.
That night we slept like babies and
It was like Xsmas was coming the morning after!
In the morning Tess took us to have a good old Canadian lumberjack breakfast at the cutes cafe ran by 2 sisters in their 60's (light wouldn't be the right word to describe it, but delicious would) .
After that it was time to burn the calories.
When with locals ( or long expats) you get to see and explore places the average tourist will never get to see.
It was a good 45 mins walk up and down through the forest to a hidden waterfall, incredibly beautiful.
As we got to rest and breath one of the purest airs ever, we also got to look around and far in a tree's hole I noticed there was an object that didn't quite belonged to it. Tess as adventurous as she is climbed down to it.
There was big pot, a plastic -peanut butter kind -of a jar. In it a couple of candy bars, a pen and a booklet to write a message for the next person to find it, or to the world for that matter.
People wrote best wishes, their journeys, food for thoughts and quotes, confessions, inspiring and cheering us all to live and enjoy this beautiful nature.
After all that clean air you tend to get sleepy and hungry, and off we were to the 2 sisters to have their piece de resistance.
A super-duper-yummy-Chocolate cake.
Unfortunately we had to leave the morning after to go to the national parks of Jasper and Banff, saying good bye to good friends is never easy, especially when they have the cutest doggies ever....
Thank you dear Tess.!

Victoria and Vancouver Island

Vancouver.
The ride to Vancouver from Banff was a very pleasant one, although it has ups and very steep downs ( man these breaks were smelling ) through passes and valleys it is still a nice and green, long ride.
We wanted to hit town in time to watch the first presidential debates, with popcorn and all...who needs the House of Cards if you have this?
As we settled in at the supermarket's parking we also discovered that our antenna didn't pick up the TV station, panic! ( as Nadine really wanted to watch it).
Off she went to explore the cafes and restaurants around the parking lots, suddenly she was back and we were having pizza and debate!
After the almost comical debate we went to bed in what we thought was going to be an early night. And it was an early one indeed.
As we were about to fall asleep the supermarket's security paid us a visit to tell us we had to move.
Driving in the rain in our pajamas and at night is never fun, even less if you are tired and don't know where to go at midnight...
After some passing parking a lot of parking lots with the sign "no overnight parking" we decided to head towards Vancouver, 45 mins away. To say that the stars were not on our side would be an understatement. As we were to cross the bridge towards the city we discovered there had been a mayor collision right on the bridge, the 3 lanes were reduced to 1 and we moved only inches at the time.
By 2:00 am we reached our sleeping spot -a Walmart- we hoped we could sleep right away and long, unfortunately it wasn't the case.
People arguing and screaming, the metro passing by, car tires screeching on the pavement, this place was a nightmare! After a while we finally fell asleep.
Suddenly I hear, hello? Hello??!! The store manager knocking at the window, asking us to leave, it was just 8 am.
Short of sleep we decided to go directly to Vancouver Island, before we could get to Nanaimo a 2 hr ferry ride was waiting for us.
Arriving to the campground felt like coming home, it was a piece of heaven.
Beautiful scenery, not busy and very quiet, we right away redid our schedule. We are staying longer we said. After chilling for a bit we went for a walk, discovering the shore of the island, admiring the water and the forest, on our way back we spotted two american eagles on top of a tree on the edge of the campground, a couple that was admiring the birds offered us their binoculars to see it up close. Elegance with almost a tint of arrogance, majestic and royal, no wonder it has been placed on many seals and flags.
On our second day it was time for some more adventure and nature's splendor. Whale watching.
We headed off to Cowichan, a cute fisherman's village.
We got into our red-marshmallow-men-like suits and headed off on a super fast rubber boat with another 6 " sailors", not too touristy, the way we like it, Ocean Ecoventures, look it up.
After a 2 hr ride we got to see them, a family of 6, Mama ( the boss), Papa and the kids, Killer whales or Orcas as they're also known.
Their vins sticking out of the water, submerging and coming out again like a curving rainbow, blowing water out of their blowholes up the air like geysers every time the come out.
The kids following between Mom and Dad, some of them "sleeping" as they cruise on their automatic pilot, searching for a seal or two.
We stuck to them as long as we could, suddenly they stayed down and we lost them.
We kept moving until the guide said look, another family, no wait! two families!! Suddenly we had Orcas on the left and ahead. It is impressive to see such a big animal in the wild, knowing that with a swift of its tail it could define your destiny is captivating, admiring them from the distance we all just sat there in silence, trying to catch the best pic.
On the way back we saw the sun going down as we were reaching the harbor,being on the water, on a boat, big or small has something magical about it, moreover when the sun goes down.
On the campsite we met Marc, the owner of a food truck servicing the place.
Marc, Canadian born IT guy who after getting a burnout decided to pursue a different carrier.
To add a bit of knowledge he lived in France for a while where he had family, did an internship in a restaurant where he learned the passion of the Breton Galette.
a Breton galette (French: Galette bretonne, is a pancake made with buckwheat flour usually with a savoury filling, but the classic Nutella one's also there.
The guy did a good job learning the tricks, the Galettes were addictive.
Canadian smoked salmon, spinach, caramelized shallots, pine nuts, feta cheese in the crispy galette, the only thing missing was a nice glass of wine.
Time to leave and we headed towards Victoria, in there we were to catch the ferry that would take us to Port Angeles, in Washington.
Lucky as we are, we were on time to get into the parking lot, stay overnight and wait for the ferry that departed the next morning.
We took a stroll from the terminal to downtown.
Passed the Legislature building, The Fairmont Empress Hotel with its beautiful gardens and continued to Govertment's street.
The place brought me back 30 years, I had been there with my mom and sister whilst working on the cruise ship, my mom had loved the Chocolates from Roger's Chocolates, of course I had to buy them for her again, it had been the very first thing she had said when I told her we would be in Victoria.
We stayed around the area for a while, plenty of shops,bars, cafes and restaurants.
As we woke up in the morning and got ready for inspection ( as they close the gates, although you're still in Canada, the American Border Patrol takes over) the agent approached us, took the passports, asked the questions and then.....
BOOM!!!! He says, remember you have to be out of the US by November 9th.
WHAT??????
What do you mean??? We've just spend 3 weeks in Canada! Doesn't matter he says, it counts from the moment you arrive into the US for the very first time.
How can we extend?????? You can't.
The only way to do it is to have a " meaningful departure" so you would have to leave the continent and go back to Germany.
We were both blown away, speechless, muted, in a wtf state of mind....
We couldn't believe it, we were both so convinced that once we left the US to enter Canada the time would stop and by re-entering the US we again would have 3 months to travel all the way to Florida....not!
The whole trip to Port Angeles was in silence, the plans had to be modified, changed. Back to the drawing table.
#%€¥ !!
Having 5 weeks to do the whole west coast+ national parks + mid-America and the Southern States was a no-no.
We right away discarded the Southern and Florida states and questioned Arches and Monument valley National Park. We started wondering where to go as a " Meaningful departure", Cuba? Jamaica? Would that count as one??
When we arrived in Port Angeles, we approached an agent, hoping he would give us another solution, the one we talked to would have probably, but not his boss, we had to go back home and come back after how long, we asked, a week, two?
I can't tell you that, it has to be meaningful, he snapped.
Accepting things for what they are is the best remedy for this kind of bad news, we had nothing but a luxury problem.
We had to bite the bitter apple.
For now, the highway one was waiting for us, California here we come.

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Comments

[celin]

Oh no guys! I'm sorry! That's one stupid rule to follow! I really recommend a short trip down the Florida keys or to the everglades if you have a few days left. Take care and have fun in California!!! Best regards from Berlin