Brief Bar Reflections

Reflections (Bar)

 For those of you who have been reading our blog consistently you will have noticed that Deb has been the major contributor over past months. Although I carry the camera on my waist and take most of the pictures, our singular functional laptop and Deb’s desire to get up early and share her thoughts pretty much leaves me behind as far as sharing my own thoughts on a regular basis. I totally appreciate Deb’s willingness and expertise when It comes to prose…not to mention actually remembering a lot of details about where we’ve been, what we’ve eaten and who we’ve met.

Looking back the things that really stick in my mind as memorable include…

-        Incredible geologic features of the Dinosaur Provincial Park in Southern Alberta;

-        Great camping sites in Jasper National Park with a collection of young folks from around the world;

-        A collection of BC Ferry rides that exposed us to the flora and fauna of the west coast and the Inner Passage of the Pacific;

-        The potlatch celebrations on Haida Gwaii where we enjoy the community of Canada’s First Nations Haida people.

-        The Pacific Coast Trail on the south western coast of Vancover Island

-        Visiting our Guelph connection Ruth in Victoria and feeling so “at home” with her recounting the great Guelph days we spent together, our dear friend Carole and realizing that we were with “family”…thanks Ruth.

-        The mountains in Olympic Nat’l Park in Washington State…thanks to the Subaru for handling the grueling 15 mile mountain climb and for our good health to handle the rest of the climb.

-        The fabulous hostel in downtown Portland, Oregon.

-        Driving the Oregon and California coastline and camping at a variety of state parks…the photos tell the story.

-        Exploring San Francisco and hanging at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival….what a treat!

What has really resonated with me as we have travelled down the across Canada and down the US west coast is the outdoor living that we have, for the most part, embraced. For me, even though we have experienced lots of damp and cool weather, the time we have spent setting up and tearing down our campsite, chopping wood and building a fire has provided a focus that helps me to appreciate the other parts of our travel that are less like work. When we decide that it’s time to get some indoor accommodation or when we stay with friends or relatives these “luxuries” are really appreciated and help us to endure the next phase of outdoor living.

Of course the systems and patterns of living that we have now almost perfected….tent camping, grocery shopping, 2 burner cooking, sleeping bag management, car packing (and unpacking) driving and navigating and of course….fire management, will all change as we get on a flight to Katmandu, Nepal this coming Wednesday.

Sooooo…..as we hunker down at Russ and Heather’s in Redwood City just south of San Fran and do our finally planning and packing for the next phase I (Barry) can only think about our family and friends back home who we miss more than ever and who thankful I am for the opportunity to travel to places unknown and likelihood that the experience will be life changing. Finally, for now, thanks to Deb for her commitment to our partnership and willingness to make our trip work in spite of the continuous, daily challenges that we face…together.