The mountains of Whistler and Blackcomb in the background over the thinly iced-over Green Lake at sunset. The mountain city was to host a wonderful spectacle in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. It was my home for the first 3 months of the year, an opportunity I never thought I would get.
Working at the games had its perks, including entry into many of the events held in Whistler. The Sliding centre was shrouded in controversy after the death of a young Georgian Athlete in practice very early in the games. Saw one of the Australian teams in action, they crashed and came scraping down the ice for a long way before finally coming to a halt!
The Inukshuk, an Inuit symbol, was seen in many places. This was at the entry to the village.
The mountains surrounding the valley provided for a magical backdrop to the hustle and bustle of the Olympics, some glorious sunrises were captured from above the camp I was living in. I liked the way the fog would creep its way through the valley, the tip of this piece of it just peaking out to catch the first rays of sunlight.
The tag line to the winter Olympics, "with glowing hearts" caught on as the excitement and hype all came to the top of the champagne bottle, the feeling in the village in the days leading up to the opening ceremonies and the torch relay were very uplifting.
Tara holding one of the torches that carried the flame to the cauldron at skiers plaza in Whistler. I was very excited to see it and could only imagine what it must have felt like for her in her home Country. A truly touching moment, running alongside the olympic flame and then watching a young athlete drop it in to the cauldron, to the cheer of the thousands of people watching. A lifetime memory.
Our Lady Peace played a great concert at Celebrations Plaza in Whistler village. One of a number of concerts we managed to get in and see courtesy of our security accreditation.
A shot of us early on, having just started our relationship and being pretty excited to both be in Whistler together.
The other big Inukshuk in Whistler, this time at the top of the mountain! The views all around as you come off the peak chair on a clear day are stunning. The Black Tusk and what appears to be endless snow covered mountains. We were stoked to get to snowboard in world famous terrain, and witness such glorious weather to allow for the views! We even boarded down the Olympic downhill ski run!
Vancouver Island is almost like Canada in a nutshell. Visiting Tara's parents in Sooke, we headed north to Port Renfrew on the Southern West coast. In pretty stormy conditions we found this giant tree that had very recently fallen victim to the wild winds that come in off the Pacific Ocean.
The view from the Balcony of Tara's parents place on the shores of Sooke Harbour. The grounded wreck to the right of the old boat passing through fell victim to arsonists awhile back and now sits burnt out in the middle of the harbour. We visited Sooke a number of times this year, visiting the parks, spits, and lakes in the area.
My brother Jake arrived in early April and joined Tara and I on an Island trip. Jake and I headed north on the island and took the bus around through Port Alberni to Tofino and enjoyed some Kayaking and the nice beaches in the area. This sunset whilst enjoying a few Lucky's (the islands beer) was cold but very beautiful. Jake is the silhouette standing in the open.
On my birthday we drove around to Light House Park to check it out, before heading the other direction on the north shore for Deep Cove. We arrived in time to witness a massive downpour while enjoying a drink and some snacks under a barbecue shelter.
On Jake's last weekend in Canada we went mountain biking in Whistler on the Saturday and then hiked the Stawamus Chief in Squamish on the Sunday, Jake had injured his right collar bone in a crash on Saturday but still made it to the top for the wicked views of Howe Sound and the Tantalus Range.
Felt bad leaving Vancouver the day before Jake flew out but the opportunity put to us was impossible to say no to. We drove this 35 foot Uhaul truck from Vancouver to Toronto in 4.5 days. Vancouver - Calgary, Calgary - Portage la Prairie, PLP - Thunder Bay, Thunder Bay - Sudbury, and finally to Toronto. 4,368 kms.
The open road in middle Canada, this is either Saskatchewan or Manitoba. Long stretches of not a whole lot on HWY 1. It was a great journey!
While out East we visited friends in London and took advantage of some free car hire to go and checkout Montreal. What a marvelous city in the summer time! Festivals, street markets, music, free live concerts, beer gardens, it was a true highlight of the year. This was taken in an open area downtown, a crowd of many thousands gather in front of one of many stages with free live concerts playing.
We returned to Vancouver and I finally got to see TOOL again in concert at Rogers arena. A non album tour made for a great playlist, Lateralus of course a highlight, along with 46&2, and The Patient. After much heart ache over tickets, we ended up sitting with no one behind us, right in the middle, with a concrete camera stand right in front. So my little point and shoot actually took some pretty rockin photos of their mind-blowing visual effects.
Camping! The first leg took us Eastward towards Southern Alberta and Waterton National Park. A Canadian treasure for sure, but not so popular with tourists. We both fell in love with this stunning park of lakes, mountains, rivers, waterfalls and wildlife.
Evenings around the campfire as the darkness set in, until the many wildfires around BC forced the authorities to apply a total fire ban across the province. Camping without a fire is not so much fun, but we got by!
Black Betty the Subaru Outback. Our vehicle of choice for our journey and wasnt she a beauty. Loads of room for all our stuff, carried our bikes on the rack at the back very well and the roof racks held my bear spear perfectly handy! We ascended a fire road up a peak on the west side of Kootenay lake, an old firemans lookout high above the Lake below, with 360 degree views including a good look at Kokanee Glacier. She made it to the top no sweat, the brakes where a little hot and squeeky on the way back down, but she did very well, and is still going strong!
One of the four "Must Do" hikes in British Columbia. Idaho Peak stands almost 2300 meters above the nearby towns of Silverton and New Denver on the shores of Slocan Lake. The hike up offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and glaciers and from the top the panorama over the lake is superb. Ironically, after thinking it would be a great place to be to photograph lightning, I saw many signs urging people to leave the area if electrical storms threatened!
Fletcher Falls used to have a campground at the base of it but no longer apparently. We were planning on staying here but had to make other arrangements, luckily a friend in nearby Nelson was in town and so we stayed there for a few nights. This water fall, in a little canyon down below the highway had a magical air about it. The way the sunlight came down through the trees and lit small areas of water and foliage was astounding, but fleeting, I would have loved to spend a few days here. Maybe another time.
The storms moving through the Okanagan Valley during our stay in Summerland really made their presence known. Sitting on the jetty of friends place on the lake, we watched a crazy sunset followed by this powerful display of natures power. It struck about every 30 seconds for almost half an hour. Not a drop of water fell on us!
The wildfires burning across the province had smoke drifting in large banks all the way to the coast. This was the sun in the early evening one night back in Vancouver in between the 1st and 2nd legs of our summer camping trips. An eerie reminder of the blazes burning in the interior.
San Josefs Bay in Cape Scott Provincial Park, on the North West tip of Vancouver Island. Driving on Forestry roads from Port Hardy to the trail head some 80 kms, the hike down through the forest to an almost deserted white sandy beach was surreal. Another remarkable place we discovered this summer. We saw a cougar on the journey, but not much of it before it disappeared into the scrub.
We loaded up a friends Kayaks in Courtenay and paddled "The Wrecks" out at the breakwater. A while back a bunch of very old ships had been semi-submerged to form part of the breakwater. Many of them with very interesting and well traveled histories. One had even been to Australia! Bald Eagles hang out here and we saw one extremely close as he just stared back at us from his perch well above our reach. The boats just below the water had a ghostly appearance as you cruise over them, their frames like the rib cages of a huge creature.
We spent about a week at Dinner Rock campground right at the end of our camping trip. Basing ourselves there for a day trip to Savary Island, and our kayaking tour into Desolation Sound Marine Park. Unfortunately the sunsets were repeatedly poor but it was still a lovely place on the rocky cliffs looking out to Vancouver Island. Few people and a great outdoor setting for breakfast, lunch and dinner! We set off from here for the last few spots on the sunshine coast including Skookumchuk narrows.
My second Vegas wedding had us on a plane for the city of sin. Just south of the border we passed over Mount Rainier, its altitude bringing it right up underneath us. Its moments like this that fill me with awe...
The Bellagio and Caesars Palace (the site of the wedding ceremony) light up along the Las Vegas Boulevard. It was hot, but the drinks are cheap!! Caught up with friends from home while we were here which was great, and got to dig a little deeper into the goings on in my second visit to the desert city. Flying into the lights of the strip is a sight to behold! One of Tara's best friends married her fiance in the Garden of the Gods in the heart of Caesars Palace, a marvelous place.
Autumn colour in Vancouver is absolutely beautiful, this tree at the corner of our street, gave us a daily peak at the scores of colour on display around the city.
We found our new place just before going to Vegas and settled in quite well. Great location in Kitsilano, spacious with storage and a deck, and a working fire place!! This was on the morning after the first snowfall down at city level. There was about 10cm or so on the ground.
The North Shore mountains tower over the downtown area of Vancouver and frame the city with their majesty. Considerably prettier covered in fresh snow, sometimes the tops stick out over the cloud that frequently gathers around them, catching the sun and providing great contrast to the dark, snowy environment below the clouds.
The Christmas lights in Van Dusen gardens seem to go on forever. Dressed for the cold and armed with a hot chocolate, this place is a sight to see. Throngs of people come to see this over the several weeks in December that it remains open.
There are obviously many more photos from the wonderful things seen and places visited this year, but these few seem to sum it up pretty well. The new year started off in full force, a formidable sunset at Wreck Beach, which I will post some pictures of soon. Here's to 2011 being an even better year. Still hanging out for those Aurora photos.... ;)
