Title: Joshua Tree Campground At Night

Description: A long exposure at campsite #17 at Ryan Campground in Joshua Tree National Park.  Some of our group had climbed the so named “Manure Pile” rocks in the background and were on their way down.  The bright light off to the left is the moon.  That blur in the campchair on the left is me.

Photograph Copyright Peter West Carey

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

This year Sabrina and the dogs went with me to have a fun, relaxing weekend.  If you’re looking for a quick weekend getaway and love camping, give the fort some serious consideration, especially if you are a history buff.

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

What is a ‘tweetup’? It’s a meet up organized on Twitter.  Crazy people on the internet are always making up words like this (and if this bugs you, check out Pam Mandel’s rant on BlogHer)

In this case, a rock climbing tweetup is a chance for semi-random people from all over the US (and sometimes world) to meet at a particularly nice rock climbing area and spend a number of days climbing. It’s just like organizing the same thing with local friends, but a tweetup is also a chance to meet people you’ve only known online.  Most of the time the explanation from someone attending to those inquiring about where they are going, goes something like this, “I’m going to meet a dozen people I met online in the desert to entrust my life to them on some cool rocks most of us haven’t climbed before.” 

And it’s a lot of fun.  Way fun.  At one point I couldn’t climb from laughing too much.  And sometimes that’s the main point, at least for me, to get together and enjoy activities we love to do (camping, hiking, climbing, etc…) and make new friends.  It’s just online life being taken offline for a while, even though some people still sported iPhones. :)

Want to follow some of the climbers on Twitter from the video?  Then check out @eleddy @sudarkoff @adrienneknits @rockgrrl @voden @katiebeth @tiffanymroyal @joshuamontague @chadcat @gregable @JeremyShapiro and me, @pwcarey

And now, for the video recap of the Red Rock Canyon Rock Climbing Tweetup!

Red Rock Canyon Rock Climbing Tweetup 2010 from Peter Carey on Vimeo.

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

I usually prefer to get my firewood this way when I have no wood at home to bring with me.  From time to time I’ve succumbed to a hasty retreat to the local supermarket and their shrinkwrapped bundles from a far off state (usually Montana for some reason).  But when in need, I like to support someone who makes a few extra bucks off their own land and with their own labor (not saying the company in Montana doesn’t do the same, but I don’t need my firewood shipped 500 miles when we are the “Evergreen State”).

Let me tell you now about the most perfect firewood vendor, the one all others should ask for firewood lessons.

First, the sign.  He was a full dollar less, $3, than the others on the road to Mora Campground in Olympic National Park (you are not allowed to sell firewood in the park, so a lot of houses on the road have a stand out front).  That’s a good start, but sometimes it can mean an inferior product. This sign promised “dry” firewood, showing that he knew a discerning chap such as myself was not happy with any old wood cut down yesterday. 

The second sign on the shed stated, “Smile, you’re on camera”.  While I don’t know if the camera ever existed, I do know he had a plump black lab that came trotting out then attempted to jump in my truck after giving it a thorough sniffing.  Maybe that’s what he meant by camera, I’m not sure.

Second, the bundles.  He had ample quantity and they were average sized.  Not much to say here, other than about 8-10 decent wedges.

Third, the kindling offer: $1.  This made it perfect for me as I had a $10 bill.  Three bundle and the kindling and I’m even!  Points for not requiring small change and making the upsell of the kindling a snap.  Plus at first glance it came with newspaper.  This guy knows his stuff.

With wood loaded in the truck, I head back to camp and wait for dark.  At this point I was most happy with the dryness of the wood and not having to over pay.  Little did I know bonuses one and two were silently waiting for me in the form of:

Bonus #1, he ties his bundles with slipknots!!  Raise your hand if you’ve ever had to go hunting for a knife after futility attempting to untie bundled wood?  Or raise your hand if despised having to dispose of that plastic shrinkwrap!!  A slipknot, pure and simple genius I tell you.  One pull and the wood is free.  Let’s get the kindling ready.

Bonus #2, he included matches!! At this point I want to drive back and give the woodsman a huge hug!  Straight from the Sheraton Park Towers, I knew this guy not only knew his business and how to run it, he also stayed at some swank hotels in order to steal their matches for his firewood business.  Shrewdness mixed with class.  I want to party with this dude sometime.

But for now I’ll enjoy the heat from the campfire and send The World’s Best Firewood Vendor my thanks once more.  You, fine sir, are my new gold standard for firewood vendors the world over.

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

On the way out of the resort we decided to pick up a hitchhiker.  Now, before those of you scaredy cats out there jump on me for being so dangerous, Siggy, as he came to be know, was a clean looking kid with Big Sky Resort attire.  And he only needed a ride to the bottom of the hill, about 10 minutes.  An interesting chap from Poland, he had flown into Chicago with four friends to work in Yellowstone.  Renting or stealing a car, I’m not sure which, they headed across the country, exclaiming that Mt. Rushmore was smaller and not worth the time.  He’s also seen grizzly bears after walking out his front door (Siggy’s, not the bear’s).  Siggy was a lot of fun for the 10 minutes we got to know him and he’s left an impression as we will continue to talk about him for the rest of the trip.

After leaving Big Sky we shimmied down to West Yellowstone for breakfast.  I ordered two, again.  It keeps happening…..when I travel, I like double the amount of food most of the time.  This is a warning to Tiffany when I visit in a couple weeks. :)

Onward to Yellowstone and….whoa, there’s a line.  Oh yeah, it’s a free weekend in the park.  Which is really cool as we’re trying to be cheap on this trip.  But that also means half of America decided to show up.  Ok, it wasn’t THAT bad, but getting to the first turn off inside the park at 8MPH was a bit slow.  Oh well, look out the window and be happy I’m in a National Park, I say.

Kelly had never been to the park before, where as Pam and I both had.  It was hard to hold back all the, “The last time I was in Yellowstone” comments but Kelly’s sake, we did.  Until Old Faithful.  And then, much like the well timed explosions of boiling water ushering forth from the bowels of the earth, I couldn’t help myself.  Only a few comments, and by then Kelly had seen Old Faithful so I wasn’t tainting her view of things.  This was important as we interviewed her later to get her first impressions and it boiled down to “cool”.  Maybe that’s over simple, but it cuts the root of it.

Zipping out of the park’s East exit, or entrance, brings us through steep sided canyons painted a dull beige and more wide open spaces.  Recent rains had brought up sweet smells from the long grasses on the side of the road and we could spot many strata layers in the rocky hillsides.  I really love this part of the drive, having never been this far East before.

The night ends in Cody, Wyoming.  Ahhh Cody, such a nice little town situated in 90 degree heat.  After coming down from the hills and passing through a few tunnels, Cody is a minor sprawl on the open plain.  Coming into tow we pass the original site which may, or may not, be a recreation.  But we were hunting for a campsite or the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, whichever came first.  Buffalo Bill won out as it’s right next door to the Visitor’s Center we hoped to grab some information from.  But Mr. Bill wanted $15 to enter and was only open for another hour.  No thanks.  Crossing the street we found the Visitor’s Center had just closed, but a helpful character on the porch directed us to the local campsites.

Our first impression of Ponderosa Campground was a bit dismal.  It seemed big but they said they had teepees.  The ones we saw were facing the main drag of town.  Hmmmm…..After checking in and asking for the quite part of the campground we were treated to the best ‘in town’ campsites I can imagine.  The back of the campground falls away 30′ to a creek in a small wash, with just enough room for three teepees and a dozen tents.  Heaven!  Down in that draw we couldn’t hear any cars, just the creek.  We unpacked and geeked out, code for getting on the computers, downloading photos, writing posts, communicating.

Later on Kelly and I headed up to the bathhouse area where we could actually gain a wifi signal.  We sat out for an hour or so until some Iowa boys saddled up right next to us.  Chatting with them was a lot of fun and we asked what there was to do in Iowa since we were planning on driving through.  “Farm and drink beer” was the response.  No kidding.  They brought up a lot of other things, but explained that unless you were from there, it wasn’t easy to find the fun stuff.  Like parties. County fairs weren’t until August but they did suggest a place to trail ride.  They were good old boys following a rodeo circuit this summer and I’m glad we got a chance to talk with them.

I slept with the rain fly off the tent this night and watched the stars sparkle like diamonds on a black swatch of felt. A shooting star pass overhead and I softly drifted to sleep with a babbling chatter of the creek beside me.

And don’t forget to check out the TBEX Road Trip blog for more great updates!

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

Last weekend I headed over to Fort Flagler to meet up with friends Sheri and Todd.  Reservations are required on the Keystone/Port Townsend ferry run during the summer and booking early is advised.  The reservations don’t cost anything as you pay at the booth.  Check out the Washington State Ferries’ website for more information.

The morning started a bit frantic as I had to make sure all was packed before heading to take Sabrina to school.  Then again, this was car camping in a state park about 10 minutes from a QFC, not much to worry about.  Still, I prefer to be prepared as sometimes plans change and one thing I fully appreciate with a well stocked truck is the ability to camp anywhere, with or without a QFC nearby.  The ride over on the boat was calm and sunny with a good many tourists onboard.  We all are tourists in a way, some just further afield than others, as I got mistaken a couple times as being from “some place far away” in the Defender.  When I explained I lived on the island I got a few surprised looks.

Once off the ferry I had time to wait in Port Townsend while Sheri and Todd made their way north from Olympia.  I found a shady parking spot just off main street where I could snatch wifi from a hotel across the way.  I really like Port Townsend.  It has a nice, authentic feel for being a small port town with a tourist economy.  The old buildings and quaint shops have an appeal that just fits.  I decided to break out of my shell (truck) and get something to eat, strolling (yes, I actually strolled) across the street to Waterfront Pizza and up the stairs for the seated dining.  Some might describe it as a hole in the wall and that kinda fits; seats are fold out chairs, not a single table is level, the bathroom is labeled “Head” and so on.  The pizza was wonderful!  A custom made job of feta, garlic and pesto and sourdough crust so yummy I only finished half, opting to eat the rest for breakfast or lunch on Saturday.

From there I decided to mosey on over to Fort Flagler, about 30 minutes away.  On the way I saw a sign for Old Fort Townsend and as I had no real time table, hung a left into the park.  It’s a smaller park but one I never knew existed, one of those places I’d always pass by and I’m glad I stopped.  For the rooftop tent crowd, sites number 9 and 12 are great spots to reserve.  The campground is in the woods and well laid out.  There is an RV area, much more compact, by the lawns.  I didn’t stay long enough to get a good feel for the site as the “Cub Scouts Meet Here” signs scared me off.  So on to Fort Flagler.

Ahhhh….lovely Fort Flagler.  I like the place.  All campsites are assigned as you head in.  While Sheri and Todd still hadn’t showed up, I was allowed in (whew!) and hung out at the campsite, snoozing for a couple of hours.  Site #12 is great!  It’s all open, so you have to have some kinda portable shade or you’ll fry in the midday sun.  Other than that, it’s got a great view.  Once Sheri and Todd showed up we set up camp, headed to the QFC for some food for them and then went back to camp and chilled.  The rest of the night was spent with them and some friends of Sheri’s Teri and her sons Derek and Trevor and Teri’s friend Linda.  Many, many marshmallows were roasted and I must admit Todd has quite the skilz with the mallows.  He’d get them so poofed up and brown that there was nothing left inside.  He really has a talent and should turn it into a living some how.

The night ended with a game called Phase 10.  It’s a fun game played with any number of folks.  I did ok but Sheri ended up winning the abbreviated game.  Oh, and at some point the sun set (see picture for proof).  I went for a quick bike ride up the bluff a bit just before sunset.  Ok, now all the facts are getting jumbled but who really likes chronology?

Day 2′s Post Is Next!

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.

It’s our last night of the vacation. Tomorrow will be a early morning and a busy day or work for me and pickin up animals and settling back in for Kim and Sabrina.

The yurt here is nice as well and the campground is further off the road so we don’t hear it, just the distance pound of the waves over the sand dunes. And we’re heading there now!!
More pictures and updates tonight as time allows. -pwc

©2012 The Carey Adventures. All Rights Reserved.