Traveling Diary: August 2008 Archives
Almost every single one of my childhood memories involves the cabin. It is the greatest place on earth, as anyone who has ever had the privilege to experience knows. This summer the cabin has been at the cornerstone of all of my family and friend events and activities. Did I mention it is the greatest place on earth?
No electricity. No running water. Bears and rattlesnakes all around. A 10km dirt road to get there through a provincial park. Humming birds buzzing around while you eat breakfast. Osprey diving into the water while you eat dinner. Having to tape up the door so the muskrats don't get in. Being woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of fish jumping....It doesn't get much more Canadian than that.
And of course, as usual, it is the people who we get to share this great place with that make it memorable. My brother (Ryan) and sister (Bonnie) have also been able to come out quite a bit this summer to enjoy possibly the first time where all five of us are at the same stage in our lives.
By this I mean priorities.
And by that I mean: #1 drinking; #2 playing; #3 working.
The cabin is strictly for priorities 1 and 2...but we work really hard at them!
For example, here's Bonnie shredding on her wakeboard.
And here's Ryan busting out his technique at lawn darts. (mike, what happened to your hair!?)
Kelsey (one of my many sitas-from-anotha-motha) and I are working hard here...suntanning.
You may have noticed a few things by now.
1. The lake is gorgeous.
2. The mountains seem brown and lifeless.
Well, Here are some little facts for you.
The lake is called Kalamalka. In Okanagan language (the native Indians of the area) this means "Lake of Many Colours". It shines a vivid teal from calcium carbonate, or limestone, forming crystals when the lake warms up that then reflect sunlight and create distinctive blue and green colours. This kind of lake is known as a Marl lake and is very unique.
The area is called The Okanagan, which in Okanagan language means "Bald on top". Because it is a desert, very few trees grow on the tops of the surrounding hills. The grasslands and ponderosa pine groves are part of a protected yet ever-disappearing ecosystem in Canada. New regulations are being put into place all the time in an effort to protect this rare and pristine environment. However, condo and golf course developers may have already won the battle.
Moving from the biology classroom and back to 'life's lessons at the cabin'; we have established some key habits out here. Hiking, boating, swimming and drinking go without saying. We also seem to play a lot of games, and yes my family is fairly competitive. However drinking generally turns games like darts into a trip to the emergency room so we mainly stick to playing cards. Here's a classic afternoon out on the doc playing 'Bad Guy".
We're also in the habit of listening to music while we work...on our tans and beer bellies.
But then every once in a while, something new gets thrown into the mix. Recently, Crazy Jamie thought it would be a great idea to see how many people we could get into the canoe.
Mike, Alex, Bonnie, Nelson, Me, my dad (Phil, aka, dangerman), Ryan, Kelsey, and Jamie topped the weight at about 1400lbs. Then it flipped.
Best idea o' da' year, man!
In my spare time so far this August, I have been working as a waitress at a pub in town; succeeding on picking up customers, of course, which has made the summer even more entertaining. However, these are merely short term affairs in large part because I have made the decision to head back to China in September. There are still so many places to explore and so much Chinese to learn! Be prepared for some stunning blogs in the years to come, because I am planning some serious adventures!
No electricity. No running water. Bears and rattlesnakes all around. A 10km dirt road to get there through a provincial park. Humming birds buzzing around while you eat breakfast. Osprey diving into the water while you eat dinner. Having to tape up the door so the muskrats don't get in. Being woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of fish jumping....It doesn't get much more Canadian than that. And of course, as usual, it is the people who we get to share this great place with that make it memorable. My brother (Ryan) and sister (Bonnie) have also been able to come out quite a bit this summer to enjoy possibly the first time where all five of us are at the same stage in our lives. By this I mean priorities.
And by that I mean: #1 drinking; #2 playing; #3 working.
The cabin is strictly for priorities 1 and 2...but we work really hard at them!
For example, here's Bonnie shredding on her wakeboard.
And here's Ryan busting out his technique at lawn darts. (mike, what happened to your hair!?) Kelsey (one of my many sitas-from-anotha-motha) and I are working hard here...suntanning.
You may have noticed a few things by now.
1. The lake is gorgeous.
2. The mountains seem brown and lifeless.
Well, Here are some little facts for you.
The lake is called Kalamalka. In Okanagan language (the native Indians of the area) this means "Lake of Many Colours". It shines a vivid teal from calcium carbonate, or limestone, forming crystals when the lake warms up that then reflect sunlight and create distinctive blue and green colours. This kind of lake is known as a Marl lake and is very unique.
The area is called The Okanagan, which in Okanagan language means "Bald on top". Because it is a desert, very few trees grow on the tops of the surrounding hills. The grasslands and ponderosa pine groves are part of a protected yet ever-disappearing ecosystem in Canada. New regulations are being put into place all the time in an effort to protect this rare and pristine environment. However, condo and golf course developers may have already won the battle.
Moving from the biology classroom and back to 'life's lessons at the cabin'; we have established some key habits out here. Hiking, boating, swimming and drinking go without saying. We also seem to play a lot of games, and yes my family is fairly competitive. However drinking generally turns games like darts into a trip to the emergency room so we mainly stick to playing cards. Here's a classic afternoon out on the doc playing 'Bad Guy".
We're also in the habit of listening to music while we work...on our tans and beer bellies.
But then every once in a while, something new gets thrown into the mix. Recently, Crazy Jamie thought it would be a great idea to see how many people we could get into the canoe.
Mike, Alex, Bonnie, Nelson, Me, my dad (Phil, aka, dangerman), Ryan, Kelsey, and Jamie topped the weight at about 1400lbs. Then it flipped.Best idea o' da' year, man!
In my spare time so far this August, I have been working as a waitress at a pub in town; succeeding on picking up customers, of course, which has made the summer even more entertaining. However, these are merely short term affairs in large part because I have made the decision to head back to China in September. There are still so many places to explore and so much Chinese to learn! Be prepared for some stunning blogs in the years to come, because I am planning some serious adventures!
