Jer’s Continuing Adventures…

We got here in good time today!

Leaving Osoyoos at about 0700 this morning, after a hearty (not) breakfast at Timmy’s, we had beautiful clear weather on the road. As  a matter of fact, we haven’t seen any weather the whole trip so far. Knock on wood, the return leg is just as nice. The closest we saw to snow was about 500 feet of compact snow at the top of Bonanza Pass.

Though I really wanted to have some famous Doukhobor borscht in Grand Forks, on Kim’s recommendation, there weren’t any places open that served it at 0900. So we had basic diner breakfast at Yaky Jacquie’s. She lived up to her name…

The rest of the day became a long, windy drive through quaint little mountain towns and high passes. The nicest little town we came through was Greenwood. Beautiful downtwon with historic brick buildings and you can tell the locals take real pride in the place. Definitely worth a stop next time I’m through this area.

This trip has been a bit of a stroll down memory lane for me. A few years ago I sold all my stuff, gave up the yoga studio, packed a trailer and pedaled my bike from Victoria to Nelson over about a month and a half. A lot of that ride I did through this part of BC. I had stopped in Midway, rode over the mountain into Cristina Lake, Castlegar, spun through Greenwood. All places we drove through today. Made me want to do another big ride, only this time with company. Soon…

Reaching Alberta the land became VERY flat! The big surprise was the huge amounts of wind farms we saw on the western side of Alberta. Almost from horizon to horizon, these silent giants stood, waving their arms with a terrible momentum. Kind of eerie in a way, and seeing the first one poke it’s head over the last of the hills really messed with the perceived scale. Neat!

Now for a day of setting up a show for me Da, and getting some computer work done during down time, before we head back on Tuesday.

Yummmmmmm…

I’ve been inspired over the last few days to put some extra effort in to my food, even if I’m cooking for meselfs. Prawns and Scallops sauteed with dried Tomatoes and Chilies over Pesto Pasta one night, Ground Venison cooked with fried egg and Garlic over toast the next. And tonight, Doug and Rachelle brought a fantastic Wild Mushroom Soup to go with the Venison Sausage over Risotto I prepared. So good! And thanks to them, we finished off with fresh grapes and some killer Christmas Fruit Cake. I’m practically in a food coma. It doesn’t hurt having the very tasty cider that Steve & Carrie made. Thanks Steve! It is so much fun and surprisingly easy to make good food with the right ingredients. What’s next?

In other news, my Dad and I have started working on databasing his artwork. It’s my first real experience of studio photography and I think I like it. Unlike shooting nature where the challenge is composition and light, studio shooting is more about getting the technical stuff right. With the right light set up and everything in fixed positions, I can concentrate on learning the subtle differences between f11 and f13 at .5 second. Fascinating stuff! And I get to see many years of my Dad’s work and hear him talk about what they mean to him. I’m looking forward to more tomorrow.

And….. we’re back!

Up bright and squirrely this morning. Well, like a hungover squirrel. Feeling kinda rough around the edges we had a nice breakfast with Hans before he dropped us at the train stop. Mary unfortunately had a wicked migraine and stayed in bed. Kelly was missing school as well. So we didn’t get to say goodbye to them. Much thanks to them for a great party and a fleece sheet.

I had charged my batteries last night so I could take some pictures on the train. What do you think?

The train had to stop in the middle of nowhere to clear a downed tree on the tracks. The train just pushed it! That’s using the available resources! Afterward I was talking to the conductor and he said they’d totaled a Quad bike the day before. The rider had jumped clear, but the bike didn’t make it. Apparently only a week old, too. Bummer, dude. Of course it’s hard to sympathize,as the train is very large, makes a lot of noise and goes by the same spot at the same time every day. Expensive lesson.

We disembarked at Buckely Bay, Angel hopped in with her folks who were going to Courtenay and I caught the ferry. I had left the truck parked at Denman West, and that is such a nice way to travel. No hitchhiking this time.

Back on Hornby I called Yana and we headed up to Slickrock again to get another take on it. Even more water this time, though I was glad to see the places where Doug and I had kicked the creek off the trail were still holding. I think we’ll have a good trailbuilding session in April.

Wish me luck, I’m off to do my Firefighter Evaluation tonight.

So there I was, manning the fort at the bikeshop on Saturday, when Sara Vipond strolled in and said, “Ride, tomorrow, 2:00″. Well, how could I refuse? Though I did have to pass on a road ride with Doug. I met Sara and Roberta, a recent import from Brazil, at the top of Slade. Turns out that Roberta raced in Eco Challenges down in Brazil. Very cool. Anyhoo, off we went and had a lovely ride up. The only tree down that requires a chainsaw is across Colddeck at the entrance to Freefall.

At the top the view was awesome! It is my temple, my recharger, my meditation. Namaste.

At the top we bumped in to Bob Nixon who was out for a walk. We all had a lovely visit before the three of us headed down the mountain. Roberta did excellently on her slick tires. Sweet! And it looks like Sara will be in to a ride every Sunday. Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel.

This was the first time I’ve taken my camera along. I have to learn to stop the sweet riding and set up spots for getting shots of people. But, the riding is so good! Hmmmm, a challenge methinks.

Tomorrow is a trail day. Andrew, Lynn, Sara, myself and others will be working on Watertower/Sawyer Trail. Meeting at 0930 at the watertower near Sandpiper, we’ll be moving it off the private land and back on to the right of way. See you there!

Awesome morning!

When I got up at 0730 the light was beautiful on the point. So I did some yoga and then got my camera and headed out on the point. I got in a hundred shots or so, playing with the aperture and shutter speed. The more I shoot, the more I understand my gear, though I can see there will be many more thousands of shots to learn from as well.

What an amazing place. I’m looking forward to the photography club coming out to shoot on the point.