salt the planet

We awoke on the 5^th day of our trip and left Vancouver heading east toward Canada's Glacier National Park. It was my first time to drive through the Rockies and with every turn revealing new peaks and more beautiful sights Daniel and I could not help but pull over every 10-15 minutes, jump out of the car and take pictures of all the glaciers and beautiful mountainscapes.

After driving through Glacier, we entered Banff National Park and stopped at Lake Louise, at the urging of my Aunt Janet and Uncle Darry, where we camped for the night. Once we secured our tent site, we drove up to the lake which sits beneath two glaciers on the continental divide. The pristine nature of the lake and surrounding mountains was breathtaking. There is a large hotel at the edge of the lake that was built in the 1920's. It doesn't seem to fit in with the ageless glaciers and mountains surrounding it as they far surpass anything man could construct. The only upside to having the hotel there was that it gave us a reference point to how thick the glacier was (nearly twice the height of the hotel).

After a night surrounded by electrical fence (to keep the bears out), we continued through Banff National Park where the mountains become even more spectacular. We stopped for the day in the town of Banff, nestled in a valley with lakes and streams. Riding the gondola to the top of Sulphur mountain and taking the boardwalk over to Sanson's peak, where the Cosmic Ray Station National Historic Site of Canada, and the historic Sanson's Peak Meteorological Station were located was a fantastic journey. I imagined my Dad spending days and weeks high atop these peaks gathering weather information and living inside the rustic stone cabin. If it were still open, it would be a perfect place for him to retire.

After Banff, we drove straight through Calgary only stopping to take a picture of a gigantic skateboard loop. We stayed our last night in Canada in a small town called Cardston just north of the border. Though I haven't been here long, it is a melancholy experience to hit this milestone of our trip. We are halfway to the end.

Daniel and I remained in Vancouver for one more day of excitement. First, we went to the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology. As we walked through the collections of mostly First Nations artifacts, my studies from college continued to wash over me. It was thrilling to experience the totems, masks, tools, and stories of the First Nations of western Canada. We were also able to see an interesting collection of handmade artifacts from prisoners of the First World War who were kept on the island of Cyprus. These items were sold to finance the opposition and were essentially a form of slave labor. A sign at the display challenged us to contemplate how these items would be categorized in a modern museum, for they seemed to have little in common with one another (sarcophagus statuettes, reptiles made of beads, decorative guns carved of soapstone) and obviously did not fit any traditional museum category. After the museum, we drove northeast across town to a place called Deep Cove where we rented kayaks and paddled around the Indian Arm Fjord for almost 6 hours.

We stopped at Raccoon Island in the fjord for awhile to walk around and explore. As we were trying to find a way down to the kayaks (the sides of the island were steep) we found a tree with a branch that we thought we could use to gently lower us to the shore. Daniel went first and, after getting about 2/3 of the way out onto the branch and about 10 feet off the rocky shore, the tree limb snapped at the base and Daniel went plummeting onto the shore. I called to him to make sure he was alright and after what seemed like 2 minutes (it was really only about 5 seconds) Daniel emerged out from under the downed branch, walking and holding the back of his head. I made sure he was feeling alright before scaling down another part of the side to make my way to him. Upon seeing him, he had several scratches along his left shoulder and arm along with a small cut on the back of his head near the occipital lobe. We made sure that he was feeling alright and, after returning to the kayaks for a brief rest and a banana, pushed off into the water again. We were absolutely exhausted, physically and mentally, by the time we returned (13 miles of kayaking in 6 hours) and we were thankful that we had some of our lunch leftover and didn't need to cook. Click here for an interactive map to see where we paddled. Once you get to the site, click on Power Stations in the interactive map image on the left to see how far we went.

I learned much about perseverance, pain, fortitude, adversity, and continuing on toward a goal with the monotony of what it sometimes takes to get there. I also learned about forward thinking and mentally preparing for whatever may come by running scenarios in my brain. Daniel and I had several conversations after his tumble to discuss what we would have done if something worse had happened. It helped me to at least be more prepared mentally when something like that happens. Though I have experienced it in other ways, especially through training (Lifeguard, CPR, AED, etc.) this was the first time a scenario like this has happened when I was able to talk through it with someone after the fact. It helps to reflect and think about what would happen in situations like this in the future. I hope this is something I will continue doing, not simply to rehearse nightmare situations or increase anxiety over what may happen, but to prayerfully think forward in preparing for what may come in any situation.

These sayings were located in stained glass windows in the British Columbia Legislative Building. What do you think of them?

You can click on the link here to see the pics.

Discretion is the perfection of reason and a guide to win all the duties of life.

The virtue of prosperity is temperance.

Great effects come of industry and perseverance.

Industry hath annexed thereto the fairest fruits and richest rewards.

The virtue of adversity is fortitude.

Without economy none can be rich; with it none can be poor.

I like the second one the best, yet the last one intrigues me the most. Which is your favorite? What do you think they mean (especially the last one)? Any idea where they come from?

Its interesting to be so close to the U.S. experiencing things that are so similar, yet happening upon things which are foreign to me. Yesterday, we spoiled ourselves and stopped for lunch at Macaroni Grille, mostly because Daniel used to work at one and he wanted to experience this version. The layout was similar, but the thing that confused us was the prices. We knew we had a lunch menu, but thought that the prices were a little high. We inquired of the waitress who said that the menu was newer, so we chalked it up to higher prices and a new menu. Only later did we realize that we were considering American rather than Canadian dollars. While the exchange rate is nearly identical, we were thrown for a loop and, after checking prices based on the exchange rate in our head, we discovered that they were nearly identical to the ones at the Mac Grille where Daniel worked. In another example, immediately after coming off the ferry on Wednesday, Daniel and I were curious about gas prices since we would be in B.C. for the next several days. We were immediately confused upon encountering several gas stations with the only possible price listed on the sign being 113.9. After much confounded thought, we decided to pull in and ask someone. We discovered that again our brains were functioning in American dollars. Not only that but the gas prices were measured in liters and not gallons. It is strange to me to be in a place so similar to the states and yet only minor apparent shifts in culture surround us. Not only so, but I realized that, while I may be more comfortable with the U.S. system of weights and measures, it makes far less sense to me than does the Metric System. Amazing how a system that is more comfortable to me confuses me more and yet the system I am less familiar with, at least in knowing how to function day to day, makes far more sense to me. I wonder how often I do this in my understanding of theology, different languages, and other places in life. In what other areas does this phenomenon occur?

I woke up early this morning to stroll along the beach again. There was quite a bit of wildlife out: seagulls, herons, an otter and even a bald eagle defending its nest against two other birds. Due to the rain we weren't able to take down the tent until later than expected. Daniel graciously allowed me to post my first blog posts and took down the tent by himself! Thanks bro! We made our way to the ferry and took a HUGE (7 levels!) ferry from Victoria to Vancouver. After getting to our campsite and getting things set up, we mapped out the rest of our time in this gorgeous city. We decided to go to the Capilano Suspension Bridge first, which is Vancouver's oldest tourist attraction (ca. 1889).

It was unreal to walk along the 450 foot span over 200 feet above the canyon floor below. Standing anywhere along the bridge, one could feel each step every person took as we crossed. The trees on the other side were amazing as well. Douglas Fir, Hemlock, and Red Cedar, some as old as 800 years and as tall as 300 feet, surrounded us in what seemed to be a mystical land. After the bridge we went grocery shopping that night and turned in after a wonderful dinner of peanut butter and banana sandwiches with watermelon on the side.

I thought of you today
walking along a beach
filled with purple seashells
how could I not keep from
thinking of you
longing for you
desiring to share this with you

Daniel and I awoke Wednesday morning at 4am to pack up and travel to Vancouver Island and the beautiful city of Victoria. It was a joy to see him and catch up on all that he has been doing in the last several weeks. I hope that I will be an amiable traveling partner and provide a respite from the solitary aspects of travel. If nothing else, he looks forward to sharing driving duties! (8800 miles, so far, can have tragic effects on even the most conditioned of lead feet).

After arriving in Port Angeles we departed by ferry to Victoria. On the way over we saw a small humpback whale some distance away. The best glimpse we could catch was when, just after surfacing, it blew air from its blow hole and returned to the deep with its tail coming out of the water. Couldn't quite get a picture of either of these, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

After driving around for a bit in Victoria we visited The Empress Hotel and took a brief tour of its archives, enjoying old photos and stories of its beauty. We then walked to the British Columbia Legislative building and took a brief half hour tour. Both The Empress and the Legislative building were designed by the same man, Francis Rattenbury, who is called the Architect of British Columbia. The Legislative building was his first commission, which he took at the age of 25! Most impressive was the ability to go on the floor where the representatives conduct their debates. In an age of intense security and obsession with terrorist threats, it amazed me to be able to walk onto the debate floor with minimal supervision. I also enjoyed seeing the setup for their debate floor, which has the two primary parties facing each other with the Left tenant governor in the middle. Each person who desires to speak must address the Left tenant governor first, before (or sometimes in lieu of) speaking directly to the person(s) with whom they are debating. This is similar to the British Parliament (which makes sense since we are in British Columbia) but most unlike the U.S. Congressional setup where the leader of each party sits at the front and then each speaker proceeds to the podium to address the entire floor, which is seated in forward-facing rows. It causes me to ponder what influences governments (and even churches) to utilize the setup in they do. (Catholic churches with the Eucharist in the center and forward facing rows, protestant churches with the pulpit in the center where the preacher preaches from with forward facing rows, emerging churches setup in the round with couches and coffee tables). What functions do these setups serve? What do they communicate?

Late in the afternoon we found a campsite and, after pitching the tent, I spent some time walking on the beach nearby. After a four hour nap, Daniel and I cooked dinner, stayed up a bit longer just chatting and then went to bed.

Tuesday I began a 12 day road trip to see much of British Columbia and some of the states between there and Kentucky. I am meeting Daniel Stillwell a good friend who has been on a road trip since the middle of June. This trip culminates in our arrival back to Lexington on July 28^th. I flew out to meet him in the Seattle area and to see my Aunt Janet and Uncle Darry (Dad's sister and brother-in-law), who live in Silverdale, WA. Leaving from Louisville at 7:30am is quite an early morning but, thanks to my buddy Todd Wetzel, I was able to enjoy a great ride and Karissa was able to get a little more sleep, though she did wake up to see us off!

Interestingly, I sat next to someone on the plane from Louisville to Dallas-Fort Worth who lives in Port Townsend, just about half an hour north of Silverdale. She and I had a wonderful two hour conversation and it was strangely enjoyable to share a bit of life with a stranger. I look forward to many other encounters like ours.

After another stop in San Francisco, I arrived in Seattle and spent the rest of the day with Aunt Janet and Uncle Darry. Their hospitality toward Daniel and I, as well as their understanding of my short visit, made the brief time there sweet.

Karissa and I have started a flickr account for photos that can be viewed here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeremyandkarissa/

I will be updating it with photos from the trip along the way.