Right after we crossed the border we started to notice all the different license plates. We have tallied quite list since we arrived.
For the US: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, California, Texas, Colorado, Michigan, Alaska, Arizona, South Dakota, and Wyoming
For Canada:British Columbia, Alberta, and Ontario
For Mexico: Baja California(north Baja), Baja California Sur (south Baja), Sinaloa, and others.
We have to say the worst drivers are not the Mexican drivers but the visiting ones. Actually Mexican drivers are very polite, albeit they drive very fast, and they let you know if there is something to be aware of ahead. It seems that people cross the border and feel that they can be assholes. Our #1 worst driver we have seen (sorry Jones and Opp families) was from South Dakota. He was just awful and rude.
The Baja has been a very surprising place to me. I thought I had an idea of what it would be like but it is so much more. The landscapes are incredible and the biodiversity is amazing. There are so many cactuses, flowers and succulents all living together. In some areas that are right against the ocean which to me I never thought cactuses would be near the ocean, amazing. The people we have met, especially the Mexicans, have been lovely. They are very helpful and understanding even though we are dumb gringos who know very little Spanish (again!).
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
3260 some miles down the road!
OK, I know I said I would try and blog once a week and now here is it we have been gone 3 weeks and nothing. Well here we go! This is pretty long so feel free to just look at the pictures of pick and chose what you read. It is a lot of rambling. It is amazing that it has been 3 weeks already that we have been gone. Getting out the door was quite exciting as I was exhausted and it was cold out so trying to think warm weather was difficult.But we did it. So far our trip has been amazing. It took us 2 weeks to get to the Mexico/US border then we have been here just over a week.
Our 2 weeks in the States started out by taking us to Corvallis,OR to see Sallie and Adam. We will be seeing them again very soon on the Mainland of Mexico as we are going to stop and hang out at there field station where they live every winter. So we stayed one night had tuna burger, yumm! The next morning Aaron and Adam went for a wet mtn bike ride and Sallie and I met up with Am Simmons (we use to go to college together) for some breakfast. It was great getting to catch up with Amy. I really wish we lived closer together. Then Aaron and I headed for Sacramento and to my Aunt Sharon’s house. We got in late but had a nice chat that evening. The next morning Sharon, Aaron, Tippi and I went on a walk to the Folsom Reservoir which is looking pretty empty these days. About midday we headed out again for Tahoe City to see Jonathan. We ended up spending 3 days in Tahoe and got to see lots of people we have not seen in awhile it was really nice. We also did some hiking and try to bike but had equipment difficulties. For pictures click here
As the weekend came around it got cold and we woke up Saturday morning to snow on the ground. Wow, snow aren’t we going to Mexico! Saturday we headed with Jonathan and Erik to Bridgeport, CA for Glen’s annual Asada. He has Patagonian friends that cook up a fest of lamb on his property and fun is had by all. This year it was quite cold, in the teens that night, and all our water froze solid. The morning was beautiful, still cold, and Aaron cooked up and excellent breakfast. For pictures click here
Then we headed off to the Owens Valley for 3 days of camping on our own. We did do a mtn bike ride but I am a real wuss so we did not go as far as I think Aaron would have liked but he seemed happy enough the just get to ride. We also did some hot springing and hiking. For pictures click here
Then we headed into the heat, La Quinta, to see Ana and Allen. That was a great time. I miss my friend a lot and see her was so good for the soul. We did our finally shopping and again ate some awesome food and just enjoyed being there. Then Saturday morning we were off to the Border. The border crossing in Tijuana is a joke. It was more of a stop light with no questions asked but then very confusing after that. We missed the office for getting our tourist card and so started the great adventure to get our vehicle and tourists permits. Lets just say that with help from a few very nice Mexicans we finally found our way and got out of TJ as fast as we could. We head for Ensenada to get groceries and decided to stay in the La Bunda area just south of Ensenada. It was pretty interesting place. We were the only campers in the dirt parking area but there was a security guard so that was nice. The town boasts having the second largest blowhole in the world. It was pretty cool but we are not sure if it is the second largest. Of course I forgot the camera so not pictures of it. For pictures click here
One night here was good for us and we headed south some more to Catavina. It is a desert town that does not have much but the landscape is beautiful. The cactus and other plants were amazing. We saw some cave paintings and went on a great hike. The camp ground boasted hot shower but they were cold and not that clean but it was nice to rise off. The night there we listened to dogs and coyotes all night, not so restful for me. The saving grace was the amazing stars, the US has way to much light pollution. Here you can see everything and the shooting stars are everywhere. For pictures click here
Then next day we were onto Mulege and the Bahia Concepcion. Wow, I wish we would have brought kayaks. This place is amazing (I have been saying that a lot lately). A lot of place were closed since this is there “off season” so renting things was more difficult them we thought. The town was cool and simple we did not spend much time there except to eat at a little taquearia and use the internet. Our first night on the Bahia we stayed at the Playa Escondido and no one was there. All the palapas where falling down and the outhouses were on their sides. We found out the next day that the earlier hurricane had done the damage but it had not been fixed yet. We only stayed here one night because I did not feel comfortable and we were visited by coyotes during the night, not my favorite of creatures. For pictures click here
The following 2 nights we spent at the Playa El Requesion, which is a beautiful sand spit that connects the baja to a little island. Even at high tide you can walk to the islands although you get a little wet (it felt good!). It cost $60 pesos a night (or $5.50 US). Here we swam a lot and just tried to relax. Aaron went snorkeling to try and see about spear fishing but the fish were pretty small. There were a lot of them though. I mainly hung out and tried to stay cool and not feel sick. Feeling nauseated has been a big part of my trip so far. For pictures click here
Our plans took a little turn when we tried to head out onto the Penisular Concepcion and found that we would not have any paint left on the truck if we did this little adventure. From the western side of the bay the peninsula looks incredible but I think for now it should be accessed by boat. So instead we headed to Loreto early to check thing out there. We spent one night at the Loreto Shores RV Park (not my first choice now that we have stayed there). We did have some great seafood and almost got eaten alive by mosquitoes in the evening, yuk!!! They finally passed but the dogs and chicken did make sleeping a challenge. The following day we went into town and met a great book store owner that told us all about the area. After talking with him we decided to visit the San Javier Mission. This mission was started in 1720 by a Jesuit priest and finished 38 years later. The absolutely incredible part of this story is that the church is 22 miles inland of Loreto in a road that takes 1.5 hours to drive on a good day. After bumping up this dirt road that was recently taken out by the hurricane you turn into San Javier and the street are a prefect cobble stone and the church is beautiful. One section of road had been taken out so they closed it and ran a grader up the adjacent river bed and created a new road. This would never happen in the it was pretty amazing. Apparently every December 3rd thousands of people pilgrimage to the site to celebrate at the church. This is a very sleepy little town (maybe 100 residents) so trying to imagine 1000’s of people there that would be cool to see. You got to see the pictures of the church and the road. We camped up near the town that night and got an early start the next morning to La Paz. For pictures click here
The only reason we stopped in La Paz was to check on the ferry for our trip to the mainland in mid-November. Aaron found us a nice little hotel near the water that allowed us to have Tippi and had AC (what a treat!). In the morning we took care of our errands and headed towards Todos Santos on the Pacific Ocean side of the baja. Todos Santos is a very cool little town. It has lots of character and great food (again!). Found a cool place to stay called the Pescadero Surf Camp just south of Todos. We have a huge palapa that we have set up out tent in and it comes with a pool, bathrooms, showers and some cool people that are staying here. We are close to the beach not on it but that is fine. Even though we are close the highway it is really quiet at night. Aaron rented a surf board yesterday and beat himself up last night and this morning but he is having fun. I may try it but it all depends on how I am feeling and I have started to feel better the last few days. I think getting to the end of my 1st trimester is going to be awesome! What I also know is that in Todos there are the best fruitcicles ever and I think I will be eat those everyday we are here. Pictures will be in next post!
Our 2 weeks in the States started out by taking us to Corvallis,OR to see Sallie and Adam. We will be seeing them again very soon on the Mainland of Mexico as we are going to stop and hang out at there field station where they live every winter. So we stayed one night had tuna burger, yumm! The next morning Aaron and Adam went for a wet mtn bike ride and Sallie and I met up with Am Simmons (we use to go to college together) for some breakfast. It was great getting to catch up with Amy. I really wish we lived closer together. Then Aaron and I headed for Sacramento and to my Aunt Sharon’s house. We got in late but had a nice chat that evening. The next morning Sharon, Aaron, Tippi and I went on a walk to the Folsom Reservoir which is looking pretty empty these days. About midday we headed out again for Tahoe City to see Jonathan. We ended up spending 3 days in Tahoe and got to see lots of people we have not seen in awhile it was really nice. We also did some hiking and try to bike but had equipment difficulties. For pictures click here
As the weekend came around it got cold and we woke up Saturday morning to snow on the ground. Wow, snow aren’t we going to Mexico! Saturday we headed with Jonathan and Erik to Bridgeport, CA for Glen’s annual Asada. He has Patagonian friends that cook up a fest of lamb on his property and fun is had by all. This year it was quite cold, in the teens that night, and all our water froze solid. The morning was beautiful, still cold, and Aaron cooked up and excellent breakfast. For pictures click here
Then we headed off to the Owens Valley for 3 days of camping on our own. We did do a mtn bike ride but I am a real wuss so we did not go as far as I think Aaron would have liked but he seemed happy enough the just get to ride. We also did some hot springing and hiking. For pictures click here
Then we headed into the heat, La Quinta, to see Ana and Allen. That was a great time. I miss my friend a lot and see her was so good for the soul. We did our finally shopping and again ate some awesome food and just enjoyed being there. Then Saturday morning we were off to the Border. The border crossing in Tijuana is a joke. It was more of a stop light with no questions asked but then very confusing after that. We missed the office for getting our tourist card and so started the great adventure to get our vehicle and tourists permits. Lets just say that with help from a few very nice Mexicans we finally found our way and got out of TJ as fast as we could. We head for Ensenada to get groceries and decided to stay in the La Bunda area just south of Ensenada. It was pretty interesting place. We were the only campers in the dirt parking area but there was a security guard so that was nice. The town boasts having the second largest blowhole in the world. It was pretty cool but we are not sure if it is the second largest. Of course I forgot the camera so not pictures of it. For pictures click here
One night here was good for us and we headed south some more to Catavina. It is a desert town that does not have much but the landscape is beautiful. The cactus and other plants were amazing. We saw some cave paintings and went on a great hike. The camp ground boasted hot shower but they were cold and not that clean but it was nice to rise off. The night there we listened to dogs and coyotes all night, not so restful for me. The saving grace was the amazing stars, the US has way to much light pollution. Here you can see everything and the shooting stars are everywhere. For pictures click here
Then next day we were onto Mulege and the Bahia Concepcion. Wow, I wish we would have brought kayaks. This place is amazing (I have been saying that a lot lately). A lot of place were closed since this is there “off season” so renting things was more difficult them we thought. The town was cool and simple we did not spend much time there except to eat at a little taquearia and use the internet. Our first night on the Bahia we stayed at the Playa Escondido and no one was there. All the palapas where falling down and the outhouses were on their sides. We found out the next day that the earlier hurricane had done the damage but it had not been fixed yet. We only stayed here one night because I did not feel comfortable and we were visited by coyotes during the night, not my favorite of creatures. For pictures click here
The following 2 nights we spent at the Playa El Requesion, which is a beautiful sand spit that connects the baja to a little island. Even at high tide you can walk to the islands although you get a little wet (it felt good!). It cost $60 pesos a night (or $5.50 US). Here we swam a lot and just tried to relax. Aaron went snorkeling to try and see about spear fishing but the fish were pretty small. There were a lot of them though. I mainly hung out and tried to stay cool and not feel sick. Feeling nauseated has been a big part of my trip so far. For pictures click here
Our plans took a little turn when we tried to head out onto the Penisular Concepcion and found that we would not have any paint left on the truck if we did this little adventure. From the western side of the bay the peninsula looks incredible but I think for now it should be accessed by boat. So instead we headed to Loreto early to check thing out there. We spent one night at the Loreto Shores RV Park (not my first choice now that we have stayed there). We did have some great seafood and almost got eaten alive by mosquitoes in the evening, yuk!!! They finally passed but the dogs and chicken did make sleeping a challenge. The following day we went into town and met a great book store owner that told us all about the area. After talking with him we decided to visit the San Javier Mission. This mission was started in 1720 by a Jesuit priest and finished 38 years later. The absolutely incredible part of this story is that the church is 22 miles inland of Loreto in a road that takes 1.5 hours to drive on a good day. After bumping up this dirt road that was recently taken out by the hurricane you turn into San Javier and the street are a prefect cobble stone and the church is beautiful. One section of road had been taken out so they closed it and ran a grader up the adjacent river bed and created a new road. This would never happen in the it was pretty amazing. Apparently every December 3rd thousands of people pilgrimage to the site to celebrate at the church. This is a very sleepy little town (maybe 100 residents) so trying to imagine 1000’s of people there that would be cool to see. You got to see the pictures of the church and the road. We camped up near the town that night and got an early start the next morning to La Paz. For pictures click here
The only reason we stopped in La Paz was to check on the ferry for our trip to the mainland in mid-November. Aaron found us a nice little hotel near the water that allowed us to have Tippi and had AC (what a treat!). In the morning we took care of our errands and headed towards Todos Santos on the Pacific Ocean side of the baja. Todos Santos is a very cool little town. It has lots of character and great food (again!). Found a cool place to stay called the Pescadero Surf Camp just south of Todos. We have a huge palapa that we have set up out tent in and it comes with a pool, bathrooms, showers and some cool people that are staying here. We are close to the beach not on it but that is fine. Even though we are close the highway it is really quiet at night. Aaron rented a surf board yesterday and beat himself up last night and this morning but he is having fun. I may try it but it all depends on how I am feeling and I have started to feel better the last few days. I think getting to the end of my 1st trimester is going to be awesome! What I also know is that in Todos there are the best fruitcicles ever and I think I will be eat those everyday we are here. Pictures will be in next post!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Flying around Mt. St. Helens
On my last day in the field for UNAVCO we were working on Mt. St. Helens. It was a beautiful day and the flying was great. Jeff, our pilot, and I replaced some solar panels on a site on the south side of mtn while Ken finished a site on the north side. Then we moved to a third site to replace the equipment enclosure. It was pretty coll to see the old one fly off the mtn and the new one come in. After our work was done we took a small tour of the crater and other other sites. It is pretty incredible to see the new dome that has formed over the last several years. The volcanic landscape is pretty amazing. If you are ever looking for a cool place to visit go check out the obervatory.Picture located here, http://picasaweb.google.com/AKdogtown/MtStHelens#
We did it!
Hi All,
Aaron and I had a great time with the MS150. We did not complete the entire 150 miles but did do 132 miles. We did 83 miles the first day and 49 miles the second day. Aaron probably could have done it all but he hung with me, the slow poke. The weather was perfect, not to hot but a little cold the second day, no complaining though. Also it was great to spend the weekend with my parents.
This was a great ride with lots of interesting people beautiful scenery and of course was for a great cause. Aaron was able to raise $450 and I was able to raise $470. We are pretty proud of our effort. If anyone is still interested in donating the last day to do it online is October 21st, so there is still time. To all of you who did sponsor us thank you, thank you, thank you! We appreciate it very much. Here are some pictures of from the ride, http://picasaweb.google.com/AKdogtown/MS150#
Remember we would love to have more people join us next year, think about it!
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