Back in the States
July 2005
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We crossed back north into the U.S. early (2 a.m. early) on the morning of June 15th after driving straight from Mulege on a 669 mile push to make it to San Diego. After finding that the campground we had planned on staying in closed four hours before we arrived in the States, we drove around San Diego looking for a spot and ended up camping on the street just outside of a Naval Station. Good thing we can sleep in the van without popping up! We arrived in Dana Point in time to spend an evening with Sarah’s brother, Adam, and the rest of the Freeland crew on his birthday. We spent the next few days cleaning off the van, surfing in the San Clemente area, hanging out with our friend Jon MacDonald and visiting with Noah, Darryl, Tina and their new dog Moses. It was a shock for the two of us to be back in the U.S. after six months of slow going, inexpensive diesel and free beach camping. While we were in southern California we made sure to stop by Manny’s surf shop in San Clemente to say hello, talk about the swells we got to surf after he and Mark had left, and pick up a much needed new wetsuit for Eric. We then headed north to go check in with our friends, the Boghossians. We had really missed everyone while we were in Baja so it was nice to re-connect and see that they were all doing well. The next big event for us was meeting up with the Waterkotte clan, including Glenn, Barbara, Grandma Waterkotte, Cheryl, Maura and even James. James had recently finished his second year of teaching music so he had hit the road and driven down to California. We all met up in Anaheim at Uncle Denny and Aunt Marie’s house. We also got to see our cousins, Kim, Mark and Lynn! It was such a treat to have so many Waterkotte’s in one place.
After our visit with the family, we stopped in for a night with the Boghossian family because we wanted James to get to see Gina, Paul and the kids. The next day we headed back south to surf and camp with James at San Onofre State Beach. Taking James out surfing for the first time at such a classic west coast surf spot was truly special. The swell was bigger than we had ever seen on previous visits, making things exciting. Since the swell was coming from the south, we were able to go check out and surf Doheny for the first time as well. Sarah stepped up big time and paddled right out into the solid conditions despite the number of people. She charged and got some great waves while James continued his quest for his first ride down a big glassy face. After our fun filled days in the sun and sand with James we needed to head north to Fresno to pick up a new house battery for the van. So we pushed northward for one more night of camping with James before Fresno. A tanker fire on I-5 put a lag on our plans but at least we were all together. We made it to a little free camping spot north and west of Fresno where the dogs took a swim in the reservoir and then we all passed out immediately after a long day on the road.
The next day, we headed into Fresno, picked up our new battery, turned on the fridge again and headed out. We decided to head inland with hopes of making it to Denver, Colorado to see some friends. On our way to Denver we passed through Las Vegas on the way to Zion, Bryce Canyon and Capital Reef National Parks in the southern Utah region. We had a wonderful journey through the deserts of the west before beginning our climb up the Rocky Mountains. We got in touch with our friends Steve and Kat Kahn in Denver who had no plans yet for July 4th, so we continued on to meet them at their home. It was so cool to pull up to their house, seeing them again and meeting their new dog, Sampson. As usual, they were all ready for action so we decided to go do some camping and river running north of Denver. We ended up running the Poudre River with canoes and kayak. We canoed in a two person boat, while Kat took her single person river canoe and Steve paddled his whitewater kayak. Steve and Kat made good coaches and guides! They helped us learn more about running rivers and instilled nothing but confidence in us. We thought Bruce loved water, but Sampson was crazy! He was running the river solo with just a doggie PFD (life vest).
We spent the remainder of our time in Denver catching up with friends, running rivers, hiking and climbing. Steve took Eric out kayaking several times and coached him through whitewater kayaking 101. Our timing could not have been better, the weather was great while we were in Denver and we happened to catch Drums Along the Rockies, a major DCI regional contest held at Denver’s Mile High Stadium each year. This was our first chance to see The Academy from Arizona perform. We spent the day with The Academy watching rehearsal and visiting with some friends who are behind the organization. The Academy was started by one of Eric’s friends from high school, Mark Richardson. There are so many quality people involved in the organization that we can only dream of how far the corps will go. We also got to see Chris Evans, Chris Coyoli and Phil Edwards. The show was amazing; The Academy won division II with their well executed, high quality program. Thanks for all of the hospitality guys, we will never forget it and can’t wait to see next years program!
Before leaving Denver, we decided to do a side trip up to Rocky Mountain National Park. Despite the ultra-aggressive mosquitoes, we had a great time exploring. We also headed south from Denver to see our friends D.J., Amber and Madeline, their adorable daughter. Sadly, we eventually had to say goodbye to everyone and start making our way north and west from Denver to get to Seattle.
On our way, we passed through Cheyenne Wyoming, Jackson, Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. The crowds were in full effect but we made the most of it, had a great time and got to camp in some wonderful spots – a couple of them free! We saw old faithful and tried to meet up with our friend Jay in Jackson. Unfortunately, Jay was occupied guiding a trip up the Grand Teton when we rolled through. Once we hit Montana and I-90 we got Seattle fever and decided to go for it. We rolled into Seattle unannounced on a Saturday night after being gone for just a few days short of a year. We caught James and the rest of the crew in the middle of poker night by letting Bruce charge into the house through the front door. A few seconds later, James ran out onto the front porch smiling and laughing and repeating, “No way! No Way!. What a great welcome home.