It was a long drive to Glacier and rainy most of the way. I stayed in a hotel in Butte on the way up. I picked up a new pair of hiking boots in the Missoula REI. Both of my Keens have developed deterioration in the heel causing pain and bleeding. You gotta love REI who take back all merchandise. I was able to get a more expensive pair of boots for the two pairs but I am not happy about hiking in boots that aren't broken in.
I got a call from my sister as I was about to enter the park. A school had called about a position. This is very annoying because I contacted HR and they put a note in my file to contact me by cell phone. There is only spotty cell service in the National Park but I did call the school three times. They didn't bother to call back. No worries.
I tried to break in my boots on a short walk around the lake. The next morning I hiked up to Apgar Lookout. I had a great view and met another solo hiker (Mark) who wanted to hike later in the day so we agreed to meet at Avalanche Lake at 2:00. However, by 2:00 is was quite rainy. I didn't wait and left without him. Not very nice I suppose. It was a good hike but would be much better on a clear sunny day. I drove up the rest of the Going to the Sun Road after the hike (mostly to use the car heater to dry myself off). When I got back into cell reception I realised Mark had called a couple of times.
The next morning I decided to take my wet tent to East Glacier and try out Brownies youth hostel there. For one it would be dry. For another it costs only $13 vs $20 for a campsite. Also it has showers, internet, cell service and laundry which the campgrounds don't. I texted Mark and told him I would be hiking at Two Medicine at noon and apologized for not waiting for him yesterday. The weather was great. I stopped by Running Eagle falls on the way in. When I got to the hike meeting place Mark was there and he was understanding about the day before. We hiked with a Park naturalist and a group of others. There were some awesome waterfalls (Rockwell and Aster). Mark and I hiked up to Aster view point as well. It had great views. A really good day!
Check out full size photos here or see the slideshow below
After a very fun visit with the fine Fine family that included pizza, wii, hammie and playing outside, we headed up to Yellowstone. We set up camp and then headed over to the Junior Ranger program. It was about identifying animal sounds. That was Brody's first step to becoming a Junior Ranger. Next we headed to Old Faithful. We had a bit of time before the next eruption so we checked out the other attractions. We lucked
It was a long trip but we managed to set up camp, and see Old Faithful anyway. Brody was definitely more interested in the bison along the trail. We also saw both Plume and Beehive geysers go off. At 9:30 we went to the evening program about the animals of Madison. I asked the ranger if we could toast marshmallows in the fire and he said yes. However, he had a hard time making the fire so I ended up making it for him. Then I roasted the marshmallows. At which point Brody decided he he liked them better raw. After the presentation we walked back and poor Brody was both frozen and scared. He was worried about bears and wolves after learning more about them.
The next morning we had a talk about animals and why we don't need to fear them as long as we follow the animal rules. We did the Northern Loop and went out the road to the Lamar valley. We saw heaps of animals - bison, elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, goats. It was fantastic. Brody must have been a little sleepy still. He feel asleep in the car. It as too bad as we went by a bear and he didn't get to see it. I was disappointed with the Mammoth Hot Springs area. There was much less water in the terraces and they were not as interesting as when I went many years ago. However, there were lots of elk hanging around and Brody loved that. We stopped at Norris Geyser Basin on the way back to camp. Brody settled in for some PSP in the tent and I went for a walk. I encountered a few bison on the same trail and got out of their way. When I got back to camp there were several bison hanging around the campground. I went to get Brody but he had already heard and had gone to see them. I built him a campfire and cooked up some delicious canned spagetti and meatballs for his dinner. As Brody sat by the fire about 15 buffalo walked through our section of the campground. One right through our camp. A mother, father and calf hung out at the next campsite. We kept still and watched them trying not to disturb them. It was certainly better than watching TV while eating dinner. Eventually they moved on without incident.
The next morning we did the lower circle of the Park. Brody really enjoyed the waterfalls. He said they were the first ones he had seen. We also visited the mud volcano area. Many of the geothermal features had dragon names and he like that but I think maybe he expected them to look like a dragon. We also visited the West Thumb Geyser area which is right on Lake Yellowstone. It was pretty interesting. Brody finished up his Junior Ranger booklet and was awarded a Junior Ranger patch. We bought him a Junior Ranger vest with lots of pockets for him to wear as well. We visted Old Faithful again. When it went off it went much higher than last time and Brody was very impressed. We took a shower at the Old Faithful Inn (our first in Yellowstone). Then we bought our last souviners and ate dinner at a diner in the Old Faithful area.
The next morning it started pouring rain at 4am. Luckily Brody slept through it but I couldn't sleep worrying about packing up in the rain. When it let up, I packed up the wet gear and Brody and hit the road. Brody slept for about three more hours as I drove. I caught a few buffalo and elk on the way out. With the exception of a small but non-stinging wasp encounter in car, the trip went well.
We arrived in Park City in the early afternoon. As we walked up to the Fine's door, we heard young Josh yelling Brody, Brody, Brody. It was a great welcome. Brody played with the Fine kids for a few hours and ate some mac and cheese and then we headed down to the airport. All went well there until I was pulled up by security for bringing my swiss army knife. I had forgotten about it because I wasn't flying. Luckily we had enough time to return to the car and leave it there. After a bit for frozen yogurt I took Brody to the gate and he got on the plane.
It was a great trip and I hope Brody will have good memories of it for a long, long time.
More photos of the trip can be seen here or in the slideshow below.
Brody slept like a log and finally I had to wake him to leave for Bryce. It wasn't a long drive but there is a time change and we wanted to do quite a bit there. We arrived at 11:00 and checked in. Then went in the Park. We visited the Visitor Center. Highlights there include a stuffed porcupine and a historic rifle. Following that we drove up to Natural Bridge which is a large stone formation shaped like a bridge.
Afterwards we drove back to Sunrise Point where I whipped up a bit of mac and cheese on the camp stove. It started to rain during this but only drops so we persevered on with lunch. After that we hiked the Queens Garden/ Navajo Loop trail. It is supposed to be one of the top 3 mile hikes in the world or so someone said on the trail. There were lots of amazing hoodoos. Brody enjoyed climbing around on the rocks. We climbed out in a narrow canyon. It was kind of steep and, although he complained of hurting legs, Brody did pretty well. I treated him to a Moon pie at the top. From there we returned to Rubys and moved into our tipi.
Next it was off for a swim. After debating whether to swim in the indoor or outdoor pool, Brody decided on the indoor one. Good thing, I think, as it was 50 degrees. He had a great swim. He was disappointed that I didn't go in but seemed to like it when I through him a penny and he could dive for it.
After that he showered and shopped. He found a cowboys and Indians plastic figurine set to buy. He is a born shopper that one.
Tonight we are off to see a presentation on night creatures in the Park if he makes it to 8:30.
The drive from Mesa to Jacobs Lake went well. I was amazed that there is still snow on Mt Humphreys. The section of the drive on 89A was just great. It was so beautiful at the Colorado River. Brody liked it but liked the gift shop more. I would love to come and explore this area more.
We got to Jacobs Lake around 5:00 and set up the tent. It was pretty chilly especially for Brody. He retired to tent to use his electronics very soon. He warmed up when I put a second sleeping bag over him and enjoyed his PSP until bedtime.
We were both up early the next morning but Brody didn't want to move into the cold. Eventually hot chocolate got him moving. We were on our way very early and spotted a herd of buffalo outside the North Rim Park Entrance.
Inside the park we came across a mule deer. It was not shy at all and I got a few photos. The next stop was the visitor center where we learned that the mule deer has a deadly kick. I am glad we didn't get to close to the deer. We walked along the Transept Trail and then out to Bright Angel Point.
After that we drove out to some other view points. We saw a herd of mule deer right by the road. I think we both liked Angels Window he best. Brody spotted several lizards. Unfortunately, Brody was stung by a bee on the way back. It was painful but there was no allergic reaction. We were in luck as we sat at a picnic table his mom called. We somehow had come into a very slight cell signal and I didn't even know. I think that made him feel better than anything.
We stopped by and checked out a spring in a cliff and we also saw an ancient Indian granary on the way. Brody knew what a granary was from his spelling words which was pretty impressive. We also checked out an Indian Ruin.
On the way back we saw the buffalo again. Once at the campground we walked to the Jacob's Lake Inn for cookies and I discovered wireless internet. Yeah!!!
I had two days in Kathmandu at the end of my trip because I was worried that I would get caught in a strike and be unable to travel. I didn't want to miss my flight.
The first thing I did when I returned to Kathmandu was to return to my initial guesthouse and tell them that I was unhappy with their service. They had charged me three times as much as a bus ticket cost for my ticket to Besishar. Additionally they sold it to me for a day that they knew the bus wouldn't run (strike day) costing me alot of taxi money. They also charged me an extra 500 rupees for a TIMS card which is free. The front desk guys were really nice and admitted that what had been done was wrong and were sorry. Unfortunately the guy who did all those things wasn't there. They did ask me to write my complaint down. (Nothing ever happened). I was supposed to stay there on return and they had stored some gear for me. There was no problem with me picking up my stuff and not staying there.
I ended up staying at the Kathmandu View Guesthouse. It was much much nicer than the Potala and cost less. I went to dinner at my favorite veggie place and ate spinach tofu curry. It is so yummy.
The next day I went down to Durbar Square quite early. I saw a guard in old fashioned clothing, lots of temples and prayer. I saw quite a few monkeys. I walked around a bit more and saw a big white tower. Back at the Guesthouse I bumped into Julie, a friend from Chitwan. We went to the Monkey Temple. It was a nice walk except for the bit over the river which was like an open sewer. There were lots of monkeys at the temple. The temple also had good views of urban Kathmandu.
The rest of that day and the next morning was spent souvenir shopping.
The flight home went without problems except when I got to the Kathmandu airport and they closed the restaurant and were using it for a lounge for a delayed flight. I hadn't eaten and expected to eat there. I must have looked and sounded pathetic because eventually they let me in and I had one last veggie curry before I left.
I got into LAX two hours early. I had to overnight because there were no late evening flights to PHX. I stayed at the Crown Plaza. The initial room they gave me was already occupied and I walked in on some guy in bed -- very embarrassing. Eventually I got a room and I have to say that they have the nicest beds there. I would totally recommend it.
I flew out to PHX without problem the next day and spent the next week trying to overcome my jet lag.
Click here for full size photos or see slideshow below
I took a tourist bus from Pokara to Chitwan. It was certainly nicer than my last experience with Nepal buses. However, it was still not what I would call comfortable. Although the bus was mostly filled with tourists, there were Nepali people on the bus. Because of the strike, this was a problem. As we approached the strike line all the Nepali people had to exit the bus. Only tourists were allowed to cross the strike line in buses. So many Nepali people were walking or taking rickshaws. I felt really bad being able to take a bus. When we let people off the bus, we had to wait a long time. I really didn't understand why at the time. We finally got going and about 10 minutes later a couple of guys with big sticks got on the bus obviously looking for anyone trying to break the strike. We moved on and drove for about 5 more minutes and then some of the people we let off got back on. It was now clear to me that the long wait had been while these guys had walked through the strike line to a safe place to be picked up by us.
I was let off about 15 minutes later. As I was trying to describe my backpack to the guy on top of the bus, someone else's backpack sailed off the top of the bus and landed at my feet. I was pretty lucky it didn't take me out and that it wasn't my backpack as I am sure a fall like that must have broken or dented something in the pack.
We waited for another bus to take us and bus passengers from another bus to a nearby hotel for lunch. We then drove on to the Chitwan NP where we boarded a boat, crossed the river and walked about 10 minutes to the Island Jungle Resort. Below is a summary of the activities that I did there. Despite it being really, really hot, visiting here was really awesome.
Elephant Ride Three or four people ride an elephant on a platform. The elephant is controlled by a mahout. As far as I could tell they control the elephant by nudging them behind their ears with bare feet, talking to them and clocking them on the head with either a stick or a pointy metal bar. I asked and the training to become a mahout occurs in India and it lasts 2 years. Riding the elephant we saw rhinos, peacocks, eagles, monkeys and several other birds. One of the most amazing experiences was when the mahout spotted a python. He used the elephant to knock down all the trees in that area. Then got down and pointed the the snake which had curled up in a hole. He poked it a bit and it crawled out. Then he yanked on its tail as it tried to slither way. Photo below.
Elephant Washing Elephant washing is a supercool experience. You wade into the water and climb up onto an elephant. Then it sucks up water in its trunk and squirts you. One of the elephants also likes to throw you off like a bucking bronco.
Bird Watching This was kind of a slow activity for me but we saw a cool nest and a baby bird. Most of the birds we saw on the trip were junglefowl (like chickens/ roosters). We also saw flycatchers, eagles, peacocks, bulbils, etc
River Boat Ride Mellow ride on the river
Jungle Walk / Nature Walk Prior to doing this we got a lecture about the dangerous animals of the jungle and what to do if we encounter them.
Rhino: climb a tree (impossible no limbs), hide behind a tree, or if no cover run in a zig zag as rhinos run straight.
Sloth Bear: stay together and make alot of noise
Tiger: do not turn back, keep eye contact slowly back away.
One the first one the most dangerous thing we saw were bees. We saw cool red bugs called cotton bugs and learned about the jungle. The most impressive thing was seeing tiger tracks. They were right by the camp. On the longer jungle walk we saw a male rhino. The guides had us hide behind a tree and tried to distract the rhino with a loud noise in another direction. It took off but we then encountered it again down the track and had to hide again. I might mention at this point that the guides had only big sticks for protection.
Cultural Dance Nearby village kids came and performed three dances for us.
April 25 On the way to Pokara my taxi driver let me know that today is the Mother's Festival (equivalent to Mother's Day). He also told me why it is so hazy. There are many fires burning. In one multiple army officers were killed trying to get it under control. It turns out that fires are common at this time. Some are accidental. Others are set to clear land or stimulate regeneration in the jungle.
Pokara is situated on Lake Fewa. The area of Pokara that most people stay in is Lakeside and that is where I plan to stay.
Despite being hungry, hot and tired I spent a bit of time looking around for a place to stay in Pokara. There are something like 700 hotels there. I finally got a reasonably priced one (200 rupees) with an attached bath. The only downside was the disco behind it but I figure that is what ear plugs are for. Also it doesn't stay open past 11 pm so if I am tortured it won't be all night like I have been in Mexico.
April 26 I took a boat across the lake early in the morning as the sun was rising. There were so many egrets in the bamboo. I have never seen that many in one place. The ride took about 10 minutes and cost 250 rupees. The irony here is that you could rent a boat and driver for an hour for the same. I hiked up the side of the mountain to the Peace Pagoda. The views were nice on the way up but the mountains were obscured by haze. The Peace Pagoda was fairly impressive. After reaching the top and checking it out, I headed down the other side to visit the Tibetan Refugee Village. I found the village and bought a few souvenirs hoping that the money went to the refugees. From there I continued on to see Devi Falls. However, at a point I figured I has passed them. I asked and it turned out that I was right. Since I heard there was no water in the falls I didn't double back. Instead I continued on past the Fewa Lake dam into Pokara.
Once back I bought a new skirt and shirt to change into later. It would be good to be in some clothes other than my hiking gear. I also bought my ticket for Chitwan NP. There is a strike in the area but apparently the tourist buses are still able to get through.
At sunset I went down by the lake. The sun was quite red as it set due to the haze from the fires. There were a bunch of water buffalo taking a bath while I was down there. A woman went out in a boat to herd them in. Then one went onto the Palace grounds (now occupied by the army). A soldier with a gun helped herd it back. It was funny.
April 27 Today I walked north of town. It was quite a nice walk. I saw lots of birds - egrets, kingfishers, vultures, etc. The lake was calm and still. It seemed less polluted than around Fewa. Walked out into a field and got some pretty closeup video of water buffalo taking a bath.The rest of the day was spent marking time waiting to leave for Chitwan the next morning.
Click here for full size photos or watch the slide show below.
