"Love flowers best in openness and freedom" E. Abbey
June 19-23
Passports, check. Rabies vaccination card, check.
“Anything to declare?”
“Just a couple beers left in the fridge, two cans of beer spray. Some raw meat, a couple multi tools and a hatchet.”
The border agent went through their questions methodically, making sure we didn’t slip up about our doings in Canada.
From Camano Island in northern Washington, we’d be making our way onto the Sea-to-Sky highway north of Vancouver.
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June 14-18
Archie was all stocked up the morning of the 14th. We were anxious as hell to get going. It seems that the longer you wait to set out on a trip like this, the more things pop into your head. “Maybe we need to get another basin for the camp kitchen. Do we have enough fire starters? Is my sock stockpile enough?” Sometimes you just got to get going.
It’s a big trip, no doubt. 7 weeks through Canadian and Alaskan wilderness, camping and living out of the car. But the anticipation can breed stress, and the best remedy is: to go. It’s not a regular vacation. It will be gritty, tough, stressful, spiritual, soul-filling, rewarding. A premium moment in our lives. We’re going to learn, grow, persevere, improvise. But staying present is the goal. We are here.
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April 6- May 25
We’d been in Santa Barbara for a month and a half, and had yet to get out on the water. Jamie took the occasional float in the harbor on a paddleboard, but other than that, it had been a dry stay.
We linked up with Maggie and Brandon, booked a whale watch on a catamaran with Santa Barbara Sailing. It turned out being just a nice day out on the water, as the whales played shy. But it was nice to see the coastline from an offshore vantage point and we spotted some harbor seals sunbathing and perhaps a dolphin. The company gave us a voucher to come back and try our luck again in the future.
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February 25 – April 5
It felt like it had been a while. It also felt like it was just yesterday, that we’d been walking the streets of Santa Barbara beneath the Santa Ynez ridge, gazing out over the Channel and distant islands.
It was good to be back, for sure. Again we found ourselves saying “this place isn’t real”.
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February 21-25
It was hot. It was cold. It was windy. It threatened rain. There was sun, there were clouds. Death Valley gave us a little bit of everything on our brief 3 day tour.
We left Morro Bay Campground the morning of Feb 21, picking up some rocket fuel from Top Dog coffee shop. I got a “Bad Dog”: cup of coffee and double shot espresso. They have a “Rabid Dog” as well: 4 shots of espresso dumped into a coffee. Or in other words the Arrhythmia-Maker.
East to Bakersfield, we said “see you soon” to the Pacific. We’d be dropping Charley off at a dog-sitter Jamie found on Rover before heading to Death Valley.
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February 14-20
We left Harris Beach State Park and made our way into Brookings OR to do some laundry. Brookings is a beautiful area, but the town itself didn’t do much for us.
Jamie restocked on groceries at the market while I tended to our clothes at the laundromat.
About an hour later we were in familiar territory among Northern California’s Redwood forests. A quick walkabout along Cal Barrel Road in the National Park got us stretching our legs a bit, and gazing upward frequently. Nature’s kingdom. We had walked the same road a few years back on our way north to Seattle from Phoenix- with a dog, it was the only exploring we were permitted to do within the Park.
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February 8-13
We got a late start on the 8th. Hoping to have left town by late morning, our plans got held up by one thing or another, and we set out around 2pm. I punched in a campground we were hoping to get to in Oregon, but immediately knew that was out of the question. A tractor trailer had rolled over on I-5 along our route, and detours made our trip a couple hours longer.
Have a plan, but be flexible.
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November 20, 2021-February 8, 2022
Boy. It’s been countless weeks since the last post. Life gets in the way, I suppose. Out of concern that we lose the routine of this public journal, I’m going to try to throw together a post.
A whole lot has happened since Thanksgiving time, both personally in our narrative and in the greater human community. Ever-increasing polarity and tensions continue to rock the scene of society. It’s important to take a break from the chaos and noise and get outside. Reconnect. See loved ones and talk about literally anything other than covid and “crazy” people you don’t agree with.
Without further delay, an update from the Mangouris
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October 11-November 19
It’s been 5ish weeks since our last post. There’s a lot to cover, we’ll try to keep it concise and let the photos do most of the storytelling.
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After a handful of shifts at Harborview, we geared up for another trip. We’d tried a trip to glacier national park two years ago, but our plans were thwarted by a September snowstorm bringing 5 feet of snow to Montana’s Rocky Mountains.
With a quick check of the forecast, we were all systems go for a second chance at seeing the Park. Temps would be in the 50’s during the day, with ample sunshine.
Charley stayed back for this trip, unable to join us due to national park restrictions.
Everything out west is a drive. You just get used to it. And with the stunning landscapes offered out in the great northwest expanse, the reward is worth the cost.
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The Adventures of Cadence, SlugBug and Muddy Paws 