Estrella Hedgehog - Her first podium

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Antonio and Jason's start (Men Single Speed Experts).

JF's start (Rock crushers), in blue in the middle.

The Estrella course is the gnarliest of the MBAA race series. It's chunky, loose and steep.

Jason crushing it.

Antonio not far behind.

JF at the end of his first loop... just before he got a flat tire.

Riding among cacti.

That Finish face says it all. Pffeeww!

And she's started smiling and fast. She even took the lead on the third lap, and never looked back.

Only one of her 5 laps left! Papa is offering her some water, but she is still going strong... and still smiling.

Proud sisters cheering!

Ben at the end of his course. Both Liske brothers crashed, but Ben was able to continue. Charlie had a harder one (and further out on the course), so he did not finish.

Waiting for the medal ceremony.

Cat on a leash with gold medal.

The face of pride! Her first time on a podium and she got the gold! The lesson in racing is the same as in life... sometimes you win...

... and sometimes you lose.

The Estrella Hedgehog is known to be the toughest course of the MBAA race series. It was quite different from McDowell's mostly groomed and bermed course. This one was loose rocks with lots of climbing. Mara knew that this was at her advantage since she is technically strong and climbs like a mountain goat. When she realized she was second after the second lap (she still had 3 laps to go), she got even more pumped and kept riding with her big signature smile and legendary stamina. She pushed and passed a bunch of kids (mostly on the uphills!). Passing is something you don't really learn other than in a race situation and can be stressful and intimidating... There were faster boys and younger kids on the course at the same time as her, so the challenge was real. For instance, when she called "On your left" (which in race lingo means I'm passing you on your left) to a younger kid in front of her, the child moved left instead of right, thinking it meant the opposite... 

JF got a flat tire just at the beginning of his second loop, so he ran back to the Westy with his bike, quickly changed his tube and got back on the trail. Diedra wasn't as lucky... she sliced her tire open further out on the course and had to scratch. 

I didn't grow up doing competitive sports and this is a new experience for me to be part of this world through Mara and JF... I still struggle when I see kids in tears on the course, but I'm also seeing how competition can exist in a very positive environment and how, when a child is old enough for that, it can be invaluable in teaching him many life skills, like perseverance, planning, stress management, focus... and how to lose with grace. Diedra and JF were great examples for our kids today, they took the challenges that were presented to them in stride and both had great attitudes about it. As was the guy who walked through the Finish line with his chain in his hand! 

 

McDowell Meltdown - Their first Mountain Bike race

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Bike prep.

JF's start (in blue in the middle at the back) in the Rock Crushers category.

Antonio was racing in the Single Speed Expert category. Smile through pain!

Jason was also racing in the Single Speed Expert category. One more sports' loop to go!

JF with his it's-finally-over-face!

There was a little jump park and pump track where the kids played all weekend.

Antonio at the finish line. 

Diedra had a great race too!

Yeah, Diedra!

Getting ready for her race.

Game face on.

And it's a start!

The Liske boys' start.

Brothers side by side.

Someone was happy to finish right behind his big brother (and to get a third position!).

This girl was all smiles for the 3 loops of her course!

Keep smiling!

Race to the finish line with a boy in the same age category!

JF and Mara decided to register for the McDowell Meltdown a week before the race, just for the fun of it. They hadn't trained for a race, but had heard it was a fun course and wanted to give it a try. JF has done many trail running races, orienteering and adventure races, but never did an XC mountain bike race. 

When we saw all the teams set-up with matching race gear and the general seriousness of the event, we realized it was more than *just a friendly race*. There were over 850 participants and it ended up being the busiest event the Mountain Bike Association of Arizona (MBAA) had seen in a long time. 

Mara finished 5th in the 13-14 yo girls (over 14 girls), which was very good for a girl that was doing it just for fun! She actually was faster than almost half the boys in the same age category!

JF finished 10th in his category, which was also pretty remarkable given he didn't train for a race.

The MBAA organizes a series of 6 races every year and we might attend another one in a few weeks.

It was great to reconnect with friends we hadn't seen since last summer, share a few meals (and the race jitters!) and ride with them. The mountain bike trails at McDowell Mountain Regional Park are simply amazing and there are over 200 miles of trails that are accessible from there. Too bad the camping is so expensive ($30/night). There is no boondocking in the whole Phoenix area (except for Casino Parking Lots) that we know of (drop me a line in the comments if you do!), so it's a major bummer because we would have loved to spend more time there.

Our little Tucson routine

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Our friends from Wisconsin came for a week during their Holidays! Of course, we went biking together!

Stout's first bike ride!

A very sweet gift from our little Ubach friends!

Mathilde New Year's cupcakes!

Eddy serenading us around the bonfire.

Life at the BLM.

Climbing on Mount Lemmon, Crags Against Humanity Sector.

Aïsha leading her first route.

Tucson is our winter trip half-way point and we tend to stop here longer and slow down. We just love how easy it is to be active here. Once again this year, we took a rock climbing gym membership at Rocks and Ropes (which includes the Bloc too, a bouldering gym), where we go about 3 times a week to climb and shower. We alternate a climbing day with a biking day since there are so many bike trails nearby. It's a pretty good routine. We try to go climb outside at Mount Lemmon on the weekends when possible (it's about an hour drive from the BLM where we camp). What's a BLM you might wonder? It's a public land where we can camp for free. In Tucson, the Snyder Hill BLM is located only 20 minutes from downtown Tucson (unlike most other BLMs in the US that are far from big cities and where the 14 day limit stay in enforced). The Snyder Hill BLM has a bit of a Slab City vibe. There are some semi-permanent residents, some big rigs that stay only a few days and pretty much everything in between. Let's just say it seems to attract what we call in the Yukon, the colorful 5 %...  You can often hear someone playing drum or strumming his guitar in the distance. If you're lucky like us, a circus couple sets up nearby with an aerial silk contraption and you can watch them practice this beautiful skill... Then, there's John, who's been our neighbor for a few weeks that pretend he worked on a set with Al Pacino and went to a party with Johnny Depp... There's Sid with his 16 years old dog who comes by when JF is working on a bike to chat... and chat some more (and his wife that keeps bringing us odd things for the girls). There's the man who sleeps in a tent and leaves every morning with a dress suit for work. And there was the crazy lady on the hill, who spent her days sitting cross-legged on top of Snyder Hill, watching over us and yelling ugly things to passerby's... until she lost it and started knocking on all the rigs' doors asking people to give her her dog back... too many Rainbows will do that to you...

Tucson feels like a second home (or maybe more like a fifth home...) and here are a few of our favorite digs and some practical info if you end up in this neck of the desert...

EAT : The best taco place in town is a little hole in the wall called Pico De Gallo; 3 incredible fish tacos (with homemade corn tortilla) for under $6. Yes, please. Only 8 minute from the rock gym!

Another place that should not be missed is Tucson Tamales (2 locations); 2 Santa Fe tamales (or Chipotle beef, our favorites!) with 2 sides of your choice (don't miss their mexican slaw) for under $8! You can also buy their tamales frozen to warm up at home!

For a unique experience (and a very cheap meal), go to Govinda Natural Food at the local Ashram. All you can eat vegetarian buffet (Tuesday is Indian Night, Wednesday and Thursday are vegan nights) with homemade papadum, delicious salad with sprouts and homecooked food ($11 for adults, $5 for kids (10-12 yo), $4 for 7-9 yo and $3 for 4-6 yo). And you can eat outside in their beautiful enclosed yard.

GROCERY : McGary's Discount Grocery (a few blocks from the Ashram) has awesome deals on expired/dented food items. Think 8 Luna Bars for $1, Kettle Chips bags for $1, Natural Krave Jerky bags for $1, cereal boxes at 3 for $5, Back to Nature nut mixes, cookies, crackers, etc for a fraction of the price, natural lotions and shampoos... even natural dog treats and recycled toilet paper at ridiculous prices. As long as you don't mind the loud Christian music blasting through the store and the near-paranoiac attitude of the store owner about having things stolen and children running down the aisles you'll love this place as much as we do.

Another great way to save money on food in Tucson is through The Club 3000 (Market on the Move). Every week you can get 60 lbs of fruits for $10 on Wednesday from 9 am to 1 pm (sometimes it's every day of the week). The content varies every week (citrus, peppers, tomatoes, squash, eggs, etc.). The best place to be kept informed is their Facebook page.

For a dirt cheap grocery store, we love Food City (a few locations in Tucson). Good ripe fruits for cheap directly from Mexico, dairies and eggs for very cheap, and great homemade nachos, taco shells and tortillas.

For good quality natural food at a decent price, we love Sprouts (a few locations in town). Great coffee and home brand products.

LAUNDRY : For the full hole-in-the-wall laudromat experience, go to Superior Cleaner (10 min from the BLM, just by Food City!). The cheapest in town (bonus soap operas in Spanish blasting on the TVs). They even provide free Wifi. 

If you rather pay more and have a clean brick-wall and lime green wall laudromat with the UofA hipsters, go to Wildcat Laudry. 

DUMP AND FILL : Free at the Giant gas station on the corner of Valencia and Kolb, but it's pretty far from the BLM. We go to Western Way RV Resort (10 min from BLM) for $10.

RECYCLING : There is a big recycling station at the entrance of John F. Kennedy Park, right behind the Mission Public Library (free wifi) at the corner of Ajo Way and Mission.
 


 

Rock climbing on Mt Lemmon, Tucson, AZ

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Heading down to the crag from Windy Point.

These little Arizona boys haven't seen snow many times in their lives. It was a real treat to see their enthousiasm! 

Snow ball fights with the girls!

What an incredible view we had from our climbing spot!

Look at the scales on that rock! So fun to climb!

That view!!!

Antonio, Mara and JF cleaning the route from the top.

I love seeing my girls develop a relationship with these sweet boys!

Mount Lemmon towers over Tucson at an elevation of 9,150 feet. That means that when it rains in town, it snows on top of the mountain. That also means that many Mexicans pack their family in the car, cross the border and drive all the way up to Mount Lemmon to go play in snow. It is quite the sight to see all these cars driving down with snowmen built on their hoods (it seems like that's what you do...). Mount Lemmon is a prized destination for road bikers (think climbing all the way to the top and riding down!) and rock climbers alike (there are over a thousand routes on the mountain!). 

When we arrived at Windy Point (a little over 6,000 feet), the parking lot was packed with people, but Antonio knew of the perfect crag, just inches away from selfie sticks and the rowdy crowd. We spent a memorable afternoon there and left just in time to witness another amazing Tucson sunset on our drive down the mountain.

Another Christmas in Tucson

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The boys made tourtières and meat pies for Christmas!

I made blueberry and cherry pies!

The girls offered us a gastronomic 3-course meal for Christmas. We were completely blown away!

Aïsha prepared us a mango-avocado-shrimp tartare that could not have been better at an high end restaurant.

Mara made a Garlic Basil Chicken with Tomato Butter Sauce. It was delicious.

Mathilde made us a Layered Chocolate Cookie Sundae. Yum! I think that a tradition is born!

Mathilde made us a Layered Chocolate Cookie Sundae. Yum! I think that a tradition is born!

And on Christmas day, we went for a geocache hike on Brown Mountain. 

We love spending Christmas with this sweet family year after year!

It's the fourth Christmas that we spend in Tucson and it has become a tradition that we all look forward to. Pascale and Antonio always welcome us with open arms. It is such a treat to see their boys grow every year and to be enjoying the outdoors with them a bit more every year. 

Rock climbing at Cochise Stronghold, AZ

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Can you spot Mathilde on the image on the right? These routes are long (and so fun!).

Wild kids.

The girls made a swing.

Playing Lego at sunset.

Guitar and drums, great evenings by the fire.

JF, on top of Naiche's nest. Naiche was Cochise's son (an Apache Chef, see story below) and it is in this nook that Naiche played while his dad held councils.

The kids scrambled on rocks while we set the routes. We were pretty much alone the whole time!

We search out the most perfect pieces of rock. It’s so amazing that these formations are so perfect for climbing on. It’s almost as if they were created for climbing. You’re taking these random rock formations and you’re bringing to it this interaction. It transforms it from being this random rock into almost this piece of art. It’s almost like a sculpture or something. Just by finding the handholds, finding that line up the rock. Every climb is different, has its own unique set of movements and body positions. Climbing and my appreciation for nature are totally intertwined. -Chris Sharma

You might remember that we climbed here last February for Jen's birthday. It was an epic weekend and we wanted to explore the area a little more. Our friends Les 4 Farfelus joined us for a few days and we climbed together, played music by the fire and simply enjoyed this incredibly wild place. Cochise Stronghold is located at an elevation of 5000 feet. Needless to say, we had some very cold nights and mornings (below freezing!).

The Cochise Stronghold is part of the Coronado National Forest in the beautiful Dragoon Mountains and was once the refuge of the great Chiricahua Apache Chief, Cochise.  This rugged area was home for 250 warriors and up to a total of 1000 in the  tribe for up to 15 years. Upon his death, Cochise was secretly buried somewhere in or near his impregnable fortress.  The exact location has never been revealed or determined.

Bouldering at Hueco Tanks, TX

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Walking up the Chain Trail to the Small Potatoes area.

The Small Potatoes area is a popular warm-up spot. To the right, the water-filled hole is what a Hueco is and the reason why this place was so special for Natives (lots of water holding tanks in the desert!).

On top of a problem in the Small Potatoes area. Right: so many boulders to climb and explore!

At The Grenade area. What a view!

Getting beta from Betty who has been climbing here since she was Mara's age!

Working on the best V2 problem in the world (according to Mountain Project!). What a beauty!

Watching Alex Puccio work on a V9 problem (one of the top professional rock climbers in the world) after she warmed up on a V6! Look at the muscles on that woman!! It was interesting to see that even pros have moments where they freak out a bit too!

Mara working on a tough V5 problem (and she got it!!).

The famous V2 is called Nobody Gets Out Of Here Alive because the ground used to be covered in little cacti like it still is on the right...

We all left some skin on that rock.

Heading to The New Meadow area.

We drove by the road that leads to Hueco Tanks State Park and simply waved it off as being surely full... Then, since it was only an 8 mile drive, we turned around and decided to check it out, just in case. It was Sunday 4 pm. Maybe we would be lucky. We had tried to go there 3 years ago in January, but we got turned around, the north mountain being at full capacity despite the melting snow and freezing temperatures. The climbers, mostly visitors from outside on climbing trips for the Holidays, were trying to make the best of the bone-freezing drizzle. We turned around, knowing we would have our turn. And this year we got it!

Hueco Tanks is described by Mountain Project as *the best bouldering spot in the world*. There are 70 permits delivered each day for North Mountain and 60 are reserved at least 6 months in advance. You have to show up at the gate of the park early to try your luck at the other 10. Unless you are staying at the campground in the park, then you have first dibs at these permits. If you get there and the park is full, your name is added on a waiting list and if reserved permits are not claimed by 10:30 or so, then they start giving them to the climbers waiting. Quite the process... The other 3 areas of the park are accessible with a guide only and do not count in the 70 daily permits. There are volunteer guides and professional guides that can take you in these areas.

Hueco is also an historic site that is *very* well protected. You have to be ready to jump through a few hoops to climb here (watch a video before entering the park and listen to a litany of rules - repeated to you twice, once by the ranger at the entrance and then by the one at the interpretation center). But then, you’re in Hueco. And if you’re a climber, you have a big silly grin on your face. Because you made it to Hueco! You’ve seen videos of your favorite climbers tackling crazy hard problems here. And here you are. We actually got to watch Alex Puccio climb while we were here! What a treat!

We were lucky enough to hit it off with a local that had climbed here since she was a kid. She came to Mara and I when she saw her climbing and told her she started climbing right here when she was her age since her mom was an environmental scientist who spent big chunks of time here. She guided Mara and I through some amazing problems (some that she had created herself!). It made the experience even greater.

Huecos are these big round holes where water collects and one of the reason why this site was a sacred site for native people (the main reason why it is so well protected). There are many petroglyphs to be seen in the park and people still find artefacts.

Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

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We found a great BLM campsite (free) 20 minutes from the Caverns (more infos and GPS coordinates here).

This place is just out of this world magical... we had visited a good chunk of it 3 years ago, but hadn't done the back part. The entrance is free with a National Parks pass. As amazing as it is to enter the caverns through the natural entrance (walk down into the caverns), it is quite the hike to do the whole thing (adults can do it, but it's long for younger children). Here's our advice: arrive early and take the elevator down to the big room and walk all the back part of the caverns. You will have the place pretty much to yourself since most people are entering through the natural entrance at that time of day. Then, either walk out through the natural entrance or take the elevator back up. Walking into the caverns is a unique experience that is most enjoyed when you are not stuck in a crowd. 

Rock climbing in Texas, at Reimer's Ranch, near Austin

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To get to the routes, you have to go down into a canyon...

There is warm water (presumably from the neighboring Hamilton Pool) running in the canyon and little pools nearby. It was *almost* warm enough to sit into. I'm sure it's a pretty popular spot to hang out after climbing in warmer weather.

Pretty cool rock formations and caves on the way to the crag.

Woof! Happy crag dog!

Look at that rock! It's so fun to climb!

Someone was cold and wore a Patagonia jacket while we climbed.

Mara led a 5.7 all the way to the top!

And she belayed me!

The girls are all really enjoying climbing and they are getting pretty strong!

We had climbed for a few days at Reimer's 3 years ago (scroll down on that post and look how small the girls were only 3 years ago!) and really liked it, so we waited almost a week in Austin for the weather to be decent for climbing (there is also some great mountain biking in the areas, but the trails were all closed because of the 5 days of rain we had...). We were glad we waited because this place is pretty amazing. The limestone has been washed by the water over many years and the result is like a huge swiss cheese!  

We wished we would have had time to give Enchanted Rock another chance (our first experience there 3 years ago was NOT good... but a bit funny in retrospect...), but we ran out of time in the area. Next time!

Sleeping by the Gulf of Mexico on Rutherford Beach, near Creole, LA

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Stout meets a crab...

The first night, there was a crazy thunderstorm with a lightning show that lasted for hours... it felt like a giant stroboscope in the bus.

The sun came back the next day. And we had the perfect set up, right on the beach.

Stout was so happy to be allowed to run free on the beach. It was puppy heaven...

A bonfire on the beach. It doesn't get any better.

Stout has a light that attaches to his collar to see where he is at night. So fun and practical! And it makes for cool pictures too!

When we found out about that beach through another traveling family, I wanted to check it out. It's not often that you come across boondocking sites right on the beach! And it didn't disappoint!

This part of Louisiana has been severely affected by the passage of Katrina in 2005 and everywhere you look, you see concrete pads where houses used to stand, rusty metal structures, old restaurant signs... it's a sad sight... Many people could not afford to rebuild their houses and they now live in fifth wheels on these concrete pads.

A local told us that there were 35 to 40 houses along Rutherford Beach before Hurricane Rita... and now, only a few houses remain... It was the perfect place to watch the IMAX documentary Hurricane on the Bayou.

The drive to get down to the beach is beautiful though, as you cross bayous and a wildlife preserve. There were lots of different birds and I was jumping up and down when we saw some Roseate Spoonbill (Spatule rosée)! So cool! The whole time we were driving through the bayous, the lyrics of Stephen Faulkner's song Cajuns de l'an 2000 that my dad used to play in the Westfalia when I was a kid kept popping through my mind. And to top it off, a local we met on the beach kept using the expression Son of a Gun! Oh and JF is cooking a typical Creole Jambalaya tonight with authentic bayou spices!

New Orleans, Louisiana

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Eating beignets at Café du Monde. Maybe going there at 10:30 am on a Sunday morning was not our best decision... Oh well! They were worth it!

Tasting Po-Boys, a local specialty.

We had been to Louisiana 3 years ago for Mardi Gras. The French Quarter was obviously very rowdy and I was glad the girls were still young enough to not be aware of what was going on. They simply asked why the *princesses* throwing necklaces from balconies were wearing only underwears... Ahem.

But NOLA is called the Big Easy for a reason... It's not hard to look past the glimmer and sparkles... You see tired people trying to make a living in this crazy scene... You see their hard stories behind the fake smiles and make-up, behind their quirky street art... just a bunch of people going through the motion. Just another day at work. It reminded me of walking the back streets of Vegas during the day... The streets are dirty and stinky. The T-shirt and masks shops staff are scrolling on their phones... The musicians seem like the only truly happy ones there... What a weird eclectic place. 

 

Perdido Key and Big Lagoon State Park, Florida

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Our morning commute...

“The loneliness you get by the sea is personal and alive. It doesn't subdue you and make you feel abject. It's stimulating loneliness.” 
-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

“If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

When we found out our Wisconsin friends were heading to the Florida Panhandle for Thanksgiving week, we decided to join them. It was a *slight* detour from our original itinerary (which was to head down diagonally from Wisconsin to AZ), but spending more time with them on those awesome beaches was worth it! White sugar beaches and turquoise water? Hell yeah!

This area of Florida is one of its best kept secrets. The beaches are wild and empty, it's not too hot or too damp for us Northerners and the state parks campgrounds are more affordable. What's not to like about it! We liked Big Lagoon SP, but we would have prefered a campsite closer to the open sea, like Fort Pickens SP (where you need to reserve quite a while in advance). We also loved St. Joseph Peninsula SP, but there is no cell signal there. The big downside is that dogs are not allowed on the beaches pretty much everywhere. We either had to drive 45 min to Pensacola Dog Beach (a really nice beach) or drive 15 min to a dog park on the lagoon side of Perdido Key. 

If you go to this area and do not need Internet signal and want to tent camp, go camp to Cayo Costa State Park, it's on an island only accessible by boat (when the address is 4 Nautical Miles West of Pine Island, you know it's gonna be quiet!).
 

Rock Climbing in Tennessee

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Mara wanted to try leading a route for a few years already, but we felt she wasn't fully ready. After working with me at Equinox all summer, she acquired the experience and confidence needed to do it. Here, JF is showing her how to use the Personal Safety Device while she sets the anchor at the top.

Rappelling down.

As travelers, we really appreciated that the local association put plates under most of the routes to ID them. So much easier! I wish it was like that everywhere! No bad surprises.

Stout has food intolerances and we are experimenting with feeding him raw food (whole prety diet). This was his first fish... He was wondering what he was suposed to do with it. At first, he was scared of it (it's looking at me, Mama!), then he played with it a bit and finally decided it was a great pillow...

It was a bit nerve-wracking to watch from the ground, but she stayed focused and was incredible to watch. This young girl has her daddy's calm!

Doing her first anchor!

So proud of herself!

Heading out after JF's work hours (3:30 in this time zone, with a little more than an hour of light left) and coming back in the dark, exhilarated from having risen to the challenge once again.

The supermoon seen from our camping spot by the crag.

I guess you had no idea that Tennessee was a top climbing destination. I honestly didn't either until a few months ago. Around Chattanooga, there are 8 crags with an incredible amount of high quality routes. You might have heard of the famous Tennessee Wall (aka T-Wall), but maybe not about Obed, Foster Falls or Sunset Park. Since our time here is limited, we decided to focus on one area near Nashville called Kings Bluff (upper left in the image) because we could camp right at the crag and the approach walk was 3 minutes AND there was good signal. If you want to visit this crag, know that the access is locked by a gate. The code to open the gate is on their website and climbers are allowed to sleep in their vehicles in the parking lot. It's a beautiful spot by the Cumberland River.

If you decide to explore this area, read this great article. As usual, I suggest that you look for the classic routes of the sector you are exploring on the Mountain Project App to get good info on the area. It wasn't a love-at-first-site spot for us. The ratings were not reliable and most routes had some pretty ackward moves. As a local told us on our last day there : if you come here thinking you'll climb your gym rating, you're not gonna like it.

Presidential election and square dancing in Wisconsin

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Are we there yet?

Watching the Presidential Election results coming in.

State coloring sheet for the kids to follow the election results.

Only a perfect Negroni could do for such a night...

We all needed some kitten love after that...

Trying to catch Australia

Our friend Jen rescued these two kitties at 4 weeks (their mom had died). She wasn't sure they would make it, but thanks to her great care, they are now fat and thriving, but they can't handle being separated from each other...

As I drive to Viroqua through the beautiful Wisconsin country side, I notice the old barns everywhere, cows grazing, rusty farm equipment sitting in the fields, a few Amish riding in their buggy on the side of the road, I almost feel in a different era. For a few miles, it’s the Westy that seems out of place. 

Meeting my friend Jen's friends and sister (and their beautiful kids) was a highlight of our time in Wisconsin. I've heard so much about them (and I am Facebook friend with some of them), that it really felt like we knew each other and we hit it off right away. What a beautiful community our friends have!

We even went to a Square Dance organized by the local homeschool group!

We arrived in Wisconsin the night before the Presidential election. It was such a great opportunity to go vote with our friends and learn more about the American election process. After dinner, we all sat around the long table and watched as the results started coming in, the kids filling their State coloring sheet, excited. Then, we got more and more quiet... we sat there in disbelief and stayed up passed midnight; we went to bed not knowing the official results. I will never forget the shear fear in the eyes of my friend’s daughter when she found out Trump had been elected the next morning. «Does that mean we’re gonna go to war, Mom?»

 

Reunion with friends and family, apple picking and more

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Lots of apple crisp making!

Too many nights in a garage yard while the bus was getting fixed...

Beautiful cold fall morning.

The smell of maple leaves.

Lunch at a delicious village café (Les 3 Soeurs, Waterville).

A beautiful shared meal for Thanksgiving.

And lots of candle blowing!

For any full-time traveler, coming back home for a time is always a whirlwind of visits, dinners and obligations (I've stopped counting the hours we spent at the dentist and garage...). It's intense and full. It feels so awesome to have all these people waiting for us with open arms (and houses!), cooking beautiful meals for us and welcoming us with our crazy changing schedules (see garage appointments). It's a big change to our usually very relax day-by-day life on the road, it's a bit disconcerting for all of us to be so busy (and it's GOOD busy, just too busy...). We feel unbalanced. Too much time eating and chatting, not enough time moving outside. Too much time juggling schedules, not enough time for spontaneous activities... 

We've realized that when we come back to either Quebec or the Yukon, we need to spend at least 2 1/2 months there to not feel rushed to see our people. We need some time to settle down. Time to breathe. Time to do nothing and have nights in our pjs playing cards together. 

We're leaving Quebec feeling like we rushed through it. We're tired and feeling like hiding in the woods for a few weeks to recharge. We feel like we haven't seen our people nearly enough (some we haven't seen at all). But the cold is pushing us South. We'll be back with a better plan next time (or rather, no plans, but more time). We're still learning how to travel right for us. 

For now, Wisconsin, here we come!! Why Wisconsin? Stay tuned!!

Halloween 2016 raised the bar!

These kids come up with the best costumes: Plague Doctor and mathemathics.

The pirate twins.

The dark fairy and Viking family.

The most beautiful and delicious bread.

Another gorgeous Viking.

The corn challenge: finding the kernel with a red dot. It was tiny!!

And meanwhile outside... zombies roamed... Tristan and Dave took their job pretty seriously and brought just enough fear factor to make the outside challenges spooky.

Spider nest made with ballons filled with water and a glow stick.

Cat litter challenge: retrieving the keys to open the handcuffs. My tootsie roll turds were so great that the kids were really grossed out!

Listening to Steph explain the goblin food tasting test. Gross.

Mara's face says it all. Yuck. Those goblins have disgusting tastes! On the right: retrieving a letter to solve the riddle in the pumpkin belly filled with rotten pomegranate, tomatoes, pumpkin insides and more gooey stuff...

Finding the loot after having faced all the challenges and solving the riddle! A well-earned price!

Those who have followed us for many years know that our friends Steph and Dave throw the best parties, Secret Agent theme, Chinese New Year, Disco funk. You name it. They did it again with Halloween this year with an Amazing Race theme. There were six challenges at the end of which the four teams retrieved letters that they would put together to find the final loot. The challenges were super fun and gross (think putting your hand in a holed tree filled with cold slimy spaghetti to find a letter while zombies are roaming around in the dark (even the dog was scared!). It was 3 hours of non-stop challenging fun (for a full day of prep!)! To top it all, the day prior we had an horror buffet in Montreal with Isa, Martin and Alex (with whom we travelled this year, you know them!) and we went trick or treating with our Waterville friends, Steph and JF, and shared a delicious meal (the beautiful bread was from that meal). 

It was deemed the best Halloween ever!! 

A few days at the farm, Megantic, QC

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Bunny transport for outside time.

Fluffing the angora rabbit before collecting the hair.

Hair collecting!

Oyster mushroom picking on a hike up Scotch Cap.

Cheese washing.

The white crust is what you want to grow! 

Learning to spin angora rabbit wool.

The result! So incredibly soft!!

There’s nothing like an ex-farmer to truly appreciate the farm products and all the work and time that got into it. Our friends Marie and Sylvain welcomed us in their busy farmers-homeschoolers-agronomy students life with open arms and a table covered in amazing food from their farm. There is so much satisfaction and pleasure in sharing your homemade cheese and sausages, your out-of-this-world chicken pot pie, your jams and butter, that it’s sometimes easy to forget (even as ex-farmers) how this comes at a price. No, it’s not cheap to run a family farm (most time, you don’t even break even!), but there’s the price of fatigue, of not being able to take time off and of so much to do ALL. THE. TIME. Passion is often not enough to be a farmer. You need commitment and lots of it. In 2016, it’s not uncommon that on a rough day, young farmers take a step back and wonder why the hell they are doing what they’re doing. It’s not the 1930’s, you’re not gonna go hungry if you stop farming. So, then you have to wonder if the satisfaction and great food I produce enough to justify all the work I need to do to keep this farm producing it? That’s a question many farmers ask themselves... 

We left with cheese and dry cured sausage and beets and raw milk and eggs (and a ball of angora rabbit wool!!!)... and a heart full of friends that share their passion and their precious time with us. We left with the memories of our farmer days. We know exactly how they feel. A part of us want to join in and be part of it... but the nomadic side of us is calling for now... What a dichotomy! Farmers and travelers. Could it be anymore extreme? Yeah, that’s pretty much us!

The past and the river

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When went to visit Sébastien's (JF's brother in-law)  family house (from 1896). It was like walking into a museum.

In the garage, everything looked like it had been untouched for over 30 years...

When was the last time you saw such an antique TV?

Naomie loves trying every single princess bed in all the bedrooms (6 in total!)

Very low tables not made for 6'2'' men and very old Geometry books with annotations.

We went to spend a few days in Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, a little town between Québec and Trois-Rivières known for his ice fishing for Atlantic Tomcod (petits poissons des chenaux), to visit JF sister's family. It was a few beautiful October days. They brought us to a gorgeous secluded beach along the St-Lawrence River. It was delightful to spend time with the girls' only cousin Naomie. She is such an adorable and funny little girl!

Rock climbing in Orford National Park, Quebec

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But why, oh why, would you want to climb a wall??!

The beautiful Elvira! What a climber she is!

Father and daughter on the wall.

This climbing thing is tiring1

It's so great to now have 3 more belayers!

Mikael is so beautiful to watch on a wall!

Showing the girls how to climb a 5.13!

My step-brother is an awesome rock climber that knows this area like the back of his pocket. He actually bolted many routes there himself. A few years ago, on a rock climbing trip to Mexico, he met a badass rock climber named Elvira, and the rest is history! We got to meet her for the first time and I got to practice my very basic and rusty Spanish! 

We had an interesting discussion on how rock climbing is a discipline more than a sport... how you need to learn to fail with grace (or not!), how frustrating it can be a lot of the time. It's quite different than a sport like mountain biking for instance, where you can have fun without too much experience. The fun factor is through the roof, you smile, you yoo-hoo your way down a trail... yes, there is a learning curve and you can always get better and someday, you feel like you suck at it, but rock climbing is a different beast... I guess it takes a bit of a masochist streak...! It takes incredible passion and dedication to feel like you are actually getting better... If, like me, you've been climbing sporadically for 20 years, it's hard to feel like you are actually getting somewhere with it... Most days, I feel like I am fighting with gravity... but sometimes, you link a few (sort of) graceful moves and it feels exhilarating, you figure out that sequence you've been trying for a while and there's that sense of achievement, of feeling that your body is a tool more than an empediment.

On another interesting note, we always say that when we don't climb regularly, we loose strength (finger strength, forearms strenght, etc.). Well, my very smart step-brother and his friend created a way to measure this (with the Wii fit scale and a finger board among other tools) and discovered that we do not loose strenght, but simply endurance. He compared endurance to dust. He said that if you don't sweep your room 3-4 times a week, dust accumulates. Endurance is like that. In two weeks, you've lost most of it. If you leave your house for two weeks and come back, don't be surprise if there is dust everywhere! Whereas strenght doesn't go away in a few months (unless you are on bed rest!).

It was such a treat to climb with these two! We are looking forward to other outings!

El Campo: a van community meet-up

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Two Wanderlodges! 

Les 4 Farfelus showed the kids how to make really cool macramé bracelets.

Some serious Adventure Mobiles!

There were over 90 vans that came to El Campo, from the highly customized Disney Van to the authentically restored VW Split,  to pretty much everything in between... 

...and some whose name you just can’t forget!

When was the last time you hugged a horse while still in your pyjama?

The last time we went to a van meet-up was about 15 years ago in Tadoussac, Québec, with our old VW '77 Bus. I was honestly a bit reluctant to go this weekend, but I really liked Julien and what he was doing with Go-Van, so decided to go. Most meets are organized by van types, but what Julien wanted to create was an event based on the lifestyle more than on the brand. And he sure succeeded! 

It was the same friendly atmosphere we remembered, a bunch of people who are passionate about their van and the freedom that comes with it, be it for fulltime living or weekend adventures. It was really exciting to meet people we have been following online for years, like Les 4 Farfelus (from France) and Bodeswell (from California), Simon (also on Instagram), and Marie and Francis who had just bought a Wanderlodge after reading an interview Cindy from Les 4 Farfelus did with us a while ago! It sure is a small world!

There were kids everywhere mingling with each other, playing by the river, feeding fresh grass to the horses, playing cards and tag and hide and seek. Kids being kids.

There was a best van modification contest (the guy that won had made a laundry chute in his Westy!), a Westfalia CV joint assembly contest to which JF participated and a photo contest (that I won!).r

The event was held in the Vallée-Bras-du-Nord, an awesome outdoor destination. We went to check out some of the mountain bike trails and understood why they are considered among the best in Quebec! We had never seen such manucured trails in our life (but we also never had to pay $40 to bike as a family for a day!). But with trails named Maple Butter, what’s not to like!

Being lulled to sleep in the bus by a bunch of people singing French Canadian songs by the bonfire was just the cultural bath I needed! Bodeswell sure had the full authentic Quebec experience!

We were surprise to see how curious people were about our bus, about our story. It felt like we touched some people by the choices we made. And that always feels pretty awesome.

Some people were dreading the return to normal life after such a fun weekend. And I get it. I used to be one of them. Now, we’re lucky enough to call this our normal life.