October 15th

Well, we got persuaded to stay an extra half day in Victoria after a long night involving cards, and local brew (thanks Schissel and Chelsey). We took Schissel to the local gym for a climb, and had lots of fun. After saying our goodbyes to the Schiz we packed our stuff (which we have become incredibly efficient at…by the way), and headed to Port Angeles to catch the ferry down into Washington. We just barely made the ferry since a lot of people had already made reservations on it. The ferry ride was beautiful again, and the boat was a lot older, so it had quite a bit of character to it.

Surprisingly we were NOT strip searched at the customs office Victoria. I know that we certainly don’t look like suspicious characters, but the fact that we have that car jam packed made us a little nervous that they would want to rip it all apart. They did turn an eyebrow up at us however when Matt and I informed them that we are two young people coming into their country for 2 months…and have no jobs waiting for us when we get home. We had to sign into our online banking to prove that we had enough money to support ourselves. Then the Customs officer in Washington wanted to know the same thing, but he didn’t make too big of a fuss. (I may have let a few comments slip out of my mouth to reassure this guy that we aren’t trying to smuggle ourselves into the country, and we have NO intentions on becoming Americans…I think he was scared of my massive biceps).

We drove south through Washington (and partway into Oregon) late into the night before stopping at Lincoln City, Oregon, at a cheap motel to escape the downpour. We thought we could just drive through the rain, but it didn’t work. The sleep on a real bed was amazing…I don’t think I moved all night.

Schissel…thank you SO much for all your hospitality and tolerance of us! We all loved Victoria, and you were an excellent tour guide. Hopefully we can return the favour someday.

Erin, I’m so glad to hear that the shower went well! I wish I could have been there to see you in all your bow hat glory! Hope everything is going well in Edmonton. Say hi to Steve!

October 14th, 2006 (PART II)

Holly here.

Well, its our last night in Victoria, so this might be the last post for awhile...

Our time in Victoria has been fantastic, and today was no exception. We spent the afternoon at Sooke Potholes Regional Park. It was very quiet and cool today, but still very beautiful. The main attraction of the park is the 'pothole' formations that have occurred through geological formations in this river system. We spent most of our time crawling and scurrying along the rocks like little crabs on a beach (we must have looked like five-year-olds). Jeff even brought his swim trunks and swam through a rock tunnel at one spot! The water was so cold...I thought he was going to die! But we had lots of laughs, some looking at slugs (see pitcure) and lots of exploring.

A personal highlight for me was seeing a Bald Eagle gliding through the river system as it carved its way through the land. The bird was very low, and probably looking for something to eat. It was so big, and beautiful and powerful...somehow it takes my breath away everytime :)

I've posted some pictures of the day for everyone to enjoy. I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments on the blog, and I hope that my words find everyone doing well.

Take care!

October 14th

Hi to everyone at home, I hope things are going well, and that La Ronge is not snowed in yet (for your sake Mom). Lecia, the three of us want to wish you a happy birthday and hope you and William have a safe trip home!

The ferry trip over was beautiful, it was neat to see such different coastal geology and landscape to that of Sask. We also stopped in Nanaimo to visit 3 old friends, professors at Malaspina University College, who led the field trip in Belize which Holly and I both attended. It was great to see you guys Ed, Tim, and Wendy. It just so happened that when we showed up they were having a meeting with students to discuss the 2007 trip, that was a crazy coincidence!

We're having a great time hanging out with an awesome host. Matt (Schissel) has taken us out on the town, showed us some cool shops, climbing areas, scenic areas, and has introduced us to his crew. Jeff now refers to Victoria as his future home. There are nearly enough Starbucks to satiate his appetite for pumpkin spiced lattes, nearly…

Climbing has been nice here too, there's a neat outdoor bouldering spot in town called Flemming park that we checked out, right on the ocean. We also had a long session at the gym last night (it's cool, as it stays open until 1130 on week days, a bonus for procrastinators who don't leave the house until ~ 8pm). The sun's been out the whole time, a supposed anomaly for this time of year I guess.

Holly and I spent friday biking around the coast of Victoria and captured some amazing views. The landscape is so green and beautiful, with lots of different trees and shrubs. We're all falling in love with the city, as it has such a nice feel to it, and everyone is so active and happy (and EVERYONE has a dog that they walk along the coast). It is such a progressive city too with all the green buildings, spaces, and ideas. Holly and I would both like to spend more time here!

We’ll hit the road tomorrow morning and head south. Jeff and I have been exercising our minds, and our poker faces, in preparation for the anticipated poker fest in Vegas… Holly and I have to pay for the trip somehow!

Everybody take care, Gabe it was great to hear from you. You and the Calow’s better stay out of trouble up in LA while we’re gone.

It was good to hear from you too MC Hammered, and everyone keep in touch. Peace out.

October 8th to 11th 2006

Squamish has been so beautiful! The weather is absolutely amazing! Don’t get me wrong, I’m still freezing my butt off at night, but it is totally worth it! The rock is really cold (lots of friction) and the forest is very quiet. Jeff is a natural on the rock…he’s made the transition from plastic look like a breeze (my fingers disagree with this transition…my tips are purple and on the verge of combusting).

Linz and Nevin, the camper is going to rock! You have to let us stay in it for a night…it’ll be like the ritz carlton after tenting for a month. Nah, the tent is awesome, but the camper takes the cake. Linz, I’m expecting it to be stocked full of all the homemade goodness you fed us on the farm. You can nourish our deprived bodies of good food!

Post Script (by Matt): My trip began with a little bad luck, the first fork in the road occurred about 1 minute out of Saskatoon. I managed to turn to Biggar, rather than Rosetown… Ominous? Not at all. The next fork in the road came when we had to decide to either stop in Squilax or drive on to Kamloops, or all night, for that matter. By stopping we were able to check out the salmon run. That was well worth it.

We have had some great climbing, great jokes, beautiful scenery and FRESH AIR!! It has been a blast. We are all climbing hard and close to completing some difficult lines up the boulders, we’ll see how today goes…

The climbing on our last day was so awesome! We all had our projects that we worked till it got too cold in the forest to bear it. All three of us made a lot of progress, and Holly and Jeff sent V4’s (Matt didn’t officially send it, but it was a mere technicality). The pictures don’t do it%2

Saturday, October 7th 2006

This morning we went to the world’s largest Sockeye Salmon spawning grounds. Every four years, over 2 million salmon swim upstream from the ocean into this river system to breed right before they die. The males and females turn a bright red over their whole body, with a bright green head. The brighter the fish, the better condition they are in. The males also develop a hump on their back to signal dominance over other males once they have established a territory – the bigger the hump, the better the male.
It was so amazing to see so many fish condensed into such a small area. They are very aggressive with one another, biting and hitting each other. The fish also jump out of the water to try and fight their way up stream. In the shallow parts especially the fish will have their bodies nearly two thirds out of the water as they swim upstream.
The banks of the river are covered with decaying salmon bodies of fish that didn’t get a chance to mate before dying; mated early; were over taken with body fungal infections or killed off by competitors. The water decomposes the fish bodies very quickly, and those nutrients go into the riparian zone to feed the trees and wildlife. Anyways, it was totally amazing to see…great way to start the trip!

Friday, October 6th 2006

We packed up the car with Jeff and all his gear. The car is jam packed from the floor to the roof! We drove through the mountains till the late evening and stayed at a tiny hostel in Squilax, BC. The hostel was old railway cars converted into cabins. It had a disheveled charm to it. Check out the pics…

Thursday, October 5th 2006

Matt and I have been in Calgary since tuesday hanging out with Auntie Joni and the kids. We've had a great time hanging out at some of Calgary's parks and along the river. We bought out mec for the second time this summer, and are now fully equipped for our climbing adventure! The weather in Calgary has been really nice and sunny...I hope it holds up till were a little further south. Jeff is meeting us today and we are leaving for Squamish, BC. The car is totally stuffed and weighted right down, I'm not sure how we'll get Jeff in there, but we'll manage somehow.

Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well!