British Columbia – Land of Water and Ice

Clayoquot Sound

Lawrence Islands, Clayoquot Sound, West Coast Vancouver Island

What a glorious, gorgeous day! A Double G day for Roger on his birthday. We had taken to calling beautiful days "G days" as a nod to Sister Linda who is very promiscuous in her use of “gorgeous”.  As we looked out at the Pacific Ocean from lovely Lawrence Islands we felt very, very fortunate. We had perfect weather with beautiful scenery all around. Even better we enjoyed gentle sea swells on the paddle out to the Lawrence Islands from our camp at Milties Beach on Vargas Island - a perfect present for Roger's birthday!

More Birthday scenery

Clayoquot Sound is accessed from Tofino, itself a worthy destination. The nearby Pacific Rim National Park Reserve has extensive sandy beaches and is especially popular with surfers. Brr. 

Beach near Tofino

Clayoquot Sound was our second trip in 2018 to BC. In July we had traveled north and east from our home for kayaking and hiking in some of Canada's best provincial and national parks. First we did a boatpacking trip into Murtle Lake in Wells Gray Provincial Park, then crossed over into Alberta to explore Jasper National Park and the Icefields Parkway, and from there returned to BC and Yoho National Park.

Murtle Lake

Murtle Lake is the largest paddle-only lake in North America. We were a bit concerned when we arrived at the parking lot and it was almost full. Paddling up the less traveled but more scenic and longer north arm we discovered we needn't have worried about getting campsites. The west arm is shallower and warmer, making it attractive to and more populated by scouting groups and families. 

North Arm scenery

At our first campsite we were visited by the ranger who arrived in the only motor boat allowed on the lake. He dropped off some toilet paper for the outhouse and we chatted with him a bit. He wasn't happy with Canada's environmental policies and commented that Prime Minister Trudeau was only good for taking selfies. I told him that lots of Americans would trade our President for Trudeau and even throw in a couple Senators! He wasn't enthusiastic about that idea. Thankfully we were able to mostly have a politics-free trip.

Blooms on Wavy Ridge

A nice feature of Murtle Lake is that it has several hiking trails ascending from its shores. We went on the tough but rewarding Wavy Alpine hike. After working up a good sweat, or in Roger's case a self-generated waterfall, we arrived at a beautiful alpine ridge which ended in a view of neighboring snow-capped peaks. 

Jasper and the Icefields Parkway

Enroute to Jasper

We saw several bears on the trip, including the one above and a Grizzly with the cutest cub ever along the Icefields Parkway. This bear was digging up some large rocks that I think I would barely be able to budge. He or she was doing an awful lot of work for a measly meal of insects!

Mt. Robson

A big, beautiful distraction on the drive to Jasper NP was Mt. Robson. We rounded a bend in the road and this massive mountain, highest in the Canadian Rockies, filled our view. 

You need to get up early or get off the beaten path to find solitude in Jasper. It is easier to share when the scenery is so spectacular, eliciting smiles on the faces of those viewing it, including us. 

Maligne Lake

Along the Icefields Parkway

Athabasca Glacier

Yoho National Park

A couple parties that we chatted with drove up through Banff and recommended that we not go there because of the crowds and suggested Yoho instead. We took their advice and while there hiked the Iceline trail via Celeste Lake. The whole trail was nice but an extended section above treeline offered outstanding views in every direction. 

Roger on the Iceline Trail

Iceline Trail pond

We also visited Emerald Lake before leaving Yoho NP and heading home. Emerald Lake had a lodge and other development but that didn't detract from the beauty of its rich color.

Emerald Lake

Hiking the Wilcox Pass trail along the Icefields Parkway we encountered the quirky red chairs in the photo below. These two were placed in a convenient location for looking across the valley toward the Athabasca Glacier. We weren't aware of the red chairs program of Parks Canada so they were a fun surprise. Roger took full advantage of the opportunity to slow down and savor the moment. What a time. What a place. 

Slots, Narrows and Washes but no Wave in the Southwest

This year, on our second annual March trip to the Southwest we passed through Vegas and near Reno but didn’t play the slots. Instead we spent a lot of time playing in the slots – as well as in the washes and narrows. Roger’s inner kid came out exploring the slot canyons, scrambling up and down in nature’s jungle gym.

Peek-a-boo slot

Our first stop was Capitol Reef NP and it was cool and WINDY. We found some protection from the wind hiking the Grand Wash Trail which had high canyon walls that were beautiful and offered us some shelter. We drove the Notom/Burr loop road that afternoon. I was actually thankful for the wind because we would not have done this drive had it been a nice day. The ever changing landscape was delightful and we scouted out camping and hiking for a future trip.

Notom/Burr Road

Notom/Burr Road

The next morning greeted us with cold, wind, and snow on the ground but it warmed enough for us to enjoy hiking the Capitol Gorge and Hickman Bridge trails.

Capitol Reef NP

Grand Wash

Next destination was the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. We did the popular Peek-a-boo and Spooky slot canyons. Roger LOVED Peek-a-boo, which was a good thing because he got to do it twice. I was intimidated by the 10 foot climb into Peek-a-boo and waited below while Roger scrambled up into the slot and shouted back to me how much I was missing! Thanks for that! I later found a trail leading to an entrance from the top and Roger joined me in exploring Peek-a-boo from the “wrong way”. Which ever way you enter, Peek-a-boo is really cool with twists and turns and arches overhead.

Peek-a-boo

Spooky

We also did nearby Spooky, the narrowest of the slots we explored on the trip. To get through it we frequently had to turn sideways and it was still a squeeze. I would not recommend getting breast implants if you plan on doing Spooky! Both slots are well named. Peek-a-boo is fun and playful while Spooky is dark and claustrophobic.

Taking roads less traveled we hiked Cottonwood Narrows and Lick Wash in Grand Staircase-Escalante. (Check at park or BLM visitor centers for road conditions on any that aren’t paved.) We had Cottonwood Narrows to ourselves and shared Lick Wash with a couple and their dog. Unlike most of the washes and narrows we hiked, Lick Wash had some big old pine trees and chirping birds. It also had a stream that required frequent hopping to avoid wet feet - until the water disappeared into the earth about a mile down the wash. Roger enjoyed the hopping and breaking ice along the stream edge in the cooler spots. 

Stream at entrance to Lick Wash

We had been to Bryce NP on a couple previous trips but stopped there again because: #1- It is really cool and #2 – we wanted to see the hoodoos in snow. We arrived on a beautiful weekend day. So did many, many others. The crowds were a bit of a culture shock after the solitude of Grand Staircase-Escalante. The nice thing, though, is that at a special place like Bryce almost everyone has a smile on their face.

Bryce NP

Next up was a stop at the BLM visitor center in Kanab to enter the lottery for permits to hike “The Wave”. It wasn’t peak tourist season yet but at the visitor center it sure looked like it with the long line waiting to enter the lottery. Despite the poor odds I entered and waited with the rest of the crowd for the drawing of the lucky few. Everyone politely clapped as the first name was called. The ranger joked that we might not have clapped if we had known the winner had a party of five. Only 10 people get permits so half were already gone. Two more names were called and the lottery was over. We did not win. Next time I’ll try the online lottery. At least I won’t have to travel over 1000 miles to be unlucky.

We headed to Lake Powell so we could put our kayak in the water after traveling over 1000 miles with it. We stopped at the Big Water BLM Visitor Center to ask them for hiking recommendations near Lake Powell. On duty was Merle H. Graffam and he had NO interest in hiking trails. This Visitor Center was essentially a little dinosaur museum, highlighted with replicas of dinosaur skulls that had been found in the area. Mr. Graffam was VERY knowledgeable about dinosaurs and actually discovered a new dinosaur 2 miles north of Big Water in 1999. The dinosaur was named after him – Nothronychus graffami. You don’t always get what you want but sometimes you get something better. (We did do the easy Wahweap hoodoos hike north of Big Water and enjoyed that.)

It felt like summertime when we arrived at Wahweap Bay at Lake Powell. It was about 80 degrees with little to no wind and was great for kayaking. We did a nice paddle in the vicinity of Lone Rock but kayaking to Antelope Canyon and then hiking the slot was even better. The colors and shapes of Antelope slot are very beautiful. (Tours starting about 3 miles east of Page are available that take people down into what is considered the most spectacular part of Antelope Canyon.) As we paddled to the slot entrance, we encountered a couple power boats and several people in rental kayaks and SUP’s, but overall the outing was pretty peaceful.

Lone Rock

Wahweap Hoodoo

Antelope Canyon

We decided to do one more slot, Wire Pass, before starting the return leg of our trip. Wire Pass has the same trailhead as “The Wave”. We were in the parking lot when a women approached and asked if we had permits to “The Wave”. Before we could answer she joked, “I’ll give you $1000 for your permits”. At least I think she was joking! She and her daughter were from Seattle and a couple other people came over from Spokane so Washington State was well represented in the parking lot.

The Wire Pass hike started in a wash and narrowed into a short but fun slot. It ended at a wide junction with Buckskin Gulch so we followed that down canyon a ways. Buckskin Gulch is quite impressive with really, really high walls that narrowed into a slot. Most memorable though was the stink. There was a generous supply of bighorn sheep poop, fresh enough for an odor to linger in the narrow sections of the canyon. We didn’t see any live sheep but there is a petroglyph panel with several bighorn at the confluence of Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch.

Wire Pass hike

I like Joshua Trees and was happy that we came across a couple concentrations of them. First was the Joshua Tree Forest west of St. George. It felt more like a garden to me but Joshua Trees are certainly worthy of the hype. Increasing our viewing pleasure, at the weirdly named Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness in Nevada some of the trees were blooming. My computer tells me that Wee Thump means "ancient ones" in the Paiute language so the name does fit after all.

Joshua Tree near St. George, Utah

Dwarfed by a cactus

Near Las Vegas we planned to camp at Valley of the Fire State Park and/or Red Rocks National Conservation Area. The campgrounds were full. So were parking lots, visitor centers, etc. We did a couple short hikes and moved on. 

We drove through Death Valley and it was quite a contrast to last year when we were there for the super bloom. This year there were no flowers even though California has had a lot of precipitation. Apparently the flowers are really fussy and must have perfect – for them – rain, temperature and wind conditions.  

As we headed north of Death Valley the wind returned and we were unable to kayak on Mono Lake as planned. Silver lining was that Roger did find a good bakery, the Great Basin Bakery and Deli, in Bishop.

We did kayak on a drizzly day on the Ahjumawi Lava Springs lakes in northern California. Birds are the biggest reason to stop here. Big flocks of snow geese put on a show for us, lifting off and landing in unison. White pelican, northern shovelers, and western grebe were also favorites.

Mt. Lassen from Ahumawi Lava Springs State Park

Our route home took us near Lava Beds Nat’l Monument so we spent a couple hours there, enough time to decide we would like to spend more time there. Lava caves and bats are the big attraction. I’m not sure I want to hang with the bats too much but Roger is all batty about the idea. Lava Beds National Monument has above ground appeal as well, including a wall of petroglyphs.

Small section of a long line of petroglyphs at Lava Beds Nat'l Monument

Finishing the trip on a sweet note, the last night we stayed near Bend, Oregon, and Roger greatly reduced the inventory of the “Village Baker” the next morning. Bend has 4 or 5 small bakeries that Roger tried on our trip there last fall. They are all good but the chocolate croissants and the orange croissant-like rolls of the “Village Baker” are yummy, yummy, yummy.

Looking back at our time in the southwest, we're thinking there may be a third annual trip there next March.

Costa Rica II

Everybody poops. Sloths do it just once a week. They live in the forest canopy and ONLY descend (slowly) to the ground to poop. Typically if you spot a sloth in the wild you will see a ball of fur hanging from a branch high above you. During our recent visit to Costa Rica to help Graham celebrate his 9th birthday, we were incredibly lucky to see a small sloth during one of its infrequent trips to the ground. From pictures I'd always thought sloths were kind of homely but "in person" this little sloth was the cutest creature ever. 

We also enjoyed the birds, snakes, lizards, and butterflies that Costa Rica has in abundance and were especially excited to see the showy little Blue Jeans frog. 

Graham chose Carolina Lodge, in the foothills near Miravelles and Tenorio volcanoes, for celebrating his birthday. The 170 acre ranch offered plenty of activities to enjoy during the four days we were there.  

Hiking

Barry family on hike.

Amara and Graham milking cows.

Horseback riding.

Fishing

Boating

Graham paddling, Amara fishing with string from boat.

Play at the exercise platform.

Birthday boy enjoying Carolina Lodge hot chocolate - extra 

yummy with fresh milk.

Amara and Celeste

Graham with dog he had bonded with on prior visit. 

Man and animals working.

After Carolina Lodge we stayed near the Arenal Volcano. Since it was the "green season" - which means rainy - we weren't sure if we would be able to see Arenal. Again we were lucky and had nice views of the volcano each day we were there. Arenal was erupting a few years ago but now there is a steam plume.

Graham with Arenal in backround.

We stayed one night in a hotel in La Fortuna. A fortunate choice, because after dark Amara, Celeste and I armed ourselves with flashlights and explored the hotel's garden. Jackpot! We spied about a dozen tree frogs. They were definitely more attractive than the tree frog sculpture in the hotel's yard!

A visit to Costa Rica wouldn't be complete without a scorpion encounter. Roger got into the passenger seat of Celeste's car and we soon noticed a scorpion on the ceiling right above his head. Everyone started shouting. Loudly. We probably made it more likely that the scorpion would panic as well and drop onto Roger's scalp. Thankfully it did not. We tried to get it out of the car but didn't succeed. The scorpion disappeared behind the glove compartment and left us wondering if we might encounter it again.

Costa Rica is a feast of green inhabited by beautiful and exotic plants and animals. However, the best part of the trip was spending time with our delightful grand-kids. Roger is less than enamored with Costa Rica's hot and steamy weather but Amara and Graham are great for the prevention of a grumpy grandpa. 

Gracias a la vida.