http://www.spicygoliath.com Explore. Dream. Discover. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:34:02 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en While celebrating our successful arrival at Flagstone almost two weeks ago we took bets on how many vehicles will be driving by the rv (parked on the edgy shoulder of a forest road) Mareli’s 3 cars a day made my 3 a week seem very conservative but as it turned ... http://www.spicygoliath.com/2008/07/24/flagstone-crazy-hummingbirds/ This holiday has been full of "firsts" for me, starting with my first attempt to blog (the one you are currently reading) and continuing with my first trip in the infamous RV (currently dangerously dangling over a steep crevasse somewhere in the hills of the Willamette National Forest) The only familiar ... http://www.spicygoliath.com/2008/07/17/hopefully-my-first-not-my-last/ Now in Terrebonne Oregon, Mareli and I plan to do a lot of climbing at Smith Rock over the next couple of weeks. It is amazing how much snow is still on the cascade volcanoes compared to the even higher mountains just South in California. Oregon had a big winter ... http://www.spicygoliath.com/2008/06/27/napa-to-oregon/ My sister Mareli has been traveling through South America for the last 6 months. I met her and my parents - traveling from South Africa – in Los Angeles and brought them back to my campsite at the Owens Gorge. A family reunion in the Owens Valley! The last 10 ... http://www.spicygoliath.com/2008/06/17/family-reunion/ Two Years and Two Months…. and still on the road. I have started my 3rd loop around the Western US this time slowly moving North through California before heading to Oregon and possibly Washington. Planning is futile and I prefer to keep it that way. Life in the RV has been ... http://www.spicygoliath.com/2008/05/31/two-years-and-two-months/ The Owens Valley is notorious for strong winds which are evident in the formation of the ‘Bishop Wave’ that regularly adorn the skies around here. These mountain wave clouds or ‘Foehn waves’ as they are called in other parts of the world are quite often used by sailplane pilots ... http://www.spicygoliath.com/2008/04/27/downslope-wind-event/ I love the Owens Valley. With a view like this... how can you not? Sitting up in bed with a cup of coffee the view includes Mt. Langley, Mt. Muir, Mt. Whitney, Mt. Russell, Mt Williamson and numerous couloirs drenched in snow. After my terrible camping experience last week ... http://www.spicygoliath.com/2008/03/23/what-a-view/ Villager peak is much higher and tougher than it looks from below. Starting at 1:30 pm we did not have enough time to reach the peak before sunset and it took 30 minutes of cactus-avoiding-scrambling in the dark to locate a flat spot. With no tent we didn’t waste any ... http://www.spicygoliath.com/2008/03/02/overnight-on-villager-peak/ After a week of camping in the Anza Borrego desert with 80 degree weather, we are finally cooling off with a little snow. The locals say they haven't seen this much snow in 20 years. All of the surrounding mountains in the area are covered with a blanket ... http://www.spicygoliath.com/2008/02/15/snow-in-the-desert/ The trip back to California started with an hour delay… or at least that is what they are telling us right now. Luckily I am sitting in the brand new international terminal at Johannesburg airport enjoying my last African sunset for a while. We are supposed to leave in 40 ... http://www.spicygoliath.com/2008/01/30/the-grind-back-home/