10,000 serendipitous kilometres in a big blue bus

Five Australians, one Canadian and a twelve-year-old yellow Labrador touring around in a '79 short school bus certainly attracts attention from all sorts. Notably the hippies and the homeless, yet also randoms from all walks of life, some on their way to work, some at work; peace signs out windows, pointing, smiling, laughing; we imagine they are stoked and living vicariously...

It begins with the hasty acquisition of an anonymous rafting bus. Five hundred kilometres home to Chilliwack and half that into the gas tank leaves much to ponder. Passengers are confirmed, interior decoration rushed, U-bolt roofracks installed, kayaks loaded, BC departed. It would be 9,000 kilometres before Gus got his name, and we still can't decide if he's a she or vice versa. Without original equipment, possibly some of both.

Adventure ensues... Santa Barbarian galactic shaman offers wisdom, befriending roadside salesmen, Albuquerque Republican Highlands contraband smuggling pilot shares the goodness, power tripping security guards dim the vibe, courtesy speeches from off-duty cops, Big Sur hitchhikers who're panhandling for every meal, random encounters with paddlers from local heroes to international superstars, breakdowns and a thirsty Gus...

We even managed to go paddling in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Colorado, resulting in backwards waterfalls and inadvertent 360s on slides above meaty holes. We met first hand the issues of private property as they affect waterways in Colorado, ducking under barbed wire fences as we paddled down a low river with signs on the banks forbidding scouting as trespass.
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