Ah, the city by the cloud. Been in San Francisco since Tuesday night, worked at a law office yesterday, had chinese, went to grab a drink at a bar on Haight and Ashbury, where there is a GAP on the corner. Lots of hippie bumper stickers, and bongs... not much else. It's a largely tourist destination, it seems...
But how bad can it be. Chris tried to order a coke, but they don't sell coke, since it doesn't grow in california, they did have some home brew root beer.
Traffic is better here than normal. Or maybe it's just that I haven't had to go to San Jose.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Sunday, June 11, 2006
R and R
Had a spare day from vacation today. Mowed the lawn. Raked.
Found our roses growing fine, had our doubts to begin with (instructions say prune--anything above a few inches died horribly!).
Doing laundry. Dishes to do, and watching Hannah and her Sisters. "I've got a tumor in my head the size of a basketball." Gotta give it to Woody Allen to write think good healthsome thoughts.
Great sunny day, light breeze, fine to see some downtime.
Found our roses growing fine, had our doubts to begin with (instructions say prune--anything above a few inches died horribly!).
Doing laundry. Dishes to do, and watching Hannah and her Sisters. "I've got a tumor in my head the size of a basketball." Gotta give it to Woody Allen to write think good healthsome thoughts.
Great sunny day, light breeze, fine to see some downtime.
Banff, Alberta
Just returned from Canada last night. Spent four nights in Banff and one night in Jasper, AB.
Our campsite in Banff was very good, there was a huge woodpile, and you just drove up and took what you wanted. I was slightly reminded of the piles of old shoes found outside the 'showers' in Nazi concentration camps, but that's not a pleasant idea.
We had very few neighbors, were only about a mile or two outside the town of Banff, and had plenty of opportunities for hiking and sightseeing. After a few days, we were pretty hiked out, and we went into Calgary for a day to do our laundry, eat well, and see the Calgary Zoo.
Banff town looks a little like Vail or Aspen. Lots of shoppes, restaurants (even Earls), hotels, and museums. Jasper is smaller and flat. Jasper sits on CN tracks (with Via service), and Banff is on CP tracks.
Our campsite in Banff was very good, there was a huge woodpile, and you just drove up and took what you wanted. I was slightly reminded of the piles of old shoes found outside the 'showers' in Nazi concentration camps, but that's not a pleasant idea.
We had very few neighbors, were only about a mile or two outside the town of Banff, and had plenty of opportunities for hiking and sightseeing. After a few days, we were pretty hiked out, and we went into Calgary for a day to do our laundry, eat well, and see the Calgary Zoo.
Banff town looks a little like Vail or Aspen. Lots of shoppes, restaurants (even Earls), hotels, and museums. Jasper is smaller and flat. Jasper sits on CN tracks (with Via service), and Banff is on CP tracks.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Camping in Canada
Spent all weekend in BC camping. Lac Le Jeune Provincial Park is located between Meritt and Kamloops in the inland interior, right off highway 5. The drive was scenic, we crossed at Abbotsford/Sumas and drove right on in.
Some notes regarding LLJ.
1. BYOB. BC liquor sales are all handled through government owned liquor sales. We arrived late on Saturday night, and it was closed. We tried back Sunday, and the site in Kamloops was not open on Sunday. This should not be a problem, since the new Signature store near Save-on-Foods in Kamloops has bank hours on Sunday, but it did not open until the day we left.
2. No showers. There is a faucet and toilets (flushing) throughout the campsite, but if you want a shower, you had better bring a camper or plan ahead.
3. Colder than we anticipated. Beth's sleeping bag is rated to 40F, mine to 30F, but we both found sleeping pants off very challenging. Thankfully there are plenty of oppurtunities to buy warmer clothes in nearby Kamloops.
4. Firewood must be purchased from the gate guard/park operator. It is $5 for a nights worth.
5. Mountain pine beetles are decimating this area of BC. Many well treed areas have been thinned-- severely-- to prevent the spread of this dangerous pest. Our campsite looked like loggers had just come through.
6. Wild roses and strawberries abound, as well as pine and birch trees. The lake is home to several ducks, and there are plenty of ponds in the area around the lake. However, there are also a lot of mosquitoes. Bring bug spray, and buy a paper to start your fire.
7. Apart from birds, very little wildlife was present. We did see some salmon in a creek over by the resort (private property). They are tenacious swimmers. They sure look like they don't belong in streams that size!
8. The trails around the park have minimal signage, are hard to follow, the first indication of length is after one mile, and jut in and out of private property. At two times you are to follow streets. Also, some of the ponds that drain into the lake do so over the trail. Some interesting adventures followed with us either finding ways through the woods to dry land or over fallen logs across 8 feet of water and mud. Bring good boots.
Some notes regarding LLJ.
1. BYOB. BC liquor sales are all handled through government owned liquor sales. We arrived late on Saturday night, and it was closed. We tried back Sunday, and the site in Kamloops was not open on Sunday. This should not be a problem, since the new Signature store near Save-on-Foods in Kamloops has bank hours on Sunday, but it did not open until the day we left.
2. No showers. There is a faucet and toilets (flushing) throughout the campsite, but if you want a shower, you had better bring a camper or plan ahead.
3. Colder than we anticipated. Beth's sleeping bag is rated to 40F, mine to 30F, but we both found sleeping pants off very challenging. Thankfully there are plenty of oppurtunities to buy warmer clothes in nearby Kamloops.
4. Firewood must be purchased from the gate guard/park operator. It is $5 for a nights worth.
5. Mountain pine beetles are decimating this area of BC. Many well treed areas have been thinned-- severely-- to prevent the spread of this dangerous pest. Our campsite looked like loggers had just come through.
6. Wild roses and strawberries abound, as well as pine and birch trees. The lake is home to several ducks, and there are plenty of ponds in the area around the lake. However, there are also a lot of mosquitoes. Bring bug spray, and buy a paper to start your fire.
7. Apart from birds, very little wildlife was present. We did see some salmon in a creek over by the resort (private property). They are tenacious swimmers. They sure look like they don't belong in streams that size!
8. The trails around the park have minimal signage, are hard to follow, the first indication of length is after one mile, and jut in and out of private property. At two times you are to follow streets. Also, some of the ponds that drain into the lake do so over the trail. Some interesting adventures followed with us either finding ways through the woods to dry land or over fallen logs across 8 feet of water and mud. Bring good boots.
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