Rainbow Star

Continuing our journey into sleep deprivation, we decided to head up Mt. Ashland and down Colestine Valley to my dad's old stomping grounds, his (clothing optional!) commune called Rainbow Star. The land has since been bought by a Buddhist monastery called Tashi Choling, but we were welcomed on the grounds. It was great to have more of an insight into my dad's life.


Temple crossroads

The entrance, with the boddhisatva of Compassion

Lee's Pyramid house- he built it by hand, with no power tools.

Llamas kept by the monastery. They were friendly enough not to spit, but not friendly enough to hug.

Down the valley was the main house where my dad, Lee, Walter, and Chris lived together until they built separate houses. The house is called "The Mouse House" by its current owners because of the state it was in when they first came to the property. The owners have done a lot of work and have changed a lot, but the heart of it is still there.

All of this land was Rainbow Star's

After we saw the monastery, we went up to visit Lee, who was one of the co-owners of the commune. He was a good friend of my dad's and the best man at his wedding. He filled in some more of the story and was an awesome host.

Jackson Wellsprings

The Jackson Wellsprings, where the Mystic Garden Party was held, became something like our spiritual home in Oregon. We kept coming back, and it really did feel like we were coming home. It is an amazing property, the people are all spiritual, new agey, hippies, and we loved it. We spent the night in their campground, stayed up all night, and went on a shooting spree in the morning. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

After our photo shoot, we were famished and exhausted, so we went to have breakfast. It turned out to be the most delicious meal we'd ever had.

From coast to coast

We have reached a milestone on our adventure. The Pacific Ocean welcomes us.

Keep an eye on this space for more info. We're not updating in any particular order so you might see a few adventures that are out of sequence. We're doing our best but the internet is not as plentiful on the road.

Oregon calls to me

We have fallen in love with Oregon. There's no better way to say it. The natural beauty, the kindness of the people, the sense of adventure. It's all there. And as a result, we decided to stay in Ashland a while longer (using the fact that we're waiting for a package as a flimsy excuse).

Look at this beautiful countryside!


Before we arrived in Oregon, we perused craigslist to find some likeminded people to spend time with. It turns out a couple of self proclaimed geeks were looking for another couple with whom to adventure. We decided the risk of running internet creeps was worth taking. So after the events of the Mystic Garden Party, we looked them up and arranged a meetup. Our rendezvous took place at a coffee shop called The Roasting Co. We quickly picked them out of the crowd by physical description and talked for a little while before heading the Senor Sams for some tasty burritos.

Afterwards we visited a gaming shop to pick up a fun travel game. One appealed to us so we plunked down the cash and were on our way to Lithia Park for a rowsing game of Space Munchkin. A dip in the river later, we visited our new friends' house and watched half of Team America. However, allergies to their adorable pets forced me to depart before the movie's conclusion. All in all it was a good night.

A scenic sunset drive later, we were back at Jumping Joe's in Hugo and we went to bed, content.
A couple of days later, we decided to meet our new friends again. This time, they invited us to Lake of the Wood, a beautiful lake in the mountains of Oregon.



That's Mt. McLoughlin in the background. It's beautiful peak is pretty much what I think of when I think of mountains.

The drive over there was something else. Plenty of winding roads and sharp turns running through an amazing forest of towering Ponderosa Pines. Our friends led the way in their truck.



On the way, we spied with our little eye, something brown!



A wild cow, just grazing by the side of the highway. We wanted to stop but we had to avoid the temptation lest we lose our guides in the process.





Before long, we arrived at the lake. Instantly, we decided that we wanted to camp there. It was a bit pricey, but it was so beautiful that we couldn't resist. We were crushed to find out that there weren't any RV spots left so we kept a stiff upper lip and went to the marina to rent a watercraft.

Initially, we rented a canoe and had a wild time racing with Kris and Ivory. There were a bunch of close calls and near collisions but we eventually got the hang of it. After about an hour, we returned to the dock to requisition something with a little more horsepower.

We rented a small powerboat with a 6 horsepower engine and zipped around the lake at a severely underwhelming speed. Regardless, we have to think of safety first. Behold! We are positively buoyant!





In our search for a prime swimming spot, we ran into some ducks having a girl's night out. Before long they were intruded upon by a flock of males on the prowl.



After a nice cruise, we docked at a floating dock. The ladies took a refreshing dip while Kris and I worked on our tans.




By this point it was starting to get late so we began to make our way back. Reluctantly, we left the Lake of the Woods in our rear view and prepared for a scenic drive back to Ashland, where we would spend the night.



Who should we see on the way back but our good friend A Cow! As he was still grazing away by the side of the road, we decided to pay him a visit.



Unfortunately, being the cautious cow he is, he did not appreciate our intrusion and beat a lazy escape into the wood.



He must have been a Holy Cow because something magical happened this day. Our animal related wishes began to come true. "Oh Dear!" Angelica exclaimed, and moments later we saw some deer! We were too surprised to take a photo so we decided to experiment. "Oh bunnies!" I shouted out. "Oh goats and donkeys" we called out.

Sure enough, one by one they began to appear:









Completely satisfied with our day we drove back to our favorite place in Ashland: The Jackson Wellsprings and rested our weary heads.

Ashland and Mystic Garden Party

Our first destination on the West Coast was Ashland, Oregon for a festival called "Mystic Garden Party" One of our favorite artists, Alex Grey, as well as dozens of bands and thousands of hippies were to be there. We got to Ashland a day early so we spent the day walking around town, which was one of the first hippie meccas.

There is art all over town in the streets, including this Totem Pole.

Ashland has a huge park called "Lithia Park", which has a creek running through it. Of course I couldn't resist jumping right in.

At a thrift store in Ashland, Jim went back to his pirate roots. I'd forgotten how good he looks with his long hair ;)

On the 23rd, we arrived at the Mystic Garden Party. The crowd was very eccentric and eclectic. There was a great vibe the whole time and we can't wait to go back next year. Here is Alex Grey on stage.

At the Mystic Dome, where lots of talks and workshops were held, there was a swing. Again, I couldn't resist.

My favorite, Lavender. And a pretty Butterfly! You can see the spa in the background. The spa which is clothing optional after dark!

The Mystic Garden Party was a great experience. I think we both learned more about ourselves and how great people could be. Hippies call people they don't know "Brother" or "Sister" so there was a vibe of togetherness and family and sharing the whole time. The grounds were beautiful, the music was great, and the talks were fascinating. Maybe we'll go to the one in Maui next spring too..!

What's Outside our Back Door?

I present to you the first installment of our new series: "What's Outside our Back Door?", which will showcase the view outside of our van when we wake up in the morning.

This was the view outside of our van at the campsite in Lakeview, Oregon. It was the first stop for us in Oregon and we were excited to have reached our destination. The desert became forest filled with Ponderosa Pine.

This is the view from our van at the Mystic Garden Party. I've never seen so many VW vans (or hippies) in my life!

Cross Country

Driving across the country, we found some absolutely beautiful scenery. Everytime we got to a new state, we said "Now this is the best state yet!" We are in Oregon now, and of course it's our favorite so far.

We also got to reconnect with some more family in Minnesota/Wisconsin. That's my mom's cousins and their husbands, and pets. I have always loved lakes but unfortunately there was some unseasonably cold weather so we didn't get to jump in!

Driving through Nevada, we came across this car. We stopped to give him a jump, but the car was empty, and there was a ticket on the window, dated 2 days before. It makes you wonder where a disabled person went off to in the middle of a desert.

We found a sand dune on the way through Nevada. Of course we stopped to roll down it!

I have always loved the image of the road stretching off into the distance. Nevada was great for scenery like this.

Our van in front of the mountian scenery of Nevada. We climbed up a hill to check out an abandoned cement building and to get a better look around us.

We just couldn't get enough of Nevada. After so much farmland, we welcomed the desert and the mountains. Needless to say, we got out of the van dozens of times to take pictures and take in the view. Once at nighttime, we even stopped the van and climbed on top to look at the amazing stars.

We finally made it to Oregon last night, just in time to see the sunset. The terrain changed from desert with low-lying brush to desert with tall pine trees, and then farmland with mountains all around. So far we love the Northwest!

Later this week, we are going to find the place where my dad and his friends had a commune. It turns out that it is located in Ashland, where we will be, and that Ashland was one of his favorite places. How serendipitous!