Blog 2.0

Every year Christmas is a little hectic for Chantelle and I. Our families are spread out across 3 different parts of the country (thankfully not horribly far) and each year we make the trip to see each of them. Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing family, but the travel included with the regular stresses of the holidays can be a touch overwhelming at times. This year we spent Christmas Day at my dads in Armstrong B.C after just barely escaping the snow/ice/rain that was hitting Vancouver.

Our little family (Me, Buddy, Chantelle and Bowzer)

(December 26th) After Christmas Day had come and gone we took a bit of time to explore Armstrong/Vernon. We found several homes with old vehicles out front buried under a layer of snow, as well as a nature reserve designated mostly for bird of prey. We struck out as far as photos of the birds are concerned, the ones we saw took off well before we got in distance of getting a decent photo, but I was able to get one average shot of a hawk before it took off.

Car mounted to a sign with farm equipment in the foreground

Colored branches create the illusion that leafs still rest in the trees

(December 27th-30th) After a few days at my Dad’s house it was time to hop on a plane and head up to the Yukon. Almost immediately after arriving we were off to visit with friends and family followed by an impromptu wild life drive through Atlin, Tagish and Carcross on the 30th. We came up short as far as seeing wild life but going through each of these historic towns is always an enjoyable experience, especially since Atlin is where I grew up.

The Gladys boat down the street from my childhood home

The old truck in front of my childhood home

(December 31st) Having not seen any animals on our previous drive I wanted to try the Alaska Hwy heading towards Haines Junction. The last time I was up in the Yukon I had seen several Elk and a couple foxes along here so I was hoping I might have a bit of luck again. Unfortunately we didn’t end up seeing what we set out for, BUT, we did happen across a family of wild (Feral) horses.

Wild (feral) Horses crossing the Alaska hwy

There was a bit of light left when we returned from our drive so Chantelle took me along one of her old walking paths before we left for the NYE fireworks.

Chantelle rests on a bench over looking a valley

(January 1st) The one photo I had planned before heading up north was a shot down at Miles Canyon with the stars still in the sky. Because the sun comes up so late (11 a.m) I figured I would hike in early in the morning instead of at night, unfortunately once again my plans were skunked when clouds rolled in almost immediately after reaching the bridge. Never one to give up I stayed and did a time lapse of the water and clouds rushing through the canyon (it can be seen on my instagram page).

After a slightly unsuccessful morning I met up with an old friend to walk the Millennium trail and finally found some birds that were willing to have their photo taken.

A bald eagle flying along the clay cliffs

(January 2nd) Since I had some level of success the previous day, I decided to walk the path along the river through downtown while Chantelle went to see if any of the stores were open (spoiler alert, they weren’t). This path always feels a bit like a walk down memory lane as we spent a lot of time as teenagers hanging out around here getting in to shenanigans.

Not wanting to sit around the house after returning home, we decided to go on the long version of Chantelle’s walk. My legs weren’t exactly excited about trekking through more snow with my giant Sorel boots but we made it through the hike and were treated to a spectacular sunset after we had made it home.

(January 3rd and 4th) The last days of our trip mostly involved flying back to Kelowna and then driving back to Vancouver so there wasn’t much time to take photos but I did manage to get a shot or two along the way

Blog 2.1

Blog 1.9