California National Parks

I made a week trip to Nevada and California while Anna rested in Toronto and attended several weddings.

Spent four great days in Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks in California! Amazing scenery and hiking. Saw several black bears and spent much effort to avoid them in my campsite! turned out the only food thiefs were chipmunks.

Anyway, drove back across death valley where it reached 120F! Holy heat batman. When I arrived back in Vegas to fly home, to my horror, I found a dead chipmunk in my trunk. Guess the little fellow got locked in while searching for crumbs and could not survive the 9 hour drive on super curvy California roads in 120F heat and a trunk full of loose gear. I imagine he had a heart attack before the heat got him. I can only hope!

Highly recommend the parks to anyone of natural inclination in calirfornia. Include some overnight hiking on John Muir trail of Pacific Coast trail...

Spanish River Whitewater Canoeing

Back in Canuckida, we went on a 6-day whitewater canoe trip of the Spanish River just north of Sudbury Ontario. Most said we were crazy for going in bug season but high water beckoned!

We started by getting in some wake-boarding at Jeff's house in Sudbury. Great fun exspecially with a sauna in the boat house! Day 1 we took the "Budd Car", a self propelled rail car, up the CPR line to Lake Biscotasing and paddled 23 km to the river start.

Day 2 and 3 we had amazing whitewater days with several dunkings in the icey river and great food to warm us up by Dave (Pad Thai, Japanese Curry and fresh cinammon rolls to name a few dishes!). The bugs were bad, as you can see in the phote, but bug suits kept us sane.

Day 4 was a turning point... Jeff and Dave ran the "dangerous" C3 rapid, a long run in an "s" shape. Well, after the run, Jeff was trapped on a mid-river boulder, Dave swam 250m of rapids and one canoe was wrapped around a rock like a wet noodle. Three engineers could only get the canoe more pinned on the river after snapping a 1200lb rope trying to haul the boat out.

Day 5 and 6 Anna and Scott finished the river on a long series of swifts and Dave and Jeff walked nealry 50km out of the bush on the CPR line and a highway.

The river was amazing and showed its power to us. We all had a great time and Jeff and Dave bought a used canoe FOB C3 rapids.

Southern Brazil

With the World Cup approaching, the already intense Brazilian nationalism was at full speed. Everything green and yellow was on available!

We spent a week on two nice southern islands. One around Florianopolis and the other south of Rio. The beaches were near deserted and very clean. We ate local fishes after hiking to remote beaches to read and relax. Nice.

We ended our South American tour in Rio. Very vibrant city. We enjoyed a Sunday afternoon with the locals on Ipanema. Anna particularly enjoyed the six pack bearing men in boy-shorts, the latest bathing suit style. Scott also did not mind the few "dental floss" bathers who were out.

Iquazu Falls

Our last adventure in Argentina was a trip to Iquazu Falls, one of the worlds natural wonders. We were a bit sceptical going in as we thought it may be a Niagara Falls, but it truly is a mgaical place despite the massive tourist crush. We enjoyed hiking around the falls and evenings with a nice Quebecoise couple in the evenings.

As usual, we got got lucky, and arrived on the full moon and were able to tour the "Devils Mouth" falls in the moonlight. Truly a beautiful experience.

Next stop Brazil!

Mendoza and Western Argentina

Our next big jump brought us, by overnight bus, to Mendoza, the wine capital of Argentina. Melbec, Tempernillo and many European varieties. Yum! We, not being wine officianadoes, only toured one winery and the surrounding area. Not nearly the infrastructure as, say Napa or Hunter, but many "bodegas" to visit for dinner and wine.

In a rental car we spent five days, including two at the historical Cachueta thermal spa, exploring the area. We drove up to the Chilean border and hiked the basecamp of Aconcongua, the tallest peak in the Americas. The high-light had to be the spa. Great food, a daily massage and many varieties of thermal pleasure (steam, baths, etc).

Anna also enjoyed a full Argentine Parilla (BBQ meats, served at the table on a smoking BBQ). Twelve meats in one meal! See the pictures of the various feasts in the link to the right TRIP PICTURES.