Log 14 - Southbound Through the Western USA with Tioga II

This blog covers September 11th to October 14th, 2003 as we depart Canada and travel south through the State of Washington and out to and down the Oregon Coast.  From there we visit the California Redwoods,  Napa wine country, Yosemite, Ancient Bristlecone Pines, Las Vegas, and back to Tucson before returning to Mexico.

September 11, 2003 - Good-bye Canada

After almost two months visiting friends and family in Canada, it was time to head south again.  This is the marina in Victoria, BC where it all began over a year ago as we  departed from here to set us up for our offshore passage to San Francisco.

Victoria harbor.

Sunday, September 14th - Seattle, Washington

We are glad to arrive in Seattle and have a terrific week-end with friends from s/v Chaika, a family we met last year cruising.  They are now back on the ground after their year cruising and were kind enough to show us some of their favourite spots in Seattle.  Here, we all marvel at the colourful bouquets in the downtown market.

Gerrit, Sheila, Joan & Katherine at the Seattle Market

Thursday, September 18th - The forest just west of Portland, Oregon!

Our next stop takes us to Portland to visit another cruising family we met last year from the s/v Swallow.  They too are now back on the ground again and busy with the family business.   Pam and Peter manage forested lands west of Portland.  The trees are harvested in a sustainable manner that has earned the family awards for responsible timber management. This day, Peter needed to  locate and map a creek that cuts across their property so we head out to help.  After an enjoyable day foraging the river banks, we have a tea in this little cabin on the property.

Peter and Pam - s/v Swallow

Saturday, September 20th - The Oregon Coast -  Back to the Ocean!

It is great to be back at the ocean again and the sand dunes are a real treat! The drive down the Oregon coast has given us a much different perspective than we experienced last year as we sailed down it!  It is very rugged.  No wonder we stayed as far off it as possible in our boat!  As we watch and listen to the waves crashing on the rocks, we joke about how your perspective can change dramatically depending upon where you are. Last year it would have terrified us to be anywhere near this rocky, unforgiving coast. One person's paradise is another's nightmare!!

Gerrit and Joel run wild and free!

Monday, September 22nd - Sand Rails for Sheila's birthday

The sand dunes along the Oregon coast were very unique, like none we had ever seen before.  We hired a driver and a sand rail and went for the ride of our lives.  Our driver was great as we would literally drive across vertical surfaces and then scream along at high speeds, up one dune and down the next.  He freaked us all out as we flew to the top of a 300' high dune only to fake we could not quite make it and rolled us backwards the whole way down as fast as we came up!    Talk about your heart stopping ride.

Our family sand railing in the dunes of Oregon.

Mexico had a number of hurricanes this year, including two that hit the popular cruising location of La Paz near the south end of the the Baja Peninsula.  The first, Ignacio, (shown here over La Paz) put a couple of boats on the beach.  The second, Marty, devastated the area on September 22, including Marina de La Paz where 80 boats were sunk or damaged and the marina destroyed.  Marty continued up the Sea of Cortez and hit near San Carlos, where our boat was stored for the hurricane season.  Luckily, our pre-departure preparations had been thorough and our boat only sustained minor scratches.   However, a number of other boats weren't so fortunate. Hurricanes are a fact of life and we must plan our cruise accordingly such that we clear the hurricane zones every July through October.

Hurricane Ignacio - The eye of the storm.

Friday, September 26th - Redwood National Park, California

Redwood National Park was created in 1968 to protect the world's tallest living trees, which at that time were being feverishly harvested.   There are 3 state parks within the national park boundaries, which form a World Heritage Site.  We spent  time in the Prairie Creek State Park and thoroughly enjoyed the fragrant hikes among these beauties

Gerrit, Joel and Chris

Friday, September 26th - A walk in the tall Redwoods

Trying to take pictures in a forest such as this does not do any justice whatsoever to the real grandeur of ones' surroundings.  These giant Coast Redwoods grow to nearly 370' tall, and can live up to 2000 years, though average 500-700 years, grow to 22 feet in diameter and encase themselves in bark that is 12" thick.  The forest's mild, moist climate assures abundant and diverse wildlife.

Joel, Sheila and the Giant Redwoods.

A seriously big tree. 

Thursday, October 2nd - Welcome to Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park embraces a great track of scenic wildlands set aside in 1890 to preserve a portion of the Sierra Nevada that stretches along California's eastern flank.  We arrived just before a weekend to just barely grab a campsite in this largely reservation-only park.

Yosemite...home of El Capitan and Half Dome

After our arrival, we rented bikes as it's easy to cover ground in the valley with paved trails and little elevation changes.  We managed to see much more than our legs would have seen. We all really enjoyed being back on a bike and began to chat about the bike we'd have once done our boating trip.

Great day exploring on bikes.

Yosemite Valley is a great example of a glacier-carved canyon.  The dramatic scale of its waterfalls, rounded domes, massive monoliths, and towering cliffs has inspired painters, photographers, and millions of visitors (including us!).  Shown here, El Capitan's sheer walls attract experienced rock climbers from around the globe.   It takes about three days and nights to scale the vertical rock face. We strain to see the climbers as small dots with our naked eye and then get closer looks through the binoculars. With the binoculars, we can literally see the colorful canvas of the beds a hiker would sleep in right there on the side of the mountain!!

El Capitan.

Friday, October 3rd - Tuolumne Grove of Giant Sequoias

Also within Yosemite park boundaries are a number of Giant Sequoias groves.  The largest of all living things, these towering trees have endured for thousands of years.  Though not quite as tall as Coast Redwoods, their bases are almost double at up to 40', and they live to 3200 years.

Joel, Gerrit and Sheila

Saturday, October 4th - TIOGA Pass

As we departed Yosemite, we just had to take the scenic Tioga Road through Yosemite's high country, passing by sparkling lakes, colorful meadows, sluffing domes, and lofty peaks.  At this location, Tioga Pass, the road crosses the Sierra Nevada's crest at 9945' and we begin a steep decent (6000') down a road cut into sheer mountain faces toward the deserts of Nevada.  After quite a few cool nights,  we begin to feel the desert heat rising up into the foothills.

Tioga Pass!

Sunday, October 5th - The Trees that Rewrote History - Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, CA.

Standing as ancient sentinels high atop the White Mountains of the Inyo National Forest at nearly 11,000 feet, the Great Basin Bristlecone Pines rank as the oldest trees in the world and have immense scientific importance, as well as cultural and scenic value. There are many trees in this area 4000 years of age and still growing!  Look up dedrochronology.  From these trees, scientists have assembled a continuous tree-ring chronology extending nearly 10,000 years that has been instrumental in correctly calibrating faulty radio-carbon (C-14) dating.  As a result, some artifacts discovered in Europe have been redated to a 1000 years or more older than previously thought hence historians have had to reinterpret the order of events throughout the Mediterranean and European areas.

Ancient BristleConePines

Monday, October 6th - And now for something completely unnatural...Las Vegas!  

What a place.  Bright neon lights shine through the night in Las Vegas advertising casinos, hotels, clubs, bars, and other businesses. Las Vegas was a small town until gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel changed the city’s character forever by constructing its first lavish hotel-casino in 1945, the Flamingo.  With plenty to offer non-gambling tourists and pleasant temperatures, we all had a great time.

The Mirage Volcano - Las Vegas

Slot machines. Though kids aren't allowed to loiter in the hotel casinos, they can pass through.   Chris quickly demonstrated to the boys how these machines 'ate money'.  He would drop a coin in, push the spin button, grimace, drop-in another coin, push and grimace, ...

Slot machines.

Friday, October 10th - Lake Havasu City, Arizona

A couple of hours south of Vegas on Arizona's Colorado River we stopped for the night at Lake Havasu City, whose claim-to-fame is their purchase of the London Bridge from the city of London in 1968 for $2.5 million.  It took another 3 years and $4.5 million to transport and rebuild the bridge at this location.

The original London Bridge.

Saturday, October 11th - the Loop is Completed - Tucson AZ Again

104 days later, we cross our outbound track and return to our initial US staging ground of Tucson.   Tucson is significant to us as it's the last major stop before re-entering Mexico and we still have a number of items on our lists to purchase.  This picture shows a typical front-yard in Arizona, where home-owners here are as proud of their cacti as others are of their flower-beds.

A typical Tucson yard.

Tuesday, October 14th - Back in Mexico!

Well, we made it back into Mexico, RV loaded with supplies and boat parts for another cruising season.  Our plan now is to make a quick stop at the boat to drop some things off, then go inland for a couple of weeks.

Nogoles, Mexico

Stay tuned for Log 15 where we visit some old colonial sights and take a train to Creel in the heart of the Copper Canyon.

Log 12 - North to Canada via motor home TIOGA II

This blog covers June 28 - July 18, 2003 where we travel inland with our recently purchased 24' motor home (called Tioga II) from San Carlos, Mexico where we stored our boat for the hurricane season, north through the US western interior, and up to Canada. In subsequent logs, we visit family and friends, then head out to the west coast and back down along the west coast.

Our route over summer 2003

Saturday, June 29, 2003 - USA / Mexico Border

After leaving Tioga late yesterday, we arrive at the US/Mexican border and pass through with a minor inspection and a big 'welcome home' from a US border guard. Our R/V is sporting Arizona license plates so we are in disguise! This border is apparently the most protected border in the world both day and night.

Crossing the US/Mexican border at Nogales

Making our way north in Tioga II

Tuesday, July 1st - Slide Rock State Park & Canada Day!

Slide Rock State Park, near Sedona, Arizona, is a welcoming retreat from the now intense and building summer heat. Oak Creek boasts a series of natural water-slides gently etched over time. Though the water is extremely cool, it does not bother Joel as he enjoys a swift cruise down from one bubbling pool to the next.

Slide Rock State Park

The entire area is set in red rock and it has a collection of buttes, spires and sheer rock walls that shimmer with shades of amazing color. We found out that Sedona and area has recently been voted the most beautiful place in the USA. Lucky us...keep it in mind for a winter getaway!!

Stunning red rock everywhere.

Wednesday, July 2nd - The Grand Canyon, Arizona

The first of our major stops as we proceed north was none other than The Grand Canyon. We arrive early to find we are only able to get a campsite for one night - all sites are reserved for the July 4th holiday weekend. We have to move fast and cover the area in two days. We don't feel much like hiking, mind you, as we have just gone from sea-level to over 8000' elevation and are feeling somewhat peaked.

Grand Canyon, here we come 

Approaching the Rim ...
As a family, we walk up to the south rim with our heads down, holding hands. On the count of three, we all look out at the Grand Canyon for the first time!! It is exhilarating to see such beauty. Our hearts are pounding and Sheila has goose bumps. The canyon is extremely colorful, steep-walled, and exceptionally deep, with the Colorado River running far below. It is about 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and almost 1 mile deep! A small section of it is preserved by the Grand Canyon National Park, which receives about four million visitors a year. We meander the rest of the afternoon along the south rim trail, noticing how a small change in distance brings about different sun exposures and thus very different perspectives.

Grand Canyon vista - pictures hard to do justice 

The two major trailheads into the canyon are the South Kaibab and the Bright Angel. The visitor centre has a display about these hikes and explains about the 'danger zone'. Temperatures on the top rim typically range from 85-90 degrees F while at the canyon bottom, temperatures soar to 110 degrees. Every year hundreds of people are rescued as they attempt to descend to the canyon floor and back up in the same day. As we finish off for the day, Joel makes a powerful statement. 'Some people leave here with empty minds, but our family is building memories!'

Another beautiful view 

Our family on the rim

Thursday, July 3rd - Grand Canyon Junior Ranger Program

The National Parks throughout the USA have a Junior Ranger program for kids. It is a hands-on program where they have to complete various tasks within a nature booklet and attend Ranger-led programs where they might, for example, build a 'lean-to' or learn about the trees that grow in the area. Once complete, but before they obtain their badges and certificates, they have to make an oath to always protect nature and the environment. Joel is a proud 'coyote' and Gerrit a soaring 'raven' in the end. A great program we looked for wherever possible.

New Junior Rangers

 Friday, July 4th - Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona & U.S. Independence Day

The Colorado River that runs through the Grand Canyon is also a major source of freshwater and hydro-electricity for seven US states, including California. The Glen Canyon Dam, built in 1963, is the first of nine dams on the river.

Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona

Just outside of Page, AZ, we catch the first tour of the day down into the depths of the dam. It took 8 years to build, cost 18 lives, and currently provides 1.3 gigawatt-hours of power. Second only to the Hoover Dam, it stands about 700 feet tall and about 1/4 mile across. Not without controversy, water backing up against the Glen Canyon Dam inundated hundreds of square kilometers of the Colorado River Basin devastating the fragile ecosystems it flooded and completely changing the river environment downstream. Further, by the time the river finally reaches Mexico's Sea of Cortez, it is all dried up.

Generating hydro-electricity

 Friday, July 4th - Bryce Canyon National Park, Southwestern Utah

Established as a national monument in 1923, and as a national park in 1928, Bryce Canyon is famous for its unusual rock formations, apparently among the most spectacular and vividly colored of any in the world. The pink, white, orange, and red sandstone walls of these canyons have been sculptured by erosion, and spires and pinnacles are common. We find Bryce Canyon virtually deserted compared to the Grand Canyon.

Bryce Canyon, Utah

Sunday, July 6th - Hiking into the Canyons with E.T.

Bryce is much more accessible for our family in that hiking into the canyon doesn't represent such a time and effort commitment as trying to do so in the Grand Canyon. There are numerous hikes of varying lengths and the temperatures are not nearly as extreme. Here up the gully, the kids spot E.T., the extraterrestrial, looking down on us.

E.T. peers down the arroyo

 Another Bryce Canyon vista ...

Bryce's colorful pinnacles and spires are breathtaking.

Tuesday, July 8th - Salt Lake City, Utah

Continuing north to Salt Lake City, the principal attraction here is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) Temple Square.

Salt Lake City Temple

The church was founded in the early 19th-century by Joseph Smith, who claimed to have had a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ, informing him that the true church was not on the face of the Earth. The Temple itself is impressive as are all the displays and sculptures, such as this one depicting the Mormon pioneers carrying their every belonging in carts such as these across the county in search of peace.

Mormon pioneers.

The LDS church supports the world-famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir which we hope to see perform. We find out the next performance is not until Thursday night, so we settle for the daily half-hour organ practice enabling us the opportunity to hear the magnificent pipes.

Big Organ

 Thursday, July 10th - Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming

This photo of the Grand Tetons is taken from the edge of Jackson Lake, later in the day as the boys skip stones across the lake. The entire area if full of hiking and great scenery very similar to home, the only difference being our own Rocky Mountains are much larger and more rugged. At 8100' elevation it's getting cold at night and for the first time in a long time we contemplate the use of a furnace.

Grand Teton Mountains from Jackson Lake

We find this unique X and O's board and take the time to smell to roses.

Building family memories again...

Saturday, July 12th - Magnificent Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872. It is located primarily in northwestern Wyoming but also extends into Montana and Idaho. The park is known for its spectacular geysers, hot springs, canyons, and fossil forests. Yellowstone is the world’s first national park.

Yellowstone National Park - North Entrance 

It is interesting to find out some of the myths and truths about the world's most famous geyser, Old Faithful. It does not erupt every hour on the hour as many people think, the current eruption interval averages every 94 minutes and lasts from 1.5 to 5 minutes. It is ever changing often as a result of earthquakes. It is one of over 300 geysers in Yellowstone, a cone geyser erupting in a narrow jet of water rather than fountain geysers that are wider spray, such as this one, which is taking a break.

One of many geysers

Sunday, July 13th - "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone"

After a day in the main camping area near Old Faithful, we head back on the road to explore this truly expansive and impressive park. There are still a lot of burned-out areas from the major fires in 1988, where over 35% of the park was scorched. A few more miles up the road, we stop in to see the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River, which is a magnificent sight set in neapolitan-colored canyons.

Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River

Suspension bridge along the way

After our stop at the Upper Falls, is yet another fabulous picnic lunch and then a few more miles to the Indian Creek campground. On the final stretch of road, we see buffalo by the hundreds in herds on a high mountain plateau We think that Dances with Wolves with Kevin Costner must have been filmed here ( Trivia buffs??). The scenery and wildlife are truly breathtaking.

Dances with Wolves - Panoramic Photo

Tuesday, July 15th - Dillion, Montana

While retrieving emails in the nice college town of Bozeman, MT, Chris retrieves a message from good sailing friends Lisa, Eric, Max and Tally from s/v Catitude that they are in Dillion, Montana. Chris does not say anything until he checks on a map and verifies that Dillion is only about two hours away. We catch up with them at the Longhorn Saloon and Joel's buddy Max is sitting in the back of their truck waiting for us. What a fun evening!

Longhorn Saloon, Dillion, MT

 Thursday, July 17th - Canada / US Border Crossing Waterton/Glacier National Park

6:48pm - Oh Canada!

Well, we made across the border into Canada. Wow, it really feels strange to be back. We still have a longer drive tomorrow before we get to Calgary, but tonight's a celebration. And we've already been invited to our first BBQ!

Feels great to be back in Canada.

That's it for this adventure.  Join us in Log 13 for CANADA...our homeland.

Log 11–Mid-Sea of Cortez - Loreto to San Carlos

This blog covers May and June, 2003 where we enjoy the Sea of Cortez with great friends. We explore a  salt mine, visit an old prison and see some cave paintings, make a boat shrine and get ready for RV Tioga mobile.

Tuesday, May 6, 2003 - Loreto

After a bit of a push to make Loreto Fest  in the first few days of May, we were finally able to slow the cruising pace back down and explore Mexico's Baja treasures in the company of the many great friends we have made cruising.  One of our first stops was the historic town of Loreto, the longest continually occupied town in Baja, having survived almost three centuries.  It is the site of the first mission church established by Father Junipero Serra in ~1743.  This beautiful hotel graced the town square.

Stunning old hotel.

A great pizza lunch in Loreto made carefully by a husband and wife team.  A far cry from Pizza Hut or Dominoes!

Husband and wife pizza team.

Sunday May 11, 2003 - Isla Carmen 

Across from Loreto is Isla Carmen, an island we circumnavigated and enjoyed thoroughly for a number of  days.  This day is Mother's Day and Sheila enjoys a cuddle with Gerrit.  

On it was an old abandoned salt mining town and dried-out salt ponds, which we explored.   

Abandoned salt mine.

Gerrit stands beside an abandoned salt water evaporation pond at Bahia Salinas, Isla Carmen.

Salt ponds

Learning to dive for and harvest "chocolatie" clams and the subsequent beach-side clam bakes are extremely memorable.

Chris helps to bake the clams.

Here Chris is proudly presenting the fish he just speared. 

Pole spear fishing offers a nice supper. 

Tuesday May 20, 2003 - Cruisers' Shrine at San Juanico

The "cruisers' shrine" is a tree and surrounding area on a beach in an anchorage called San Juanico.   For years cruisers have visited and left artistic momentous of their existences and trips, the earliest we could find dating back to 1988.  We brought along various craft items, paints, string, and pieces of wood and made our own creation.  Our sign is about 12"x16" displaying 'TIOGA” and all our names, “5-03' (May 2003). Our Canadian Flag and Calgary in the top right corner.  Joel added a miniature Tioga in the bottom corner complete with Canadian flag and Gerrit colored a shell to leave for Boomerang, our dinghy.

Our shrine to Tioga.

We chose to hang our creation deep in the tree for maximum protection from the elements.

Our Tioga shrine in the back of the tree.

Joel brought the sailboat he made along for the day and had fun while the shrines were being created.

San Juanico was also a great spot to snorkel and marvel at the abundant sea life, as well as the opportunity to practice spear fishing techniques.  A lot of time was spent with John and Nia from s/v Jovita, a great young couple who's overall knowledge of sea life far surpassed ours.  They both turned out to be great role models for Joel and Gerrit on numerous occasions.  Here, John displays his 'trigger fish' and Nia shows off her 'hog fish'.  Both tasted excellent later that day roasted by fire on the beach.

John and Nia from s/v Jovita

9:07pm - Saturday, May 24, 2003 - It's dark out!

This is a neat picture, if only to show you how we have to get around down here from time to time.  A group of us - three boats' worth in two dinghies - went out for supper at a restaurante in a nearby bay.  After supper, we all zoom home to our anchorage a bay or two south in the pitch dark. It was a nice evening out, with both water and air temperature around 85F.  And the conversation was hilarious!

Monday, May 26, 2003 - A Big Bug  on an outing to the Town of Mulege

How about this Mexican bug?  We were exploring the town of Mulege's sites when our friends' daughter, Rhianon, spotted this doozy.  It's not a cockroach, but we didn't quite get the name when we asked a local.

Now that's a bug!

Monday, May 26, 2003 - Mulege Prison

In the town of Mulege we visited a unique prison, now decommissioned, where many of the prisoners were allowed to leave the confines of their cells and go to work everyday in the town below.  At 6pm every evening a conch shell was blown to signal the inmates to return to the prison for the night.  When the prisoners were done their prison terms, many of them choose to settle in Mulege having already established lengthy roots!  This picture is of the inner section of the prison, where the hard-cases were kept.  Two solitary confinement cells are on the left.

Some beautiful color in this dismal place.

These "hard-case" prisoners managed to escape and two of them succeeded in stowing away on TIOGA.  They are now holding us hostage and are threatening to keep it that way for at least another 10 to 15 years!!

Do these look like hardened criminals? 

Tuesday May 27, 2003 - Cave painting tour

The crews of s/v's Jovita, Atalanta and Tioga jump in Salvador the guide's van for a day tour to the site of cave paintings by the Cochimi Indians dated 3500 BC.  Along the way into the desert along washboard roads bound for the Trinidad Ranch, Salvador stops and shows us various plants, trees, and cacti of the desert, including how to identify them and their various purposes.  Some cacti hold the key to life - water -  while a single drip of sap from another tree could kill you in the refuge of its shade!  As is with all things in life, be careful of your choices!!

Great time on this van guided tour. 

Upon arrival, we hike a short distance though the arroyos and canyons to the cave paintings site. Three different Indian groups painted on the walls over time, some on top of the existing paintings. Pictured were fish, deer, hunters, frogs and even hand prints. The Indians showed the missionaries the whereabouts of the cave paintings, who documented their existence and location. Tragically, the majority of the Indians where wiped out by disease introduced by the Europeans.

Cave paintings.

Sunday, June 1, 2003 - A relaxed day on the move ... 11:10am - whales!

Today we planned to make it to the town of Santa Rosalia, not far away but with plenty to see and do along the way.  We had heard via VHF radio that morning that whales were in the area and as we traveled north paralleling Isla San Marcos, we found ourselves surrounded.  We are told that this one is probably a blue whale due to the amount of its body that shows out of the water when it surfaces.   We stop the boat and shut everything down and just drift in order to watch these amazing animals and listen to them blow when they surface.  At one point, this whale surfaces right next to Tioga (within 10m)!

There she blows....whales about.

1:33pm ... Swimming at the Rock Arch with crew from S/V Atlanta

We had heard of a neat spot to swim, and the day's plan was to stop and find it.  The spot  is unique as it is surrounded by cliffs except for a small entrance - a rock arch - that we have to take the dinghy through and under, ducking our heads to pass clearly!  Once inside, there is a nice rock beach to relax on plus small rocks for the kids to jump off of and swim.  Excellent spot.

Private secluded beach all to ourselves.

Just outside the entrance, we see some locals jumping into the water from about 30 feet up! Chris and Michael (from s/v Atlanta) decide to attempt it….brave or what?

This was higher than it looks..

6:23pm - Santa Rosalia 

Finally, we arrive at the little marina in Santa Rosalia.

Such a quaint little marina.

And no sooner do we get our lines tied when we are boarded by the Mexican Navy doing a random inspection.  They were very friendly despite the size of the guns they were packing!  Apparently, only the sergeant gets ammunition as the Navy can't afford to give it out to the juniors (the kids).  Well, it was a busy day, but it's not over yet. Off we go into town to find out about Santa Rosalia's famous hot dogs!

Santa Rosalia welcoming party.

Monday, June 9, 2003 - Graduation and Book Burning Ceremony at Bahia San Pedro

Gerrit and Joel have a ball burning their school books from the past year.  'The best day of my life!' Gerrit jokingly proclaims.

Ritual of burning school books at year end.

The evening came complete with graduation certificates for our guys and the girls from s/v Atlanta to officially end our school year.

Another school year done!  

Saturday, June 28, 2003 - Marina Real, San Carlos

The last two weeks has been a ton of work getting Tioga ready to sit out the hurricane season, She has been thoroughly cleaned inside and out and striped of everything from flag and sails to running rigging for protection against the sun's harsh rays and summer's strong winds.

Joel helps take the Canadian flag down for the season.

Tioga floats peacefully in her resting spot for the next four months.

We hope she sits peacefully till our return. 

Chris has also been to and returned from Tucson, Arizona with a motor home for our next excellent adventure.  Here we host some fellow cruisers in Tioga II...how many kids can fit in the top bunk?

Last night with some fellow cruising kids

3:37 pm - Saturday, June 28, 2003 - TIOGA II is mobile!

With everything loaded, we are ready to roll.  It has been a while since we have traveled via wheels.  We start out at 5 m.p.h. and joke about that being the speed we came down the coast at.   Once underway on the highway, we find 55 m.p.h. real fast!!   We are all very excited for this next leg of our adventure.  Stay tuned...

Tioga II ready to roll. 

Join us in Log 12 as we make our way home to Canada. Yeah!