Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania

"We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love... and then we return home." - Australian Aboriginal saying

G’Day Mates!!

This three week trip was off the charts of fun and fulfilled the full spectrum of cultural and adventure fantasies. It was Gerry’s first experience in the land down under and my second. Of course Australia is so vast and diverse, three weeks is not nearly enough time. We are already planning a return trip to meet up with wonderful new friends “Bong” and “Griz" from Adelaide.

We found excellent vibe in all the locations we explored. The people were happy, friendly and relaxed, a multicultural mix. 

I think that the feature that unites Australians is diversity.  

It was so refreshing to watch news that reported simply news and not biased editorials like we get in the USA.

Sydney was exuberant, sassy and stacks of fun, outrageously good looking, like sexy Bondi Beach.  The fine dining was excellent.

I discovered White Rabbit Beer and fell in love.  We took a train for 2 hours and hiked in the brilliant Blue Mountains. We took along a Japanese woman, who spoke little English. She looked lost on the street and she said “ Blue Mountain”? to Gerry, close to the train station. Her name was Mari and she had a wonderful time and glowed with pleasure at the creeks and waterfalls. She was in her 60s but kept up with us on 3 difficult hikes in and out of canyons.

 I just received a  nice note from her daughter, Sayaka, thanking us for our kindness. It was Mari, that was the kind gentle person! We loved the time we shared with this beautiful human being.

 This area reminded me of the magnificent Mogollon Rim escarpment here in northern Arizona.

Melbourne was artsy and dynamic, bubbling with global culture. The city looooves to shop. Our hotel was right in the City Center.

The Great Ocean Road is a must side trip from Melbourne. It curves from Torquay to Warrnambool and the views rival Big Sur and California’s Highway 1. It is a unique blend of bush, beach, rock and saltwater.

Witnessing the world’s smallest and cutest penguins emerge from the sea on Phillip Island just after sunset and waddle their way to their land based nests  is a life changing experience. 

Going to Tasmania is truly "living the dream.” It is simply dazzling and has it all:  ….“Tassie”  has vast uninhabited slabs of wilderness where we hiked some toughies on the Overland. Gerry was awesome!! We saw bountiful wildlife…wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, wombats, tas devils and on and on.

 We loved the gourmet food and wine and thriving arts scene in Hobart, particularly the MONA Museum, quite provocative and contemporary. It requires an open mind to enjoy.

 

From Hobart we “ enjoyed” a white knuckle drive on a winding mountain road for five hours to the seaside village of Strahan and stayed at a fabulous B & B and hiked in a nearby rainforest. We had a killer dinner, one of the best ever, at a local establishment.

From Strahan we had another mountain drive to Cradle Mountain National Park and stayed at a cozy cabin at the Pepper Lodge.

For four days we hiked extraordinary trails and some off trails in the snow. This is where we met Bong and Griz and had dinner with them each night and plenty of White Rabbits. Bong led us on a really difficult route one day and we were treated to his in depth  interpretive knowledge. 

We had to get up very early for a drive to Launceston airport on a dark, icy mountain road. Of course this is the opposite side of the road and a bit of a challenge considering all the animals were active, crossing the road at that time in the morning. Hitting a wombat  or Kangaroo would do serious damage and injury, but we focused and grinded it through, not our favorite part of the trip.

Man behaving Badly:

On the trip back to LA, the flight attendant with the second best legs in the world (Gerry numero uno) called me a “Cheeky Bugger” because I kept requesting more free drinks.  Hey, I needed them to go to sleep!!

Next up-Chicago-(Wrigley) and Cleveland (R & R Hall of Fame)

Coyote Gulch Grand Staircase Escalante

"Best of all, the Escalante country belongs to us. It lies entirely in the public domain, and is therefore the property not of land and cattle companies, not of oil and mining corporations, not of Utah State Highway Department or any Utah Chamber of Commerce, but of all Americans. Its our country. Or should be. It’s supposed to be."

Edward Abbey 1971

The Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is a high rugged and remote region. It was the last place in the continental United States to be mapped. The natural beauty of  Coyote Gulch defies human perspective. Our group was blown away by the texture of this unspoiled landscape. We explored several superlative side canyons, slot like tributaries, and our eyes were feasted by the sights of several arches, a massive natural bridge, waterfalls and towering walls draped with variegated varnish. An emerald pool was extraordinary. 

Southern Utah and Northern Arizona have the greatest canyon systems in the world and I have been fortunate to be able to explore so many of them, however….

Coyote Gulch is the cream of the crop and the canyon that all others in southern Utah are compared. This has been on my radar for many years and we were finally able to put together a trip with a couple of the old gang and a couple of other great guys and explorers.

This was beauty beyond comprehension….but……we had to work for it. 

 

It was a 8 hour drive to the hamlet of Escalante where we spent the first night in a motel and had a fun evening at a local restaurant that served a nice variety of beers, strong beers!

The next morning we drove about 50 miles on primarily the Hole in the Rock back road to the Forty Mile Ridge trailhead and  lowered our packs and squeezed down the Crack-in -the Wall.

We then had a brutal 600 yards of hiking in deep sand before getting to the Gulch. From here it was smooth walking and wading. 

We camped under an overhang and happy hour started at 4. Dingo and Greg (Dingo’s brother in law) brought down hors d'oeuvres, margaritas, rum and other goodies…a backpacker’s dream!

The next day was absolutely fantastic!!  There were cottonwood groves that provided shade and sustenance. There were traces of those that came long before us…people whose spirits pervade the landscape.

It started to rain in the afternoon but we found another overhang to keep dry, and at four we had another round of happy hour and boy were we very happy!!

The next morning we hiked a couple of miles and left Coyote Gulch at Hurricane Wash and climbed out. We then navigated our way a few miles cross country through the desert to our vehicle that Dingo had shuttled to the Jacob Hamlin Trailhead. The navigation was spot on and we came out exactly where Dingo had parked.

On the road out we stopped at Peek-A-Boo and Spooky slot canyons and then started the long drive home at 2 in the afternoon.

This was an excellent  trip, well planned and executed by the trip leader Dingo Dawg. The camaraderie was off the charts. 

Thank you guys for the time we shared….Jake da Snake, Peter da Wild Goose, Dingo da Dawg and Greg.

"Hallucinatory-that’s just the way everyday life is, in Colombia. All the time, you say to yourself, did I just see that?”

 

 

We just returned from a fantastic 12 day, fast moving journey from Bogota to Zipaquira to the coffee triangle, to the Cocora Valley to the villages of Salento and Filandia through the Andes to the metropolis of Medellin, to the village of Guatope to the Caribbean coastal city of Cartagena.

 

 All went extremely well!  The amount of time we spent educating ourselves, planning, preparing, and organizing paid off with a flawless execution of travel through one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

 

Colombia is considered the second most biodiverse country in the world (following Brazil).  It was not surprising that, Paulina Vega from Colombia was selected as Miss Universe. We met so many beautiful and intelligent Colombian women that would turn heads anywhere.  The country was bubbling with pride. 

The Colombian people were all very kind, and they always had a smile on their faces for us.

 

Colombia is responsible for more than 60% of the world’s emeralds and I bought Gerry a nice set of earrings to go with the emerald ring she got in Rio a few years ago.

 

We really enjoyed the climate due to its location close to the equator. Over 12% of the land in Colombia is dedicated to National Parks.  We spent a day hiking and hanging out at the magnificent Parque Nacional Natural Los Nevado. And did I mention coffee?? To kill for!!!

 

Colombia’s spanish is considered to be the “clearest” in the world and I spoke almost nothing but spanish the whole trip. There was very little english.

 

Medellin was once known as the most dangerous city in the world, now is a thriving progressive metropolis and the fashion capitol of Latin America. We felt entirely safe the whole trip, in fact safer than here in the United States.

 

In Bogota I worked out at one of the nicest gyms I have ever gone to. It seems that everyone in Bogota is into cycling, running, walking or skating. 

We loved the food, particularly the salchicha (sausage) and fish. The beer wasn’t half bad either. And we fell in love with the chubby! Fernando Botero’s work is nothing short of splendid.

 

 

Blue Springs Little Colorado River Gorge

"That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger." "Pain is just fear leaving the body."

Taking it to the limit one more time.

 Saturday was a very taxing and long day, starting with navigating the maze of Navajo back roads at 5:30 A.M, hiking at 7, getting out of the gorge after dark at 6:45 and back to Tuba City at 7:30 and then on to our hotel at the Cameron Trading Post. Oh yes, Navajo tacos and a bed at the end of the line!
It was a hard day’s night and a good body of work….about 16 miles in total hiking, 3600' of elevation gain and loss, 6 miles on the Horse Route, and 10 miles of  slogging thru mud for 10 miles in the Little Colorado River Gorge to Blue Springs and return.

I live for these types of adventures. They are bountiful in the beautiful state of Arizona.

The Canyoneer amigos

Bill Orman, Dingo, ELG. and Charlie Pongo. 

I was engulfed with pain and fear after exiting the Little Colorado River Gorge and standing on the rim in pitch dark with a small headlamp. It appeared that the three amigos were screwed!

 Our truck was not there! Stolen? Probably not. But where was it?  In the dark we had missed our target. It had to be close!

 Our options:

A. Spend the night utilizing the clothes we had in our packs and emergency blankets. At 5,000’ temperatures would be in the mid 20s .Survival?

B. Head East on a backroad to the main highway -15 miles away. Although totally exhausted, this would be the better option.

C. Find the GD Truck!! Best option!

We chose option C. After locating a backroad and walking about 1/2 mile, the treasure hunt was over. However Bill introduced more fear when he had a little trouble finding his keys in his pack.

The objective of the trip was to get to the incredible Blue Springs. It was a chilly start. The expectations were to travel on dry ground but a storm a couple of weeks ago made the going particularly difficult, having to deal with intermittent deep mud. After Charlie got “stuck” up to his knees and soaked trying to get out he elected to head back. He had brought his own truck and camped at the trailhead the night before in the bitter cold. Charlie is a seasoned Canyon guy. He has worked at Phantom Ranch and hiked with the legendary Harvey Butchart.

The three of us forged on. There were a lot of debris from flash floods  and many critter tracks in the mud. We thought that they were ringtail tracks but a couple of raccoons popped out. I have never seen raccoons in this canyon.

 We all had been to Blue Springs before on the Blue Springs route that involves walking and climbing ledge to ledge with significant exposure. This route was safer but long and slow going. Our turnaround time was noon but at mid day we were close and decided to continue. We arrived at 12:30, had lunch, enjoyed the beauty of the springs and headed back at 1:00.  

After finally reaching the Horse Route, we needed to climb 2 1/2 miles and 1800’. Dingo and Bill  moved well but I was  feeling exhausted and  a bit slower.

The sun set was projected to be at 6:30. It set at 6. Headlamps on! We were close but so far away. 

When we did find the truck, the boys cracked a beer but I was too tired to have one. A first!

The drive out seemed to take forever. When Bill dropped us off at Dingo’s car at the Quality Inn in Tuba City, Dingo made things even more fun by not being able to find his keys. 

I could not take the drama, so I went to use the rest room and when I returned he was in the car, now to Cameron for dinner and bed.

The bed never felt so good but we didn’t go right to sleep, but opted to watch The Outlaw Josie Wales on TV. 

Boys will be boys when they are let out!

It was a fun trip and we nailed it. Thanks to Bill for facilitating.

Men Behaving badly

Dingo and Bill, for bad key management and not having backup.

Bill,  for insisting that sunset was at 6:30? Hey, he lives in Tuba City, he should know.

Dingo and Lobo, for sneaking tequila into the restaurant at the Cameron trading Post.

Bill and Dingo, for laughing at Lobo when he got stuck in the mud.

Lobo, on Friday night in Flagstaff for telling the cute waitress in the Brew Pub that he really liked the colors on her shirt, in the Eddie Haskell manner.