Hello Rocky Mountains!

seeing the rockies first time
Originally uploaded by Sparklypear.

Well the day began at 7:30am after a 2am bedtime.

We began the drive from Fernie, BC to Ashcroft, BC – 9 hours. The landscape was again ever changing and stunning. Pine trees that were taller than I have ever seen. Forever reaching higher to the sky.

Some trees gave way to sloping gravel or tiny rivers waterfalling through a narrow in the mountain side. There were lakes that were as still as a mirror and others the rippled with life. There were marshy bogs lined with a crimson red grass, or bush- no one knew what it was. I thought maybe cranberries – but I will have to look it up. There were areas today that looked like desert. Other areas were lush green fields. Other areas had trees that had been caught in forest fires just last year.

We ate again at Subway and I have been drinking more coffee than usual – I think it is helping to keep me away from being too constipated. Tee hee

Anywho- I am really tired – just smoked a little and it always knocks me out.

The baby started to cry 5 minutes into the show and I ended up having to get Shelley to come up and calm her- she was inconsolable- and I felt awful- but Mike said it has happened to him so I felt a bit better.

The place they played was called the Opera House and we are sleeping in the upstairs sort of attic area. The others are downstairs but I snuck away, as I am tend to do. I don’t know why but I hate interrupting people to say good- night. My friend Bob Egan played here last week –

the building is owned by a French man named Martin- he runs a vegetarian restaurant in the town and also bought this place a few years ago after his old restaurant burned down. He talked the man who was selling down from 90,000 to 39,000!! He didn’t have enough money because he wasn’t insured on the last place. So, what he did was he got people in the town to buy 1000$ shares and he got enough people involved that he was able to realize his dream and open. He is very passionate about the town and it’s possibilities. I had wondered today what people do who live out here in these remote places but he was one example.

He did say it is a more relaxed way of life. I didn’t know this before but real-estate seems to be far cheaper in the west. You can buy a house in Winnipeg for $7000.!! I couldn’t believe my ears. They say the areas are a bit rough but that they are being bought up by young families just starting out. So the areas get better.

Notes: roadkill seen thus far: deer or antelope, coyote, turtle.

Martin the man who runs this place also runs a vegetarian restaurant and he made the dinner tonight. Spinach ravioli with a gorgeous tomatoe sauce- with a salad of beautiful greens with a tahini dressing and a mound of hummus – accompanied by big plush sour-dough buns. It was so delicious.

Ok I have to go to sleep- and I will need to rewrite this – it’s a bit sporadic and all over the place.
Also saw a really nice woodpecker fly by. Yellow grasses. Lots of rain today.
2nd set Sophie in the snuggly and fell asleep after the 2nd song until the final applause – phew!

Here comes Damon. That’s how you spell it.
Oh my oh my oh – look at miss ohio.
I decided I will sit in the back more with Sophie so she gets to know me better.

Really like their music.

prairie driving

prairie driving
Originally uploaded by Sparklypear.

So on a sunny morning, after sleeping 3 hours – you know times ticks away and you keep remembering things you have to get done before leaving.

Anywho, the alarm went off at 5am – I got up and thought I had a fever. My temperature rises instead of falls when I sleep – I think. So I try to get a few things ready- i.e.: brush teeth, brush hair, go to the toilet. I already have everything packed so I can be relaxed – and so after checking my route via the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) I realize that I can lie down for a few more minutes and set the alarm to go off in 20. But, I am too excited and just lie there for another 10 minutes until it feels like the fever has subsided and I can get up without barfing.

I catch my train and zoom off to Kipling Stn. And there catch the airport express – feeling a little zombie-ish but alright. Get there in time to get ticket, a chai latte at Starbucks and a tabloid trash mag. for a quite mind-numbing read on the flight. Did you know that Kate Hudson’s arms look so think she can’t lift her 18 month old! And that the Brad still cares about Jen, but he just can’t keep away from Angelina and they’ll probably marry very soon. Blar blar blar.

Turns out I didn’t need the magazine – yes I knew that when I bought it. It would seem though that the EnRoute mag that Air Canada publishes is a rather interesting issue. The Music Issue – and being Canadian it focuses on CAN CON – It features musicians interviewing each other. Two of my favs – Feist interviewed by the always funny Jann Arden, and my friend Mr. Ron Sexsmith interviewing A.C. Newmann from the New Pornographers

Also an article about The Free Design, a Canadian group who didn’t get recognition in their time – the 70’s but somehow are now getting re-released and gaining an audience. I discovered them a few years ago via my brother Andrew. They are happy little songs about love, love and kites. “I Found Love” being my favourite. I always imagine me riding on my bike smiling at the world – imagining I have found new love and the flowers are brighter, the air cleaner, the weight of the world light as a feather, the sun smiling. Anywho, worth checking out.

We touch down in Winnipeg at 10 am – a little late and painful ears as usual but safe. I read in a wiccan book that if you imagine white light around the plane for a few days before your flight and while on it you’ll be safe- it could be hocus pocus but it makes me feel better.

I collect my luggage – which I realize is a little bigger than it need be – but I wanted to have comforts in case I wasn’t happy.

I meet Mike the father of the baby I will be watching – and the bass player in the band> Nathan Quite nice – I feel relaxed and have told myself that is the best way to approach this – be relaxed, be myself and all should be well. And thus far, day 2 it is.

So, after driving to Mike and Shelley’s house, meeting Shelley, Sophie and Daeman (not sure of the sp) we got the van and headed out.

We drove from Winnipeg to Swift Current, Saskatchewan yesterday – the landscape was awesome. Flat, flat, flat… but green and amber fields with immense, dense and ever-changing clouds dancing across them. I kept trying to imagine what it must look like when the sky is clear – it must feel like you could get swept up by the wind and blow around for days without running into anything. I also imagined just lying way out in one of the fields – and listening to the wind and feeling the sun against your face – or looking up at the stars – that is one thing I hope I get to see – is a clear night. It must be fantastic. Wide open space that makes me feel like I can breathe.

The drive was about 8 hours and being sleep deprived from the night before- all I hoped was that we were all pooped and ready to keist out in our own rooms. We did hang out a little bit and Daemen raised a glass of red wine to welcome me to the tour, which was very nice. He is a bit of a Jack Black character – in the way he moves and breaks out into random made-up songs. Good to have someone like that who keeps things light and funny.

I tried to stay up and watch the Daily Show with Jon Stewart (my fav) but 5 minutes before midnight (2am- Toronto time) when it would be starting I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore and I guess I fell asleep because I woke up about an hour later with such a crick in my neck- went into a great sleep then and woke up thinking that my wake-up call would be coming shortly. Waited for it for a bit and then got up to see it was only 6:30 and I had 3 more hours I could sleep – and for me …this is heaven!

Alrighty, day two ready for action. Grab a cwoffee and bagel at Tim Horton’s and we’re off, ready for another 7 hours-ish. We have to drive to Lethbridge, Alberta to pick up Kerri McTighe, the lead singer. Again, great landscapes, this time the highway runs parallel to the railway and every so often, along comes the Canadian Pacific – it looks like we have stepped back in time, the railway always makes me feel that way. Also, we see grain silos and the buildings that look like stretched out houses. I’ll have to get a picture of one. I think they are old shops, or maybe silos also. I love the way they look and it is only in the prairies that I think you find them. I’ve seen them on the news or on the Canadian vignette they show on CBC to close off the day. They are prairies landmarks.

We grab lunch at Subway – and are then shortly thereafter are in Lethbridge – pick up Kerri and keep going towards Fernie. This is when the Rockies slowly peek (peak) into view. At first I thought they were strange low-lying clouds, but they gradually begin to show their grounding and the snow-topped peaks catch the sunlight and it takes your breath away. I’m sure there are many stories about seeing them for the first time. It’s amazing how yesterday the landscape drifted out forever – you couldn’t see where the horizon ended- it went on and on – then gradually the hills began to grow and roll over the flatlands – slowly growing bigger- some parts of the ground dropped off into river beds, but otherwise they were all growing upwards. Having been pushed up from the ocean where they once lived.

We passed Frankslide, a place where a landslide had taken out an entire village sometime in the 1920’s or 30’s – the native people had told the white folks – or idiots as they probably named them – not to build their village at the base of this one particular mountain – because the natives knew the mountain and that it was still moving quite a bit. Well it moved alright – it broke! And went sliding down and covered the village. Few survived. Kerri said one of the last survivors died recently. Mike said rumour has it that the gold that was in the bank is still there buried deep in the rubble. The rubble is still there. There’s gold in them hills. It was never removed. I wonder why? I’ll have to look it up.

And now we are in Fernie, British Columbia. There are remnants of snow here from a foot that fell last week. Snow in September! We are situated right smack dab in the middle of the mountains. I sang “the Bear when over the Mountain” for Sophie earlier.
As we moved our luggage and gear in fog rolled in and masked the monstrous peaks, and it has been raining now for hours.

The band is playing downstairs and Shelley came up awhile ago to check in – she said there are only about 9 people in the bar – but they are hooting and hollering like there are 50! Sophie Pepper as is stated on her birth certificate – is sleeping and has been the entire gig. We are upstairs in our room – I am hoping that I will get my own room tonight – the rooms are very hostel-like as they have no tv, no bathrooms – just some beds and dressers. No tv means I have all this time to write. I know I tend to ramble on – but it’s nice to keep record.

I wish there were games on this computer. Or at least that I could get wireless access. Ah well, soon enough.

And that is that, so they say – for now. It is only day 2 of 21.

returning shortly

Haven't been on for quite some time- been playing with my picture site tres fun
I may be heading out on an exciting little adventure come Monday... and will definately keep record of it here- so for now- till then