Camping in the North West

   We left Vegas and its promise of a wonderful timeshare lifestyle and headed through Death Valley to Yosemite National Park.  No doubt this was my preview of the afterlife: a narrow fertile valley with steep granite walls rising spectacularly against the blue sky.  Indeed I don’t think you would have convinced my 16 year-old self to ever leave the place via any means that did not require rockclimbing shoes and a chalk bag. 

   This was also the beginning of our camping adventures.  As by far the most practical, convenient and economical way to visit the park, we invested in a (very cheap) tent and a (very cheap) airbed and a (very cheap) blanket.  That first night we discovered by way of the freezing temperatures that Mammoth Lake where we camped is in fact quite high up, serving as a ski resort in the winter.  We also discovered that our $30 tent leaked in heavy rain.  

   Our second night saw progress with the addition of an extra blanket providing sufficient insulation to get about 4 hours sleep before waking up shivering.  We also confirmed our theory about the tent that as long as it didn't rain, the tent didn't leak.

   We head back to the coast the next day and arrived in San Francisco to find that even in summer it is pretty chilly and very foggy.  We were also very fortunate that with no planning or forethought we met up with my good friends Graeme and Viv from Melbourne, having a lovely dinner whereby Graeme and I ranted about politics and Viv apologised to Kizzy that "they always get like this". 

   The coastline of California and Oregon was furnished with one of the most spectacular and enjoyable stretches of road I have ever been privileged to drive.  We drove throug a tree!  And it led us to more friends in Seattle.  We were treated to a fantastic barbie by my old housemate Marti and her husband Dan who moved there last year.  Then we spent the next wonderful with Jenn whom we met in Peru, enjoying the amazing use of public space that is the Olympic Sculpture Park.

   With some trepidation we continued north to Bellingham just south of the Canadian border for our final two days camping and enjoying the smashing little town.  The first night showed progress, hints of civilization with three blankets this time and a fire.  We finally found perfection on our final night under canvas with the addition of a charity shop duvet and marshmallows!

   After returning the tent and the blankets to the charity shop, we drove on to Vancouver with high hopes after being greeted at the border with the bold claim, “Welcome to British Columbia: the best place in the world!”