Backpacking #8 - Beartooth Wilderness, MT

Day #1

Woohoo, the big trip! Finally! Dave, Joe and I got to the airport with time to spare (thanks Heather for the lift) and started the two legged flight to Billings, MT. Thankfully the flights were completely uneventful. When we landed in Billings the first thing I noticed was, only about half a dozen gates at the whole airport! Before we knew it we were on the road, looking for an outdoor supplies store to pick up gas canisters and bear spray. We finally stopped in at The Base Camp and got some weird looks when we sidled up to the counter with three cans of bear spray. One of the sales people convinced us that two would be sufficient for the three of us, which we appreciated. We were a little shocked at the $46 price tag, particularly because it was our sincere hope that we'd never use them, and you can't take aerosol on a plane so we'd have to leave them when we headed home. Next we hit the road and pretty soon (thanks to the 75 mph speed limit) were cruising the winding roads of the scenic Beartooth Highway.

At one of the pull-off overlooks along the road. Notice the ominous clouds.

The highway passes in and out of Wyoming between Red Lodge and Cooke City

We got to the Colter Campground and pretty much had our pick of sites for our first night in the area. After quickly setting up camp we headed into Cooke City to see what it was all about and to wait out a late afternoon sprinkle that was moving through. Well, it turns out Cooke City was about 30 buildings on either side of the highway and that was it. To me it was the perfect little mountain town; tucked in between the hills and completely cut off from the rest of the world. There was an outhouse at the gas station. We got a few beers and some hot dogs for camp and had an enjoyable evening. It definitely chilled after the sun set which gave us a nice preview of the kinds of temps we could expect over the next week, or so we thought.

Early morning as the moon sets over Joe's TT Double Rainbow

Day #2

In the wee hours of the morning (maybe around 3AM) I got up to relieve myself and Joe must have heard me stirring. The moon and stars were so bright that he yelled out, "Time to get up?". When we finally did get up I think we were all feeling pretty fresh and ready to start hiking. We took a quick drive back to Cooke City and had a nice, full breakfast at the Bistro. Once we got back to the campground to pack up things took a turn. Joe was suddenly having some pretty nasty stomach issues and had to visit the ultra-deluxe porta john more than he'd like (see below).

Morning of the beginning of a 6 day hike is a heck of a time for this

Nevertheless we pushed on, got packed up and drove our rental car up the windy, gravel Lulu Pass Road toward the trailhead. When the car wouldn't go any farther we parked it by the old ruined foundation of a stone house.

We now walk into the wild.. I know I ripped that off

A short hike from where the car was parked and we were huffing and puffing but feeling OK. It wasn't long before we made it to the Lady of the Lakes. We encountered our first day hikers by the lake and they asked for a look at our maps to determine a faster way back to their car. We weren't able to help them much unfortunately. The sun was shining and things were looking great!

The first (and only) signage we would see for a few days

Looking over Lady of the Lakes

As we kept hiking, Joe was really starting to feel the strain from whatever stomach bug he was dealing with. Normally all three of us have a pretty equal pace but he was really pushing it to keep up and we were taking frequent breaks.

As an aside, we all live at about 600 feet elevation. Yes, that's 600, not 6,000. So to suddenly be thrust up to 7,500 feet and burdened with heavier than normal packs (6 days of food weighs about 12 lbs by itself) is no small thing. Full-on Altitude Sickness, or Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) can be experienced when you reach 8,000 feet and we'd just catapulted ourselves from 600 to over 7,500 feet in about 24 hours. The general rule of thumb is to ascend no more than 1,000 to 1,500 feet per day once you pass the 8,000 foot mark, but we were going to be pushing that guideline.

So back to the hike... Before long we were at the base of what has been described as "Cardiac Hill" or according to one local hiker, "The Widowmaker". This is a section of trail, if you want to call it that, which ascends about 1,000 feet over .7 miles. It is a very intense uphill grade and we decided to take a break and snack up before attempting it. As it turns out we were lucky to have made that decision. Just after our snack the gray clouds that had been rolling in opened up and it began to rain and sleet. I looked up just in time to see a brilliant flash of lightning strike the rock face of the hill across from us and thanked my lucky stars we weren't climbing up on our side, soaking wet and above treeline, three little lightning rods on the mountainside.

One of the first peaks we saw as we hiked up out of the woods.

Joe taking in the scenery

After the thunderstorm had passed we decided there was no time like the present and started up. It was about as tough as I'd imagined but despite the rain/sleet and the altitude we punched through with no more issues and before long were standing in the pass with our first camp site dead ahead, Lower Aero Lake.

On the way up "Cardiac Hill"

Dave taking a break on the way up "The Widowmaker"

Finally! Where's the food?!

After a couple quick pictures we made camp and had a nice warm dinner. Joe was really struggling at this point. Between the stomach issue that was certainly dehydrating him, the thin air and the heckuva climb we'd just completed he was finished. He flopped out in his tent before the sun went down to try to get some rest. Dave and I stayed up and waited for the clouds to clear and the moon and stars to come out. Even with the light pollution from the moon we could see many more stars than is possible from back home. After a while of just sitting on a rock by the lake and staring up we decided to pack it in for the night and went to bed.

Near sunset at camp

Day #3

Overnight more clouds rolled in and it poured down rain for hours. At one point I had to get out of my tent and push down the edge to allow a huge puddle of water to roll off. It was a good lesson in how waterproof my tent materials are, and why a very taut pitch is important. In the morning we found out that Joe's stomach was feeling better, but he'd had a horrible night's sleep. In fact, he'd barely slept at all. Luckily the storm passed by completely overnight and we had clear skies when we got up. So after a quick breakfast we packed up and headed out again, and this time there were no trails to tell us where to go. . .

Sunrise over Lower Aero Lake

Hiking out above Lower Aero Lake

The original plan for our second day of hiking was pretty ambitious. We hoped to make our way around Upper Aero Lake and Rough Lake up to the Sky Top Lakes drainage. At that point we would drop our packs and hike up near the base of Granite Peak (the highest mountain in MT at 12,807 feet) and get a good look at the Sky Top glacier while we were up there. Then we'd go back to get our packs and continue on to Cairn Lake to set up camp. All told that would be something like 10-11 miles of difficult, off trail hiking.

We kept saying it felt like we were hiking on Mars. Everywhere was rock, ice and water. Nothing lived except us; three travelers, pondering along in a barren landscape. The area we were in is all slopes leading down from high peaks into lakes; everywhere you look. Every one of those slopes are littered with various sized boulders and broken rock that makes each step difficult and potentially dangerous. After a few miles we realized that our original plan was not going to work out. Not only was Joe feeling really fatigued, but now out of nowhere Dave was dealing with a stomach bug and not enjoying the idea of extra miles over this tough terrain. I wasn't feeling sick at all and I was pretty worn out so I don't know how they were continuing to put one foot in front of the other. In addition the clouds were moving back in, the wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping.

These sheets of ice were common as we hiked above treeline

We decided to alter our route. At first I was pretty hesitant because we were in unknown territory, far from home and the itineraries we'd given out wouldn't be accurate if we changed plans now. However, as we looked ahead it was obvious we needed to find a spot to camp sooner rather than later and where we were offered no options. We decided to hike over a pass down toward Glen Lake and an area that looked fairly level on our topo maps. After a few hours of hiking in bad weather and over seemingly insurmountable passes we finally came upon a small, but flat area that had enough dirt for us to use our tent stakes. We set up camp and made dinner right away.

And just like that the clouds started to dissipate and our moods changed significantly. It's amazing what a little late-day sunshine can do to lift your spirits. That night we all stayed up to see the stars and probably passed out within seconds of laying down.

Camp at 10,300 feet as the sun set

Day #4

It was pretty windy and cold overnight but we all woke up with a brighter outlook than the previous day and excited about seeing some new territory. After some food and a short map consultation we continued to hike down, past Lake Helen and finally through a pass that offered us a view of the color green again. We'd only spent about 36 hours completely above treeline but it was heartening to see a few trees down below and know that there was the possibility of a small campfire that night.

Heading down toward Oly Lake

At this point I think we were getting pretty accustomed to the altitude and any symptoms we may have had from that were now minimal. A couple of passes and lake circumnavigations later and we intercepted a trail that led us to Dewey Lake, and back onto our original itinerary. Just having a trail to follow made the hiking easier, even though we still traveled up and down quite a bit of elevation.

Along the trail to Dewey Lake

At one point we came over a small ridge and suddenly Dewey Lake was visible below. It looked like some kind of oasis. The water was a blueish-green, bounded by tall pines which gave way to high granite peaks all around. We'd kept a great pace coming down from Glen Lake and after we set up camp had plenty of time to relax. I plopped down on a huge rock that jutted out into the water and laid back in the sun, alternately dozing off, reading a book and staring at my surroundings.

That afternoon we met our first fellow backpacker. He had a camp just over a large rock from ours and was a local (from Red Lodge). We spent the next few hours peppering him with questions about the area, the wildlife, the people, the economy and anything else we could think of. His name was Dave as well so we dubbed him "MontanaDave". It turns out MontanaDave is a painter and was on a week long solo fishing trip. I think we amused him.

That night we all went to bed feeling very refreshed and ready to continue on. It was our coldest night as far as air temperature goes. At about 4:30AM my thermometer read 24 degrees inside my tent.

Camp at Dewey

Day #5

Just before day break I got up and got our little camp fire started. It was cold! I could have stayed at Dewey Lake for the next few days but we needed to keep hiking if we were going to keep with our plan. The weather that 5th day, like the day previous, was gorgeous. You could rarely find a cloud in the sky and it was such a deep and vibrant shade of blue we stopped and commented on it for a while. It's no wonder the term "Big Sky" applies to Montana. On day 5 we hiked around and over and through and past Fossil Lake (back up above treeline), Fizzle Lake, Basin Lake, Skull Lake, Ouzel Lake and finally down to Russell Lake and our camp for the night.

Chilly morning at Dewey Lake

Beautiful scenery along the way

It just doesn't get much better than that

Since our camp at Glen Lake we'd descended over 1,500 feet (almost half the entire height of our "mountains" back home) and were definitely back in the woods, and grizzly territory. As we sat around the campfire that night the topic of bears came up several times.

We were feeling relaxed and full of energy after the sun set so we decided to keep the fire going and hang out a bit. Joe played a little on the harmonica, we passed a flask of Jameson and chatted into the night. At one point Dave got up to break up a few more branches to toss on the fire and that's when we had our first real accident. When he stomped down on a piece of a stick, a small twig went through his shoe and up into his foot. It was far enough in that when he howled and lifted his foot, the whole branch came up with it. When he sat down and pulled off his shoe and sock, a bright red stream of blood started spewing out of the arch of his foot, keeping time with his heart beat. I used to think I got nauseous at the sight of blood but that night I didn't. Joe and I had identical and immediate reactions: stop the bleeding, clean the wound, bandage it up and keep it elevated. We had it taken care of in no time, and to my surprise Dave was as calm as a Hindu cow during the whole thing. That night I went to bed wondering if we'd put on Dave's bandages too tight, if the pool of blood that we'd managed to clean up would still somehow attract a bear, and what kind of progress we'd be able to make in the morning with a pretty significant injury in the group.

Russell Lake

Camp at Russell Lake, before the foot poking

Day #6

I heard Dave moving around early in the morning and poked my head out to see how he was doing. I believe his exact words were, "I'm in a bad way. We need to get moving.". Well if that doesn't wake you up in a hurry nothing will. We roused Joe, ate a no-cook breakfast, packed up camp and got ready to roll.

Our plan was to have Dave use Joe's trekking poles so he could keep as much pressure off his foot as possible. I was mostly worried that he'd move his foot too much and get it bleeding again. We were also concerned that the only socks he had to wear were pretty grungy at this point and a nasty infection didn't sound like too much fun either. We decided that if we could manage it, we would hike all the way out that day, skipping our last night in the woods and getting ourselves back to civilization as quickly as possible. We were going to hike together for about an hour to get an idea of what kind of pace we could keep, and then Joe was going to go on ahead to try to make it to the road (and a ride), or at least a hitchhike back up as close as possible to where we'd left our car. Then he'd meet us back where our trail met the road and we'd be good to go.

Trees straight like telephone poles on all sides

But things turned out much better than we'd thought. After Dave got up and moving he felt a lot better, and even though he was hobbling along he kept a pretty decent pace. We decided to just stay together and walked a good 7+ miles out of the Rockies and back to the Beartooth Highway. Once we were on the road I felt hesitant to flag down a ride. For one thing there didn't seem to be any trucks on the highway that afternoon. For another, we all stank so bad we offended even ourselves. As long as the breeze kept up I was fine, but when the air was still I'd get a whiff of myself and start coughing. We were ripe!

Leaving the wilderness area and looking a bit scruffy

On the road again... I stole that too, I know

We didn't stop when we got back to the highway and soon enough we were trudging along the Lulu Pass road. After I don't know how many hours of hiking on a bad foot Dave finally said, "I'm going to sit on this rock. You two go ahead and get the car and I'll be here.". Joe and I kept up our slow and steady pace and continued toward the end of our hike. The sun was really beating down on us (I've got the sunburns to prove it) so we stopped for a second in the shade of a tree to cool off. I was just thinking how it wasn't going to feel right to get back to the car without the whole group intact when from behind us we heard, "HEY!!", and there was Dave, hauling ass up the road, trekking poles flying in the dirt and dust, and a grin on his face. We huffed it the last mile or so together and next thing we knew we were standing beside the same car we'd left 5 days and around 35 miles earlier. The 3 beers we'd left inside were even still cold.

We spent the next two nights in Laurel, MT and had a blast tooling around town, talking to locals and still enjoying the fresh air. At a map shop the owner asked us where we were from. When we told him we came from the DC area he immediately said, "Well go back there and straighten s@&% out!". We saw a strip club in a truck stop and another with a bug zapper and lawn furniture out front. We heard an Irish/Punk cover band with an awesome wireless fiddle player. We ate fantastic $12 steaks and we took long looong looooong hot showers.

Montana is just so completely different from the Mid-Atlantic region that it's hard to do it justice with words or pictures. Everything we saw was infinitely larger, farther, deeper, bluer and colder than snapshots can portray. This was a great "capstone" backpacking trip near the culmination of our very first year enjoying the activity. I think I'll definitely be back to the Rockies at some point, but now the question is, where will we go next year?

-Dave

Backpacking #7 - St. Mary's Wildnerness Part Deux

St. Mary's is turning into a favorite local backpacking area for me. It's got everything; tough terrain, lush green forest, beautiful water, the ability to make fires and plenty of great spots to set up camp. Also, the weather gods are more receptive to our wishes when we backpack there. This trip the weather man said, "You're gonna get wet you idiots" and we soldiered on regardless. Somehow Dave was able to "hope" for good weather and just like that the gray clouds and drizzle rolled away and we enjoyed mostly clear skies for the entire weekend. For this trip we had Joe, Heather, Dave, Angie and myself.

The first order of business after hiking a few miles and choosing our site was to set up a silnylon tarp which was not needed. However, I'm convinced that had we not set up the tarp, buckets of rain would have poured from the heavens for hours on end and swept us out to sea. If nothing else it's one of those little projects that makes you feel somehow more prepared for anything.

Joe rigs up our backwoods porch.

My new TarpTent Contrail.

After setting up camp we ran around exploring and looking for scraps for fire wood. Joe tested his Goretex boots by slipping into the creek, Dave and I hunted for crawdads and Angie and Heather looked on in amusement.

"Sorry, no dry wood here in the creek."

The weather dude couldn't have been more wrong. 80% chance of thunderstorms... yeah right.

Turns out crawdads can outsmart two college educated Daves.

As the sun went down we cooked up an awesome batch of FBC style food including spaghetti, chicken w/veggies and mac-n-cheese. We also watched Heather inhale an entire sandwich bag full of homemade bison jerky in about 2 minutes. Dave and Angie got bear bag duty which was made easier by the fact that there was an old pole left by miners that someone had strung up between two trees about 15 feet high. The rest of the night consisted of sittin' 'round the fire, listening to Psychostick and Dave on the harmonica.

The next morning we got up and hiked 3 or so miles down to the river and the falls. The water level was significantly lower since our last trip in May. Of course we didn't know that so Joe and I advised everyone to bring a pair of water shoes if they wanted to keep their hiking shoes dry. We soon found out that the water shoes were completely unnecessary. Again, I believe that had we not brought them, the river would have swollen beyond its banks and swept us out to sea.

One of a few great swimming holes along the trail.

So it turns out the water flowing through the Blue Ridge Mountains stays cold all year round. When you jump in the air gets sucked from your lungs and it becomes impossible to take a significant breath for a while. Dave and I just sat in there for a few minutes until I'm sure my core body temperature took a dip. Even after 5 minutes it still felt like pins and needles anywhere that was submerged. Everyone took the plunge though and it was very refreshing, despite the polar bear effect.

The swimming hole right at the base of the falls.

Overall we hiked about 10-11 miles, enjoyed great weather, good food, crystal clear swimming holes and agreeable company. I'd say that's about the perfect backpacking trip. However, I won't know for sure until September 13 when Dave, Joe and I return from 6 days of hiking across the Beartooth Wilderness in Montana. I'll let you know then.

Backpacking #6 - Michaux State Forest

For this weekend trip we decided to check out Pennsylvania, specifically the Michaux State Forest. Yep, the usual threesome; myself , Joe and Heather... wait, no, that's not Heather that's Dave! Since the three of us are heading out to Montana for a week long adventure it seemed appropriate to make sure we could survive at least a single night in the woods together.

Our total route (link) was only about 8.1 miles and we planned on hiking most of it the first day so we could get up and out early the next morning. We started off in Pine Grove Furnace State Park and hiked along a super wide highway of a path which led us to the Appalachain Trail. After only 5 minutes of hiking we'd reached the halfway point of the entire AT!!! Thru-hikers eat your heart out!! BOOYAH! It was pretty cool to stand at a point that takes some entrepid thru-hikers months to reach. I'd already worked up a sweat and I dont think we'd even gone a mile. In case it's hard to read the sign says, "Springer Mt, GA - 1,069 miles" and "Katahdin, ME - 1,069 miles".

Up, up, up and we found ourselves at a nice overlook and a sweet spot for a snack. I didn't get a picture of it but the descent from this point is pretty hairy. If you have a slip on the rock scramble/climb down it's pretty much curtains for you.


A mile or two further along the trail and - what the heck is this? Halloween? Apparently this is a memorial to some unfortunate hikers or nature lovers? Definitely unexpected in the middle of the woods.

Kinda creepy

Funny thing about this route was we kept crossing through other parks, including camp grounds, roads, lake beaches, etc. So we took advantage of the nice comfy seating.

Ahhh... the remote wilderness - wait, what?!?!

After about 7 miles of up and down, back and forth and in and out of civilization we decided to find a camp spot. We ended up roaming all around through the brush until we found an area with enough clearing for three tents and a small fire.

Dave's shiny new Eureka Spitfire

My Tarptent Double Rainbow

Joe's Sierra Designs Velox 2

We'd kept a pretty decent pace the whole hike so we got settled by about 3:30 and then.... and then what? Well, one of the best things about being separated from the rest of the world is that when you find you've got nothing to do... you do nothing... and it's flippin' fantastic. There was much sitting, stretching, sipping of whiskey, stoking the fire, chatting about nothing in particular and one rousing serenade by Dave on the harmonica - more on that later.

Doin' nothing. Exactly the idea.

After a mostly good night's sleep (Dave said he heard animals and got scared and wet himself) we packed up, and within no time were back at the vehicles. We stopped to check out this furnace close by which one of the park attendants had described as "beautiful". I dont know if I'd go that far but there's a picture so you decide for yourself.


And now, as promised, Dave on the mouth organ:

Hawaii

Aloha! Mahalo! Shaka... When I first landed in Oahu I thought, "Oh no". This place is loaded with traffic, just like DC, and they keep saying these corny Hawaiian phrases, "Aloha cousin, mahalo for the tips!". But I'm happy to say my initial sour impressions were probably influenced by the previous 13 hours in planes and airports, and didn't last long. The traffic was a fluke and the Hawaiian locals really seem to be in touch with their culture, and not in a corny, "I'm gonna say this so you think it's cute and buy my stuff" kind of way.

I stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village which is a huge complex of hotel towers, shops, restaurants and bars located right on the beach in Waikiki. The property was so big I bet some people never set foot off the grounds during their entire vacation. I was in a nice, cozy little studio in the Lagoon Tower which overlooks the... lagoon.

My room

One of the breakfast areas on the Hilton property

The first night I was there was a test of wills. By 7 o'clock my body was telling me it was 1AM and time to get to bed. But, the Hawaiian's must have been excited that I had arrived so they threw a big party on the beach, including fireworks. I ended up just sitting on the sand alternately watching the ocean and the people walking by.

My second day I was in a rush to get on the beach so off I went, gratuitously lathered in sunblock. My goal was to prevent a fun-prohibitive sun burn on my first day - and it worked! The only problem is now I'm back from a 6 day trip to Hawaii and I've barely got a tan.


One of my favorite things about Hawaii was the weather. I could lay out on that beach all day long (which I did). The temperatures were in the high 80's and there was always a light breeze blowing. Even in the middle of the night it was comfortable in a t-shirt and shorts or a long sleeve and jeans.

In between my naps on the beach I would walk around Waikiki. There are loads of parks and high end retail stores everywhere. Luckily I have no interest in high end retail so my wallet remained closed and in my pocket most of the trip. The parks are great except that the homeless locals seem to like to hang out there (who wouldn't?) and apparently they all sell pot to kids who look just like me. If I was an undercover cop I could have easily made 20 arrests a day. Hmm.... maybe that's how I'll arrange to move there. Anyone have a phone number for the Hawaii police department?

One of the many parks around Waikiki

On my second (or was it my third?) day I decided to get up early and hike up Diamond Head to watch the sunrise. Unfortunately the concierge at the hotel didn't tell me that the park doesn't open until 6AM and the sun is already coming up at that point. The climb to the top of the long dormant volcano, turned military facility, turned tourist attraction is a pretty strenuous .8 miles right up the interior wall of the crater. I wanted to race up as fast as I could but a bus dropped off 4,864 Japanese tourists right in front of me and the trail was jammed all the way up. Two things worked in my favor though... One, I was taller than everyone on Diamond Head that day so I could still take great pictures, even in a crowd. Two, the Japanese set a good pace cause I was having trouble keeping up with Mr. Miagi who was hiking along in front of me with a cane and whistling while I tried to suck in some air and mop gallons of sweat off myself. After topping the 892nd stair on the way up I popped out over the ridge and was treated to some spectacular views.

View from the top of Diamond Head

The observation deck is that tiny white dot on top of the hill to the right.

One of the few TV shows I consistently watch is Lost. As it turns out they film Lost almost entirely on the island of Oahu. Yes!!!! My plan before arriving in Hawaii was to find out where they were filming, meet up with Evangeline Lilly (aka Kate, aka Freckles), profess my undying love, get married on the beach and live happily ever after. But I got stood up so that didn't happen. As a consolation prize I was allowed to take a tour of some of the areas where they film. While it was really cool to stand in the actual locations I'd been seeing on TV for so many years, I couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed.

No sign of Kate anywhere... and I was looking.

One of the other movies/TV shows filmed at Kualoa Ranch.

I rented a car one day and took a drive around the island. It was somehow shocking to me that I could have done the whole drive in a few hours if I'd just kept my foot on the gas. That was not possible however as every 100 yards I felt compelled to pull over, rush out to the beach and take a picture.

Some of the interesting places I saw were:

1. The Dole pineapple plantation. It was still closed when I drove past but... it sure had a lot of pineapples. Yeah...
2. Haleiwa and the Banzai Pipeline. I was totally stoked dude, cause this is a world renowned surf mecca. I was planning to grab some food and sit on the beach watching some sand bums snag gnarly 10 foot waves... Only problem is the water was as calm as a lake. Apparently the swells were coming in from the South side of the island. No wonder I saw so many surfers at my hotel.
   
3. Kawela "Turtle" Bay. This must be where the celebrities live. I'd noticed a lot of typical beach-area housing in Hawaii - you know, kind of small and sand blasted in appearance. Then I came around the bend and BAM, multimillion dollar houses are all over the place, up and down the hills and crowding the beach.
   
4. Kailua Bay - Voted some of the most beautiful beaches in the US and I could see why - bright white sand and clear blue water. I could have hung out there all day.
   
5. Makapu'u Point - There's another cool lighthouse, kind of like at Diamond Head, and a trail leading up and over the hills and around the coast towards it. I wasn't in the mood for another long hike but I took some awesome pictures.
   

For my last night in Hawaii I planned to go to a luau. These Hawaiian's really like to party cause they picked me up from the hotel at 4PM and I didn't get back until 11PM that night! The Paradise Cove luau was great. When you first arrive there are loads of interactive activities and "events" happening every few minutes. The only potential problem was one of the hula girls that was doing the announcing for the events. She'd say, "Gather round cousins, don't be shy" about 15 times per event. At one point I just wandered off down the beach rather than vaulting myself on to the stage where she stood and knocking a few of her perfect teeth down her long, perfect throat. Around sunset the food was made available, buffet style, and I gorged myself. Luckily the stage show was next so I was able to just sit in a half food coma and watch. Hula dancing, fire / knife wielding, singing and some historical storytelling by a HUGE Samoan guy with a flower in his hair: it was an excellent time.

The traditional pig roast at the luau.

On the beach, wandering around Paradise Cove.

Hula dancers..... grrrrrrowl.

Before my flight home I did some serious people watching. I had to check out of my room at 10AM and my flight didn't leave until 5PM so I had plenty of time. By this point I knew the best places to sit and read while observing people milling about. I found a comfortable park bench in the shade of some palms overlooking the beach, perfect.

An older Japanese couple caught my eye. They were dressed very conservatively for the beach; pressed slacks and a short sleeve button down shirt for the man and a floral print dress with thrown-over sweater and wide brimmed hat for the woman. They slowly shuffled out onto the beach holding hands. The man bent down and scooped up some sand and let it sift through his fingers, holding it out to his wife so she could see. Then she did the same. As they continued their slow walk they both stopped and felt the bark on a tall palm tree. After another few ambling steps they stopped again, facing away from me, staring out over the ocean. And that's where they stayed, right in front of me, holding hands and gazing out to sea for the next half an hour without moving a muscle. It made me think that these two old timers had it all figured out. This was the way to really enjoy yourself in a new place; by being still and feeling everything around you. I stayed right on that park bench until it was time to leave for the airport.

Hawaii, it turns out, is a beautiful place filled with beautiful people - who knew? I didn't get to marry Ms. Lilly and I wasn't able to make it to the Arizona Memorial, but I spent countless hours lying on the beach, soaking up the warm sun and listening to the wind blow through the palm trees. To say I was relaxed would be an understatement. Of course on the flight back to DC we went through some crazy turbulence that turned the plane into a roller coaster ride for about 15 minutes and my calm disappeared in an instant. But it was great while it lasted. I hate to admit it, but when the pilot finally announced that we were past the turbulence I quietly whispered to myself...

Shaka