Taroko Gorge

We took the train from Taipei to Hualien, which was a 3.5 hour trip. When we came out of the train station, we had a taxi driver on our heels in no time flat. After some negotiations, we agreed to a price for a drive through the Taroko Gorge and off we went. Our first stop was a restaurant where we could get vegetarian food. Our driver took us to a buffet, which was perfect. We're still not sure exactly what we ate, but we had enough to fill us up and provided an endless source of entertainment for the locals. Then off we went to the gorge.

Our first stop was the entrance to the Taroko Gorge, which is a National Park.

There were some really interesting walkways through the marble hills.

And there were spectacular waterfalls. We couldn't take photos of all of them as there were just too many. You may be able to tell that the water is a very dark and muddy colour. Apparently it is usually quite blue, but there was a recent typhoon that has made the water the muddy colour it is. We're certainly not disappointed we missed the typhoon. It seems there is another one brewing, but I don't know if it will hit Thailand or not. We'll just have to wait and see.

In this photo you can see where the road is cut from the side of the hill.

Campbell and Kelly had no problem venturing out on this suspension bridge. We weren't about to get a photo of Dean out there.

Kelly posing in one of the pagodas along the way.

Campbell and Kelly paying their respects (sort of) inside a shrine in the gorge.

Doing our own thing at the hostel

Nothing stops Kelly from reading - even a stuffy room with no air conditioning. Kelly was quite happy to lie in bed with her book and bottle of water and let the pages fly by.

Much to our delight, Campbell is also enjoying plenty of reading on this trip, but he is a little more selective about where he does it. The balcony at the hostel was only slightly more airy than the rooms.

As for Dean and I, who needs a book when there is cold beer!!

National Palace Museum

Our first stop was the National Palace Museum. Geoff - Do you remember the ivory and jade carvings we saw there 26 years ago? Well, they are still there and just as impressive. We spent about 2 hours wandering through the museum looking at various exhibits from the past dynasties of China. The caligraphy, paintings, maps and other artifacts were interesting, but the highlight for all of us was the carvings. Of course the air conditioning was also quite a highlight!!

Outside the main building of the National Palace Museum. Photos were not permitted inside. I don't think a photo would do justice to some of the exhibits anyway. One just has to see 5 concentrical spheres carved from one piece of ivory to really appreciate the artwork. Some of the carvings have magnifying glasses in front of them as that is the only way to see the intricate details of the carvings.

Culture shock in Taipei

We arrived in Taipei at 6:00 am on Tuesday morning. During the 13 hour flight I think we all managed to get a little sleep, but we certainly didn't feel well rested. We decided the best thing to do to keep the jet lag to a minimum was to check into our hostel, drop our bags and do a little sightseeing. The bus ride to Taipei took about an hour from the airport. We had no problem finding the hostel, but I think Kelly is still in shock from her first experience outside North America. It worked out well that we didn't want to crash in the rooms right away as it was already over 30 degrees by 8:00 and the air conditioning in the rooms is only turned on from 11:00 pm to 9:00 am. So off we went to explore the city for the day.

Our last day in North America

It was one of those days that we had all day to do what we wanted before heading to the airport, but we just couldn't seem to get excited about anything. We ended up going to a shopping mall and then to a movie. It will be the last time we will see a movie in English for awhile.
We had made arrangements with the person who will be driving our car back to Ottawa to meet at the Best Western around 6:30. We got back to the hotel about 4:00, which ended up being a good thing as it took us more time than we had anticipated to repack and reorganize the car. We spent a few minutes batting stale donut holes into the park. Then Campbell reluctantly packed his bat in the car. Victor arrived at the hotel about 6:00 and we completed all the paperwork and handed over the car keys. We took the airport bus to the airport and then settled in for a few hours. Our flight left right on time at 1:35 am Monday morning.



It's a good thing we had a big parking lot to work in.

Some thoughts on the road

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."
St. Augustine

So I guess this would mean that Kelly will be very well-read. Campbell's doing pretty well too. Dean and I can't get over how much the two of them have been reading. I think our biggest expense to date has been at the bookstores.

We have put a lot of miles on and seen a lot of interesting things. The kids have settled into the trip and are quite happy not to be in school. They still have their moments of home sickness, but are looking forward to heading off to Asia.

Today we did our final North American laundry and our last trip to Walmart for those odds and ends that we may not be able to get in Asia. Dean took the car in this morning and got the window replaced, so that is now all in order. Tomorrow we will drive back to San Fransisco where we will do our final packing of things we are taking with us and then try to fit everything in the car that we want to send home. The trunk will be half full of books that Kelly has purchased and wants to keep. The kids are anxious to see the camping gear heading home.

Our flight to Taipei leaves at 1:30 am Monday. Then we will be on the next leg of our adventure. I have no idea what kind of internet access we will have, but we'll do our best to keep up with e-mails and the blog.

Sunset in Marina

The beach was right across the road from our hotel and the sunset was awesome. Just as the sun was going down, a whole school of dolphins swam down the coast. It was impossible (at least for me) to get a photo of them but we enjoyed watching them for quite awhile.

Hanging out in Monterey

We had a great day wandering around Cannery Row and Fisherman's Wharf. There were lots of souvenir shops and nice boardwalks along the ocean.

Out on the Coastguard's Pier, there were hundreds of sea lions basking in the sun. We could get really close to them, but the smell was almost unbearable. They certainly aren't the nicest smelling animals. But they were lots of fun to watch.

We found a candy shop and the kids had a great time with their tubes of flavoured sugar. Yuck!!

Big Sur

Big Sur was yet another one of those times we ended up changing our plans. I'm not sure why, but we had it in our heads that Big Sur was a town with lots to do. As it turned out, it is a strip along the highway consisting of lots of VERY expensive hotels, a couple of restaurants and a couple of small boutiques. The scenery along the coast was beautiful and the beaches seemed very nice, but as for things to see and do...not so much. As we weren't quite ready to sit on a beach for a few days, we stopped in Big Sur for lunch and then kept going.

There were lots of lookouts along the highway and we tried to stop at each of them.

As we were back on the twisty, winding roads, the kids needed to stop often to get some fresh air. I think they were sad to see the long, straight roads of Nevada in the past.

Route 66

Having cut our Grand Canyon trip a little short, we were able to take longer getting back to the coast. So, we couldn't resist doing some miles on Route 66.

Here in a town named Seligman, all of the businesses get right into the whole Route 66 theme. Dean could have spent days wandering the street just looking at all the old cars.

Kelly enjoyed wandering into the various stores and soda shoppes.

The Grand Canyon

When we first decided to go to the Grand Canyon, our plan was to hike to the bottom of the canyon, camp there overnight, and then hike back up to the top the next day. We were pretty excited when we were able to reserve one of the few campsights on the floor of the canyon. However, when we arrived at the canyon, the temperature was in the mid-90's. The idea of having to carry all our hiking gear down to the bottom, and worse, back up to the top, was not particularly appealing. Instead, we decided to just do a day hike and keep the uphill to a manageable distance.

We only just got onto the trail when we lost Dean. He felt the trail was just too narrow and the drop offs too dramatic for him. He was content to stay at the top of the canyon well back from the rim.

We were on the trail by 7:30 so the temperature was just perfect. Kelly actually had a sweatshirt on for the first little while.

Campbell had to take some breaks to wait for us slower girls.

Kelly just enjoyed the scenery along the way.

And there was some spectacular scenery.

Back up at the top, we found some amazing look outs.

After our day of hiking we were quite happy not to have a return trip up to look forward to.

Eat your heart out Hanlon

The hotel we stayed in this night was based on the fact that it was across the road from a ball diamond. As you can see, it's not in a lot better shape than Hanlon Park in Ottawa do the kids felt right at home.



Campbell couldn't wait to get a bat back in his hand.

Dean was thrilled to step in to pitch.

And Kelly showed off her hitting abilities.

Hoover Dam

The Hoover Dam - what an engineering marvel. It's not just the dam, but also the visitor's centre, which is built right into the side of the rock.

There are all sorts of places to pull off the road to take photos and to wander across the dam. At the moment, the road goes right across the top of the dam.

But, they are currently building a new bridge so the traffic will not go across the dam. From the looks of the bridge, it's a good thing it isn't ready yet because I'm not sure Dean could make it across - even in a car!! It is one high bridge.

The engineering marvel part was kind of lost on the kids, or they were tired of having to pose for photos.

Fun in Las Vegas

Well, it wasn't a lot cooler in Vegas, but there was certainly a lot more to do and a lot more powerful air conditioning to do it in. Kelly was convinced she wouldn't like Vegas, but it didn't take her long to find out that besides casinos, it also has an outlet mall. All of a sudden Vegas wasn't so bad.


Dean and the kids on their way into New York New York. We had planned to go on the roller coaster at this hotel, but never got around to it.

Dean and Kelly posing at Caesar's Palace.

Campbell and Kelly waiting for the fountains at the Bellagio. We could have stayed there all night watching the various shows.

Dante's View

On our way out of Death Valley, we took a drive up to Dante's View. The lookout is at 7,500 feet above sea level. A far cry from the 196 feet below sea level that our hotel at Furnace Creek Ranch. Although the altitude didn't make a huge difference in the heat, we did get an amazing view across the whole of Death Valley. It's difficult to see the perspective from the photos, but it was a long way up.



Once the kids were bored with the scenery, they kept themselves amused playing catch in the parking lot while Dean and I continued to view the sights. They were careful not to let the ball go over the edge as that was one ball they were not going to get back. It was a pretty steep drop to the valley floor.

Dry, hot, beautiful

The heat is unrelenting, but there is some beautiful scenery in Death Valley. We took a drive on Artist's Lane and below are some of the mountains at the place called "Artist's Palette". The colours in the rock were just amazing. There were a number if hiking roots in the area, but we decided to pass on those. We were all feeling pretty drained just from being in the heat.

Death Valley

Within half an hour of getting into our motel room, I headed up to the registration desk to cancel our second night. The room had air conditioning, plus a fan and it was still so hot it was uncomfortable. There was no way to get anything but hot water out of the taps and everytime we went outside, one of us burned something. We burned ourselves on seat belts, on motel door handles, on metal railing by the restaurant and I can't remember what all else. It is certainly a place you need to experience to believe, but it's believable in one day...no need to stay longer!!
Hanging out inside where we didn't completely melt.

As the sun started to go down, things cooled off and the kids went outside to play baseball. I'm sure it must have gotten down below 100. It wasn't cool enough for me to join in the game.

I did manage to sit outside a read at 6:30 the next morning. It was actually very pleasant until about 8:00 when I was chased back inside again.


Kelly decided it was too hot to walk around and tried to steal a golf cart.

Furnace Creek Ranch

After our various driving and hiking expeditions, we finally arrived at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley. We had made reservations to stay here for two nights. What the hell was I thinking??? There isn't a whole lot here and what is here is friggin' HOT. Okay, so it's a dry heat. It was still 110 degrees the day we arrived and even if it's dry, it's still too hot.

This is the entrance to an oasis that contains a restaurant, general store, motel, tennis courts (yeah right), golf course and swimming pool. That would be pretty much it for 300 miles in every direction.

Oh ya, there was also an outdoor museum with various artifacts from the mule trains that went through the valley during various gold and silver rushes. I have to admit, the only reason we even wandered through was because our room wasn't ready when we arrived.

Campbell poses beside exhibit 31 (his baseball number) with the motel rooms in the background.


When it says "keep off" you can be pretty sure that's right where you'll find Campbell and Kelly. It was also in a shed out of the sun so that's another reason to find them there.

Road through the canyon

You have to go through one final mountain pass to arrive in Death Valley. We found a small road on the map that claimed to be a one-way road over the mountains. We headed up the road, but after only a short drive, we came across a sign that recommended only 4-wheel drive vehicles attempt the pass. Of course we ignored that sign and continued on a little further. However, we decided it wouldn't be wise to continue because the road was so narrow that if we were not able to continue on, we wouldn't be able to turn around either. So we decided to take the safe way into Death Valley. However, once in the valley, we found the exit to the 4-wheel road and decided to explore it on foot. It was certainly too narrow to have turned around in. How it made it around the rocks is beyond me. We hiked up about a kilometre. We did see a few cars coming through where we had chickened out, but I expect it would have been a very slow drive.