Returning Home – Vancouver to Kanata
Certainly had an interesting time since leaving Kanata on January 23rd to fly to Vancouver, pick up three kayaks, travel to Las Vegas with those three kayaks to meet three padders flying in from Ottawa. With three kayaks and three paddlers now loaded, it was off to Lee’s Ferry where the paddlers would repack their gear into the kayaks and head off down the COLORADO RIVER trough the GRAND CANYON. While they were combating the challenges presented by the river and its many rapids, I headed off to the slightly warmer location of Sedona, Arizona where I enjoyed camping out in the freezing temperatures (Brrr) and then hiking along the many trails in the Sedona area. Then, it was off to the Cottonwood/Jerome area to visit the old mine town and Prescott, the former state capital before heading northward to Seligman and a meal at the Roadkill Cafe.
Once I had left the paddlers at the head of the Canyon, my only obligation was to make sure that I was at the pick-up point 12 days later. SOunds easy but when you are living in a tent and out exploring each day, time has a way of passing along rather quickly so I often found myself checking the calendar to make sure that I would have time to drive to the prearranged pick-up point.
Finally decided to get to the pick-up point one day earlier so as the sun was setting I drove to the COlorado River once again and set up my tent in the campground which I had all to myself. THe next morning, the paddlers rounded the last bend in the river a bit of schedule and we were able to load the kayaks back into the truck and be on our way with plenty of time to get to Las Vegas before they had to catch a flight back to Ottawa.
Once the paddlers were all airborne, I headed north to Reno, NV since I had never travelled to Reno and since I usually try to retrace previous routes. Glad I made the Reno choice since the weather was great and the road was straight and undemanding. Folks who travelled it many times said that the drive along that route would be boring but is ti hard for me to find any new route “boring”.
The biggest contrast came on the second day of travel back to Vancouver when I crossed over from the very dry intermountain plateau in the dark and awoke the next morning in the ultragreen, soaking wet country environment of the Pacific Ocean side of the mountain range. Then a couple of hours of traffic jam on the major interstate and a grilling at the border and a midnight unloading of the kayaks and I was able to relax once again – kayak-related obligations out of the way.
Relaxing with Gilbert, my brother’s dog, can be a bit of a challenge especially when he decides to use you as a pillow in the wee hours of the morning.
SO after a nice lunch in a fishing village, the trip is almost over and I am about to return to the snow-covered landscapes of Ontario. SNOW – something that I haven’t had to deal with for over three weeks. Not looking forward to that snowy experience because it also comes with below freezing temperatures. LOL
Over the next few weeks, more blog entries relating to this trip will be added and more photos will be uploaded. In the meantime, just hoping for an on-time flight.
