Guava, Guava Everywhere

Sunday, December 4th

Today we hiked in to Waimonu Valley. 11 miles. Quite, quite challenging. Heike first backpacking trip. What a trouper! It starts with a 1 mile walk down this mountain road with the 25% grade. Unbelievably steep! Had to walk carefully using poles not to fall. Then out to a black sand beach made from lava rock. That was a bit tiring to walk on with packs. Then the climb out of the valley began. 1200 ft in about a mile of switchbacks. And the sun came out and pounded on us. Oh was I ever hot flashing! It's not good when the body is already exerting itself. Lots of stops required. Whew! Then we hiked in woods. Or jungle I should say. Guava trees everywhere. And we gobbled up the yellow fruit. You break it open; it's about the size of a lime. And suck the seeds and pulp out. Sweet and tangy! I also saw Norfolk Pine - the grow to be really tall here. And coffee trees in the wild. There was an enormous tree. Like a normal maple or something only dinosaur in size. When we get to the botanical gardens, we're going to have a lot of questions answered.



The hike then stayed in the woods while it wove in and out of about 12 hollers. We walk to the back of the ravine where we could cross to the other side then out around the cliff and back again. There were some delightful pools of water to splash and soak in along the way. Then we got to the drop down into the valley where we're camping tonight. it was the worst descent I've ever done. 25% - 35% grade for the mile down. Wet mud and wet rocks. Treacherous. And we know we have to climb back out tomorrow. And Heike's knee was really bothering her all the way down. I felt her pain!

But we were entertained by seal lions tonight playing in our pool of water which is fed by tall waterfalls in the back of the valley. Could not be a more picturesque piece of paradise. Camping right at the edge of the lava rock beach. I get to sleep again to the sounds of waves crashing on the shore. And we're both gonna sleep well after that hike!






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Sacred Place

Saturday, December 3, 2011




Spent last night at Laupahoehoe State Park. It's the location of a tsunami that destroyed a village there in 1946 killing many children and adults. The waves crashed against the black lava boulders of the shoreline. The rain stopped when we got in our tents about 7:30 pm and didn't start again til we got up. What gives? This side of the island is living up to it's reputation for clouds and rain but it's still so lush and beautiful that it's forgiven. We keep pulling off onto the old roads and meandering along the coast at a snail's pace. No fancy resorts here. Real small houses and farm land and lush foliage. Avocados, jack fruit, guava. All growing by the sides if the roads. I've eaten more papaya in these 3 days than in the previous 62 years:).

We checked out the place where our hike starts tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will hold for us like it did today: cloudy with no rain after the little bit this morning. The road comes to a parking place at the top of the cliff. There are signs to engage your 4WD NOW! 25% grade! That's the road we're heading down tomorrow. Then across a very flat wide valley. About 1 mile across. Then up the Z trail, switchbacks with a 1200 ft climb in another mile. Then we'll be on the tops of the cliff.

We found a place to camp near a town park in the little village at the top of the cliff. We set up mid afternoon to get our tents dry. There's a large, mowed, rolling meadow between us and the cliff's edge. Our tents were still wet from this morning so we had put them up to dry. This guy comes over on his ATV and passes me by to go up to Heike (we think he thought she was a guy) and talk to her. He said it would be better if we waited til after dark to put up our tents so as to not upset the residents. Or we could move them onto the meadows which was his property. How nice was that? And this is the sacred place. The energy in this land is palpable. We walked out to the cliffs tonight and he and his wife were out there. He's an artist, the moved here from OR 5 years ago, they've been married 43 years (I'm so envious), and they love the land. They call it Too Huge For Words. Looking out off the cliffs from the special stone altar he's built out to the ocean on 3 sides and back at the cliffs we'll hike tomorrow all the way north up the shoreline was mystical. The dark misty clouds hanging low. The white waves breaking against the shore 500 ft below. Breathless. And that's where I'm sleeping tonight!

Oh ya. And I explored a lava tube today by myself with rooms 7-8 ft high. My headlamp barely lit the space up. Creepy. Exciting. I know people lived in this cave in days long ago. Too afraid to go far in alone. Didn't want to get lost.

Beddy bye!

BagLady










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Arrival: Hawaii, the Big Island

Picture of flying Greyhound! Disgusting terminal in LAX.

Flight went smoothly although I almost missed my flight from LA due to not paying attention to details. Landed at 1:30 am in my body - 8:30 local time. And the airport is all open. What i mean is no full walls. Open-air airport Loving this island:). Heike was there to meet me.

No issue with time change because I slept on the plane and then got 12 hours last night. Feeling great now.

Hilo is a very real town. Not pretentious. Not yuppified. And oh the fruits!


Eating lillikoi, a passion fruit here.

Great hostel. Met nice folks. Hawaiians are very, VERY friendly. The language is very confusing and the street names often look the same: 10 letters long and all start with k.

Rained all afternoon. Poured tonight. We're at a campground on the ocean. This is the rainy side of the island. The side the has deep gulches formed by all the rain. And jungles of plants growing thick and tall. We have a camping permit to stay at a valley that's an 11 mile backpack across the most ridged area of the coast on the northeast section of the island. We explored it on google earth last night. It's going to be quite challenging. And now with this storm all day long I'm concerned that the hike is too dangerous. And there's not anyone to ask about it. We'll see what the weather is doing and then make our decision. If it's raining tomorrow we'll bag the hike and head to the west and sunny side and give the Hilo side a rest for now.

We have decided to stay on this island the whole time. Too much to see and do!

Off to sleep!

Mackinac Island. No cars!!

Thursday Sept 22nd
Mackinac Island Michigan


Had to come here on way home. For over 100 yrs there have been no cars here (except for emergency vehicles). It is sooooo tranquil when cars are removed. But car fumes are replaced by horse manure fumes. And I do wonder about getting all that poop cleaned off the streets. They do it somehow. I will find a place in the state park to camp in the woods for the night. Pretty wooded. Should be ok.




Salad pizza for dinner. Tossed salad on a cheese pizza! Pretty good!

Earlier this week I spent a couple of days with Bacon and Meander of PCT fame (they finished last year!). Geese and chickens took over the yard! Made me rethink chickens, but I think the geese are the messy ones:). And the vegetarian meals they served so delighted my palate. Goat cheese and beet pizza! Marinated tofu! Salads using fresh local veggies! The rumors are true: Bacon and Meander can cook!! Great team in the kitchen.

From here I'm headin across the north shore of Lake Ontario to the Adirondaks to visit Fuat (remember him from Oregon?). Sadly he shipped his bike via USPS and only the label made it home. How do you lose a large, plastic, belted bike box with a return address on it? Our govt has managed to. They say they can't find it anywhere. I feel so bad. He seems to be taking it in stride.

Then on home later next week unless I stay away until the ALDHA meeting in Oct. I have options!

Stuffed BagLady

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Heading Home

Saturday September 19th
East of Pierre, South Dakota (in a cornfield)

Left Riverton yesterday after the most delightful week of doing very little except enjoying time with Steve & Sandy & Alexa and the granddaughters and the new puppies. Whew. Felt right at home. Such a pleasant place:)

And enjoyed attending, not one, but two book club meetings. Most interesting woman, for sure! Too bad I hadn't read the books. Oh well.

So now I'm driving. And I wish I were biking. Too fast. I can't see everything. Can't read the signs. Can't easily pull over, like I could on Blaze. Everything seems so much harder and a lot less fun. I'm more bored and more exhausted. On my bike, I looked forward to every day with baited breath not knowing what would unfold, but knowing I'd enjoy whatever it was. The road never looked too long. And once I accepted the slow pace, I preferred it. Not with driving. I've had to accept that I'll see very little and miss so much. I'm finally able to go over 50 mph. But it's do tiring, not invigorating. There are no endorphins when driving. No calories burned. A lot of concentration required. Exhausting. Yup. Give me my bike any day.

I slept last night next to a church. Only place in Lusk WY without street lights. I stayed in town so I could get breakfast in the morning. Good thinking, ya? I don't usually cook when car camping. Don't know why that is. Maybe I'll make some coffee in morning.

Drove through Custer State Park today and saw more bison. Felt like I was back in Yellowstone for a brief moment. I drove the Needles Highway which was incredible: rock spirals and a road winding through them! Loved it.

But I'm done. Enough beautiful scenery. Enough museums. Enough sagebrush. Enough cowboy boots. I'm ready for green grass and leafy trees. I can feel fall in the air. And it feels good.

Tonight I'm sleeping in my car in a cornfield with winds 20-30 mph and they're rocking it. Do you know I have not had an ear of corn this whole summer? I hope I'm not too late. And oh, a fresh tomato would taste wonderful. There's just not the farm stands like back east. I think I'm sounding homesick:)

Time for sleep.

Rockin' BagLady

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Arrived!

Sunday September 11
Riverton Wyoming

I pulled in the driveway at my brother's house a little after 10 am. Can't believe I biked out of this driveway 3 months and 1 week ago. What a journey! It went by so fast!

This afternoon Sandy (my sis-in-law) and I drove back to Thermopolis to retrieve my lost sac and profusely thank Steve the good samaritan. He's a guy from Oklahoma that's working on the building of a gas unit here for quite a long time without going home. Amazing that I got all of it back. Cash included. What have I been saying? Believe me now?

Gonna stick around here until Friday, then head towards Wisconsin to visit Bacon and Meander (PCT friends).

I should be home the following weekend I guess.

Tomorrow I'm gonna start unloading Blaze and taking an inventory of all that I carried, making special note of anything that wasn't used like my watercolor kit (once). Hope that and my notes will make repacking in a few months a bit easier.

Next stop: New Zealand!!!!

Satisfied BagLady


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Last Night?

Friday September 9th
Thermopolis WY



I'm camped just off the roadway up near a rock formation and in red, red clay. Beautiful spot except for the traffic. In the morning I'll roll right down into the Wind River Canyon!

I have about 50 miles left and I just don't know if I'll roll in tomorrow night or Sunday morning. Depends on what tomorrow brings my way.

This finishing is such sweet sorrow. I've had such a blast on this trip. Met so many wonderful new friends. Played with so many old ones. Not old, old:). It's been a full, rich, fun-filled summer! Hiking and biking!! A great mix.

There's only 2 things I'd change. I'd bring more audiobooks and I'd learn how to adjust the shifting cables so the click aligns with a gear change. I need to know how to do that. And I still need to adjust how my gear goes on the bike. I'd like to be able to grab a bag and have all my cooking gear and food together. Now it's in the pods on each side. Have to rethink that. I've been really looking the part of bag lady lately with all the rags and bags tied on. I like things handy. Maybe too handy:).

My wish is that more women try doing things on their own. People shouldn't be so surprised that I'm alone. It shouldn't be such an anomaly. I see so many women on the backs of motorcycles, like an accessory. "I got my hog and I got my babe!". Although some are on their own cycles, but then they're always following the man. He has to lead. That requires testosterone, I guess! And even in the RVs that pass me: the guy is always driving with the gal sitting faithfully in the passenger seat. What gives? Are we still second class citizens? Do we need a man to protect and guide us? Really? I love men I really do! But we need to figure out this partnership role. Men need to find out how to be strong enough to take the back seat sometimes without it affecting their ego. I'd love to hear some feedback on the subject because I think it's a complicated but important one. Why don't more women do things on their own? Why don't women share the leadership role? Why don't women ride on the front with the man behind? Why don't the girls drive the RVs for awhile? Could I ride on the back? Yes sometimes. As long as I got to ride up front too!

Ok. Off my soapbox. Just wanted to share something I've been noticing a lot out here.

Steering BagLady


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On the Road Again...Sorta

Thursday September 8th
Middle of No Man's Land, WY

Playing with Yellowstone in Yellowstone is over. Back to pedaling 10 hours a day to go 40 miles. 8:30 am to 7:00 pm. Break for lunch.

Y and I went to Cody to play too. She didn't want me biking on the roads in the park and there's the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody that she hadn't seen either and I heard it was great so off we went. The drive from Yellowstone to Cody was so beautiful down the Chief Joseph highway through Sunlit Basin! I kept wishing to myself that I were biking it. Cars travel too fast to really absorb the beauty and see all there is to see. Too fast. But it took 4 days off of biking. September is clipping by. I do need to head back east. That us where I live.

So we spent yesterday morning at the museum setting Y's departure time so that she could get back in time for a park party. But the best laid plans... After I got Blaze out of the back of her truck where she'd been resting for the week, and all loaded up, I found that the back tire had blown. Problem now. No more spares. Only brought one and it was on the intrepid right front. Called bike shop. The 20" they had was bigger. Called Walmart. They had a 20" a bit bigger but smaller than bike shop's. Now Y is getting late. She takes me to get tire. I have a tube the same size (1.75) and get everything all fixed and mounted all my gear. Say goodbye to Yellowstone and finish seeing the museum, getting groceries, getting air in tires, and leaving town. Not 3 miles down road. It's flat. Ugh! Take it off. Patch it - pinch flat. Remount. Wont inflate. Have to inflate after mounting because otherwise too big to get past the brake. 2nd puncture? Remove drone bike. Remove from rim. Pump's got problem. Fix it. That was why it wouldn't inflate. Remount tire on wheel. Remount wheel on bike. Inflate. Success! Pedal on. 1 mile. Pshhhh. Flat again. There's a reason I've been hauling that punctured and mended thorn resistant tube for months. That thing's too bulky to pinch. Put that baby on there. Yup. It worked! Gotten pretty fast at changing that rear tire. Sure appreciate Hieke's tip about resting the rear end rack braces on my panniers so that it's off the ground and not resting on the rear derailleur. Works well. So now with less than 90 miles to go, I should be able to make it. But that rear tire sure is FAT!

So tonight I'm again camped along side the highway next to the barbed wire fence. The prairie grasses are quite bristly. Thank goodness my ground cloth protects my tent and ME! No one bothers me. There are few places to get off the road except for the turnoffs to the pastures. It works for me. And the road should quiet down soon not that it's very noisy now.

It's been a pretty remote area I've been biking through: rolling ribbon of a road, yellow grasses and sagebrush on both sides the road, rocky outcroppings, and mountains in the distance. So beautiful to be a part of the scenery. The long road stretching out ahead delights rather than intimidating me.

It feels good!

Sleepy BagLady




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Headwinds

Tuesday August 30
Quake Lake MT


I lied! Today headwinds are killing me!! They're blowing north up this valley and it's a gradual uphill climb too. Not moving ver fast today. 3-4 mph at best. And it's getting pretty tiring. But it would be awfully hot out here without them. No umbrella today. It would pull me to Canada!

I found bar not on my Adventure Cycle map at about 4:30. I'd only gone about 22 miles since 9 am. Does that give you an idea of how hard today was? So I stopped in for ice water in my bottles and a root beer. Stayed for dinner! Soup and salad bar. Nothing to write home about, but saved me from cooking:). That left more evening hours to bike.

And I did another 14 tonight. Had a wee bit of a hard time finding a campsite because I pushed on and them got to an area of avalanches (dirt) and no flat spots. I camped 15 ft from the white lime on the side of the road on stones. But it's flat. And the road is mostly empty. And once I'm set up you can't tell who's in that tent. And Blaze is all nestled under her cover so she doesn't glow when headlights hit her and create curiosity or interest. It's really a good set up.

On into West Yellowstone tomorrow. Hopefully noonish.

This trip is winding down and sadly so. I'm not tired of it at all. It's just been a blast...except for all the stuff I've littered along the way. But hopefully I've spread some joy and inspiration to others to go out, be fearless, and live this life!!! Fully!

Exhausted BagLady. Off to bed...


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Yellowstone!

I have been visiting Yellowstone National Park and my friend, Yellowstone for the past few days.  She's a guide in this incredible park and has given me the best tour possible!!!  What a treat to see not only Old Faithful but all the other thermal features as well as bison, elk, and wolves (through scopes).  Way cool!  And then we did a 3 day backpacking trip with some friends up Mt. Holmes, over 10,000 ft!  Delightful time...and my partner and me won at cards... both nights!  A game called 500.  Similar to Euchre, so I had a bit shorter learning curve.    But I did manage to get sunburned.  You'd think that after spending all summer on Blaze I'd have been good, but it must have been the altitude.  And my sunscreen was on the bike...ouch!

And I've been meeting a slew of folks that work in the park...her friends.  What a great place this is!  I've loved being able to spend time with Yellowstone and catch up.  

Tomorrow we're heading to Cody where we'll see the Buffalo Bill Museum and go to Sierra Trading Post (floors of stuff on sale!).  We'll also have dinner and spend the night.  Then Wednesday I'll get back on Blaze and do the final leg of my amazing summer journey.  Don't think I'm ready for this trip to end, but it's time....I guess.  All good things must end, and so must this trip.  But it's not my last...oh NO!  Blaze is definitely my RV:)  We're gonna see some fabulous places together, yessireee!!!

Sunburned BagLady