Was a breeze!

Finally! Yes, I am going to cross the border tomorrow. I have my tourist visa, my Mexican Auto insurance.

I’m meeting up with David and Leea to caravan down the Baja Peninsula. I’m relieved to be traveling with buddies!

I have been staying at free camping sites for the past six nights. Showers have been a dunk in the Pacific. Tonight I am going to stay in an RV park with a lake, pool, fitness center, and all the “luxuries” including a real shower!

The beach was fun and CROWDED! I think southern California has too many people for me.

I escaped into the BLM lands between San Diego and Calixeco, not far from the start of The Pacific Crest Trail. The mountains climbed over 4000′ in elevation. I found the area stunningly beautiful!

Cool rock formations everywhere

Today, I get to learn all about olives, olive oil and what it takes to be a farmer at the border. OH! The border wall is horrifying!

It feels like it’s been a long journey to get to the border. I pointed it south on Nov 4. I’m finally here and tomorrow, over I go. I have no idea how long I will be there. I might be back before the snow melts…..we’ll see!

I left from Sumas, WA which is on the Canadian border. This week I landed 6 miles from the Mexico border, outside of San Diego. That’s pretty much border to border!

The ride from San Francisco to San Diego was fun, beautiful, interesting, and frustrating!

I got to see my river sister (Lisa) in Santa Cruz. Lisa, Matt, and I shared a boat on the Grand Canyon eariler this year. They are fabulous people, whom I feel so lucky to call my friends. They are both pilots, ski, bike, hike……you get the idea. They are just plain COOL!

Then, onward down Hwy 1. Wow, it’s just stunning! Hard to imagine the humanity that awaits near LA while traveling this coastal route. It’s meandering, quiet, and beautiful.

I did stop a lot to take in the beauty.

And, of course there is wildlife. These big fatties were fun to watch as they rolled, flopped, and flipped in the sand.

Then, I was in stop-and-go traffic for nearly 75 miles through LA – on a Sunday, at noon. Ugh. How do people do that regularly!!??

Then, San Diego. What a nice clean, beautiful city! I really like this place. Not too big, not too small, not too many homeless folks. I found a cute boutique hotel to stay in while a few last items are being done to my van.

I am hedging my bet for no breakdowns in Mexico. (fingers crossed) The shop here has been beyond great. Jose only works on VW’s, has done so for 30 years, and owns two VW’s himself. How fortunate to find him!

For Thanksgiving, I will be Boondocking near the beach. I plan to do a 5K in Balboa Park and then hit the water for some SUP’ing. Not too shabby. I have some more mail to scoop up before I head to “Calixeco” to cross the border with David and Leea on the 30th. They have been kind enough to let me caravan down the Baja Penninsula with them.

Almost to Mexico! Just a few more days. Y’all have a great Turkey Day! I’ll be thinking of how thankful I am for you!

Birthdays are fun. I feel like it’s a personal holiday where you get to indulge in something that makes you happy.

I spent Wednesday riding my bike through San Francisco and out to Baker Beach—birth place of Burningman.

All that sunshine sure felt great!! The bike lanes and closed streets didn’t hurt a bit either.

I’m now on my next spin around the sun. Always an adventure to see what this life of mine will bring.

I’m a bit behind on my travels. I’ll just point out the highlights.

I started heading south on Dec 4. I made it to Seattle, Issaquah and then, finally Maryhill, WA.

Next, was The painted Desert. Go there, it’s stunning!

I was hoping to go to Alvord Hot Springs, but the car started missing, so instead, I spent that night at a Truck Stop in Klamath Falls.

Onward to Reno, but not without a stop at Sierra Hot Springs. I got my springs!

While in Reno, I worked, visited the Burningman office, and fly ranch. Audrey let me stay with her for the full week and we then carpooled together to the Bay Area.

I dropped her at a retreat and headed to Alameda where I parked my van in front of my burner friend’s house-built in 1889. What a cool, beautiful, warm, safe, neighborhood.

This week, I’m having new bumpers installed on my van. While they are at it, I’m also having them check out the car more generally. Just hedging my bet before crossing the border.

I’m out of quarantine! Whoot! Being alone, not going to any stores, and hanging out with just me for a week was both lovely and excruciating.

I had time to trail run, hike in snow, bicycle, lift weights, knit, and hang out in the hot tub. I could not have been in a more lovely place.

Thank you LYNN, ERIC and LISA!!

While I was sequestered; Charlie Mike’s engine made it to Canada, thanks to Ephraim. I basically ran out on him two days before the trucking company was set to pick it up. Ephraim packed it up for me, met the truck, and made sure it was loaded. He also found a place for CM to ride out the winter.

THANK YOU EPHRAIM! 

Aero Sport Power send me an email this week asking for a decision. I get to choose the color they will paint the engine. How funny! They have several shades of black/grey and also red, yellow, and blue. Help me decide!

My plan is to get my Westie packed up by Thursday for a Friday morning depature to Baja.

First stop is Reno, to do some work with Burningman.

Second stop is Oakland to pick up some heavy-duty bumpers and have them installed on Westie.

Third Stop is TBD!

Let the next adventure begin!

I had to get a covid test for a medical procedure. Seemed simple enough, and I thought nothing of it…..until I got the result. Which was positive! What!!?? I’ve had three vaccinations!

Being in town, I had stacked up Dr appts, which I had to cancel immediately. I was also supposed to house and dog sit – for my sister, which was out. The procedure was off too. Ugh.

I called my rhumatologist to ask him what to do. He said I had two options: ride it out and hope for the best, or go to an emergency room and get monoclonal antibody treatment. I went for the latter. No need to play with this virus that has killed so many.

Next, I had to find a place to quarantine. Staying with my 85 year old father was out, my house was rented, my westie is still in the shop……

My friend Lynn, always a life saver, offered her house for the following Monday through Friday. She lives on the Methow River, has a hot tub, and is a place I feel “at home”. Thank goodness for Lynn.

I found a hotel room in Winthrop, where I could stay the three nights until Lynn’s house opened up. Is that cool? If you have covid, can you check into a hotel?

Then Lynn offered to ask another friend if I could stay at her house while she is away. She said yes. A much better option. It’s always nice to have a kitchen and I just don’t want to be a covid spreader.

In the end, I am living in pure luxury, in a beatiful home, overlooking the Methow Valley. There are trails, fall colors, and plenty of space to be alone. I have no symptoms, so long runs on vacant trails keeps me entertained.

My hope is that I can be this helpful and generous for someone else someday. Feel free to hit me up. I would love to pay this generosity forward.

High Sierra Fly-in soared above my expectations. I left Seattle on Monday to be sure I didn’t get stuck because of weather. First stop was Hood River.

Along the way, I stopped in The Dalles and saw Andy, a rafter on my trip down the Colorado. Then on Bend to pick up Alyssa, my companion for the event.

Flying from Seattle to Dead Cow (location of High Sierra) was uneventful – always a good thing.

As soon as we arrrived, we set up our camp, then began strolling. Within fifteen minutes, I had run into Purple Haze, a Burner I have known since I first arrived on the scene at Burningman. He was wearing a coyote jacket, riding a “playa bike” (so sorry I don’t have a photo). We knew immediately, that we were in for a thrilling weekend.

We were there to watch the STOL Drag races, but got so, so much more. Every night, there was a bon fire where people gathered. This was the “town square” and we met SO MANY people there each night. We met Cathy and Nat – the only two female racers; and we met Steve Henry – the legend who has won the event many times. We mostly met other attendees, who will be our friends from here forward.

The races were so fun and even more so after meeting racers at the bonfire. We rooted for Cathy and Nat – the female racers, and even got those around us rooting for them too.

In the end, Steve and Nat came in second in their class. Not bad at all.

What a fun, fun time in the desert! Another event I won’t want to miss – ever! My plan is to take the training and race next year. I have my helmet, the plane will have a new engine, and I will be off to the races!

Sometimes I love Facebook! When I saw Thomas Kelly mention he was heading to the Pacific Northwest with kayaks, I responded asking him where he was going, and if I could fly in and meet up with he and David Brown, his paddling partner.

I’m pretty sure I invited myself…..but hooray for me! I got to tag along on their paddling odyssey!

It’s so easy to forget how stunningly beautiful our archepeligo of San Juan Islands truly is! Re-visiting the islands after my long hiatus, updated my very out-of-date recollections. Damn! The San Juans are well appointed! And well Loved!

We arrived to Sucia on a Tuesday, and we were the only tent in our camping area. We paddled over to Patos on Thursday, and found we had the camping area again, to ourselves. On Friday, when we returned to Sucia, wow! Every camp site had a tent. This was the third week of September. What must the summer be like?

The camping areas are lovely, with fresh water (not on Patos), composting toilets and well maintained trails covering the islands we visited. The park asks you to take out your own trash, so there are no garbage cans. I didn’t see any trash on the ground. There are two docks on Sucia for boats and probably sixty or so campsites on the Island.

On Patos there is a working light house. The camping area on Patos is small, but it’s grassy, flat with views into Canada and the Haro straight.

There is an organization called Washington Water Trails Assoc. who has, over the years, laced together the Cascadia Marine Trail, which includes campsites exclusively for human powered water craft. Talk about feeling special!

We visited only two islands, (Thomas and David paddled from Anacortes to Orcas, so visited more) and covered every inch of both, on foot and circumnavigating. We saw tons of wildlife: otters (many), sea lions, harbor seals, birds, birds, birds, owls, and a few spouting whales.

What a lovely surprise and what a lovely week! Our next trip will be many more days and islands. Getting re-acquainted with the San Juan Islands by kayak was a great gift from Thomas and David. Thanks guys!

Flew commercial to Saint George Utah to pick up Charlie Mike. As the weather turns to fall here, there, it was still nearly 100 degrees during the day. Fortunately, there was no smoke!

I took off early Sunday morning and headed toward Elko. I was debating the best smoke-free route home and had two apps running to chart the course. Gaia GPS had the best smoke map layers of any of my apps. That, with Foreflight, led the way.

My first night was in Burns, Oregon. I have stopped for fuel at Burns in the past, but this was my first overnight. On the Foreflight App, a pilot left a note saying to “not miss” the Historic Central Hotel in Burns. That person was right! What a lovely surprise! The place was stunning! If you are in Burns, definitely stop by to check this place out!

The next morning, I was off to say Hi to a friend in Redmond, Oregon. I saw him for a quick hello, then headed back to the runway to take off, and darn! My left mag was unhappy. Three hours with a mechanic later, we found the problem, fixed it, and I was back up in the air. (The problem was a stuck valve on my #4 cylinder – which you fix by hitting with a 2 x 4). M

Made it to Lynden after a quick fuel stop in Kelso – who, by the way, had the lowest price fuel of my entire trip, I think.

Flying in the PNW is SO different than flying in hot, high, dry places. The sea-level air is so thick and wonderful! I must admit, there’s no place like home.