seattle

Seattle was gorgeous. We had several good business meetings with outfitters in Seattle. Seattle Raft and Kayak will be the first store in Seattle to carry our paddles starting in spring 2009. It was fun to see Amanda and Dave and daughters Hazel and Nora. It was very rainy when we visited but we managed to hike a mountain that was like a rainforest, lush greens and browns, large ferns and tall pines. Our next push south landed us in the town of Eugene, where Roger and his roommate were our first bus riders for this trip.

Early the next morning we headed west to the Oregon coast. The weather cleared enough the following day to allow us to go kayaking. The ocean was wild and Amanda was a bit seasick with the huge swells, but we saw seals, puffins and jellyfish. The coast is much harsher than most of the east coast, except for Maine. The swells were enormous; every dip down in the swell hid the horizon from view. The ocean would have made lunch of the boats if we managed to get too close to the rocky cliffs. We landed our boats safely and packed up for our next drive.

The following day, as our luck would have it, the bus started to run funky. Justin found a leaf stuck in the fuel line and managed to get her running again. We took the short ten mile drive to Redwood National Forest, more like Jurassic forest. These giant prehistoric looking trees tower overhead, darkening the sky. One tree appears to be enough wood to build a modest two story house. Justin expected small dinosaurs to swoop down from the trees at any minute. Actually, the Star Wars fight scenes with Ewoks were filmed in a forest nearby.

We were just leaving Redwood National Forest when the bus decided to quit again, but in a gradual, I’m-too-tired way. Smarter this time, we chose where to break down, which is not always an option. We stayed put on the beach just south of Orick. More relaxed than our last breakdown, we took a nice walk on the beach. The warm winds poured down off the hills toward the surf and we finally had warm weather. We watched the sun set over the National Park instead of an industrial park. The roar of the ocean is a lot more comforting than the roar of a diesel engine. If the police come by we know just what to tell them…we are getting a tow in the morning, right after our second cup of coffee.

Buddy's towing hauled us to Trinity Diesel in Arcata, about 300 miles north of San Francisco. Arcata is a small town right on the coast. Kind of agricultural, a little run down, crunchy, liberal. We made use of our time by promoting the paddle and biking when it wasn’t raining. One day we decided to explore a wildlife refuge on a rainy day on a resident's recommendation. We left our bikes in the forest and walked out on the dunes. We emerged to find a double rainbow and a sunset over the ocean. We continued toward the beach and walked through a pygmy forest. The coast was just as wild as Oregon; rather than cliffs, we looked out on extensive dunes and marshes.

The following day was Sunday which we spent relaxing in the parking lot where we were staying. Our host, the shop owner, had allowed us to run an extension cord out to our little home so we could power our laptop. They also gave us the code to their WiFi, which allowed us to indulge our addiction to Lost and watch episodes on abc.com.
On Monday the mechanics and Justin got back to work on the bus. Monday evening we were back on the road, but broke down again 300 feet from the shop. We managed to crawl back in and had to pump out all of our fuel because it was filled with dirt and debris, bad gas. We made it all of 13 miles that day, staying the night again since we had missed our chance to visit local outfitters. The next day we had some good talks with outfitters in the area and were able to take a nice paddle in scenic Arcata bay. Next stop San Francisco.

Stop, Go

Well, I'm sorry its been a while, I guess we fell off the blog wagon when we broke down and life got a little crazy...but we're back! We made it out of Utah, through cold Idaho, west through Oregon, and we were so close to Portland and the coast when the Wander Bus came to a sudden and decisive halt. The engine died and would not start again. It happened at a four way stop in little Hood River. Justin jumped out and opened up the hood, I grabbed him the toolbox and rummaged for the number for roadside assistance. A passerby helped out by getting in the road to direct traffic because a long line had formed behind us; drivers just didn't want to believe our hazard lights meant they needed to go around us and some didn't even want to obey our impromptu director. Maybe his landscaper's attire created some doubt. Anyway, Justin had his head in the engine in an instant, replacing one of the fuel filters, and soon diesel had spray coated him and a 3 foot radius, but to no avail. The cops came and were anxious to get our vehicle out of the street. The tow truck finally arrived, and Justin was working on the engine until the moment they hooked up the vehicle. We were towed to a shop at the edge of Portland where Justin and the intake staff worked on the bus until past 10 pm. They also informed us that they would not be able to work on the vehicle, there had been some miscommunication and we shouldn't have been towed there in the first place, we needed to go to an International repair shop for an International engine. So we slept in the bus in the parking lot and in the morning we got towed again. The silver lining is that the repair shop had a clean, hot shower for stranded people like us, and it felt for a moment like being in a hotel. We do have a sun shower, but we hadn't had sun or the necessary seclusion.

The International shop had said that they would look at if not start work on the vehicle that same day, but instead it took them five days to even look at the bus. FIVE DAYS! It was in a seedy area in the outskirts of Portland, which happened to be quite rainy and cold. I like Portland fine, minus the rain, but Justin was bothered by all the street punks. One thing that's great about Portland is how bike-friendly it is, with bike lanes, bike routes and riverside bike paths. Sustainability is big, and the kayak outfitters we met with were stoked about the bamboo paddles. We also liked how the city breaks up into small neighborhoods, with clusters of independent coffee shops, cafes and bars. We were thankful to stay with Joe and Casey during this time, but they had a lot going on and we eventually stayed in the bus by sneaking into the repair warehouse at night, where mechanics worked until midnight and started again at 6 am. Our repair bill was huge (a friend said "I thought you meant that amount minus a zero") and once we dried our eyes we were on our way north to Seattle.

Salt Lake City

Well, after 3,500 miles, the Wanderbus broke down. We're currently on an extended stay in Portland, Oregon, while we wait for it to be fixed. We'll tell you more about that in a bit. First, a story about cold weather.

We left Moab on a hot, sunny day. Our next stop would be Salt Lake City, Utah. I have always been curious about what the city looked like since I hear its praise from tons of people back East, many of whom are avid/fanatical skiers.

The ride through the mountains proved to be ever colder. The temperature in the first 100 miles dropped by more than 15 degrees. After winding up the mountain roads to about 6,000 feet we encountered snow flakes and a mild storm. I was driving, still in my shorts and t-shirt. The heat was still disconnected from the summer's RV conversion, and frankly, I never expected to get snow on our trip. At least I was praying for it not to snow. I personally like snow, but our oil pump does not like pumping oil the consistency of lard. Was this going to be the end of our trip north? Thankfully we had just enough fuel to arrive within the city limits of Salt Lake City, and just in time. Snow started dumping from the sky and we bundled up to keep warm. First things first, we need a heater. I got back in the driver's seat and we drove to Lowe's to purchase a Mr. Buddy Heater. $170 later we were warm again and parked for the night in a Walmart just south of the city.

Amanda had the great idea to find some hot springs in the area. We did some research online to find the closest spot. It was only a few miles north and offered us the opportunity to drive through part of the city. Being Sunday, it was more like a ghost town. One thing I was surprised to learn is that the epicenter of the city the the Mormon Temple. All roads start from that point, meaning the numbered roads go up from there. I still don't claim to understand the street system in Salt Lake. Even the GPS had a hard time finding its way. Fortunately we made it out again.

The hot spring was in a small park to the north and looked more like a hot sewer drain. It was surrounded by razors and toothpaste tubes. A lady bathing her feet tried to entice us to take a dip. More like taking a dip in used bath water, I'll pass. Since we were still in the area we decided to go to the "cool" area of town. We drove back through the ghost town but saw nothing much except a Mexican restaurant. Much to my surprise, their waste oil was still liquid. This was our chance to fill up the tank. We were both relieved, since we knew that Boise, Idaho, our next major stop, was just outside of the winter storm and would be a much easier place to find "liquid gold".

Later, we drove north to Antelope Island, an island state park right in the middle of Great Salt Lake. Antelope Island is the home to free range bison. The smell of the lake reminded us both of the ocean air. Since the sun had already set, we waited to explore until the morning.

The island by daylight was barren, void of most anything except some hares and bison. We climbed a nearby hill and were able to see a full 360 panorama of the area. It was completely surrounded by snow capped mountains and uninviting sparkling blue water. Any previous thoughts we had of kayaking were wiped away. We were not prepared for freezing temperatures, especially not in the desert.

Time to head to warmer climates.

Come on....just 60 more miles

I am no stranger to tow trucks and breaking down. All of my vehicles have been at least ten years old, and my oldest is 29. I have ceased to get anxious at the sound of cop cars, because all of my experience with police has been positive. Sirens are more of a welcoming sound, it lets me know that crazy drivers are going to keep their urges at bay.

This is the first time however that the bus has broken down. My big question was why. As soon as the big engine groaned to a stop I had already put the wheels into work to get her running, but the big question was, is it even possible? I hurriedly put on my work cloths and had Amanda pull out the tool box. She pulled out her phone and started dialing for tow assistance. I rushed to get out the new diesel fuel filter. Diesel sprayed everywhere, covering me and the engine with oily goo. Fifteen minutes later I was back in the cab trying to breath life back into the engine, but still no luck. The police were hurrying along the process as much as possible, and informed us that a tow was imminent if Good Sams Club was unable to find a tow truck driver.

I kept working away hoping that I would run into luck and not have the large and expensive vehicle towed and worked on. I was wondering to myself if the cold weather had somehow caused the grease to congeal leaving the lines like a fast food victims arteries. No way I would find out now on this hill where the bus was broken down. The Fall day was at least a pleasant temperature a easy to be outside working on a steel vehicle.

After a 45 minute ordeal, the truck came. Doug our driver was a kind soul, and very helpful. We got the truck loaded and headed off to the Cummings diesel repair shop in Portland Maine. Once the truck was unloaded the shop foreman realized that they couldn't do anything for us because we needed to go to the international dealer. This may have been an error on my part, since the engine we had was not a Cummings, but rather a International DT466, the workhorse of many vehicle that help keep our country running on petroleum.

The next morning another tow truck came and towed us to our next repair shop. Five days later our RV is still broken and the shop still does not know when they will look at it. I would highly recommend not going to the Brattain International Dealer in Portland Oregon. It is horrid to be stuck anywhere, but even more so when the repair shop keeps telling you it will get looked at, and they are down several guys. Who hasn't hear that story before. The only thing worse would be the news that the vehicle work cost about as much to fix as it was worth.

Arches

For those of you who have never had the time to spend in the desert, we highly recommend it. Nothing compares the glowing canyon walls at sunset, the wave-like dunes and the majestic desert vegetation that thrives in such an inhospitable climate. It is not hard to imagine how a desert may have once been an ocean floor. Like an ocean floor, it is sparse of life and not someplace you would go without adequate equipment. Walking through a canyon can be a breathtaking experience. Sand squishes between your toes and light bounces all around, casting shadows and rainbows of earth tones. Moab, Utah, is the most gorgeous place we have stopped so far. Arches National Park is absolutely breathtaking. We highly recommend visiting and taking a hike on one of the primitive trails. Be sure to allow extra time for those of you not familiar with walking in the sand. Our little 6 mile hike took us an hour extra, getting us to the trail head well after dark with the moon high up in the sky. We meandered through the well lit canyon without a flashlight. The moonlight danced around us and cast large shadows on the sandy floor. At eight o'clock we arrived at our little home, our sun shower still warm from the bright desert sun. We hung the shower from the bus doors and set up a makeshift showering area. The wind whipped around us and the warmth of the shower had little effect in the strong gusts. We hurried inside to take off the chill and put on some warmer clothes. The bus' warmth was comforting and kept the wildness of the surroundings at bay. After super we crawled into bed, tired from the day's adventures.

Vapor caves, canyon, metallic intestine

It may be hard to imagine a higway as being beautiful, or at least I did. I-70, as we have come to find out, has some of the best scenery imaginable. The drive from Denver to Grand Junction, CO, was spectacular. Snow covered peaks and canyons abound. You can truly see a reflection of the American West today with all of the traces of mining towns and scars on the landscape from decades ago. I can see how the temptation was there for many to make it big in the land of mammoth and somewhat almost surreal landscape. Its beauty masks the fierceness of its winters. Fortunately for us we were able to see the beautiful side on our trip, especially with our stop to Glenwood Springs.

Glenwood Springs is not a town that would come up in normal conversation such as Vail, Aspen or Breckenridge, but it is one that I surely will remeber. When driving west on 70 you arrive at White River Park just before reaching Glenwood Springs. This part of the highway goes through the enormous Glenwood Canyon that literally swallows a vehicle whole. After emerging you arrive at the town, home to the U.S.' only natural vapor caves. It's a dark, natural, underground steam room, with mineral deposits on the walls and an earthy odor that takes a couple of minutes to get used to. We sat, sweated, came up for air in the spa's solarium, and repeated.

After the caves, we took a bike ride through the canyon along the river, and we got to see bighorn sheep up close, and went through a highway overpass that was like being in a metallic intestine. By night we headed to Grand Junction, our last stop in Colorado, and had a parking lot sleepover, before moving on to Moab, UT.

Boulder, CO

We're enjoying this week in the Boulder area. One of the more memorable things was the stop we made on the way, though, in Grinnell, KS, population 286. We spent the night parked out in cornfields--real, non-stop cornfields this time--and in the morning we attracted a lot of attention when we took photos of their "downtown", which was one sleepy street. Brad from the feed mill at Frontier Ag offered to show us how soybean is processed into cattle feed, so we got an awesome lesson (on video).

We had a productive meeting once in Boulder with Sustainable Flooring, who have an existing relationship with Panda Paddles, to explore new possibilities for the product. We gave them a tour of the bus and they got to see what their beautiful cork tile flooring looks like in a school bus.

The past several days have been spent hiking and checking out the area. Bill, Justin's stepdad, visited before heading to Utah with Justin's mom, and he and Justin mountain biked. Justin and I liked hiking in Eldorado State Park, south of Boulder, as well as in Rocky Mountain National Park, where we got a little snow shower today at the top of Estes cone. It was 11,000 feet, small in comparison but enough to keep me winded.