Posts Tagged ‘Travel’

What a gem.

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

You see, I’ve happened upon a gem and I’m not sure I want to share it with anyone. But because I’m such a nice person and happen to love writing about travel, I guess it’s in the stars that I tell you all about the gem that is Washington State.

After meeting my new man, and subsequently realizing I’d never been to his hometown/state, I finally ventured out to Washington just in time for his annual family camping trip. En route, I flew over Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Baker and Mt. Rainier at 30,000 feet and even caught a glimpse of Seattle. We made out way straight to the woods, a much needed respite from the mundanity that has been my schedule lately, in an area near Lake Kachess. For 4 days I was without internet connection or cell service, and boy do I miss it.

Here are some snapshots.

At first I thought this was Mt. Rainier, but as I look closer at the top, it looks like it has erupted at some point, making me believe it’s actually Mt. St. Helens… could be wrong, but it’s beautiful nonetheless. [I stand corrected...this is Mt. Hood. And has never erupted ]

Another shot from the sky. This, I believe, is actually Mt. Rainier. See how the top is still intact?

After a hike to the top, looking out at Lake Kachess. Simply beautiful.

A shot of seattle from the plane. I didn’t get to spend time in Seattle, as I was camping all weekend, but next trip I’ll definitely venture into the city.

A shot of the mountainscape adjacent to Lake Kachess. The last day we were here, I spent some time reflecting during sunset.

At dusk, and before mine and Jordan’s return down the hill, through the forest, in the dark.

When we returned, it was time to sit by the fire with Jordan’s family and mentally prepare for a return to the city. One I was definitely not ready for.

As you can see, Washington state is beautiful. I look forward to spending more time out there, and seeing everything it has to offer. I’d love to visit Puget Sound, Seattle, wine country, and hike some of Mt. Ranier. If you’ve been to Washington, feel free to comment with some recommendations!

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RV-ing The Trabuco Canyon

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

The relentless traffic only further encouraged my anticipation. After heading south on the 405 to the 133 to the 241 and then through the narrow Trabuco Canyon, we found the perfect spot for the RV. The O’Neill Regional Park in the Santa Margarita Mountains boasted huge oak trees and grasslands that span more than 3,000 acres.

Our camp spot was partly shaded and looked over the Arroyo Trabuco (better known as Trabuco River). I couldn’t wait to eat. Note to self: Skipping breakfast before a road trip is not the best idea.

After recuperating from the bratwurst-induced food coma, we took the bikes out for a trail ride on the rocky shores of the Trabuco River. We trekked up a steep mountain filled with shoulder-high weeds and dry brush in search of a view of the entire canyon only to find ourselves at the edge of a highway.

Apparently we hadn’t travelled far enough east to avoid urban disturbances.

More tomorrow.

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Austin City Limits: Keeping Austin Weird.

Monday, October 5th, 2009

A recent trip to Austin, Texas for the annual Austin City Limits Festival (ACL) of 2009, had me both confused and excited. As we began our final decent into the “weirdest part of Texas,” I had no clue what I was in for.

From my previous travels and venturing around Austin, I was reminded somewhat of a unique blend of Bourbon Street and a country-style Downtown San Diego. The Downtown Austin area is flourishing with new and unusual architecture (most notably the armadillo-inspired City Hall Building- even has a tail!), blocks of bars with live, local bands and rows of tourist-ridden shops selling the infamous “Keep Austin Weird” shirts.

Visiting Austin Texas for the Austin City Limits festival was a great experience. Yea, so it rained pretty gruesomely all day Saturday, but luckily that was the day I decided to skip and explore around Austin, check out the Austin capitol building, and eat some delicious southern food. I even saw a Michael Moore film, Capitalism: A Love Story at the Alamo Drafthouse a dinner movie theater with full service. Can you believe the movie was only $9.00 and the food wasn’t even overpriced!

Friday and Sunday I slept in until 11 am and dilly-dallied until I was ready to make my way to the festival. Once I got there, I realized it was NOTHING like I expected. It was easy-going, few restrictions and a LOT of people. In comparison to Coachella, ACL wasn’t nearly as restrictive. People had blankets, chairs, blow-up and life size Gumby dolls, Flagpoles with distinctive flags adorning them and quite a bit of muddy debauchery. I was excited to see Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Bassnectar and tons of other cool bands.

Here are a few pictures.

keep-austin-weird shirtAustin City skyline Photo by Mia Taylor

Mud at Austin City Limitscrowd of people at ACL

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Spending the weekend in the sky

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

This weekend I ventured out of Calabasas again and made my way up the 5 to the Sequoia National Forest with Wil and his dog. On my way, I made a pit-stop at a more modern ghost town called Randsburg. Before continuing to the national forest, I spent the night in a small cottage and enjoyed the utter silence in the ghost town. The rest of my weekend would be spent in a fire tower lookout at the peak of a mountain surrounded by sequoias.

We headed to Randsburg just before dark and arrived in the small (and I mean very small) ghost town and checked into The Cottage Hotel. Although the quaint hotel sat on the main drag of Randsburg, the town was absolutely silent. When I woke up we explored the ghost town and stumbled upon quite a few run-down homes and an old city jail. For lunch I stopped in to the local Saloon and to my surprise it was filled with old Randsburg relics and shots guns.

One day in Randsburg was just the right amount of time and by this point I was really anxious to see what this fire tower was going to be like.

It took about two more hours of driving before reaching the top of the mountain. I was in complete awe when I got out of the car; towering over me on the top of a boulder was a fire lookout cabin. In order to get your belongings to the top of the tower you had to pack it into a metal crate and have someone pulling it up via a hand-over-hand pulley system… or carry it all the way up. When you reach the top of the steep staircase you have to use a code to open the trap door. The tower has a 360 degree view of the mountains, Kern river and of the Bakersfield cityscape. It’s quite a sight. At dusk you can watch the sunset to the west and just shortly thereafter see the moon rise to the east. With 3 full windows on every wall of the tower, the sunrise wakes you up in the morning and warms the room. It really is amazing.

We spent the days hiking and enjoying the mountains and spent nights by the fire and keeping warm in the fire tower when the sun went down. The weather was pretty nice overall but when the sun went down it got a little chilly for my thin blood. During the day I could hear cows mooing and hunters shooting in the distance. Not once did I see a random hiker or even a forest ranger.

The fire tower could quite possibly be the most awesome place I’ve ever camped and I’ve already started looking for future reservations- the only bummer is that I tried to make another reservation for another weekend this year but it it completely booked until next season!

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