messynessytravels-blog

[messynessytravels-blog]

Hot. Sweaty. Dusty. Hot. Great words to describe traveling the six stages of the Nevada Backcountry Discovery Route. A 908 mile dirt-road route that takes you from Oatman, Arizona all the way north to Jarbidge, Nevada. Average time to complete all 6 stages is 6-9 days. We did it in 5. On purpose? Nope. But we'll get to that later.

STAGE 1- Oatman, AZ to Pahrump, NV

Day 1 actually started with a short day drive through Joshua Tree National Park. For some weird reason, I find these trees fascinating. The drive from Joshua Tree NP to Oatman, AZ took us part way on the historic Route 66 and through the Mojave National Preserve.

We rolled into Oatman, AZ (the start of Stage 1) around 5pm and our timing was perfect if you wanted to drive during a thunderstorm and worry about flash floods. The small town itself looked like a scene from an old western movie. It was just the right amount of worn down (with obvious general maintenance) to give you the feeling that you've stepped back in time.

But the most exciting part of Oatman is the town herd of wild burros! The friendliest bunch of wild animals will greet you as you exit your vehicle and will happily lead the way to the nearest open business, where you can purchase burro food for them to snack on. These are a well fed herd of asses.

After a quick stop at the only open saloon, we piled back into the Jeep and went on our way. At 6pm, we knew we had a few short hours to make some headway and find a place to camp.

The drive out of Oatman to Bullhead city was less than exciting. The wide, well travelled gravel road was littered with garbage. Fortunately, we were able to keep our speed up and get through this section quickly.

One of my "must stops" was about 10 mins past Bullhead City, the Grapevine Canyon Petroglyphs. We pulled into the trail head of the canyon as the sun was starting to hide behind the rocks. With the threat of rain and flash flooding finally over, we made the short hike to the mouth of the canyon.

Back in the Jeep within an hour, we hit the dirt road to find a spot to camp along Christmas Tree Pass. With a race against the setting sun, we found an open spot to quickly set up camp.

[messynessytravels-blog]

France

Our first stop on our European Anniversary Adventure was Paris. I have always wanted to see Paris and the Eiffel Tower. This was also the first time we booked a room with airbnb. We had a small room with an even smaller shared bathroom. But that is typical for a Paris apartment. We stayed in the La Chappelle neighborhood, which was several subway stops away from the Eiffel Tower. 

We only spent 3 nights in Paris, and that was enough! The city was dirty and the people were rude. Pretty much the opposite of Portland!! But the history and culture in Paris is like no where else! I loved stopping for coffee/lunch at the little bistros and sitting at a table practically on the sidewalk. It looks and feels just like the movies!

We did the usual touristy stuff, went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, visited the Lourve and Notre Dame.  We sat at the intersection of the Arc de Triomphe to watch the cars narrowly escape death. That was a hoot. We only had 3 days so we wanted to cram in the sights before we left. 

We had lunch with a friend from school. (a french exchange student) She encourage us to try escargot (snails) and foie gras (fatty duck liver), both were delicious! 

Soon after, we packed up our heavy backpacks, hopped on a high speed train to Nice(my very first time riding on a train!!) and went off to our next adventure! Next stop: Monaco Grand Prix!

[messynessytravels-blog]

Anniversary Euro Trip

Wayne and I wanted to do something epic for our 10 year anniversary, so we started planning a trip to Europe abut 2 years in advance. We didnt want a week long trip to a fancy timeshare or resort. We wanted to go there and travel around. We decided on staying in Europe for 4 weeks. We chose a date to leave and a general date when to return home. We figured we would start in Paris because they have a large international airport, and most likely fly home from either London or Rome. That would depend on whether or not we traveled north or south from Paris. 

As an anniversary present, I decided to buy Wayne tickets to the Monaco Grand Prix. We had always wanted to go to an F1 race and the only one that was going to happen while we were in Europe was Monaco. The decision to stay in Nice, France pretty much set it for us that we would be traveling South. Which meant we needed to make our way down to Rome within a month. With our tenative plan in place, we booked our plane tickets home from Rome.

Our trip included adventures in Paris, Nice, Monaco, Milan/Monza, Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome. There is too much to share in just one blog, so check out my other posts about each of our locations!

[messynessytravels-blog]

Germany

Spring Break 2016

I took a class in International Management at Willamette University as part of MBA. The class included a week long trip to Germany. I had never left North America before and was super excited about traveling to Europe. Turn out, this was the best decision of my life. This trip jump started my love of traveling and has inspired me to make traveling the world a priority in my life. 

As part of the class, we visited several business to learn how business is conducted in Germany. We spent 3 days in Berlin before traveling to Munich for another 3 days. 

The following is parts of the journal we were asked to write about our experiences:

“I really enjoyed hearing the tour guide’s view of the city. He provided a viewpoint as a Jewish adult now living in Berlin. The history is sad, but fascinating in the sense that everything I’ve learned about Berlin was actually in front of me instead of a book. I was really interested in hearing how the Germany people want to move on from their past and not be associated with the horrible things that had happened. 

Our tour took us to the memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe was visually stunning. Walking through the memorial makes you feel small.

When the tour took us to the capital building, I was surprised to hear that the buidling is usually empty. I also found it amusing that the chancellor is offered an apartment but would have to pay rent, so she has her own apartment for much less nearby.

Walking though the BMW plant shows an excellent example of German efficiency. I was really impressed that they are able to send different cars through the assembly in any random order and the machines would adjust to fit each specific car they were working on. Each car is customized personally before it begins assembly. The BMW brand is great at evoking an emotion. The best example of this is at BMW World, where new owners can pick up their brand new car straight of the factory line. I don’t think BMW is innovative in terms of new features, I do think their safety and quality works is at the top. 

The drive out to Ayinger Brewery was beautiful. I am so happy we got a chance to see the countryside and a small Bavarian town like Aying. Our tour guide was fantastic. I loved learning about the tradition like the tree posts that were painted and hung signs that showed the occupations of the villagers. And that they were often stolen because for a short period of time, theft was legal.

The brewery itself was updated and modern, but it was the old images of the brewery I found interesting. The brewery still private and family owned for centuries, which is something that we don’t see is the US. 

Overall, my trip to Germany was inspiring. This was my first trip to Europe and I was amazed at how much I felt at home. It was easy to fit in to the German culture, at least what little of it I experienced. “

Berlin was absolutely fascinating!! I remember the fall of the Berlin Wall on TV(I was 7-8 years old well it fell). The history of Berlin can be seen everywhere, and it is recent history. Events that have happened in my lifetime or during my mom’s lifetime. It is an experience I have trouble describing, but I think fascinating is the best word to use.