This January, we found three nights to camp at Kirk Creek National Forest Service Campground on the Big Sur Coast. We usually go in December, but the campground was full then, so January it was. We went with Ann and Bruce this trip.

We were fortunate to have beautiful weather again this year as you can see from the photos. We had two great eight mile hikes up into the hills to explore this unique coastline. With all of the travels we do, this place remains a truly amazing landscape. Enjoy our photos.

Our last travel segment takes us on a six hour bus ride to El Calafate, in the Argentinean part of Patagonia. From this town we bused to the Moreno Glacier, a temperate Glacier that is one of the few not receding. The ice was beautiful and it was full of noise, cracking, creaking, and at times calving! In addition to walking near to the business end, we took a boat to explore the sides. Check out the images.

Torres del Paine National Park is a jewel of Patagonia, not that aren’t a lot of jewels in Patagonia. Did I mention that Patagonia is big? It was another six hour bus ride to the park from Punta Arenas! When we arrived, we walked and stayed near the Grey Glacier. We hiked in several areas and marveled at the peaks and lakes. Every turn presented us with even more awesome views! I’ll let the images speak for themselves.

We took a flight south from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas on the Strait of Magellan. Patagonia is big! This is another historic place and a stepping point for expeditions to Antartica. We even put our feet in the cold strait!

Next stop, Chiloé Island off the western shore of Chile in Patagonia. This Island has lots of history, with wooden churches, and extensive sailing history. In the days here, we explored the main city of Castro, small villages and their wooden churches, and explored small islands with penguins. Enjoy the images.

Puerto Varas, Chile, was our next destination. The beautiful small town is located on Llanquihue Lake with unique volcanos all around. Enjoy the images.

After leaving Easter Island, part of Chile, we flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina, spent a day exploring, and then flew to Bariloche, Argentina. Bariloche, in Patagonia’s Lake District, is a landscape that was heavily glaciated, yielding beautiful mountains and lakes. While there we hiked in some unique forests, did a bit of horseback riding, and rafted on the Limay River.

This trip is not an Airstream trip, we couldn’t get Ari on the plane! But, this is a trip we wanted to share. We are exploring Easter Island (Rapa Nui), the Andes, and Patagonia with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). 

We started our adventure with a five hour flight from Santiago to Rapa Nui (Easter Island), the most isolated piece of inhabited land in the world, hence the five hour flight. We stayed in a tropical hotel and and explored the many Moai on the island. A very spiritual place. Our local guide, Noe, was of Rapa Nui descent. She shared her culture and beliefs. If you have a “bucket list” I’d add a Rapa Nui to it. Enjoy some of our images.

August 29th – September 8th

The last part of the trip we stayed at Milo McIver State Park, southeast of Portland to hike and visit friends in Portland. Lu and Joe camped with us and then met us in Corvallis and camped again at South Beach State Park, near Newport, Oregon.  Our last stop was Valley of the Rogue State Park. We rode our bicycles around the area and then rode from Medford to Ashland, a beautiful ride on their many miles of bikeways. Enjoy the last of our images.

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August 16th – 29th

Next we travel to the Olympic Peninsula staying at Scenic Beach State Park, Salt Creek County Park, Port Angeles KOA, & Port Townsend State Park. First was Scenic Beach SP, our base to visit Bainbridge Island and Seattle. We had an opportunity through Ann and Bruce’s nephew, to visit the amazing Amazon Spheres in Seattle, a must see if you are in the area. Next we travel to Salt Creek Park and explored to Ella River where the first major dam was dismantled several years ago. Staying at Port Angels KOA, we hiked Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, rode the Olympic Discovery Trail, and took the ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island, Canada and road our bicycles around the city and then to Buchart Gardens. Next we stayed again at Fort Worden SP near Port Townsend. We visited Allan and Richard, explored the city, and rode our bicycles.