On the Road…
Posted on 15. Jul, 2010 by Elizabeth in The Gear Movers
The Shadow of our Amazing RV as we travel west!
The latest adventure took me through thousands of miles of the western United States, experiencing the continually changing landscape by RV, raft and boat, and even simply walking down its coastal highways. It all started with an RV, set rolling on wheels that haven’t moved in five years, and four friends ready for a new rafting adventure (as we’ve done in years past). A vintage RV, straight from 1978, complete with the general yellow tinge and faded fabrics, wood paneling, and brown shag carpet. Four of us left Colorado, driving this top-heavy, gas eating machine through Wyoming, Nevada deserts, and on to Oregon, taking the RV to its new home. After only one night relaxing in Oregon, we traded our spacious ride for a tight squeeze in a Jeep that backfires and only has two seats for four people, plus gear. But we make it work, and continue on our trip to the Klamath River in Northern California, encountering fewer and fewer other humans, moving further into the wilderness.
Driving down the lonely road heading west in Nevada
Avenue of the Giants - the Majestic Redwoods
Oregon Flowers and Shadows in the Summertime
Nic, Appel and Matt in the Jurassic Forest in Oregon
Fire, smoke and sunshine, in the Oregon forest in the summertime
Our modes of transport when not on the river in Oregon, good times!
The Redwoods in July
The river – the second goal of the trip. We inflate our craigslist purchased raft and set off on our way. It doesn’t take more than ten minutes before we find ourselves bailing out the boat, hit by a huge swell of water and gushing rapids spitting us out of the river. But this is the worst of it, or maybe it’s just we’re more prepared for what’s ahead. For three days we paddle and drifted through beautiful redwood forests, stopping every night under cloudless night skies to camp. We explored the river with the bears caught lazily swimming, the eagles flying over head, and ventured into the dense, enormous trees at the river banks. The last day on the raft, the mouth of the river becomes wider and wider, and we pull the raft to shore in sight of the white breakers of the Pacific Ocean.
The Klamath Crew July in the summertime
Awesome river foliage in the summertime in Oregon
Yum Yum, fishy eggs in the river
A jet boat on the river in July
Matt jumping in, this is one of our favorites!
Fog and wind roll in as well pull our raft to shore, but the journey is not over yet. In three days we covered about 90 miles on the river, but by road, it’s more like 120 miles between our only vehicle, the Jeep, and us. So, two of us set off on foot, each with a small bag slung over the shoulder, just in case we don’t make it back in one night. Thumbs out. Within minutes our first ride, a bright blue jet boat, drops us off at Highway 101, where we walk for a mile before our second ride. A savior, a traveler reluctant to return to LA, takes the rest of the way back to our car, chatting about the Illuminating, the Green Party, and random historical facts the entire way.
A Black Bear in the Klamath River in July
A Banana slug by the river
After camping on the beach, we make our way down the coast, along the 101 and back towards civilization, to San Francisco where we catch a flight. Almost exactly a week later, we are ending where we started, in Colorado.
The number one driver of the RV, its me!
Haiti
Posted on 15. Jun, 2010 by Elizabeth in The Gear Movers
Earthquake Damage to the Port-au-Prince Presedential Palace
I had the amazing opportunity to go to Haiti the first week in June, even though a week is certainly not enough to get to know this country. Also, what I was planning on doing in Haiti had been arranged long before the earthquake. Besides, outside of Port-au-Prince, the earthquake really had little effect, even though it might be hard to distinguish from the looks of the rest of the country. Haiti is, without a doubt, a very poor country with limited resources to begin with, so it is now wonder that the earthquake had such a devastating blow, crumbling the concrete buildings that once made up the city. In the single day I spent in the capitol city, I did witness the tent cities that now stand between the rubble and collapsed buildings. But the people of Haiti continue with tenacity in their daily lives, through the congestion and the remains.
The entire Presedential palace was destroyed
Most of my time was spent on the northern coast, in the small village of Saint-Louis du Nord. Dust encrusted, sweat drenched, bruised from the jostling bus ride, eight hours and 120 miles later, I finally arrive and get to meet the community where I will stay. In the mornings, working alongside the Haitians, I helped build (or at least tried to contribute to) a new school building. With over ten people working on the tiny site, it was hard to share the single shovel and the single trowel, but non-the-less brick by brick, the building gained momentum upwards.
Here is a Google map of Haiti and Elizabeth's location in Saint-Louis du Nord
In the afternoons, even though I’m pretty sure I was more of a distraction than help, I worked at the old school. Bursting with over 150 students in four tiny classrooms, it was easy to see the need for a new building.
A map carved into a chair on the destroyed island of Haiti
School children running during our visit to the local school in Saint-Louis du Nord
School children looking out of a window of the school in Saint-Louis du Nord
Young girls looking for snacks in Haiti
A little girl smiling during school in Saint-Louis du Nord
A kindergarten class in Saint-Louis du Nord where we were helping to rebuild the school
The faces of Haiti, young school girls in Saint-Louis du Nord
A beautiful shot of a young girl holding my hand
Blowing bubbles with the kids in Haiti
Kids watching the bubbles pop in Haiti
A young girl blowing bubbles is entertained in Haiti
And on my day off, as if being in Haiti wasn’t enough; I was able to go sailing to the neighboring island of Tortuga, from all the pirate stories! Our boat was a luxury liner – the mast looking like it might just be a tree trunk. From a devastated shore, covered in trash, the small sailboat delivered us, surrounded by pristine, bright blue water to a quiet, car-less island.
The sails of our "luxery liner" on our way to the Pirate island of Tortuga
The sails of our "luxery liner" on our way to the Pirate island of Tortuga
Sailing to the Island of Tortuga
Majestic sailboats off the island of Tortuga
Beautiful blue water off the coast of Tortuga
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