Re: Pedal to the Floor

..."BC" was no longer a figment on a map for us but a reality of place. British Columbia, for those of you who haven't been, has a different Canadian vibe than that of Ontario -- the Canadian essence, if you will, is still captured but you can sense that the BC folk are clearly a northerly extension of West Coast Thought.

Then, recollections from journals, "we are trying to do it a cheaply as possible - the "dirtbag" approach as Fischer has called it. The drive up Highway 99 from Vancouver to Squamish was unlike anything I've ever seen before. It is literally one of the more spectacular drives as a driver that I have ever seen -- towering mountains across Howe Sound and right along the road, and then water which stretches the 60 or so kilometers from Vancouver. The afternoon light was just perfect."

So much, so quickly to capture for our four-day bouldering trip. On our "rest day," I spent most of the time recording most of this into a journal near the RBC overlooking Cleveland Ave, the main drag of downtown Squamish.

July 5- Sitting at the corner of Cleveland Ave/Winnipeg St, at the Squamish City Center during some fingertip regeneration time. The insurance building is to my left, blocking the view to anything further north. Look east are mountains (straight ahead) as I sit on a little bench with the Grand Wall further to my right. A precipitious mountain is to my right with snow still on the peak. Cam is in the Vanagon in the parking lot ahead of me and my coffee is nearly gone. Time do be done for now."

There is much to tell about, link to you, and think about in this second trip to this amazing town.

I hope my journalism/blogging will keep you interested and informed during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games come and go, quickly, there is a lot to talk about; I'm steering as far away from an "I/we" -- based experience as possible for everyone -- let me know if I'm failing.

Pondering even the method of travel to Canada: A two-and-a-half day trainride though Canada versus a three hour flight from Minneapolis to Seattle ... followed days later by a three and a half hour drive north -- brings perspective new and definitely refreshing... that's maybe one point of "departure" to narrate this experience.