A gorgeous sunny day to take in the Sea to Sky gondola near Squamish, BC, and walk some trails at the top.
Steller’s Jay
Will get around to sharing some GoPro video another day. . .
Category Archives: Travel
Dusty Desk-Drawer Find – Guam Marathon
A back-of-a-desk-drawer find tonight.
I do not recall doing a marathon in Guam.
I do remember running an event there, but it was more likely a 10K.
I also remember two other things while I was there:
1) I bought a nice Hawaiian-style shirt. The saleswoman in the hotel shop quided me to a more subdued one than my initial choice. I remember she said “you don’t want to go back to Japan looking like a Yakuza!” 
2) I badly sunburned the tops of my feet while relaxing for a day or two after the race — the only area I forgot to slather with sunscreen. . .
Sad That TV Japan is Leaving Cable & Doubling in Price
We’re sad that TV Japan will no longer be available via cable. We’ve had a subscription here in Canada for many years at around C$18/month.
It’s the channel we watch together the most (my partner is Japanese), and it likely takes up the most PVR recordings.
It’s got amazingly photographed documentaries and nature shows.
Heart-warming family shows like Kazoku ni Kampai with Tsurube, and travel/history/geography/geology fave Tamori.
Morning talk show Asaichi that explores interesting places in Japan, good food, and social and health issues.
The quirky Instruction Manual Theatre.
Natural Grandeur of the East with its mind-blowing nature videos.
Somewhere Street that travels the world to document cities and their historical sites and local food. . .
Kokoro no Tabi in which we follow a crusty old dude who cycles around Japan to visit sites suggested by letters from viewers for sentimental reasons. . .
“My late mother loved walking a path to a beach near . . . .”
“The best years of my life were in elementary school in . . . where we’d climb a hill . . . ”
They are moving to an online streaming service — at US$25/month, or nearly C$40/month. Sigh. That’s over double. . .
We’ll probably cough it up, but sometimes “progress” sucks, eh?
I’ll Always Love Saskatchewan Skies
Grain elevators in the distance against a brooding, snow-coming-soon sky during a trip to Saskatchewan last week.
I left Saskatchewan in the mid-80s, but damn, I’ll always love those skies. . . Sunny, stormy , . .
They are all gorgeous.
I lived and worked in Japan for nearly 15 years, and since then I’ve lived on Canada’s west coast for over 20 years, and love the mountains, the ocean, the rivers.
But I’ll always be a Saskatchewan boy at heart.
Saskatchewan Skies
Wintry skies in Saskatchewan on a recent trip to visit relatives.
Water tower and grain elevators, Wakaw
Visiting Ancestors’ Graves in Saskatchewan
Paying a visit to honour my paternal grandparents and my Uncle Paul in Saskatchewan in late October.
It’s important to remember where you come from. . . It keeps you grounded and connected.
The days of a family on every quarter-section of farmland are long gone.
The church is closed, and emptied, in case of vandalism.
But the graves remain. There is a cemetary fund, and a cousin keeps the grounds groomed.
There has never been much First Nations recognition to my knowledge in Saskatchewan “pioneering” and farming communities.
There were vastly differing worldviews.
Nomadic lifestyles vs a “new nation” seeking “hard-working immigrants” to “break the land.”
I honour and respect my ancestors for the huge leap they made from the “old country” to Canada, to work so hard to make new lives, and to give future generations like mine a much better future.
Northern Harrier, Coyote in Saskatchewan
Spotted this Northern Harrier while I was driving north on Highway 6 from southern Saskatchewan to Melfort about a week ago.
And a coyote on the prowl near the Quill Lakes info sign on the Yellowhead Highway
Looks like a 12-guage shotgun slug hole near the center of the sign, and a scattering of approximately 9mm or .30 cal bullets. Hmmm. . .
Jeep Sahara Handles Prairie Winter
This was my chariot for a recent visit to Saskatchewan and Manitoba to see relatives and friends. A Jeep Wrangler Sahara.
I flew into Saskatoon, and had a car booked at the airport. When I got to the rental desk, the gal behind the counter asked if I’d like a Jeep for the same rate.
Having heard there was snow in the works for western Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan, I said “sure!”
I’d never driven a Jeep before, but it proved to be a trusty ride on snow and ice. Stiff and bouncy on the highway, but what the heck. . .
Fun ride. . .
Jays ’n Bees at Historic Stewart Farm
We took a ramble round the Historic Stewart Farm in Surrey, BC, enjoying the bees working on the beautiful blossoms, and Steller’s Jays working on acorns.
One-Day North Vancouver Staycation
We took the Skytrain and Seabus to North Vancouver today, and wandered west along the shore, and then back east along the shore. Then back on the Seabus to the south side to ramble around Canada Place before heading home.
Gorgeous day!
