This place left a great impression on both of us. It feels like a sacred place, a place of power - being in its presence was awe-inspiring and evocative, primarily of a wordless remembering of something ancient, deeply connected and harmonious, natural and heartfelt. It felt expansive and uplifting. It has long been held as a holy place by many native peoples, who most commonly named it The Bear Lodge among other monikers. A European colonialist later decided to call it the Devils Tower (no apostrophe) for some unknown reason.
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From Seattle we drove east, through Washington state, the Idaho panhandle and scenic Montana to the epic and varied landscapes of Wyoming. There we visited legendary Yellowstone National Park, a refuge for wildlife of all kinds - bison and elk and even bears can be seen on a daily basis. We are quite sure we also saw an emu (yes, an emu - an escapee from a local farm?) among many other birds. The active volcanic caldera Yellowstone sits on gives rise to a number of interesting geothermal features which give the place an otherworldly feel. These include many geysers (of which Old Faithful is the most well known), fumaroles (steam vents), mudpots, "travertine terraces" and hot springs. The Grand Prismatic Spring is a unique and mesmerizing orgy or colour and steam (see picture above). The grand and regular gushings of the iconic geyser Old Faithful sparkle brilliantly in the sunlight. They happen every 60-95 minutes day or night, even on holidays. Yellowstone is popular this time of year but we were fortunate to get a site in the northern mammoth campground ($20, first come/served). Years ago I visited the nearby hotsprings after burning man but this time around they were closed as the river was too high.
From Yellowstone we continued east, past Shoshone and into Bighorn National Forest where we found a beautiful isolated and free dispersed camping spot at 8,000 feet. Snow-capped mountains shone in the distance and we pitched our tent in a meadow flanked by pine woods. I took a brief video, which you can see by clicking HERE. From Vancouver Island we drove to Seattle and flew back to LA. My good long-time friend Tony was having his 50th birthday party along with another friend, and together they threw a great big party in Malibu for the occasion. It's a beautiful area. The ocean is gorgeous and we saw many dolphins, seals and pelicans, and a humpback whale even swam by with her calf! Heading back to Seattle next to pick up the car and continue the drive back east to be with our families and friends. We're discussing possibilities for where to go after that, and we're considering a number of interesting options.
We spent our last 5 days in BC camping on Sombrio beach on the West side of Vancouver Island. This place is spectacularly beautiful, one of my favourite in Canada. You can camp right on the beach, which boasts a number of gorgeous natural features. There is a magical moss-walled cave with a glistening cool waterfall. There is a larger hidden cave behind boulders in a cliff, which leads out onto scaleable precipice and the ocean. From there, you can climb up to a majestic bay with yet another waterfall. During the week we only saw a few other campers in the distance and some hikers walking by as they went along the Juan de Fuca Trail. That was wonderful. Over the weekend however there were significantly more people, even though the parks authority closes the trailhead to reduce the numbers (apparently because in past years the long-weekend parties and vandalism got out of control). We saw several bald eagles and seals, two black bears, one otter, and various and sundry other creatures (raccoons, mice, birds of all kinds). If you are in the area make sure to check out Port Renfrew, a very small town with a few nice restaurants and pretty easy access to Botanical Beach (with its many tidepools) and Avatar Grove (with its many old growth trees and copious mossy delights).
We spent a few days cruising around the lower east side of Vancouver Island, passing through towns like Duncan (with its totem many totem poles), Chemainus (with its many colonial murals) and Nanaimo (with its... Nanaimoness). Many beautiful forests and ocean views, as well as sad scenes like massive clearcuts. We then cut across the Island via Lake Cowichan to the southwestern coast, heading toward Port Renfrew.
From Portland we drove 4 hours north to Port Angeles, Washington to take the ferry to British Columbia, Canada. An hour later we were in Victoria, where I lived for a few years until 2012. Victoria is a great town. We visited some of my old friends and toured around the city and surrounding areas. Above are some pictures of Beacon Hill Park (where the peacocks roam semi-free), some seals down by the docks, Chinatown and an awesome community/common garden in Fernwood, my old neighborhood.
Nothing says cute like baby ducklings waddling with their mama in Beacon Hill Park: click HERE for a video. We spent a few days in Portland, Oregon. It was cool. Not over-the-top cool, but we both liked the chill and slightly odd vibe there. Plenty of good coffee, food, art, interesting vintage stockpiles and thrift-store bric-a-brac prizes. Almost everyone was friendly. On the less enchanting side it rained a lot (it even hailed), and a surprising number of places smelled almost exactly not unlike a cat-litter box. Best thrift/vintage store we visited: Village Merchants on SE Division Street. Best tacos we gormandized upon: Taqueria Lindo Michoacan right next door to that. Best unique/weird place: the Zymoglyphic Museum (look it up and email them for a free tour).
For a little video, click HERE. Today we went hiking among the giants again, and it was splendid. There is something about these redwood forests which is so restorative, so soothing to the soul, so relaxing to the mind. There's an un-human, ancient, wordless magic-wisdom vibrating around here, some of which you can feel if you listen and be silent and feel for it on the periphery of your emotional eye. Some of these trees have stood here for 2,000-3,000 years. Sadly, 95% of the ancient redwood forests were destroyed by logging by 1980 via the usual blindness/greed for profit and consumerism. There is something so wonderful about walking among these giants which I am having trouble expressing. The more we travel in nature the more I fall in love with the earth and the more I despise the way humans have been uglifying and decimating it in our recent history.
We are camped on the moon of Endor... I mean in the gorgeous Redwood forest - a different one from a few days ago. It is... spectacular! See the pictures above... they speak for themselves. We are camped on the banks of a gorgeous clear river (see the pic above) whose song puts us to sleep every night. Carr found mountain lion tracks nearby. It is good to be here.
Click HERE for a video of the amazing forest. Click HERE for a video of our camp by the river. On our way north we camped on and visited several areas along the Pacific west coast, both in California and Oregon. The coast along the Redwood forest state and national parks is beautiful and rugged. The ocean has a tendency to quiet my mind... so not much to say about it.
I don't always go to San Francisco, but when I do... I like to visit the Saloon in North Beach where the vibe is fierce and the blues are a-jumpin'! Established in 1861, it's the oldest bar in SF and even survived the great earthquake of 1906. We had some drinks and danced as Lisa Kindred (a fixture from the SF 1960s music scene who is still singing strong) and her band made some beautiful, soulful music together. We explored Chinatown, Haight-Ashbury and Telegraph Hill (where there is an awesome colony of colorful feral parrots near Coit tower). One of my favorite cities.
Pinnacles National Park in California, was an unexpected gem of a place to visit. Beautiful landscapes, high peaked rock formations in the mountains (as the name suggests, pinnacles). I don't think I've ever seen such a strong concentration of fauna anywhere... practically everywhere you look there is some cool or ultra-cute animal doing its thing. Copious hyper-adorable quail, rabbits, birds of all kinds singing their various and sundry uplifting songs, lizards... And the California Condor, which I was lucky enough not only to see but to catch briefly on video (click HERE to see it).
Looking at weather patterns north of Reno has brought us to alter our plans somewhat - rather than head northwest into what are still cold and rainy areas, we are going to slowly head back southwest to Los Angeles. My good friend Tony awaits us with bated breath. Currently we are doing some dispersal camping (free, beautiful, and no one else in sight!) in the Mojave Natural Reserve in California. To get here we traversed and camped in the cold mountains adjacent to Yosemite National Park (which was closed due to snow) and visited Mono Lake with its cool and eerie "tufas" (see pictures above). We then crossed and camped again at our old Death Valley site. We might stay here a few days, or head back to Joshua tree before driving to LA on Friday.
For a video of a jackrabbit by the Tufas, click HERE. Today we drove out to the Black Rock Desert, where Burning Man is held every year in September. Carr and I have both been to Burning Man several times, and have had many fun, meaningful and transformative experiences there over the years. I've been there 7 times, the first in 2001 and the last in 2014. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I doubt I will be back - the event is still amazing but it has become much bigger/popular over the years (+/- 16,000 people in 2001 compared to 80,000 in 2014) and it feels like it is "over" (for me at least). We're planning to go to Afrikaburn next year, a much smaller burn in South Africa which we've heard retains much of the original magic.
Today we had the desert completely to ourselves, and it was glorious. Being out there made us both quite nostalgic for Burning Man and was also very cool on its own. The playa (as it is called) was mostly flooded due to the recent rains, but we were able to walk out on a wide peninsula of dry (and super cool cracked) earth to complete our pilgrimage and do a fun little photoshoot (the product of which you can see below). On our way back out we discovered that the water had actually surrounded us (!) - evidently the desert did not want us to leave. So we trudged through water in the slippery mud and got back covered in playa dust, as usual. On the drive back to Reno we were elated, grooving on some very funky music and taking in the panoramic views. Sadly we saw a beautiful tortoise run over by a truck - rest in peace, amigo. For a video, click HERE. From Moab we spent a couple of long days driving west to Reno, Nevada to visit our friend Brittany. We were both familiar with the stretch of road from Salt Lake City to Reno, having driven it a few times before on trips to Burning Man. If you don't know what Burning Man is, google it (!) or take a look in my photography galleries under "that thing in the desert". It's really something. I've been 7 times - 2014 was probably my last because it felt like it had just become too big. Anyway...
We got caught in an insane rainstorm just as we hit the Utah Salt Flats, which are normally a very cool sight to behold - however when we passed through them they were completely inundated and the flats had become a shallow lake. A lake which we could barely discern, due to the mad and dangerous deluge coming down around us. We stayed overnight in a border town called Wendover at the Rainbow Casino, because the price could not be beat ($49 for a pretty nice room with a small party suite). After dinner we toured the casino, which was somewhat visually stimulating and vaguely interesting, but mostly depressing to witness. Reno was fun. Brittany is an incredibly cool person and a gracious and generous host - we had a great time hanging out with her. We talked a lot, ate like kings, chilled out like... lemurs. Two of the highlights were a trip to the very cool Junkee thrift store and going for a walkabout in her neighborhood hunting for murals - see the pics above and in the next post. For the past several days we have been camped beside the Colorado River in a beautiful canyon about half an hour outside of Moab, Utah. It's BLM land, but it costs $15 a night - if you want to camp here, head from Moab to Arches and take the first right immediately after the old defunct chairlift, and follow that road several miles until you get to Big Bend. If you don't get here early enough to secure a site (as we did our first night) there is overflow camping across the road but it is crowded and exposed. By contrast, our camp is very private and generally awesome - we've put up the hammock under the shade of two oak trees, and we're visited constantly by small lizards, all kinds of singing birds, wild turkeys, butterflies. Three terrifyingly massive black widow spiders live in crevasses in the picnic table, but they only come out at night - we've affectionately called them Beverly Crusher, Deanna Troi and Kes. Two robins have their nest (which they vigorously defend every morning from raids by other birds) above our tent. We watch the stars at night.
Arches National Park is tremendously beautiful and quite interesting - check out the pictures below for a better sense of it than my words can convey. As the name suggests, Arches is replete with huge stone arches carved out over the eons by the elements. It has loads of beautiful hiking paths of varying difficulties (and unfortunately loads of tourists as well, but if you get there early or you go off on less common trails you can avoid most of the crowds). On our first night we met a Hawaiian helicopter pilot named Josh at the overflow site, and we hiked with him most of the day after. Cool guy. Canyonlands is, as its name suggests, is full of gargantuan canyons and cliffsides which are impressive to behold. You can see canyons within canyons with even smaller canyons inside them... it's almost fractal. It's farther away than Arches from Moab but well worth the trip, and has far fewer visitors. We also visited Valley of the Gods and Natural bridges, which are both great but only if you have the time and the stomach for the drive there - it requires a steep ascent of over 1,000 feet over narrow dirt road switchbacks, which afford you some amazing views of the valley below. Moab is a pretty cool city. We liked it much more than Sedona and Kanab because it felt intelligent and fun without being pretentious or trying too hard. We stayed in the area for about a week. There was a jeep rally there which was fun to watch - jeeps jeeps jeeps everywhere. Lost River Coffee makes a great americano, and the natural food store across the street actually has great food at reasonable prices. I have wanted to come here since I was a kid, long before I knew what it was called. I saw it in photographs and in old western movies and told myself that one day I would go there. And here I am.
We are camped inside Monument Valley, home of majestic monoliths rising from the earth toward massive skies. They are beautiful, serene and evocative, both peaceful and powerful. My heart feels happy here. Yesterday we camped at the Navajo National Monument about an hour away. There are very cool cliff dwellings under huge cliff caves, well worth the visit. It was cold at night, around -2 degrees, but luckily not windy. In the morning we packed up and headed to Monument Valley - to get close to the buttes you have to enter the Navajo Tribal Park, which costs $20. For another $20 you can camp inside with an amazing view of the buttes, which is where we are now. Today we hiked around one of the buttes, the so-called "Western Mitten" (on account of it looks sort of like a mitten). We had lunch then took the car on a pretty rough dirt road loop which takes you all around the monument - you can do the road with a regular car, but go slow and watch for the many large holes and dips in the road. We headed back to our camp and had dinner as we watched the sun set, illuminating the buttes in glorious golden light. And, as Fortune would have it, it happened that tonight is a FULL MOON. So we watched the sun set and immediately after watched the full moon rise over the desert. Beautiful. That's me on the right, in the picture of the canyon.
Not quite feeling myself today, kind of tired and low energy. Carr feels the same. Rumbly stomachs, too. Maybe it's some kind of bug we caught or the aftereffect of too many days of hiking or maybe we've been spoiled by too much insanely raw beauty (if there can be such a thing), but the area around Page, AZ (and especially Page itself) has failed to inspire us much. Or perhaps it's the howling winds and the threat of rain and the ominous skies above. In any case, we're feeling a bit blah, so we're just chillin' at our camp and waiting for the winds to change, literally and figuratively. Years ago while traveling in Europe I heard several musical pieces by Karl Orff in his Carmina Burana series. Epic music. One of the pieces was titled "Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi" - latin for "Fortune, Empress of the World". To me this means that no matter how bad things get, they can quickly get better (and vice versa!). So just wait, and be open to change and shifts, and don't make a big story about it. The ancient Greeks called this Rhythmos - the up and down rhythm of life. To paraphrase the ancient Greek poet Archilochus: don't get too down when things are hard, but don't get too up when things are up - all of life is rhythmos. Several cool things: 1. Our camp. When we got here we explored several expensive and unattractive options around Lake Powell to pitch our tent, none of which we found appealing. We thought of getting a hotel room. Then at the last moment - Fortune strikes again - we saw some RVs parked on a hill and found a whole area of really nice public land you can camp on for free. See below for some pictures of our camp, our green tent under a small butte or rock formation. If you're ever trying to find this place: leave Page towards the dam on the Colorado river, and take the first dirt road on the left right after the dam bridge; 2. The Toadstools, aka the Enchanted Rock Fungi. If you continue 30 min down the highway from Page you'll come across a sign for the Toadstools in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. It's a pretty easy hike up a cool dry river bed to a large open area reminiscent of a Martian landscape. This area is also home to several bizarre rock formations resembling (among other things) giant mushrooms or toadstools. Check out the pictures!; 3. Horseshoe Bend Canyon. If you head out from Page in the other direction (toward the Grand Canyon) you'll come upon this impressive canyon. Not for those with vertigo, fear of heights or a faint heart - the sheer cliffs drop down 1,000 feet to the river below. Very cool place, check out the pictures. |
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