SketchUp Building

These Buildongs are made with google sketchup and were made primarily using extrude. The first one took about three weeks to make.

It's A Long Way Home

3 days of solid travel from Patagonia to Bellingham. All are well. All have our favorite places and memories. More pictures soon.

Los Lagos, Agentina

We finished out our stay in Argentina in the famous Lakes District, a region filled with huge clear blue lakes carved out by glaciers that grew and then retreated from the Andean peaks that surround them. World class skiing here in June, July and August and fun to see the terrain even if there is now snow in the middle of summer. One thing that makes them so neat is that many of them are connected by rivers. We spent and entire day kayaking the Limay River with drains that largest lake, Lago Nahuel Huapi, all the way to the Atlantic across 900 miles of Patagonian Steppe. We spent the day with a great Argentine guide who started an adventure-eco-tourist company in 2002. He spoke great English so we were able to have some good conversations and learned a lot about the area. We alternated padding with floating in wet suits and snorkles and all saw the beautiful trout (4 species) that make these waters so famous to flyfishers. We didn't actually fish for them, but we swam with them! We swam in as many lakes as we could in the long, hot days of late summer and noticed that the plants and trees were just beginning to turn to their fall foliage. It made us think of winter soon turning to spring back home as our thoughts drift toward our return north. We've had a wonderful trip, all of us, and we are all surprised, especially the kids, that two months went by so fast in some ways yet when we think about all we've seen and done and learned d makes us realize glad we are to have taken this journey together. <

Ancient Forests and Abuelo (Grandfather) Trees

It's amazing that the arid landscape around Trevelin provides the gateway for visiting the Alerce forests since they need 3000mm of rain per year minimum. It's a testament to the rainshadow of the Andes, and it's a constant wonder that the Pacific Ocean lies close behind these high peaks, over there in the fjordlands of southern, southern Chile. There are huge lakes scattered throughout this region, and wild, green rivers connecting them. Adventure tourism is here but the wilderness retains it's wild character. Most people we meet are from the more populated areas around Buenas Aries and the Rio de la Plata. It's cool to see them out enjoying this part of their country backpacking, kayaking, hiking, mountain biking and river rafting---especially the young people. Not a lot of fancy gear, no lycra or spandex or ultra light gear, but they are making it happen on small budgets and with big spirits. We spend a day hiking in Los Alerces National Park with it's turquoise and emerald lakes surrounded by green shrouded peaks. We were able to get a close up view of the plants in these forests and take our time admiring the many varieties, shapes and forms. The park protects an area of Valdivian rainforest of the type that is fairly rare in Argentina----more common of the Chilean side of the mountains. Much of the park is a scientific research site and there are several endangered animals that the park provides habitat for including the tiny pudu, a deer the size of a small dog.

La Tronchita

We'd read about, we thought it would be cool to see but we didn't think we'd get that far south. "La Tronchita," also known as the Patagonia Express, the old steam train that was once the only way besides horses to get down to these parts. The train ended at Esquel, and still does 3 hour long round trip run north to a small native Mapuche settlement and back. It was great living history riding the narrow gage through the arid steppe, surrounded by impossibly steep ochre mountain ridges and green valley floors where the lambs graze. A small cultural center gave us a glimpse into the history and present of this still very much alive culture, a people who defended their land so fiercely from the Spaniards that this southern region was not conquered for many years after the northern areas were well settled by Europeans and the wars for independence from Spain were being fought. We enjoyed the ride with Argentine's of all ages who pulled out their gourds end enjoyed cups of Yerba Mate for the ride. We took turns hangling our heads out the windows and standing between train cars. A cultural ambassador from the Mapuche people joined our train car for awhile and sang us many beautiful songs while we swayed along the narrow gage transported in time and space. 

South and Further South

The force that pulls you south in Patagonia took hold of us as we headed out of Bariloche, Argentina in our rented VW Gol (that's right, no "f"). We headed for El Bolson, a smaller town (23,000) situated in a spectacular mountain valley. This hip little town was South America's first municipality to become "non-nuclear" back in the early 1980's and while they were at it they declared the town an "ecological municipality." The highlight of visiting El Bolson, alongside the great diversity of people, is it's vibrant weekly artisan market around the town square. We enjoyed purusing the market for fresh organic produce and admired the quality and craftmanship in the many things for sale there. We listened to a soulful Argentine reggae band and a high energy Ska band. Of course we supported a few artisanas with our pesos and got some cool stuff, too. Staying in a cabana a few k's outside of town, and with our own wheels (!) we were able to enjoy some of the wonderful trekking around the valley, visiting the "refugios" where remote living refugio caretakers (think fire lookouts in the Cascades) create a warm, wood stove atmosphere and cook things like pizza and "wok" which they sell alongside hot chocolate and cervezas. We also got in a long awaited by Miles and Lily horseback riding venture which we all enjoyed where we rode the the confluence of two large rivers and had thrilling walks over the rickety suspension bridges. After a few days in El Bolson we just had to get a little further south so we continued on through wild mountain landscape as forest turned to arid steppe. We traveled through Esquel and on to Trevelin (not much beyond these small towns until Punta Arenas, still 1200 kilometers away) where our next home away from home for a few days was a cabana off the dirt road leading to Parque Nacional Los Alerces.

the Tres Lagos Crossing

There are few passes through the rugged south central Andes and the southernmost is known as the Tres Lagos, or three lakes, crossing. It's pretty much for tourists only because of the cost and the length of time it takes, but we decided on the recommendation of other travelers that it was worth it to see the dramatic scenery, not to mention that Miles was a strong advocate of seeing and riding on the three catamarans. Speaking of tourists, we haven't seen hardly any North Americans since coming to Chile. Sure, there are lots of travelers, but most of them are wither from within Chile or from other countries in South America. Of course, there are a few Europeans, Assies and Kiwis around but the North Americans have been scant. On leaving Chiloe we got our first real rains of the trip, arriving in Puerto Varas on a day with low clouds obscuring Volcan Osorno. We left early the next day on a bus headed east, traveling for about an hour to the shores of the first Lago where we boarded the first catamaran. Traveling for two hours accross the lakes the weather slowly lifted and we gazed up at the surrounding peaks, the slopes of the volcano and the cloak of verdant Valdivian Rainforest, made up of many species of evergreen broadleaf trees and the cypress-like Alerce, one of the three oldest tree species in the world. These forests are incredible, with an understory of wild fuscia and layers of lichen draped trees. At the end of the first lake we go to hike for a couple of hours on our own, so we made our way up to a waterfall and the weather had warmed up enough that we all enjoyed a refreshing splash. Another bus took us over the pass and accross the Argentine border around the massif of El Tronodor with it's seven glaciers. The border between Argentina and Chile follows a line along the peaks of the highest mountains. Another smaller catamaran accross an emerald green glacial lake, another bus ride and then the final 2 hour lake crossing which took us into Bariloche, Argentina. During the crossing we traversed Chile's first National Park, Parque Nacional Vincente Perez Rosales, and the first National Park in South America, Argentina's Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi, which was founded in 1903 with through a grant of 7000 hectares and now has grown to a colassal 710,000 hectares. Together these parks protect a large swath of the spectacular southern Andean Cordillera and the watersheds of many, many large and small beautiful lakes. It was an incredible trip and it was very exciting to arrive in Argentina, the third country we will visit on this trip.