6 Day Road Trip into the Wild
It’s been less than 2 weeks and already I miss so many things about Querétaro, Mexico. I miss taking a stroll down to the centro where hundreds of people would be enjoying their evenings with their loved ones close beside them, where children ran around throwing colorful lit up flying objects into the air and where families reunited for a warm dinner. I miss the evenings where I would gather in my friend’s apartment for a BBQ and where strangers from all over the world would become good friends with me. I miss the city lights as the taxis drove over the hill. I miss the view from the flat rooftops of the concrete buildings as the strong and vibrant sun kisses the horizon. I miss Mexico and all of the friendships that I made while I was there, but most importantly, I miss my life and who I was when I was studying abroad. Everyday I reminisce of my time in Mexico through indescribable moments and images that play in my head. Often times, I’m filled with beauty and laughter, emotions that I wish I could share beyond words. At first, it feels like the normal mundane activities of school and shopping that I left behind are meaningless and the life that I lived abroad is a separate one, that I was another person. But I have learned that I am both of those people combined. I am the student who studies international relations at the University of Oregon, but I am also the foreigner who studied Spanish at the Universidad de Querétaro. These experiences have molded me into the person that I am today.
But just 3 days after getting off the plane and landing in Portland, Oregon, my dear dear friend and I went on a 6-day road trip. I was in Eugene for a couple days, but reuniting wth some old friends and visiting a house for the school year, I took a bus to spend some quality time with family. On the 2 and half hour ride, I had the most intellectual and thought-provoking conversations with two men. One of the strangers was a history teacher from Seattle, Washington who had studied abroad in China in his younger days in college and the other was a guy who was just about to finish his culinary school. His next stage in life was heading to China to intern for a culinary institute. At first, it seemed as though China was what connected us all together, but as the ride went on, the conversation moved from classical books such as Moby Dick to the current situation in politics to our thoughts on Communism. Before long, I arrived in Coos Bay where a taxi that was 40 minutes late picked me up.
Taylor arrived at my mom's front door at 9:00 sharp and we discussed our plans for the next few days. I knew very little about where we would be or what we would be doing, but that made the experience more exciting and adventurous. This rapid trip after being out of the country was exactly what I needed to distract me from the people that I had to depart from; people that I so deeply love and care for. We started out with a 7-mile hike through Cape Sebastian Trail. The entire time, I couldn't help thinking how crazy we were to be hiking in the middle of December, but that was also the beauty of it. I could see my breath and hear the ocean in the far distant. We had anticipated the hike to be shorter (and easier), but on the way up was a lot more strenuous. I thought that we were never going to escape the forest; it just kept on going and going. We didn't spend too much time at the beach for fear that it would get dark soon and of course, both of us forgot a flashlight; an essential that somehow always managed to slip my mind. But once we had made it to the beach, there was a small moment in which the sun peaked out from the clouds. We made it to our cabin for the night a couple of hours past our check in time. The cabin was cute and well kept up. It had a mirror, a heater, and a bunk bed and a bed. I fell fast asleep rather early (around 8) while reading my book.
The next morning, I watched my face under the freezing faucet water at our cabin site. The river was beside us, flowing rapidly. We signed some papers for our stay and packed up our belongings for our next location. The next day we stayed at an elk campground. As we were registering, the manager asked if we would rather stay in an RV and for a few extra bucks, we agreed and he found us a heater. The RV was old and had a funky smell. But I was so thankful for the heat. This hike was shorter (5 miles long) called Damnation Creek Trail. It started in the beautiful forest of the Redwoods and led to another beach. The beach was hide-tide so we were unable to go all the way down, but we enjoyed the crashing of the waves from a viewpoint on top of a huge rock. Along the way, we met several hikers (all with dogs). We had to drive up to the small town of Orick to find food. A restaurant on the dock was recommended to us where I had fish n chips while looking out onto the beautiful beach. Shades of pastel colors were painted across the sky. We stretched for a bit, only after I insisted that her body would thank her tomorrow. Once again, I fell asleep really early, content and full.
The third day was the most difficult and longest hike. A full 12 miles, it started out in the forest and then led to a beach. The James Irvine Trail is a popular hike in the summer time, but that day we only ran into one other person who was an older man on a mountain bike. All along the trail were fallen redwoods, huge and glorious. We got lost along the beach, searching for the trail that was supposed to loop us around back to the car. Taylor was certain, after reading many reviews and skimming through photos that she had found the right trail. We attempted it, breaking branches and falling in the stream. I was certain that this "trail" was not the right one because far ahead, it looked like it did not lead anywhere. After walking for a bit longer, we came across the sign that lead us in the right direction. Wearing emergency ponchos because we both decided to leave our raincoats in the car after speculating that the weather would remain calm this morning, we looked rather silly. Fern's Canyon was like walking into untouched land. On each wall beside us were thousands of ferns, all different types and everywhere that we looked. Small rivers ran throughout the canyon and Taylor, being the good friend that she was, carried me across. From Fern's Canyon, we hiked through the James Irvine trail and found the car. By that time, we had spent all day in the woods starting from 9 and ending at 4:30. I was exhausted and cold. We stayed another night in the RV.
Our fourth day was our rest day. We visited the Turtle Exploration Center in Redding. The most fascinating thing about this place was the giant Sundial Bridge that stretched across the river. The design was brilliant and after walking through the garden that was mostly dead and visiting the sound of fountains, we decided to skip the museum. Neither of us was really interested in the idea. We walked to a nearby Japanese bistro where she ordered expensive sushi to sooth her craving. That night we stayed up talking and playing card games. Our friendship over the years has surpassed so many obstacles. She was the kind of friend that I knew that after being out of the country for several months, nothing would change between us or after visiting home from going to college in another city, we could easily continue where we left off. We had the kind of friendship that people searched for and I was lucky enough to share this bond with her.
Our fifth day didn't go quite as planned. We had originally wanted to drive to southern Oregon, stay the night at my sister's place and then loop back to my mom's. But after checking the weather, it was obvious that we couldn't go that way. So instead, we searched for a beautiful (and short) waterfall hike. 45 minutes into the car ride on the way there, snow fell down and we turned back around. We decided to call it a day inside and ordered Chinese takeout. I read and we watched movies and the day was still spent in good company. On the 6th day, we drove (she drove) for 6 hours back. I watched through the window as the scenery slowly changed. The mood shifted from the pure excitement that we felt on the first day in the car to a dreary less energetic reality that we were home.
But just 3 days after getting off the plane and landing in Portland, Oregon, my dear dear friend and I went on a 6-day road trip. I was in Eugene for a couple days, but reuniting wth some old friends and visiting a house for the school year, I took a bus to spend some quality time with family. On the 2 and half hour ride, I had the most intellectual and thought-provoking conversations with two men. One of the strangers was a history teacher from Seattle, Washington who had studied abroad in China in his younger days in college and the other was a guy who was just about to finish his culinary school. His next stage in life was heading to China to intern for a culinary institute. At first, it seemed as though China was what connected us all together, but as the ride went on, the conversation moved from classical books such as Moby Dick to the current situation in politics to our thoughts on Communism. Before long, I arrived in Coos Bay where a taxi that was 40 minutes late picked me up.
Taylor arrived at my mom's front door at 9:00 sharp and we discussed our plans for the next few days. I knew very little about where we would be or what we would be doing, but that made the experience more exciting and adventurous. This rapid trip after being out of the country was exactly what I needed to distract me from the people that I had to depart from; people that I so deeply love and care for. We started out with a 7-mile hike through Cape Sebastian Trail. The entire time, I couldn't help thinking how crazy we were to be hiking in the middle of December, but that was also the beauty of it. I could see my breath and hear the ocean in the far distant. We had anticipated the hike to be shorter (and easier), but on the way up was a lot more strenuous. I thought that we were never going to escape the forest; it just kept on going and going. We didn't spend too much time at the beach for fear that it would get dark soon and of course, both of us forgot a flashlight; an essential that somehow always managed to slip my mind. But once we had made it to the beach, there was a small moment in which the sun peaked out from the clouds. We made it to our cabin for the night a couple of hours past our check in time. The cabin was cute and well kept up. It had a mirror, a heater, and a bunk bed and a bed. I fell fast asleep rather early (around 8) while reading my book.
The next morning, I watched my face under the freezing faucet water at our cabin site. The river was beside us, flowing rapidly. We signed some papers for our stay and packed up our belongings for our next location. The next day we stayed at an elk campground. As we were registering, the manager asked if we would rather stay in an RV and for a few extra bucks, we agreed and he found us a heater. The RV was old and had a funky smell. But I was so thankful for the heat. This hike was shorter (5 miles long) called Damnation Creek Trail. It started in the beautiful forest of the Redwoods and led to another beach. The beach was hide-tide so we were unable to go all the way down, but we enjoyed the crashing of the waves from a viewpoint on top of a huge rock. Along the way, we met several hikers (all with dogs). We had to drive up to the small town of Orick to find food. A restaurant on the dock was recommended to us where I had fish n chips while looking out onto the beautiful beach. Shades of pastel colors were painted across the sky. We stretched for a bit, only after I insisted that her body would thank her tomorrow. Once again, I fell asleep really early, content and full.
The third day was the most difficult and longest hike. A full 12 miles, it started out in the forest and then led to a beach. The James Irvine Trail is a popular hike in the summer time, but that day we only ran into one other person who was an older man on a mountain bike. All along the trail were fallen redwoods, huge and glorious. We got lost along the beach, searching for the trail that was supposed to loop us around back to the car. Taylor was certain, after reading many reviews and skimming through photos that she had found the right trail. We attempted it, breaking branches and falling in the stream. I was certain that this "trail" was not the right one because far ahead, it looked like it did not lead anywhere. After walking for a bit longer, we came across the sign that lead us in the right direction. Wearing emergency ponchos because we both decided to leave our raincoats in the car after speculating that the weather would remain calm this morning, we looked rather silly. Fern's Canyon was like walking into untouched land. On each wall beside us were thousands of ferns, all different types and everywhere that we looked. Small rivers ran throughout the canyon and Taylor, being the good friend that she was, carried me across. From Fern's Canyon, we hiked through the James Irvine trail and found the car. By that time, we had spent all day in the woods starting from 9 and ending at 4:30. I was exhausted and cold. We stayed another night in the RV.
Our fourth day was our rest day. We visited the Turtle Exploration Center in Redding. The most fascinating thing about this place was the giant Sundial Bridge that stretched across the river. The design was brilliant and after walking through the garden that was mostly dead and visiting the sound of fountains, we decided to skip the museum. Neither of us was really interested in the idea. We walked to a nearby Japanese bistro where she ordered expensive sushi to sooth her craving. That night we stayed up talking and playing card games. Our friendship over the years has surpassed so many obstacles. She was the kind of friend that I knew that after being out of the country for several months, nothing would change between us or after visiting home from going to college in another city, we could easily continue where we left off. We had the kind of friendship that people searched for and I was lucky enough to share this bond with her.
Our fifth day didn't go quite as planned. We had originally wanted to drive to southern Oregon, stay the night at my sister's place and then loop back to my mom's. But after checking the weather, it was obvious that we couldn't go that way. So instead, we searched for a beautiful (and short) waterfall hike. 45 minutes into the car ride on the way there, snow fell down and we turned back around. We decided to call it a day inside and ordered Chinese takeout. I read and we watched movies and the day was still spent in good company. On the 6th day, we drove (she drove) for 6 hours back. I watched through the window as the scenery slowly changed. The mood shifted from the pure excitement that we felt on the first day in the car to a dreary less energetic reality that we were home.
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