Winter in Boise

Kristin and I are back in Boise, working hard. We have been picking up a lot of work as substitute teachers in the Meridian School district. This is a perfect set up for us, as it allows us to get back into the traditional classroom and connect with students. We are making lots of notes, recording the ideas that work well, and more often, the things about traditional schooling which frustrate us. Kristin has also been doing quite a bit of private tutoring, helping students with math.

We’ve been working hard to finalize details for our “Rivers of Chile 2008″ expedition. We’ve reserved our vehicle, purchased airfare, and began to organize our curriculum. Also, we’ve been planning our programs for the rest of 2008, which we’re very excited about. With the Boise State University Outdoor Program we’re going to have a 19-day expedition here in Idaho during the end of June/beginning of July. In late August, we’re going to organize a group of Alzar School Supporters to head to the Ottawa River in Canada, and take a group of students to the U.S. Nationals for slalom. It’s going to be a busy year, and very exciting.

That’s all for now. Keep checking in for more updates.

Sean

2nd Trip into Mexico

When Kristin and I returned to the States, we loaded the bikes into the trailer and drove them from El Paso to Charlotte. Our return flight to Boise had us staying in San Antonio for two days, and my older brother Ryan wanted to try out kayaking. So, we rented kayaks from the Power Olympic Outdoor Center (POOC) in San Marcos, and took him and his new wife Heather for a day on the San Marcos River. Surprisingly, this spring-fed river was very clean and clear, and has a nice play park in it. Hopefully, we will get Ryan and Heather hooked on paddling and get to do more of it with them! The crazy thing, though, was that Ben and Michelle Kvanli, owners of the POOC, are slalom racers and therefore knew of the Longs, the Bells, Kent Ford, and all our other friends from that realm. We got to talking with the Kvanlis and learned that they were short-staffed for an upcoming weekend trip to Mexico… and they invited us to join them! This weekend trip was heading to the Cd. Valles area of Mexico, a region we had read about but not had enough time to explore. We jumped on the opportunity, changing our flight and hastily organizing the camping equipment we would need. This second trip to Mexico got off to a rough start, as one of the clients, an Army doctor, was late getting off work… his excuse–the President of the United States was visiting his hospital that afternoon! After that, we had another rough go at the border in Laredo. There were slight problems with the registrations for the trailer and second vehicle, which forced us to stay overnight in Laredo. Once the DMV opened in the morning, though, we had smooth sailing… until just outside Monterrey, where Kristin was pulled over by a Mexican transit police officer for speeding. Fortunately, Ben explained that we were very good leaders, hoping to bring business to the region, and that he didn’t want our experience marred by a speeding ticket. The transit officer accepted this reasoning, and Kristin escaped what would’ve been her first ever speeding ticket. The basecamp for the weekend was on the Rio Valles, near the famous Cascadas Micos. This series of drops is one of the most unique stretches of water we have ever been down. You drop a ridiculous 380 feet or so per mile, but the runnable stretch is only 1/4 mile long. There are six drops in total, all super clean, with giant collection pools. Most have slides that set you up PERFECTLY. The water is a tourqouise color, a result of the limestone formations of the canyon. And, besides the waterfall run, there is a short, fun Class III stretch, with the same beautiful water and collection pools. The wonderful thing about Micos is that beginners or experts can truly enjoy it. The next day of paddling took the group to the Rio Tampaon. I actually ran shuttle this day, but Kristin says the run is a really fun, big water, Class III stretch. At one point, the entire river disappears below ground, at the Puente de Dios. That day, we also visited the Cascada Tamul, a huge 360+ waterfall–the Rio Gallinas dumping into the Rio Santa Maria to form the Tampaon. This was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been, and relatively unspoiled by human development. I was lucky to get in a dawn run down the Micos with Ben on our last day. As we paddled down the warm water, with the sun rising ahead of us, I felt extremely grateful for this second opportunity to come to Mexico. I also considered the cold weather I’d be heading to in Boise, and grew excited for our upcoming expedition to Chile in January/February. All in all, the expedition to Mexico was a huge success. Writing this from Boise, ID, I am even more resolved to grow Alzar into a full, year-round school. We know that students of all ages can benefit from the international exposures, from the challenges of outdoor adventure.

Back in the States

After a last night in Mexico in the small town of Sabinas, we crossed the border at Piedras Negras/Eagle’s Pass easily and concluded our three-week expedition in Mexico. It was a little sad to cross the Rio Grande and know that we would not be seeing Mexico for at least a year.

We drove up the US side of the border to the town of Del Rio, then began heading north. Southwestern Texas seemed as remote (if not more so) than most of Mexico, and Kristin came very close to running out of gas as there was one stretch where we did not see a gas station for 117 miles. We met up with I-10 at Ft. Stockton, and stayed the night at an Econolodge for $70. We lamented the fact that hotels only cost us about $20 a night during our stay in Mexico.

The next morning, we needed to complete our drive to El Paso to pick up Dr. Chewning’s truck and the trailer. We loaded up the bikes, only to discover that Kristin’s bike would not start. We tried and tried until we wore the battery down. We tried for a while to jump the bike off the battery of the hotel clerk’s Suburban, but realized that while we wasted time trying to get the bike started, one of us could be 1/3 of the way to El Paso. Ultimately, we decided that Kristin would stay with her bike in Ft. Stockton while I went for the truck. This worked out smoothly, as we needed to pass through the town on our way to San Antonio anyway.

We felt very fortunate that the one day that we really had problems getting the bike started was the one day it really didn’t matter. I think we could’ve fiddled with the bike for a while and gotten it to go, but western I-10 did not seem like a stretch Kristin would truly regret not getting to ride.

Once we had the bikes loaded into the trailer, we set off to complete their voyage to North Carolina. Riding in the comfort of the truck seemed easy after all the hours of intense focus on the motorcycles. You didn’t need your right hand on the throttle constantly. You could adjust your sitting position without affecting the balance of the vehicle. THERE WAS MUSIC! AND BOOKS ON TAPE!

This was an incredible trip, made possible by Dr. Chewning, Rob Gould, Motodiscovery, the Boise High Key Club, and other sponsors. We have definitely fallen in love with Mexico, and look forward enthusiastically to the day that we will take students there to share its wonders.

Heading north...

Having finished up in Jalcomulco, we headed to Xalapa for a day to check out the nearest big city to our future basecamp. Xalapa turned out to be a confusing city to navigate, with lots of one-way streets, five-way stops, and steep hills. But, we found a hotel within walking distance of the reputable Museo de Antropologia, and went to check out the museum. It specialized in the history of the state of Veracruz during pre-Colombian times, and was well-organized. Probably the coolest items in the collection were the “Colossal Heads,” which were enormous sculptures of, you guessed it, heads.

It was also promising to find Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Officemax, Costco, Sam’s Club, etc in Xalapa. While we prefer NOT to shop at these stores and instead strive to support smaller local businesses, they can be helpful in a pinch. We also found and enjoyed a movie theater… one of our favorite pasttimes while traveling.

Trying to leave Xalapa, we ran into our first hiccup with the bikes. Kristin’s bike is notoriously cold-blooded, and doesn’t like to start up immediately in the mornings. As we worked to get it started, we wore down the battery. So, we tried to jump it using my bike, but its battery wasn´t strong enough to jump it. It took some frantic, sloppy Spanish to find someone to let us use their car to jump the bike… several people told me they “couldn’t” do it because of the computers in their cars. But, the bike fired right up once we had the jump.

After we left Xalapa, we started heading north. We made a stop to investigate “El Tajin,” an archealogical site filled with ruins of the vanished Totonac civilization. This site is famous for having the most ball courts… in this civilization, apparently winners of the ball game were ritualistically beheaded to appease rain gods. Yikes! Anyway, it was a very interesting site, well-maintained and very photogenic. We are interested to read more about the history of the Totonac.

After Tajin, we drove to Tantoyuca, getting even further than we had planned. Today, we hit the road relatively early (to be honest, our hotel last night was pretty cruddy) and made it all the way to Matehuala. Today was probably our longest day in terms of mileage, with something over 300. However, we got off the road relatively early, since we are now cruising on the cuotas (toll roads).

Back to the States all too soon…

Rio Actopan

Today we hit up the Upper and Lower Rio Actopan, about an hour from our base here in Jalcomulco. Better luck today… no broken paddles! We were also really lucky because Jim Coffey, of Esprit Rafting on the Ottawa River, lent us two boats, so we saved a little cash.

Because of the rain two days ago, the river was slightly higher than normal, and because we had read that in the first 2 km after the standard put-in there are bridges that are difficult to portage at high water, we entered the river slightly downstream. That meant we had to skip the 4 meter waterfall/dam that most people run.

But, the run was really fun. Super continuous Class II and III, with good scenery. There were a couple of fun play spots, but mostly the run was filled with cool boogey water. We did run into a lot of trees in the river, apparently from the storm the other night. Our choffer said it was due to the wind they call “El Norte.” We only had to portage once, though, and we think the run would be cleaner normally. We now our students would love the stretch.

Super tired… more later..

Paddling

Fortunately, Kristin and I were able to find someone to rent us a couple of kayaks. Yesterday, we picked up two, contracted a truck to take us upstream to the Puente Pescados, and hit the Rio Antigua. One really cool thing about this paddling location is that town is the take-out for the most popular stretch, called the Pescados run. It is Class III-IV, with loads of action. There are very few (and very short) sections of flatwater between really fun rapids.

Unfortunately, in the third rapid of the day, I was trying to do a wave wheel (that is a trick, mom) and the breakdown paddle I was using cracked at the ferrell. So, the paddle came apart and I was floating through the rest of the rapid with two halves of a paddle. Eventually I flipped over, and lost half the paddle when I used my hands to roll up. The half I let go of apparently sank, because we never saw it again.

But, feeling confident, we continued on, and I used the remaining half like a canoe paddle… until I flipped again, had to hand roll, and that half sank as well! The good news was that I was in a kayak that was too small for me to start with, so it was pretty much the ideal situation to be in. From there, Kristin stayed really close (in case I had any problems) and I just used my hands to make it down the rest of the run. A little unnerving, to say the least, since this was the first time we paddled in Mexico.

But, at lunch in town, we borrowed a new paddle, I switched into a boat that fit me, and we hit the stretches of river below town. These were slightly easier than the upper stretch, but still had really big waves and fun rapids. Needless to say, it was a long day of paddling, as we did a lot of miles.

Today we were not on the river, but instead hiked up a small side canyon just outside of town. We also traced the shuttle from yesterday, so that we would be able to drive it if we bring students here. And, surprisingly, we had a lot of fun looking for houses and chatting with local business owners. It should have been work, but everyone was so friendly (and complimentary–they all think Kristin is gorgeous).

Tomorrow we are going to a new river, which is close by… we are pretty excited!

Finally to Jalcomulco

Kristin and I spent a day in Orizaba, took in a movie ($2.50 each!) and visited the art museum there, which was featuring an exhibit on the African-Mexican history and cultures. Then, we only had a three hour ride today up to Jalcomulco, the whitewater town we are considering as a future basecamp for Alzar. Our initial impression is positive. The town sits right on the Rio Jalcomulco, and we have arranged to rent kayaks to paddle at least one of its stretches tomorrow. There are a number of different runs near here, and we plan on hitting up as many as possible. The town itself is a perfect size… big enough to have internet access, hotels, and other amenities, but off the beaten track. Our students will love it. We´ll write more tomorrow, but wanted everyone to know that we had made it to our destination. We´ll be here for at least a few days.

Troncones to Taxco

Finally, driving along the coast and seeing the ocean! From Manzanillo to Troncones (a small town just outside of Ixtapa-Zihuatenejo), we enjoyed views of the emerald Pacific, and tight, clean turns. The most amazing part was probably the complete lack of traffic for the majority of the day… only as we came into our destination did we see any other cars. It felt as if we had the entire road to ourselves… except for the incredible amount of burros running around.

We stopped in Troncones to visit our friends, the Long family (they own Cascade Raft and Kayak in Idaho, and spend a month or so every fall surfing… check out their site). They were welcoming and invited us to crash at their beautiful house on the beach for the night, and enjoy some super home-cooked Mexican pounded chicken. Right after we rolled in, the weather took a turn for the worst, and we were able to watch the sea get rough. We had ominous thoughts about this morning…

Our plan was to get up and leave when all the Longs went surfing… at 6:30AM. But, when we got up, it was dumping rain and they had decided to cancel. We decided to wait until it was completely light out, as we did not want to fight darkness, rain, and puddles. When we did leave, at 8, it was still raining hard. We took it slow, but even with our great gear, got fairly soaked.

From Troncones up to Cuidad Altomirano was supposed to be 186 kilometers, with no gas stations in between… that is pretty much the range of our bikes, so we were a little apprehensive. We filled at the first gas station we saw, then again at the next one 8 miles later. The ride took us up, up, and finally after two hours of suffering in the weather, past the rain. We rode along one ridge for most of the time, and came into sunshine when we began to descend down the northern side. We entered a new range of ecology as well, different from both the coast and the high altitude pine forests of the Creel area.

We got stopped briefly at a military checkpoint, but they only wanted to see our passports. One of the guards asked us how the Mexican people were treating us. The funny thing was that he seemed genuinely surprised when we said they had been very friendly. I asked to take a picture, but was denied.

Finally, at around 5PM, we arrived in Taxco, without knowing what to expect. The twisting highway carves into town and the buildings are stacked like Legos up the hills. There does not appear to be a single level plot of land, or a true two-lane road. We asked around at a bunch of hotels, and benefitted from this being the slow season, finding a very cool place with an enormous terrace.

We walked up to the ¨center¨of town, the church. Everywhere there are silver shops… that is what the town is famous for. And, fortunately for me, paleterias. Oh, and I found churros! You could spend days shopping for affordable jewelery here… if you´re into that sort of thing. We are going to move on tomorrow.

Down the Devil’s Backbone and along the coast

On our own now, Kristin and I made it from Chihuahua to Rodeo on our first day (just shy of Durango, where we had hoped to make it). Turns out Rodeo was the birthplace of Pancho Villa. Who knew? Anyway, we were excited to turn south-west from Durango, as we were about to enter the ‘El Espinazo del Diablo,´or the Devil´s Backbone. Our guide from the first week with Motodiscovery, Alfonso, told us this was another ride the company offered, so we expected it to be fun. The first hour and a half past Durango was relatively mild, a few turns threw pines, chilly, but nothing stunning. As we continued, though, it got twistier and steeper, and then, all of the sudden, there was a gap between the trees… and it looked as if you had reached the end of the world. Because we were cruising by quickly on motorcycles, it was hard to believe the glimpse was real. But then another gap would appear, and BAM… a stunning, gagged, lush canyon. You almost expected to see pteradactyls flying around, maybe a brontosaurus head poking out the trees. Eventually, we reached the classic photo op spot… a point where the ridge was barely wider than the two lane highway, and views to both sides. We stopped, took some pictures, chatted with a couple of Americans driving to Panama (one of whom owns a rafting company in Boquete).

That night, we made it to Mazatlan, tired and ready for a good night´s sleep. We strolled to find dinner, and ended up in the historic zone, at a quaint, beautiful square surrounded by nice restaurants. We had dinner, listening to a brass band play Beatle´s hits, songs from Grease. After dinner, we stopped in for a paleta-a homemade popsicle-and helped the owner of the store translate her menu to English.

Today, we rode from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta. The tolls between the two cities were unbelievable! I think we spent close to 50 US dollars! But, we did arrive in Vallarta with enough time to stroll down the lovely beachfront, taking in some great music and a gorgeous sunset. This town is definitely a tourist destination, but it still has Mexican character, and does not feel gawdy or awkward. Plus, we found a decent hotel for $28, which was also cool enough to allow us to roll our motorcycles through the lobby to the courtyard, so they wouldn´t be parked on the street overnight.

First week in Mexico!

Hello! Kristin and I are wrapping up our first week in Mexico, in which we are participating in a instruction-based tour with Motodiscovery. We met Sam, Rob, David, Bryan and the rest of the gang in El Paso, TX. We crossed into Mexico and worked our way south to Creel, which sits on the northern edge of Copper Canyon National Park. This canyon is INCREDIBLE. It is deeper than the Grand Canyon, and believe it or not, probably more rugged. We have been learning to ride our dual sport motorcycles, and just spent two days riding into the canyon. We are learning a tremendous amount, and definitely considering this region for future Alzar trips.

Probably the neatest thing we have done so far, though, is to drop off the large box of school supplies that we brought. We found a VERY rural school for indigenous peoples in the town of Quirare. Thanks to the Key Club at Boise High for gathering the majority of the supplies. The kids really needed the supplies, and appreciate them. We´ve got pictures and will be posting them on our website when we get back.

Tomorrow we head off on our own… just two Bierle´s and the road. We will probably spend another day or so in this region, before heading even further down south. Our helpful guide, Alfonzo, has helped us plan a fun, safe route that takes us along the Pacific Coast, south of Mexico City, and up to Veracruz, our last stop before heading to the States. We´ll try to post to the blog as often as possible, so stay tuned!

Down the Green River (UT)

Once again, we’re back in Boise! We just finished our NOLS course on the Green River, near Vernal, Utah. We spent 18 days exploring Desolation and Ladore Canyons in rafts, kayak, and canoes. This was the professional instructors’ course, designed for folks with more than five years working in the outdoor education industry. The purpose of the course is to train new NOLS leaders and to bring new teaching ideas into the NOLS system.

In the canyons, it was very HOT, and dry, as to be expected in the desert. The Green is the main tributary to the Colorado (which carves out the Grand Canyon). Famously, Major Powell rowed oak boats down the Green after the Civil War. We saw lots of cool wildlife; bears, big horned sheep, whiptail lizards, and heard tons of coyotes. We paddled with three crazy Canadians who kept us laughing, the head of Outward Bound Costa Rica, and two other instructors for NOLS. The oar framed rafts we used were 18-feet long and had to weigh a ton (literally).

We are back in Boise working on raising money for our scholarship initiative to help everyone have access to our programs. We’re hoping to raise at least $1500, which would help us support a Chilean student on one of our expeditions and provide partial scholarships for US students. Please check out the Scholarship Initiative section of this website for more information. We are preparing for our ‘Motorcycles to Mexico’ trip and are collecting school supplies for rural villages we run into on our journey. If you would like to donate supplies please contact us at info@AlzarSchool.com

Back in North Carolina

Sean and I are currently working at Camps Mondamin and Green Cove. We are keeping ourselves busy for the next five weeks by leading paddling trips for the camps. We spend most of our time on local rivers such as the Green, Nantahala, French Broad, Pigeon, and Ocoee. We have an awesome group of teens who have been returning to these camps for years and who are ready for some serious whitewater. There are also tons of campers who are getting on rivers for their first time and their enthusiasm is inspiring.

My two sisters are working with me at Green Cove this summer which has made things even more exciting and fun. We are looking forward to our next few weeks before we fly back to Boise for our NOLS Professional Instructors course.

Note from Sean: We went for a 4.5 hour motorcycle ride today, cruising along part of Blue Ridge Parkway. I didn’t even crash once! Not bad for my first time on the road (I just got my motorcycle learner’s permit a month ago). We’ve discovered a cool instructional program for dual sport motorcyclists which takes an expedition to Copper Canyon, Mexico, which may become part of our fundraising effort this coming fall. We’ll keep you posted.

W-EMT Course

Sean here. I’m currently in Midpines, CA, just outside Yosemite National Park. I’m in a W-EMT course, run through the Wilderness Medicine Institute, an division of NOLS. Three days in, and already I’m extremely glad that I have taken the course. Both Kristin and I have been Wilderness First Responders for a few years, and we decided to begin the process of becoming EMT’s in order to continue improving the expeditions we provide with Alzar.

I am learning a ton of information, all very valuable. I am excited about my time here, and will be reporting again soon.

Back in Boise

Its been fantastic to be back to Boise, even if it will only be for a brief time. I have been busy working on Alzar promotional projects….burning our new DVD, researching schools to send information to, and organizing our Costa Rica information. I’ve managed to squeeze in time for some kayaking on the Payette, my favorite river system. The river levels are all good right now, much better than California. I have also spent time hanging out at my local favorite hangouts and catching up with friends. I’m happy to report that the dollar theatre is still in good hands and playing movies for a buck. Sean gets into town on Saturday and we will likley do more of the same…kayaking,movies, Alzar.

I’m looking forward to my time in North Carolina and my favorite girls at Green Cove. Just a few more weeks!

- Kristin

Oh the coldness...

Sean here…

Kristin and I just finished our ACA course in Durango, CO. When we first arrived, a week ago, we were excited to see the river at a medium level, with sunny skies.

Then the weather took a turn for the worst. It got cold, and snowy, and after a winter in Costa Rica, we were not too excited to see gray skies. Definitely not motivating weather for paddling. We were fortunate to find a cheap hotel room in town for the week, and the course was very educational.

After the course wrapped up, we headed into San Juan National Forest and spent a couple of nights camping at this beautiful lake in the shadow of the continental divide. We had hoped to paddle the Piedra River, but the road accessing it was closed. We had a good Alzar business meeting, and paddled this afternoon at the whitewater park back in Durango.

Well, will close for now.
Sean

Durango, Colorado

Sean and I arrived in Durango to find tons of water! The runnoff is starting to peak here and its fantastic. Durango is a really neat place with a whitewater course running right through the center of town. We are excited to be here for the next week working with Kent Ford and learn as much as we can.

The video of the Chilean Expedition 2007 was sent out to all the participants. We received good reviews and I think the students enjoyed being able to re-live their expedition. We are currently working on our promotional video, which will be completed by mid-summer. We hope that this video will give our friends, family, and future participants a better idea of what Alzar is all about.

We're back!

Sean and I are back in The States after eight exciting months in Costa Rica and Chile. It was a bit sad to leave, but we are very excited about our upcoming plans. We are in North Carolina for the time being, working on Alzar programing, and practicing riding motorcycles for a scouting trip we are planning (more on that later). Early next week we begin our drive to Colorado where we will both shadow a ACA Instructor trainer course by Kent Ford. We want to become certified to teach the ACA Instructor Trainer course, and to do so we have to shadow/teach two courses. We have been fortunate enough to find two world class instructors to shadow and we anticipate learning a lot.

After the course with Kent we both drive to California, Sean going to work at The Dunn School, and Kristin to shadow her final course with Mary DeReimer. The Dunn School is a private high school that has a three week rafting trip for the seniors who are graduating. They travel to Northern California paddling on the Klamath, Cal Salmon, and Trinity Rivers.

From there we meet up in Boise, Idaho, our home town, to do a western paddling trip with Alzar before Kristin returns to North Carolina with Camp Green Cove and Sean travels to Lander Wyoming to take a Wilderness EMT course. We will spend the remander of our summer at Green Cove/Mondamin.

Its sure to be an eventful summer with lots of stories and great paddling. We are still accepting registration for our Western Paddling trip, Jun 2-10. Visit the Upcoming Programs section of the website for more information.

For all of you Chilean Expedition 2007 participants, the video is completed and in the mail. You should receive it within the next few days. We’ve had a great time editing it and laughing at all the fun stuff we did. We hope you enjoying watching it and sharing it with all your friends and family. Hopefully it will give everyone a better idea of what you were up to in Chile.

Kristin and Sean