another visit with our Friendly Neighbors

Victoria, British Columbia. Have you seen this place? Oh, it's gorgeous. It's definitely got a British feel to it, what with all the afternoon teas going on and what not. Nana Morrison, Pete's paternal grandma, was the most gracious of hosts. We got in super late after the aforementioned ferry ride and she had dinner and wine waiting for us. Nana had rented us the suite (!!!) in her condo building so for the next couple nights Pete and I had our own mini-apartment with a kitchen, living room, bedroom, balcony and television set circa 1907. It was heavenly.

We had a blast with Pete's Nana, going to the wharf for fish and chips and to say what's up to the sea lions. We made friends with a bird. We saw a very beautiful IMAX film about Van Gogh after touring around the city some more. We had afternoon tea, we biked around (Nana opted out of that part), we watched the sunset from the apartment roof. I got to meet more of Pete's family: uncle, aunt and two cousins. Bless her heart, one of Pete's cousins, Jamille, had gotten into a brutal bike accident the day before we got there and was just out of the hospital with stitches and black eyes. She was remarkable, though, and was able to still be sweet and funny when we went to see her.



We bid Victoria adieu and made our way up the coast of BC toward the famous Tofino Bay where the beaches were said to be incredible. We chose Incinerator Rock as our stopping point and hiked along the beach our first day there, strolling and prancing along the empty, foggy beach. It was GORGEOUS.

We walked for hours and found huge rocks completely covered in sea creatures. We climbed to the top and found quite possibly the best Fort-on-Top-of-a-Sea-Creature-Covered-Rock ever! It was beautiful and eerie and unlike any other beach I'd seen.

The big surprise came the next morning, though, when we woke up in a water bed. No, not like a 1980s motel room water bed. I'm talking about inches of water undulating under our drenched sleeping bags. We scurried to get everything packed and into the back seat of the car (smelled fantastic). We realized we needed a refuge from the rain ASAP so we drove to Vancouver where we stayed with Devon, a friend of Pete's cousin, in his remarkably dry apartment.


Vancouver is quite the town. The University there has a zen garden and a beach where people can frolic about nude. There's a big ole tree on the edge of campus that hangs out over the water where you can watch the sunset. The restaurants have giant plates of fresh sushi for $6. It's huge and full of life but unfortunately, full of rain so our plans to bike around town were washed out (that pun was for Jesse Noyes). Devon was a phenomenal host, having let us drape our sopping belongings all over his house and guzzle his coffee for two days. But the US and A was beckoning us back home, so after two nights we departed for another stint in Washington state.


Starting at Olympic National Park (where we almost got fined for illegal camping), we've spent the last nine nights camping our way down the West Coast. This morning I woke up and walked to the window and looked out over a foggy San Francisco. It's been seven weeks and 10,400 miles since this adventure began. Hot damn.

headin' out west

After we left Minnesota, Pete and I headed out west towards Seattle for the aforementioned amazingness that was my birthday surprise. The days in between were no less amazing, though. We spent four nights camping in four different places without paying a dime any night.

Night numero uno: Whitewood, South Dakota. The undeveloped land of the Dorr family, nestled next to stacks of hay. We got here at dark after having watched the sun set in Badlands National Park. We woke up to the sun rising up from behind the sole hill that jutted out of the landscape.


Noche number two: Lewis and Clark National Forest, on an abandoned logging route up the mountain. This site was incredible. First off, there was already firewood everywhere. We were tucked away up in the mountain, surrounded by evergreens and strange new critter noises. And, I'm proud to say, for the first time in our camping history I actually built the campfire that next morning. It was a Big Day.


3: Hungry Horse Reservoir, Flathead National Forest. Off a dirt road in Hungry Horse, Montana we found a campground that was marked as "unserviced during the off-season." We pulled in and the only other people there were fixin to head out, but not before they super-nicely gave us their leftover firewood (which the dude also chopped up for us). Pete and I pranced around the lake that surrounded us, watching the sky turn all those magical colors it tends to only in the most beautiful, secluded places. We checked out the crazy different foot and paw prints in the sand around us (wolf, bear, moose, Keens). After several days of not bathing we decided it was time to make some changes to the team smell. So the next morning the Hungry Horse Reservoir--incredibly clear and incredibly cold--was our bath tub.

Step-by-Step Guide on How to Bathe in Frigid Waters:
A. Bring to the water: a towel, a fresh change of clothes, soap and sandals or crocs.
B. Fill a water bottle with water.
C. It's cold, but you gotta strip down. Just do it. If you do the It's Cold Dance while getting undressed, it really helps. This involves lots of quasi-crouching poses and shaking your fists close together.
D. Cover yourself with the water you've got. A good dousing all over.
E. Quickly, before the water dries, soap yourself up. Be sure to work up a good lather. You probably smell terrible.
F. You're covered in soap. You have no choice now. Get in the water! GO!
F. Now get out, you crazy person! It's effin cold (this step will actually just come naturally)

Well done, friend.

So that was a refreshing way to start the day and from there it only got better. It was this day that we ventured into Glacier National Park and pretty much piddled our pants every five minutes. We found our way to a couple different giant lakes sandwiched by glacier-topped mountains. We hiked the Avalanche trail through giant cedars atop the greenest, mossiest forest floor until we reached another lake. In the distance there were waterfalls shooting down from the tops of the mountains, so we decided to make our way to one. We hiked and climbed all day until we'd made our own trail up one of these falls and were looking down on the lake we'd just stood in. The water was the clearest and tastiest I've ever drank.


As we finally made our way back through the forest and trail and out of the park, we thought the day couldn't have been any more wonderful. And then we had to slam the breaks because a baby black bear was crossing in front of us. !!!!!!. Just to say "Hey, thanks for stopping through. Hope you enjoyed the park. Safe travels." Pete wouldn't let me take him with us.

We also managed to find the tree in which I was raised as a young hobbit!



Da Fourth Nyte: Wenatchee National Forest, Red Mountain Campground. Washington state, you are super pretty. And you have a crapload of deer that just roam around your streets at night in the fog. It's pretty and groovy and also a little frightening because if they planned it, the deer posse could totally ambush a car. Even one as big as the Buick.

So I won't retell the tale of our night in Seattle, but suffice to recap that it was one of the best nights of the trip. The next day we packed up again (we are getting wildly efficient at repacking. it's insane) and got the car onto an evening ferry from Vancouver into Victoria, where Pete's Nana lives. This night was amazing for me. With the tiniest bit of light in the sky Pete and I watched the waves from the ferry from the top deck, bundled up like little kids in the snow, sharing a [Boundary Waters] hot cocoa. Being on the water, with the cold wind all around us, breathing in fresh northern air with my love right by me, was incredible.

I'll stop now, but not before wishing my dad a happy birthday. I love you, Daddy! It's you who has always inspired me to travel. Without you as my pops, I wouldn't be sitting where I am now.




Lots of love to everyone!

I Pee in Beautiful Places

 

 From the mountains, 

 

                            to the prairies,

to the oceans 

white with foam...

I've peed there. 

 

We've traveled so far since we left Austin just over a month ago; across the dirty dirty where we battled Raccoons of Unusual Size (RUS'), then up the East coast where we mingled with aristocrats and ate crab cakes (not really because crab cakes are mad expensive).  From the Green Mountains of Vermont we skipped across the border to visit our wonderful neighbors to the North with whom I proudly and loudly share citizenship. After a few days and nights of eating nothing but poutine and spending some quality time with the Morrison clan, we crossed back Stateside. Oh, the Midwest, how I love you. Rolling prairies, rock bluffs, lakes, lakes and more lakes. 

Once back in my nexus, Minnesota, and after reuniting with our wonderful Austin Folk for some delicious pork burgers, a la Morrison Family style, we headed up North to the tall pines and crystal clear lakes to "live off the land," partially fulfilling Eva's life-long dream.

Wisco Dells - fun for all

Two nights at the cabin allowed us ample time to make all of the necessary preparations for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA).  If it weren't for the bocce ball, bonfires, happy hour boat cruises and the Bananagrams falling into the lake, we would have actually prepared. Regardless, early morning of our second day in Minnesota we headed even further North of the cabin to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA).  BWCA, high on the list of Peter's Favorite Places in the World, covers the most northern area of Minnesota. With it's raw forests spotted with glacial lakes whose water's I'm going to bottle and sell for twice the price of Fiji, the BWCA is ideal for packing everything on your back and getting off the grid for a few days. And that's exactly what Eva, Dusan, Meg, Lacy, Evan and I did. 

Beaver Dam X-ing

Over the 4 days we spent in the BWCA we accomplished a lot. We overcame 3 beaver dams, made friends with a bird who loved our quinoa, canoed up 2 different rivers, across about 10 lakes, portaged like champions across some rough terrain in some rough weather, punched 39 meeses in the nose, caught, cleaned and ate fresh fish for every dinner, and found out that Evan's Spirit Animal is a slug and mine is a mole, invented Boundary Waters Hot Coco (Hot Chocolate & Whiskey, a necessity on those frigid northern mornings, ahem, I mean evenings).

our drinking water

Our last day in the BWCA was a real test of character. Soaking wet and cold (cotton kills!!), we decided to double the length of our trek for the day, cutting our last night of camping in order to spend one last night drinking cold Summits by the warm fire at the cabin. Evan, drunk from an overdose of activities (and a little from the "dog of the hair" that bit 'em), woke up first that cold, rainy morning and spent hours building us our final BWCA fire. Oatmeal, bagels (said with a Minnesota accent that all find so odd), and some BWCA Hot Coco (Patent Pending) were our fuel for the 4 portage and 2 beaver dam haul. 

Meg and Dus being super cool

Upon our arrival at civilization, we shocked bystanders in Ely, MN with our a) double-stacked canoes on the buiey, and 2) the rate and quantity of which greasy burgers, wings and barley-pops were devoured by the 6 of us. The next night at the cabin we got all hippy-like and made music around the fire. And let me tell you, Eva can rock the house with a tambourine. 

Jessie and me in the Sculpture Garden

By now the West was calling our names, but we couldn't leave Minnesota without spending one more day and night bumming around Minneapolis and getting some QT with the soon-to-be newlyweds (Attention Eva's people: my sister, Jessie, is getting married to Eric in December). We moseyed around the Walker Art Sculpture Garden (in which I peed! re: the title of this blog), had a few beers on a rooftop bar, and then later headed to Nye's Polish Bar for what we thought would be a night on the d-floor but we ended up being serenaded late into the night by some drunk karaoke singers.

chillin' by the Mississippi in Mpls.

Adios to the East and first half of our trip. Here are 10 things that we've learned in the East that we're taking West:

1. Books on tape are tyte.
2. Sometimes Mickey D's is completely necessary.
3. RV's and places they are suck.
4. Keep bike helmets and the like in plain view to maintain a wholesome look.
5. Never tell people what time you plan to arrive; punctuality isn't even in our lexicon.
6. Cotton Kills!
7. "Navy dudes are fat and nasty." - Hank the Marine
8. Stealth camping is the best camping.
9. Interstates are what's wrong with this country.
10. "Being famous isn't all the glitz and glam that people think." -Bandit psychedelic flame-thrower

 

holy shit.

Although there is much to be caught up on, I am skipping ahead and will let Pete fill in sometime soon. I am doing this because I have Urgent News. Last night, Pete's and my first night in Seattle, Washington, was the night of my surprise birthday present that's been kept a secret from me (I love surprises). After Pete picked up some super delicious Ethiopian food for dinner, we sipped some whiskey and headed to the Paramount downtown. We pulled up to the brightly-lit theater and there on the marquee read:

Paramount Presents:
The Black Keys
October 2nd, 8pm.

AAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Somehow I managed not to squeal in the cab (it probably would have scared the cab driver. If you've heard me squeal, you understand) when I saw the sign. We walked in, my head woozy from such happiness and excitement. Pete was telling me we needed to scurry inside; the first act was also going to be something amazing. We got to our section, popped our heads out of the walkway and there on the stage was Nicole Atkins.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

The show was incredible. Both Nicole and the Black Keys played the most face-melting shows and it was so hard for me to not start crying then and there when I saw what Pete's surprise had been all this time. It was, hands down, the best non-birthday birthday I've ever had. Needless to say, I am all the more in love with my travel mate.