Blogs from North America - page 8021

First stop on the Redwoods tour was Albee Creek campground in Humboldt Redwoods state park….one of Shane’s favorite campgrounds of the whole trip. Perfect summer weather here in mid-June. We successfully tried a new camping experiment, grilling a pizza on our Weber grill (thanks Devon!)….a welcome treat after a long backpack (and apple pie for dessert!). The next day we did a long 14 mile hike up to the mountain ridge and down into the big Redwood Grove. Passed through lots of mountain meadows and more wildflowers along the way, interspersed with some really giant trees. The old growth grove was truly enchanting. We saw the biggest Redwood in the state (based on both height and volume) as well as the tallest tree. Sad that only 4% of the redwoods remain from the original forests. ... read more

*** CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE*** Cache Creek - possibly the friendliest place in British Columbia? What can I say about the hospitality of this little town in the middle of the B.C. desert? It all started with Lynne who owns and runs the Cache Creek B&B. From the moment I had rang her doorbell looking tired, frazzled and somewhat sweaty she made me feel so welcome. I think most people would have thought twice about allowing such an individual into their house, but perhaps Lynne could see that I had had a tough day and that I would 'scrub up well' (this is a saying my mum often uses). Having heard about my tales of woe the night before, I was welcomed in the morning with a fabulous breakfast made by not one, ... read more

hahaha, and you're all over there freezing your buttocks off..... well, you'll be pleased to know that at work we welcomed the first official day of summer with a massive thunderstorm and a few hail showers. I got a thorough soaking, but the plants were unharmed - NOTE: a new Euphorbia called 'First Blush' is now in my possesion - yay! I got a special surprise yesterday too when one of the ladies at work brought me in some Tim Tams that her daughter in Oz had sent over to her - the new/old? Raspberry ones - very, very nice! But I still miss Vegemite the most, but am willing to bide my time until I'm back home near New Years. The plan has changed yet again, foregoing the safe shores of Venezuela and Colombia ... read more

House is subletted, bills are paid (that may be a first) and I've been being mean to the cats so they won't miss us when we leave. 70 days in Peru and Bolivia coming right on up. Leaving July 4th, unbelievably bad timing. For 5 years I've been waiting to see an American take back the world championship in Hot Dog eating, and for the first time since that Japanese rascal Kobayashi ate his way into the record books, the smart money is being laid down on a hometown boy. Mark Chestnut...remember where you heard that name first. Picture a man 1/2 Rocky, 1/2 Rambo, and 2/3 wolverine. July 4th, Coney Island, in front of Nathan's, he will bring the crown home, and I'm going to be on an stupid airplane missing the best day in ... read more

Elliot (the poison ivy getting better thanks to Dr. Mike) wakes up just as I'm trying to fall asleep. He is thrashing with pain and for the next two hours has all of the symptoms of a migrane-type headache. Pain so bad that I was near tears and quite a bit of throwing up. Perhaps a reaction to the altitude or medication. All this in an RV -- parked outside of our free spirit friend Hazel's bachelor apartment -- that had no electricity or water at the time. We were jumping over Kevin to get to the bathroom and trying not to wake Mark since we were leaving at 5 a.m. We got on the road only to discover that the fridge was on the wrong setting and a lot of the food ruined and ... read more