Shockstone

Driving the backwoods of Canada, Skagway, and Woody Harrelson

I crossed the border into Canada on April 13^th, the border officials searched my van for something incriminating, but came up empty; guess I looked like I was up to no good. I pointed the van north from the border and began the long trek through Canada to reach Alaska. It’s an interesting time of year to be in the Great White North. On the downside, most tourist sites and museums have not yet opened for the spring season. Parks, campgrounds and hiking trails are packed-in with deep snow, so unless you have a pair of snowshoes, and I don’t, there isn’t much to do.

On the plus side, the country is incredibly beautiful and I had the place pretty much to myself. Some favorite sights along the way included winding roads through pine-covered valleys, which sit in the shadows of snow-capped granite peaks. Watching Bald Eagles soar over frozen lakes, while I stood by the roadside lost in the immense silence of the place with no other cars within a hundred miles. Roads can be odd places when there isn’t any other traffic on them. They feel forgotten, and I could almost imagine that the world I knew so well has disappeared and I was journeying on some long lost track lost in time. (more…)

Redwood National Park, Siuslaw National Forest, and Olympia National Park

The journey continues, this time it’s a road trip to Alaska. For those of you out of the immediate loop, I sold my house in California this past January and bought a camper van that has become my home on the road. I circumnavigated the states during the winter months spending time with family and friends back east and Christmas at my parents in North Carolina. In my spare time, I have been writing as much as possible, working on a memoir about my journey through South East Asia. Still lots of writing left to do, but it’s coming along surprisingly well.

I left the Bay Area on April 7^th, crossing the Golden Gate and heading up the coast. My first major stop was Redwood National Park in the northwestern part of California. Walking through the towering spires of ancient redwoods, I found myself humbled by the magnitude of the woods. Near San Francisco, it’s possible to find small groves of old-growth redwoods, but they’re small and easily traversed in a few minutes of hiking. Here in Redwood National Park, there are miles and miles of old-growth forests and it’s possible to hike for hours without discovering their limits. Wonderful. There is a certain reverence and majesty to the redwood forest and as I wondered through their lofty heights, I felt as if I was walking through a great cathedral – surely, this is nature’s church. (more…)