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.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
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.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Self Indulgence
Well,
I don't have much to say, or more to say than time to say it. Things are moving smoothly? toward our July wedding. We are going to Bannf next week, and I am off to Winnipeg this week. I am not particularly looking forward to a trip to Santa Barbara on Friday, but such is life, and how can I complain about that?
I tried iWeb, not very nice, I don't trust the site navigation, and I haven't much been a fan of templates anyway. Once you decide, I'm sure it's not an issue. I haven't noticed the template here since I started months ago. But I think I will stick with the web page export from iPhoto in the future.
I don't have much to say, or more to say than time to say it. Things are moving smoothly? toward our July wedding. We are going to Bannf next week, and I am off to Winnipeg this week. I am not particularly looking forward to a trip to Santa Barbara on Friday, but such is life, and how can I complain about that?
I tried iWeb, not very nice, I don't trust the site navigation, and I haven't much been a fan of templates anyway. Once you decide, I'm sure it's not an issue. I haven't noticed the template here since I started months ago. But I think I will stick with the web page export from iPhoto in the future.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Photos
I have added some photo pages from iPhoto onto my other site djuber.com using iWeb. The old iPhoto2 had a web page output, it was ugly. The new one (from ilife 06) is nicer looking. Neither can handle direct ftp uploads (I think this is an intentional shortcoming on apple's part to sell more .mac memberships). I am moderately happy with the outcome. The site navigation links at the top of the page work great locally, but get chewed up on the remote server. This required some manual editing on my part. Clunky.
registered
This weekend, Beth and I registered at Sears and Target.
Both stores required a computer setup prior to 'shopping'. Sears had me hand over my ID in case I wanted to keep the scanner. Target did not. The Sears scanner was a kind of palm piot that sat on a gun. Numerous times the scanner went to sleep and had to be turned back on. There were times that the scanner didn't recognize items on the shelf. There was a manual entry system, but it required using the palm handwriting recognition pad. This was a little awkward.
Target just handed us the scanner (and a gift tote.) and away we went. The scanner was a cleaner interface, and a little more fun to use.
I recommend registering for just about anything you would want to do. I am excited to register for my thirtieth birthday!
Both stores required a computer setup prior to 'shopping'. Sears had me hand over my ID in case I wanted to keep the scanner. Target did not. The Sears scanner was a kind of palm piot that sat on a gun. Numerous times the scanner went to sleep and had to be turned back on. There were times that the scanner didn't recognize items on the shelf. There was a manual entry system, but it required using the palm handwriting recognition pad. This was a little awkward.
Target just handed us the scanner (and a gift tote.) and away we went. The scanner was a cleaner interface, and a little more fun to use.
I recommend registering for just about anything you would want to do. I am excited to register for my thirtieth birthday!
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Congratulation
Dear Beth & Dan~
Congratulations! Elena just told us the great news, we are so happy for you both-it's such a rare thing to find your equal in life and true love!
Congratulations! Elena just told us the great news, we are so happy for you both-it's such a rare thing to find your equal in life and true love!
You must be so excited! A summer wedding on the west coast will be so beautiful-you'll have to email us tons of pictures!
Tons of love and happiness to both of you-we couldn't be more thrilled for you!
Love,
E & S
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