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Month 110 was a busy work month with a little travel sprinkled in for good measure.
The first few days of the month I was still feeling pretty shitty from COVID and although I was testing negative by day three, I didn’t feel completely better until a week in. It’s been a month and I still have a cough.
The first day of the month we had a ferry to catch from Vancouver Island back to Vancouver, and the drive from Ucluelet to Nanaimo was brutal in the poor state I was in. My three nights in Vancouver were pretty relaxed as I was socially distancing and recovering, but I visited the beach in Kitsilano and got food from a couple of my favorite restaurants.
I left Vancouver for a last-minute housesit in Squamish for two nights. I visited Squamish last year and hiked the Chief so this time I mostly just took it easy, doing a couple of easy river walks with the dog I was looking after and visiting the weekly farmers market in town.
I spent a rainy but fun day in Vancouver on the way back to the U.S. then it was back to the Gorge to get ready for a string of shows that will take me through to the end of the season in October.
I worked three shows this month – Watershed Country Music Festival, Outlaw Music Festival, and the longest show of the season, Bass Canyon, an EDM music festival.
Between the shows I escaped the desert heat, visiting Vashon Island for a couple of nights of camping, and Seattle for a quick one-night stay before picking up staff from the airport. I also did a day trip to hike in Leavenworth and hiked into the Gorge to swim in the river.
Now onto the stats!
Countries Visited: Canada, USA
Places Visited:
- Canada: Tofino, Ucluelet, Vancouver, Squamish
- Washington: Bellingham, Issaquah, George, Wenatchee, Seattle, Vashon Island, Leavenworth
National and State Parks, Monuments, and UNESCO Sites: Pacific Rim National Park Reserve on Vancouver Island, Brittania Shipyards National Historic Site in Vancouver, Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site in Vancouver.
Islands Visited: Granville Island, Vancouver Island, Vashon Island, Maury Island.
Best Meals: Chicken souvlaki Greek-style gyro from Parthenon in Vancouver; Udon with tempura with a fried yam and avocado roll from Green Leaf Sushi in Vancouver.
Best Craft Beer: I barely had any craft beer this month because I was recovering from being sick.
Hikes/Walks:
- Wild Pacific Trail Lighthouse Loop in Ucluelet, Canada 2 miles
- Mamquam River Trail in Squamish, Canada 3.5 miles
- Lincoln Park loop trail in Seattle, WA 3 miles
- Sauer’s Mountain Trail in Leavenworth, WA 5.5 miles
- Cave B Waterfall Trail in George, WA 4.5 miles
Watching: The Morning Show Season 3, The After Party Season 1 and 2, The Umbrella Academy.
Reading: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee, Know My Name by Chanel Miller.
New Posts: I wrote one new post this month, a detailed guide for spending three days in Portland including the best neighborhoods to visit, parks to hike in, breweries and restaurants.
Highlights
Exploring Beautiful Ucluelet
On our last day on Vancouver Island, I knew I wanted to visit Ucluelet, Tofino’s less visited little sister town. As I was still sick, we stuck to masked outdoor-only activities but the outdoors is the biggest draw in Ucluelet anyway.
The biggest highlight was walking the Wild Pacific Trail Lighthouse Loop around a stunning, rugged peninsula past the picturesque Amphitrite Lighthouse. I also enjoyed wandering down to the pretty dock by the downtown.
Hanging Out in Kits
While I was still recovering I stayed at a self-contained Airbnb in Kitsilano, my favorite Vancouver suburb. I mostly just rested but I did go for a couple of beach strolls and ate at a couple of my fave restaurants – Green Leaf for sushi and udon, and Parthenon for their incredible Greek-style chicken souvlaki gyro.
Even though I couldn’t do a lot while I was there, it was great to be back in one of my favorite places.
A Surprisingly Fun Rainy Day in Vancouver
On the way back to the U.S. from Squamish, I spent a rainy day in Vancouver and it was actually really enjoyable.
I started with a short hike through the rainforest in Lighthouse Park and then headed to the cute seaside town of Steveston in southern Vancouver to learn about the maritime and canning history of the town at Brittania Shipyards National Historic Site and the Gulf of Georgia Cannery National Historic Site.
I also really enjoyed just exploring the town as it had been nearly 15 years since I was there last. Who says you can’t have fun in the rain!
Camping on Vashon Island
I love visiting islands and my new island of the summer was Vashon Island, a short ferry ride from West Seattle. The island is mostly forested and connected to another island by a land bridge, Maury Island.
I enjoyed exploring different parts of the rugged coastline, visiting a lighthouse, hiking around a lake, berry picking, and shopping/dining in the cute town center during my time there.
I particularly loved the campground I stayed at which was surrounded by towering trees and had a well-equipped guest kitchen where I cooked and sat at the dining table to chat to a fellow guest and do some work one morning.
Hunting For the PNW Trolls
Another highlight of Vashon/Maury Island was visiting one of the six NW Trolls, wooden troll artworks created with recycled wood by Danish artist Thomas Dambo. I have visited the Breckenridge troll and loved it, so once I found out about the NW trolls I knew I wanted to visit them too.
On the way back from Vashon Island I also visited the troll in Issaquah and the troll in West Seattle, then when I visited Seattle a week later I visited the Ballard troll so now I have two to go – Portland and Bainbridge Island.
A Short Sojourn to Seattle
In the short two-day turnover between Outlaw Music Festival and Bass Canyon, I had to pick up staff from the airport in Seattle so I thought I might as well go early and enjoy Seattle for a night first.
On this visit, I returned to my favorite neighborhood, Ballard, to meet a friend for a drink, check out the shops, spot seals at the Ballard Locks, watch the sunset from Sunset Hill Park, and walk around Green Lake.
Hiking in Leavenworth
After being sick I felt like I was losing my fitness so I decided to head to Leavenworth on one of my days off to eat at my favorite restaurant, Yodelin, walk around the cute town, and, most importantly, hike.
I did the 5.5-mile Sauer’s Mountain trail and I only saw two other people on the trail. There was stunning mountain scenery throughout the hike and enough uphill to feel challenging without being too difficult. It was exactly what I needed.
A Morning in the Gorge
The next day I did another hike, one I’ve done several times before, the Cave B Waterfall Trail that goes down to the Columbia River and back up past a waterfall and in a canyon beneath the Gorge Amphitheatre stage. It was beautiful as always with wildflowers along the river shore and the water was super clear and refreshing – perfect for a swim.
The best part though was seeing a family of otters swimming past and playing along the shore, one even caught a fish and sat there eating it a few meters away from me. Otters are one of my favorite animals so that was one of the highlights of my year.
Lowlights
Jasper Fire
Seeing the aftermath of the fire that ripped through Jasper, a town that I love and only visited in June, was devastating. About half of the town was destroyed by wildfires including both of the beautiful hostels we stayed at recently, one of which was a historic, wilderness hostel that was very special. It’s so sad for the community and all the people who love this special town.
A Slow Recovery From COVID
The biggest downer of the month was recovering from COVID as my fun week of traveling in Tofino, Vancouver, Mount Baker, and North Cascades National Park was ruined.
I hate being sick and with how sick I felt and how long it has taken me to recover, it is definitely worse than the flu and I hope it’s a really long time until I get it again. Never would be better.
Sleepless Nights With Joni
Joni has started waking us up meowing in the middle of the night because she wants to go outside, sometimes as early as 1am. Once she starts it’s difficult to stop her meowing and scratching at the door so we have had a number of sleepless nights recently.
She only seems to do it in our staff RV, not so much when she is staying on-site in the office with Toby during shows. I really hope it’s just a phase or that we can figure something out to stop her from waking up so early – maybe kitty CBD to calm her.
Bob Dylan Let Down
I had been looking forward to seeing John Mellencamp and Bob Dylan at the Outlaw Music Festival and while I enjoyed John Mellencamp’s set, Bob Dylan’s was a letdown.
I admit I am not a massive fan and aren’t familiar with all of his work, but I know and love a lot of the songs he is known for (Hurricane is my favorite), and he didn’t play one single hit, and none of the songs he played were great in my opinion.
A Challenging Event
The last event of the month we worked was our longest, Bass Canyon, and it was the most challenging of the year so far as we were close to being fully booked, we had staffing issues, and a lot of rude guests unfortunately (some awesome guests too though luckily).
It was also pretty hot which definitely didn’t help. I am looking forward to cooler fall weather, hopefully soon.
Spending
I don’t include international flights in my recaps. Some of my costs are shared with Toby or other travel partners.
Total: USD$1770
It was not a very expensive month because I was working for most of it. Next month should be similar.
Accommodation $312
My four nights of paid accommodation for the month consisted of two nights in an Airbnb in Vancouver and two nights car camping in a campground on Vashon Island.
My 26 nights of unpaid accommodation for the month consisted of one night car camping in Vancouver, two nights petsitting in Squamish, one night car camping in Squamish, one night at a motel in Bellingham (booked with points), 21 nights onsite at the Gorge in our staff RV, and one night car camping in Seattle.
Food and Drink $581
Clothing $20
- Underwear $20
Transport $138
- Gas $82.50
- Ferry from Nanaimo to Vancouver $27.50
- Return ferry from Seattle to Vashon Island $28
Activities $0
Other $237.50
- U.S. Phone plan $35
- Spotify $12
- One Drive storage $2
- Garmin monthly subscription $15
- Netflix $3.50
- Hulu $8.50
- Toiletries $9.50
- Nonrefundable hostel deposit $10.50
- Mount Baker Camping cancellation fee $18
- Costa Rica e-guide $8
- Stationary $10.50
- Camping gear box $8
- Haircut $31
- Cat stuff $40.50
- RV decor $17.50
- Tanzania e-guide $8
Website Costs $12
- Monthly payment for Keysearch $12
Vehicle Costs $469.50
- RV and van insurance $79.50
- Car tax and registration $390
What’s in Store For Next Month
It’s another busy work month next month, with shows on every weekend including our biggest show of the year, Dave Matthews.
I have a few fun trips to look forward to between shows including Seattle, North Cascades National Park, Kelowna to visit a friend, and a Vancouver/Mount Baker combined trip. Lots to look forward to.
To read additional Monthly Recaps, you can find them here
