USA – American Lithuanian hospitality, oddissey down the river Missisipe and a road trip in the southern states

lapkričio 18, 2012 • EN • pagal
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Willis and Geraldine from Saskatchewan (Canada), where the prieries are so plain, you can see the dog that run away from home three days ago, ss they were going down through Chicago, kindly took as onboard and drove like 2000 miles in couple days. In Chicago we are planning to change our passports as the old ones are running out of pages. We also planning our new challenge – the canoe trip down the rivers. To share some of our challenges with American Lithuanians as well stroll around Shicago (as american pronounce Chicago name).

The very first Lithuanian moments in Chicago

Seniai nematėme tokio didelio miesto. | Long time haven't seen such a big city.

The massive cities do not lure us into the night life or the its rush. In fact the most comfortably we feel in smaller town, where we are able to make some acquaintances. Carrying two feelings in the pocket, we still coming to one of the biggest cities. We don’t want the possible spiritless streets, but we are so keen to visit some friends and hopefully see something personal. We are happy to stay with Dalia, who were so kind to host us at her family home, as well as to show as around and treat with Lithuanian meals, we haven’t had for quite a while now.

Dalia

The moments in Lithuanian Chicago we would describe as quite unexpectedly welcoming. Why we are surprised? Australian Lithuanian were incredibly welcoming and hospitable, too. We are making a presentation to teenagers who come to learn Lithuanian language in Saturday school, as otherwise if the families do not persue the home their root tongue, majority of them would speak solely English.

We share our stories with adults, too. ‘I wouldn’t be able to do what you are doing, but you are doing great things’ people were excited and very inquisitive of the difficulties we encountered or the practical aspects of the trip. Adults were also very generous as well. We are grateful for their kind support that should keep us going further.

Diana

We wouldn’t be able to do any of those presentations, if not two fascinating travelers – Žilvinas and Diana. These cyclists made all the way from Chicago to Argentina. Have they not had their family circumstances changed, they still would have been going around the world on the bike. How much we had laughed exchanging our road trip stories. It doesn’t matter our styles differ. The people goodness they experienced is somewhat like an echo to our stories, it doesn’t even matter we hit different continents. ‘Toilet stories’ always have the same pain and laughter elements to cheer us up. By the way, if you are keen to check their adventures, get yourself on www.vnextstop.com – you might be inspired to do something on your own.

Chicago surely is familiar from the movies we have seen. The scyscrapers, of course, are breathtaking both if you standing in front of them as well as looking out from the lake Michigan. We appreciated some small moments, like the dancing waters in the fountain when the wind plays with the sun and fountain drops. The rain in the free concert of Carmina Burana, performed by Chicago symphonic orchestra at the Millenium Park, didn’t scare us either. Chicago overall is quite a scenic city, having somewhat lively atmosphere.

But the most exciting part was getting started with our new challenge. That is the paddling the canoe down the rivers of Fox, Illinois and Missipe. Our friends and parents got a bit nervous (we thought they already got used to our mad round the world challenge anyway) that we are going on the water of the biggest North American river. What happens if we capsize? What if we have the headwind all the way? These and some other questions were on our minds before hitting the river. Luckily we have army maps, so at least we can locate ourselves and see the next spot for filling up the water or getting some food supplies.

Fox river – starting our oddissey

Paskutinis atsisveikinimas su draugais ir mes upėje. | Last saying goodbye and soon we are in the water.

Diana and Zilvinas got us at our starting point. The Fox river looked straight away small and picturesque. Shall we try our first moments? It seems we are stable enough to keep up on the water. Let’s go!

It’s sunny and calm, and we only hear the paddle sound and some birds tweeting. The water is shallow, so you can see some rocks sticking out of the water. Some are clearly seen, but some you have to watch out carefully from the rippling water. At some point it is so shallow, you even have to drag the boat to keep it going.

Fox upė be galo graži ir jauki, jokių laivų tik vienas kitas žvejys ir daug daug gamtos. | Fox river really beautiful, no ships just some fisherman and lots of beautiful nature.

The banks of the river are rocky and beautiful, no wonder that there is lots of private property alongside. Where we are going to pitch the tent then? We got a bit paranoid as we heard of angry hillbills or rednecks that can defend their property aggressively, even with guns should they see the need of it. And who knows how can they perceive two canoists.

So we choose to sleep in the islands. They are usually not posted, and so we can make our temporary homes out there. If you remember Tom Soyer and his friends some days out on the island, you can imagine some similarities in feelings we share with the characters. There is freedom, there is nature surrounding. Every night we make a fire, cook our dinner and stay very close to the nature. We don’t even need to see a tiger or an elephant, the small moments like deer or turtles sticking out of the water make us wonder and cheerful.

At the beginning we try to paddle using two oars. Having not too much of success in the progress, we take a spare one, and bind it with one of the oars. This double oar weighs quite a bit, but the speed increases, and so we will paddle with this new invention all the way.

In the first days were hard to imagine, that this is going to be our five week life. We wake up in the morning, make the fire and cook the breakfast, get ready and on the water. And the ‘work day’ commences – lots of paddling, time for yourself and for chats. Incredible, we are together for nine months now, and we still have so many topics to discuss about.

In the evening we spot an island, or later even any better looking bank to pitch a tent. We are doing it before darkness. As we have a very limited light capacity, we like old time people have to act according to the nature. Sleep when it’s dark, and work when is light.

We took on board lots of cans and porridges, we got some bacon (lithuanian quality) and chocalates, so at first we ate like kings. The water was plenty, and even though for the first weeks we did not have shower, we could swim in the river to get the sweat down.

Finally we hit our first dam. This will be the only time we had to carry our boat, as all the other times we were transported in a royal way – the dam was all to ourselves. It took us like an hour to carry all our possessions, and quite a few efforts as it was hot like in the middle of the summer. It seems that the drought which was so severe this year in States still has its foot here, despite the fact we are nearly in October now.

Fox river was a lovely short experience. Its beautiful banks were fascinating, we had all the water for ourselves – no other boats or barges, or yachts. We are coming though to Illinois, and the river gets wide. Really wide.

Illinois: to the boat jumping Asian carps and shaking hands with Grafton mayor

Kartais vėjas būdavo toks stiprus, kad lengviau kanoją tempti, negu irkluoti. | Sometimes the wind was so hard it was easier to drag the canoe than paddle.

‘Where are you going?’ the fisherman shouts. ‘To Mississipe’ we reply. ‘Yeeee!’ he sounded rather cheerful to hear our one word story. Our tempo gets speedier. At least we don’t need to drag our boat anymore. However the progress is not as we had expected. If we make 30 kilometres, we feel like we did a great job.

The first dam. Will they take us through? We are not a barge or a yacht. The workers seem to have no troubles with that. Soon after three or four of them we already know where to go, what rope to pull in order to make a signal to be taken through, and when to leave.

Štai ir pirmoji užtvanka ir pirmasis daiktų persinešimas. | The first damn and the first portage.

Illinois is actually well known for vast amount of Asian carps. Sometimes they hit your boat so strongly that you think they will make a hole in it. One such a brave one got into our canoe, and so we had a dinner later that night. In China, where this fish is originating, they soon will be running out, but here American don’t know how to cope with such vast quantities. They jump out of the water in twenties or thirties, never seen such a bountiful phenomena.

The wind is getting stronger, and soon we have to make numerous stops as we can no longer paddle. The current is non existant, and so the headwind prevents you of any progress. In fact, we have to change our daily routine. We wake up much earlier in order to be on the water just as the dawn arrives. We get some unnessessary long three four hour rest when the midday wind makes us impossible to go, and then paddle till the dusk is there. We don’t paddle at night. Despite the barges having the most modern imaginable navigation system, they still manage to hit the rafts at time. So we better keep out of the water when its dark.

Saulei besileidžiant laukuose. | Sunset at farmer fields.

We are coming closer to running our of the food. Our menu got more humble: it mainly consists of porridge and cans, and we ran out of chocolates too. We had two portions of army meal too, given so kindly by Geraldine (from Canada times). We intended to eat it when we arrive to Mississipe as a sort of celebration moment. However, when our energy is low, we change our minds and open up these thousand calory meals. Geraldine got the meals when Katryna hit the southern states. Army have provided people with those very handy packages. You do not need any fire to warm the meal up, and you only need some water from the river to fill the heater-in-the-plastic bag, and the chemical reaction commenses. The thai chicken and vegetarian burger were so good. Some sweets and cookies, and we are ready for the road again. In fact, that day we made our record – 38 km on the Illinois.

When we came to Grafton Harbour, and it is the town where two rivers meet, we were very low in food and water supplies. So while one is preparing the camping site on one of the islands, the other is out to hunt for some supplies. Soon that one is very successful – the town hall lady opens up the food bank, and we get cans, home made jams, fruits, and muffins, whilst the mayor shakes the hand. People are kind and hearing only river part story they already amazed. For us is so simple, it’s our every day life now.

We got tamed Illinois. The riverbanks and factories, forests with their nightly coyotte serenades became familiar. We were longing for another challenge. 200 miles left, 138 miles left, 45 miles left, and finally only a mile left to Missisipe.

The upper Mississipe: policeman bananas and the Popeye birth place

St Luis

At first Mississipe doesn’t appear too friendly. After the sunny Illinois, the waves here seem like in the ocean rather than a river. The yachts that come out in the weekend do not help either. Two such posh boats, and the waves are so massive that if you do not put the boat front against them, they can seriously get the canoe out of ballance. And after we nearly hit the masive casino ship docked near the bank, we turn to get out of the water before it hits us completely. By the way, casino ships are popular since the states did not allow any permanent ones in their lands. As the river does not belong to any of them, they can go up and down the river with the clients willing to gain or loose money.

Coming closer to the riverbank we suddenly see a fisherman trying to hit a target. It’s a strange game he is playing. Later we realise it’s an animal he is trying to scare off, as this one just appeared and have no intention of moving away, but doesn’t allow to fish either. We helped to scare the animal away with the oar, and he offered us to give a lift to Aldi store where we could finally lots of food on a budget. In fact, the black fisherman acknowledged he came to live to this town solely because he couldn’t stand massive discrimination elsewhere. The similar story we hear in Hawaii, where a very helpful darker skin guy came back to his native island as he felt more comfortably here.

Vietinis policininkas | Local policeman

It was getting darker. Soon the park meant to close, but we were still trying our chances not to be thrown out. Of course, police noticing strangers came closer. Steve approached us but as soon as he saw our canoe, because friendly and listened carefully to our stories, getting amazed that some people travel ‘the ancient way’ and brought us his night lunch: fruits and beef jerkies. We somewhat feel we had pretty nice encounters with policemen. Apart from Kyrgyztan, where they ask some money for their tea, as we were sitting on the grass, and apparently its not allowed in there.

So the night arrived, and so the massive storm too. The wind, the rain and the lightings would be ok, if not the collapsed tent. Getting out or the tent and getting wet immediate it’s not a pleasant night break, but that’s a part of adventure. Sometimes you sleep under the starry sky, and at times you need to wake up and arrange soon-wet-to-be sleeping bags.

The next morning looks promising till we get into the water. It’s so windy again you can hardly move. Back again on the riverbank despite the fact, that we only 100 yards away from the dam. We hit Melving Price billion costing dam only next morning, where we finally back to our usual routine. In fact, after reaching St Lois the current gets so strong, that we double our speed and motivation. So the same distance of 200 miles we do in just a week unlike in Illinois we need more that two weeks for that.

After some days we are about to run out of our water supplies. The next livable stop is Chester. The atmosphere in this town is somewhat spooky. Even the mural of Popeye seem to be a bit strange and misplaced. We learn soon that this town contains a first degree prison (of the most difficult crimes). On the other hand, the spinach eating character Popeye was born in this town, too.

Cape Girardeu and an attempt to mug us

Ką tik pagauti šamai. | Fresh Mississippi catfish.

Just after we have passed a lovely town Cape Girareu (we luckily get to walk in it later), a pantoon boat comes to us. Niel, the owner of Thebes camping site offers a place to stay and get some hot showers, whereas Ron tells a story of his adventure.

Ron travels is somewhat similar to our oddisey. He starts off in Wisconsin though, a bit higher in the Fox river. After having divorsed from his wife some time ago, and his children well grown up, he lost his job and had nothing more to loose, so he started his Missisipe travel just by himself. Well, with his dog Molley, which is a very helpful companion. So Ron says. The dog guards him at night, and she is very tranquil in the boat too. ‘I have no one to talk to’ Ron tells once asked what he missed most on his 48 day trip. He stopped now in Thebes camping, where he will spent the winter. For food and bed, he will do some mending and fixing in the camping site. So already day and a half Ron sleeps not in the tent, but on the bed, and east not the peanut butter and instant noodles but proper food. Once Ron was running out of water for day and a half, and he was even about to drink from the river. When is hot like that (knowing that he was paddling in the summertime), the feeling is quite familiar. Generally he was surprised, how people were so kind and helpful to him. They often helped him to carry his canoe or gave him food. We only could agree with him, and share some of our stories.

Ronas | Ron

The Thebes landing stop would have been a perfect one if not the incident we had to go through. After having returned from the French looking and feeling Cape Girardeu with our freshly made laundry and new supplies, we all of sudden see two black kids walking throught the private territory carrying our blue dry sacks. They look twin to ours. ‘Check out bags’ – our nine months houses are gone. We sped up to catch with kids, which were not running away. ‘May I check the bags?’ – of course these are our bags stuffed with all sorts of things collected from our backpacks. ‘We haven’t done anything, we just found bags and took them. Some other kids done it’. The story sounded lame, but luckily they showed the ditch where we found our bags with the content all spread around, some damaged, some covered with mud and wet. We managed to unearth nearly everything. Couple more minutes though and we would have lost quite a few precious things – our external hard drives with all the pictures in them, our down jackets and walking boots. Even the lighters were about to be stolen. We tried to tell them that they nearly took our precious memories away, and about to destroy our homes. The younger one was in tears (however, after we have discovered, that voice recorder recorded their theft moment, the younger one was quite a feisty one). The older (around 16) like an old record was repeating the same unbelievable story. Anyways, we managed to heal the psychological wounds, and went further one. Niel had made us a full american breakfast and coffee to make us feel calm.

To reach Cairo where the lower Missisipe starts and then down the river was as hard as hell. The wind was strong and impossible to fight against in the daytime. We didn’t make to Memphis, even though it was never a plan at first. The experience was all worth it. We had all sorts of moments of course. Like the broken tent at night, where you have to invent something on the spot as otherwise you cannot sleep in it anymore. The wind is blowing so hard, you can hardly stand it, and the storm is coming, too. But then you are so close to the nature, you can feel every move and change of it.

Mūsų geras draugas Keith atvyko visą kelią parvežti Žilvinui ir Dianai kanojos ir susitikti su mumis. | Our good friend Keith came to grab the canoe and see us from Michigan (!!).

Our friend Keith came all the way from Mitchigan to collect our canoe an bring it back to Chicago. But we also made a road trip too down the south till the very Laredo, the border town to Mexico.

We only passed the Elvis Presley Graceland in Memphis. It did not impress us too much. Surely, the actual house might have been an interesting view of how posh the singer lived. Otherwise, it’s a cheap commercial site, and if were Preslis, it would have been nice to have somewhat more solid memory rather than piles of cheap mugs or pink girl tshirt declaring love. We in fact much rather preferred our camping site near Edik lake. We were back in our nature – swimming in the lake, greeting deer and squirrels in the morning, making our simple foods. Keith though made a surprise again. The very first evening when we met, he brought us a delicious Mitchingan pie. Berries were melting in our mouths. For this evening he brought some Halloween mulled wine and even three glasses. We haven’t had such civilization for quite some time now.

Šalia Naujojo Orleano | Close to New Orleans

Back on the road to New Orleans, a very French European who managed to recover perfectly after Katryna hit it strongly. The road to this city leads through swamps, as Mississipe divides itself into thousands of rivers, and you can get easily lost among them. After arriving to the city already in the dark, we realize what we missed in the city culture. An old town, plazas, the artist boutiques, the live jazz, the atmosphere. New Orleans contains it all. We drop into Blue Nile, a cozy blue bar, where ‘Little Maker’ performs their jazzy tunes. The violin and trumpets add quite a bit to young armstrongy voice, and we stay here for a little while. Then Keith invites for a dinner. Shrimp etoufe or seafood combined platter were mouth watering. We really like collored greens, too. In fact, some white people (cannot believe it is still happening) do not eat that or black eyed peas (that might be the origin for the known band’s name), as this is the ‘black’s’ food. Oh well, we ate it with full hands and mouths. The catfish and seafood was so delicious, that it totally made our day.

Šventėje | In the Fair

Houston is our next stop, and we were keen to see in the Rennessaince fair, how Americans imagine Europe in that period of time. Lots of people came well prepared and dressed, it seems they paid massive efforts to look authentic. Some though seeemed to be lost from Antique era or modern transformer times. The entire site was full of shops and workshops, and places to try European food. However, the most popular meal that featured on every country’s menu was a turkey leg. Everyone seemed to chew it.

People come here in thousands. The site is massive, so not too overcrowded, you can entertain yourself with lots of shows in amphiteatres built on various sites. It’s a good day out for kids, too.

We are so grateful to Keith for all the adventures and gifts he surprised us with. He is the ‘top giver’ on our list, and we have to learn lots how to be so dedicated to others.

Laredo – leaving USA

Everyone, we mean everyone, as soon as we say we are going to Mexico, warned us of dangers out there. Not simple annoyances, but of kidnapping and even killing too. Maybe it is the first time in our journey, that scared us so much. Keith us left in the truck site with hope we will catch one to Mexico.
We sat down to realize what to do next. Ryan and Cliff, truck drivers, sat next to us and we started to tell the story. Soon, they started to think how to help us. The bad news they told, that American trucks do not enter Mexico. They only receive the load on the border, and then off through America.
So the ideal plan has to be reinvented. Ryan and Cliff gave us their shower coupon ‘you don’t know when you are going to have shower again’. We said goodbye to them, and had to think of our new plan.
The bypass that we thought to try was a ‘no go’ simply because they don’t allow non commercial passengers. So we need to go Laredo, that we tried to avoid so much, and cross the border there. But how we are passing the border, wait for Mexican virtual stories.

Alaska – encounter with a grizzly family, a free flight above taiga and seven days in the wilderness

rugsėjo 10, 2012 • EN • pagal
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We are often asked, what countries we like best in our Journey of Life. We seem to pronounce Iran or China quite often. But after Alaska we have to move around our list, as it gets deep down in our brains and veins. It’s wild up there, and for hours and hours you can drive through forests and valleys, and you see no sign of the houses. Before we have left it, we already longed to come back. No wonder why some people come here to visit, but stay for ever. If to close our eyes, we still can picture the bright colours of Dalton road, wild animals, tundra and taiga from above, and we can still taste the red salmon.

Anchorage – a pepper spray against the bears for 50 dollars

Ko gero pats lengviausias oreantavimąsis mieste. A.. B.. C gatvė.. D.. | I guess the easiest city navigation ever. A.. B.. C street.. D..

To one of the biggest cities in Alaska – if in fact you can talk about big cities at all – we flew from Hawaii. In the airport some stuffed grizzly or albino beaver stand like some beauty and warning – you are entering a wild state. We are soon to enter that wilderness.
As very un-knowledgable people, we come to the visitor centre in Anchorage. Firstly, to get to know more about good places to go and what to do in case we meet some wild animals. We also buy a small book about wild berries, it’s a high time for us to try out a variety of them too. For those who are planning to visit Alaska or north west of Canada, few tips about wild animals.
Secodnly, we desperately need a beer spray. After a long hunt through some shops (‘sorry, we just ran out of it’), we finally get one for 50$. Expensive, but you rather have it…

Animals

Nusileidus Aliaskoje oro uoste mus pasitiko grizlis. Draugiškas. | After landing in Alaska airport a grizzly met us. Friendly one.

In Alaska you most frequently see two sorts of bears distinguished by colours (rarely the white polar bear which inhabits the northern part). Grizzly, or brown bear has a little hump on the back, he is normally bigger than a black bear. The latter one often lives in the forestry area (hence Canada is widely inhabited by them too). Grizzly chooses more open areas, like tundra or near the rivers.

It’s strictly advisable not to run from either of them, as they are predators who will run after they prey. It’s also that you won’t be able to run away from an animal running 50km per hour, who can climb the trees or swim the rivers. Normally if you walk and make lots of noise (talk, laugh, sing), they should run away. If grizzly approaches you, pretend to be big, put your hands up in the air, wave (otherwise you are an elk or so) and shout. They should go away. Otherwise, in case they charge you, you should pretend to be dead. Lay down on the ground, protect the vulnerable areas, leave the backpack on the back. They should see no harm in you and leave.
If the black bear charges you, you will need to fight. Till someone is the winner. Don’t pretend to be dead. It doesn’t work with black ones.
You are highly recommended to have a bear spray with you – it costs 50$, but its a good way to have it ‘just in case’. Usual pepper spray is not strong enough.

In the visitor centre we also bought a book about wild berries for 10$. Brilliant, as we were able to distinguish poisonous from edible ones, and if you in Alaska in August, it would be such a down moment missing out on the berry diversity.

Alaska from above

Beveik kaip Lietuvoje. | Almost like in Lithuania.

After having left Anchorage, pretty soon we hitch a humble yet very interesting person. Josh came to live to Alaska, and you might often hear a story something like that ‘I came to visit a friend and stayed here for ever’. He has a log cabin in the wilderness and is a pilot. Very soon he offers us a flight above taiga, mountains. Not only that, we are able to try out some piloting ourselves. This speechless experience is one of our favorite ones. We see the wild rivers from very close, and cross under bridge, go around and over the mountains, around the waterfall, over the forests and little lakes in the sunset.

Karolis, Josh, Evelina.

At the end of our awe experience, Josh takes us to Buyers lake to camp. Even though we come here after the sun is set, he knows that we will be amazed in the morning with a view. And if we dare to try the steep trail to the mountains, we might see even greater views.

We start to walk along the lake. It’s dark. And we are in some sort of the wilderness. The only thought in the head ‘bears’. It would be good to talk aloud, but we run out of topics, even if it was never an issue before. Loud singing is an option, but somewhat the lyrics tend to fade away. The fear taking over. We find a camping place, and there is a container to place all our food. Good, no bears for tonight then.

In the morning we hit the trail. It’s truly spectacular. Up above, when the forests fade and only rocks the place seems like a massive version of Scotland. Only wilder.

On the way down the rain commences, but we still stop for some berries. Blue berries are massive and sweet, and we finally try something new – watermelon berries. We fill our thermos mugs, so we will have oatmeal with berries and honey in the morning.

Denali National Park and Preserve – an encounter with a bear

Milžiniškos mėlynės mus lydėjo kiekvieną dieną. | Massive blueberries were everywhere we walked.

Denali in local Athabascan language means the High one. They called it the highest peak, which is later been named Mt Mckinley after former senator and later president. It’s huge at 6 million acres, the park is larger than the state of Massachusets. Some local Athabascan groups still live there gathering berries, fishing and hunting, and preserving nature. In fact Denali is preserved so well as it has been hundred years ago. You can encounter caribous, grizzly bears, Doll sheep, wolves and moose, and arctic ground squirrels.

Evelina

If you want to hike in Denali and camp there, you need to get a backountry permit to do so. It’s free, you only need to tell rangers in which units you are going to camp. The park has around 87 of them, and we chose only 3 of them. The entry fee for the park is 10$ (for 7 days) and the map for some units is 8$. You also receive a plastic container (for free, but you have to return at the end of the hike) to place all your food and cosmetics in there). The green service buses will drop you at your hike starting point, and off you go.

Finally in the wilderness. We soon start our ‘hello!’ and ‘woohoo!’ to scare off the possible animals. Going in the wilderness without tracks means you will need to figure out from the map how to go, where to cross among the mountains or through the rivers. It means you will walk on the soft tundra surface and get tired, or get soaken wet walking through the swamps, or fighting through the bushes. You will find a bear skull or moose antlers. And if you in August you will find tons of blueberries or blackberries, which obviously liked by the bears. That you might guess from the faeces that you will encounter all the way. You know the bear been there.

In the morning we see a moose from afar or a family of caribous. But one encounter struck us completely. The encounter of a grizzly family.

Konteineriai maistui. | Food cans against bears.

I walk whilst still shouting ‘hey hello’, when all of a sudden see a grizzly sour with two cubs. The little ones look very curious, trying to climb on the mom to see who are those strangers. To see a grizzly is scary enough. To see it from 20 meters is terrifying. To see it with kids – you feel paralyzed, as you know you might be in a big danger. So I see them, and then I see that Karolis doesn’t see them as he has reached the bottom of the tiny valley, and he is going up. ‘Karoli, bears!’. Karolis finds himself a short 20 meter distance from them. They are terribly close. He can hardly take a bear spray from his backpack belt, starts to withdraw slowly, and finally when we both closer to each we start to pretend we are huge. We lift our sticks high above, we wave, we shout. The bear still tries to approach us, then it turns away and walks the other way. Cubs are still trying to look at us curiously. Woof. They are gone. The fear somewhat paralyzes now. They are still ‘sitting in our heads’ for the rest of the day.

Well, only after we got back we got to know, that exactly the same day, one guy first time in Denali been killed by grizzly. It seems he took his chances – he tried to photograph it from far too close and for far too long. The bear took the dead man’s body for cache to keep for food. Grizzly had to be shot down as once he tasted human blood, he would go for more. The first such accident in Denali National Park.

The autumn comes and goes in Alaska as a thunder. Taiga’s leafy plants and trees get the yellowish reddish colours. It’s been a splendid seven day hike.

Fairbanks – one the way to North

Mus pavežęs ir netikėtai į namus pasivadinęs Fairbanks miestelio gyventojas. | One Fairbanks town resident offered us a place to sleep at his house.

We thought to get a bit more to North, hence Fairbanks could be a good stop for us. Art stops to give us a lift. Soon we realize he is a fair traveller himself, and we have lots to share about. We say bye at the end without exchanging our details. The very next morning, Art finds us on couchsurfing site (as we have talked about it extensively) and invites for a salmon (their family caught the fish by themselves) bbq and dinner and hang out with some locals. We get to know the differences about red and pink salmon, talk about hunting and fishing.

We have some couchsurfing experience in Alaska too. Brenna and David live in a cabin together with 4 dogs and one cat. We eat pancakes with their own produced honey (whilst they put the bees to an eternal sleep later on, as bees cannot survive the winter cold here).

A week later we stay in Art and Anne’s place before will about to go down to Canada. We all refreshed, recharged and ‘salmoned’ (what a taste). But before that we did a northern to detour above the Arctic Circle.

Coldfoot – beyond the Arctic Circle

Šūnys rogėms. | Sled dogs.

If you are an independent traveler seeking out to see the Arctic Ocean (reached by the road), you will need to pay 50$ for the tour. Otherwise you might see only Deadhorse or Prudoe Bay towns. So we decided Coldfood was north enough as the weather was a bit dreadfull too.

So we have been given a lift to the crossing where on every site there is forest. Not a living creature out there. No idea, if anyone would pick us up. Corrie and his girlfriend stop for us. He is a cook in Coldfoot, where no one lives, but only a restaurant for the by passers and season visitor centre out there. And only 10 people in the cold winter.

So we visit the Yukon river with a cuppa on the banks of it, and then we reach the Arctic Circle. And when we reach Coldfoot, it’s pouring down. ‘There is a cabin, that no one lives. It’s a bit dusty, but it might be ok for you’. Ok? It was wonderful. We didnt have to get wet down in the tent, it even had a white sheet on the bed (!). So when everyone pays 200$ per night for the stay in the motel-like-cabin, we stay for nought.

Kelyje atgal į pietus link Fairbanks. | On the way back to the south to Fairbanks.


And Corrie invites us to hang out with the staff in the evening.
In the evening we also go to listen to the local Heidi Shoppenhurst as she has lots to tell living in the wilderness all year round. Silence and cold in the winter, when the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon for some days, and the rushy times in the summer time, as everyone tries to build the house, to make the jams, to sort everything for the winter. But it’s wild and beautiful out there.

So from Coldfoot through Fairbanks we finally on the way to Canada. ‘You might not be able to hitch for couple days in Tuk one drivers warns us after he invites for a filling lunch. But in no time we hitch Keith, who travels from Alaska down to ‘lower 48′ through Canada. But the canadian adventures soon to come.

Practical tips

Visa

Visa
The same as for Hawaii or any ‘lower 48′. No more than 3 months in Northern America.

4,5 val laukimo | 4.5h of waiting

Transport

To hitch in Alaska is fairly easy, people are kind. If you intend to hitch up to Prudoe Bay, make sure not to do so in wintertime. People say it’s easier to reach Hilltop cafe – a stop for drivers before a long drive. Only independent truck drivers would take you in, as companies don’t allow passengers on due to insurance etc .

Rengiamės žygiui nepaliestoje gamtoje. Maistas 9 dienoms. Kuprinės svėrė virš 40kg. | Preparing for wildernes. Food for 9 days. Backpacks weighted over 40kg.

Food

If kind locals will host you with red salmon, this is a real meal. It’s absolutely not the same as the pink salmon in cans. Alaska is slightly cheaper than Hawaii, but you need to look what you are buying too. Wallmart is a place to shop if you are a budget traveler, and for those who support a fair business Fred Mayers might be an option.

Hygiene

Alaskan rivers are cold, but to swim in it is a challenge and a reward. Don’t play in it for too long (not that you will be able to) as hypothermia is a very real thing in Alaska. Do not wear cotton or jeans in general, as this will increase the chances of hypothermia as your organism need to waste lots of energy to dry that hard to get dry material.
The water in wild Alaska may look clear, but Giardia and Cryptosporidium, carried by beavers, might present a real health problem, so better drink water treated.

Sleep

Camping is fairly common, but be aware of the wildness. Don’t keep food in your tent, leave it up in the trees or in the containers which bears would not be able to open up.

Hawaii – searching for a serene shelter in one of the most touristic places

rugsėjo 3, 2012 • EN • pagal
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Nusileidus paklausėme kuris paplūdimys yra mažiausiai lankomas turistų. Ten ir patraukėme. | After landing in Honolulu we asked which coast is least visited by tourists. We went there straight away.

If there is a well known place with plenty of tourists around, we know that it will take much longer to find your own space. But maybe we already worn out shoes or sandals enough, but often hitched people show us off beaten track places.

Hawaii is one of the States separated from the mainland my thousands miles. There is a army base in the island, and this is a good strategic point. In the island there also live people of slightly darker skin, and according to a guy that we hitched, often they feel a strong ambition to be independent.

From Australian winter to Hawaiian season-lessness

After a ten hour flight we land to an island, which is the most distant point from any possible mainland. It is a small place, you can drive around in couple hours, and make it through in less than an hour.
In the airport we go straight to the information centre and ask ‘which place in the island has the least tourists?’. She could could not hide the surprise, it must be the least given question to her. ‘The Northern shore. It’s beautiful out there’. We are going to north.

You can easily get around the island with the ‘city’ public transport. The bus no.55 would get you to a northern part too. ‘You might need to hold your luggage on your lap’ one man warns. In fact he offered us a lift from the doctor to a shopping centre just randomly. Apparently he is a couchsurfer too (he offers his place to sleep for free), and he often shows tours around of his beloved island.

Šiaurinė Oʻahu salos pakrantė mus labiausiai sužavėjo. | The nothern Oʻahu coast was the niciest.

To save up some time we are lured into this offer, and after making on part of the road by bus, the one that we need does not accept us on board. The driver is not aloud to take to the bus if you have luggage. So we need to hitchhike. What a ‘pity’.

So we then straight back into ‘our’ mood and surely a very interesting guy stops to us. He works in the navy, and started to serve there right after the September 11 attacks. ‘I know a place where you might like to go’ he says after hearing our long story of traveling so far.

There are so many cars here as everyone came to see a sea turtle. We jump out of the car and as kids go to see that slow beauty. It is paying now attention whatsoever to any curious kids or kid like grownups.

We passed the Waimea beach which should be one of the nicest ones, and went up to the hill, passing the Hawaiian temple remains.

Pasivaikščiojimas po džiungles. | A walk in a joungle.

We are very soon with our backpacks enter this so called army property, where in fact quite a few joggers and hunters share the area.The path is soft and tender, formed from the long thorns. We strolled up the edges of the slope and found decent place to camp out looking to the jungles and the bit of the ocean. It’s truly peaceful here. The massive tree nearby. The trunk is soft and tempting to be touched. If you have never hugged a tree, its worth trying it. The peace flows there. In you too.

Out of emergency bags we form a shelter. It’s hardly enough for our feet to cover, but it should secure from the rain that comes and goes as pleased.

Vėžlys ir Evelina. | Turtle and Evelina.

Sometimes you don’t need to rush. If you find a place where you want to stay a bit longer in order to fully live ‘here and now’, you should stay in. So we have our temporary home with a million dollar look terrace. In the evening we climb the tree and enjoy the silence.

Is is possible to find your own place in the beach? If you want to. We don’t go the place where everyone is toasting, but find a nice cozy place where we crash on for a day, and pitch a tent at night. With the borrowed snorkeling equipment we the beauty of the underwater is revealed. Sea turtles, colourful fish in flocks or independent ladies.

Pu’u o Mahuka Heiau

Though before Hawaii became a state, just a few hundreds years ago, they had their own life- both secular and religious. The temple of Hawaii Pu’u o Mahuka Heiau- is on the top hill of Waimea valley. It’s just wonderful to ponder how being so far away from everyone else they had so many similar elements in naturalistic religions; gods of fertility and war, sacrifice and priests.

The flight to Alaska is soon, so we are about to hitch back to Honolulu the long way (and new to us) round. Energetic Mimo after having listened our story, all excited brings us to a paid camping site, and after a quick chat with her cousin’s worker, we are staying there for free. The ocean, warm showers, needed electricity. And lots of cats.

Practical tips

Visas
You should look if you are eligible for the waiver visa on the ESTA site

Hipimobilis | Hippiemobil

Transport
The same as traveling from Bali to Perth, the same we are using Jetstar services. Its a budget trip. You won’t need to buy water, but you better bring food on board, as the only option to pay for the sandwich is by credit card, no cash accepted.
You cannot take fruits or veggies to the country, so you better eat it or throw it away.
Hitching in Hawaii is easy. People stop with no problems, and you can hear a good life story or two.
If you use public transport, the drivers are kind enough to tell how to get to a necessary place. The island is small hence you can use no. 55 bus to get around, but if you have luggage with you might not be accepted on board.

Food
Comparing with Australia, food is cheaper here. We are not fans of fast food chains, so Mcdonald is not an option apart for coffee and free internet. No sockets, so you are limited to time till your battery lasts.

Hygiene
There are plenty of toilets in the beaches, but scarce in other public places. Sometimes they even locked with codes, and some nearby shops workers might reveal the magic code to open so needed toilet. McDonald’s is often an option. Showers are in the beach too.

TV serijalo 'Dingę' (kuris buvo filmuotas šitoje saloje) įkvėpti nusprendėme paimprovizuoti ir išbandyti save kitaip. Būstas dviem naktims. | Inspired by TV series 'LOST' (which was filmed in this island) we decided to improvise and challenge ourselves a bit differently. A two night house.

Sleep
We only slept in the northern place, so we can only say it was possible to sleep in the beach up there. Even if there was a sign of no camping, nobody gave us any bother. However, we try to be neat and quick to pitch a tent and pack it up quickly in the morning. In the army base park the situation is even easier – you can camp whenever you want. Stay alert and don’t go off the tracks too often as the hunters out there doing their job.