31 May 98

Last Saturday I got to Seattle and saw my friend Sue. Sue and I travelled to New Zealand and Australia last year. It was good to catch up and look at pictures from our trip.

Sunday morning, in the rain, I left Seattle with 13 new passengers and headed slightly north. Then we went west to the Northern Cascades National Park. They had a funny new-age video to watch in the visitors center. We also went to a few view points, some of them with views of only rain or fog and some with views of waterfalls.

That night we camped in the rain and got to know each other.

Monday we headed up to Canada. Crossing into Canada with a tour group is a million times easier than crossing into Belize. We drove through the Okanagan Valley (Canada's Napa Valley) and tasted some wine.

On Tuesday, we drove through Canada's Glacier National Park. We did a few short walks and looked at glaciers and such. That evening we went rafting on the Kicking Horse River in British Columbia. We had full wet suits, fleece jackets, and spray jackets because the water was under 40 degrees (3 C). We were so warm that some of us jumped in for fun. It was so nice to do some great white water rafting without being cold.

On Wednesday, we saw a bunch of waterfalls and lakes in Yoho National Park before continuing on to Banff, Alberta. It rained really hard that night so we went to the movies. I saw "The Big Hit." My favorite director, John Woo, was an executive producer and his influence is evident in the film. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The next day in Banff we went to Lake Louise. It was cloudy, but for the first day of the trip it didn't rain. The lake was an impressive green color. Almost as good as the post cards. We did a couple hour hike up to a viewpoint. That evening we went to the Hot Springs to soak and then went out on the town for dinner and drinks.

One of my passengers dislocated his knee about an hour ago. I just found out. I have to go take him to the doctor. I will finish later. Bye

I am back now, six hours later, to continue where I left off.

On Friday, we had the first totally clear day of the trip. Some of us hiked up the steepest hike I have ever done to a mountain pass. We walked around Mt. Edith and came down the the other side and had lots of fun. We even got to walk in snow a little bit.

Saturday morning started with a bit more rain. We drove to Peyto Lake and looked at its green color. Then we went to a canyon and looked at its canyoness. After lunch we hiked up a ridge to look at an incredibly large glacier and then went to the visitors center. Then we climbed on a glacier before stopping at a waterfall. It was a busy day.

This morning two passengers and I did a nice three hour hike. We hiked up to some meadows next to across a valley from a glacier. I used my rain coat to slide down some big snow fields. About every half hour we heard very loud noises and saw pieces of rock or ice falling off the mountainside opposite us. We also could hear the ice cracking in the spring heat.

This evening we hung out at the Jasper Aquatic Centre and I perfected my 1 and 1/2 dive off of the diving board. Then we went out for pizza and ice cream.

My passenger with the bad knee decided to do a very difficult hike this morning. About a mile before the end he slipped and his knee cap moved over a couple of inches. A Mexican doctor came by a few minutes later and moved the knee cap back into place.

I have come to appreciate hiking in the snow, since every hike up here in May is in the snow. As long as I can wear shorts and a T-shirt, snow is fun to play in.

So far we have seen a coyote, a moose, marmots, a bunch of elk, a black bear, squirrels, chipmunks, and mountain goats. They have a lot of animals up here.

I grew up in South Florida where old Canadians come to drive slow. I now feel vindicated. I am up in Canada driving slow.

I like driving up here in Canada. The signs are all in both English and French. That means I don't have to pay attention to all of the signs, only half of them. It makes driving easier.

The Canadians are all very friendly, but they have some annoying money. Their smallest note is a five dollar bill. They have one and two dollar coins. I hate countries where coins are worth keeping track of. It is so annoying to have to carry around change when I don't even carry around pockets.

It just started raining again. I also just realized that the big tent that covers the picnic tables is on the van and my passengers are at the camp, standing in the rain. I better go bring them the tent. Bye again.

22 May 98

A few weeks ago I left L.A. and went to Las Vegas for some skydiving. It was too windy so I read a book. I also went to see a movie. I saw the new John Sayles movie "Men with Guns." I can highly recommend it. To make the movie even better, it was Ben and Jerry's anniversary so they had free ice cream. The next morning it was still too windy so I headed up to Utah. The next day I got to Dillon, Colorado. My friend Suzie lived there for the winter, but when I got there she had already left and I had to spend the night at the youth hostel. I saw a pretty bad movie also, "Mercury Rising."

Then it was time to get to Denver and meet my new group. They were a strange lot. Half of them were super outdoors folk and wanted 20 mile hikes everyday. The rest wanted a hotel tour but could not afford it. They complained about camping every night and were super indoors folk. It made for an interesting trip.

The first day we rafted the Arkansas River through the Royal Gorge. The next day we went to Ouray and sat in my favorite hot springs. On Monday we went into Telluride and I had lunch with cousin Susan and saw her two daughters, Liana and Bailey. It is always nice to visit family.

Then we went down to Mesa Verde to explore the ancient cliff dwellings before heading up to Moab, Utah for one of my favorite bike rides. I was lucky enough to get a bike with both front and rear suspension. I had never ridden a $1500 bike before. It made for a pretty smooth ride over some big bumps.

Then we went down to Monument Valley to ride some horses with the Navajos. After this adventure we swam in the cold Lake Powell for a few minutes before spending the night at the Pariah Canyon Guest Ranch. The ranch is owned by a former Trek leader so it has everything we need; a bunkhouse, a tepee, nice showers, laundry, a big barn to party in, a stereo, a pool table, a Foosball table, grass for tents, horses, deer, mules, hay rides, and a friendly owner. I think very few people got to bed before 3 am that night.

After a slow start the next day, we went to the Grand Canyon and took a bumpy flight. Only one person got sick, but quite a few others were close. On my free day at the Canyon, I did a little ten mile hike to test some more of my new synthetic hiking gear. I went down from Hermit's Rest to a good viewpoint then side tracked over to Dripping Springs. I looked at the Dripping Spring and then took a little nap in the sun before hiking out.

Then it was on to Seligman, AZ to see the funny ice cream guy, lunch at the Hoover dam and dinner at the Rio Buffet in Las Vegas.

On the last day we drove to Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I dropped every body off at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Rodeo Drive to use the toilets. They had real cloth towels to dry your hands with. It was the highlight of the day for me.

On Tuesday I puttered around the office. On Wednesday I finished puttering in the office and started driving north. Today I got to Oregon and have listened to more than enough Rush Limbaugh and G. Gorden Liddy on the radio. I should get to Seattle tomorrow and meet my new group tomorrow night.

Well, time to hit the road again.

5 MAY 98

Two weeks ago I picked up another 13 passengers and we headed east, to the California / Arizona border. We spent the night just south of Lake Havasu and swam in the cold Colorado River.

Then we went to Seligman, Arizona and stopped at the old Route 66 ice cream shop run by the crazy old man on our way to the Grand Canyon. I did a nice slow 17 mile hike down to the river, along the river, and back up another trail to the top. It was my first all polyester hike. Except for the wool in my socks and the cotton in my had I was dressed neck to ankles in all polyester. I was pleased with its water wicking properties and quick drying. I am in the process of trying out gear for my October trip to the Himalayas.

After the Grand Canyon, we went through the Hopi Indian Reservation to Canyon de Chelly. We hiked down to the White House Ruins and were impressed. The next day we went up to Monument Valley and took a jeep tour and long hike up to a good view point. The hike had a really scary rope ladder to climb and steep bits with handholds carved into the sandstone.

That night we slept in an Navajo (Dineh is politically correct) Hogan. Well, they slept in it. Although it was nice and warm inside, they were too loud so I went out to my van for a good night sleep.

Then it was off to Mesa Verde for a tour of the Anazasi (Ancient Puebloan Peoples is politically correct) Ruins. We toured a few ruins and then went to a campground with a nice hot tub.

After an early start the next day, we went rafting on the Colorado river in Moab, Utah. Then we watched to old car show and went out for dinner. The next day we did the Gemini Bridges bike ride and hung out in Arches National Park in the afternoon.

For lunch the following day I found a most amazing state park, Goblin Valley State Park in Utah. They have a big area filled with weird rock formations. Some people see goblins, or ETs, or mushrooms or rocks. I ran around there for a while and then we drove over Boulder Mountain and got snowed on.

We spent the next two nights at the Boulder Mountain Ranch . The ranch is right on the edge of the desert and the mountain and horseback rides include a bit of both. The ranch is a real working ranch and the owners are expert horseback riders. Despite a bit of hail, we had two beautiful rides. They also cooked us a few really good meals and we stayed in the bunk house. They also had three young boys to throw around.

From the ranch we went to Bryce Canyon National Park and hiked among the hoodoos. The next day we hiked up Angels' landing in Zion before relaxing for the Afternoon at the IMAX movie theater. We saw a double feature - Zion and Alaska.

After cleaning all of the equipment really well, we went to Las Vegas. I took a few people Bungee Jumping and went myself. It certainly has none of the thrill it used to and is getting a bit boring. It was my fourth one ever. After that I took the rest of the group Skydiving. An impressive nine out of thirteen made tandem jumps. I have not jumped in over a year, so I need a bit of retraining before I can jump again.

That night for dinner, we went to the Rio for our buffet. I now know why it has been voted number 1 for the last 10 years. They have a very impressive selection of food and we made pigs of ourselves.

On the final day we got a very late start and finished in Los Angeles on Saturday. Sunday I slept. Today I finished all of my work in the office and now have four days to get to Denver for my next trip.

Tomorrow I will get my retraining and make a few jumps in Las Vegas. Then I will go to Colorado and visit some friends or family before starting a ten day drip from Denver to Los Angeles.

My boss told me that when I return I can drive up to Seattle and do two trips in the Canadian Rockies before I get the 28 day trip from Seattle to Alaska and back. This is pretty much the exact schedule I have been begging for and I really hope it works out. We'll see.