Sunset at Whitecliff

My father used to take me hear when I was young to watch the sun set. He would take pictures of the sunset and read me the local First Nations legends from Pauline Johnson. I never caught anything but still find it a peaceful place to climb around the rocks and enjoy.

It was the first time since I was a kid we actually climbed down and sat on the same perch I used to many years ago. I finally clued in that we watch the sun set behind Bowen Island. We’ll have to visit the sunshine coast this summer. I’ve never been there before.

Yesterday I got a picture of the sunrise from Hollyburn Ridge and the sunset from Whitecliff. Now that’s what I’m talking about. It was a special sunset according to NASA. They said after the sun set you could see Venus, Mercury, the crescent moon all line up with a star consolation. All we could see was the crescent moon: http://spaceweather.com/headlines/y2009/24apr_eveningsky.php

Doing the sunrise and sunset in the same day made me think of the song from fiddler on the roof. My kids are almost all grown up now. Where did the time go: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLLEBAQLZ3Q

Sunrise Hollyburn Ridge

Got some nice shots of the sunrise from Hollyburn Ridge today. I remember meeting a guy on Thunderbird Ridge a couple of winters ago. He had dug a bench in the snow and was quietly reading a book overlooking Fromme Mountain. It was a beautiful place to stop and appreciate the view.

We spoke for a bit and he said the view at sunrise was awesome there. I paused and asked how he got then in time for sunrise since this was on Grouse and the gondola doesn’t start running until 8:00 AM. There's a brave hike after the gondola ride to get there. He said he worked on the mountain so he would go early having slept on top of the mountain. I thought that was a really good idea. I thought about doing the grind in the dark and then hiking up Dam mountain and Thunderbird ridge to see the sunrise and thought naw… that’s an awfully long way especially in the dark.

My next best brainstorm was to try it on Hollyburn Ridge. I could climb up in the dark with my miner’s light they use for midnight snowshoe fondues. I was ready to go one day but the weather said rain so there would have been no visibility. Today was the perfect day. Forecast said yesterday would be cloudy but today would be sunny.

I was shooting for getting there an hour before sunrise but didn’t get there till half hour before sunrise. It was later than I had hoped so I didn’t need the lights. I made it to the first ridge on the base of the summit when the sun rose.

From the peak it was full blown and the rays of light were beaming down the mountains into the valley’s. It was awesome. The sunrise thing is kind of a process to experience. Just like a sunset in reverse. My father was big into photographing sunsets. I like sunrises. Makes me think of that song Boston by Augustana. It symbolizes new beginnings. I remember jogging on the beach every day for a while for the sunrise in Bray outside Dublin. That was awesome too.

I like the Lions from Hollyburn Ridge because you can get a peak of what’s behind the Lions.

Lynn Canyon

I like Lynn Canyon. My father used to take me there when I was very young. We used to live within walking distance. The 30 foot pool is my favorite part: http://www.lynncanyon.ca



Today we noticed a tree had been knocked down by the wind right at the pool when people jump off the rocks. You can see the small waterfall just past the diving spot. You have to be careful with under currents in Lynn creek. Many people have died being swept away and swept under the powerful water. Even at the small waterfall there are under currents. It’s still a beautiful park and swimming in the 30 foot pool is relatively safe. Not quite warm enough yet but a peaceful place to visit nonetheless.

This is the view from the suspension bridge:

This is the view directly below the suspension bridge:

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And this is the small waterfall on the west side of the suspension bridge that most people miss:

Then there’s the treck up Coliseum Mountain in the headwaters. Gotta love that. Capilano is nice too. They have a cool walk in the treetops display set up. Haven’t been there in a while: http://www.capbridge.com/explore_vancouver_park/treetop_attraction.html

The Devil Ignatieff Speaks

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20090423%2fIggy_US_090423

Why is it every time this guy opens his mouth it attracks flies? This is the inherit problem with Ignatieff. He pretends foreign occupation and wars for oil have anything to do with human rights. Afghanistan is not a noble cause. We were conned. The oil pipeline. The bin Laden video that didn’t even look like bin Laden. Homeland security wrongly claiming 9/11 terrorists came from Canada. What a farce. They were given visas by the CIA in Saudi. The fraudulent list of terrorists was a scam. Just like the asbestos.

Yale to Hope

Went down the Fraser River in a Voyageur canoe from Yale to Hope today. We were on the water at 6:00 AM and saw the sun rise over the mountains. My first experience with moving water. It was awesome. Eddies, whirlpools, rollers and standing waves. It’s really interesting how the current moves.

Obviously where the Fraser is wide it moves slowly. Obviously, where it is narrow like Hells Gate, it moves fast. Likewise you can have shallow parts in the river that moves faster than others. Rollers are awesome. We avoided those in the canoe but it was sure impressive to paddle beside them. I’m sure a raft would be safer for shooting the rapids but it sure felt like being in a time capsule crossing fast moving water in a Voyageur canoe just like in the olden days.

Obviously water follows the flow of gravity down. The greater the drop the faster the water. Although the current does generally flow downstream usually there are eddies on the side of the river where the water backpedals and actually goes up stream. Padling up an eddie is entirely possible and sometimes you don’t even have to paddle the current will take you.

Realizing that helped understand how and why the Natives but their fish nets the way they do. The net goes out from the shore at an angle down stream so when the salmon swim up the eddie they get trapped in the net. I say a First Nation’s brother use this very effectively in the Cheakamus. Today we saw several similar nets in the water. Seemingly the Spring Salmon are starting to run.

Whirlpools are cool. We were crossing the river and I said look at that. That whirlpool is gonna suck you down like tornado. We’re supposed to try and avoid those our steer person said. Standing waves are cool. Another part of the river the current swirled around and took us fast upstream. Indeed the current is fascinating and I look forward to gaining more experience as we prepare for the Thomson.

I had to keep my camera in the dry bag for the fast water so I couldn’t get ant pictures of the rapids. I didn’t want to lose another camera and everyone has to paddle in the rapids. I was able to get some pictures as we entered Hope.

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Spring Awakes

Cherry blossoms rise and fall ushering in the first stage of spring. Time to hit the rivers.

Alouette Mountain and Golden Ears

Alouette Mountain is on the left and Golden Ears is on the right. These are two peaks I took for granted growing up but you can see them from Guildford Mall.

If you go to the upper parking lot by Wal-Mart and look north east just right of the Sheraton and the tall Canadian Flag from Flag Chevrolet they're right there.




The start of the trail was bare but there was over six feet of snow at the top of the trail. Unfortunately we couldn't find a clearing with a view. That made the journey somewhat anti climatic so it did.




There was some older growth trees and lots of cool fungus. I was hoping to get a view of Pitt Lake. Another day perhaps. This was a nice memorial on a picnic table at the first plateau over looking the south end of Alouette Lake by the dam:

Sunshine on Mount Baker

What a day.



This is a close up of Baker from the mountain.




This is a view of Baker from Abbottsford.




This is the visitor centre in the second level of Heather Meadows under snow. I guess it doesn’t open until latter in the spring. Table Mountain is just above the visitor centre.




It was mid week so the ski runs were closed and we could snowshoe right up the ski run. Being on Baker makes me think of the Swiss Alps. There are mountains all around you.




From there it’s backcountry.




This is the other side of Table Mountain and Baker. Click on the picture for a better view.




This is another close up of Baker. Gotta love it.

Scientists Discover Active Thermitic Material in WTC Dust

Scholars for 9/11 Truth and Justice: http://stj911.org/ just sent out a press release about the discovery of Thermite, a chemical compound that burns metal and is used for demolition: http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,635198488,00.html

Seems as though former BYU professor Steven Jones has been joined by several other scientists in the discovery:

http://stj911.org/press_releases/ActiveThermiticMaterial.html

The discovery of residue of explosives in the WTC rubble: http://911research.wtc7.net/essays/thermite/explosive_residues.html is not surprising when news clips showed explosions going off and George Bush finally admitted explosives were planted by Operatives: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp67_07_8Yg

A Beautiful Day on Seymour

First pump is the peak on the right.



The view from the other side.



Top of first pump looking from the back.



Looking back along the side of second pump on the way to third pump.



Part of the view from third pump. That’s the Indian arm winding through the mountain range.



If you click on the panorama pics you can see more detail. This is a side view of Grouse from Seymour third pump.



View from third pump. Cathedral mountain on the right with the rear of Coliseum mountain beside that to the left.

Linking isn't Defamation

As I’m sure Telus’ almighty ninja knows, linking isn’t defamation: http://www.slaw.ca/2008/10/28/linking-isnt-publication/

Why would they support people who trash talk their company anyways?

Partners in Crime

Afghanistan’s new rape law

OK this is another reason we shouldn’t be in Afghanistan. The new president, the one we put in power, makes a law legalizing rape in marriage to win over voters in the upcoming election. Wait a minute, I thought women were allowed to vote in Afghanistan? Ya think that maybe half the population would vote against such a proposal?

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20090401%2fafghan_law_090401

I wonder what the governor of Kandahar thinks about it? You know, the one we put in power – the Canadian. Isn’t this a quaint little pat yourselves on the back tea party. Then after an international outcry about the legislation, they said they are "reviewing" the legislation. Trying to figure out what stage it is in.

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20090402%2fafghan_women_090402

Afghan Lawmaker Safia Sidiqi said that she couldn't recall if the law was ever debated in the country's parliament. "It is impossible in a two-month session for parliament to pass a law more than 200 pages long," she said, referring to the 263-page law. Sidiqi also said that the law should be recalled for debate in parliament.

Well isn’t that special. They can’t remember if it was debated in parliament. The president makes a law without debate or a vote. A fragile democracy indeed.

Let’s remember why we went into Afghanistan. We were led to believe that Afghanistan was responsible for 9/11. However, if one examines the bin Laden confession video claiming responsibility for the attack, it doesn’t even look like bin Laden and there has been no other confirmation of responsibility.

Not the mention the unknown mystery of how the third tower fell in New York when no planes hit it. Without even touching on conspiracies the historical reality of CIA lead false flag attacks are historical realities. Then there’s the oil pipeline.

US oil companies in bed with the Taliban trying to win the contract to build the oil pipeline three months before 9/11. Then all of a sudden we’re at war with them when they give the oil pipeline contract to an Argentina firm. It all adds up to one thing – bullsh*t.

Bill Turner was a letter carrier from Edmonton who was killed serving in Afghanistan. Bill was a really nice guy. Many really nice guys have died for a lie. Actually several. It’s not a matter of pressuring the Afghanistan puppet government we are protecting from the insurgents into repealing the law. It’s about getting the f*ck out of the country and stop spending millions of taxpayers dollars there in aid.

Gibson tragedy

This story makes me mad. Before we sluff it off as a gun crazy lunatic let’s look at the facts. Here we have a female senior citizen getting evicted from her home because she couldn’t pay rent. What’s wrong with that picture?

Remember Gordon Campbell? The drunk driver who campaigned against the gold plated pension then when in office, shut down Riverview, put all the mentally ill on the street and gave himself a big fat raise and the very gold plated pension he promised to oppose. Not only did he shut down Riverview and put all the mentally ill on the street but he wrecked havoc on the welfare system as well as benefits for the elderly and disabled. Homelessness has skyrocketed as a result.

Then he continues with his budget cuts to seniors and closes down several seniors homes in surrey and gives himself another big fat pay raise while he hands out gold medals with his name on it to construction workers working on the Olympic site: http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=5f1c57ea-d510-4818-8f97-8f29507c0c72 That is the tragedy. We as a people have lost our conscience and have elected a criminal. We are all responsible as a result.

Now we have a senior getting evicted from her home. A war vet recently hit by a car suffering brain damage: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Alleged+Gibsons+shooter+brain+injured+veteran/1453672/story.html We are evicting her on the street. She takes a riffle to defend herself, shoots her attacker then after pushing her wheelchair to the parking lot: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Woman+faces+attempted+murder+raps/1454859/story.html flees in a car and the noble police open fire and shoot her: http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/abc/home/contentposting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20090401%2fBC_shooting_090401

Well done brave soldiers. Give those police officers a Gordon Campbell Olympic gold medal for shooting a senior citizen in a wheelchair as they were evicting her from her home. What a noble people we have become.

No medals for Gordon Campbell on child poverty: http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/2008/11/bc-is-canadas-worst-province-for-child.html

Old Man Winters takes his last breath

Fresh snow on the local mountains. Someone forgot to tell old man winter it’s spring.