Week Three

This week was more city dwelling than camping, which is a great way to appreciate unlimited running water and washing machines.  We were having a dedicated alternator for faster charging installed on the van.  The conversion company (Outside Van) is just outside of Portland - which, by happy (for us, anyway) coincidence, is where Sam and Melissa live! 

After spending 4 days there, we drove up the beautiful Olympic Peninsula then took the ferry to Victoria, Canada.  We'll be on Vancouver Island for a week of mountain bike riding.

(For best viewing format, view this from www.muddwanderings.blogspot.com)

Japanese Gardens in Portland

Portland has to be the friendliest, most inclusive city in the U.S.A.  The people are very unique, some would say weird, but it's all part of the chill vibe.  Hard-edged youth full of tattoos and piercings peacefully coexist with frumpy oldsters wearing socks with sandals.  Signs such as these are found in a majority of yards, and the sidewalks are full of kids' chalk art pleading for kindness and other political musings.  They start young! 

The political spectrum, however, is fully represented throughout Oregon.  They have just as many right wing conservatives in the countryside as they do left wing liberals in Portland.   And since they instituted mail-in voting exclusively, they have the highest voter turnout in the country. 

Now, if they could just arrange for better weather...

Seal Rock Campground, Olympic Peninsula

Dennis contemplating life?  No, just waiting for me to use the bathroom.

We did our usual 2 hour search for the perfect camp spot, but it was the 4th of July week.  Turns out a LOT of Washingtonians like to camp, and they bring all their relatives, float tubes, canoes, and all the other camp amenities.  There were more people than mosquitoes, which cut down our bite rate anyway.  We settled on a state campground nestled under the pines.  By choosing the row of site closest to the busy road, we had it (mostly) to ourselves. 

On the ferry from Port Angeles, WA to Victoria, BC, Canada

Since we wanted to enjoy the city of Victoria, we decided to rent an Airbnb - a one bedroom cottage along the Portage Gorge, which is Canadian for an inlet.  I guess.

A perfect cabin location for dogs who love to swim.

We spent the next day exploring the city on our bikes, sans dogs, who seemed to enjoy the day off.  It was such a relaxing day for me because I wasn't worried about falling off my bike, as I am wont to do when following Dennis on the dirt.

The path from our cottage to downtown Victoria

The Canadian state assembly building - no police anywhere!
I guess they like their politicians here in Canada.

The port

It's hard not to be jealous of Canadians and their common bonds.  Sure, there are liberals and conservatives, but they're all just so nice to each other (and to us!).  There is a real united front towards protecting the environment.  Everyone recycles everything - there are designated bins in all public and private places. There is also a lot of respect for what they call First Peoples, the natives who originally occupied Canada.  Their language and stories are honored in many public spaces.

Dennis taking me on (another) scary trail - this one appropriately marked.

I think the Airbnb host was expecting a much smaller dog.