Yellow Aster Butte: 24 Hours Car-to-Car
Sometimes everything goes smoothly. After a few ordeals on trips this summer, this is not something to be taken for granted. After we got our car back from the mechanic in Whistler, we both felt it was time for a weekend hike, and we decided on Yellow Aster Butte, a place we had been to a few years ago. We left Vancouver pretty late, ensuring that we all got a good night’s sleep. There was a lot of traffic, a bit of a wait at the border and then we took a long break at the ranger station in Glacier to pick up a parking permit and blue bags (to collect our poo).…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Cycling & Cycle Touring, Outdoor Recreation, Trip Reports, Trips with Kids, Western USA
Edison-La Conner Loop: Small Town America
We drove into Edison, Washington, population 133. As we drove in to town, a blink of an eye later we were already outside “town” and had to make a quick u-turn before parking at the Elementary School. Maya went to a nearby cafe, where she tried to order an ice mocha, and they rolled their eyes at her – they had no idea what she was talking about. I guess the message was: “You’re not in Vancouver anymore” (she actually just wanted the WiFi password and to use the bathroom). While we were having lunch on the lush school lawn, no doubt sprayed with all pesticides imaginable, we watched several cars with…
Point Roberts Loop: A Few Hours on the Other Side
Back in February, three days before Neil was born, Gili cycled around Point Roberts. He came back with an excellent impression and I was a bit sad that I couldn’t join. He promised that we’ll be back there riding as a family of three sooner rather than later. Then as we are getting ready for our trip to South Korea and Japan Gili ordered bicycle tires to be picked up from Point Roberts. Now that the opportunity presented itself we had to go back, so Neil and I could enjoy the ride as well. So we drove to Tsawwassen and parked the car at Diefenbaker Park, where Neil had his…
Olympic Peninsula: Savour the Moment (South Coast Hike)
This trip was long overdue. During our first summer in Canada back in 2007 we crossed the border to the US on Canada Day long weekend. Inexperienced and naive, we didn’t know what it means to cross the border on long weekends. We were stuck at the border for over three hours and by the time we were on the other side we realized that with the long drive ahead we wouldn’t have time to actually complete the hike. So we changed our plans and always kept this hike in mind. Now, eight years + one baby later it was finally time to hike along the coast of the Olympic…
- British Columbia (and nearby), Cycling & Cycle Touring, Outdoor Recreation, Trip Reports, Western USA
Point Roberts Loop: Cycling a Forgotten Piece of the USA
Point Roberts is a weird forgotten piece of the USA. It is landlocked by Canada, but lies south of the 49th parallel, the arbitrary border line. By any reasonable account it should have been part of British Columbia, and not Washington State. As ridiculous as it sounds, the school buses, garbage trucks and US postal service vehicles all travel from the rest of Washington State, cross the border into Canada, and then cross the border again into Point Roberts. Like many residents of the lower mainland of British Columbia I have often been to Point Roberts. Why, you ask? Well, to pick up packages of course. The USA is the…
Lopez Island: A Winter Getaway
Sometimes it’s nice to do things off season. Lopez Island in the San Juan Islands is a very popular summer destination, but on a chilly weekend in mid December we found ourselves in an almost empty campground, on roads with little to no traffic and on beautiful abandoned beaches. True, it was a bit cold and the days are short. But with enough clothes, a bonfire at night, a cozy tent and the right company, everything is possible. On Friday it was Gili’s birthday, and also the mark of 16 years of us being together. Usually we are not big on celebrating these kinds of occasions, but we figured a…
Vantage (climbing): Basalt Columns Forever
It is sunset. Steep columns of golden rock rise before you like soldiers prepared for combat. Some of them are broken, crippled. Others stand tall and slender. You look carefully, and notice that in between their folds are little creatures, clambering up the columns, attempting to reach the top. When they crest the top of the cliff, they lower themselves down gracefully on thin cords, just to repeat the ridiculous ritual. It’s a mesmerizing sight. At nightfall they retreat into small nylon shelters nearby, and when a new day dawns they arrive back again, full of energy. Welcome to climbing at Vantage. Vantage is only about 4.5 hours from Vancouver, or so…
Wenatchee-Chelan Loop: The Columbia, Always a Stunner
Weather forecasts are extremely unreliable at this time of year. Nevertheless, after scrutinizing the charts for the whole region, we determined that eastern Washington would have the best weather, and the rest of the area would be cloudy and rainy. The problem was that it was the May Long Weekend, and long weekends are a terrible time to cross the border to the US. At least we knew what to expect, and brought along a zen attitude and a book. After a 2.5-3 hour wait in the car, with stressed out drivers aggressively trying to change lanes or push their way in after bypassing the line by going to the…
Oregon: The Cycling Revolution of the Scenic Bikeways
When we got back from cycling in Central America last year we had a pile of Adventure Cyclist Magazines to read. From all the articles I read in the next months, one in particular drew my attention. It was about cycling the Old West Scenic Bikeway near John Day, in Eastern Oregon. The first thing that caught my eye was the use of the word Bikeway. It means a route marked especially for cyclists, taking into account traffic, scenery, road conditions, interest, communities along the way and more. The other one was John Day. I actually know a person whose name is John Day, so I was excited to find that…
Death Valley National Park: Cycling in a Desert Wonderland
It started out as a crazy idea. We were looking for something to do over the two week Christmas break and a few factors had to be taken into consideration – sun, warmth, blue skies and preferably bicycles. I once heard about cycling in Death Valley and just threw it in the air as an option. Gili made it possible. The idea of driving 20 hours each way did not appeal to us, but then again, neither did the other options like staying in rainy and gray Vancouver, or finding a flight at the most expensive time of the year. Checking the temperatures for Death Valley area left us no…
