ChileMEM-SCL
December 22-Jan 2, 2011 - After a 9 hour flight into Santiago, Brad, Carrie and Adam picked up Angie and Nick from the airport. They had been in the country for the past 6-7 days, staying north of Santiago. We left Santiago via Route 5 and went south. We had a Toyota SUV for the time we were there. The drive to Talca would be about 5 hours, where we would stay the night at a hostel, then drive the next day the rest of the way to Pucón, where we had rented a house for about 5 days. Angie had the hookup (literally) for the SUV; she had brought a massive heavy duty power station that plugs into the car lighter, and you can practically plug a full size refrigerator into it. The one thing that the SUV didn't have, though, was an axillary input for our mp3 players.
- We planned on stopping at a few wineries on our way to Talca. The first one we came across was Casa Silva. We tasted a couple different wines, but the problem was they were very small pours for 8$ USD. The wine was good, so we purchased a couple bottles and continued driving south. In Curicó, we ate lunch at a restaurant called La Góndola. We ate empenadas and quesadillas (Angie had a small pizza), and also took in a few (very strong) pisco sours, Chile's national drink, as well as a couple beers. The food was really great; we filled up then got back on the road and continued south and stopped at Miguel Torres Winery.
The people were quite a bit nicer there and the pours more generous (and much less expensive). Purchased a couple bottles here as well. - We reached Talca around 5:30 and found Casa Chueca ("crooked house"), the hostel we had reserved for the night. The staff there was great - very friendly and helpful. Carrie and Adam's room was a double called Titicaca. Nick, Brad, and Angie stayed in Cusco, a room with 3 twin beds.
- We hung out at by the pool and had a few beers. A Dutch couple was also hanging out there with their child (in South America for 6 months).
Dinner was a communal affair at the tables outside. They served a cooked barley salad, squash and cauliflower, along with a salad and avocado soup. After dinner we all proceeded to get blitzed with our new Dutch friends and a couple other hostel guests. We drank lots of beer and wine and became the Loud Americans. Still, a great time, and we were in bed by about 12:00 or 12:30
- The next morning we woke up around 8 AM, not feeling so great due to the previous night's excess. We showered and made our way down to the gathering area for breakfast of toast, cereal/yogurt, fruit, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
- After eating we packed up our stuff and headed out. We drove south on Route 5 and after a couple hours of driving, stopped and had lunch at a place on the side of the highway called Campo Lindo.
It was pretty bad food (Angie picked apart her chicken/avocado sandwich, Brad and Carrie ordered ham/cheese but beef came to the table), and no one there spoke any English. We left there and continued south. A couple hours later we made it to Villarrica, just west of Pucón. There, we stopped at a grocery store and got some groceries for the rental house, then followed the highway to Pucón. Once we arrived at the house, we met the owner, a small Chilean Buddhist. The whole place was very zen, with Buddha statues and rock stacks and formations scattered around the property. Patricia herself was very soft-spoken and calming. She asked that when in the house we not wear shoes; slippers were provided at the entrance.
The property was impressive - several acres of land, overlooking Villarica Lake, with a view of the volcano out the kitchen window. 
There was a yoga hall, tree house, plunge pool, and several small cabins.
- After getting settled in, we went into Pucón and had dinner at an Italian restaurant (Fiore's). The service was bad (Nick didn't get his salad, Carrie didn't even get served her entree), but the food was excellent.
- Saturday - the 25th...Merry Christmas! We ate breakfast and hung out at the house, exploring the property. Nick, Angie and Carrie did some ab exercises (P90X) and yoga. We spent much of the day on the back deck, reading and relaxing. In the afternoon, Angie, Nick, Carrie and Adam decided to go for a drive and explore the area. Brad opted to stay at the house and unwind. The four drove to the volcano and went into Villarrica National Park. From there, it was up to the base of the volcano for some pictures then back to Pucón for some shop-seeing (a magnet was purchased).
Stopping at an outfitters, we inquired about a volcano summit excursion, then stopped at a sidewalk window bar for a couple pisco sours and empenadas (again, service was slightly surly here). Once back at the house, we all made Christmas dinner - chicken, pork, sauerkraut, carrots, mashed potatoes, and bread...very tasty meal. 
After dinner, we had a couple of drinks then went to bed. Something had been lurking in the bushes and we couldn't see what it was (puma?). Nick and Carrie decided to play it safe and stay in the house, even if it meant a loss of the others' lives. Actually, at one point, the rustling became what seemed like a full-on attack and Nick and Carrie reacted heroically by immediately jumping inside and slamming that giant door shut so as to save themselves while the others were still stuck outside. Salvase quien pueda - save yourselves. - On Sunday, we all ate breakfast (Brad made omelets), then went downtown to secure a volcano hike at the outfitters. It was 33$/person CLP. The owner was extremely intense and was involved in the planning to an annoying degree. After booking the trip, Brad, Angie, Carrie, and Adam decided to also book a white water rafting trip for the day after the volcano hike.
- We went to a bazaar near the park in Pucón where there were lots of peddlers selling handmade wares, mostly wool clothing, scarves and wooden toys, bought a few things then had a few drinks at a restaurant nearby.
During the quick lunch, we discussed going to Huerquehue National Park, which was only about 30 Km from Pucón. It was an easy drive there, and once in the park we paid an entry fee of about 8$/person, then started off on a hike. 
The hike actually turned into several kilometers of hills through the forest, up and down on switchbacks. Elevation gain was pretty significant and more intense than we thought it would be. 
We reached the first waterfall after about an hour and a half, then continued on to the next one, which was about 3 times as high as the first. 
All of this was through exceptionally beautiful scenery, but the hike completely took it out of us and by the time we got back to the car, we were pretty wiped out.
- Once back in Pucón, we stopped at the grocery store for food and beer/wine. Once back at the house, we had a drink and Brad made a nice big salad and we had some olives, cheese, and crackers along with it.
- We opted to call it a night at that point. Thinking that it might help loosen us all up and get us ready for the big hike the next day, we did some P90X stretching for a while then went to bed.
Salt Lake City
MEM-SLC
September 24 - 27, 2010 - Nick arrived in Salt Lake City from Memphis, and Brad came in from Phoenix, both around 9:30 or 10 AM.
We picked up the rental car (a Malibu) and then headed to the Homewood Suites Hotel to check in. 
We got settled in and then took off to check out some breweries and have lunch. - We ate at Red Rock Brewing Co. Brad had a trout/bacon club and Nick a veggie sandwich. We had a couple beers and bought a shirt for Patricio then went walking. The waitress at RRB had recommended Epic Brewing as a good destination for great beer. It was about a mile away from where we were at the time, but we decided to hoof it anyway.
Along the route, we stopped at a few places for beers...Squatter's Pub (meh), Junior's Tavern (had a great IPA), then to Epic, on State Street south of downtown. 
We assumed that there would be a tap room or a pub of some sort at the brewery (at first we thought maybe we had come in the wrong entrance). Alas, all that was there was a sales room. We went ahead and bought 4 bottles (22 oz) and started walking back. Farther north on State St, we came across the State Room/Bayou and had some great beers - Uinta and Anderson (both local brews) - and played a few games of pool. The bartenders (and customers) were really friendly. The bartender actually stored our Epic beers (in bags) in the cooler below the bar ("groceries" is what we had to call them due to state laws). A couple sitting at the bar then gave us some pointers on where to go to hike the next day. - We walked back to the hotel (another 1.5 miles or so) and decided to go downstairs for dinner at Iggy's Grill. We had some mediocre pizza and a few beers then headed back and had the Epic beers at the pool. Watched some TV, then headed to bed.
- On Saturday, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel then checked for stuff to do. The agenda definitely included the Great Salt Lake, so we got in the car and headed north out of the city via I-15. We wanted to check out the lake at Antelope Island State Park, which the waitress at Red Rock had mentioned the day before.
Around Layton, UT, we headed west and across the causeway to the island. After touring the visitor center we drove the rest of the road along the island's coast/spine, checked out the old ranch at the end, and then came back. 
Scenery was great, and we actually saw an antelope. We concurred that this was probably the first antelope we'd seen in all our travels. We stopped at a public access area to check out the "beach" and walked for what seemed like forever to get to the lake, across (very) smelly sand. Nothing grows in the water due to the salinity, but brine shrimp are plentiful. We waded into the water a bit, but didn't stay in too long. - Once out of the park, we ate lunch at Taco Maker (!!) and had a well-deserved treat at DQ. Then we made our way farther north to Ogden...there really wasn't much there to see or do, from what we gathered by driving around a bit. It's a nice city, with new buildings and what seemed like a really neighborly feel, but we just weren't feeling it then. There just wasn't a whole lot to do and we didn't feel like walking around, so we headed back to SLC.
- Once back in the city, we went by the state capitol building.
Then we tried to find Gilgal Sculpture Garden (fail) but ended up...at a brewery. Desert Edge Brewery, specifically, which we recalled having beers at the first trip to SLC in 2004. After leaving there, we drove to Epic and picked up a few more bottles of beer. - Went back to the room and hung out, watched TV, then decided on dinner and a movie at Gateway. We had dinner at the Happy Sumo (sushi and curry tofu noodles w/sake) and saw Devil (freaky, but meh). Walked back to the hotel and called it a night around 11.
- The next morning we got up and had breakfast then mapped out where we wanted to hike for the day. We planned on going east of the city into the Wasatch National Forest to do a 5 mile hike.
The drive was really beautiful, through cottonwood forest. The leaves were bright shades of orange and yellow with pines interspersed throughout the drive. It took about 30 minutes to get to the trailhead, shorter than we had anticipated. We assumed it would take longer, and had planned on getting water along the way. Since we weren't really prepared, and the nearest convenience store wasn't exactly close, we just went ahead and drove to Park City, UT, which is where we were going to go after the hike anyway.
- In Park City, there was a street festival going on all along Main Street. Bands food vendors, crafts, etc. At the beer tent we got a Wasatch Pumpkin Ale (so good). After walking the festival, we went into the Wasatch Brewery and went upstairs to the bar, got a beer and sat on the patio. Then we ended up downstairs at a table and had lunch (with a beer).
- We headed back to the car, having walked a good 2-3 miles in Park City (that's our hike). Once back in SLC we stopped (once again) at Epic for some beer and then went to the hotel and changed. Stopped at Red Rock and had a couple beers while watching the Colts beat the Broncos. We talked to the bartender for a while, and he recommended a few places to grab a beer. From RRB, we went to the Beerhive Pub. They had a ton of beer on tap and in bottle. We parked ourselves on the patio out front and started a conversation with a few opera singers. Nice guys (but they couldn't understand why we would come to SLC for the weekend without a purpose). We had a couple beers there and then went to the Poplar Street Pub, next door to RRB. Had several beers there and a pizza. By this point we were pretty tanked, so we went back to the hotel and had (of course) a couple beers. Nick may or may not have puked and passed out.
- In the morning, we ate breakfast and hung out in the room for a while, to 'recover.' For lunch we went to PF Chang's and had lettuce wraps.
- Got to the airport and back to Memphis around 6:30 PM.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- Woke up in the morning around 8 or so, and packed everything up for travel. We got rid of everything that was no longer needed, since we weren't going to be camping any more. Left camp around 9:15 and drove east to Edmonton, arriving around 12:30 or so.
The GPS directed us to some industrial area on the northwest side of the city. After a bit of confusion and map searching, we got the correct address to the hotel and followed the map to the location, which was about 30 km south of where we were. - We checked into the airport Hampton, showered, and got ready to see the city. We wanted to go to the Royal Alberta Museum and then to the Old Strathcona area, but we needed to eat first. We ended up having dinner at Siciliano's Pasta Kitchen, a nice place with good food and decent service. Had a beer (Grasshopper) and wine with our meal, then headed to the museum.
- We arrived at the museum at 4 PM, so we only had an hour to check out the entire place before it closed. The museum houses two permanent exhibits (bugs, and aboriginal history) on the second level. We had to rush to finish the temporary exhibits on the lower level and we were rushed out at 5:00.
- After leaving the museum, we drove past the Alberta Legislature Building and got a couple pictures.
We also happened to see a couple police cars - something we really had not seen the entire week we had been in Canada. - The Old Strathcona district is adjacent to the University of Alberta campus. The area is pretty large and is full of shops, restaurants, and bars. The bars were our main concern, obviously. We walked for a while and stopped for a pint at O'Byrne's Irish Pub. From there, we went to a place called the Billiard Club and played pool. There was a music festival going on in the district all weekend, where a lot of the restaurants/bars play host to several bands. We heard 2 or 3 bands play (quite decent music).
Nick secured a CD from the first band that performed to play on Lost in the Shuffle, the world famous radio show which he co-hosts. We had had several pints by that point, so we decided to leave and get a 6er for the hotel (and a bottle of wine). The hotel had no proper courtyard, but the lady at the front desk did suggest the bench outside the front door. So we sat there and drank and talked to the employees. Finally crashed around midnight. - The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel, then went to the airport for our flight back to Memphis. We were both upgraded on the leg to Minneapolis.
- Total mileage: 436 km on Friday, 2,532 km total.
- Final thoughts on Canada: 13$ cigarettes; 15$ 6-packs; good number of wineries and vineyards in BC; the term "hoser" is not used as frequently in Canada as one might believe' guns are legal; people are friendly, but tend to move a bit slower than what we're used to; "aboot"; Calgary was mildly disappointing; Edmonton was surprisingly appealing; Vancouver is a Canadian Seattle; food/groceries very expensive; more smokers than anticipated, and smoking allowed in more places than in the US; and finally, it seemed that every time we asked for ranch dressing the server would bring us Caesar dressing...not the same thing.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9
- Got up, took the tent town, and departed camp around 10:15 AM and on the way out, we stopped at Athabasca Falls, very scenic falls in a deep gorge cutting through the rock.
- In Jasper, Alberta, we stopped for lunch. We liked Jasper - it's a cute, touristy town with lots of restaurants and shops. We had lunch at Jasper Pizza Place (pita/tzatziki and a Greek pizza). Delicious. After lunch, we stopped at a gift store and picked up a magnet and some junk.
- Leaving Jasper, we took Hwy 16 to Hwy 40 to Hinton, where we got some chicken and beer. Drove another 25 km or so to William A. Switzer Provincial Park. The first campground there was full (meaning, packed with children and RVs), so we stopped at the visitor center and the nice lady directed us to Cache campground. There was only 1 other group of campers (a couple more came in later) so we decided to set up camp here. Decent scenery and it was fairly quiet.
- From the campground, we drove down to Gregg Lake and did a 3.5 mile hike through the woods. Along the way, interpretive signs taught about kettles and kames.
- We were back to the site by 5 pm or so, where the family a couple spots down had begun chopping down small trees for firewood. Some people just don't get it. Dinner was BBQ chicken thighs, potatoes/onions and beans. Last camp night :-(
- Mileage: 191 km, 2096 km total
- Drink of the day was a horrible white wine from a BC vineyard (Laszo Pinot Blanc)
- Weather was very warm today - 30 C in Jasper.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- We left the Sandman Hotel at 9:30 and drove back west via Hwy 1 toward Banff N.P. There were great views of the Rockies from the city and driving on the highway - very similar to the view from Denver toward the US Rocky Mountains.
- Entered Banff NP and went to the town of Banff.
We went to the Cave and Basin, but it was closed for renovations so we kept on through the town to Bow Falls, along the Bow River. 
Checked out the falls and got some photos, then had lunch at Timber Food Co, a restaurant downtown. Nick had a pot pie and salad and Brad had a ham and cheese panini with fries. It was a decent meal; surprisingly not overpriced like most places we've been eating. After eating, we stopped at the Post to mail a card (1.05$ CDN) and got gas (30$) then left the town of Banff via 93 toward Jasper N.P. - Drove about 70 km through Banff NP to Lake Louise, but there were so many people there that we just had to get the hell out. It's named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, daughter of Queen Victoria. Elevation here is 5,680 feet. We continued on to Moraine Lake, which sits in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, on the old version of the Canadian 20$ bill. Peak elevation here is 11,200 feet, making it the 3rd tallest in Banff.
- We followed Hwy 93 through Icefields Parkway, known as the most scenic highway in the world.
The color of the lakes and rivers (almost an emerald color) comes from the minerals in the water. We saw lots of wildlife (including several deer and mountain goats). Stopped at Sunwaptha Falls and took a short walk through the woods to the falls, which were really beautiful. Water cascades down and through very narrow canyons. We took some pictures and then got back on the road.
- We finally arrived in Jasper National Park, still on the Icefields Parkway. The area, comprised of about 200 square miles, is one of the largest icefields south of the Arctic Circle. In the park, we checked out Jonas Creek campground, which was pretty bad, so we just settled on Honeymoon Lake campground.
- Mileage: 395 Km, 1905 km total
- Beer of the day: Canadian Molson, Pilsner, and 2 bottles of sauvignon blanc.
- Dinner was salad with sausages, sun-dried tomatoes and vinaigrette.
- Dark at 11 PM.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- We left Dunbar Lake around 9 AM and went south via Westside Road, which connected to 93 in Radium Hot Springs, BC. We drove from there through Kootenay National Park and connected with Hwy 1 (Trans-Canada Hwy) in Banff after we crossed into Alberta. From there we went into Banff National Park and then on to Calgary.
- We arrived in Calgary around 3 PM and checked into the Sandman Hotel downtown at 7th Ave and 8th St. Finally able to shower! The hotel rooms here were kind of a relic from what seemed like the 70s and 80s but the lobby was fairly modern and renovated. We felt the money could have been used to provide a soft, non-caving-in bed, as well as a tub that actually drained so as not to have to stand in one's own filth.
- From the hotel, we walked downtown to find something to eat; we were starving. Not a whole lot of decent options were available. The downtown area is large but it's more of a corporate/business area rather than a residential mix, so there wasn't a lot going on, even with Stampede coming up in a week. We ended up finding a place to eat. Had a mojito and beer, Nick had a margherita pizza (sent it back) and Brad had a salad. Waitress sucked.
- After we ate our slop, we went to the Calgary Tower and rode up to the observation deck. It had great views of the city, but not a whole lot of information about the town, which would have been helpful.
- Almost ready to call it a night, we decided instead to have a go at a beer at an Irish pub near the hotel. We weren't really in the mood to do much, so we just ended up going back to the hotel and calling it a night.
- Mileage: 294 Km (1510 Km total)
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- Woke up, packed, and left camp around 9 AM. We were planning a long travel day (about 7 hours), so we wanted to get on ASAP.
- Crossed the Continental Divide around 11 AM and continued on via highway 3 to Cranbrook. Had lunch at Cancun Mexican Restaurant, owned by an El Salvadorian man. Lunch was good, and inexpensive (16$).
- Stopped in Canal Flats, in the Kootenay River Valley, for gas (45$). Once past Canal Flats, we pulled off the highway for a photo of Columbia Lake. We drove up on a sandy pull off (may or may not have private property) to the top of a massive plateau-like overlook. Below was a coal train, running alongside the lakeshore.
- We arrived in Radium Hot Springs, BC and stopped at a visitor center there to look up some places to camp. We had tried unsuccessfully to find a place on our own and we weren't willing to settle for RV campers as neighbors. Radium Hot Springs is a very commercialized town, with resorts and parks and motels focusing on what we call the "RV version" of outdoor adventure. Not really our style. We were given a couple maps by the rangers and pointed toward Briscoe via BC 95 Hwy. We drove through Crown Land (similar to BLM land in the States) forest for about 1.5 hours trying to find a place to camp. We had a specific place in mind, but we were going from a map that was not to scale. Most of the forest roads were logging roads and were not marked well, if at all. In addition, the roads were dirt and extremely rough.
We were following behind some locals in a pickup truck and at one point they had stopped along the side of the road. We pulled up and asked what they were looking at (like nosy Americans should do) and they pointed out a small black bear in the woods, about 20 meters from the road. First bear sighting of the year! We kept driving a while longer then ran into the same people again, this time going the opposite way. They directed us to the Twin Lakes camping and recreation area that we were looking for initially. We ended up finding it, but decided to go a bit farther and came across Dunbar Lake and campground. There was no one camped out, so we felt like this was a perfect place to stop for the night and pitched the tent. 
It ended up being one of our favorite places that we've ever camped - definitely comparable to Bowman Lake campsite at Glacier National Park exactly 5 years prior (to the day). Amazing view of the lake (camped on the shore) with a great sunset that went down directly across the lake behind the mountains, some of which were still covered in snow. The lake was crystal clear. We had a great fire and played a few games of Chinese Checkers and drank a lot of beer and wine.
- Dinner was chicken, potatoes, and corn
- Mileage: 496 km today; 1216 km total
- Temperature ranged from 8 C to 21 C.
BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9- HAPPY AMERICA DAY. Fuck yeah.
- We broke down camp at 9:45 AM and found a trail within Cathedral PP (Ewart Creek Trail). Hiked in for about an hour (mostly uphill) then turned around and came back. We guessed about 5 miles total - and in that time, saw lots of deer and great views of the hills and forest.
- We left Cathedral and drove through Keremeos, where we stopped and had a fairly poorly executed lunch at some mom n pop place. Waited about 40 minutes for a couple sandwiches that certainly weren't worth the 40 minute wait. We also stopped at a local fruit stand on the side of the highway and got some fruit (cherries were in season and very good).
- A couple more wineries presented themselves, so we stopped in at Caslo, tasted (so-so) and bought a bottle of pinot grigio. After that we visited two others, buying a nice rose at Seven Stones Winery. We talked to a very nice couple there that ran the place for a while, then got back on the road.
- We continued on via Highway 3 east through Rock Creek (pretty resort town), Greenwood (pop. 625), and Grand Forks. It was a beautiful drive going up and down the valleys - nice views, lots of local produce and farmland.
- Our destination for the day was Gladstone Provincial Park. We secured one of the three remaining spots at the campground (#27, for 21$/night). We didn't have a view of Christina Lake, but it was relatively quiet and scenic. We took a walk down to the "beach" and hung out there for a bit. The shoreline was really just rocky outcrops and giant stones made up the beachfront.
- For an entertaining story about the region, click here.
- Dinner was chicken, corn on the cob, and beans. While we were cooking, the campground hosts stopped by and chatted for a while. They were really friendly (and talkative) and had some great info on places to go in Alberta, including a couple national and provincial parks.
- Beer of the day: leftovers, and the bottle of wine from Seven Stones (which was decent). Mileage: 241 km today/720 total.
