Hey everyone,
we have survived our first week of camping. Air beds that self-deflate, toilet trips at 2am in freezing rain and windy nights in a walmart cheapy summer tent pretty much sums it up. Not really. The scenery has been fantastic, and the nova scotians have been really friendly(especially when we say we are from Australia- "You're from where?") Apparently they don't get heaps of Aussies visiting over here- must be too far or something like that.
We have spent the last week camping in various provincial parks around nova scotia. They have been pretty quiet campgrounds, with hardly anyone camping. It is the third day of summer here(by canadian standards) and we had to get our winter gear out again the other night. It is very wet and cold and you can feel it in your bones.
We have spent the last couple of days around the bay of fundy, which is in the north of nova scotia. It has the worlds largest tides,up to 16 metres or so in height and we have been checking out the sandflats. The cliffs are very red and apparently full of fossils and amethyst but we haven't found any yet.
We are following a series of tourist drives around the province, and we occasionally get off the track a bit and have to back track when the signs are missing.
We are sitting in a library at Parrsboro at the moment doing some free surfing and will return to our campsite a bit later for some canned food and copious amounts of toast.Yum!
We have been fending off the aggressive squirrels trying to steal our food and enjoying the scenery.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
Friday, June 24, 2005
Monday, June 13, 2005
Nova Scotia
We are now in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We arrived here a couple of days ago after taking a 19hr train ride from Quebec City. The weather has been a little miserable (which can be normal for here) but not too bad. Yesterday we went for a walk around the waterfront checking out all the ships. We went to look around a WWII corvette which was pretty cool. We also went to the city's cittadel and checked out lots of old cannons, and a very extensive military museum.
We are in Halifax until Wednesday morning where we are hiring a car and planning to explore Nova Scotia. We are also going to buy a tent and try and see it on the cheap.
So that's about it for now.
Love Geoff and El.
We are in Halifax until Wednesday morning where we are hiring a car and planning to explore Nova Scotia. We are also going to buy a tent and try and see it on the cheap.
So that's about it for now.
Love Geoff and El.
Thursday, June 09, 2005
French Canada
Bonjour,
Zhe ne parl pas francais. I can't speak French as we have discovered. We have spent the last few days in the province of Quebec, first in Montreal and more recently in Quebec City. Montreal was cool, it is a vibrant mix of english and french speaking people. All the street and building signs are in french so we did a lot of guesswork. We stayed in a mixed dorm in Montreal for 1 night and met a nice couple from Ottawa. They took us around old montreal and showed us a cool lebanese bakery in the middle of the suburbs. Yum! We spent the next two nights in a private room. We walked to the top of Mont-Royal (where Montreal gets its name) and had a good view of the city. The buildings in Old Montreal were really interesting.
We caught a bus from montreal to Quebec City on Monday and have been looking around the city. We are staying at a hostel within the walled city of Quebec, built in the 1600s sometime. It is really cool to walk around looking at all the old structures and the interesting buildings. French is by far the dominant language here. We haven't had to use it too much- though we had trouble ordering subway in montreal- we think they ripped us off a bit but oh well shit happens.
We are catching a train to Halifax, Novia Scotia on Friday night. We are planning on camping for a few weeks around there, possibly Newfoundland as well but it depends on how much things cost.
Hope everyone is well.
All the best
Geoff and El
Zhe ne parl pas francais. I can't speak French as we have discovered. We have spent the last few days in the province of Quebec, first in Montreal and more recently in Quebec City. Montreal was cool, it is a vibrant mix of english and french speaking people. All the street and building signs are in french so we did a lot of guesswork. We stayed in a mixed dorm in Montreal for 1 night and met a nice couple from Ottawa. They took us around old montreal and showed us a cool lebanese bakery in the middle of the suburbs. Yum! We spent the next two nights in a private room. We walked to the top of Mont-Royal (where Montreal gets its name) and had a good view of the city. The buildings in Old Montreal were really interesting.
We caught a bus from montreal to Quebec City on Monday and have been looking around the city. We are staying at a hostel within the walled city of Quebec, built in the 1600s sometime. It is really cool to walk around looking at all the old structures and the interesting buildings. French is by far the dominant language here. We haven't had to use it too much- though we had trouble ordering subway in montreal- we think they ripped us off a bit but oh well shit happens.
We are catching a train to Halifax, Novia Scotia on Friday night. We are planning on camping for a few weeks around there, possibly Newfoundland as well but it depends on how much things cost.
Hope everyone is well.
All the best
Geoff and El
Thursday, June 02, 2005
Toronto
Hi everyone,
Well, we made it over to this side of Canada. Our flight on Monday morning was pretty good, only took about 4 hours or so. The in-flight movie was pretty lame--> "winndixie". Must have been cheap. :(
We had two nights in a really friendly hostel (much better than the one in Vancouver). Yesterday we went with a small tour group to Niagara Falls. The falls were really spectacular. There is, however, a really tacky, Las Vegas-style strip that kinda ruins it though, with lots of sky scrapers, house of wax style museums, etc. Our tour guide drove us out to a lardy-dar winery where we tried some ice wine. Ice wine is made from grapes that are harvested at temperatures of minus 10 degrees and the resulting drink is VERY sweet. At prices of $55 for the skinnest half-bottle, it is a little out of our price range!
We also checked out a monument overlooking the Niagara river, where the British/Canadians defeated the Americans in the war of 1812. This park also contained the biggest squirrels we have ever seen in our lives! In the evening, the falls were lit up with lots of multi-coloured spotlights and it looked pretty cool.
Today we have checked out of our hostel and we have two more nights in Toronto (at another hostel) before we head off to Montreal on Friday morning. Today we are just wandering around having a look. We hope to go up the CN tower tomorrow. Toronto is very much a city, not as leafy or pretty as Vancouver (at least not what we have seen so far).
So that's it for now.
Bye,
El and Geoff.
Well, we made it over to this side of Canada. Our flight on Monday morning was pretty good, only took about 4 hours or so. The in-flight movie was pretty lame--> "winndixie". Must have been cheap. :(
We had two nights in a really friendly hostel (much better than the one in Vancouver). Yesterday we went with a small tour group to Niagara Falls. The falls were really spectacular. There is, however, a really tacky, Las Vegas-style strip that kinda ruins it though, with lots of sky scrapers, house of wax style museums, etc. Our tour guide drove us out to a lardy-dar winery where we tried some ice wine. Ice wine is made from grapes that are harvested at temperatures of minus 10 degrees and the resulting drink is VERY sweet. At prices of $55 for the skinnest half-bottle, it is a little out of our price range!
We also checked out a monument overlooking the Niagara river, where the British/Canadians defeated the Americans in the war of 1812. This park also contained the biggest squirrels we have ever seen in our lives! In the evening, the falls were lit up with lots of multi-coloured spotlights and it looked pretty cool.
Today we have checked out of our hostel and we have two more nights in Toronto (at another hostel) before we head off to Montreal on Friday morning. Today we are just wandering around having a look. We hope to go up the CN tower tomorrow. Toronto is very much a city, not as leafy or pretty as Vancouver (at least not what we have seen so far).
So that's it for now.
Bye,
El and Geoff.
Friday, May 27, 2005
Vancouver again
Hey everyone,
we are back in Vancouver spending a week here before flying out to toronto next monday. It is quite warm here compared to the winter temperatures we are used to(it is 25C or so and we are sweating). We seem to be the only people wearing hats though.
Yesterday being the true nerds that we are we went to the science centre. It was a pretty good afternoon-saw an IMAX movie about the nile which was really good. They had a lot of hands on stuff but we had to put up with the little shits of kids running around pushing in.
Vancouver is so much greener than when we were here in December. A couple of days ago we went for a walk in Stanley park and admired the flowers and beautiful green trees.
Our hostel is a bit on the dodgy side, room is small and the girls toilets are always clogged but it is in a good location and feels pretty safe. We are saving a bit of money which is always good. We went to the bar under the hostel the other night and had a few drinks but the server was a rude piece of work so she sort of spoiled it a bit. El was smiley after her mudslides and I was cheery after my few beers ("few" means lots hehe).
We have started organising hostels on the other side of canada, we have toronto, montreal and Quebec City all sorted at the moment. We will then decide what other parts of Canada we can afford to see.
Thats about it for now.
Hope everyone is behaving themselves.
Love Geoff and El.
we are back in Vancouver spending a week here before flying out to toronto next monday. It is quite warm here compared to the winter temperatures we are used to(it is 25C or so and we are sweating). We seem to be the only people wearing hats though.
Yesterday being the true nerds that we are we went to the science centre. It was a pretty good afternoon-saw an IMAX movie about the nile which was really good. They had a lot of hands on stuff but we had to put up with the little shits of kids running around pushing in.
Vancouver is so much greener than when we were here in December. A couple of days ago we went for a walk in Stanley park and admired the flowers and beautiful green trees.
Our hostel is a bit on the dodgy side, room is small and the girls toilets are always clogged but it is in a good location and feels pretty safe. We are saving a bit of money which is always good. We went to the bar under the hostel the other night and had a few drinks but the server was a rude piece of work so she sort of spoiled it a bit. El was smiley after her mudslides and I was cheery after my few beers ("few" means lots hehe).
We have started organising hostels on the other side of canada, we have toronto, montreal and Quebec City all sorted at the moment. We will then decide what other parts of Canada we can afford to see.
Thats about it for now.
Hope everyone is behaving themselves.
Love Geoff and El.
Sunday, May 22, 2005
yukon adventures
Hello ,
we are back in Calgary after spending two weeks travelling through the yukon , alaska and british columbia in a motorhome. We got as far north as whitehorse in the yukon and also had a look at the towns of Haines and skagway in alaska. The scenery was very cool, with the full range of snow, mountains ansd several types of forest.And yes everybody we saw a BEAR!!(We saw about 5 or so). We also saw moose,a wolf and various big animals like caribou, deer and elk We stayed mostly in quiet campgrounds which was really good> Not many campers on the road this time of year. .
There is too much detail to put in one blog so we will try and post a few more in detail about the places we visited.
Will talk to everyone soon.
Geoff and El.
we are back in Calgary after spending two weeks travelling through the yukon , alaska and british columbia in a motorhome. We got as far north as whitehorse in the yukon and also had a look at the towns of Haines and skagway in alaska. The scenery was very cool, with the full range of snow, mountains ansd several types of forest.And yes everybody we saw a BEAR!!(We saw about 5 or so). We also saw moose,a wolf and various big animals like caribou, deer and elk We stayed mostly in quiet campgrounds which was really good> Not many campers on the road this time of year. .
There is too much detail to put in one blog so we will try and post a few more in detail about the places we visited.
Will talk to everyone soon.
Geoff and El.
Saturday, April 30, 2005
No more work for El
Hello.
El finished up work yesterday. The skiing is not good any more so we have brought all our equipment down from the ski hill. El went out for a last ski on her lunch break yesterday and was not at all impressed.
She had to dodge dirt and rocks and ski very cautiously. Not fun at all.
We went out for drinks last night and had a good night. Still home in bed by 11pm though. We called the lab and talked to a few people before we went home. It was good to hear their voices.
Today we are bumming around town. We just overindulged at breakfast but it was all good. We had a quick squiz at a wildlife museum which has stuffed animals all through it. Scary and cool at the same time(not little animals like you see in toyworld). The size of the moose and the bears was quite scary. Wouldn't want to run into them in a dark alley.
Hope everyone is well and enjoying their long weekend (sorry those people in NSW-have to wait a bit longer for yours).
We are counting down the days until we get to leave jasper. This time in a week we will be in Calgary. Our last trip to Calgary was cut short so it should be good to have a better look around.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
El finished up work yesterday. The skiing is not good any more so we have brought all our equipment down from the ski hill. El went out for a last ski on her lunch break yesterday and was not at all impressed.
She had to dodge dirt and rocks and ski very cautiously. Not fun at all.
We went out for drinks last night and had a good night. Still home in bed by 11pm though. We called the lab and talked to a few people before we went home. It was good to hear their voices.
Today we are bumming around town. We just overindulged at breakfast but it was all good. We had a quick squiz at a wildlife museum which has stuffed animals all through it. Scary and cool at the same time(not little animals like you see in toyworld). The size of the moose and the bears was quite scary. Wouldn't want to run into them in a dark alley.
Hope everyone is well and enjoying their long weekend (sorry those people in NSW-have to wait a bit longer for yours).
We are counting down the days until we get to leave jasper. This time in a week we will be in Calgary. Our last trip to Calgary was cut short so it should be good to have a better look around.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
Wednesday, April 27, 2005
Picnic in the woods
Hello everyone, yesterday we went for a walk around 6pm to go out for a picnic. We did the healthy thing and bought some KFC (in french on the same container it is PFK) and went to sit by the river. We sat down near the junction of the Miette and Athabasca rtivers. It is kind of nice now to see the water flowing and not have so much ice in it. We went down and played in the river bed for a while and could look up to see Old fort point(previous blog).
In our walk we saw a few different animals including a wolf, elk and a solitary deer. It is nice to be walking around in a t-shirt instead of having to wear the big bulky ski clothes all the time.
On Sunday night we all went on a moonlight walk up to pyramid bench, which is a small range overlooking Jasper to have a look at the moon rising. We went with "Friends of Jasper" which is a volunteer environment type group. We listened for the different sounds of the night and even howled at the moon to try to get the local wolf packs to answer us back. We looked at the moon and the planet mercury through a spotting scope which was really cool. We could see the craters on both the moon and on mercury.
We all can't wait until the end of this week when the ski hill closes. We will have another week or so and then off to the yukon.
El is on the last 3 days of her job and she can't wait to finish. This weekend we are hiring a car so we will be getting ready for the drive to calgary soon which should be good.
Hope everyone is well.
All the best for now.
Geoff(El says hi but is working today)
In our walk we saw a few different animals including a wolf, elk and a solitary deer. It is nice to be walking around in a t-shirt instead of having to wear the big bulky ski clothes all the time.
On Sunday night we all went on a moonlight walk up to pyramid bench, which is a small range overlooking Jasper to have a look at the moon rising. We went with "Friends of Jasper" which is a volunteer environment type group. We listened for the different sounds of the night and even howled at the moon to try to get the local wolf packs to answer us back. We looked at the moon and the planet mercury through a spotting scope which was really cool. We could see the craters on both the moon and on mercury.
We all can't wait until the end of this week when the ski hill closes. We will have another week or so and then off to the yukon.
El is on the last 3 days of her job and she can't wait to finish. This weekend we are hiring a car so we will be getting ready for the drive to calgary soon which should be good.
Hope everyone is well.
All the best for now.
Geoff(El says hi but is working today)
Monday, April 25, 2005
A Hike in the Woods
Well, from our last post we mentioned that we were going to do a 20km walk on Friday. We found out that there has been grizzly bears sightings on that trail and they were feeding on elk. So we decided not to do that hike!
Instead we walked up to Old Fort Point and did a 6km circuit around the back. We had previously bought some pepper bear spray just in case. We also walked quite slow and made a lot of noise, which is what you are supposed to do to alert any nearby bears. It was a little different to walking in the bush back home, not quite so relaxing when you are constantly clapping your hands, talking loudly and whistling!
Luckily for us we didn't come across any bears. We saw some elk and big horn sheep and a few squirrels. The scenery was pretty amazing as well.
It has been really hot here lately, getting up to 20 degrees most days. The skiing is pretty woeful now, lots of bare patches, streams and many runs are being closed due to the risk of avalanches. I have 3 days of work left now but there is hardly anyone coming skiing now so the days are very slow.
This time in two weeks we will be in our RV, making our way up into the Yukon. I can't wait to do something new.
I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend.
Love El and Geoff
Instead we walked up to Old Fort Point and did a 6km circuit around the back. We had previously bought some pepper bear spray just in case. We also walked quite slow and made a lot of noise, which is what you are supposed to do to alert any nearby bears. It was a little different to walking in the bush back home, not quite so relaxing when you are constantly clapping your hands, talking loudly and whistling!
Luckily for us we didn't come across any bears. We saw some elk and big horn sheep and a few squirrels. The scenery was pretty amazing as well.
It has been really hot here lately, getting up to 20 degrees most days. The skiing is pretty woeful now, lots of bare patches, streams and many runs are being closed due to the risk of avalanches. I have 3 days of work left now but there is hardly anyone coming skiing now so the days are very slow.
This time in two weeks we will be in our RV, making our way up into the Yukon. I can't wait to do something new.
I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend.
Love El and Geoff
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
Moving house
Hey everyone, the time has come for us to up and leave our house. Our lease has run out and we have spent the last couple of days cleaning up. Luckily we are only moving next door so there is not too much of a hassle there. We have less than 2 weeks of the ski season left and will soon be moving on.
We have the three of us(Me, El and Jen) sharing a large room in the new house. The room is part of approved accomodation and each room has its own bathroom which is pretty cool. The girls do spend a lot of time in there though. The sunlight now is really different to when we first got here. El and I went out for dinner last night for cantonese and the sun didn't start setting until 9.30pm. If there weren't mountains it would set a lot later.
We will miss the place when we move out: a chapter of our travels is closing but a new one is beginning which is exciting. To have a routine like the one we had for the last couple of months was ok in the skiing and earning money aspects but we really didn't want to get into a rut again.
We will have no more high speed internet from now(at least until we have more stable jobs possibly on the east coast) so that is a bit sad.
I am back to wearing t-shirts and shorts(for those people who have never seen me in long pants) as it is getting to about 12C or so most days. It can still be -8 in the mornings though so I hold off going out until it has warmed up a little bit.
We are planning a 20km hike on friday so that should be really cool. We have to check with the parks office first though to check on bear activity. The animals all seem to be getting a bit more active. One of the big wigs at our work saw a cougar from the chairlift at the ski hill last week which is a little daunting. We might have to get some bear spray for the walk though.
Oh well, best be going now. Talk to everyone soon.
Geoff and El
We have the three of us(Me, El and Jen) sharing a large room in the new house. The room is part of approved accomodation and each room has its own bathroom which is pretty cool. The girls do spend a lot of time in there though. The sunlight now is really different to when we first got here. El and I went out for dinner last night for cantonese and the sun didn't start setting until 9.30pm. If there weren't mountains it would set a lot later.
We will miss the place when we move out: a chapter of our travels is closing but a new one is beginning which is exciting. To have a routine like the one we had for the last couple of months was ok in the skiing and earning money aspects but we really didn't want to get into a rut again.
We will have no more high speed internet from now(at least until we have more stable jobs possibly on the east coast) so that is a bit sad.
I am back to wearing t-shirts and shorts(for those people who have never seen me in long pants) as it is getting to about 12C or so most days. It can still be -8 in the mornings though so I hold off going out until it has warmed up a little bit.
We are planning a 20km hike on friday so that should be really cool. We have to check with the parks office first though to check on bear activity. The animals all seem to be getting a bit more active. One of the big wigs at our work saw a cougar from the chairlift at the ski hill last week which is a little daunting. We might have to get some bear spray for the walk though.
Oh well, best be going now. Talk to everyone soon.
Geoff and El
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Snow is going
Hey everyone,
spring seems to be on its way. The days are getting longer, warmer and it is snowing less. The ski season will be finishing in about 3 weeks and then it will be time for us to move on. We are heading north into the yukon in a motorhome which should be pretty cool. We get to pull over and camp pretty much wherever we want.
Last week we hired a car to go and do some shopping. They upgraded us to a luxury sedan due to the rest of the cars being unavailable. It was cool-it had a sun roof and power everything(see our photos on smugmug). We drove to Hinton, the nearest town to Jasper and went to Walmart and Safeway(two big chains like BigW and Woolies) cause the prices and availability of stuff here in Jasper can be a bit ridiculous.
We put the car through its paces-its good to drive when you haven't done it for so long, even if you are driving on the wrong side of the road here.
El and I are both looking forward to travelling again, too long in one place and you start getting back into the routine again which is not so much fun.
We have to move out of our basement on the 20th of this month, so hopefully we will be moving to the house next door which will save a lot of messing around. Tonight is a quiet night at home-we are hoping to ski tomorrow if it is not too icy.
All the best for now.
Geoff and El
spring seems to be on its way. The days are getting longer, warmer and it is snowing less. The ski season will be finishing in about 3 weeks and then it will be time for us to move on. We are heading north into the yukon in a motorhome which should be pretty cool. We get to pull over and camp pretty much wherever we want.
Last week we hired a car to go and do some shopping. They upgraded us to a luxury sedan due to the rest of the cars being unavailable. It was cool-it had a sun roof and power everything(see our photos on smugmug). We drove to Hinton, the nearest town to Jasper and went to Walmart and Safeway(two big chains like BigW and Woolies) cause the prices and availability of stuff here in Jasper can be a bit ridiculous.
We put the car through its paces-its good to drive when you haven't done it for so long, even if you are driving on the wrong side of the road here.
El and I are both looking forward to travelling again, too long in one place and you start getting back into the routine again which is not so much fun.
We have to move out of our basement on the 20th of this month, so hopefully we will be moving to the house next door which will save a lot of messing around. Tonight is a quiet night at home-we are hoping to ski tomorrow if it is not too icy.
All the best for now.
Geoff and El
Monday, April 04, 2005
Happy Easter
Hey everyone,
Well, I don't know how it happened but it's now April and we have been away nearly 4 months! I can't believe how fast the time is flying! We are now counting down the days until we finish up at the ski hill. They have set a closing date of May 1st, but our hours maybe cut back a bit before that. We aren't too worried either way!
I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter weekend/week. Over here they have Spring Break that runs after the Easter weekend. All week (since Good Friday) it has been a madhouse at the hill. I have never seen so many people queuing for rental equipment! My job was fairly slow (not so many groups booked) so I helped out with ticket sales, and confirming ski lessons. You get to talk to some really cool people but you also meet the exact opposite. :-)
All day Friday and into the night we had a massive dumping of snow in Jasper and up at the ski hill. Going home from the hill was "interesting" to say the least. We were fine but there was limited visibility and a lot of cars had gone off the road into ditches. Yesterday, being a Saturday, and being one the last day of the holidays, and having 23cm of new snow, was CRAZY. hehe So many people!! We weren't going to miss out on the fun however so Geoff and I went out in our lunch break and hit the slopes. It was just beautiful, all the trees were covered in white and the amount of powder was amazing. We had a lot of fun, even if Geoff was convinced to go down a blue (intermediate) run even though he didn't think he was ready for it. It was a bit choppy and he stacked it a few times, but he did well, and now he can say he's done a blue run!! Afterwards we went through some trees to get some "fresh tracks". Your skis sink down in the powder and the tops of our boots disappeared as well. Very cool. I then did a few runs by myself and managed to stack it coming off a chair lift. Quite embarrasssing, no broken bones, but I have a freaky bruise developing. Ouch.
Last night we had a BBQ and said goodbye to some Kiwi friends that had been working up at the hill but have decided to leave early. It was pretty cold to be cooking outside but we managed to do it quick and retreat back indoors. We had been missing the Aussie beer and BBQ thing so it was good fun.
Today Geoff and Jen are working and I'm buming around the house, contemplating whether to go skiing. I think today is going to much quieter up at the hill, so I should get cracking so I don't miss the bus up there!
Talk to you lot later.
Love El and Geoff
Well, I don't know how it happened but it's now April and we have been away nearly 4 months! I can't believe how fast the time is flying! We are now counting down the days until we finish up at the ski hill. They have set a closing date of May 1st, but our hours maybe cut back a bit before that. We aren't too worried either way!
I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter weekend/week. Over here they have Spring Break that runs after the Easter weekend. All week (since Good Friday) it has been a madhouse at the hill. I have never seen so many people queuing for rental equipment! My job was fairly slow (not so many groups booked) so I helped out with ticket sales, and confirming ski lessons. You get to talk to some really cool people but you also meet the exact opposite. :-)
All day Friday and into the night we had a massive dumping of snow in Jasper and up at the ski hill. Going home from the hill was "interesting" to say the least. We were fine but there was limited visibility and a lot of cars had gone off the road into ditches. Yesterday, being a Saturday, and being one the last day of the holidays, and having 23cm of new snow, was CRAZY. hehe So many people!! We weren't going to miss out on the fun however so Geoff and I went out in our lunch break and hit the slopes. It was just beautiful, all the trees were covered in white and the amount of powder was amazing. We had a lot of fun, even if Geoff was convinced to go down a blue (intermediate) run even though he didn't think he was ready for it. It was a bit choppy and he stacked it a few times, but he did well, and now he can say he's done a blue run!! Afterwards we went through some trees to get some "fresh tracks". Your skis sink down in the powder and the tops of our boots disappeared as well. Very cool. I then did a few runs by myself and managed to stack it coming off a chair lift. Quite embarrasssing, no broken bones, but I have a freaky bruise developing. Ouch.
Last night we had a BBQ and said goodbye to some Kiwi friends that had been working up at the hill but have decided to leave early. It was pretty cold to be cooking outside but we managed to do it quick and retreat back indoors. We had been missing the Aussie beer and BBQ thing so it was good fun.
Today Geoff and Jen are working and I'm buming around the house, contemplating whether to go skiing. I think today is going to much quieter up at the hill, so I should get cracking so I don't miss the bus up there!
Talk to you lot later.
Love El and Geoff
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Snowing in Spring
Hey everyone, it is the third day of spring(spring over here starts on the 20th of March for some reason) and it is snowing heaps. We have had 10cm in town in the last day or so and everything looks pretty and white again. El and I had a day off together yesterday and spent the day bumming around town, having lunch, shopping etc. There is a bug going around here at the moment. Jen had it for a couple of days now I think I am getting it. We all feel a bit Bla! but are otherwise fine. We are counting the days until the end of the season when we will start travelling again. We have booked a campervan to drive up into the yukon and it should be a really good trip. El and I went skiing together the other day which was really fun, we are getting better each time and skiing for free really helps.
Today I am staying home cause I am a bit sick and don't want to ski. Last week Jen and I went up for a walk on Pyramid Bench, which is a small range overlooking Jasper(there are a few photos on smugmug if you want to seeg them). We saw bighorn sheep(with little horns) and a squirrel eating some food. Those squirrels can move fast when they want to. We trapsed through mud and ice but the view was worth it. Unfortunately on the day we went up it was cloudy and the park guys were using chain saws so the serenity in a few places was less than ideal. The walk was still good though.
Besides that , we have been enjoying fresh snow and relaxing. We both hope everyone is well. Bye for now
Geoff and El
Today I am staying home cause I am a bit sick and don't want to ski. Last week Jen and I went up for a walk on Pyramid Bench, which is a small range overlooking Jasper(there are a few photos on smugmug if you want to seeg them). We saw bighorn sheep(with little horns) and a squirrel eating some food. Those squirrels can move fast when they want to. We trapsed through mud and ice but the view was worth it. Unfortunately on the day we went up it was cloudy and the park guys were using chain saws so the serenity in a few places was less than ideal. The walk was still good though.
Besides that , we have been enjoying fresh snow and relaxing. We both hope everyone is well. Bye for now
Geoff and El
Thursday, March 10, 2005
El's birthday week
Hey everyone, it has been a busy week. To start with, El's mum came over to stay with us for a week and has left today to go to Prince George. And then El had her 25th birthday. We went out on Saturday night to do a walk through Maligne canyon, which has spectacular frozen water-falls and frozen water. We had to put ice-cleats on over gumboots which we got from a place in town. It was really quite different walking through this canyon at night with little headlamps on. One of the guys in the group fell into the river and got his feet wet, but all was really good after that.d
On Monday and tuesday we hired a car so we could go on a few drives around the place. On Monday we drove out to several lakes near Jasper. We went out to Pyramid and Patricia lakes and had a nice walk along the shores. The lakes were frozen but you could see the potential for summer fun with all the kayaks, canoes and sailing boats waiting for the ice to melt so that they could get out there. One observation we made is that it is much easier to skim a rock across a frozen lake than an unfrozen one:). We also drove to old fort point and climbed to the top. From up there you get views of Jasper, the mountains and valleys for miles and miles. Up there we were also lucky enough to see some bighorn sheep, though they were a bit far away to get any decent photos.
On monday we also drove out to Maligne lake via Medicine Lake(medicine lake empties in winter because of sink holes in its bottom). The drive was spectacular passing through avalanche country, towering cliffs and lakes. At maligne lake, El and her mum had a snowball fight in the carpark. I tackled El into a snowbank and my el cheapo pants ripped. It was a bit cool for the rest of the afternoon.
On the way back from maligne lake, we saw a car had nosed itself(with help from the people inside-doing fishies I think) into a snowdrift at the side of the road. I helped them get unbogged by putting rocks under their wheels and pushing with the help of another guy that pulled over to help. A tour bus didn't stop to see if anyone was ok. So that was monday.
On tuesday we went for a longer drive down into British Columbia to visit a few places down there.The drive through the rockies down into British Columbia is great, mountains and lakes jump at you everywhere you look. First stop was Mt Robson provincial park, which is home to Mt Robson, the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. We couldn't see the mountain though cause it was snowing heavily. In the carpark for the Mt Robson info centre we smashed frozen puddles and played in metre deep powdery snow. It was really nice for El's mum cause she had never really seen snow falling before. We then went to the non-existent town Tete Jaune Cache, which is famous historically for Canadians, but there is not much else to see there. After Tete Jaune we headed down to Valemount, a town in BC which is famous for snowmobiling - not much snow there though. We had lunch at the "Loose Moose Pub and Bistro" before starting back for Jasper. On the way back we stopped at Rearguard falls-that was pretty. Looked like bear country to me- but still haven't seen any. We got back to Jasper eventually and went out to Jasper Park Lodge(where the richer people stay) and had hot chocolates to round off the day. We eventually got back to our house, sore and tired but glad we had been out and about.
El had to work today so I dropped her mum off at the train station. El was sad to see her mum go and sad she had to go back to work.
We both hope everyone is well.
Geoff and El
On Monday and tuesday we hired a car so we could go on a few drives around the place. On Monday we drove out to several lakes near Jasper. We went out to Pyramid and Patricia lakes and had a nice walk along the shores. The lakes were frozen but you could see the potential for summer fun with all the kayaks, canoes and sailing boats waiting for the ice to melt so that they could get out there. One observation we made is that it is much easier to skim a rock across a frozen lake than an unfrozen one:). We also drove to old fort point and climbed to the top. From up there you get views of Jasper, the mountains and valleys for miles and miles. Up there we were also lucky enough to see some bighorn sheep, though they were a bit far away to get any decent photos.
On monday we also drove out to Maligne lake via Medicine Lake(medicine lake empties in winter because of sink holes in its bottom). The drive was spectacular passing through avalanche country, towering cliffs and lakes. At maligne lake, El and her mum had a snowball fight in the carpark. I tackled El into a snowbank and my el cheapo pants ripped. It was a bit cool for the rest of the afternoon.
On the way back from maligne lake, we saw a car had nosed itself(with help from the people inside-doing fishies I think) into a snowdrift at the side of the road. I helped them get unbogged by putting rocks under their wheels and pushing with the help of another guy that pulled over to help. A tour bus didn't stop to see if anyone was ok. So that was monday.
On tuesday we went for a longer drive down into British Columbia to visit a few places down there.The drive through the rockies down into British Columbia is great, mountains and lakes jump at you everywhere you look. First stop was Mt Robson provincial park, which is home to Mt Robson, the tallest mountain in the Canadian Rockies. We couldn't see the mountain though cause it was snowing heavily. In the carpark for the Mt Robson info centre we smashed frozen puddles and played in metre deep powdery snow. It was really nice for El's mum cause she had never really seen snow falling before. We then went to the non-existent town Tete Jaune Cache, which is famous historically for Canadians, but there is not much else to see there. After Tete Jaune we headed down to Valemount, a town in BC which is famous for snowmobiling - not much snow there though. We had lunch at the "Loose Moose Pub and Bistro" before starting back for Jasper. On the way back we stopped at Rearguard falls-that was pretty. Looked like bear country to me- but still haven't seen any. We got back to Jasper eventually and went out to Jasper Park Lodge(where the richer people stay) and had hot chocolates to round off the day. We eventually got back to our house, sore and tired but glad we had been out and about.
El had to work today so I dropped her mum off at the train station. El was sad to see her mum go and sad she had to go back to work.
We both hope everyone is well.
Geoff and El
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Now we have internet
Hey everyone, we now have the internet at home, which is pretty cool. Still working up at the hill though. I did the same silly thing as El did and bought some skis. Can't really ski though so I am more just pointing down the hill and hoping for the best.
Hopefully I haven't been too silly and we will have enough dosh to keep going for a while. I am picking them up tomorrow morning. We ski for free and get free lessons so it should be good. We just have to get them back to Oz at the end of the Season.
I just updated our photo page at smugmug to show the views we get from work. They sure beat the QIMR views that we used to have.
Just a quick note tonight, hope all is well for everyone.
Love Geoff and El
Hopefully I haven't been too silly and we will have enough dosh to keep going for a while. I am picking them up tomorrow morning. We ski for free and get free lessons so it should be good. We just have to get them back to Oz at the end of the Season.
I just updated our photo page at smugmug to show the views we get from work. They sure beat the QIMR views that we used to have.
Just a quick note tonight, hope all is well for everyone.
Love Geoff and El
Friday, February 18, 2005
Fitness Freaks and Freaks in General
Hey everyone,
Well, we've done it... we joined the gym. Probably not so much a shock for Geoff since he's done it all before. But it's new to me. So many machines... and I don't have a clue how to use them. hehe But I'm slowly learning about them all. With our membership we also get access to squash courts. Now that is a fun game. We have only done it once (but going again tonight hopefully). It's something I wouldn't mind starting up when we get home. :-)
I have an amusing story to share. My Mum is coming over to visit soon (yay!!) and we needed to round up a bed from somewhere. I saw an ad up at the shops about a moving sale and they had a mattress going really cheap. We didn't feel like paying good money to shift it home, so we decided that we would carry it ourselves. Geoff (aka pack horse) did a great job lugging this mattress on his head/shoulders down the main street of Jasper. It took about 20 mins to get home!! We got the funniest stares from people driving by and we couldn't stop laughing ourselves. Crazy Aussies, that's what we are!! :-)
One last thing to share with you all... I have now seen a pack-rat. At work we had a hole in the wall or ceiling and there was this little creature that kept coming into the photocopier room and startling people. It was doing a good job eating the flooring and phone wires as well. Well, they set up this live-trap to catch the little fella. I came into work on Tuesday and there it was sitting in the trap. About the size of a rat, with a bushy tail and big eyes like a possum. So cute. I think they were going to let it loose away from work. :-)
Anyway, enough of my ramblings.
Hope everyone is well.
Love El and Geoff
Well, we've done it... we joined the gym. Probably not so much a shock for Geoff since he's done it all before. But it's new to me. So many machines... and I don't have a clue how to use them. hehe But I'm slowly learning about them all. With our membership we also get access to squash courts. Now that is a fun game. We have only done it once (but going again tonight hopefully). It's something I wouldn't mind starting up when we get home. :-)
I have an amusing story to share. My Mum is coming over to visit soon (yay!!) and we needed to round up a bed from somewhere. I saw an ad up at the shops about a moving sale and they had a mattress going really cheap. We didn't feel like paying good money to shift it home, so we decided that we would carry it ourselves. Geoff (aka pack horse) did a great job lugging this mattress on his head/shoulders down the main street of Jasper. It took about 20 mins to get home!! We got the funniest stares from people driving by and we couldn't stop laughing ourselves. Crazy Aussies, that's what we are!! :-)
One last thing to share with you all... I have now seen a pack-rat. At work we had a hole in the wall or ceiling and there was this little creature that kept coming into the photocopier room and startling people. It was doing a good job eating the flooring and phone wires as well. Well, they set up this live-trap to catch the little fella. I came into work on Tuesday and there it was sitting in the trap. About the size of a rat, with a bushy tail and big eyes like a possum. So cute. I think they were going to let it loose away from work. :-)
Anyway, enough of my ramblings.
Hope everyone is well.
Love El and Geoff
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Head cold
Hey everyone. It finally happened. I have gotten sick. Not too bad though. I think it may have started on the weekend when I had to carry bags in and out of -10C all day. It is just my head that is stuffed up and my eyes are watery. Today El is working up at the hill and I am down here in Jasper doing my email and stuff. It is about -10C today but it feels nice when you are all rugged up with multiple layers of clothes-beats being hot or freezing cold. I am working tomorrow so hopefully I should be good by then.
Not much else is happening here at the moment. Just working to get by and then go travelling again. I don't think we will get much money but at least we are not touching our savings.
Hope everyone is good.
Love
Geoff and El
Not much else is happening here at the moment. Just working to get by and then go travelling again. I don't think we will get much money but at least we are not touching our savings.
Hope everyone is good.
Love
Geoff and El
Monday, February 07, 2005
Snowing Again
Hey everyone,
We are pleased to announce the arrival of Winter again in Jasper. yipee!! hehe It has dropped in temperatures to below zero and there is LOTS of snow. It is amazing how it can lift your spirits to see the town again in a blanket of white. So pretty, and so much easier to walk around without stacking on the ice or slush. :-)
I went skiing on Friday and it was awesome. :-) So soft with all the fallen snow. I had a lesson too and found out that I wasn't doing turns correctly. It is always good when you get better at something.
Well, we have survived yet another weekend of busy crowds up at the ski hill and just finished eating at the weekly free community dinner. I love Sunday evenings now! :-)
Not much else to say really, hope everyone survived the massive storms that hit on Wednesday. We actually heard about them here so they must have been bad?
Talk to you all later.
Love El and Geoff
We are pleased to announce the arrival of Winter again in Jasper. yipee!! hehe It has dropped in temperatures to below zero and there is LOTS of snow. It is amazing how it can lift your spirits to see the town again in a blanket of white. So pretty, and so much easier to walk around without stacking on the ice or slush. :-)
I went skiing on Friday and it was awesome. :-) So soft with all the fallen snow. I had a lesson too and found out that I wasn't doing turns correctly. It is always good when you get better at something.
Well, we have survived yet another weekend of busy crowds up at the ski hill and just finished eating at the weekly free community dinner. I love Sunday evenings now! :-)
Not much else to say really, hope everyone survived the massive storms that hit on Wednesday. We actually heard about them here so they must have been bad?
Talk to you all later.
Love El and Geoff
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Road trip
Hello everybody
I had my first go at driving yesterday in a new chrysler. Me and Jen hired a car and drove to Hinton, which is about an hour away. It is weird sitting on the left side of the car and driving on the wrong side of the road but with someone there to remind you its not too bad. We saw a herd of elk feeding in a paddock beside the highway- the views of the lakes and mountains on the drive were awesome. We went to Hinton because Jasper is only a small village and has mostly tourist shops. I bought an el-cheapo DVD player for $48 so we can get movies every now and then.I will sell it again when we leave. WE also loaded up on groceries and Jen bought some house stuff. In Hinton we went to a few big-chain shops like "The Brick" , Wal-mart and Tim-Hortons fast food restaurant. The drive to Hinton was really good but on the way back it was blowing a gail. Car was swaying all over the road and I had to really hold it. It must have been the mountain winds sweeping through the valley where we were driving. Its a good confidence builder anyway for future expeditions.
Today it is raining and it is El's friday(even though its wednesday). It is my sunday. Pretty miserable today you might say.
Otherwise the mountains are still as pretty as always and the footpaths are still slippery. I'm back to answering phones tomorrow.
Hope all is good where you are.
Geoff and El
I had my first go at driving yesterday in a new chrysler. Me and Jen hired a car and drove to Hinton, which is about an hour away. It is weird sitting on the left side of the car and driving on the wrong side of the road but with someone there to remind you its not too bad. We saw a herd of elk feeding in a paddock beside the highway- the views of the lakes and mountains on the drive were awesome. We went to Hinton because Jasper is only a small village and has mostly tourist shops. I bought an el-cheapo DVD player for $48 so we can get movies every now and then.I will sell it again when we leave. WE also loaded up on groceries and Jen bought some house stuff. In Hinton we went to a few big-chain shops like "The Brick" , Wal-mart and Tim-Hortons fast food restaurant. The drive to Hinton was really good but on the way back it was blowing a gail. Car was swaying all over the road and I had to really hold it. It must have been the mountain winds sweeping through the valley where we were driving. Its a good confidence builder anyway for future expeditions.
Today it is raining and it is El's friday(even though its wednesday). It is my sunday. Pretty miserable today you might say.
Otherwise the mountains are still as pretty as always and the footpaths are still slippery. I'm back to answering phones tomorrow.
Hope all is good where you are.
Geoff and El
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
jasperiffic
Hi everyone, another day here in lovely Jasper. Today I am on one of my days off and El is slaving away at the hill. The saturday just gone was the busiest day at the hill since 1988. We had over four thousand people there. Line ups were huge and there were people coming out of the woodwork. It was a good day though. Yesterday was quiet in comparison. I worked in customer service stuff this weekend. Hopefully it continues- the days aren't guaranteed yet but they really do need someone there at least on saturdays. We are still sliding all over the footpaths when we walk and at work on saturday I had another tumble cause I was carrying some big luggage to a trailer over some ice. I bruised my little finger but it seems to have disappeared now(the bruise not my finger).
Will keep everyone posted on our events- hope everyone is not too hot. It is about +6C today so nice and warm by jasper standards. It should drop to -20C or so in the next few days. It hasn't snowed for about a week and we really want it to so it will be easier to walk around.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
Will keep everyone posted on our events- hope everyone is not too hot. It is about +6C today so nice and warm by jasper standards. It should drop to -20C or so in the next few days. It hasn't snowed for about a week and we really want it to so it will be easier to walk around.
Bye for now
Geoff and El
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