We thought that the challenging part of Bird Year was behind us. We’d survived January’s bitter cold and headwinds. We’d dodged drug-runners and illegal immigrants crossing the Rio Grande. We’d coped with the searing Texas heat. We should have known that we faced one more hurdle: getting home from Big Bend.
We didn’t have time to cycle since Malkolm has to be back for Grade 11 at the end of August. We knew that jetting north would be the least fossil-fuel-friendly. Eventually we decided to take a Greyhound bus to Albuquerque, a train to Vancouver and a ferry to Skagway, Alaska. Then we could ride 110 miles over the White Pass back home to Whitehorse.
We quickly learned that ground transportation isn’t as easy as it sounds. When we tried to switch busses in Fort Stockton, the driver calmly informed us that the bus was full. It didn’t seem to matter that we had reservations. In El Paso, our bikes and duffle bags were almost left behind. Today we learned that our train is 6 hours late. We don’t know what that means for our connections, and no one is answering the phone at Amtrak.
I wish we were still cycling.
3 comments:
Wow, you guys still have some traveling to do. I was wondering how you were going to get back home.
I would have shipped the bikes I think and flown back but..... Hope you make it home safely. You've had a wonderful year!!
I think I'll be headed up your way next summer when I go to Alaska. mayhap we can meet up.
until then, Happy Birding!
Yeah, we are trying to get home in a less carbon-intensive way than flying. It is more challenging - slower, harder to sleep - but has advantages. It was fun to go right past places we biked (north of LA), and good to see the west coast up close again. We realized how much easier it is to bike there, compared to Texas,Louisiana,Alabama,Mississippi, Florida.
Yeah, we are trying to get home in a less carbon-intensive way than flying. It is more challenging - slower, harder to sleep - but has advantages. It was fun to go right past places we biked (north of LA), and good to see the west coast up close again. We realized how much easier it is to bike there, compared to Texas,Louisiana,Alabama,Mississippi, Florida.
Post a Comment