Bye Bye Oregon

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time

 in Oregon. This state has a wide variety of outdoor wonders to choose from. We started in Ashland, which is a great little town. It is nestled in between two large mountains. It is known for its artsy vibe and Shakespeare festival. There is quite a bit of hiking to do in this area. We then headed toward Crater Lake, only to find it was closed for the season. That was a bummer. We went north, on to Bend. I think Bend could be a great town. It was hard to say. We could not see any thing. Literally, there was a blanket of pea soup fog over the entire town. It did make the trees stunning. The fog froze on all of the trees. It was a beautiful sight. We decided we wanted to miss the snow that was heading our way so we moved on toward Portland. Chris and I were only there for a couple of days. Just long enough to decide the gorge was an extremely windy place in the winter. We held on tight and tried to not be blown to Oz. At this point, I wanted warmer weather and some SUN!!!! We drove west toward the coast. For the first time in a week, we felt like were on vacation. We rented a yurt near the beach. Chris looked up the local hiking trails and away we went, hiking that is. The scenery was stunning. We have enjoyed our time on the coast. We have checked all of the antique shops. Chris is looking for that perfect hand tool. Chris has inspected all of the tide pool, and we finally saw some sea lions. Our next stop is California. Red Woods here we come.

More photos from the Canyon

Hiking in the Grand Canyon

Chris and I left Tennessee on the 4th of January. After five days of driving and playing tourist, we arrived at the Grand Canyon. We were lucky enough to reserve a cabin at Phantom Ranch for the night of the 10th. We left early saturday morning and began hiking down the South Kaibab trail. It is 7.5 miles long. The first 2 miles had snow and ice. For those of you who know about my fear of heights, hiking this trail was a feat in itself. After five hours of hiking down, down, down, we arrived at Phantom Ranch. It is a neat little oasis in a huge canyon. The ranch sits back in its own little canyon. The cabins are made out of stone and lumber. Chris and I stayed at the ranch for one night and then set up a tent for the second night. We enjoyed our stay at the ranch, however, we really enjoyed camping in our tent next to the little creek that runs thru the canyon. We stayed down in the canyon for two days. We left the third day and hiked 5 miles to Indian Garden campground. This campground sits on the plateau. It was beautiful. We hiked an extra 3 miles so we could sit at the edge of the canyon and watch the sunset. After a restless night of sleep, we awoke the next day and prepared for our hike out. It was only 5 miles, but it was a long, long, slippery hike out. The sites were beautiful and the experience was remarkable. I would do this again in heart beat.

California here we come!!!

Road trip 2009 has officially begun. We have made it to Little Rock and are heading west. The weather has been unpleasant to say the least. Lots and lots of rain. Our plans are to stop in the Grand Canyon and do some backpacking. We will then head north toward Oregon, where we will spend a couple of weeks checking out the scenery. We will then turn south, down the coast of California and hopefully catch some warmer weather. We should be back in Tennessee in about seven weeks. I will try and keep you posted on all of the happenings along the way. I want to wish our friends and family a happy new year. May you all be blessed with good health an much happiness.
Love
The Virdens (aka the Vagabonds)

On the road again

After 8 1/2 months on the mountain, Chris and I are resting and getting ready for our winter trip. Chris has gone to Vermont to continue his studies in windsor chair making. Our plans this year include heading to the Grand Canyon and hiking down to Phantom Ranch. We will then make our way toward Oregon and down Highway 1 thru California. We will be stopping and visiting family and friends along the way. We hope you will stay tuned for our adventures. We will try and find some cool places and have some good stories to tell.

Back on the mountain

Chris and I are back at work. Life on Mt. LeConte is good. I must say, it is nice to be in one place for a little while. Some people have asked me to post information about the hospital and orphanage. I added a link to the children's hospital and a link to another Non-Government organization in Siem Reap. They do some great work. I am still researching the orphanage. I will update the blog when I am done. I am still working on the pictures and will add those at a later date. We are working on getting donations for these wonderful organizations. If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

The Acadamy Travel Awards

Here are our picks for the Academy Travel Awards

Best Country -  Cambodia

Best Accommodations  -  Cambodia  (the $15 beach bungalow)

Best country offering something culturally significant - a tie between Angkor Wat,                                                                                                               Security Prison 21,and the Killing Fields

Best Pizza -  FCC Club Phnom Penh (shrimp and pesto)

Best Beer - Vietnam (beer Saigon)

Best Breakfast - Laos (JOMA Bakery ham and cheese croissant)

Best one day excursion for under $20- tubing down river in Vang Viang,Laos

Best souvenir- hand made stamp custom designed in Vietnam

Best transportation - bus in Cambodia

Best boat - Junk in Halong Bay

Best meal -  Seafood feast in Halong Bay

Best coffee -  Cambodia

Best beaches - Bamboo Island, Cambodia

Best basic cable package in hotel - Phnom Penh

Best local flavor -  Cambodia's Khmer food

Best wildlife - a tie to Cambodia and Vietnam (the most amount of rats spotted)

Best scam for earning a dollar - Cambodian's for renting kids to beg on the beach at night

Best drug - Imodium

Best fruit shake - Thailand

Best location for purchasing pirated movies -  Thailand for quality and Vietnam for price

Best cheese - laughing cow (no refrigeration required)

Best cultural handicrafts - Cambodia (weaving, carvings, jewelry making)

Most polite touters - Luang Prabang, Laos

Cutest children - Cambodia

Best insect spotted - scorpian in Laos

Best birds - Cambodia ( the Khmers don't find them as tasty)

Most fun way to travel - back of motor scooter ( not in front of )

Best house pet - Mr. Hello the friendly baby monkey

Best job for Chris's sensitive nose - fish paste maker

Best shower - TT First guest house Luang Prabang, Laos