After the debauchery of Boulder, the thought of comfort and solace with my cousin Ronan and his clan was deeply appealing. I caught the complementary Greyhound bus, that was included in my Amtrak pass, to Vail also in Colorado where Ronan´s missus Chris collected me. Overall I spent three nice relaxed days with them and I was great to catch up with Ronan who I hadn´t seen in over 10 years. Ronan is my mums first cousin and he moved over to the States on a running scholarship from Dublin in 1982 and never went back. It was great also to meet Chris and my crazy little cousins Brogan and Bailey.
We had a really good time and he took good care of me. We trekked up to the simply named Hanging Lake which was a sight to behold not least because the water was at its fiercest due to the amount of meltwater after a seriously heavy winter snow fall. Colorado is truly a spectacular part of the country with wonderful canyons, rivers and hills. I can only imagine what its like in the winter with the world class skiing that it is reputed to have. That is something that i would definitely like to experience at some stage.
I had a bit of excitement on leaving the Murrays in Avon. Knowing that I was on the last of my 30 day Rail Pass I just had to make the only train of the day in Denver. The fucking Greyhound bus was over 2 hours late and i was begining to get very edgy so I felt obliged to put the call in to Ronan for a lift. I suggested that we give the bus another twenty minutes but he was having none of it. He drove me all of the 100 plus miles to Denver and we even had enough time to sneak in two pints before the train.
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Sunday, 15 June 2008
Hair of the Dog
After spending a few hours hanging around Salt Lake City I was on the California Zephyr train headed for Colorado. Although it was a day train it was extremely enjoyable as the journey took us snaking along the Colorado River twisting and turning with each bend in the river. The river had created a steep jagged canyon which really did justice to the reputation that Colorado possesses.
I was in Jonny and Ryan`s gaff in Boulder, within an hour of detraining at Denver. Boulder is this cool little college town (quite like Missoula) in the middle of the Rockies. Crazy place. They brought me on some serious nights out. Beforehand though, they recounted their tale of the only other foreign couchsurfers they had. Quite a story:
Two weeks previously they had these two aussie lads staying with them. One of them, Andy, got pretty twisted one night. So drunk that he was struggling to keep on his feet. So obviously when the cops laid eyes on him he was a goner. They hauled his ass off to Detox - an informal arrangement where they throw fellas in to sober up.
But the thing is that its a voluntary situation in that if you really wanna leave they can`t do much to stop you short of arresting you. So anyway, the boy Andy, still plastered decided to leave. This story was only pieced together at a later date as Andy has zero recollection of what happened next. Apparently, he stumbled across the road to where there was a trailer park and attempted to enter one of the trailers. The guy who lived there obviously went mental at this and a scuffle ensued. Yer man managed to get away and call the copson Andy, and yip, you`ve guessed it, he got lynched again !!!
This is where it gets interesting. The charges - public intoxication, trespassing on private property, breaking and entering and (it turned out the guy was disabled) assault on a disabled person !! His goose was truly cooked. He literally had no recollection whatsoever so he had to agree with everything they threw at him. His lawyer reckoned he was facing 6 months - minimum !
Because he was a foreigner the bail was raised to $30,000 which he didnt exactly have on him. so they shipped him off to the county jail where the poor bastard spent 6 days. His parents where in Europe at the time and they flew out to him in desperation. well proud id say. The thing about the court case was that he was a qualified lawyer himself so he knew he was fucked. Astonishingly, the judge accepted his plea bargain and, I`d imagine because of the cost to the state of imprisoning him, charged him with trespassing on agricultural land and told him to get the fuck out of the country!
And before any of ye start leaving ye`re imaginations get the better of ye Andy is an australian and not in fact, me. Anyway, in fairness to Ryan and Jonny, they kept their faith in the Couch Surfing phenomenon but assured me that I had a hell of a lot to live up to.....
So I had a great laugh crashing with the lads. We hit a great electro gig on the first night. Canadian band called New Deal before going in to town. the next morning we went to the nearby creek for an ice cold t-bag. very refreshing to say the least !! the saturday night left me in a state of serious disrepair the following day. one of my worst hangovers of all time ! We started off the night at a keg party of one of their friends. One of whom had an alcoholic dog - i kid you not. i found the little shite tucking into a cup of beer under the table. thats Boulder for you.
So whilst nursing an atrocious hangover on the sunday evening, another memorable scene occured. The lads had another bloke called Fritz staying there too. He had been in college with them and had come back for the weekend but they weren`t crazy about him. They had also agreed to look after some chicks dog while she went away for a few days. Fritz, completely sober on his own in the house, had found it in his wisdom that the dog would look far cooler with a "Lion Tail" so he went about cutting half of the dogs tail hair off. Not a bright idea and the lads weren`t impressed. The girl didn`t realise it when she came to collect the dog so we all breathed a sigh of relieft.
Ten minutes later the door burst open. She was back. And she was not a happy dog owner !! fucking hell she was going beserk. What followed next was one of the most uncomfortable twenty minutes of my life. She unleashed a vitriolic hysterical rant about how her dog would be scarred for life and would never be the same again. It was Keane/McCarthy-esque. Fritz decided not to own up so poor Ryan took the brunt of the abuse while stating that he didn`t know who was responsible. I tried to stare at my shoes for the duration but I felt seriously uncomfortable. While it was bad form on Fritz`s part, she took it a bit too personally stating that the dog was the most important thing in her life. Not much of a fuckin life I thought to myself !!
Overall, Boulder was a shit hot town and the lads were up there with my best couchsurfing experience.
I was in Jonny and Ryan`s gaff in Boulder, within an hour of detraining at Denver. Boulder is this cool little college town (quite like Missoula) in the middle of the Rockies. Crazy place. They brought me on some serious nights out. Beforehand though, they recounted their tale of the only other foreign couchsurfers they had. Quite a story:
Two weeks previously they had these two aussie lads staying with them. One of them, Andy, got pretty twisted one night. So drunk that he was struggling to keep on his feet. So obviously when the cops laid eyes on him he was a goner. They hauled his ass off to Detox - an informal arrangement where they throw fellas in to sober up.
But the thing is that its a voluntary situation in that if you really wanna leave they can`t do much to stop you short of arresting you. So anyway, the boy Andy, still plastered decided to leave. This story was only pieced together at a later date as Andy has zero recollection of what happened next. Apparently, he stumbled across the road to where there was a trailer park and attempted to enter one of the trailers. The guy who lived there obviously went mental at this and a scuffle ensued. Yer man managed to get away and call the copson Andy, and yip, you`ve guessed it, he got lynched again !!!
This is where it gets interesting. The charges - public intoxication, trespassing on private property, breaking and entering and (it turned out the guy was disabled) assault on a disabled person !! His goose was truly cooked. He literally had no recollection whatsoever so he had to agree with everything they threw at him. His lawyer reckoned he was facing 6 months - minimum !
Because he was a foreigner the bail was raised to $30,000 which he didnt exactly have on him. so they shipped him off to the county jail where the poor bastard spent 6 days. His parents where in Europe at the time and they flew out to him in desperation. well proud id say. The thing about the court case was that he was a qualified lawyer himself so he knew he was fucked. Astonishingly, the judge accepted his plea bargain and, I`d imagine because of the cost to the state of imprisoning him, charged him with trespassing on agricultural land and told him to get the fuck out of the country!
And before any of ye start leaving ye`re imaginations get the better of ye Andy is an australian and not in fact, me. Anyway, in fairness to Ryan and Jonny, they kept their faith in the Couch Surfing phenomenon but assured me that I had a hell of a lot to live up to.....
So I had a great laugh crashing with the lads. We hit a great electro gig on the first night. Canadian band called New Deal before going in to town. the next morning we went to the nearby creek for an ice cold t-bag. very refreshing to say the least !! the saturday night left me in a state of serious disrepair the following day. one of my worst hangovers of all time ! We started off the night at a keg party of one of their friends. One of whom had an alcoholic dog - i kid you not. i found the little shite tucking into a cup of beer under the table. thats Boulder for you.
So whilst nursing an atrocious hangover on the sunday evening, another memorable scene occured. The lads had another bloke called Fritz staying there too. He had been in college with them and had come back for the weekend but they weren`t crazy about him. They had also agreed to look after some chicks dog while she went away for a few days. Fritz, completely sober on his own in the house, had found it in his wisdom that the dog would look far cooler with a "Lion Tail" so he went about cutting half of the dogs tail hair off. Not a bright idea and the lads weren`t impressed. The girl didn`t realise it when she came to collect the dog so we all breathed a sigh of relieft.
Ten minutes later the door burst open. She was back. And she was not a happy dog owner !! fucking hell she was going beserk. What followed next was one of the most uncomfortable twenty minutes of my life. She unleashed a vitriolic hysterical rant about how her dog would be scarred for life and would never be the same again. It was Keane/McCarthy-esque. Fritz decided not to own up so poor Ryan took the brunt of the abuse while stating that he didn`t know who was responsible. I tried to stare at my shoes for the duration but I felt seriously uncomfortable. While it was bad form on Fritz`s part, she took it a bit too personally stating that the dog was the most important thing in her life. Not much of a fuckin life I thought to myself !!
Overall, Boulder was a shit hot town and the lads were up there with my best couchsurfing experience.
Thursday, 5 June 2008
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Thus far my trip has provided me with predominantly positive experiences but I'm always fully aware that the bad times await me (especially that im travelling solo) - getting robbed, badly sick, losing stuff etc. Well one of those times arrived in Zion when I realised that my bank card (that i had stashed away for a rainy day) had gone missing. I reckon it fell out of my bag on the scumbag infested Greyhound bus. And so I discovered that some fuckwit had rinsed it to the tune of $800. It is currently in the hands of the good people at the co-operative bank so all may not be lost although the fact that its a debit not a credit card does not help.
I've also realised that one of the CD's with about 300 of my photos on it has gotten scratched to shit and may have lost all those photos, which would drive me fuckin beserk !
I've also realised that one of the CD's with about 300 of my photos on it has gotten scratched to shit and may have lost all those photos, which would drive me fuckin beserk !
Entering the Rockies
Upon arriving at the train station in leaving San Fran, the schmo's at Amtrak told me that the line was closed between Salt Lake City and Denver for the next few days and that train would be re-routed through boring-as-hell Wyoming thus missing the Rockies entirely! This would fuck my plans up royally. I had intended to ride the Slickrock Trail in Moab, the most famous mountain biking trail in the States.
I decided to head to Salt Lake and take it from there. Twas my first day time train ride but i came prepared with a 12 pack of cans which i shared with two english backpackers - David (around the world in 3 weeks) from Aylesbury and Becky from Harrogate. The journey took us climbing up into the spectacular Sierra Nevada mountain range before reaching the seemingly endless desert which spanned Nevada and most of Utah.
I hopped off at Salt Lake at the ungodly hour of 3 am whereupon I decided to seek a bit of kip in the luxurious surroundings of the floor in the nearby Greyhound Bus Station. Anyone who's ever been to one of those will know what joyous and upstanding places they can be. On learning that my Amtrak Pass afforded me a number of free bus journeys I set off for St George in southern Utah. From there i would chance my arm at getting to Zion National Park (of which i'd heard snippets of positive reports).
Once again neccessity forced me into using the thumb. Similar to Montana, I found hitching in a conservative state like Utah less facilitating. Thankfully, Eliza (i think) picked me up and extremely generously dropped me way beyond her chosen destination. Eh, an interesting ride divided between her offering me a Californians perspective on life in mormon Utah (including her stories of the polygamist cults in Colorado City) and her having an almighty domestic on the phone as I whistled to myself and starred blankly out the window !
She tried to explain half way through that she was facing a divorce from the geezer on the other end of the line (she couldn't have been more than 22). Anyway, I got another lift, from where she dropped me off, from Larry who instructed me to turn up at his restaurant in two days time when he was driving back to St George, an hour away. Sweet.
As per fucking usual, the endlessly atrocious Lonely Planet guide books half a page write up on Zion bore no resemblence to the quality of place that was awaiting me. Holy shitballs. Absolutely spectacular scenery abounded. Ok, maybe my memories of my visit to the Grand Canyon 5 years previously had faded over time but I do think that Zion Canyon was more impressive. While the Grand Canyons' fantastic appeal lay in its amazing vastness and scale, Zion was incredibly intricate and its topography seriously intense. Another contrast which may have shaped my opinion was that you can just arrive at the Grand Canyon and a phenomenal view awaits you. But you can potentially spend half an hour there, jump back in your car and tick it off the list. On the other hand, arriving in Zion, you've got a hell of a lot of work to do to get your rewards.
I camped out for two nights and blitzed it by cramming the two major hikes into one day in record time and had seriously earned the rewards. What made it better was that none of the hundreds of fat-assed tourists could be fucked getting sweaty so it was just a token few people at the top to savour the breath-taking views.
Now, there's no way you can fault a gaff for being popular with tourists and you certainly can't fault the people for flocking to areas of such outstanding natural beauty but some of these pricks just took the piss. Par example, when I saw these 2 chinese tourists (camera's around the necks) dressed as cowboys I nearly lost it. Now, I dont mean they had cowboy hats on. I mean they had the whole fuckin lot - denim shirts, leather waist coats, leather boots and fucking chaps !!!
I felt like telling them that they were a disgrace to their country but really I just had to laugh my ass off........
I decided to head to Salt Lake and take it from there. Twas my first day time train ride but i came prepared with a 12 pack of cans which i shared with two english backpackers - David (around the world in 3 weeks) from Aylesbury and Becky from Harrogate. The journey took us climbing up into the spectacular Sierra Nevada mountain range before reaching the seemingly endless desert which spanned Nevada and most of Utah.
I hopped off at Salt Lake at the ungodly hour of 3 am whereupon I decided to seek a bit of kip in the luxurious surroundings of the floor in the nearby Greyhound Bus Station. Anyone who's ever been to one of those will know what joyous and upstanding places they can be. On learning that my Amtrak Pass afforded me a number of free bus journeys I set off for St George in southern Utah. From there i would chance my arm at getting to Zion National Park (of which i'd heard snippets of positive reports).
Once again neccessity forced me into using the thumb. Similar to Montana, I found hitching in a conservative state like Utah less facilitating. Thankfully, Eliza (i think) picked me up and extremely generously dropped me way beyond her chosen destination. Eh, an interesting ride divided between her offering me a Californians perspective on life in mormon Utah (including her stories of the polygamist cults in Colorado City) and her having an almighty domestic on the phone as I whistled to myself and starred blankly out the window !
She tried to explain half way through that she was facing a divorce from the geezer on the other end of the line (she couldn't have been more than 22). Anyway, I got another lift, from where she dropped me off, from Larry who instructed me to turn up at his restaurant in two days time when he was driving back to St George, an hour away. Sweet.
As per fucking usual, the endlessly atrocious Lonely Planet guide books half a page write up on Zion bore no resemblence to the quality of place that was awaiting me. Holy shitballs. Absolutely spectacular scenery abounded. Ok, maybe my memories of my visit to the Grand Canyon 5 years previously had faded over time but I do think that Zion Canyon was more impressive. While the Grand Canyons' fantastic appeal lay in its amazing vastness and scale, Zion was incredibly intricate and its topography seriously intense. Another contrast which may have shaped my opinion was that you can just arrive at the Grand Canyon and a phenomenal view awaits you. But you can potentially spend half an hour there, jump back in your car and tick it off the list. On the other hand, arriving in Zion, you've got a hell of a lot of work to do to get your rewards.
I camped out for two nights and blitzed it by cramming the two major hikes into one day in record time and had seriously earned the rewards. What made it better was that none of the hundreds of fat-assed tourists could be fucked getting sweaty so it was just a token few people at the top to savour the breath-taking views.
Now, there's no way you can fault a gaff for being popular with tourists and you certainly can't fault the people for flocking to areas of such outstanding natural beauty but some of these pricks just took the piss. Par example, when I saw these 2 chinese tourists (camera's around the necks) dressed as cowboys I nearly lost it. Now, I dont mean they had cowboy hats on. I mean they had the whole fuckin lot - denim shirts, leather waist coats, leather boots and fucking chaps !!!
I felt like telling them that they were a disgrace to their country but really I just had to laugh my ass off........
San-Fran-Cisco
I rolled into San Fran via the Bay Bridge from Oakland on wednesday 21st . Great way to enter the city through the front door as it were, it being built facing onto the water. Instantly I was struck by the beauty of the place. More and more over the next few days this repeated itself. Memories fade over time and I had recalled San Fran (from the 5 months that I lived there in 2003) for its culture and street life but completely forgot how incredibly beautiful it is.
As per fuckin usual I arrived in a state of flummox, with accomodation totally up in the air. I had previously told Adam and Courtney (friends from back in the day) that i'd be arriving at the weekend and as they were leaving town couldn't sort me out. My couch surfing requests had bombed as everyone seemed to be heading away for the long weekend. I gave Adam a shout when i arrived and we headed for a few jars in the Mission where the hostel i had booked into was. In the end they insisted that i stay with them and take their place for the weekend while they were away. We hung out on thursday and reminisced about our days working in Tarantinos.
Basically, Adam like me, was over from ireland. he started going out with Courtney with about two months before heading home. They were married within two years. Unreal. They had some serious gossip bout the staff members. Ann (absolute gimp of the highest order) had been dumped by Tammy, she then gained 15 stone and ended up in hospital in a bad way with obesity for a long time. She then started running a female escort agency - a pimpette if you like. Tammy had a new girlfriend who she battered the shite out of and got locked up. She was then running the show in prison and had a hareem of chicks on the go. Tarciccio is now a woman ! and has H.I.V. (to be honest neither would surprise you if you'd met the guy). Jens got fired for stealing the camera of a customer who hadn't bothered to tip him. great people all round !
I decided to pop in there the next day for a gander. I left the place depressed and so thankful that i only spent 4 months working there. Not a fuckin thing had changed. Even the menu's had the same meals on them. And the boss Gary Burns was still a tosser. Passing through Fishermans Wharf on the way nearly made me vomit. A boil of a place. Earlier I had popped into the crew where I did my internship - the Irish Consulate. that on the other hand was a very pleasant experience, meeting all the women i used to work with.
Anyway, back to san fran.... the next morning I headed down on my own at 8 in the morning to the Keysar to try to get the Munster game. I walked in with only a few people sitting around the place and I (still half asleep) saw a familiar face. I was half expecting to meet a few of the lads from St Brendans who i played with but not this face. It was fuckin Leigh-Anne, a good friend of mine from home who i'd traveled around south america with, I couldn't believe my eyes. After a few minutes of 'what the fuck are you doing here' to each other, it transpired that neither of us knew the other one was in the States.
The strange thing about it was that we'd been emailing each other quite a bit about our prospective trips (i was advising her about Mexico and Cuba) but had no idea that herself and her dude Cian would be in San Fran. Shit like that always seems to happen when I'm away, at the least likely times. Cool to see them, and meet Cian ,over a steady stream of pints to celebrate the Munster victory.
Overall, I had a great time strolling around all my old haunts, namely Mission and the Haight. Really love this city and it stands alone for me as the best of the US.
As per fuckin usual I arrived in a state of flummox, with accomodation totally up in the air. I had previously told Adam and Courtney (friends from back in the day) that i'd be arriving at the weekend and as they were leaving town couldn't sort me out. My couch surfing requests had bombed as everyone seemed to be heading away for the long weekend. I gave Adam a shout when i arrived and we headed for a few jars in the Mission where the hostel i had booked into was. In the end they insisted that i stay with them and take their place for the weekend while they were away. We hung out on thursday and reminisced about our days working in Tarantinos.
Basically, Adam like me, was over from ireland. he started going out with Courtney with about two months before heading home. They were married within two years. Unreal. They had some serious gossip bout the staff members. Ann (absolute gimp of the highest order) had been dumped by Tammy, she then gained 15 stone and ended up in hospital in a bad way with obesity for a long time. She then started running a female escort agency - a pimpette if you like. Tammy had a new girlfriend who she battered the shite out of and got locked up. She was then running the show in prison and had a hareem of chicks on the go. Tarciccio is now a woman ! and has H.I.V. (to be honest neither would surprise you if you'd met the guy). Jens got fired for stealing the camera of a customer who hadn't bothered to tip him. great people all round !
I decided to pop in there the next day for a gander. I left the place depressed and so thankful that i only spent 4 months working there. Not a fuckin thing had changed. Even the menu's had the same meals on them. And the boss Gary Burns was still a tosser. Passing through Fishermans Wharf on the way nearly made me vomit. A boil of a place. Earlier I had popped into the crew where I did my internship - the Irish Consulate. that on the other hand was a very pleasant experience, meeting all the women i used to work with.
Anyway, back to san fran.... the next morning I headed down on my own at 8 in the morning to the Keysar to try to get the Munster game. I walked in with only a few people sitting around the place and I (still half asleep) saw a familiar face. I was half expecting to meet a few of the lads from St Brendans who i played with but not this face. It was fuckin Leigh-Anne, a good friend of mine from home who i'd traveled around south america with, I couldn't believe my eyes. After a few minutes of 'what the fuck are you doing here' to each other, it transpired that neither of us knew the other one was in the States.
The strange thing about it was that we'd been emailing each other quite a bit about our prospective trips (i was advising her about Mexico and Cuba) but had no idea that herself and her dude Cian would be in San Fran. Shit like that always seems to happen when I'm away, at the least likely times. Cool to see them, and meet Cian ,over a steady stream of pints to celebrate the Munster victory.
Overall, I had a great time strolling around all my old haunts, namely Mission and the Haight. Really love this city and it stands alone for me as the best of the US.
Monday, 26 May 2008
Portland
Portland is a quality joint. Much more my kind of place than the other west coast cities i'd been to - Seattle and Vancouver - a very liveable place. although the blistering sunshine definitely shrouded my judgement. The place definitely had a smattering of cool districts in which to hang. Hawthorne Boulevard, the Pearl District, the North Alberta street area and the Alphabet District all provided stimulating street life and cool hipster hangouts.
Unlike Vancouver, the urban landscape was pretty unimpressive as was its recent attempts at densification but at ground level it really shone. Incredible greenery gave life to the 'sidewalks' while the architecture was tasteful in the extreme.
Circumstances on my arrival dictated entirely the terms of my stay in Portland. As per fucking usual, I sent out my couch surfing requests at the 13th hour. So I spent much of the first day hanging around, and squandering my money in, Backspace Internet Cafe (although the beautiful soup and fine espresso boosted my mood somewhat).
In a state of desperation I had sent out a few more requests (had since found out that all the hostels were full and I would have to stay in some gammy hotel - disastrous), one of which to my eternal surprise was replied to almost immediately by Ivy. The tone of the reply sounded a bit tetchy but i had a couch. Happy days. Anyway, I have skin thick enough to ride out any such situation !
When I arrived at her gaff (which also contained Nick, Simon and their daughter Linsey) I realised I couldn't have been more wrong. She is a tribute to couchsurfing, a modern day Florence Nightingale !! Her profile claimed to "shelter the couchless, feed the weary traveler and impart vino to the thirsty". She was true to her words. As she said herself to her friends 'if you want to restore your faith in humanity, try couchsurfing'. Well she certainly does.
I had only intended to stay for a night but i ended up there for five. We got on really well. Sound girl. On the saturday I joined all the housemates at the Clackamas Whitewater Festival for a camping trip. There we met up with Chris and Greg - a good friend of Ivy's and one seriously funny guy. I left Portland for Eugene on the tuesday. Ivy and her friend Gerard decided to join me. We failed to locate couches for the night but Gerard opted to chauffeur the three of us and his dog Mr B in his eh.....fucking school bus !!
That a way to travel ! easily the coolest mode of transport i have ever taken. Them were one funky set of wheels. He bought it for a mere $800 to use for his friends stag party. its class inside too. took out all the seats and put in a wooden floor and surround sound. there's also a couch bed and a coffee table !
We picked up three scruffy hitchers who had been jumping the freight trains around the country. I then said my goodbyes and caught the Coast Starlight bound for San Francisco - a city for which i have very fond memories.
Unlike Vancouver, the urban landscape was pretty unimpressive as was its recent attempts at densification but at ground level it really shone. Incredible greenery gave life to the 'sidewalks' while the architecture was tasteful in the extreme.
Circumstances on my arrival dictated entirely the terms of my stay in Portland. As per fucking usual, I sent out my couch surfing requests at the 13th hour. So I spent much of the first day hanging around, and squandering my money in, Backspace Internet Cafe (although the beautiful soup and fine espresso boosted my mood somewhat).
In a state of desperation I had sent out a few more requests (had since found out that all the hostels were full and I would have to stay in some gammy hotel - disastrous), one of which to my eternal surprise was replied to almost immediately by Ivy. The tone of the reply sounded a bit tetchy but i had a couch. Happy days. Anyway, I have skin thick enough to ride out any such situation !
When I arrived at her gaff (which also contained Nick, Simon and their daughter Linsey) I realised I couldn't have been more wrong. She is a tribute to couchsurfing, a modern day Florence Nightingale !! Her profile claimed to "shelter the couchless, feed the weary traveler and impart vino to the thirsty". She was true to her words. As she said herself to her friends 'if you want to restore your faith in humanity, try couchsurfing'. Well she certainly does.
I had only intended to stay for a night but i ended up there for five. We got on really well. Sound girl. On the saturday I joined all the housemates at the Clackamas Whitewater Festival for a camping trip. There we met up with Chris and Greg - a good friend of Ivy's and one seriously funny guy. I left Portland for Eugene on the tuesday. Ivy and her friend Gerard decided to join me. We failed to locate couches for the night but Gerard opted to chauffeur the three of us and his dog Mr B in his eh.....fucking school bus !!
That a way to travel ! easily the coolest mode of transport i have ever taken. Them were one funky set of wheels. He bought it for a mere $800 to use for his friends stag party. its class inside too. took out all the seats and put in a wooden floor and surround sound. there's also a couch bed and a coffee table !
We picked up three scruffy hitchers who had been jumping the freight trains around the country. I then said my goodbyes and caught the Coast Starlight bound for San Francisco - a city for which i have very fond memories.
Glacier National Park
Myself and Brian caught a few more rides and made it to West Glacier where we established our base in the less than impressive 'campground' - a package holiday for people in R.V.'s. It certainly didn't match the tranquility of camping 'au natural' as I had managed in other places.
Glacier was very nice. We explored Lake McDonald and the numerous trails that surrounded. While it was visually very impressive it didn't quite have the same effect on me as Olympic National Park in Washington had. Maybe it was the more user friendly nature of the place which seemed to attract the a lot of holiday makes rather than hard-core trekkers. Thank fuck I wasn't here in July when its supposed to be crawling with people.
We caught the train out of there to a phenomenal sunset. One which fully encapsulated and illuminated Montana's 'Big Sky' reputation. They really do seem to have a colossal sky there. The sunset spread itself and hogged the entire skyline. At Whitefish, the train stopped for 20 minutes. I bade my farewell to Brian, who id spent the past week with. I then pegged it with all my might to grab a few cans of Pabst for the journey. I arrived back to find i had a new traveling mate for the journey. Gineen was headin out to Oregon to visit her son, we had a good laugh for the remainder of the train ride.
I was awoken by the rising sun at about six in the morn, to the rays splaying themselves across the Columbia River. It was an extremely pleasant way of disturbing my final hours of sleep. Mt Hood was majestic and will hardly have looked better in the usually more mundane Oregon weather.
Glacier was very nice. We explored Lake McDonald and the numerous trails that surrounded. While it was visually very impressive it didn't quite have the same effect on me as Olympic National Park in Washington had. Maybe it was the more user friendly nature of the place which seemed to attract the a lot of holiday makes rather than hard-core trekkers. Thank fuck I wasn't here in July when its supposed to be crawling with people.
We caught the train out of there to a phenomenal sunset. One which fully encapsulated and illuminated Montana's 'Big Sky' reputation. They really do seem to have a colossal sky there. The sunset spread itself and hogged the entire skyline. At Whitefish, the train stopped for 20 minutes. I bade my farewell to Brian, who id spent the past week with. I then pegged it with all my might to grab a few cans of Pabst for the journey. I arrived back to find i had a new traveling mate for the journey. Gineen was headin out to Oregon to visit her son, we had a good laugh for the remainder of the train ride.
I was awoken by the rising sun at about six in the morn, to the rays splaying themselves across the Columbia River. It was an extremely pleasant way of disturbing my final hours of sleep. Mt Hood was majestic and will hardly have looked better in the usually more mundane Oregon weather.
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