Day 13 - Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree was a let down at first but it came alive when the sun went down. I arrived at 10am and scurried around to find a campsite. Most campgrounds are first come first serve at national parks so arriving early allows for an easier securing of campsites-- I found a nice one at Big Rocks. I setup my uncles tent (struggling at first in the howling wind) in order to mark my spot and set out for a climb up Ryan Mountain.

Joshua Tree is known for their famous Joshua trees and slabs of rock. This first hike was in a section of the park short on these two items. The second hike was much better-- a 6 mile round trip to the Lost Horse Gold Mine set deep in the mountain hills. Pic 1.

The sun was starting to go down so I thought I would drive around and look for a good spot to watch the show. I found a large slab of rocks overlooking a field of Joshua Trees with the mountains in the background and a range of rocky peaks to the north and climbed up. Pic 2

Just kidding. I'm a very good climber and Joshua Tree rocks are sticky-- they aren't flat but pointy. And my shoes are very rubbery. The sun was slowly setting as I was scrambling around the rocks maybe fifty feet up.

Sunset at Joshua Tree is a almost spiritual experience. Whereby during the day the trees and rocks and hills blend together to a dullish ground color, at night the trees became dark pillars tilting in reflection, the rocks light up a haunting white-grey and the moutains keep the sunset for hours. Tonight was a full moon so I decided to go for a night hike before heading to camp. I have a light that attaches to the brim of my hat making night hiking safe. I rounded a rock corner and heard th faint beat of drums and Indian chants in the distance-- towards the fading horizon line. I contemplated walking over but the sound was too far off and I wasn't prepared to get lost and camp outside tonight, so turned back and headed to big rocks camp for the night. See pics 3-5 below.

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Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet! I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception. I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton. The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district. Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...

Day 106 - Seattle

My July 4th started with a drive from Vancover to Seattle, arriving at the Museum of Flight by 11. The museum tour began with a display of the 27 U.S. Flags, made interesting by announcing the history of the states entry into the union. This B-17 is similar to the bomber my grandfather flew in WW2. A former Air Force One plane that Kennedy road on was another highlight. I stayed all day at the museum enjoying the history of aviation exhibits and finally space! I drove into downtown Seattle to checkout the city parks reserved for fireworks watching. These neighborhoods were crawling with people and would make horrible stealth street camping sites. I called several hostels and all were full... but then I found one with one bed left. I reserved the spot and drove to the hostel to find it in walking distance to the fireworks. I joined a group waking down to see the fireworks. We were joined by a few others. Two skydivers with fire flaming behind their path were followed by...

Day 93 - Calgary to Banff

After a very pleasant morning at Dave's house spent photocopying trail and scramble guide routes, enjoying a great breakfast and coffee, meeting some of Dave's extremely kind family members and chatting more about adventures, I set out for downtown Calgary. I thought a walk around a museum would be a nice change of pace, so I toured the Glenbow Museum. Two highlights were a Blackfoot Indian describing the meaning of their Tipi decorations and the Gun Scupture. The history of Alberta section was also quite interesting: fur trappers then cowboys then railroad builders then oil drillers. I then walked down to a nearby waterfront park, along a pedestrian only shopping street where a Christian pride rally was taking place, and then down quiet side streets to the park. Seeing people out jogging and playing on this Sunday afternoon reminded me of the real life I must one day return to. But not yet! Hungry and ready for mountains, I walked back to my van and left Calgary heading wes...

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