After three weeks in the Southwest, I just wasn't ready to head back to Germany yet in 1990. The South had really gotten under my skin, so I signed on for the second half right away and kept pushing north. This time I was traveling with a German speaking group, a colorful mix of Germans and Swiss. In the evenings around the campfire there was no end of European, Swiss, German chatter about life, the universe, and everything, and with each passing day we grew a little closer. The routine was the same as down south: roll in, unload, pitch the tent. Only now I was usually setting up my tent on my own.
The Redwoods and the Coast
The road led us along the Avenue of the Giants to Redwood National Park. I liked those enormous trees well enough, but they didn't quite knock me off my feet, since I'd already seen something similar over in Sequoia. What really stood out was how much light they swallow. Down on the forest floor it was so dark that every now and then my camera flash would kick in on its own. Insanely tall and thick, those trunks. Some of them split down the middle, or hollows form inside them, and then you can actually walk right through the tree.
Crater Lake
From there we crossed the California line into Oregon, a state that seems to be made of almost nothing but trees. As far as the eye can see, just forest. The highlight of the day was Crater Lake, a volcano that blew its top around seven thousand years ago, and ever since a lake has filled the crater it left behind. You can't swim in it, the water is bitterly cold and the crater walls climb almost straight up. But that almost unnatural blue of the lake is truly one of a kind, I'd never seen anything like it.
The campground afterward sat at the end of the world, nothing but trees and not another tent for miles. A few boats still out on the lake, otherwise not a soul around. Real solitude, almost too lonely for my taste.
Seattle and Mount Rainier
In the morning we visited Mount Rainier, a dormant volcano. Forests, waterfalls, it looked just like the Alps back in Central Europe. When you think about how this whole area could someday end up looking like Mount St. Helens, which had erupted just eleven years earlier, it sends a chill down your spine.
Then we dropped down into Seattle. On the first afternoon, instead of the city tour, we opted for a ride on a historic train, with live country music and a great mood all around. The next day we headed into the city proper. We parked at Seattle Center, where the Space Needle stands, and went straight up. An hour later and we'd have been stuck in line forever for the elevator. From up top Seattle looked almost deserted, but then again it was Sunday. The monorail whisked us into the business district in four minutes, very clean, hardly anyone on the street.
After that we went to the Seattle Aquarium, where the sea otters were my favorite, since they spent the whole time lazing around on their backs. The Underground Tour was sold out, and once we heard that they spend the first twenty five minutes just walking you through the city's history, we decided we'd rather go shopping. In the afternoon the others were already waiting at the Space Needle, and we could set off for Canada. Our destination: Vancouver.
Vancouver
In Vancouver everyone split off into their little groups in the morning, same as always. I started out with two schoolteachers from Munich, but then I figured I'd rather zip off on my own. My destination was Stanley Park, a name that to this day makes me think of Laurel and Hardy. Since the park is huge, I rented a bike and pedaled first to the zoo, where you don't pay admission and the birds roam around free. Then on to the Vancouver Aquarium, small but very clean. I stood forever watching the killer whales, wondering whether those shrill whistling sounds of theirs are something like a language.
Vancouver has a science museum too, and since museums like that fascinate me, I had to go. I liked it even better than the one in San Francisco, much cleaner and tidier, and the round design is really interesting. In the music section there are all these little booths with keyboards and drum kits that you can step into and try everything out. Later on, over in the old town, there was the famous steam clock to see, though otherwise the old town isn't anything special. To wrap things up I met the others again and we went out for pizza together.
Yellowstone
To cap off the trip we headed into Yellowstone. Honestly, I'd been dreading the night there beforehand, because of the bears. At the campsite we were greeted first thing by a whole forest of signs full of rules: no food in the tent, nothing that smells like food, not even toothpaste, because bears have a great nose. This time I pitched my tent especially carefully. We were barely a few miles into the park when a whole herd of bison crossed our path, followed by elk. At night it got bitterly cold, and by morning the water on the tables had frozen, 3°C (37°F), right at the freezing point. I put on every sweater I owned and dozed more than I slept.
The day made up for it, though. For the first time I saw geysers in the most beautiful colors. Some shimmer an eerie blue, others bubble and stink and turn gray, with the trees dying off all around. At the end we drove to Old Faithful, the geyser whose eruptions you can predict pretty much to the minute. That day it didn't spout particularly high, but the landscape all around was straight out of a picture book.
For me the trip ended in Salt Lake City. The others kept the trek going all the way to San Francisco, so my last day with the group was the big farewell with everyone swapping addresses. We still visited the Mormon temple, where a girl from Stuttgart on her mission showed us around the grounds. The city itself is hardly worth it, aside from residential and industrial districts there isn't much on offer for visitors. The next day I flew to San Francisco, spent two more days there on my own, and hit all the corners of the city that had won me over, before it was back to good old Germany.