Canadá parte dos

The following list is my itinerary for the epic trip to Canada. The research and schedual was all coordinated by my lovely Steve. Hiking, camping, hiking, canoeing, driving, hiking, and Trekkies! Woohooo!

Day 1: drive from Lasson, CA to Crater Lake NP, OR, hike around Crater Lake and camp.


Day 2: drive to Portland and Seattle. Stay with friends in Seattle.


Day 3: drive to Osoyoos.


Day 4: hike Osoyoos - northernmost desert in North America (desert
(scorpions, spadefoot toads, tiger salamander, rattlesnakes, and
cacti). Hike Cathedral Provincial Park (alpine lakes, formations,
Mountain goats, Bighorn sheep, and marmots). Go wine tasting in
Naramata & Kelowna.
( I personally would have put wine tasting first, then hiking, because there's nothing more fun then hiking through a desert drunk. Trust me, I'm an expert on this.)


Day 5: watch mating displays of Western Grebes on boardwalk in Salmon
Arm. drive through Glacier National Park. See Burgess Shale in Field.
Lunch at Lake Louise. Walk around a marsh in Banff and go to the Whyte
Museum of the Canadian Rockies. drive to Calgary.


Day 6: walk around Calgary. Drive to Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
(where the Blackfoot Indians drove the buffalo off a cliff), Vulcan (a
town dedicated to Star Trek), and visit the Royal Tyrell Museum and
badlands at Drumheller.
(Although this may seem silly..."I'm all hopped up on mountain dew" to go to Vulcan.)

(If you can name that quote you will earn 28 cool points)

Day 7: Drive through the Canadian Rockies to Jasper. Hike by Columbia
Ice fields to a lake with lots of tame and playful marmots.
(Marmots! Apparently they are an animal and not just an outfitting brand) 


Day 8: Long drive to Dawson Creek, BC. Stop at Elk Island National
Park to see extremely high densities of wood and plain buffalo, moose,
and elk.


Day 9: Another long day of driving to Laird Hot Springs Provincial
Park (orchids, boardwalk, hot springs), then the Watson Lake Sign Post
Forest, and finally to Teslin, YT.


Day 10: a full day of canoeing on Nisutlin Lake with salmon and moose.
take a short drive to the rustic, artsy town of Atlin and eat some
smoked salmon.


Day 11: Up early and head to Kluane National Park for a long hike
through an amazing park with the highest concentration of grizzlies in
the world, sheep, wolves, mountain goats, moose, and wolverines.
(I highlighted the above because if you don't hear from me after day 11 you''ll know why)


Day 12: drive to another artsy town called Keno Hill. there is a
nearby meadow with tons of wildflowers and arctic butterflies. We hit
Dawson City, YT at night for some drinking and Vaudeville shows.
Places worth checking out include Diamond Tooth Gertie's Gambling Hall
- the oldest casino in Canada and the Sourdough Saloon, where you can
drink a shot with a human toe in it. This is also where we will get
info on the road conditions of the Dempster highway.
(My concern is that the women in the burlesque/vaudeville show will be as old as the casino.) 


Day 13 & 14: A long drive to Inuvik, YT on the Dempster highway. The
highway is full of arctic birds like northern hawk owls, snowy owls,
redpolls, longspurs, gyrfalcon, ptarmigans, loons, shorebirds, and
snow buntings. We should be able to see a small herd of caribou at
Tombstone. There are a few places where we can hike around, but the
drive itself is the main adventure. In Inuvik, we can eat Musk ox &
caribou burgers.
(yes, I shall eat a muskox, then devour it soul and hang its dead corpse from my cars bumper) - no I'm not kidding.


Day 15 & 16: Time to go to the top of the world. I would like to
charter a plane to Banks Island - Aulavik National Park (70,000 musk
ox, caribou, polar bears, arctic fox, ringed seal, bowhead & beluga
whales, lemmings). Hopefully the weather will cooperate, but this
should be the high point of the trip.


Day 17 & 18: drive back south to Hyder, BC. We will hopefully have
time to check out Whitehorse's long fish ladder, art center, and
brewery.


Day 19: After all that driving, we will take a few more relaxing days
before more long days of driving. I want to check of Bear Glacier,
which has a morph of blue ice bears living by it, Fish Creek, where
you can safely watch grizzly and black bears hunting salmon, Nisga's
Memorial Lava Bed Park, and Prince Rupert (large totem pole
collection, Museum of Northern BC).


Day 20: We take a ferry to the Queen Charlotte Islands, go whale
watching (fin, right, humpback, grey, and killer whales), go to St.
Mary's Spring (legend has it that those who drink are destined to
return), the Delkatla Wildlife Sanctuary, Naikoon Park tide pools,
Gandll K'in Gwaayaay (hot springs & totem poles), and camp on Agate
Beach (great beachcombing).
(key words that I like the best....Hot Springs, Totem Poles, and Beach-combing) 


Day 21-22: We get back to the mainland and drive to Vancouver, BC.


Day 23: Drive Vancouver straight to Tucson 

¡FIN!

O Canada! From far and wide…

Summer time is among us in Arizona and with that said it’s time to leave Tucson. Oh I’ve spent many a summers here and I find them quite enjoyable and even relaxing as I struggle to breath. But alas, it is time to have a vacation, a nice long vacation.  I’ll even proclaim that I deserve it!

This summer I will be heading on a road trip to the Arctic Circle…yes, a 7630 mile roundtrip as a vacation.  Yes, for most people that wouldn’t necessarily sound like a vacation, however, for me is the best vacation idea ever. Honestly, resorts and cruises are superficial and overrated. This is exactly what my mind and body need. We have a non-stop itinerary with an assortment of hiking, canoeing, eating bear claws, wine tasting, and tracking muskoxen. Everyone seems to be a little concerned about how I’m getting there, but I keep reassuring everybody that I own a Toyota so I’m fine. (Knock on wood)

The most feared part of the trip isn’t chartering a flight to Banks Island in the Arctic Ocean in an attempt to see polar bears (before they become extinct), but rather the 457 mile gravel road known as the Dempster Highway. With a couple of extra tires and gas cans we should be fine!

Anyways…the following pictures should give you an idea of what the hell I’m doing this summer. And of course, as usual, once the trip begins you can expect a plethora of photographs from me. 

Add caption

The Dempster 

Seven months of love and fun!

I hate to be all gushy but…I just have to be a little. The past 7 months have been great because I’ve been able to spend my time with my new best friend, and of course we have been going on many adventures together. So here are a few moments to share…

Party drinky time

20's speakeasy party - this is what too much make-up looks like.

Tucson food truck round-up. Who ate more? Oh, that would be me!

Organ Pipe National Monument, desert warriors. We concur all  who challenge us! Growl. 

Twin Peaks themed party...yes, that's how cool we are. 

yay for road trips! 

ALL SOULS! once again I have a drink in my hand...what can I say.

Pimping up the Goose neck 

What's up Arches NP. We make faces at the arches...what are they going to do? Nothing!

What What! Mexican hat...or pancake rock as we referred to it. 

1 girl, 2 cats, and a bunch of stuff

One day you wake-up, you crawl out of bed feeling a kink in your neck, your knees are stiff from the cold air in the room, and you obnoxious barn cat is screaming at you to feed her. All of the sudden an epiphany happens. Who am I?

Suddenly, you realize that you’re 31 yrs old and really have nothing more to show for it then some awesomely cheap goods that you found at the thrift store. Student loans on a degree that you personal find no satisfaction in, are warranting your attention as graduation is closing in on you. Debt. Stupid debt. student loans, car payments, some miscellaneous charges on the credit card… what is this?  Does this make me a grown-up? How did my parents ever afford to have me? Life is weird.

I question my adultness…I don’t feel like an adult. I don’t feel like a kid either. Does that make me a looser? I think society expects a lot out of people. We’ve grown-up in suburbs with two car families, both parents working, and having dinners on the couch. Now that doesn’t seem appealing to me at all. I would sooner live out of my car (if I owned it) then to live that sort of lifestyle. I’m not looking for that. I am looking for something though. Maybe it’s just security, or maybe it’s just to feel like I am an adult.

I try to place my finger on it but can’t. Is it this place? 

Perhaps. 

Is it your mind melting into some gooey substance? That’s more likely the case.  

Are you rambling on, and on, and on. Yep.  

Should you stop before you look stupid? 

Why, yes, that would be advisable.

So anyways, I own a bunch of meaningless crap that only brings me temporary happiness. My cats, well they always make me smile, and I own them, actually… they own me.  Someday I’ll rid myself of my stuff, and then get some real meaningful stuff, then hopefully that stuff will make me feel more adult-like. You know, like owning a crock-pot or something. 

A Year in Words

As the old quote goes, “it’s hard to believe it’s been a year already.” But alas, the year of 2011 is about to give way to 2012. What can be said about 2011…oh, 2011 you started out as a bitchy whore then slowly, and I mean slowly, you blossomed into an elegant escort worth spending money on.

Reflecting on the past year brings tears to my eyes, the sad kind and the good kind. Trouble seemed to have followed me in every part of my life in 2011 with friends, family, loves, myself…it seemed as though my little bubble of a world had met the apocalypse early. I had hit my lowest of lows, having feelings and thoughts I had long forgotten about. Depression, despair, self-loathing seemed to be my only comforting companions. I was about to settle for things in my life that didn’t make me happy, but would simply be a temporary fix to my problems. This idea seemed stupid. On a chance encounter, just when I convinced myself that my life was going to continue to be a mess, someone entered my life that would alter the outcome of my very existence. Suddenly all the mess that I had encountered over the previous months seemed to subside, and some of it even began to make sense.  It took a friend, a companion, a conspirator to make me see that all the crap that I had been through was just leading me to this moment.

Alas my ramblings have a point and will come to an end…I promise. I guess what I’m getting at is that life is crappy more so then not, and sometimes when you are just about to give-up, you get that extra boost. Call it inspiration, knowledge, or even love. So to those of you who doubt yourself and yourself being, and think that the world is crumbling and you are going insane, look to good friends and give people a chance, you’ll be surprised at what you find.

May all have a wonderful and memorable New Year’s….assuming we don’t all parish in the Apocalypse.

Chicago Music Store Tile Restoration Project

This past weekend I spent three days volunteering for the Tucson Historical Preservation Foundation (http://www.tucsonhistoricpreservationfoundation.org ) The project was to restore the original tile at the Chicago Music Store on Congress St. Over the weekend we striped, cleaned, and re-grouted the classic yellow and black tiles, bring back to life the 1927 architectural details of the building back to Congress Street.

Chicago Music Store

The Chicago Music store was built in 1919 and has been owned by the current family since the mid 1940’s. I was invited to take a tour though the building, to include the mezzanine and basement. So much history is stored in this building. One of the greatest features was the original tin ceiling tiles…at least I thought they were awesome. The building itself has seen better days. Some additional support beams were introduced recently to keep the load from the roof stable, and about 7 years ago a truck crashed into the front of the building destroying the original tile work. Money and effort is minimal when it comes to preserving this building. The owners have received a matching grant for repairs, however matching the financial needs for this building is a daunting task.  

Original Tin Ceiling Tiles

Over the weekend we were approached by several people within the community and there was a great appreciation for what we were doing. The community had a great response to the newly exposed tiles. Unfortunately I forgot my camera on the last day so I have no photos (yet) of the final project. I will suggest that you take a walk downtown and see the amazing difference it has on the corner of Congress and 6^th. The yellow and black tiles just light-up that street corner and bring a smile to my face. 

Corner Column/ Down to the third layer of paint

While volunteering I was put in charge of restoring the original fire bell which can be found on west side of the building….it’s a beautiful candy apple red! Also, while on the scissor lift next to the Gus Taylor building (not sure if that’s the proper name for it) we discovered that the façade on that building was black glass tiles!!! After some minimal convincing I was allowed to expose one of the tiles. In doing so, I noticed that the sign above the door was made of the same material but was etched with Gus Taylor. Once again…minimal convincing, we were able to get approval from the owner to restore the sign! It’s an amazing sign that was covered with the same nasty red paint as the tiles. Congress is going to kick some downtown ass! Go check it out! 

Friends don't let friends paint tile

The Match Game: Random Thoughts

The Match Game

1:0

ByroBikeMAN76 – 32yrs,Male,  or LikestoParty086, - 24yr, Female, or my favorite…420Guythatliveswithmom -36 male. These are the typical calling cards of the singles in America today. I can only speculate and philosophize as to why men or women choose such “names” for themselves, but this isn’t the purpose of this essay. The purpose of this essay is to explore the commonality that is found with such sites as match.com, and that commonality is one of rebound. Now don’t lie to yourself, we’ve all done it. We’ve rebounding with a random person at a bar, an old flame, or a new companion found online.

I myself started dating off of match.com back in 2004. Within the first month I found a man, a man that I would spend six years of my life with. In the past 7.5 years I feel in love twice with men I met on Match. My first experience was remarkable but in the end we ended up wanting different things. So, of course as in many ended relationships you move on and that’s just what I did. I decided that just 6 months after my very long relationship, a domestic partnership if you will, that it was time to move on. And luckily for me, I was emotionally ready.

Now we come to the Match game. During my adventures dating from September 2010 to Dec 2010 I went on dates with 7 men. Obviously, some of these men I had more relations with then others. Most were one-daters, one was a two month relationship, and the last was a seven month relationship.  Out of these relationships 57% (that I personally know of) were on the rebound, thus, not facing their inner demons.  I won’t get into the specifics of these relationships because there really is no point in that, but what I will say is that I am personally offended by these people’s actions. I can honestly confess that I am a hopeless romantic. I enjoy being in love, falling in love, being stupid over each other, honestly being adored and having someone to adore. So I entered this dating scene with hopes of finding someone that was emotionally available, but in the end I only had my heart broken. So this is what I have to say to the men and women on Match… get your shit together before letting someone enter your fucked-up mess. The reason I say this is because some of us, the few honest who can and have moved on are looking for love. A true love. Not to be used and discarded because you magically couldn’t face your problems.

I will openly admit that I recently got out of a relationship with one of these people. One that I honestly let into my heart, one that I believed cared from me, one that I loved.  The actions of this person made it so I could honestly say I hate them. Knowing this about myself and that under no circumstance am I ever going to look back, I decided to move on, I may have jumped the boat prematurely here as I joined Match again. It’s only been a week since I’ve joined but I’m questioning myself. I enjoy talking to these new people, I find other people’s lives fascinating, but I am full of tribulation because I feel that I cannot really trust these online men. 

2:0

Since I wrote the above I’ve been on Match.com for two months now. I decided that expectations were silly in such a vulnerable dating medium. I’ve temporarily put the Hopeless Romantic into the closet so I could focus on what was truly in front of me. These experiences have been quite different from last years, perhaps this has to due to with the fact that I’ve been attracting a different type of man, or maybe it’s me having the ability to sort through these people better. I mean, after awhile of reading profiles you can pick-up on little nuances that send the red-flag a flying! These new men appear to not be on the rebound (with the exception of one) however they appear to be timid when it comes to the idea of a “relationship”…not that I’m ready myself for that. Perhaps I’m projecting my emotional disorder(s) on the situation as I’m sure I’m not exhibiting “courtship displays” or proper “body signals”.  In any case, I decided that the most important aspect of a relationship is a friend.  In hindsight, I know that the dick face I dated last I would have never dated if I had gotten to know him better first, only lust fueled that relationship and it’s time for something more.

This time around I’ve only met five people. Mostly creative type which is nice, it has actually fuel my creativity with photography.  In this process the “hopeless romantic” returned temporarily as I thought about how cool it would be to actually be in a relationship with a creative person. Yes, someone to collaborate with. I would want “us” to be the next Charles and Ray Eames, Diego and Frida, The Vogals, Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe,… ok maybe not Patti and Robert but you get the idea.  Ultimately, what I’m getting at is mutual support, admiration, dedication, love. However, these essential ideas need to be found in any type of relationship for it to be successful.  Defining successful is hard as it’s not just about marriage, it’s the commitment to one another. Uh oh, time to pack away these ideas of the hopeless romantic...if I keep going this is going to turn into a Sandra Bullock movie. Gross.

I could take this further and go into detail about each of the people I’ve met, give you the dirt and the unforgettable stories I have in my brain. That was my original intent with this second part of the essay, I’m sure that I could have sold the stories as a screenplay. However, there is no need for that.

My subscription has ended and I have no plans of rejoining anytime soon. I’ve met some interesting people this time around. Some I would like to get to know better than others and some I think I will be great friends with.  I feel, actually I know, I’m being very passive with these people. Passive about the whole situation I guess. This probably isn’t the best approach to meeting people that are potentially looking for a relationship but I’m sure when I meet “that” person, you know, the one that makes your heart sing, makes you turn red, gives you the proverbial butterflies, perhaps then my cynical voice-in-head will be silenced. Or maybe I’m just destined to be a spinster… If that’s the case, then bring on the Gin & Tonics!