Archive for the 'Non-RTW Travel' Category

Places that Fit and Places that Don’t

Theresa September 14th, 2008

Sometimes a place fits. And sometimes it doesn’t. But you never really know for sure until you try it on.

Countries are, apparently, a lot like shoes. Sometimes they’re cute and loved by everyone you know, yet when you give them a go, you find yourself just a bit uncomfortable in them. Other times they can seem pretty average on first glance, but before you know it they’re the only ones for you and you can’t believe you ever found them anything but amazing.

I’ve had both experiences. I love Greece. I love the beauty of the islands. I love the spirit of the people. I even came to embrace the chaos. But as much as I long to go back there—to stuff gyros into my face all day long, to sit for hours at a cafe in the heart of Athen’s messiness, to hop the next ferry to whatever island—Greece doesn’t really fit me. We’re not opposites that attract in a pleasant, lifelong way. We’re opposites that find each other startlingly attractive, rush into a crazy affair, and then crash and burn in a fiery display. We never live up to each others’ expectations. We’re both forever trying to change the other. We are star-crossed.

Germany, I also love. It’s not nearly as showy as Greece, not as striking in its beauty, not as tempting in its offerings. It’s the land of fairy tales…but the Grimm brother versions, not the Disney versions. When you tell people you’re going to Germany, you don’t get the same sighs of longing as you get when you say you’re going to Greece. But Germany, well, it gets me. It’s solid and reliable. I know what to expect from it, I know how to behave with it. And every so often, it surprises me with some small delight, nothing big, nothing flashy for sure, but just a little something to keep me satisfied. I could grow old with Germany.

Yes, yes, I know…shoes, romantic partners…I’m mixing all kinds of metaphors in here. So I guess I’ll just go ahead and get to my point, which is that Sweden fits me.

From the moment I’ve arrived—and I commented on this to Jeff after my first day here—it’s felt surprisingly normal. It’s as if I’ve been here before (which, indeed, I have but it was for just a quick couple of days of being a tourist). I slipped in easily, a strange kind of familiarity surrounding me. Perhaps it’s the fact that our apartment reminds me of my dorm room in Germany. Or maybe it’s because in its weather patterns and its location on the water it feels like Seattle, which I’ve gotten used to over the past years. Or maybe it’s because I can recognize enough of the language, thanks to the similarities with German, to know what everything is at the grocery store, to read menus and store signs, to check bus schedules, to apologize to someone for not speaking the language when they assume that I can. I’m sure it’s a combination of factors, but the fact is that Sweden just works for me. I feel at home walking its streets, stopping in its cafes, shopping in its stores, and just moving through the simple ordinary acts of living. It’s a place that I’d feel comfortable adding to my “List of Places I can Live When Hell Truly Freezes Over and John McCain Wins the Election.” (Although I think I’d have to run off and have a torrid affair with Greece every winter…but, really, I think that wouldn’t be so terrible.)

Anyhow, what about you? What places feel like a natural fit to you and what places never fit right no matter how hard you try to make them? What countries would be on your own personal version of the hell freezing over list?

5 Things I Should Not Have Left Behind

Jeff August 27th, 2008

Following up on Theresa’s post about useful things abroad, here’s what I’m missing over here.  Since we’re here for six weeks in the same apartment, this is obviously a different list than the backpacking standard list.  Theresa, don’t forget these things when you come =).  So here I am, less than a week into my stay in Stockholm, and already I’m finding many things I wish I had brought with me.  Now, this is no disaster, since Theresa is coming this weekend and can save me on some of these things and Sweden is a developed nation and I have been able to purchase everything I needed, but it definitely could have saved me some money.

1. My travel towel – I left this with the RTW stuff and didn’t bring it here, assuming (incorrectly) that linens would be included where we are staying.  Lesson learned, always keep this close by … as many of you have already discovered.

2. Umbrella – How silly of me to come to Stockholm without an umbrella.  It’s drizzled/rained steadily for three of the five days I’ve been here, and twice I’ve had to lug myself back from the store, soaking myself and my cargo.  An umbrella would’ve been useful.  And oddly, they did not have them at the store either time.

3. Rug holding mats – This one I don’t think anyone could’ve seen coming, not that we had any to leave behind to start with.  There’s a rug on our linoleum floor that flows so easily across the floor,it slips every time I step on it and I almost fall on my ass.  Something must be done, but the concept of rug securing pads has apparently not reached Stockholm (even though they have many more linoleum floors covered by rugs), as I have seen no such product anywhere.  Maybe the good folks at IKEA have something this weekend.  Alternatively, I guess I could just take the rug up for my own safety, but that just makes a starkly bland room even less colorful.

4. Fitted bed sheets – Fitted sheets are just so much better than the flat undersheets common here.  We also need our own flat topsheet.  Even though I have my sleep sheet to take care of me now, I’m counting on Theresa to bring these over.  I’m just accustomed to my american bed stylings and don’t sleep nearly as well otherwise.  Jet lag doesn’t help with these things either.

5. Multi-outlet power strip – We have too many electronics!  But they all have North American plugs.  So we a multi-outlet power strip to plug into our travel adapter so we can plug in our american gadgets (if this is a bad idea/dangerous, please let me know in the comments!)

A Sign of How Strange Our Lives Have Become

Theresa August 19th, 2008

Jeff leaves for Sweden tomorrow, and I follow 1.5 weeks later. We’ll be there for a total of 6 and 4.5 weeks respectively. While there, we’ll take a 5-day trip to St. Petersburg, and we may also visit Estonia and Latvia. That’s kind of big, right? Yeah, I’d say so. But from the way we’re approaching it you’d think we’re doing nothing more than flying home for the weekend.

In the past, I would have made twenty-seven packing lists by now. I may have even packed twenty-seven times. I would have made a list of all the things I want to see and do, searching blogs and travel boards, guidebooks and websites for the best of everything. I would have fretted and stressed. I would frankly have thought about it a whole hell of a lot more than the approximate 3.7 minutes I’ve spent thinking about it so far.

But this time I’ve done none of that. I’ve done nothing at all actually. Maybe it’s because we’re both so busy tying up loose ends and finishing up big projects. In between confirming elevations and trail distances or reviewing the figures in scientific papers, we haven’t had time to worry about whether we need to pack warmer clothes, whether we should take an extra plug adaptor, or whether it’s best to be at the airport two hours or 1.5 hours before departure time.

Maybe it’s because we’ve both lived abroad in Europe before. It’s familiar. It’s almost easy. I know that if I don’t pack a toothbrush, I’ll easily be able to buy one. I know that if I don’t pack enough underwear, I can easily do a load of laundry. I know that the transportation system makes sense, that Internet is widely available, that food is familiar, and that they may speak English better than I do. The fact that Jeff has traveled there every year for the past five and many times in the years prior to that, can carry on a conversation with that rare Swede that speaks no English and that, hey, he carries one of their passports around, makes it seem all the more easy and comfortable.

Or maybe it’s the fact that seen against the background of the trip we’ll embark on upon our return from Sweden, this trip seems small and incomparably simpler. We don’t need immunizations or immodium. We don’t need cable locks and yellow fever certificates. We don’t have to debate whether to take the chicken bus or pay a few extra bucks and splurge on the tourist bus. We don’t have to ponder the best way to approach a squat toilet. While our round-the-world trip will have us almost exclusively in the developing world, this trip will have us in one of the world’s most developed countries.

I don’t mean to trivialize our trip to Sweden, and I don’t mean to say I’m not excited. I’m sure once I board my flight across the Atlantic, it’ll hit me. I know I’ll end up with lists of places I want to visit. I am certain at some point I’ll worry about what I did or did not pack (though in mid-air it will be rather futile). I have no doubt that I’ll take a million photos and find thousands of things to marvel at. It’s a trip that a short time ago would have seemed huge…and which is, in fact, huge. But right now it’s kind of like looking at a lake while swimming in the ocean. And I can’t help but be slightly amused by that.

American Images … at 70 MPH

Jeff August 14th, 2008

The drive between DC and Louisville passes through almost no cities; the college towns of Morgantown, West Virginia and Lexington, Kentucky are the metropolises of this route.  In the place of large cities, however, lies 600 miles of authentic rural America.    We saw this America as we blew by at 70 mph on the large interstate highways.  To be honest, this project was inspired by the gigantic crane advertising the county fair we saw leaving DC off which two items were hanging: a monster truck, and a gigantic flowing American flag.  Nothing could be more appropriate.  Outside of that fantastic image we could not capture, here are images of the scenery that struck us.

Travel Take Two: New England Roadtrip

Theresa August 5th, 2008

It’s been a long time since we did a Travel Take Two installment, so I thought I’d bring this series back to life with a look at our last summer’s vacation, a roadtrip from D.C. to Maine and back with stops all along the way.

Destination: Cape Cod, MA; Burlington, VT; Northeast Kingdom, VT; Kancamagus Higway, NH; Bar Harbor & Acadia, ME; Portland, ME; Boston, MA; NYC.

Date: August 10-20, 2007

Travel Partners: Just the two of us

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Vermont. We both loved pretty much everything about Vermont. It was hands-down the prettiest state we traveled to, and just driving across it was a treat. But our stops really made it stand out. Burlington was a nice city to stroll around, ever so walkable and picturesque. Lake Champlain and its islands (more later) were awesome. Who doesn’t love Ben & Jerry’s? The tour of the plant was comical, the flavor graveyard was highly amusing, and the fact that their samples are actually substantial is a real plus. And finally, the Northeast Kingdom. First of all, how can you not love a place with a name like that? And secondly, how much more beautiful can a place be? Honest to God town greens, gorgeous glacial lakes, lovely B&Bs, great homegrown food—I was ready to move there.

2. Baseball in Massachusetts. We practically planned the trip around baseball, so it’s a good thing that at least most of the baseball was well worth it. Our two baseball experiences in Massachusetts were excellent and reminders of the way the game is supposed to be played. On Cape Cod, we were able to watch a playoff game of the Cape Cod League, the league in which the best college baseball players in the country play each summer. In Boston, we made it to Fenway Park to see the Red Sox. In both places, the atmosphere was excellent. Though many of the guys in the Cape Cod League will one day be seeing paychecks with many, many zeros on them, there was no pretension. Fans–large numbers of them–gathered at school fields, setting up lawn chairs and spreading out blankets to cheer on their teams, while the players put on displays on immense talent and then bantered with the crowd, handing out high fives or selling raffle tickets when they weren’t playing. Fenway is classic for good reason. The seats are tiny and the paint is peeling off of them, but no one cares. The stadium has atmosphere, an aura. And the fans are all too busy standing and cheering to worry about the state of their seat. Even though I’m not a Red Sox fan, it was an exhiliarating experience.

3. The Great Outdoors. Now I have to admit that even though I’d been to much of the Northeast before, I hadn’t ever really equated it with great natural beauty. I’m not sure why, since it’s in fact, a great place for those who love nature. There’s a reason so many artists flocked to the Cape Cod National Seashore; it’s picture perfect. Vermont, as I mentioned before, is one glorious sight after another. The Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire (probably my least favorite of the states we visited) offers lovely waterfall after lovely waterfall. And how do you even sum up Acadia? It’s a wonderland of peaks and seashore, tidal pools and evergreens.

LOWLIGHTS

1. Lobster. What trip to Maine would be complete without at least one lobster dinner? Not ours, although maybe it should have been. Our trip to a lobster pound was less than a highlight. It didn’t take long for us both to decide that we didn’t really see what the big deal about lobster was. It was fine, sure, but not great, and it was so much damn work to eat. Then we made the fatal mistake of opening our lobsters all the way up. Seeing the green stuff in the middle was enough to make us both lose our appetites…and almost our dinners. Yuck. I’d rather just have steak, thanks.

2. Yankee Stadium. ESPN’s made Yankee Stadium, a.k.a. “The House the Ruth Built,” into a year-long story, and everyone rates it as a classic, but we both found it to be a yawn. It felt pretty generic to us, and lacked the intimacy and excitement of Fenway. The stands were only about half full, and even though it was an afternoon game, I literally had a hard time staying awake. I guess I’m glad we got to see it before it gets torn down, but eh, I was less than impressed.

3. The L.L. Bean Store. For some reason, every time we told anyone that Portland was one of our stops, they asked if we were going to the L.L. Bean Store. So we added it to the list, figuring it must be a big deal. I have to say we were underwhelmed. Sure it was big and sure I can shop there around the clock, but it didn’t have any great deals or any fancy gear that you can’t find elsewhere. I guess maybe once it was something, but now everything’s big and open all the time, so I guess we’re just jaded. Plus all those outlets around town and the crazed herds of female shoppers had me a little freaked out.

LESSONS LEARNED

1. On that very rare occasion, the too-good-to-be-true deal is actually true. A hotel room in Manhattan for $20? Yeah, right. You can’t get a hotel anywhere for that. But oh yeah, we did. And no, this wasn’t a room in a brothel; it was in fact a room in a nice hotel right next to the United Nations with a huge marble bathroom, super comfy bed, and a light control panel that I had so much fun playing with. The hotel, which had just reopened after a renovation offered a very small number of rooms for $19.17 in honor of the year the hotel first opened. We happened to be one of the lucky few to actually score the deal.

2. Sometimes the best places are the ones the guidebooks barely mention. One of our very favorite stops—the Lake Champlain Islands—was mentioned in the Lonely Planet as a mere afterthought. If I’d been the one writing the guidebook, it would have gotten a couple of pages at least. The island are small, given, but they’re idyllic and oh so fun to explore. We visited an orchard, wine tasted at a vineyard, stopped to photograph hundreds of colorful bird houses that qualified as art in my opinion, bought goat cheese and then petted the goats that produced it, lusted over perfectly situated inns, had a picnic on the lakeshore, shopped at a general store true to its name, and just leisurely explored this tiny parcel of paradise. Along the same lines, other things that stand out on our trip—dinner at a tiny breakfast counter named Tooky’s in some tiny New Hampshire town, buying blueberries from a roadside stand in Maine—are things we stumbled across, not planned for.

3. On a trip where you’re spending a lot of time on the go, you need to add in a day every now and then to just do nothing. If you read the list of places we visited and then the amount of time we were gone, you’ll realize this was a crazy trip. We knew it would be that way; we were looking for a sample platter of everything the region had to offer; not a five-course meal. But as prepared for it as we were, by the time we got to Portland, Maine, we were exhausted. So rather than tour around, we had sushi and called it an early night. I guess on one hand, you could call it a wasted day; I have no real clue what Portland is like. But on the other hand, that one day off revitalized us and we were able to hit Boston and NYC with gusto. We’ll consider it a worthwhile sacrifice. Sorry, Portland.

4. Let yourself like a place that you’re convinced you’ll hate. Jeff was certain he wouldn’t like NYC—too big, too crowded, too everything—and he really had no interest in staying beyond the time it took to see a game at Yankee Stadium. But being the deal lover he is, he couldn’t pass up our fabulous hotel find, so we got to enjoy a day in the city, and by the end of that day he was a convert. Instead of looking for all the things he knew he wouldn’t like, he opened his mind to the city, and found that there was a lot to love. I think I’ve even got him on board with my belief that it would be really cool to live in NYC for one year.

5. Don’t forget about your own backyard. Every year that we lived here, we said we’d do this road trip, but we never actually got around to it. Instead we jetted off to the Grand Canyon or Hawaii, Belize or Germany. It was so close and so easy, that we kept putting it off, feeling as if it would always be there. It took a realization that last summer might be our last in D.C. (turned out we were off by one year) to get us out and exploring the part of the country closest to us. Too often while we’re planning great international adventures, we forget that there’s a lot of cool stuff right here in our own country, in our own region.

My First Time Abroad

Theresa July 21st, 2008

It was 1996; I was 15 and alone. Well, not alone actually, I was traveling with a gaggle of girls, but none of whom I knew before that trip, and I was without any family members. I was, in fact, to be the first of my immediate family to fly overseas. Ireland was the destination, the ancestral home of at least 25% of my family. I’d spend a week camping in Ballyfin in the interior of the Emerald Isle, followed by time spent living with a host family in Dublin and then touring some of the rest of the country.

I’d secured my first passport. I was beyond excited, even if less than thrilled by my photo. I heard the term “ugly American” for the first time, and I was nervous about making the mistakes that could earn me that label.

From the first moment, I was amazed by everything. The plane had upper and lower levels of seating…who had ever heard of such a thing! The Coke cans were tiny, practically no more than a shot, and so fascinating that I kept them instead of throwing them away when the stewardess came around. From my window seat, I stared out the window as we flew in over Ireland and was blown away by how truly, truly green it was. Once in the airport, I read sign after sign about foot-and-mouth disease, which I’d never heard of before.

I learned that July in the northern hemisphere doesn’t always translate to hot weather, as I shivered in a sweater while fair skinned Irish rode bikes in tank tops, turning a bright shade of red. While lugging a huge duffel bag around, I learned that backpacks and wheeled suitcases were the much better option, and I vowed to become a better packer. I learned that though someone might speak the same language as you, it can seem like a foreign tongue, as I tried to translate the heavily accented words flying out of my host father’s mouth.

I was blown away the first morning when my host mother asked me to go outside and collect eggs from the hen house. I hadn’t the first clue how to do such a thing, and all that pecking frightened me. When the milk was delivered fresh to the doorstep, I was charmed. This was Dublin, the nation’s capital, yet there were hens in the backyard and fresh milk at the front door. Wandering around the city, I was taken aback by the dates on cornerstones of buildings, many hundreds and hundreds of years older than my entire nation, and I marveled at how you could have a downtown with nary a skyscraper. And when Sunday rolled around, I could hardly believe that everything, truly, absolutely, everything closed down.

Finally, I was amazed by the intensity of friendships that could develop in such a short period. I knew my host family would always have a place for me (and they did; when I returned in 2001 for a visit the family had grown in number but embraced me just the same.) And the people who I sat next to as strangers on the flight to Ireland were by the time we boarded the plane back home good friends (so much so that in 2003, I would be a bridesmaid in one of their weddings).

The world was, at once, both much smaller and much bigger than I’d ever believed it to be. A door had sprung open, and I couldn’t wait to push through it, to see what else lay beyond my immediate field of vision. I was ready to be shocked and surprised, challenged and charmed. And as I flew back, still stealing soda cans, still pressing my face against the window, I promised myself that that trip was only the beginning.

Top Ten U.S. To Do’s

Theresa July 3rd, 2008

In honor of the birthday of our great nation, we thought we’d pay tribute to its many fine sights. As we peruse guidebooks looking for the best each country has to offer and as we beg friends, family, and even strangers for their top suggestions of what to do in the countries they’ve visited or lived in, we’ve stopped a few times to wonder how would we answer that question ourselves. If someone was coming to the U.S. for the first time and they wanted to know the top ten things they should do (without regard to time or money restraints), what would we suggest?

Here’s where we’d suggest a visitor to our country start.

10. Vermont. An odd choice to begin with but surely one of America’s best kept “secrets.” As they say, Vermont is what New England used to be. Visit the only kingdom in America (the region known as the Northeastern Kingdom), which is further claimed as what Vermont used to be. The pioneering American spirit remains strong here. Marvel at Lake Willoughby nestled in mountains, head to the Lake Champlain (the “sixth” great lake) and its many islands, and for laughs, tour the iconic Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream factory (free sample included).

9. Attend a solidly American sporting event. Catch a game of baseball at Wrigley Field or Fenway Park. Brave the cold and the cheeseheads in Green Bay. Join the drunken herds in the infield of the Indy 500. Or don your best hat and bet your bucks at the Kentucky Derby.

8. Hawaii. The last state is also one of the most fascinating. It’s obviously well known for its gorgeous beaches, great golf courses, rainforests and waterfalls, and overall relaxing atmosphere, so enjoy those to the fullest. But also venture to the island of Kauai to immerse yourself in the native Hawaiian culture. Head to the Big Island and hike out to mere feet from an active lava flow, or climb to the top of Mauna Kea and gaze at one of the clearest views of the heaven’s available on earth.

7. Denver, Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. Home to world class skiing. Not winter? Make that world class mountain climbing. Gorgeous scenery abounds at every turn, but especially at Red Rocks, Garden of the Gods, and in southwestern Colorado, the cliffside Native American ruins at Mesa Verde. Throw in river rafting, rock climbing, snowmobiling, and so on, and the area holds many more outdoor experiences than any one trip (or less than a lifetime) can handle.

6. Go a state fair, preferably in the midwest. There’s something quintessentially American about a state fair. Livestock shows and rodeos. Sculptures made of butter or cheese or other perishable products. Quilts and homemade pies and the state’s largest watermelon. Funnel cakes and midway rides, country music stars, and racing pigs. What’s not to love?

5. Alaska. Now, this is one we ourselves haven’t yet been to, but it’s at the top of our list, and it just seems too amazing to leave off. Sail among glaciers, watch grizzlies gorge themselves on salmon, see the Northern Lights dance across the sky, spot whales surfacing in the icy water, scale the nation’s tallest peak. It’s a fantastic landscape, completely different from that found in the rest of the U.S.

4. Washington, D.C. No city has more monuments per square foot than DC. Steep yourself in all the political history you can handle, visit the Capitol, the National Archives, the White House. Throw in a fantastic array of free museums catering to every taste (and plenty more cool ones you can pay for) and you’re easily entertained for days.

3. The Grand Canyon. It’s the classic American vacation, the veritable pilgrimage every American makes, peering over the South Rim at the vast landscape. But go beyond that, make the effort to head down to the Colorado River, you know, the thing that carved that giant hole. Hike up side canyons to waterfalls. Examine the layers of rock you pass as you climb back out. It’s a marvel for good reason.

2. Drive Highway 1. Explore the best of the Golden State from this famed roadway, passing some of the most magnificent stretch of coastline in America. See movie stars and elephant seals, towering redwoods and the cliffs of Big Sur. Take some time out to explore Los Angeles, and then hop on a street car to check out the city of San Francisco.

1. New York City. There isn’t another place like it in the world. Stroll through Central park, shop in SoHo, write in your journal in Greenwich Village, eat in one of the many ethnic neighborhoods, walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at night, take a ferry ride out and around the Statue of Liberty, peer out at it all from the Empire State Building, tour the Met or the MoMa, and just walk, walk, walk until you can’t go another step.

That would be our top ten recommendations. What are yours?


Peru and …

Jeff June 22nd, 2008

While camping this weekend, I had enough time to run through the entire Peru guidebook. One down, many, many to go. In way cooler news, Bears!


Bear, bear, bear, bear, bear, bear, bear! Times 7. We saw seven bears in five different encounters on our three day camping trip. Only twice were the bears feeling photogenic.

With the level of bear encounter discussion that occurs in Theresa’s family (with complete lack of first hand experience unless you count from a car) It was really interesting to see how they reacted to your presence. They really are much less confrontational than I’ve been lead to believe. In every instance, they were either completely indifferent to our presence or scurried off very quickly, they never found us the least bit interesting or threatening. The only time I was even slightly concerned was when we stumbled across a mother and her two cubs. They moseyed right across the trail without even glancing at the noisy people. Even the bear I got closest to, only 20 feet to my right, rushed away when Theresa said “Jeff, bear!” I never saw it, only heard it run off.

But don’t you all start chasing bears now that I’ve said this! Since bears are cool, anyone else have a bear experience to share? Your regularly scheduled travel blog posting will resume in a day or two.

Oh, Not There

Theresa May 8th, 2008

Go ahead, admit it. You’ve flipped through someone’s vacation photos and listened to their never-ending stories, smiling, ohhing, and ahhing over it all while actually thinking “Why in the hell would anyone want to go there?”

Maybe you thought that when I told you about the lovely ammo can toilets you get to use if you raft the Grand Canyon. Maybe it was when your high school buddy came back from Vegas and forgot that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, and instead recounted every wild and crazy adventure he had to you. Or maybe it was when your cousin got engaged at the Eiffel Tower and it was all you could do not to gag.

Though I’d wager a guess that most everyone reading this blog has a pretty long list of places they’d like to visit, I think it’s fair to say that most of us also have a place or two (or three, or six, or five hundred) that we have no interest in ever making it to. Sometimes it’s just a general disinterest, an “I’d never spend my hard earned money on a trip there, but if you’re paying, well okay…” kind of feeling. But occasionally it’s a “you couldn’t pay me enough to go there” kind of feeling. Sometimes we end up there anyhow, and realize we were wrong. And sometimes we end up there and all we get is some validation that we should have trusted our gut.

I’m curious about what that place is for you. So do me a favor and fill in the blank:

I have no interest in traveling to __________________________.

It can be a city, state, country, continent, specific site. And there will be no judging. You don’t want to go there, well then, you don’t want to go there. Fine by me.

I’ll start. I have no interest in traveling to China.

Your turn.

Travel Take Two: Grand Canyon

Jeff April 20th, 2008

We’re going to continue the domestic trend of our Travel Take Two series with a look back at our 2006 trip to the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon, much like Hawaii, is a worn travel destination for most Americans. Most people head to the South Rim, spend a night or two up there, look out over the magnificent terrain and maybe hike a little ways down the trail. But we’re not most people. Our idea of seeing the Grand Canyon was from the bottom, rafting on the river that carved the canyon, the Colorado.

Destination: Grand Canyon: A 6 day expedition–5 days rafting down the upper half of the Grand Canyon, from Lee’s Ferry to Phantom Ranch and 1 day hiking out the Bright Angel Trail to the South Rim

Date: August 25-30, 2006

Travel Partners: Guides/Oarsmen from Moki Mac and fellow passengers.

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Rafting the rapids. It’s incredibly exhilarating to plow headlong through ten foot high walls of freezing water in a small rubber boat, drenching you and everything in your boat, but perhaps even more exhilarating is the building anticipation of hearing the rapids well before reaching them, feeling the sound build and build until there is nothing else but a roar and your imagination of what rests around the next bend.

2. Kayaking in the ducky. I had read before we left about getting to paddle an inflatable kayak yourself, and knew immediately it was for me. They finally pulled it out on day 3, when we were going through ‘calmer’ waters, and though it took some doing, I convinced Theresa to get in with me (she may describe this experience as more of a lowlight). She was cursing me as soon she sat down in the self-bilging boat and soaked her bottom in the freezing brown water. As we pushed off into the river, they called out “They call that the divorce boat, you know.” After our first (small) rapid, yelling back and forth about who was paddling on what side and that we weren’t hitting the waves properly, we quickly understood why. Nevertheless, we quickly got the hang of things and at least I had a great time controlling my own fate through the rapids.

We just wanted to show you what it looked like

3. Hiking the side canyons leading to beautiful vistas, Indian ruins and waterfalls. We went on a number of afternoon hikes up side canyons, which, in addition to getting us out of the hot afternoon sun (most times), led us to relics like an ancient Indian city along the banks, some granaries built into the side of the canyon at Nankoweap. We also we treated to a number of waterfalls (including a sideways waterfall!), getting to dip into the clear and refreshing water. All in all, they were a very rewarding change of pace from life on the river.

4. Staring at the night sky every night. With nary a light in any direction for a hundred miles, the night sky included the Milky Way in addition to millions of stars you never see. There is such a stark delineation of pitch black canyon walls and the star-peppered sky. We tracked satellites and shooting stars from one side of the canyon to the other nightly. We’ve been in some places with some amazing views of the night sky, and at the bottom of the Grand Canyon is definitely one of the best.

LOWLIGHTS

1. The bathroom situation. It wasn’t quite au natural, but it was close. There was a bucket and a whole orchestrated set of rules pertaining to the bucket. At least we did have toilet paper. I’m just glad I wasn’t the one who had to take care of the bucket.

2. Crossing a murky Little Colorado. This isn’t so much of a lowlight as a missed highlight. The Little Colorado if often crystal clear, warmer, and really fun to float down in an upside down life jacket. At least this is what we were told and were really excited about. When we got there, a recent rain had left it murky and at too high a level to safely navigate. So we were left to enjoy watching two muddy rivers merge together from the river bank. Not nearly as much fun.

LESSONS LEARNED

1. Some things are worth the cost. I’ve deliberately avoided mentioning how much this adventure cost, because as you may suspect, it wasn’t cheap. Though for what we got, it was certainly reasonable. All meals were included (and were quality meals … we’re talking steak and chocolate cake on day 4 quality). The guides rowed and navigated us safely through rapids the entire time, leading side hikes in their spare time. The full experience they provided us was worth our money.

2. A different point of view is a good thing. As I alluded to earlier, most people see the Grand Canyon from the South Rim, never even seeing the river the carved the canyon. After we hiked out and experienced the typical Grand Canyon experience as well, it became really clear how different and unique a perspective on it we really got. It’s such a different world descending into and then ascending out of 1.2 billion years of schist, shale and limestone.

3. We get along with diverse groups. We were one of 15 passengers on this trip, people from all different backgrounds from all over the US. We enjoyed everyone’s company and got to know many of them quite well in the five days. Since we’re not always the most outgoing people by nature, it’s comforting to know that we can =).

4. Preparation breeds success. The hike out was quite daunting — 9.5 miles long with almost a mile of elevation gain in Arizona in August heat. Needless to say, we were somewhat concerned with our physical conditioning for such an outing, so we trained a few times with our packs in nearby Shenandoah. This helped immensely. I’m sure our spry young legs helped, but we were able to make it out of the canyon each carrying our 25 pound packs in under five hours, before the worst heat began. Who needs mules?

If you want to read more, Theresa wrote a story about this trip for the San Antonio Express-News that you can read here. Also, you can look at all of our pictures from this trip here.

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