Tucker and I just got back from his second backpacking trip in Colorado.   I had to make a trip out to Denver for work last Thursday.   Tucker has really wanted to make another trip out to Colorado, so I opted to drive out instead of having my work fly me out.   We drove out on Thursday and I spent that Friday working in our Denver office.    We stayed just outside of downtown Denver in a rather gaudy Bed and Breakfast that allowed kids and dogs.

The rooms, while kind of girly (as most B&Bs are), were nice enough, and the staff was friendly.   They even left some kids movies by the TV for Tucker. However, the neighborhood was kind of seedy.    Just the same, it was only a few minutes to our downtown office from our room, and the parking was free.   We had a scare at 2:00 AM on our last night in the B&B, when a guy walked into our room (he was evidently drunk) and said “Hey!”.   I think I was having a nightmare already at the time, and I woke up and screamed.   He said he was sorry and ran out the room.   Evidently I did not have the door completely latched.   At any rate, I got up and locked the door (considered dragging some furniture in front of it), and laid there awake the rest of the night thinking about how the B&B could have some sadistic owners similar to the plot in many horror movies.

The next morning we got up early, loaded our packs into the Subaru, had breakfast, and took I70 west into the mountains.   Our trailhead was about 100 miles west of Denver just outside of Minturn, Colorado.    Cross Creek Trail in the Holy Cross Wilderness is supposed to be one of the most remote wilderness experiences in Colorado and I was expecting us to have it nearly to ourselves.    Thus I was surprised to see several vehicles at the trailhead.   It is still crowded Colorado, so that is to be expected.    We hit the trail around 10:30 Saturday morning and it was already getting hot (80s, which is hot for the high country).

The trail seemed to be in good condition and easy to follow.   We encountered several people along the first couple of miles, but they were all day hikers spending the weekend in the high country to escape the heat in Denver.    Within a couple of miles of the trailhead we arrived at a creek crossing.   The problem was that the bridge was washed out and the creek was far to swift and deep to safely wade.   Fortunately, we found a tree that had fallen across the creek and were able to cross the creek there.   Its was more difficult than it might look because I was carrying a 50 pound external frame pack.

The washed out bridge seems to have dissuaded most day hikers and backpackers from continuing any further because we only encountered one other party from there on and for the next 3 days had the entire place to ourselves.    The hike up cross creek was quite strenuous with a lot of elevation gain.   The trail was also difficult to follow at times.    The trail usually took us several hundred feet above the creek, and there were very few opportunities to get good water.    It was a very pretty hike though with lots of aspen groves and huge spruce trees.   We finally made it to our camping spot around 3:30 that afternoon.   It was a very picturesque meadow with access to Cross Creek, a large beaver pond, and great views of Mount Holy Cross and Middle Mountain.

We found a good campsite between on a hill above the beaver pond and creek, and we setup camp.    I noticed that trout were rising down in the beaver pond, so we tied a rooster tail on our fishing poles and made our way down to the meadow.    The trout were so thick in the beaver pond that on my first cast I snagged one. Within a couple of hours we had already caught and released several dozen fish.     We kept a few for dinner and dinned on trout and rice that night.

The next morning we made our way down to the creek and spent the day fishing.   We probably caught another 100 fish or so on spoons.

We kept some more for lunch that day.

We noticed bear tracks all over the valley and by the creek.   However, we did not see any bears and in fact the only animals we did encounter other than birds and squirrels was a fox that followed us into camp.   That night my stove failed and we had to cook everything over a fire.   We had planned on spending a week in the backcountry, but the stove failing was a big problem as virtually all of our food other than trail mix required boiling water.    The next day much of our food and all of Carter’s dog food was raided by a bear.   We followed some bear tracks in the mud and found some of the empty food bags a few hundred feet from camp.   Normally I hang a bear bag with all our food in it, but I was lazy that day and didn’t (probably because I had to cook everything including boiling water over a fire because the st0ve was not working).   It was more than a little bit worrisome that the bear was bold enough to raid our food so close to our tent.

At any rate, with much of our food now gone, and all of Carter’s dog food gone we had to end our backpacking trip after 3 days.   We did some more fishing that day, packed up and started the long hike out of the backcountry.   We finally made it back to our car just moments before a thunderstorm hit.   Even though we had to cut the trip short, it still was a great trip due to the fishing alone.   I think Tucker is sick of the high country for a now, and he wants our next big trip to be to the north woods in Minnesota.

Zhen Zhen and Tucker at the Trailhead

We went down to Arkansas for Thanksgiving week.   Tucker has been wanting to climb Arkansas’ tallest mountain for a while now so I decided it would be a good opportunity for Zhen Zhen’s first backpacking trip.    Since it was Zhen Zhen’s first backpacking trip, and for that matter her first camping trip, we just did an overnighter (instead of the near expedition level trips Tucker usually wants to take).    We found a camping spot on the trail at the northern foot of the mountain.   Zhen Zhen loved cooking outside and spending the night in the tent.  We had nice sunny weather the afternoon we hit the trail, but a cold front came in that night and brought with it over cast skies and temperatures down into the lower 40s the next morning.

Zhen Zhen has a fear of bears (I guess too much Discovery Channel), and was always worried about one eating us.   Luckily she did not notice the rather large Bear Country sign at the summit trailhead.

At any rate, we had no contact with bears at all, and saw no signs of them.   The trail to the top of Mount Magazine is about 3 miles long and gains about 1800 feet in altitude.   The footing on the trail was very precarious at times, so it took us a little more than two hours to make it to the top.  Zhen Zhen had a hard time keeping her balance in a few places and really could have used a good pair of hiking boots instead of just the running shoes she had on.   She was a trooper just the same – despite the fact that we had no way of really conveying to her where we were going or what we were doing walking out in the middle of the woods.   We encountered lots of cool rock formations on the way up, and a couple of small waterfalls.

Zhen Zhen posing in front of a small trailside waterfall.

Zhen Zhen had a hard time with the last leg of the hike up due of the steepness of it.   Because of the thick woods all the way up its kind of hard to know when you are close to the top, and you are basically there by the time you realize it.

Zhen Zhen and Tucker hiking up the final ascent.

We encountered dense fog and much colder temperatures at the summit (2753 feet), so unfortunately there were no big views to be had.   There is a state park on top of the mountain so we did explore it a little bit and then hiked up to a campground to warm up in shower room.

Tucker and Zhen Zhen on top of Mount Magazine at a campground.

After we warmed up we made the hike back down the mountain, broke down our camp, and drove back up the visiter center so the kids could get a souvenir. The fog lifted by the time we drove back up, so we stopped at one of the overlooks so Tucker and Zhen Zhen could see how high they had climbed earlier.

Zhen Zhen and Tucker at an overlook.

Even with the less than perfect weather we had, it still was a nice trip.   I am not sure if Zhen Zhen liked it that much or not.   She says she did, but that could just be because she thinks it is what Tucker likes doing (which it is).   It ended up being a tougher hike than I thought it would be, and was definitely harder than what I would have liked her first backpacking trip to be.    Just the same, she climbed the tallest mountain in Arkansas for her first backpacking trip, so only 49 more state high points to go.

When we hit the trail on Thursday morning it was about 70 degrees out and partly cloudy.

Tucker and Carter and the Missouri Lakes trailhead.

However, less than a mile into the trail a storm blew in and it started raining, then pouring, the hailing on us.   Water was pouring down the trail and despite throwing on our jackets we were still getting soaked.   Luckily, by the time we made it up to Missouri Lakes the storm was moving out so we were able to dry our gear before that night.   We found a nice camping spot overlooking upper Missouri Lake.

Tucker and Carter just after we arrived at upper Missouri Lake.

The lakes are at 11,500 feet and are right at the tree line.   There was even some snow banks left on the alpine tundra around the lakes.  After we set up camp and hung out our wet gear to dry we did some fishing in the lake.   On a side note, I have done a decent amount of wilderness backpacking and canoe trips and encountering weather like we had on the way up to Missouri lakes is exactly why I think that down sleeping bags can literally be a killer for spring and summer backpacking trips.   The reason being is that because I had to carry both of our gear, I had to lash my sleeping bag on to the outside of my pack.  As a result, it got kind of wet despite being in a compression bag.   Because its a synthetic bag, I was able to hang it up and dry it out within a couple of hours in the dry mountain air.   Had it been a down bag, it would have taken at least a day to dry, and offered no warmth at all that night because down is useless when wet.   Such a scenario could easily lead to hyperthermia when alpine temperatures dip below freezing as they did every night of our trip.

Anyway, back to the trip.  I caught one Cutthroat Trout that evening and had Tucker bury it in a small snowbank until we were ready for dinner.   That night we dinned on trout, freeze dried spaghetti, and some oatmeal cookies Tiffani made for us.  We had a ton of wind that night so we had a hard time sleeping consistently throughout the night.   Moreover, the moon was full and was so bright at that altitude that visibility outside was nearly as good as it is in the middle of the day.   We woke up around 6 am the next morning and I made Tucker some hot chocolate and me some instant coffee (its terrible but I have to have my morning coffee).  We had our breakfast of instant oatmeal and I started breaking down camp.

Tucker at our camp that morning.

We hit the trail around 10:00 AM and started over Missouri Pass.   Lugging 55 pounds of gear over a 12,500 foot pass is quite strenuous to say the least.

Catching my breath about halfway up the pass.

This pass was not very technical and we only had to cross one small snowfield.   We had great views of the upper Missouri lakes on the way up.

Missouri Lakes from Missouri Pass

Once we got to the top we were greeted with a beautiful view of Treasure Vault lake and the Cross Creek valley.

Treasure Vault Lake from Missouri Pass

We then set out across the alpine tundra in the valley to Fancy Pass.   The tundra was carpeted with wildflowers and we had the whole place to ourselves.   Along the way we encountered several curious marmots including this pair.

Marmots

Tucker had quite an eye for them and could easily spot them among the boulders.   We had to keep a tight lead on Carter as it seemed that he thought he had found his true calling as a marmot hunter.   The way up Fancy Pass was not overly difficult aside from the steepness and the altitude.   The top of the pass was over 12,500 feet and Tucker felt like a true mountaineer on top of it.

Tucker at the summit of Fancy Pass

We were greeted with another wonderful view of the valley below from the top of the pass.

View from Fancy Pass

The route down from the pass ended up being very difficult with a couple of very hairy snow bank crossings.   Had I known how difficult it was beforehand I would have probably opted to take Tucker on a different route in the wilderness.   Just the same, we were careful, took our time and made it down safely.

Tucker descending a snowbank

Because of the amount of snow and ice we encountered on the pass I would recommend that anyone attempting it should make sure they carry crampons with them.   Fancy Lake came into view about two thirds of the way down the pass.   Fancy lake is a beautiful small lake at around 11,600 feet.

Fancy Lake

We got to the lake around 1 PM and setup camp in a small grove of sub alpine spruce.

Fancy Lake Camp

We then spent the next 2 days fishing the lake (we caught 6 more Cutthroat Trout):

Tucker Fishing on Fancy Lake

Exploring:

Mountain Vista

Climbing (Tucker thinks of himself as a seasoned mountaineer now), and dinning on trail mix and freeze dried meals (they are better than you would think they would be).

Tucker Climbing

We had good weather with sunny warm days and cold nights.    We lucked out on firewood because a previous camper had left a large pile of it near our camping spot.   Luckily I remembered to pack some marsh mellows this time.   Tucker even found a trout bag someone had left at the lake and I found a Cabelas Packable Jacket.   Evidently someone left in quite a hurry before.   Maybe the horrible weather we encountered on our way up to Missouri Lakes ran them out without even getting all their stuff.

On our final morning in the wilderness we did some more exploring, saw an elk and a mule deer, and then set off down the fancy creek trail down to our vehicle.   The trail was quite steep and meandered its way through a spruce forest.

Tucker Fancy Creek Trail

The trail down was very pretty and passed through a couple of small meadows.

Meadow

Since the forest was predominately spruce, it was largely unaffected by the pine beetle epidemic that is destroying much of Colorado’s lodgepole pine forests. Tucker tried fishing the creek down in the valley but did not have any luck.

Tucker fishing in the creek in the valley.

After a little while Tucker gave up and we started back on the 730 mile drive back home.   We had a great time in Colorado but we both missed Tiffani, Harper and Zhen Zhen and were glad to be going home.   When we got back Tiffani was baking Tucker’s favorite dinner for us, Lemon Chicken (Nigella Lawson recipe), and Zhen Zhen and Harper came running out to greet us.

Chicken Kidneys – very tough.

Octopus Balls – this is a Japanese food, was very good.  Since it was nearly 100 degrees out, we opted to not have them drizzle mayonnaise on them.

Fish Balls – I think they were made with some kind of a pressure cooked carp before they were battered, rolled into balls, and fried.  They were ok, but very fishy tasting.

Scorpions – These are actually pretty good, they taste kind of like fried soft shell crabs.

Beetle Larvae – These were edible as wilderness survival food only.

One of the vendors tried to get me to try some kind of roast cockroaches on a stick but I could not bring myself to do so.

Scorpions and Beetle Worms.

The next day our guide took us to the 6 Banyan Tree Buddhist temple (over a thousand years old) where we got the traditional Buddhist blessing for our new daughter.   The temple was very peaceful and full of worshipers.   I thought it was kind of funny seeing many of the younger monks walking around with cell phones.

Getting a blessing from the monk.

The next morning I had just about all I could stand of the city so Zhen Zhen and I hopped a cab to White Cloud Mountain.    White Cloud Mountain rises a couple of thousand feet above Guangzhou.   There are miles of trails on it and a cable car that will take you to and from the top as well.    Despite the heat, we hiked to the top and took the cable car back down.    The trails up the mountain are paved and take you through a sub-tropical forest.    Its not wilderness by any means, but its a welcome change from the concrete jungle below.

Zhen Zhen in the cable car on the way down from the top.

Thursday night we left Guangzhou and flew to Shanghai.    Shanghai is the financial center of mainland China.   Its a city of around 25 million or so and is very competitive with Hong Kong.    We stayed in the Pudong district in a funky hotel that seems to cater to western europeans.

Pudong Skyline from The Bund.

Shanghai is a true world class city.    Our problem was that we really were homesick at this point and it was very hot there (102 when we landed).   So it was not as enjoyable for us as it probably would have been under other circumstances.   Just the same, we spent the weekend exploring the city.   On saturday we went to the Shanghai Museum which houses a large collection of Chinese antiquities.     You could easily spend the better part of a day in the museum as China has a very long history.

3000 year old bronze basin at the museum.

Shanghai is the intellectual birthplace of the Chinese Communist Party, but you would not know it by looking at it now, its essentially the epicenter of commercialism in China.   30 years ago Nanjing Road would have been filled with Chinese citizens in blue Mao suits on bikes, this is it today:

Nanjing Road

Our flight back to the states left on Sunday and the highlight of the day other than knowing we were finally going home was riding the 268 MPH Maglev Train to Pudong International Airport.

On our first morning in Guangzhou we had to take Zhen Zhen to an American Consulate approved clinic for a complete physical and vaccinations.    The cost for the physical, shots, and some medication due to her having an ear infection was around 250 dollars American.   That may sound cheap, but its much more expensive than similar services offered in other Chinese healthcare clinics.  It seems as though all one has to do is create a small association between healthcare and America, and miraculously it gets far more expensive than it otherwise would have been.

Zhen Zhen taking an eye test.

Zhen Zhen had to have 3 shots while we were there and she did not cry at all getting them.   So, she is pretty tough.   After we finished with the physical we spent they day exploring the island.   This was Saturday and evidently thats Wedding Picture Day, when all the newlyweds in Guangzhou come to the island for pictures.

What was amazing to me is that it was nearly 100 degrees and very humid, yet the brides and grooms were out there for hours getting pictures taken without a drop of sweat on them.   It’s much safer going for morning runs here than it was in Nanchang because there are hardly any cars on the island.   Zhen Zhen wakes up around 5:30 AM every morning, and I have been going out for a run at around 6 AM.   There are always tons of people out exercising in the mornings, mostly doing Tai Chi, but there are some joggers as well.    No one is very fast at all so being here makes me feel like Steve Prefontaine as I pass everyone.

Zhen Zhen posing in the pedestrian mall in the middle of the island.

There are lots of American families on the island with their new kids.   Zhen Zhen gets excited every time she sees a new family.   Most of them seem to hang out around their hotels though.   I think its because most of them are yankees and can’t handle the tropical heat and humidity here.   Some of them seem to do nothing but bitch about it here every time you talk to them.   Personally I don’t get it.   It’s hot here, and we miss our kids, but how often do you get to spend time in a place like China.  For crying out loud, this is for many of them a once in a lifetime experience, so quite bitching and get out and explore.   Today we left the island and explored Guangzhou.    The area around the island consists of a lot of older neighborhoods with lots of bustling markets.    Zhen Zhen and I tried some street food, and Tiffani was able to get a new pair of glasses in her prescription for – get this – 32 dollars American.   They had them ready in 1 hour.   Not only that, but they did a better job with the prescription then the optometrist did back in the states when she got her last pair.

Tiffani in her new Glasses

Afterwards we came across a street that was all pets for sale:  Dogs, Cats, Birds, Fish, Chipmunks…..

Chipmunks for sale.

Zhen Zhen pet a puppy for the first time while we were there.  Hopefully this is a good sign in so far as her not being afraid of Carter.

We came across several really cool old lanes as well called hutongs.

Guangzhou Hutong

We also saw lots of exotic foods including: eels, snakes, turtles, jellyfish, and even scorpions:

Be careful eating these...

Evidently there are places here where you can get them served on the street roasted on a stick.    Thats definitely something I will be trying while we are here just to say I did it.   Anyway, Zhen Zhen is driving us crazy wanting to get something to eat so I have to wrap this up.

It is very hot and humid here right now. The official temperature during the day is around 95 to 98 degrees with very oppressive humidity. However, the actual temperature in the summer is always a few degrees hotter than the official temperature because there is a law in China that any time the temperature rises above 40 degrees Celsius (104 F) you get the day off. Thus, the official temperature is almost never 40 degrees Celsius as they always shave a few degrees off the actual temperature when posting the official temperature. Anyway, during the middle of the day, its just flippin hot here. So we always just go to the indoor pool in the hotel during the middle of the day and only get out in the mornings and evenings.

This is Zhen Zhen’s first time in a large city and she does not know to look out for traffic so we have to really watch her when we go outside. Usually I just pick her up and carry her when we are dodging cars, mopeds, and busses as we cross streets. China notoriously has the worst drivers on earth. Their accident rates per capita are exponentially higher than ours are. We passed by a traffic police office and I took a picture of what looks to be the Chinese version of Drivers Ed:

Drivers Education for Chinese Nationals

Around a block or so away from where I took this picture we came upon a large crowd. They were surrounding a woman that had evidently been hit by a passing vehicle. She looked to be quite seriously injured (if not dead), and while the police were there, they were just taking statements from witnesses in the crowd rather than administering first aid to the victim. I probably should have tried to do something myself, but to be honest, I was worried that if we tried to do something we might get arrested or something (and made a show out of investigating our camera) and the headlines in the China Daily would have read “Foreigner Strangles Chinese Woman – Officials are Investigating”. At any rate, we could hear an ambulance coming, and I am sure they got to the scene within another couple of minutes to take the woman to the hospital that was literally less than 100 feet away. Needless to say, you do not want to be seriously injured in China and need first aid or any kind of immediate attention.

Zhen Zhen loves to go out and do stuff. I am sure its all a really big adventure for her. In the mornings we go down for breakfast in the hotel, then go to a supermarket a few blocks away to get snacks for the day. In the evenings our guide meets us and we go out until around 8 or 9 before coming back to the hotel. Despite having some paralysis on her right side and a significant limp, Zhen Zhen has walked 2 miles or more with us every evening. On Tuesday evening we all went to People’s Park which is a beautiful park about a mile and a half or so from the hotel. They have a playground there, lots of Chinese Gardens, rides, and a lake with paddle boats. It was the first time ever for Zhen Zhen to get to ride any kind of amusement park rides, but she has no fear at all of them. She should, as these rides look like rides look just like the kind of rides that carnies would be running in a nation with no personal injury attorneys. We let her ride a couple of them though and she really enjoyed it.

Zhen Zhen on her first Ride

Afterwards we took her out on in a paddle boat in the park’s lake (it was her first time in a boat):

Our Guide Echo, Zhen Zhen, and Me in the Paddle Boat

Later on, we walked about a mile from the park to a nice restaurant for dinner. We ordered:

Roast Suckling Pig – Excellent

A Beef and Chili Pepper Dish – Very, Very, hot – Zhen Zhen loved it.

Kai-lan (Chinese Kale) – was very good. It was sautéed with garlic cloves, chilies, and some kind of small fish.

And a desert that was like a fried pastry filled with condensed coconut milk.

It was served in huge portions family style. We had all of that, plus beers, for around 30 dollars American with the tip.

The next day we went to the Nanchang Zoo. Zhen Zhen had a good time (they have amusement rides in the zoo too), and she saw a lot of animals that she had never seen before. The Zoo is a total dump compared to American zoos.  Most of the animals are kept in small dirty cages.  Zhen Zhen got on a horse for the first time there and smiled for a picture despite being obviously afraid.

Zhen Zhen

As I said, the animals are not kept in the best of conditions, and many look rather unattended. This was especially the case with this huge Boa we saw whose cage was carelessly left open by a zookeeper.

Huge "man eating snake" in the bowel - Notice the large open window in the back of the cage.

After we finished with the zoo, our guide took us down an old street full of vendors and a farmers market.

Old Street in Nanchang

Last time we were in Nanchang our guide was from Shanghai and she came from a fairly bourgeois family – the kind of family that was condemned as “counter revolutionaries and landlords” back during the cultural revolution. It was obvious that she thought Nanchang was a dump full of China’s version of white trash, so she did not take us into any areas like this. Our guide this time is a local though. So she has taken us to a lot of places like this one that we did not get to see last time. On a side note, the communist revolution essentially started in Nanchang and many of the locals seem proud of that, including our guide. Thus our guide has told us a lot about the history of the beginnings of the revolution and this evening we are going to a museum on heros of the revolution. Unlike many other places in China, many of the locals here don’t seem to know how much of a total douche-bag to his people Mao was (giving the Chinese government something actually legitimate to censor this website for now). Anyway, I ended up trying some street food, specifically some “Stinky Tofu”. You can smell stinky tofu long before you actually see it. It smells literally like an open sewer. We smelled it about 30 feet or so before we got to the street vendor. Our guide dared me to try it so I did. Once you get over the smell, which is pretty much impossible, its actually ok. Its deep fried, then drenched in chili oil. I ate a couple of pieces, Tiffani had a little bite, and Zhen Zhen had some.

Trying Stinky Tofu

Other crazy food I have had on the trip so far:

Steamed OX Tripe with Ginger – Zhen Zhen really likes it. I thought it was easily the most disgusting thing I have ever tried.

Green Pea Ice Cream – Zhen Zhen’s favorite. I thought it was ok.

The guide tried to get me to try a preserved egg but I declined. Preserved Egg is a Duck Egg that is wrapped in a special mud and left to rot for about 2 months. I am very adventurous when it comes to trying new things, but I drew the line there.

Afterwards we went to dinner at another nice restaurant where we had:

Chicken Wings covered with a Sweet Coconut Rice – Tiffani’s favorite thing she has had so far on the trip.

A Mushroom and Pork Dish that was fried and drenched in Chili Oil. – Was very good Zhen Zhen loved it.

Some Greens – Very Good.

For desert Mochi stuffed with sweet whipped cream and pineapple – I love Mochi and they were the best I have ever had. Despite being a Japanese Pastry, evidently the Chinese like them too.

Anyway, Zhen Zhen really wants to go to the pool so I have got to wrap this up.

These women practicing traditional Chinese Dance:

Fan Dance

People Exercising:

Tai Chi

A guy showing me his impressive beard (few asians can grow a full beard):

I bet he has been working on this at least 20 years

Chinese seniors singing traditional Chinese music:

Chinese Singing

People in paddle boats:

Fishing Boat

Quiet lanes:

Path

Even a guy using the lake to shave:

Man Shaving in the Lake

After traveling over 24 hours we finally arrived in Nanchang last night around 8 PM. This was someone advantageous to our getting over our jet-lag as we were not able to sleep much on the trip. At any rate, we checked into our hotel, The International Galactic Peace Hotel (no its not ran by Moonies), and were in bed around 10 PM local time. This morning we got up, ate a breakfast of noodles, dumplings, and fruit, and went to Walmart. Believe it or not, but there are over 150 Walmarts in China. The one we went to is about a 20 minute walk from the hotel, just across the August 1st Memorial. Its rather ironic that such a symbol of western capitalism would border a memorial to the first major communist uprising in China.

August 1st Memorial - Nanchang

Something tells me that the late Chairman Mao would have never imagined that Sam Walton would have a 2 story Walmart right next to one of the biggest memorials to Maosim in China. Of course, the new China is communist in name only. Walmarts here are not much like the ones in America. They are full of employees (hey, with over a billion people here you have to have jobs for all of them), and many of them serve as hawkers for various items. We bought 5 beers, 4 cokes, 3 bags of chips (mango and blueberry flavored), some mochi (Japanese Pastry – I love them), various other snacks and toiletries, and this T-Shirt:

for a total of around 8 dollars American. On the way back from Walmart we saw these workers demolishing a storefront with sledgehammers:

I am sure it would have warmed Mao’s dark heart to know that even today, many Chinese laborers are still made to do work the hardest way possible.

After we got back to the hotel I changed into my running clothes, went down the to hotel gymnasium, and then went outside for a run. Running in China is not like running in the United States. To start with, hardly anyone in China runs. Seeing runners in China is about as common as seeing people playing Cricket in the states. Running in China is a true extreme sport. Its about as safe as base jumping. During the summer its quite hot and humid, the air is thick with smog (this is an example of that EPA-free paradise we could enjoy in America if only we could get rid of all those “needless environmental regulations”), the sidewalks are full of people, and you risk being ran over anytime you have to cross a street. In fact, you can be ran over while running down the sidewalks as well because all of them that are wide enough to accommodate a vehicle will have cars driving down them and the others are full of people on mopeds and motorcycles. Ironically, I was almost ran over by a man in a Hu Jang Auto Insurance Van that was driving down the sidewalk to get around a traffic light. That said, going for runs or long walks is the best way to see the real China. In just a 4 mile run from the hotel, I saw -

Some men gambling:

Men Gambling on the Street

Everyday is like the 4th of July in China:

Fireworks at the Nanchang Zoo Entrance

Negotiated at least a dozen intersections like this:

Just step out into it, its the only way to get across.

Found old quiet streets like this:

Quiet Side Street

Passed a club advertising a Michael Jackson Impersonator Show in memory of the late Michael Jackson – What I would not give to see a Chinese Michael Jackson impersonator show:

MJ Impersonator Show

Passed quiet parks like this:

Nanchang Park

And of course saw plenty of the venerable 3 wheeled bikes that are still common sites in China:

I think he has room for more.

I thought it was cute seeing the kid ridding in the back of this one.

……All in just a 4 mile run or so. Which was the longest I could run before I felt as though I was coming down with the black lung from inhaling so much soot and acrid smoke.

The trails were hilly, muddy in places, with lots of rocks and roots.   So it was a pretty gnarly run.   Just the same, Tucker still was able to finish it in 31:04 which I think is pretty good for an 8 year old.   He is quite competitive and was happy to see that other runners were behind him .   We had a blast and both of us can’t wait until our next race.  I think the key to Tucker enjoying running is to combine it with a borderline extreme sport like trail running.

Tucker and I hit the Little Missouri Trail in the Albert Pike Recreation area midday on Thursday. We spent the next two days hiking, climbing mountains (Tucker does not know if he wants to be a Mountain Climber when he grows up or a writer for In Fisherman), fishing, and exploring. This part of the Ouachitas is really pretty. The river looks like a scene out of A River Runs Through It. It’s wild, rocky, clear, and cuts a narrow gorge in the mountains there. 

The only disappointment for Tucker was seeing all the trout in the river that we could not fish for because I did not purchase a trout stamp with my 3 day fishing license. Evidently the state stocks the river every winter with thousands of hatchery trout. This is in the southern part of the state, so most of them die off in the summer. Just the same, Tucker could hardly stand seeing all those fish that he could not catch.

You can see pictures from the trip here: Eagle_Rock_Loop-March09