It has been a hell of a roller coaster ride over the last month or so.
I haven’t spoken much about my travels or travel plans but the lease on my home on the Central NSW Coast was coming up for renewal and with the Evil Speedo Corporation suing me I didn’t want to cause any embarrassment to my friends or myself so I thought a road trip was a good idea to both clean my head, keep a low profile and catch up with some old friends and meet some new ones.
Part 1: San Francisco
I’ve got some really good friends who live in San Fran. They have one of those beautful old 3 story homes right in the middle of the city which they’ve spent the last 5yrs fixing up and it is gorgeous. The wife half of the couple is recently pregnant for the first time and they were more than happy to rent on of their many spare rooms to me for a month or so. I love San Francisco as a city and hanging out with these guys makes me feel like a local. I’ll stay here until after Xmas/New Years before picking up a car and driving north.
Part 2: Road Trip
This is going to be huge and a hell of a lot of fun. I’ll buy a car in San Fran and head north. I’ve got some friends in Portland, Oregon who I’ll swing by and say hello – maybe get a couple of days snowboarding Mt. Hood. Then I’ll stop in Washington State and get a few days snowboarding Mt. Bachelor (which gets the most snow of anywhere on the planet) and Stevens Pass (where some friends have a cabin).
From Seatle I’ll head into Canada. I have spent some time in Canada (2 winters) and I have too many mates to catch up with. Hopefully I’ll board at Whistler then head east to the Okanagan where I spent those 2 winters. Hopefully I’ll be able to spend a couple of weeks up here before crossing the Canadian Rockies and driving to Banff. I love Banff and could easily live there year round. Not sure how much boarding I’ll get in Banff but it will be good to catch up with some Aussie mates who are there for the winter.
After Banff I’ll head back to the US. I don’t know as many folks in this area but getting to ride some of the Montana resorts like Whitefish or Big Sky would be great but I’m not sure if that will work out.
Then, I’ll arrive at Kips place in Breckenridge.
Part 3: Breckenridge
Each year I try to get over and see Kip in Breck. He and his sister live in a great house right in town and Breck is an awesome town and an awesome mountain.
I don’t think I’ll get down to Breck until the end of January or even Febuary.
It is great when I get to stay with Kip – we get a bunch of work done and we get to party pretty hard. As well as some pretty hot jacuzzi sessions. My plan is to stay in Breck until spring break and then head to Vegas.
Part 4: Back to San Fran
This is a drive that I’ve wanted to do for years but never had the chance. Mainly just Vegas, Grand Canyon and then through Yosemite National Park back to San Fran is the plan.
A week in Vegas (maybe) over spring break sounds like it could be fun.
Part 5: What next?
I have no idea what I’ll do when I get back to San Fran but I’m sure something will pop up.
Not to nit-pik Dave, but if you drive to Washington State to find Mt. Bachelor, you will have missed it. Bachelor is just outside of Bend, OR, south and east of Portland.
The mountain with world-record snow is Mt. Baker, 53 miles east of Bellingham, Washington. We’ve currently got a 51-inch base .
I meant Mt. Baker – sorry guys.
It is Mt. Baker you can see on the horizon from Vancouver right?
Dave
Man. Wish you were coming down to San Diego.
Yes, you can see Mt. Baker from Vancouver, B.C. And yes, Mt. Baker got the world record heaviest snowfall during the 98/99 season. 95 FEET!
FYI you can also see Mt. Baker from where I live in Bellevue Washington Dave. Which is just across the lake from Seattle.
Dave – A note on your plans Vegs – S.F. Depending on the winter you may not be able to drive from the eastern side of the Sierras through Yosemite but if that’s the case you can always stay with me in Mammoth until the pass opens!!
Pete,
I got caught once up in Yellowstone with part of the park being closed. I still got to drive through it a little bit and was impressed with the size and the facilities.
What time of year does Yosemite Park open (I understand it is weather dependent). Plan is that I won’t be through there until after Spring Break but from what I’ve read that might still be too early.
A good friend of mine worked in Mammoth 30 something years ago – I haven’t been there and you never know, I might hit you up. Thanks for the offer mate.
Dave
If you feel so inclined, Dave, and want to stop off for lunch in a small town on your way between Seattle and Vancouver, let me know–you have my e-mail, and I live in a small town about a half hour’s drive off the main freeway (I-5), about 80-ish miles north of Seattle. More details available in private…
And by “stop off for lunch,” I mean “come over, go somewhere, eat some food, chat for a while, and then see you on your way off to your next adventure”! (I know I’m not your type, and that’s all right! But, I don’t get to meet many Speedo enthusiasts in-person, so…!)
Around when would you be in Whistler? So far we’ve had the 3rd snowiest November on record and the white stuff keeps coming!
As you said you’ve got many mates to catch up/ski with, I doubt you’d need it, but if you can’t find anyone to ride with while in Whistler, give me a shout – I’m up every weekend and a lot of weekdays, too!
Enjoy the road trip!
Dave- Tioga pass didn’t open until June 18 this year (we did have an epic winter) 2010 it was June 8th, the earliest I remember is in 2007 around May 11th the latest was July 1!!! If you are going to go to Vegas/Grand Canyon you will probably have to go back through L.A. and then up to S.F.
Pete
P.S. To be clear the park is open all year but you can’t go over the Sierra’s for part of the year. Approaching from the west you could get into the park but not through from the east (which is the Vegas side)