A Great Reason to Throw a Party

Wildflower Centerpieces

Last week was my friends Anne & Harvey Jessup's 35 wedding anniversary. Their big bash was Saturday and it was fabulously fun. So much time and prep was done by all. There was a large hole dug for the pit roast (i can't take any credit here), dance floor constructed (or here), awnings hoisted (or here), centerpieces arranged, and food cooked. I really enjoyed being able to see so many old friends that attended the party. There was plenty of two-steppin' and enough grub to feed and drown an army.

Six Devils Food Chocolate Cakes are hidden under that whipped cream

Kramer is diabetic..we couldn't risk it

Moose meat mmmmm

The Jessup's Dancing



"What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?"
~ George Eliot

Land of the Midnight Sun

Happy summer solstice! Today is the longest day of the year, and in the Yukon that means full sunlight for just over 19 hours. The sun 'rose' at approximately 4:30 a.m. and will 'set' at around 11:30 p.m. The in between time will be dusky but not fully dark. Like right now, it is bright outside! Dark curtains a must.

There is a flip side: During the winter solstice on December 21 (the shortest day of the year), Whitehorse experiences about 5.5 hours of daylight. No bueno.

So I hope you are making the most of these long days. Carpe Diem!

"There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart."
~ Celia Thaxter

[Butter My] Biscuit Recipe

I baked biscuits today to accompany lunch's soup. This delicious and simple recipe is courtesy of Anne Jessup. The recipe below should yield you a dozen tasty tidbits. For today's meal, I doubled it.

Biscuits
1 tsp sugar
2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 tbsp butter
2/3 cup buttermilk

Mix the first 5 dry ingredients together. Cut in the butter. At this point, I improvised by adding some crumbled feta cheese (about 1 cup for the doubled recipe), 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp basil, and 1/2 tsp dill. You can ad whatever you like.I then added the buttermilk and mixed until ingredients were well incorporated.

Preheat the oven to 375*f. Drop the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until done.

Voila!

Meet Buddy & Kramer

Hello! I have been here five days and have loved every minute thus far. I apologize for the lack of posts, but have been a bit sidetracked visiting and settling in.

I want you to meet Buddy the Husky and Kramer the Schnauzer. Caught here bounding across the back lawn, these two are the resident pooches where I am staying. A bit older than the last time I saw them, they are a trusty pair of trail walk/run companions. My Dawgs.

The Secret Life of Bees

If you know me...you know I love bees. About a year ago, I had heard this book was good and bought it. Well a year later I still hadn't read it...until...my wonderful Mumu (a.k.a. mum -- a.k.a. mom -- a.k.a. madre -- a.k.a. mama jama) gave me the book on tape for my drive!
(yes i was excited) When I wasn't listening to all of my Project :: VDub Music, I "read" this. It is bee-licious.

The Arrival

I was on such a high for the last two hours of my trip. I had driven that road countless times before. So many things familiar, new and gone.

I pulled into the driveway at 11 p.m. last night. As I turned off my engine, the speedometer read 116,367 miles. That means that from Sedona, AZ to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory I drove 3, 294 miles. Damn it feels good -- Good to have accomplished that. Good to back.

"What is the feeling when you're driving away from people, and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? It's the too huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies."

~ Jack Kerouac

Yukon Territory :: Larger Than Life

The Village of Teslin on Teslin Lake

Whitehorse is the capital of the Yukon which is where I will be staying this summer. Growing up, my family lived in Teslin. Just under 2 hours from Whitehorse, my drive took me through this small Village that used to be home. I couldn't have arrived at a more perfect time. At about 9 p.m. the sun was beginning to set in the sky. I didn't stop at my childhood home becuase I wanted to save that for a full day. Instead, I parked at the top of our driveway and took a photo of my Dad's business's sign. While no one lives there and the business is no more...the sign remains. My cup runeth over.

"If you want to accomplish the goals of your life, you have to begin with the spirit"
~ Oprah Winfrey

Into The Wild

My Sunday drive through the northern part of BC was spectacular. I took the Stewart-Cassiar Highway north to connect to the Alaska Highway which took me west to Whitehorse. I can't even begin to describe to you what that Cassiar is like. There were 100 kilometer stretches without anything (except jaw dropping views). I am glad I had an idea of what it was going to be like. I gassed up my car at every chance I had. Lots of trucks (semi and pickup), lots of trees, lots of water and lots of wildlife (bugs included in that categroy). It is still early and while everyting is way more lush than I expected, the mountain rangers still have snow on them.

I saw 5 bears yesterday! Two were together (siblings) and I got a video of one.

"You are never too old to set a new goal or dream a new dream."
~ Les Brown

Beautiful British Columbia

Totem Pole outside of Vancouver, B.C.

I would be lying if I told you I didn’t let out a an excited “I’m back!” to the customs officer as she waved me through the border on Saturday. BC is such a diverse province. The size of the whole western United States, its varying geography is uber amaaazing.

Huge coastal mountains surround the southwestern potion of the state. Everything is sooo green. I drove all day and decided to pull off for a break at Williams Lake, B.C. I exited the main road and followed signs down to a waterfront park. It was 8 p.m. and the sun was still high off the horizon. It was (only) 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6 degrees Celsius) and there were people out swimming in the water.

"The undertaking of a new action brings new strength."
~ Richard L. Evans

Oh Canada

I exchanged what American currency I had left on me into Canadian at a Wells Fargo branch in Washington state. It is so beautiful. Holding the money makes my nostalgic heart happy (plus because of the exchange rate I received more in Canadian than I had given in American!)

I cross the border in less than an hour.

"As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more."
—Jules Renard

City of Flowers

Pasedena, CA is not the only rose city in the US. Portland, OR also claims this flower which grows vivaciously along the cities freeways.

I stopped to visit a friend and ended up staying an extra day. Portland is something else. It was a pleasant surprise because I left it’s limits this morning knowing I would return soon to take more of the great city in.

It felt like a big little city with great shopping areas, restaurants, architecture and views. Stunning lush views.

We toured the city on foot, walked along the waterfront, visited the Rose Gardens, and ate some great food including the Salmon at Lovely Hula Hands.

Portland View From The West Hills

Rose Garden

Roses

"There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
~Anaïs Nin

Humbled in Humboldt

In high school I read The Legacy of Luna by Julia Butterfly Hill (a great read). The true story that unfolded in this book was what ignited my desire to visit the Redwoods of California’s Humboldt County.

So when I made the decision to move, I planned my drive around seeing these majestic trees.

Here are some pics from yesterday:

Trinity River

Fallen Redwood
Banana Slug

Fern

The Pacific Ocean
Clover on Redwood Stump

"You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself."
~Alan Alda

The Cut

I saw my first logging truck as I crested the summit outside of Weaverville yesterday. The sight put a knot deep in my gut. I am not a fan of logging...specifically clearcutting. I could tell this area was fueled by the logging industry. Full lumberyards and the scared mountain sides near-bye were proof.

A hillside marked by logging

Because knowledge is power, I would like to share some information I pulled from the NRDC’s (National Resource Defence Council) website:

Clearcutting means the felling and removal of all trees from a given tract of forest. One forestry expert refers to the practice as "an ecological trauma that has no precedent in nature except for a major volcanic eruption." Clearcutting can destroy an area's ecological integrity in a number of ways, including:

• The destruction of buffer zones which reduce the severity of flooding by absorbing and holding water;

  
• The immediate removal of forest canopy, which destroys the habitat for many rainforest-dependent insects and bacteria;

  
• The removal of forest carbon sinks, leading to global warming through the increased human-induced and natural carbon dioxide build-up in the atmosphere;

  
• The elimination of fish and wildlife species due to soil erosion and habitat loss;

  
• The removal of underground worms, fungi and bacteria that condition soil and protect plants growing in it from disease;

  
• The loss of small-scale economic opportunities, such as fruit-picking, sap extraction, and rubber tapping; and

  
• The destruction of aesthetic values and recreational opportunities.Intact, healthy forests play a large role in supporting all forms of life on Earth.
  

To environmentalists, the finality of clearcutting is viewed as an ecological tragedy.

For more info, visit www.NRDC.org

"There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed."
~Mohandas K. Gandhi

Beautiful Dawn

My car was covered in moisture this morning from last nights rain. I departed Redding west on the 299 after filling up on gas and coffee. At Starbucks I picked up a copy of Dave Matthews Band newest CD "Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King”. I will let you know what I think once I break it out of it’s plastic cocoon. I am definitely in the land of trees and mountains now. Just miles outside of Redding, the road opened up into a beautiful valley cradling Whiskeytown Lake. I began to climb in elevation and the road soon turned into switchbacks resembling those in Oak Creek Canyon. After the summit, I descended into a valley of fog. Beautiful mysterious fog. Everything is getting bigger as I head towards the coast. Moss coats the side of trees and rocks. I love how lush and green everything is.


I forgot to charge my camera’s battery last night (duh) -- so I am getting free WiFi at a Burger King in Weaverville, CA and juicing up my battery. Onto Crescent City from here.

"A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition."
—William Arthur Ward

You Say Goodbye & I Say Hello

Today was glorious. The sun glowed fiery on the horizon this morning as I said my goodbyes, jumped in my car and headed West. The landscape was quite dull until I passed Mojave, CA. Then the rolling golden hills appeared.

Let me back up. Did you know you can't bring fruit into California from Nevada? I didn't...and when the guard asked me if I had any in my vehicle I totally forgot about the bananas and apples in my cooler. Ooops. (Note to self: US/Canadian border won't take this as lightly).

Here are some of the sightings of my day:

Wind Towers

Magnolias

Rolls Royce Phantom

There was also an endless amount of agriculture farms, fruit trees and vineyards...and cows. Stinky stinky cows. This was all made pleasant by the wonderful music I listened to today. I am so impressed by my friends....more to come on this later.

I made great time and am staying in Redding tonight. I am off to the Redwoods early tomorrow. A longtime dream, finally fullfilled.

"If you don't get lost, there's a chance you may never be found."
~Author Unknown

The Departure

I left Monday afternoon (everything fit in das auto!). Just before my departure, I snapped a shot of my Volkswagen's speedometer --- 113,073. I show you this to emphasize the length of the 3,400 mile trek ahead of me. I plan to share a similar pic upon my arrival in the Yukon. Thank you to all of you who participated in Project :: V Dub Music. I am looking forward to the musical enlightenment ahead of me (among others).

There were no tears. Just a swarming hive of joy and excitement in my tummy. As I left Sedona the sky was overcast and the wind warm. Perfect. There is no doubt I will miss AZ.

The first leg of my journey brings me to Sin City (a last minute addition). I am in Las Vegas to soak up some quality time with one of my bestests. [ Hot dish! ] I hit the road again early tomorrow morning. In a nutshell, my seven State/Province trip is the following: AZ to NV to CA to OR to WA to BC to YT.

" The future is no place to place your better days." 
 ~ Dave Matthews