Tips for Traveling by Bus and Train

After trips to Portland, San Francisco, and Baja Mexico, I'm starting to get the hang of traveling by bus and train. Here's what I've learned.

Train in Canada - ViaRail.ca
Train (and bus) in the USA - Amtrak.com
Bus in Canada - Greyhound.ca
Bus in the USA - Greyhound.com
Bus in Baja - AutoTransportesAguila.net

One problem with living in Saskatoon, is that you can only get into the USA by bus or train by going West to Vancouver or East to Toronto. From Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba you can drive across the border many places, and you can fly across the border to various places, but you can't go by bus or train. (As far as I know - if there are other options, please let me know.)

I took Via Rail from Saskatoon to Vancouver (and back) on my first trip to Portland in the spring. I prefer the train over bus, but the other two trips I ended up taking the bus. The bus only takes 24 hours and goes every day (at multiple times), whereas the train takes 36 hours and only goes three times a week. But it's definitely worth taking the train at least once.

For Greyhound it definitely pays to book ahead. The three week advance fare is almost half the full fare. And you can still change the date of travel if you need to. WARNING: If you think you may need to change the date of your ticket, do NOT choose the print ticket at home option. These tickets are not changeable. Choose the "Will Call" option where you pick up your ticket at the station. Just make sure the ticket counter is open at the time you're leaving. You may need to specifically point out it's a "Will Call" ticket or they can get confused.

You can catch Amtrak directly from Vancouver (BC). This is the easiest way to cross the border - you don't have to get your luggage or get off the train - an official gets on the train and checks your passport while it's moving. On the bus you have to get off, pick up your luggage, go through customs, and then get back on the bus.

The Amtrak train only leaves Vancouver once a day at  6:40 am. There are later Amtrak departures, but they use a bus from Vancouver to Seattle. Both ways work fine. I like the Amtrak buses a little better than Greyhound - they seem to stop less and not be so crowded (at least between Vancouver and Seattle).

Amtrak on the west coast is split up into several routes. The Amtrak Cascades goes from Vancouver to Portland. The Coast Starlight goes from Seattle to Los Angeles. The Pacific Surfliner goes from San Luis Obispo to San Diego. This means you may need to switch trains depending on where you're traveling from and to, but the routes overlap so you have some choices where to stop.

For Amtrak, I mostly bought tickets online. The one time I tried to buy a ticket at the station they told me the train was sold out, but when I double checked online I was able to buy a ticket. I was told the trains are busiest on Friday and Sunday.

When I could I would take my overnight stops where I had to change trains anyway. This eliminated waiting around in stations, and also potential missed connections if the train was late. Both Seattle and Portland are great places to stop overnight. I avoided stopping overnight in Los Angeles because the idea didn't seem very attractive, but I'm sure there's nice things there too.

Note: The train doesn't actually go through San Francisco. You have to get off at Emeryville and take another bus or train from there. Or you can stop in Oakland like I did and take the ferry across to San Francisco.

I ended up deciding on a couple of rules of thumb - don't go more than 24 hours without stopping, and try to arrive at your destination before dark, preferably early enough to have supper. Stopping overnight is definitely appreciated after a night on the bus or train, but it does mean adding extra time and the cost of hotels. But if you're short of time, traveling by bus or train is not the best option anyway. Cost-wise, you'd probably do better stopping in some of the smaller towns rather than the big cities.

You have a couple of options getting from San Diego to the Tijuana central bus station. You can take the trolley to the border, cross on foot, and then take a bus or taxi. Or, you can take Greyhound from San Diego to the Tijuana bus station. That's what I did and I'd say it's the easiest option. Crossing from the USA to Mexico I didn't even have to get off the bus or even show my passport. Coming back you have to get off the bus and go through US customs, but you bypass the huge line of people crossing on foot. The part I found confusing is that when you get out of customs the bus is nowhere to be seen - you have to walk a block to the bus station and catch a new bus.

The Tijuana bus station is quite civilized, although don't expect to see any Americans or Canadians around. In Mexico (and most places in Central and South America) there are multiple bus companies, not like in Canada and the USA where Greyhound pretty much has a monopoly on buses. So the bus station will have counters for multiple countries. You have to decide which one to go to to buy your ticket.

However, for Baja there only appears to be one choice - Aguila. Their web site is in Spanish but it's not too hard to navigate even if you don't know much Spanish. (Note: I had problems using it with Chrome or Safari, try Internet Explorer or Firefox.) Also, the prices are in pesos. You can book your ticket online ahead of time, which is what I did going south, but on my return trip I just bought tickets either the day before, or immediately before traveling. I never had a problem with the bus being full, but potentially you could. (Greyhound will put on extra buses if required, but I don't think Aguila would.) Make sure you have enough cash (Mexican or US) to buy your tickets, don't expect to pay with a debit or credit card. (But ATM's are fairly common so you as long as you've got your bank card it's not hard to get cash.) Also, consider carrying something like Gravol for motion sickness. I don't normally have trouble with this, but even I got queasy on some of the bumping swaying bus rides in Mexico.

On Via Rail or Amtrak trains, don't bother checking your bags, there is plenty of space either in the overhead racks or in the luggage space at the end of the cars. The only advantage to checking your bags would be if you had connections where you had to switch trains and you didn't want to have to deal with your luggage. But if you're going to travel by bus and train, I'd strongly recommend traveling with just a backpack, it makes life a whole lot easier. And it's often cheaper because you can walk from the bus or train station instead of having to take a taxi. One advantage to bus and train is that most of the stations are within walking distance of downtown as opposed to airports that are often miles away.

Even (especially) if it's the heat of summer, be prepared for cold trains and buses. The air conditioning often seems to have only one setting - full blast. You'll at least want a sweater, and if you're traveling overnight, I'd recommend carrying a blanket. I have an Eagle Creek fleece travel blanket that stuffs into its own pocket, and when it's not cold, it makes a good pillow.

Although the trains have snack bars and dining cars, and the buses make meal stops, I prefer to take some food with me so I don't end up eating junk food.

The Vancouver train station conveniently serves Via Rail, Amtrak, and Greyhound. Note: The Amtrak buses do not operate out of the Greyhound part of the station. They arrive and depart from the front of the station - look for a small sign. 

The Seattle train station doesn't have anything to eat but there are several places close by. For coffee, my favorite was Zeitgeist. If you have time, check out the aquarium - it's a good one.

The Portland train station is within walking distance of downtown, but if it's late or you're tired, it's within the free transit area - just walk around the corner and catch the MAX light rail to downtown (get used to the homeless people, there are lots of them). The Portland train station is also one of the few with free wifi. There's a snack bar in the station and a fancier restaurant attached to the station, but apart from that there's not much really close. For more coffee shops and restaurants (and the Patagonia store) head west from the train station on Hoyt to 10th to Jamison Square in the Pearl district. To get to or from downtown from the Jamison Square area you can take the Streetcar (but be aware that it's outside the free zone). If you have time in Portland, don't miss the huge Powell's bookstore. The zoo and Japanese gardens are also nice.

There's not much around the Oakland train station. The Jack London Square shopping area is a few blocks away but otherwise it's a somewhat seedy area.

San Diego's train station is close to downtown and the Greyhound station is just a few blocks away. If you've got time, the San Diego zoo is a good one.

Unfortunately, bus and train are not a lot cheaper than flying, especially if you get a cheap flight. (Flying, like many things in our oil based economy, is amazingly cheap, at least until the oil runs out.) But bus and train are more environmentally friendly, potentially if not actually. And because you have to actually experience the distance you're traveling, you're a lot less likely to flit across the continent for a meeting or to go shopping. And to me, experiencing the ground you're traveling over is one of the best parts of this kind of travel.

For more details on restaurants and coffee shops and places to stay, check out my previous blog posts from my trips.

The Process Is Dead

Monbiot.com: "The best outcome anyone now expects from December’s climate summit in Mexico is that some delegates might stay awake during the meetings."

Zero History

Zero History is the latest great book by the Canadian science fiction author William Gibson.

I've been a fan of his books for a long time, all the way back to Neuromancer (1984) where he popularized the term "cyberspace".

His last three books, Pattern Recognition, Spook Country, and now Zero History have been set in the present, rather than the normal science fiction future. Zero History shares many of the same characters as Spook Country.

But Gibson is well know for saying "The future is already here. It's just not very evenly distributed." The bits of the present that he focuses on in these books might as well be the future. He focuses on brand a lot, which is not something I think about a lot, but it's definitely a big part of our world.

If you're looking for an easy read that doesn't require much thought, this probably isn't the book for you. I often feel like I need to reread several times to have a chance of getting the full meaning. But if you're a Gibson fan you won't be disappointed.

Neuroscience and Sociology

Interesting podcast.

Neuroscience and Sociology by David Brooks

San Luis Obispo

I have to say the San Luis Creek Lodge was a bit over the top for me. It looked good on the Internet. When I saw the fake Tudor and the suit of armor out front I started to wonder. Tassels on the shower curtains were bad enough, but tassels on the night light definitely seemed like overdoing it.







And do I really need a copper tub of firewood for the fake (gas) fireplace? It wouldn't have been so bad if there was any kind of conceptual integrity, but it just seemed to be a random assortment of embellishments. Reminds me of some software I know. To me, if you want to be elegant and classy you need to give at least some thought to simplicity and clean lines. Not that it has to be so Spartan that it's sterile.

They list it as a bed and breakfast, but it's really just a small hotel that happens to include breakfast. The name is also a bit misleading - the creek might be around somewhere but I never saw it.

Don't get me wrong, it was a nice place. The room was good. I'm sure some people would like all the doodads.

San Luis downtown is nice enough. The high end shops don't do much for me. And as far as I'm concerned, once the garden gnome stores and interior decorating shops move in it's all downhill from there. Not to mention shops like "EcoBambino" - supposedly environmentally friendly crap, I mean stuff, for kids.

I wandered through the Apple store. The only thing I hadn't seen were the new Shuffle and Nano. Interesting that they reverted to buttons on the Shuffle. The Nano is slick, almost like a piece of jewelry. No tassels on Apple products!

Past the shops, the mission and the walkway along the creek are very nice. That's where I'm sitting now. Very quiet and peaceful. A world away from Apple and Victorias Secret. (Do they put those side by side intentionally?) Of course, I'm typing this on my iPhone so it's not like I've left that world.

For lunch I went to Novo. I picked it because it had a wonderful outdoor patio overlooking the creek. The sun was shining, the creek was burbling, the food was good and I was sipping on a California Chardonnay. Sweet.

On To San Luis Obispo

The train was delayed leaving San Diego for San Luis Obispo but not too much. I settled in for the ride. The train wasn't too full and I had two seats to myself on the good (ocean) side of the train.

But before too long the train stopped at a station and they announced more delays. Apparently two teenagers had been killed by a train. Awful.

After waiting a while they asked everyone going beyond Los Angeles to get off the train - they were putting us on a bus. So much for my comfortable train ride. But when we got on the bus they told us they were just shuttling us past where the tracks were closed and then we'd get back on another train. That sounded better.

But when the bus got to where we were supposed to catch the next train, it had already left, even though theoretically they were holding it for us. So we continued on the bus to LA.

The interesting part (to me) was how they handled the problems. One of the conductors was telling people that obviously they couldn't plan for this kind of event. (This was just one guy, not an official statement.) While you may not be able to plan for specific events, you definitely can plan for types of events. A section of track being closed seems like a pretty obvious thing for Amtrak to have contingency plans for.

It's no wonder the cell phone system gets overloaded during disasters. Everyone on the bus had to call someone to tell them something was happening, even though they didn't know anything at that point. People were even borrowing phones to call and tell someone what they didn't know.

I got a little bit of an inside view of how things were being handled because an Amtrak employee was in the seat on front of me on the bus and I could eavesdrop on her cell phone conversations.

Lesson 1 - if you are going to depend on cell phones, then you need a backup. Or at least a spare battery - hers ran out and she had to borrow one and then didn't have her contacts.

It amazed me how there didn't seem to be any sort of contingency plan. They just seemed to be going by the seat of their pants. For example, they had no arrangement for getting buses and couldn't get enough to take everyone. Of course, maybe there is some elaborate plan - sitting on the shelf gathering dust at head office.

It made me think that we should be revisiting our disaster planning at Axon. Not to make specific plans, but to at least think about what kinds of things could happen and in general how we could handle them.

From LA they put us on a later train and things were back on track, other than arriving at 8:30 pm instead of 4:30. But it's a great trip along the coast. I saw deer and a fox and even some dolphins! And it was a beautiful colorful sunset.




I'd been happy that I'd be able to catch the Thursday evening farmers market in San Luis Obispo. As it was I just caught the tail end of the it. But I got something to eat from a vegetarian place and I chatted with the people at the turtle club booth :-) It's quite a big market and there were lots of people. It was nice to get a quick look at it.

I was surprised to see an Apple store since SLO isn't that big. But it probably serves a bigger area and it is a college town. I made use of the free wifi at Apple stores to send a quick email.

Now I just had to find the place where I was staying - a mile away, in the dark. Deja vu! But, unlike Mexico, there were street lights and shops and restaurants open. And the San Luis Creek Lodge turned out to be easy to find.

San Diego

Back in "civilization" it seems the highlights are all food related. That seems a little decadent, but when you remove shopping from the city, and you don't have time for the zoo, what's left? Maybe I'll have to start visiting museums.

I did visit a Borders bookstore but left when they refused to give me a washroom token because I hadn't bought anything. I can see having that rule so you don't turn into a public washroom, but that kind of rule should be meant to be broken, not followed to the letter. Not that I'm a good customer, I almost never buy paper books any more, I just use bookstores to browse. For example, I saw the latest William Gibson was released so I turned around and bought it on my Kindle. Originally, I didn't think being able to buy books on my Kindle anywhere in the world was a big deal. But it's turned out to be a really nice feature. Although for me, wifi would be just as good as cellphone. In fact, some places I could get wifi where I couldn't get cellphone data. (like Cabo Pulmo)

Anyway, back to food (and drink). My first priority was a good latte. I checked Yelp (a useful app) on my iPhone and decided to try Coffee and Art. It turned out to be a tiny place with not much seating and I almost didn't stop. But I'm glad I did - the latte was great and the photographs (the art) were nice too.

My caffeine craving satisfied, food was next on the agenda. Since I was in the Gaslamp district I decided to try out Zanzibar, a place I'd seen on my last visit. And I like the name :-) I had a great vegetarian chili with cornbread and a nice salad.

I had planned on going for coffee again in the afternoon, but for some reason I didn't feel like more coffee. Maybe I need to rebuild the size of my coffee appetite. But hey, I'm on holidays, I can go for a glass of wine instead :-) I ended up back in the Gaslamp district at Chloe's for a glass of flavorful California Bordeaux-style Meritage.

I browsed Yelp looking for somewhere to go for supper. In the end I decided to go to an old favorite, Indigo, rather than trying somewhere new. It was good as always, although the portions are way too big for me. Usually you can count on smaller portions at more expensive restaurants but that doesn't seem to apply at Indigo. Shelley and I have got in the habit of sharing so we can sample more dishes, but that doesn't work when I'm on my own. Indigo serves a west coast fusion, blending Mexican Oaxaca spices with Pacific foods like salmon. I had their Good Things Growing, a vegetarian option with everything from tofu to squash to chili relleno.

For breakfast this morning I headed to my favorite Brickyard for a breakfast burrito and a latte. The sparrows were out in force. I can't help but smile when I see them hopping around so cheerfully. (anthropomorphizing, I know)

Then on to the train to continue my northward journey. To break up the trip a little I'm stopping in San Luis Obispo. It sounds like an interesting place.

Across the Border

I caught the bus to Tijuana yesterday afternoon. It was a newer bus and only half full. Overall a smooth trip.

Of course being cooped up inevitably leads to some annoyances. First, I had my head cheerfully pummeled by a small child in the seat behind me. I wondered why the mother wasn't exerting a little more control - when I turned around I found she was busy on her cell phone with the child standing on her lap. But she only looked about 15 years old so what can you expect. (Seems like lots of very young mothers here.) I escaped the child abuse by moving seats.

At the opposite end of the age spectrum, two old ladies behind me obviously couldn't sleep and carried on a loud gossip session at 2 am. I didn't bother trying to move again since they were still playing loud movies (till about 3 am!). Despite the noise I managed to doze off and on most of the night.

I bought a ticket on the next Greyhound to San Diego. There were huge lineups at the border, both vehicles and pedestrians. The line of people walking across was about 8 blocks long! It took about an hour to make it through the line to the border (and that was in the bus lane). After that it was the quickest, easiest entry into the US I've experienced - no forms, no questions, just a quick scan of my passport. I didn't catch the subtle flick of the fingers waving me on and was standing waiting for questions and had to be told to move on. At which point I started to exit out the open door towards the bus. It seemed logical, but I was told if I went out that door I was going to "get hurt". Border guard humor I guess. So I followed directions and went out the other way. Which left me standing outside the building wondering how to find the bus, which was nowhere to be seen. Luckily I spotted a fellow passenger and he told me to walk a block that aways. Which I did, and found the bus station. But I'm not sure how you're supposed to know this - no signs or instructions anywhere that I could see. It always amazes me how much people assume you know what to do. (a lesson for software design!)

Back on the bus it was a short trip to San Diego. Back to the land of freeways and automobiles. Certainly you see more vehicles here than you see people in Baja. Emerging from the bus terminal I was back in America. I felt some empathy for the Mexicans who were now in a foreign land as I had been. It must seem as unfamiliar to some of them as Mexico is to me. (Not counting the Mexicans that spend much of their time on the US.)

I have to admit it's a little bit of a relief to be back on "familiar" ground. I have to remind myself that I can actually talk to people here, and they'll understand me. What a concept! (Not that I actually talk to people any more than strictly necessary, regardless of language!)

The Magical Sea of Cortez

I woke up refreshed at Cliff's B&B in Mulege. Cliff had left me freshly squeezed orange juice in the fridge and a nice baguette from the bakery in Santa Rosalia (and apricot jam - my favorite) I relaxed over a cup of coffee and caught up on the Internet. There was no one else staying there so it was quiet. And early morning is the best time, when it's only hot, not scorching.

I took Cliff up on his offer of the use of one of his kayaks. His place is right on the river which is wide and shallow here near its mouth. And it's bursting with life, not surprising when it's one of few sources of fresh water in the middle of a desert. Silvery fish were jumping like clockwork. Birds were everywhere - brown pelicans, great blue (and other) herons, white ibis, osprey, cormorants, shorebirds, gulls, and more.

It was only 9 am but the temperature had already risen to scorching. I soaked my hat in the water and splashed myself but it didn't seem to make much difference. Still, it was a joy to be out on the water. There was only the occasional motorboat to break the spell.

I paddled down to the mouth of the river and around the lighthouse. A bright blue jellyfish drifted by. As I got into the salt water I could see more fish in the clear water. I spotted a big King Angelfish beside a rock surrounded by schools of yellow striped Sergeant Majors with a few brilliant Blue Chromis mixed in. Then I noticed what looked like a fin sitting on the rocky bottom. I lowered my paddle towards it and a Scorpionfish shot away. They're so well camouflaged that sometimes all you can make out is a fin or an eye.

It was a fitting end to this visit to the Sea of Cortez, reinforcing it's magical fullness of life.

The road less traveled

When you take the road less traveled you can't expect it to be all smooth sailing!

The day started out well. I found a good coffee shop (Cafelix) for breakfast and a decent latte.

I realize it's the low season, but apart from the touristy galleries Todos Santos seemed somewhat forlorn - empty lots and falling down buildings. Hardly the pueblo magico they advertise. Not even many historical buildings from what I saw. And it's not on the water. It does have the ritzy looking Hotel California that claims to be the inspiration for the Eagles song.

From Todos Santos I was taking the bus to Mulege, north of Loreto. I'd already traveled this stretch so I figured it would be straightforward. The bus was a half hour late and for the first time it was an older bus. Half the seats were broken. I ended up in the very back where the air conditioning didn't reach and the sun was beating on the window. Of course, I'd been prepared to freeze so I had long pants on for the first time in weeks. Oh well, a little sweating never hurt anyone.

When we got to La Paz we went to a maintenance yard instead of the terminal. We sat there for a while and then they kicked us all off the bus. We stood around for a while longer, sweating some more, until another bus came, this time one of the usual new ones. We settled into the blasting air conditioning, but a few minutes later when we reached the bus terminal, they kicked us all off the bus again.

This kind of thing can be confusing enough at the best of times, but when you don't speak the language and can't ask what's going on it's even worse. You definitely have to learn to take things as they come.

I was a little concerned that because we were late I might have missed some connection. But I took the chance to use the washroom (always good to go when you can in this kind of travel) and stood around for a while to see what would happen. Before too long a bus pulled in and there was a garbled announcement that I think included towns on my route. I double checked with the bus driver as I got on (another good idea).

It turned out to be the original aging bus! At least this time it wasn't full and I was in the middle with a functional seat. Here, the aging A/C was a good thing because it wasn't freezing. The temperature was actually just right.

After that the trip went more smoothly until we arrived at Mulege. I wasn't sure I'd recognize it so I was watching for signs. I'd just seen a sign saying "Mulege" and we pulled into a truck stop. Some of the stops are brief so I grabbed my pack and started getting off. Two girls beside me stopped me and said "no" (at least that was the only part I understood). I thought they figured I was going further like everyone else so I said "Mulege?" and they shrugged. I got off and started looking for a taxi. But the truck stop was in the middle of nowhere - I couldn't even see where town was. I asked at the store about a taxi and they said no. Hmmm. They also said something about pueblo - town. I started to wonder if I this was the right stop. Luckily, the bus was still there - it was obviously the supper stop. I garbled some Spanglish with some of the other passengers and figured out that Mulege itself was another five minutes down the road. Thank goodness the bus hadn't left already. I waited for everyone to have supper and rode the bus to town. This time I actually recognized the town. (Shelley and I had visited a few years ago.)

But ... no taxis. Originally I had planned to walk the mile to the B&B I had booked. But it was now 9:30 and dark. I asked around about taxis and got sent here and there with no luck. 9:30 doesn't sound that late but with few street lights and all the shops and restaurants closed it was a little spooky. I decided to walk but I wasn't sure which way to head out of town. I asked a young guy who was just closing up the last shop. He wasn't sure but he thought he knew which way to go and said he'd give me a ride. Accepting a ride at night from a stranger in Mexico made me a little nervous but I had approached him and he was working at a shop.

We drove down the highway and turned into one place. It didn't quite match my directions but I couldn't explain that very well. We stopped at a house and they directed us 3 miles down the road. Again, that didn't match my directions, but off we went. Of course we didn't find it. By this time I think my driver was starting to regret ever offering me a ride!

I gave up and we headed back to town. I'd have to find somewhere different to stay. But then on the way back we spotted the sign we were looking for. We drove in but couldn't find the B&B. We spotted a lady in her yard and she spoke English and gave me directions which I totally failed to translate into Spanish. Thank goodness we then ran into a security guard who jumped in the back of the truck and guided us there. He even woke up the owner to confirm I was ok. By this point no one really believed this crazy gringo knew where he was going.

It was a huge relief to get there finally. It was a nice place and a nice room with air conditioning even. Still, after all the stress it took me a while to get to sleep.

This kind of thing is both the positive and the negative of this kind of travel. It's stressful at the time but it also exposes you to people and situations you'd never otherwise experience. It doesn't hurt to leave the comfort zone occasionally.

Casa Bentley

Leaving Shelley to catch her flight home I took the bus to Todos Santos to break up my journey and check out somewhere new.

I found Casa Bentley on the Internet and booked a room by email. Or I thought I did. When i arrived Bob, the owner, didn't recall the email conversation but luckily he had a room anyway.

Don't stay here if you want a sterile businesslike Holiday Inn style experience. Casa Bentley has been under construction for 25 years and was never intended as a hotel. But it's an amazing place, full of quirkiness. There are mango trees with hanging fruit, spiral staircases, lovely stone walls, multiple levels, waterfalls, a small but elegantly tiled pool, artwork and cactus and statues and flowering plants.

There's no air conditioning in my room (good thing Shelley's not with me!) but it's half underground and there are fans and thankfully it's cloudy today.

Everything is a little chaotic and cluttered but it's certainly a unique place. If you're in the area and up for an adventure, check it out.

Tomorrow I'm off to Mulege and from there an overnight bus back to Tijuana and the San Diego.

Baja 2010, San Jose del Cabo

[Shelley] Well, we had a rather adventurous morning! After breakfast we decided to walk to the marina. This seemed like a new feature on the map since we'd been to San Jose del Cabo a few years ago.

Baja 2010 #6

The road we were to follow turned out to be a 1 km stretch of raised highway (still partially under construction) over a rather barren area of land which probably floods during the rainy season.

At the other end is the sign for Puerto del Cabo and a huge sculpture depicting a person holding a fish over his head. (We'd read about this set of sculptures in the "Gringo Times" newspaper but didn't know the location they were talking about.)

Just past here we went into this fabulous park area via what felt like "the back way" as we didn't see any formal entrance. The park had a three hills with palapas that offered shade at the top of each and rows upon rows of stone and different kinds of cactus surrounding them. A pathway with stones laid out in the shape of a snake led to the top of each hill.

As we were hiding from the sun and heat under the first palapa and taking some photos we saw an official looking guy in uniform watering a small grassy area. He started walking toward us and our first thought was that the park was closed and he was going to kick us out. But he smiled and waved as he approached so I figured he was at least going to do it nicely. But he was very friendly and welcomed us openly. His English was slightly better than our Spanish so we had a somewhat mangled conversation as he gave us a tour, told us the names of the wide varieties of cactus and even toured us through one of the greenhouses. There was also a lovely circular labyrinth made out of different colors of bougainvillea.

He understood we wanted to get to the marina and offered us a ride via the beach on his ATV. Due to the sun and heat we took him up on the offer. As we sat on the back hanging on for dear life and went through some remote back trails lined with trees, I was thinking this would be a really great place to stop and rob us of our rather obvious cameras and wallets. But luckily his friendliness wasn't just a facade.

He dropped is off at the marina but unfortunately the restaurant didn't open til 11 so no cold drinks awaited.

Andrew gave him a good tip and we wandered on our own for a while. As we started to walk back and were about to start the trek back along the highway, he found us again and offered us another ride which was much appreciated. We had to make our way up onto the highway and crawling over the railing was a bit of a feat in a skirt (I was wearing the skirt, not Andrew in case anyone is wondering).

Anyway it was a very fun and unexpected morning. Now back to the yummy French Riviera bakery for lunch before catching my flight home and Andrew catching the bus to Todos Santos to start his journey home.

Baja 2010, Cabo Pulmo

Wow! We really lucked out. Hurricane Frank stopped the diving for a few days just before we got to Cabo Pulmo and now another tropical storm is due shortly but we got our last two dives in early this (Friday) morning.

Baja 2010 #5

We've stayed the past week at Cabo Pulmo Beach Resort which has a dive center right there. We are some of the few staying here. Most divers and snorkellers come out from the big resorts in Cabo San Lucas just for a single day.

Cabo Pulmo has the only live coral reef in Baja. It's about a 1.5 hour drive from Cabo, mostly paved but the last 10 km is a very rough washboard dirt road. There's not much here apart from the small resort and a few privately owned homes. Five very casual small restaurants serving Mexican food (and Mexican beer -- dos cervesas por favor!) and lots of seafood dishes. But it is small town Mexico - no avocado (so no guacamole!) one place, no lettuce (so no salad) at another place, and one little place that advertised the best seafood in town, with no seafood! (which didn't bother us, being vegetarian) But Nancy's had a great salad with avocado and mango, yum! Caballero's had good food. And La Palapa was a great spot for a cold beer overlooking the beach. There's also a tiny grocery store. The resort uses solar power and a generator (but only during the day).


Our thatched roof bungalow is very nice, one big room with bed, comfy couch, dining table and kitchen area, plus the bathroom. It has an air conditioner but it struggles to fight the heat. It's about 30c inside but that still feels cool compared to 40c outside. We keep the door to the bathroom closed to minimize the area we're cooling so it turns into a sauna. And no, it's not a dry heat - it's very humid. There's also a patio complete with table and hammock.

Getting out to the diving is certainly different than any other place we've been. The boat is right on the sandy beach and pushed into the water by a 4WD truck. And pulled out the same way with a tow rope.

The sheer volume of fish here has been amazing. Lots of big schools of fish such as big eye jack and bright yellow panamic porkfish. Saw lots of green moray eels, (some up to 6 ft long), huge groupers, bumphead parrotfish, balloon fish and several kinds of stingrays. Also saw a bright orange clarion angelfish, a balloon fish with it's spines all puffed out, and a tiger shark which everyone was quite excited about.

We were surprised how many divers and snorkelers were coming out from Cabo, since this is the slow season. Unlike Loreto, where most of the divers were fairly experienced, here there seemed to be a lot of beginners.

Overall, I think we like Loreto a little better, but it was definitely worth coming here to see the reef and the huge numbers of fish. And being so isolated, it's a very peaceful spot.

La Paz

We took the bus to La Paz this morning - about a five hour ride. The bus was mostly empty which was nice. People are surprised that we're taking the bus, but it's not a problem. The buses are good and the bus stations are respectable. It doesn't seem any worse than taking the bus in Canada. (Not that most people do that either.)

We checked into Casa Tuscany, the B&B where we're staying in La Paz. It was recommended by another place we'd tried that was full. It seems very nice. We're in the Romeo & Juliet room (that was all they had available, honest) Nice courtyard and flowering plants and trees. Even a hummingbird feeder.

It doesn't seem quite so hot here and it even rained a bit this afternoon. But La Paz seems too much like a big city after Loreto - we passed the Walmart and Sears and Applebees restaurant.

We asked for a recommendation for supper and they suggested Tres Virgenes. We ate there the last time we were in La Paz (4 or 5 years ago) and liked it. But we weren't vegetarian then, so we'll have to see what they have. We can usually find something, even if it's just salads and appetizers.

Right now we're sitting in Cafe Exquisito, on the malecon with a view of the ocean. And free wifi :-)

Tomorrow we take the bus to San Jose del Cabo (the old town near Cabo San Lucas) and from there a shuttle to Cabo Pulmo for more diving. It is the only spot in Baja with a hard coral reef (as opposed to all the soft corals we've been seeing) so we want to check it out.

Hurricane Frank has been threatening Baja and might interfere with the diving but it appears to be weakening so hopefully we'll be ok.

We're not expecting to have Internet at Cabo Pulmo (there's not much there) so probably no photos or blog posts this week.

Baja 2010 #4

[Shelley] Just Andrew and I diving today so Raphael decided we needed a challenge. We gave him a challenge too -- 5 days of dolphins and a sea turtle. He delivered on every one!

Water was a bit rough so had to all get in at once and immediately get over to anchor line. Thanks goodness for long arms that reached over to grab my hand! Deep dive of 30 m, a bit of swimming involved but well worth it. Several huge groupers and amazing corals on a colorful wall plus the usual suspects.

When we got out after first dive Raphael claimed to have heard dolphins while we were under water. Ya right, I thought. But then Daniel drove us straight over to a small pod of them!

Second dive again started off challenging. Raphael said we'd see a turtle on this dive. Again I thought, ya right! But within minutes we came across a humongous black sea turtle, probably 150 lbs.  Had barnacles growing on him so has been around for a while. Saw more eels, a Sedna nudibranch, and a bullseye manta.

On the boat ride back to Loreto we really got the dolphin show and Andrew shot some amazing photos -- dolphins in flight! Also saw a sea lion that had caught a fish and was "playing" with it. Those photos are not for the faint of heart!

Baja 2010 #4

Baja 2010 #3

We've been having a great time, really enjoying the diving. We've seen dolphins every day so far. The weather has been good. Lots of those "it doesn't get much better than this" moments.

It's scorching hot (~40c) and very humid, but in the water or on the moving boat it's fine. And in town we can seek a/c. We really like Loreto. It gets enough tourists to have nice restaurants and coffee shops, but not enough to turn it into one big resort/mall/bar.

I've even managed to take a few underwater photos that don't suck too badly. Who'd think that sea slugs would be interesting, but the variety and colors and patterns of nudibranchs are incredible.

Baja 2010 #3

Baja #2

Baja 2010 #2

[Shelley] Wow! What a difference it makes getting a couple dives under your belt, less current, and the proper amount of weights. Miraculously I even managed some pretty darn good buoyancy control today, if I do say so myself. Well, for the most part anyway!

More dolphins on the way to and from the dive sites and also a mobula (related to the manta ray) jumping up out of the water -- and another miracle that I actually caught it on camera!

Both dives today, at the end of Carmen Island, were awesome. First we went into a shallow cave so had to use lights. Most interesting thing was several white Sedna nudibranch and tons of small fish hiding in all the cubbyholes.

On the two dives we saw spiny lobster, sea lions, Christmas tree worms, garden eels, green moray eel, crown of thorns starfish, huge balloon fish, among many, many others. Raphael was excited to see moorish idols as they are not common here.

The reason we came at this time (despite the hottest weather of the year) was to see the Humboldt Squid. Unfortunately, the squid have not arrived this year. The sport fishing is also terrible. Something to do with the currents being abnormal. Possibly related to climate change? Oh well, the diving is still awesome.

Loreto, Baja, Mexico

Baja 2010 #1

I had a good day in San Diego and recovered a bit from the constant travel. I felt like I entered Mexico when I stepped into the Greyhound bus station in San Diego - everything was in Spanish and there were very few gringos around. It was, per usual, very confused. There were no signs and no announcements. A bus showed up from a different bus line, with no sign on it, but everyone seemed to be getting on it. I went and showed my ticket to the driver. He hummed and hawed and finally said "ok", kept my ticket, and waved me on. It didn't inspire confidence! Just to double check I asked another attendant if the bus was going to Tijuana. He said yes. Actually, that was a mistake - never ask a yes/no question in this kind of situation. Instead, I should have asked where it was going. But it did go to Tijuana so it was ok.

It was the most low key border crossing I've had. No one looked at my passport, my luggage, or me. Everyone else got off the bus at the border, I think transferring to a bus to the Tijuana airport. I thought they got off to go through customs so I started to follow. The bus driver said "where are you going". I wasn't sure if he meant that as a question, or if he meant I should be staying on the bus. I said "uh, Tijuana?". Playing the straight man, he replied "we're in Tijuana". I said "terminal central" and he pointed back onto the bus. I sat on my own for a while and finally he got in and drove me to the bus terminal.

Being quite uncertain, I had allowed plenty of time, so I had almost three hours in the bus terminal. Thankfully it was clean and not too packed. I didn't see another gringo the whole time I was there. I guess not many tourists take the bus!

The bus was full, but reasonably comfortable, and air conditioned (too much, as usual). I managed to sleep most of the night. I woke up to a beautiful pink sunrise over the cactus, and the sounds of someone in the back of the bus retching violently and repeatedly, and not trying to be discreet about it. I had to sympathize - at one point I'd started to get motion sickness myself. I never get car sick, but on the windy, bumpy road, with the wallowing suspension, it was a little too much like being on a boat. And I do get sea sick. Luckily we stopped at a critical point and I got some fresh air and a Gravol and was ok after that.

18 hours later, getting off the air conditioned bus in Loreto was like stepping into an oven. It was something like 37 c (~ 100 f) and very humid. I walked the several kilometers to the hotel, starting the dripping sweat which seems to be the norm here.

[Shelley] My experience going through US customs was much different than Andrew's entering Mexico. Full body scan, thorough search of bags, the whole nine yards and more. I couldn't get to Los Angeles early enough to get to Loreto the same day so had a full afternoon and evening to kill. I took a trolley from the airport hotel strip to Manhattan Beach where there was a beach volleyball tournament going on. I had to laugh when I saw the truck on the beach with the LAPD logo on it, wondering how hard it would be to fill those special duty positions!

The next day I arrived at our bungalow in Loreto about 5 minutes after Andrew did. Pretty amazing considering I spent 2 days coming by air and he spent 6 days coming via bus and train.

Heat and humidity slammed us both as we got off our respective modes of transportation.

Sukasa Bungalows very nice. Thank goodness for air conditioning!

We did our first two dives today with Raphael at Dolphin Dive Center. This is our third time to Loreto but my first time diving here although Andrew has dived with Raphael on previous visits. On the way to Coronado Island (always a favorite due to the sea lions) we stopped to watch dolphins playing.

A fast current was fun on the first drift dive. . . zoom zoom! The sea lions were humorous zipping around us. Lots of other cool things to see too (check out the photos).

Second dive was even crazier than the first. Again strong current and Raphael did his best to keep us out of the "washing machine" but still a strenuous dive. Interesting radical changes from warm water to cold and back! Like switching the shower from hot to cold.

Weather perfect for being on the water but now dripping with sweat any time without a/c.

So Far So Good

I'm sitting on the patio of the Brickyard Cafe in San Diego - my favorite coffee spot here, although it's been a few years. A breakfast burrito and a latte (both excellent) on top of sleeping in a bed, have rejuvenated me.

The train was two hours late leaving Seattle yesterday morning. That plus getting there an hour early equated to a long wait. On the positive side, I went for a walk and stumbled over the waterfall park. It's right next to Pioneer Square and I'd walked past it several times without noticing it - it's completely fenced/walled in. It's small but very nice - definitely worth stopping by if you're in the area. UPS (the company) started on this spot and built the park.

The train ride wouldn't have been bad except that right behind me was a woman with five kids ranging from two to seven years old. Usually the train is pretty quiet but, as you can imagine, this time the peaceful moments were few and far between! As rowdy as the kids were, the mother was almost as annoying with her constant (and totally ineffective) exhortations - "enough, be quiet, stop, that's it, shhhsh, I've had it, that's enough, you're in big trouble, sit down, behave, leave your sister/brother alone". I have a certain amount of sympathy for her and the kids - 36 hours in a chair is rough for anyone. I just wish I'd been seated somewhere else! (the train was full so I couldn't move). My earphones got a lot of use.

I was hoping to find a latte and wifi at one of the stops along the way but I wasn't too successful. I knew I could get coffee and wifi in Portland but with the train behind schedule the stops were too brief. I finally found wifi in San Luis Obispo and as a result almost missed the train! I looked up from emailing and noticed everyone was gone. They slammed the doors as I was running back to the train. Thankfully someone saw me and reopened the door to let me on. It would have been really embarrassing to get left behind!

I was a little concerned about being late since I only had an hour to change trains in Los Angeles. But we actually arrived about 20 minutes early. Of course, I immediately went in search of a latte. Despite being a huge station, there was nothing. There was one kiosk that looked like it might serve espresso but everything was closed at 9 pm. I ended up going to the only place that was open - a somewhat "fancy" restaurant. (white table cloths, at least) After a glass of Oregon Firesteed Pinot Noir and a salad, I realized I might be able to get a latte here. Sure enough, success at last. (I'm not addicted, honest! At least, not as bad as the smokers who have to dash off the train at each stop.)

I thought the LA train station might be pretty seedy but it was actually quite respectable. It probably helped that they were actively kicking out anyone without a ticket.

When I came out of the restaurant the train was just starting to board, good timing. Just a few more hours. Unfortunately, there was a group of young people coming home from a concert already inebriated and continuing to drink, loudly. Despite the noise, and the coffee, I still managed to sleep most of the three hours. Nothing like being really tired!

I stayed at the Bristol Hotel (first time). I wasn't too sure about walking from the train station at 1 am but it was a main street and there were still quite a few (respectable looking) people around. The hotel is right across the street from the Greyhound station and on the edge of the "good" part of town - ritzy Horton Plaza mall one side, bail bonds on the other side (discount for military!?). But it turned out to be quite nice for the price.

A few years ago I took some nice photos of sparrows at Brickyard. There are still sparrows hopping around there, cleaning up the crumbs. They're a scruffy bunch, a bit like a gang of street kids, but likable all the same.

My Greyhound bus to Tijuana leaves at 5 pm and then I catch a Mexican bus to Loreto at 9 pm. I haven't taken the bus in Mexico before, but it's always worked well in South America. It'll be nice to meet up with Shelley and stay in one place for a while. And I'm looking forward to the diving. Now I just have to decide where to go for lunch - decisions, decisions :-)

Back on the Move

The countryside streams by. A fox in the tall grass. Hawks perched on fenceposts. A deer standing motionless beside its reflection in a beaver pond Everything is unusually green for late summer. I'm on my way to Baja, Mexico to scuba dive with Shelley. It's six days by bus and train. North America is a lot bigger this way.

Supper in Edmonton. I try out the Sabor Tapas Lounge - mixed salad, figs and blue cheese, a trio of bruschettas, a glass of Malbec, and chocolate cayenne mousse for desert. The service was a little slow, and the waiter somewhat aloof, but the food was good and the atmosphere nice. I'd go back. The slowness wouldn't have been an issue if I didn't have a bus to catch.

The plan was to pick up a latte for the road, but both the Starbucks and the Second Cup are closed :-( No big deal, I'd stopped at Cafe Sola on the way to the bus in Saskatoon.

The sun is sinking as we leave Edmonton. The days are getting shorter as summer passes.

The buses aren't full and I have two seats to myself the whole way - more comfortable if not so energy efficient.

Kamloops is foggy and quiet at 6 am. I cross the acres of empty parking lots to reach the Starbucks. This early I even snag the comfy chair :-) Afterwards, waiting for the bus, I watch a Clarks Nutcracker feeding in a pine tree beside the station.

I have almost five hours in Vancouver between buses. I walk down the north side of False Creek to Yaletown and have lunch at Provence. The antipasti looks interesting so I have lentil tofu salad, risotto balls, and peppers stuffed with goat cheese. A harbor seal pokes his head up and looks around then disappears. I take the Aquabus across to Granville island, wander through the market, get a chocolate almond croissant from the French bakery and head over to Pedros for coffee.

It was cloudy and cool earlier but now it's cleared, the sun is out and it's warm. People are feeding the pigeons and ducks and Canada geese. I say hello to the turtles in the pond. The great blue heron is in its usual spot.

When I get back to the train station there's a farmer's market set up. I enjoy wandering through.

The last leg to Seattle is uneventful other than the excessive air conditioning. It seems to be way too common to freeze to death on buses. I start to think it's just me but everyone else is putting on their sweaters and jackets too. The driver always says "if you're too hot or cold just let me know" but I've tried and it's never made any difference, so I've given up. The AC seems to have only one setting - full blast.

It was almost 9 pm by the time I got to Seattle. I'd booked a different hotel this time - the Executive. It was cheaper but got good reviews so I thought I'd give it a try. The building is older and the rooms basic but it seems nice enough.

It was almost 9:30 by the time I checked in so I asked where I could get something to eat. The clerk must have judged me by my backpack - she suggested Subway or ordering pizza delivery. I went across the street to Sazerac and had a nice sweet potato soup and apple and cheese salad with a glass of Oregon Pinot Noir. I think that beat her suggestions!

Next stop is bed. It's been a good trip so far, but I'm tired. Tomorrow morning I get on the train for a 40 hour ride to San Diego.

West Coast Photos

Some miscellaneous photos from Portland, Oakland, Seattle, and Vancouver.

2010-07/08 West Coast

Seattle

I stopped overnight in Seattle on my way back from Santa Clara. On the way in Mt. Rainier was looming over Seattle so big and clear that it looked like it rose from the edge of the city. Awesome!

I stayed at the Best Western at Pioneer Square because it was close to the train station. It was ok but seemed very overpriced for a pretty ho hum hotel in a somewhat seedy area. I stayed at much nicer places for less money on this trip. On the positive side, I had a very good late supper at Cafe Paloma just a few doors away.

I haven't been in Seattle for a long time. Lots of coffee shops :-) I had my morning coffee at Trabant which got good reviews and had free wifi. The funny part was that when I gave him my travel mug he said "you want me to put your latte in that?". Gotta love snobby coffee shops.

I only had the morning so I headed over to Pike Place Market. They were just opening which was nice since there weren't many people. All the flower stalls were gorgeous on the morning light. I walked through the market and down the hill to the aquarium, which turned out to be very good. I loved watching the big octopus moving around. (usually they're just hiding). It was getting busy by the time I left. Zoos and aquariums are always full of kids, which is great (although annoying!) But how come adults outgrow it?

I stopped for an early lunch at Fonte Coffee Roaster and Wine Bar. Coffee places can be a little grungy but this place was more like a trendy wine bar. The coffee was amazing, the best I've had in a long time. My frittata was excellent as well.

I hit one last coffee shop on my way to the station to catch the bus to Vancouver I couldn't resist a place called Cafe Zeitgeist.

More Names

I left Jack London Square, that wasn't really a square, and came to my hotel in Santa Clara that's at Rivermark Village. As you can probably guess, it's not, by any stretch of the imagination, a village. It's another shopping center. On the positive side, it does have a few coffee places and restaurants.

I arrived at the Great America Amtrak station. (Except it wasn't a station, just a stop.) When I hear "Great America" I think it must be a museum or a monument or something. If you're thinking there's a pattern and it must be another shopping center, sorry, it's not. This time it's a giant amusement park, like Disneyland. What a name. Is that really what makes America great? Probably a lot of people think so.

Also on a positive note, I managed to walk most of the two miles from the train to the hotel on trails in a park along the Guadalupe River. Much nicer than the roads Google suggested, although it was their map that showed the trails.

Timberline Lodge

by Shelley

After our hike around Mount Hood on the Timberline Trail, we stayed at the historic Timberline Lodge at the base of the mountain. Although we don't usually do tours, we decided to take in two of them on our last day.

The first was a tour of the lodge itself. The lodge was constructed in the mid 1930's, during the Great Depression, as a Works Progress Administration project that hired unemployed craftspeople. Built entirely by hand, it's made of local and recycled materials -- large timbers from the forest, local stone, and old railway iron, just to name a few. There are beautiful carvings and other artwork throughout the lodge. Most of the stairwell posts had animals or birds carved in the top of them. A very large and heavy (1800 lbs) door leading outside onto the second floor balcony, still moves smoothly and easily -- a credit to superb craftsmanship!

In the center of the lodge is the "Head House" with a massive 6-sided, 3-storey chimney rising up through the middle. On the top two floors there are windows all around for magnificent views of Mount Hood itself or Mount Jefferson and other volcanoes to the south.

The furniture and other fixtures are also reminiscent of history -- right down to the large old fashioned wind up alarm clock that went "tick, tock, tick, tock, tick tock" all night long until I finally wrapped it in a towel and hid it in the bathroom before it totally drove me round the bend!

The second tour was of the Lodge's Wine Vault! We were the only two who decided to take part in this one so I think the tour "samples" were a little more generous than they might normally be! The Vault features many high quality products from local Oregon wineries as well as those in Washington and a few other parts of the world. One of our favorites was an Oregon blend called "Purple Hands". All were colorfully displayed along one wall of the Vault. We enjoyed several other Oregon wines throughout our trip!

Timberline Lodge

Urban Blend

I arrive at my hotel in Oakland too early to check in. But there's wifi in the lobby and Yelp finds me a few nearby coffee shops. Urban Blend looks interesting - it's in an old gas station.

It's definitely not a tourist place, even though the fancy shops are only a few blocks away. The counters are rough and a coat of paint wouldn't hurt. But the coffee is good and I snag a comfortable old couch.

The guy working behind the counter speaks Spanish to many of the regulars. He seems like a good guy. A young girl orders a drink and then can't pay (they don't take debit). He lets her go. She says she'll come back and pay, but I wonder. Two other guys come in and talk him into giving them free coffee. One of them cleans the tables in return.

I leave a generous tip. Obviously, I can afford it more than the other customers. I'll come back here if I get a chance - I like the feel of the place. It reminds me a little of Mexico.

Moving On

I'm on the train from Portland to San Francisco. I continue to enjoy traveling by train. I'm sitting in the observation car in the slanting evening sun watching the forest covered hillsides go by. A deer looks up as we went by. The moon is almost full, hanging low. The sky colors as the sun sinks. Flying I would have seen nothing but the drive to and from the airport.

As much as I enjoy riding the train, as I look out at the forest I can't help think I'd rather be out there hiking through the trees instead of sitting here watching them through the window.

I'm almost sorry to leave. The more time I spend in Portland, the more I find to like about it. I stayed at Hotel Fifty during the conference - not quite as fancy as Riverplace but still right on the river and closer to the conference center (and cheaper). I spent more time in the Pearl district this trip, initially because the Patagonia and REI stores were there. I ended up returning several times simply because I liked the area.

The train gets in to Oakland in the morning. I decided to stop there for the weekend since Santa Clara (where my conference starts Monday) doesn't look too interesting. Oakland has a market on Sunday and I can always ride the ferry across to downtown San Francisco. The train station is near Jack London Square. Naively, I thought this would be a "square", but it looks like it's a shopping center. Kind of like a "villa" isn't a villa and an "estate" isn't an estate. Sigh.

View from Fenouil

Had supper at Fenouil in Portland tonight. Great meal, and great to be able to sit outside in the warm evening and watch people walk and play in the park. Hard to beat.

Photos from Mt. Hood

2010-07 Mt. Hood

Sustainable Ecotourism

These folks asked me to mention their organization and awards. They seem like a legit organization, so I will:

http://www.ecotourism.org/innovation-awards

Although, to be really sustainable, I think tourism (like many other things) has to be more local. No matter how you do it, flying half way round the world for a holiday is not exactly sustainable. At least until we can power it with something other than fossil fuels.

I notice their conference is in Portland in September. Shelley and I are thinking about going diving in Baja at the end of August, beginning of September so if I'm in the area, I'll have to check it out. (Travelling by train and bus isn't all good either, but at least you pay a cost in time that makes you think twice about what you're doing, unlike flying.)

Sinking Baselines

One of the most depressing ideas I've encountered recently (and for someone who follows environmental issues that's saying something) was in Endgame by Derrick Jensen.

When dire predictions about the deterioration of the environment come true, you'd at least like to be able to say "I told you so", in hopes that people might learn a lesson. But it doesn't work that way. Each generation takes the current conditions as their "baseline" to compare things to. In an abstract way we might be vaguely aware that there used to be millions of buffalo or carrier pigeons. But we never saw them and we don't dwell overly on their loss. We might notice that the pristine lake we knew as children is now ringed by huge "cottages" and plagued by jet skis and power boats. But our kids have never known it any different and have no idea what's already been lost.

We go to East Africa (or anywhere else) and marvel at the wildebeest and zebra, elephant and giraffe (or whatever wildlife is left), not thinking about how they're a sad fraction of what they used to be. Each generation sees incremental loss, but few see the total cumulative effect.

And so we destroy our environment, the ecosystem that we forget supports us even in our high tech "civilization", until it's too late and all we have left is old stories of the Eden we once had.

"It was here that I first clearly realized that land is an organism, that all my life I had only seen sick land ...

"In short, twenty years of "progress" have brought the average citizen a vote, a national anthem, a Ford, a bank account, and a high opinion of himself, but not the capacity to live in high density without befouling and denuding his environment, nor a conviction that such capacity ... is the true test of whether he is civilized.

- Aldo Leopoldo, 1933

Walkin' Round da Hood

Mt. Hood that is, near Portland Oregon. We just finished a five day, 40 mile (65 km) hike around the mountain, starting and ending at the historic Timberline Lodge. We lucked out with fantastic weather - glorious sunny blue skies and warm temperatures.

It's a great hike, some of it through shady green forest and some of it on open slopes above tree line. There's a fair bit of up and down, as you'd expect, but mostly quite gentle inclines so not too tough. There are quite a few stream crossings, which can be challenging depending on the flow. We took sandals and used them a couple of times to wade across. Coming straight from glaciers and snow melt, the water is about as cold as water can be! The other crossings we managed by boulder hopping or by balancing across temporary bridges of wobbly tree trunks.

Mid July is early for this trail and they'd had a late spring so there was a lot of snow in some areas. So much that the trail disappeared under it and we had to practice our navigation to hook up with it again. Mostly we did pretty well. Once we followed some faint tracks in the wrong direction and ended up much too high. But we found a nice little spot to camp and found the trail fairly quickly the next morning, a few hundred feet lower. An altimeter was more useful than a compass in this kind of terrain. I had my GPS, but the map we had didn't have much of a grid so you couldn't really relate the two. I had topo maps on my iPhone, but the GPS only works when there's a cell phone signal, which we didn't have most of the time.

With the meadows just emerging from the snow it was a little early for the wildflowers, but there were still quite a few. Lots of crocuses coming out. And beautiful rhododendrons blossoms making splashes of bright pink in the forest. Some of the forest trail was covered with a thick carpet of small pine cones. Other places there were huge 7 or 8 inch pine cones. There are some big trees in the forest, high enough on the mountain to escape the loggers I guess. The only big stumps we saw were in the Mt. Hood Meadows ski area. If you ask me, downhill ski areas don't belong in a "wilderness" area. (any more than they belong in Banff and Jasper National Parks) We didn't see a lot of wildlife but a deer passing by paused to watch us, and a squirrel came down his tree to inspect us up close. There were lots of deer tracks and some that looked like bear and big cat (cougar?).

Officially, the trail is "closed" at Elliot Creek near Cloud Cap. Not because of the creek itself, but because of the steep, unstable rubble slopes forming the sides of the canyon. Landslides destroyed the main trail a few years ago but hikers have made a new route if you're up to it. (Take the faint trail heading up from the "Trail Closed" sign.) There are even fixed ropes on the worst sections on each side. I wouldn't have minded a climbing helmet since there was a high risk of falling rock. I can see why they officially discourage people from crossing. The trail has also been damaged by landslides on the section between Ramona Falls (beautiful falls) and Muddy Fork, but you can bypass that section if you want by following the Pacific Crest Trail.

With less snow we could easily have done the loop in four days but given the conditions, five days was just right. Since it's a wilderness area you can camp wherever you like (except on the meadows) which is nice, but if you want flat ground and water nearby there are limited spots. Early in the season and mid week we didn't have any competition for sites. We only saw a few other backpackers and day hikers only at a couple of places close to road access.

I'd definitely recommend this hike. Even if you're not up to doing the entire loop, you can do sections of it as day hikes. There's even a guide for this - Around Mt. Hood in Easy Stages by LOLITS Press. (Little Old Ladies In Tennis Shoes)

Back in Portland

Took the train from Vancouver to Portland. A pleasant trip - I got a seat on the right (ocean) side of the train and it was a beautiful day. Saw quite a few great blue herons on the shore and a few bald eagles. Funny to see canada geese - on the ocean Good views of Mt. Rainier. It was a hot day outside but the train was freezing. I wish people wouldn't go quite so overboard on the air conditioning.

Usually I'd walk from the train station but I was meeting Shelley so I hopped on the Max train. It's great being able to ride the train for free in the downtown area. Saves having to figure out fares and tickets.

Shelley was waiting in the lounge enjoying a glass of wine and a goat cheese cheesecake. We relaxed and enjoyed the view of the river. The sky was clear blue. We couldn't remember seeing Mt. Hood from Portland before.

We went to Veritable Quandary for supper. It's getting to be a favorite, just a few blocks from the Riverplace Hotel, nice atmosphere and great food. It was a good thing we'd made a reservation before we left Saskatoon - it was full and the staff were hustling.

We had a nice Oregon Pinot Noir - Four Graces. I started with the wild mushroom spinach salad, delicious We let the cook surprise us with a vegetarian entrée and he did an excellent job - a wild rice risotto, morel mushrooms, three kinds of peas, fava beans, and a touch of lemon. Very yummy. We shared a single entrée so we'd have room for chocolate soufflé for desert.

That was Saturday. Today (Sunday) we have a shuttle booked to Timberline lodge on Mt. Hood where we'll stay tonight and start (and finish) our five day hike around the mountain. Probably no Internet on the mountain :-) so no more blog posts till we get back.

A Place to Live

I took the bus to Vancouver this time because the schedule worked out better and just to compare it. It was nice to be able to walk from home to the bus station. (The train station is way out of town.) And Cafe Sola is next door so I could grab a coffee before I left. I'd have to say the train is more comfortable, even if it is slower. On the bus, even with two seats to yourself, it's almost impossible to find a comfortable position to sleep. But I don't mind too much. I love to watch the countryside go by and there was a beautiful sunset.

From the train you tend see the industrial underside of cities and towns. That can be a little ugly. On the bus you pass the miles of strip malls, big box stores, and acres of parking lots filled with gas guzzling vehicles. Even uglier, if you ask me!

The bus stopped in Kamloops for breakfast. It was a beautiful sunny morning. Probably hot later but then it was just right. A touch of cool from the night but balanced by the warmth of the sun. The Starbucks didn't open till 6am so I wandered those acres of parking lots around those big box stores and strip malls. It seemed to go on forever. And not a single bench or seat or picnic table. Not that you'd really want to sit out there. There's also not a single plant or tree, just concrete and asphalt. I spotted some green behind the buildings and I thought it might be a park. No, a cemetery. Only the dead get grass and trees and flowers and places to sit.

So what kind of place would I like to see?

Well, it wouldn't have cars, strip malls, big box stores, acres of parking lots, fast food chains, "convenience" stores full of junk food, suburbs, or McMansions.

Most people would probably think I've just rejected all of civilization. If you ask me, this kind of "civilization" isn't particularly civilized.

Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to live without these things. And be happier and less of a burden on the planet.

So what would it be like? With no cars it'd be smaller, a few kilometers across maybe. So more of a town than a city. And when I say no cars I don't mean parking your car at the edge of a pedestrian area. I mean you don't own a car. Within town you walk or ride a bike. To go further there'd be public transit like trains.

Think about all the area covered by roads and parking. Imagine that turned into green space with walking and cycling paths. Without the need for streets housing could be scattered among the trees. And the "green" space wouldn't be the unnatural lawns we're currently obsessed with. It would be the local native vegetation - grasslands, forest, desert.

Ok, I'll wake up now. I'm sitting in Vancouver - about as far from this fantasy as you can get.

Kayaking at Pike Lake

Shelley and I went out kayaking at Pike Lake this morning. The river is really high and fast these days - not conducive to a leisurely paddle, let alone trying to take pictures, so it seemed like a good day to head to Pike Lake. Didn't end up taking too many pictures. We caught a glimpse of a beaver but it didn't stick around. No muskrats this time. But it was nice and peaceful on the water. A few too many water lilies in some spots though!

I must have got too close to one of the red-winged blackbird nests. The male was flapping around me trying to chase me away. Meanwhile, the female showed up with a mouthful of worms.

Walking to Work

A few photographs I took walking to work a couple of weeks ago.

Walking to Work

Urban Sunset

I looked out the window last night and saw the pink clouds. They don't last long so I quickly grabbed camera and ran outside. Our view to the West is not as open as to the East, so I don't usually try to take sunset photos from home. These were taken from the driveway.

Photos from the race

Waiting for the start:

At the first transition, from biking to running:

Coming into the finish:

Photos by Bill Wallace.

Missed It By That Much

Shelley and I and Jeff Ferguson raced in the Urban Adventure Race yesterday. This race is a score competition which means the team that gets the most points wins. We had the most points but we ended up in second place because we lost points for finishing 9 minutes late.

We were perfectly happy with second (out of about 20 teams). I'm always amazed that more of these youngsters don't run circles around an old fart like me. I know it'd be a different story if it was a straight bike or running race. Thankfully experience and strategy play a big part in this kind of race.

The weather was perfect - overcast and not too hot, not too much wind. The mosquitos were crazy though if you walked across any grassy areas.

Much to Shelley's chagrin, she slipped off at the end of the climbing challenge. Muddy running shoes aren't the ideal climbing footwear!

All the racers got yelled at by the adults organizing a kids race we had to pass by. I can appreciate warning us that there were kids around, but they were a little over zealous trying to get rid of us.

Thankfully the biking was split into two sections with the running in the middle. None of our team had been doing much biking lately other than back and forth to work, which isn't really adequate training for a four hour race!

It was a little frustrating to get the late penalty - we know that's a big mistake. We've always managed to time it pretty well in previous races. But we had a long way to get back to the finish and misjudged how long it would take us.

Other than finishing late, the race went pretty well. No more than minor delays finding any of the points, and our route choices worked out pretty well. Some of the points were in areas we were pretty familiar with, which always helps. But there were others in parts of town I'd never seen before, and that's fun too.

We only had one crash. I was trying to read the map and was debating which fork of the trail to take. I went over the handlebars but slowly and into soft grass. More embarassing than painful.

I guess Shelley and I can't have been too out of shape since we're not too stiff or sore today.

I was lucky with my bike. I went out on it this morning and only got a few blocks and my chain broke and fell off! Thank goodness that didn't happen during the race! It's a bit strange since I got a new chain about a month ago and haven't abused it in any crashes or anything. I managed to repair it with a link from an old chain and my chain tool that I've never had to use before.

Kayaking on the River

A few photos from kayaking on the river. The baby geese are always so cute.

2010-06-06 River Kayak

On one hand, it's easier to get close to the birds from the water. On the other hand, it's hard to take pictures while the kayak is drifting down stream. And one of these days I'm likely to lose my paddle while I'm concentrating on the photography!

Dancing Rainbow

Noticed the sun shining through the aquarium making this rainbow on the floor and grabbed my iPhone to record it.

Turtle Tales

The sun was shining and I was going to sit outside so I thought I'd feed Millie (the turtle) outside for a change. She could get some real sunshine instead of just UV lights.

The feeding part didn't work so well. Despite being in the same blue tub as always, she could obviously tell things were not normal and she was too distracted to eat. Occasionally she would happen to spot some food, reflex would take over, and she'd grab it. But mostly she was trying to escape. Despite being mostly aquatic, these turtles are surprisingly strong climbers.

So I decided to let her go for a walk. At first she stayed on the patio close to me, but after a while she headed off into the weeds (of which we have no shortage!) and pushed herself half under the dead leaves.

I think she'd be tough to find if you didn't know where to look. Eventually I had to pull her out to go back in her tank.

Some days she can be quite a handful, thrashing around with her sharp claws and drawing blood if you're not careful. But today she was being quite calm, even after I removed the leaves she was hiding behind.

Although turtles aren't particularly intelligent, they (like many animals) have a surprising range of behaviour, which isn't easy to predict. It makes them seem like they have a "character" even if they don't in the human sense.

[thanks to Shelley for the photographs]

Environmental Shenanigans

To the Tsilhqot’in Nation, Fish Lake is a sacred place that has sustained them for generations.

To the Taseko mining company, it’s an answer to a very different prayer: a cheap dump site for acid tailings from the proposed Prosperity gold-copper mine.

Shenanigans like this used to be prohibited by the Fisheries Act – until it was amended in 2002 to allow lakes and other freshwater bodies to be re-classified as “tailings impoundment areas”.

from Save Fish Lake — Sierra Club of BC

In other words, you can't destroy a lake, but if you don't call it a lake, then it's ok. So if I don't call it "murder" is it ok to do it?

PS. If you ask me "shenanigans" sounds far too harmless.