Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Monday July 21, 6:30pm

It's been a spectacular few days thus far in Yellowstone, I've seen a number of incredible sights as well as quite a bit of wildlife. As I drove into the park from the north entrance in Montana the highway followed the curves of the Yellowstone River into the park and there were a number of river rafts heading down river on the gentle current.

Photo 1 – Yellowstone River near the north entrance

Yellowstone is comprised of a number of small “towns” scattered around the park, each town has a main lodge area, hotel rooms, restaurants and cafeterias, and of course lots of gift shops. Most of the towns also have a camping area set up for both tents and trailers, and a few of the campsites have laundry and shower facilities. Generally speaking it is a very well organized network of services.

My first stop in the park (after I paid the $25 entrance fee) was Mammoth Hot Springs, the northernmost area of the park. This area is popular for its many sulfurous hot springs that bubble and flow out fissures in the bedrock. The hot water harbors many different microbes that produce a rainbow of colors from reds to blues, greens, yellows, and others. It's also very smelly from the sulfur, so bring a gas mask if you visit.

Photo 2 – Mammoth Hot Springs

One thing that I thought was interesting is the photo below, it's a travertine feature that reminded me of an old Indian chief, with his headdress full of feathers and a scowl on his face, perhaps as if remembering some of the tragedies that befell his people in the past.

Photo 3 – Chief Scalpem with a scowl

Another highlight of my visit was the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, which as the name implies is a canyon formed by the Yellowstone River, and this is also where the park gets its name (duh, the canyon walls are yellow stone). The area features two waterfalls, of which the Lower Falls is larger and more spectacular. There is a trail (more like a stairwell) called Uncle Tom's Trail that descends into the canyon and provides a fantastic vantage point to see, hear, and feel the falls. The total descent is about 500 feet, but on the way back up I thought I was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, doing about 30 flights of stairs at 8000 feet of altitude (that's over 1.5 miles high) is pretty tough. I spent the afternoon exploring the rest of the canyon, including a hike to Artist's Point which is the most popular vantage point to see the Lower Falls. This area was one of my favorite places in Yellowstone.

Photo 4 – Lower Falls from the bottom of Uncle Tom's Trail

Photo 5 – Lower Falls from Artist's Point

Photo 6 – Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Sunday was spent exploring a couple of other areas, Norris and Madison, before heading towards Old Faithful. Norris and Madison are both areas of geologic activity, with many types of small geysers and sulfur hot springs, and although it was interesting to see these areas the really strong sulfurous smell was starting to get to me. I did stop to have lunch at this really picturesque spot by the Firehole River, overlooking a cascade, nestled in the trees I sat on a rock and feasted on a roast beef and turkey sandwich, with Mrs. Osztovits' awesome home made bread and butter pickles on the side, and a large glass of ice cold apple juice from Mr. Osztovits' private reserve. What a lunch to remember!

Photo 7 – Young's secret awesome lunch spot (okay, maybe not that secret)

Sunday afternoon was spent exploring the area around Old Faithful. There are many other geysers all clustered in the same general location, but the main event was Old Faithful and I did catch 3 separate eruptions (they are about 90 minutes apart). The last eruption that I caught was just around sunset, it had just finished raining and the air was clean and fresh, the sun was sinking towards the western mountains, and the entire crowd was hoping for a rare sunset eruption. Unfortunately, Old Faithful was a little late and the eruption started just a few minutes after the sun had dipped below the horizon. Although it could have been a legendary Kodak moment, the eruption and the sunset were still awesome.

Photo 8 – Old Faithful during the day

Photo 9 – Old Faithful at sunset

After Old Faithful I started to make my way south towards the Grand Tetons. I spent the night at a campsite on the south end of Yellowstone, and because this was an undeveloped campsite (i.e. no flush toilets, no water, no lights, just a place to put your tent, a fire pit, and a picnic table) it was pitch black, the overcast night sky preventing the moon and stars from shining. It was eerie how dark and silent it was, and every small noise outside made me wonder if there was something out there. I could see how some people would get freaked out by the lack of sound and light out in the wilderness.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, I did see lots of wildlife, sometimes a little too close for comfort. You have to be a little concerned when a buffalo that weighs about as much as a small car is only a few feet away from you, but for the most part they are pretty docile at this time of year. Here are some of my favorite photos of the wildlife in Yellowstone.

Photo 10 – Elk enjoying a rest in Mammoth Village (he was a boy, take my word for it...)

Photo 11 – Lunch time for the herd

Photo 12 – Bum washing time (don't pee in the pool!)

On Monday I drove into Grand Teton National Park, and basically spent the day doing the scenic drives and taking lots of pictures. There are lots of back country trails that you can hike, most of which are multi-day trips with full gear, but since I had limited time I did not spend as much time hiking as I would have liked. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the Grand Tetons.

Photo 13 – Grant Teton range with Snake River (made famous by Ansel Adams, this is Young's sad imitation)

Photo 14 – Pelican taking flight

Photo 15 – Rain squall over the valley

That's about it for now. I'm going to head to Bubba's BBQ for dinner, from the reviews it's supposed to be pretty good. But then again, I haven't had BBQ for over a month (last time was in San Francisco), so anythings going to taste pretty good to me. Then I head into Utah to visit Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.

Biking the Canyon, Cherries Galore

Bozeman, Montana, Friday July 18, 10:00am

After spending a day and a half driving from Kelowna I am almost at Jellystone National Park (uh, I mean Yellowstone) to visit with Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, not to mention the spectacular scenery awaiting me. Ever since I became a fan of Ansel Adams' works I have always wanted to visit Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, some of his best works prominently feature many scenes from these two parks.

As I sit here in Bozeman writing, I am enjoying a great latte from a local shop called Rockford Coffee at the corner of Main and Seventh. They serve a very good latte, almost as good as Caffe Artigiano (see previous post) and the shop has a very collegiate feel due to its proximity to Montana State University. There was a good sized crowd watching the Tour de France here this morning, which made sense given the number of bikes parked outside. All in all a pretty good college coffee hangout.

I had a really nice time in Kelowna, being able to spend lots of time with Tim, Marcy, Mattea, and her grandparents. I also got out for a couple of rounds of golf, went for an amazing bike ride, and ate ripe cherries right off the tree.

Monday was a gorgeous day in the Okanogan Valley, no clouds in the sky and hot (for Canada at least). We took Mattea to City Park, located right next to the lake and featuring a public water park for kids. We were there for a couple of hours, and I know that Mattea had a blast, she was giggling and screaming the whole time as she splashed around the park and rode the water slide.

Photo 1 – Mattea at the park

That afternoon Tim and I played at Gallagher's Canyon, the highest rated course in Kelowna by Golf Digest. We decided to play in the afternoon because it was half price from the regular $115 green fee. The course started off really nicely, with the first few holes winding its way besides its namesake canyon, but after the sixth hole or so it started its way inland, and the remaining holes were basically a park style layout, tree lined holes with limited views of the mountains. The course was in good shape, but I didn't really like the greens (they used a variety of grass called poa annua, which is not as nice to putt on as bentgrass or bermuda, but easier to maintain). If I would have paid full price the course would not have been worth the green fee, but since we paid half price it wasn't too bad. I almost felt that we were victims of a bait and switch, since there was such heavy emphasis on the “extensive canyon views”, but in reality there were only about four holes that bordered the canyon. One notable feature is the number of gophers that occupy the course, they could have called it Gopher's Canyon instead.

On Tuesday I rented a bike and went for one of the most memorable bike rides I've ever been on. There is a very long hiking and bike trail called the Kettle Valley Railway, it's over 600km long and as you've probably guessed, it's built on the bed of an abandoned railway track. The most scenic part runs through Kelowna and is called Myra Canyon, and from one end to the other it's 12km long, so a 24km round trip (you have to get back to where you parked). I started at one end of Myra Canyon, and after 18 bridges and 2 tunnels I arrived at the other side, whereupon I turned around and rode back. I enjoyed the ride so much that when I got back to the van I ate some lunch and headed back to do another tour.

The trail is carved into the side of the canyon walls, with breathtaking scenery of the valley and Lake Okanogan in the distance. The stark remains of the wildfires from 2003 still remain, large swaths of burnt trees and trunks and the charred rocks that still have not been washed clean by rain. The trail itself was only reopened a few months ago after years of reconstruction from the devastation of the fires. The bridges are called trestles, so named because the supports, walking surfaces and handrails are all made of wood. Hanging over the edge of the trestles and looking out over the canyon and beyond was amazing.

Photo 2 – Trestles at Myra Canyon

Photo 3 – View of the valley and Lake Okanogan in the distance

Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning were spent picking cherries from Tim's parents two cherry trees. Because there was a late frost in the spring the trees did not have as much fruit as in previous years, but there was still plenty of cherries on them. Throughout the week we'd been enjoying cherries from the trees, and by Tuesday they were at the height of ripeness. Tim, Marcy and I started picking and once in a while I would pop one in my mouth. As I bit down a gush of warm, sweet juiciness would flood my mouth, the cherries that are perfectly ripe, straight from the tree and still warm from the sun are unlike any commercial fruit you buy at the supermarket. As Marcy put it, it's like a burst of warm sunshine in your mouth.

It was hard to say goodbye to everyone, but on Wednesday I left Kelowna and began to make my way to Yellowstone, snacking on cherries the whole way. One bad side effect from too many cherries...the frequent visits to the bathroom to “conduct some business”.

Getting Caffeinated, Good Eats in Vancouver

Kelowna, BC, Saturday July 12, 10:00pm

[This was written a few days ago, but I'm just getting around to post it now. Internet access is hard to find on the road sometimes, especially in smaller towns.]

Well, I'm in Kelowna right now, in the heart of BC's Okanogan Valley. My friends Tim and Marcy, with little daughter Mattea in tow, are visiting his parents who retired here so I decided to make the relatively short trip from Vancouver here to hang out with them for a few days. I've known Tim's parents since grade 7 or so, and they've been very gracious to me over the years. When we were younger Tim and I and another friend would go camping with them in their motor home, us riding our bikes to the campsites and they would follow us a few hours later. We spent some memorable summer vacations with them. The last couple of days have been spent just catching up with everyone, and it's been a very relaxing time.

For the drive from Vancouver to Kelowna there are two options, the Coquihalla toll highway, or the very scenic (and free) Crowsnest Pass, so I took the latter option. The highway wound through the northern Cascades, hugging clear mountain streams and burrowing through the forests. I stopped at a rest area next to Yellow Lake for a break, and as I sat with the windows open in the van I could hear the splashing of water and the cool mountain breeze flowing through the windows. It was an incredibly peaceful break.

Back in Vancouver we had some really nice meals, so I'll recount a few of the standouts. On Saturday we had made reservations for dim sum at a place called Sun Sui Wah, which has the reputation as one of the top Chinese restaurants in the city, and we were really looking forward to it. When we arrived we were greeted with the familiar sight of a standard Chinese banquet hall, a huge dining room packed with large round tables interspersed with a scattering of square four seaters. The decorations were pretty standard for many Chinese restaurants, including the de riguer tanks of live lobster, crab, prawns and fish. The place was packed with mostly Asians, and this was a good sign (a positive indicator, but not always foolproof).

We sat down and the carts began to circulate, so we started grabbing things off them. Dumplings, rice rolls stuffed with shrimp, crispy potstickers filled with savoury pork and veggies, shui mai, all the regular Cantonese dim sum items. Almost all of the items were excellent, the ingredients were top notch and the dim sum was exceptionally fresh, making for a very good dim sum experience. The only disappointment was the fried squid which was a bit oily and tough. Although it's considered expensive in the guidebooks, we found that the price was pretty reasonable for the quality of the food and service, about $15 per person, and we were all very comfortably full.

Later that night for dinner we went to this small but highly recommended sushi restaurant called Toshi. We arrived at about 8pm, but they didn't take reservations so we waited about an hour. By this time we were all pretty hungry and eager to eat, so as soon as we were seated we started to order. The menu was fairly concise, with a selection of sushi, maki, and other appetizers, so we ordered a bunch of combo plates to share, along with an order of grilled Japanese eggplant with a miso glaze. The sushi and sashimi that arrived was very good, and the maki had generous portions of fish and other ingredients, but overall the quality was not as good as Shiro's in Seattle. The best part of dinner at Toshi was the price, it cost less than $90 including tip and tax for 6 people! This was certainly one of the best values for sushi I have ever found. If I were to live in Vancouver, this would certainly be one of my regular joints.

After Helen and my parents left Vancouver I began to explore the city on my own. I had heard of this Chinese noodle house called Sha-lin that made their own noodles in an open kitchen so I wanted to check it out. As I walked up to the front door there was a sign in the window, “Closed Moday”, which I assumed meant “Closed Monday”, the Chinese really can't spell. Anyways, bummed that I would have to come back another time I started to walk down the street searching for another option. Lo and behold, there was another Chinese restaurant that featured “hand made noodles” so I popped in to take a look (the Chinese are about as innovative as Koreans). There seemed to be a fair number of people in this copycat restaurant, and even some Asians, so I decided to stay and try the braised beef noodle soup. It was a huge bowl of noodles in a spicy beef broth with big cubes of beef and garnished with spinach, all in all a pretty good lunch.

As I was walking back to my van I passed by Sha-lin again, but to my great chagrin there were people sitting there enjoying noodles. Doh!!! I head read the sign from the shop next door, these guys were open. I silently cursed a string of profanities and resolved to come back the next day. So Tuesday rolled around, and I headed back to Sha-lin where I finally got order the hand made noodles. After blankly staring at the eight page menu I finally decided on the slicing noodles, which are made by the chef holding a big brick of dough in one hand and with quick, outward movements deftly slicing a sliver of dough into a huge pot of boiling water, almost like he was whittling a block of wood. The slicing noodles were served in a broth (can you tell that I love noodle soup?) with BBQ pork and veggies, and again if I lived in Vancouver this would be another of my regular places. The noodles had a very nice texture, slightly chewy with a little bite, and the soup was really good. This place would be perfect for the many drizzly days during the Vancouver winters.

During the week I had a chance to revisit some of the various neighborhoods around Vancouver, including Yaletown, Gastown, Kitsilano, and Robson Street to name a few. During each of these mini tours I tried to hit at least one coffee shop that wasn't a Starbucks to sample the coffee culture. In Yaletown I visited a JJ Bean outlet, one of a few that I noticed around town. I ordered my regular morning drink, a tripe shot latte extra hot with no foam, and I was really disappointed with what I received. When I went to pick up my coffee they called out a mocha, and since I was the only one waiting for a drink I assumed they screwed it up. After a brief discussion between a couple of the lackeys behind the counter they agreed that it “should” be a triple latte, and asked if I could try it to be sure. So I tried it, and I couldn't detect any chocolate flavouring so I took the drink and left. It was really far too weak to be a triple, and the espresso had no body or intensity to it. The empty shop should have clued me in to the fact that this placed sucked. They didn't even have WiFi to make up for the crappy coffee.

On another trip I tried a shop called Blenz, this chain is all over Vancouver and probably has more locations than Starbucks. They label themselves as a Canadian coffee chain to differentiate themselves from Starbucks, and they offer free WiFi in all locations. I ordered my usual, and this time I thought the coffee was pretty good, it at least tasted like there were three shots of espresso. Not bad, but not great, standard chain store coffee.

Then I went back to Caffe Artigiano, a small local chain (that is rumored to now be owned by the evil coffee empire, Starbucks) with about a half dozen locations around the hip areas of town. I had been there previously and had received a great latte, but I wanted to double check before I crowned it the champ. My latte had a very heady aroma that comes from high quality, freshly roasted beans, the crema on top was silky smooth and tasty, and the espresso had a rich, complex flavour that was strong but not bitter. The triple latte was the best I've had since my last trip to Italy. A bonus was the artistic flair they display by creating a variety of designs with the foam on top of the coffee. Caffe Artigiano is indeed the champ of Vancouver coffee.

That sorta sums up my trip to Vancouver, a week of hanging out with family, eating good food, exploring the city, and getting good and caffeinated. I had a really good time and look forward to going back.

Photo 1 – Water walking in Whistler

Photo 2 – Catching some boarders in action

Photo 3 – View from Sea to Sky Highway between Vancouver and Whistler

For the Foodies, and Doing the Grind in Vancouver

Vancouver, BC, Tuesday July 8, 11:00am

Well, after a brief hiatus I'm back to writing. Helen and my parents left Vancouver Sunday morning, so I've had a couple of days to get back into the swing of things. A lot has happened in the last week or so, but it's been nice to be able to spend time with Helen after not seeing her for a few weeks.

Since my last post we've had some pretty nice meals, so I'll start with the Seattle food report. There were four places on the list of places to eat: Cascadia, Shiro's Sushi, Dahlia Lounge, and Salumi. First was Cascadia, and as the name implies, this place specializes in Pacific Northwest cuisine with an emphasis on fresh seafood and other local ingredients. I had the three course prix fixe menu, which included a starter, main, and dessert. For the starter I chose the duck foie gras, but when it arrived it was more of a mousse, very light and airy but not what I was expecting. The mousse was somewhat bland as well., but this could be because I prefer the stronger flavour of a brick of foie gras. My brother ordered the Kobe beef carpaccio with a subtle chili sauce, and this was probably the best executed dish of the night. The beef was pounded paper thin, you could enjoy the rich marbleization of the very fatty beef, and the chili sauce was an excellent complement to the Kobe beef.

For the main course I had the seared hamachi served over a bed of ratatouille with black bean and eggplant puree, and much like the appetizer my fish was good, but not excellent, again a victim of not enough salt on the fish to bring out its natural flavours. I wasn't convinced of the black bean puree being matched with the hamachi either. The best main dish from the ones that we ordered was the Kurobuta pork tenderloin, but again it was a little overdone and lacked the finesse of the carpaccio.

For dessert I ordered the chocolate shortcake with almond ice cream, and much like the rest of the meal, it was good but not great. The others around the table agreed that although the service was very good and the dining room was appointed nicely, the food itself was not to the level we were expecting. The average price per person was $70 including tip, but there was only one bottle of moderately priced wine and no dessert or coffee, and only half the table had appetizers. I'd say that the quality of the food did not justify the price, and therefore we were somewhat disappointed with Cascadia.

The second night we went to a local legend called Shiro's Sushi, where we decided to have the omakase, which means chef's choice. Typically when this is chosen you get the best, freshest sushi that is available in the restaurant, with the head sushi chef personally making the selections. We weren't disappointed this time, the first course to arrive was the sashimi platter which featured a nice array of hamachi, tuna, salmon, and a couple of items you don't normally get, fresh geoduck (a surf clam that's available in the Pacific Northwest, and looks like an arm sticking out of a giant clamshell) and raw amaebi, a large sweet prawn that has a buttery texture and melts in your mouth. The sashimi plate was garnished with the still wriggling heads of a pair of the sweet prawn to emphasize the extreme freshness of the sashimi we had received

The next course was a large plate of sushi, again a very nice selection different than the sashimi, but just as good. The fish that was used for both the sushi and sashimi was of the best quality, with no stringy parts, allowing you to savour the texture and flavour of the sea as well as the kick of the wasabi. The meal then switched gears and we were served miso soup, of which there were 3 kinds, tofu, mushroom, and clam. The others ordered either tofu or mushroom, but I ordered the clam miso soup, and it came with a generous portion of manila clams in a light miso broth, a very good execution of what is usually the standard powdered miso soup that is served in most sushi restaurants.

The final course was the maki, again a selection of the house specialties, and for the most part they were very good except for a non-traditional maki that I had not seen before, a large brick of sushi rice which was layered with ginger and salmon, it was okay, but had way too much rice for my taste. The maki plate came with the tempura battered and deep fried heads of the amaebi from the sashimi course, and the two lucky (and somewhat brave) souls to enjoy them were Helen and Ray. They both ate the heads, sans the eyeballs, but I'm not sure if they would willingly order them on their own.

All in all the sushi was excellent, and the average price per person, including tip, was $40. There was no alcohol this time, but the food didn't need it, the fish was of the best quality and the service was very good. The girls liked our waiter, who was a Japanese grad student with a slight accent and some very funny comments. There was a line of Japanese businessmen and lots of Japanese tourists, so you'd better make a reservation if you go there, but well worth it. I would say this would rank in the top 3 sushi meals that I have had thus far, and I've eaten my share of raw fish.

On Monday night it was just Helen and I, and we went to Dahlia Lounge, a pan Asian inspired Tom Douglas restaurant. For starters we had a fantastic bowl of fresh steamed manila clams that was flavoured with a hint of curry, the clams were extremely fresh and the curry brought a little bit of heat and complemented the clams really well. For the main course I had the seared halibut with succotash and morel mushrooms. The fish was very fresh, with a seared crust on one side that provided a tasty contrast to the soft, near raw texture on the flip side of the halibut. The morels were a nice complement to the fish, my only complaint was that I wanted more, but at $30 per pound I guess you can't load up the plate too much with them. Helen had the dungeness crab cakes, which were served with potato crisps and a hollandaise sauce with a hint of horseradish. I knew that she enjoyed her meal, which featured nice large lumps of crab meat, because it disappeared pretty quickly.

Dessert was an experience, we had the famous Tom Douglas doughnuts, a paper bag of small fried fritters dusted with sugar, still warm from the oil and served with ricotta cheese and strawberry preserves. A fitting end to a very good meal. The service was good, the price was lower than at Cascadia (about $50 per person with one glass of wine), and the food much better, resulting in a superior dining experience.

Another highlight from Seattle was Salumi, a lunch time spot located in the south end of downtown next to Qwest Field. Salumi is owned by the father of Mario Batali, and specializes in home made cured meats, or salumi, honoring the traditional Italian methods. They are only open four days a week, and only from 11am to 4pm, and the lunch lines start at 11:30. When we arrived at 11:45, there was already a line out the door, and it look 35 minutes to get our order. This is strictly a take out place, the seating capacity is about 10 people and stuffed into a corner, family style. At its narrowest point the restaurant is maybe 10 feet wide with the counter taking about 5 feet, forcing customers to squeeze by the line after they've picked up their order.

There was three of us, so we ordered a prosciutto, fig and goat cheese ciabatta, a hot meat plate, and a cold meat plate. The hot meat plate had a selection of meatballs, warm sausages, and grilled peppers, all of which were really good. The meatballs weighed a ton, almost like a baseball, but because they were braised for so long they were tender and flavourful. The cold plate was a selection of sliced salumi, the best of which were the traditional italian garlic and the smoked paprika salumi which had a spicy heat to it. We took our food to a park nearby and had a nice picnic feast, a last hurrah to our weekend of food and fun in Seattle.

We took a boat tour of Seattle, so here are some pics of our weekend.

Photo 1 – The gang at the top of the Space Needle (Amy, Joann, Michelle, Ray, & Helen)

Photo 2 – Houseboats on Lake Union, a la Sleepless in Seattle

Photo 3 – Seattle skyline with Space Needle and cruise ships docked

After Seattle we headed north to Burlington, WA to meet up with my parents who were visiting with my aunt & uncle. In the evening we went for a drive to the coast near Anacortes to watch the sunset over the Pacific Ocean. The scenery reminded me of the wild coastlines of northern California and Oregon, with trees hugging their perches overhanging the rocky coast of the Pacific Ocean.

Photo 4 – Sunset over the coast in Anacortes

The next day we went to Mt Baker, about an hour and a half northwest of Burlington, and just south of the Canadian border. The road up to the peak was closed because the snow was still piled high, and there were kids with toboggans sliding down the ski slopes. We even saw some skiers, but I'm not sure how good the skiing would be given that the snow had the texture of wet concrete, making for some tough skiing. As we climbed up the trail, the snow was piled high on each side and the runoff created a number of bubbling waterfalls. It was a warm day on the mountain, with clear blue skies and the warmth of the sun tempered by the cool breezes off the snow drifts.

Photo 5 – Hiking on Mt Baker

Photo 6 – Reflections of mountains on a pond

After Mt Baker we said goodbye to my aunt and uncle and headed up to Vancouver to meet up with Ray and Michelle. We stayed at Michelle's parents' condo overlooking Stanley Park and Burrard Inlet, with incredible views from the 22^nd floor. It was really awesome of them to allow my entire family to stay at their condo, it was far superior to staying in a hotel and it really felt like a family vacation, luxury style.

We spent the next few days exploring Vancouver, of which the two highlights were biking in Stanley Park and hiking Grouse mountain. For those that have never visited Vancouver, Stanley Park is a large greenspace on the northwest corner of downtown, jutting out into English Bay and the Pacific Ocean. It's home to the Vancouver Aquarium as well as numerous beaches and trails. We rented bikes and rode all the way around the seawall, starting just north of Granville Island, and ending with a tour of Stanley Park. It was a really nice way to see the entire downtown area and we covered a lot of ground on the bikes. During the bike ride we took some time to admire the totem poles that are a heritage of the west coast native peoples.

Photo 7 – Helen and Young having fun at Stanley Park (look - we're totem poles!)

Another highlight (mostly for Helen and Michelle), was Grouse Mountain, which is located on the north shore across Burrard Inlet from downtown Vancouver. There's a famous hike there called the Grouse Grind, which is a 3km trail straight up the mountain and rising 2,800 feet from the start of the trail to the summit. Helen and Michelle were the heroes, they did the Grind in less than 90 minutes, even though the weather was overcast and drizzly and the trail slippery from the dampness. Ray and I were supposed to take the gondola up to the summit to meet them, but then we found out that it costs $38 per person for the trip, and because it was cloudy the viewing conditions were dismal, so we just hung out at the base and waited for them.

After the hike (Ray and I worked up a real sweat) we headed back to the condo to hit the hot tub, which was located on the second floor overlooking Stanley Park and the North Shore mountains. It was really nice to sit back and luxuriate in the hot water and jets, the steam rising and condensing over the tub, while enjoying the panoramic views. What a day.

On my next post I'll describe some of the great meals we've had in Vancouver, as well as some of the best coffee hangouts in downtown.

Hung Low in Portland, Hit and Run at Starbucks #1

Seattle, Washington, Sunday June 29, 4:00pm

[Note - I wrote this a few days ago, but am just now getting around to posting it]

The sand dunes of the central Oregon coast were an amazing sight, there were endless hills of sand covered by thin wisps of dune grasses. The dune grasses seemed very fragile, but when you tug on them, they provide a surprising amount of resistance, having its roots deep into the dunes.

Photo 1 – Sand dunes next to the Pacific

Against this backdrop I visited Bandon Dunes, an upscale golf resort just north of Bandon, Oregon. I had heard that this was like visiting the links courses of Scotland. Well, not having ever visited Scotland or the North Sea coast, I'm not exactly sure that Bandon Dunes would qualify as a facsimile, the only thing that seemed similar was the wind howling off the Pacific Ocean.

Everything that I have read and seen about Scottish links courses emphasize the rugged beauty of the landscape, how the holes seem to meander around the topography, being shaped by hundreds of years of wind and rain. The fescue grows wild, and the grass grows where it wants, green and lush in some places, yellow and barren in others. Bandon Dunes on the other hand, was immaculately groomed, the pale green fairways were uniform in color and texture, no blade of grass out of place. The fescue grasses were evenly trimmed, it's tops undulating in waves with the wind.

You could tell that the place was kinda snooty and highbrow, the staff to golfer ratio was easily 2:1, with caddies, maintenance people, bag handlers, etc. There were literally twice as many workers than paying guests. I guess when you charge $270 per round, you can afford to have a lot of people standing around waiting for something to do. I did not want to contribute my $270 to this cause, so I just looked around and left.

On Friday I spent the day exploring Portland; my first stop was the International Rose Test Garden, an amazing area in Washington Park that houses massive beds of roses, and nothing but roses. There were all sorts of varieties, ranging in color from white, orange, pink, purple, and of course red. Well worth a visit when in Portland, even if you are not a flower aficionado.

Photo 2 – Red roses in bloom

My second stop was the traditional Japanese garden, a serene patch of green amongst the towering trees. There were many paths to( walk along, each presenting a different view of the main features of the garden, which included a half moon bridge, Japanese sand garden, reflection pools, and waterfalls. The tinkling and bubbling of the flowing water was musical, lyrical, and hypnotizing. As a added bonus, there was an exhibition of Japanese glass art, some of which was displayed outdoors in the garden.

Photo 3 – Tranquility in the Japanese garden

Next I visited downtown Portland, and the one thing that really stood out for me was how the city was trying to refurbish it's historic buildings. Many of the buildings were in various stages of restoration, with many being finished and restored to it's former glory. I think that in the next few years the downtown area will be a very nice area to hang out.

Photo 4 – Chinatown? Or was this the gay district? (Hint - read the sign carefully)

Another quirky thing about Portland is the large number of food trailers that are parked everywhere. Most cities have food trailers, in New York they are the ubiquitous hot dog stands with tubes of unknown processed meat products swimming in murky water baths, in Toronto they are the sausage vendors that have smoke billowing around them, their carts containing rows of condiments sitting out in the hot sun, in Los Angeles there's a taco stand on every corner promising, but rarely delivering, the “best tacos in town”. Instead, Portland has a couple of streets where there are exclusively food trailers, parked in neat rows, offering everything from Thai curries to tacos, Greek gyros, German bratwurst, Bosnian food (I'm not even sure what they do), and most curiously, pho. Yes, there was a trailer selling pho, but I couldn't imagine pho being a very street food type of meal. Can you imagine all of the accidents with people eating hot noodle soup while they are walking down the street? Not exactly a portable meal. I'm surprised there wasn't a burn unit set up next to the place, they would have done some good business.

Photo 5 – Food trailer selling pho, not exactly a drive through special

I did want to experience the coffee culture in Portland, so searched for popular espresso bars and after some deliberation, I ended up going to Stumptown on the east side of town, well known as both a roast house and coffee bar. I had an iced Americano (which for non-coffee drinkers is two shots of espresso topped with water, then poured over a cup of ice), and the espresso had a rich, nutty flavour with traces of chocolate, a very satisfying cup of iced coffee indeed. With coffee buzz in tow, I headed north again towards Seattle to pick up Helen from the airport on Saturday morning.

After picking Helen up at the airport, Saturday afternoon was spent wandering around Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle with my cousins Amy and Joann. Pike Place Market is famous for it's flower vendors, excellent local produce and seafood, and the famous fishmongers that toss huge fish around. They've been featured on many TV shows, most notably on the Food Network and also during prime time football games with the Seattle Seahawks.

Also in Pike Place is the original Starbucks location, or Starbucks #1 as it's commonly known. It's a fairly non-descript location, but the lines were extremely long, and the iced coffee tasted exactly the same as every other location. The only difference here is carload after carload of Japanese tourists pouring out of cars to snap photos of themselves in front of this iconic landmark, then piling back into the cars and speeding off to the next destination. Hit and run tourists.

Photo 6 – Japanese hit and run in progress with buskers in the line of fire

In the evening my brother Ray and his wife, Michelle, finally made it to Seattle after a four and a half hour wait at the US/Canadian border. We went to dinner at Cascadia, a restaurant with excellent reviews from many publications. We'll be hitting a couple of other Seattle eateries, so I'll post a blog with a comparison of the Seattle restaurants in the next few days.

As for today, we scavenged breakfast at this great French bakery called Le Panier in Pike Place Market, and then headed over to the Space Needle. But wouldn't you know it, today is the Gay Pride parade and rally, so we had to weave our way around the parade route. We did watch some of it, but it really wasn't a spectacle like the Pride parade in Toronto, it was just a bunch of people walking down the street, some dressed in team outfits, others sorta just walking in groups, not very flamboyant at all, the most exciting people were dressed in tighty reddies (like tighty whities, but red) and nothing else.

The Space Needle was a nice change of pace, the observation deck is over 500 feet above Seattle, providing excellent views of the Olympia mountains to the west, Lake Union to the east, and downtown Seattle to the south.

That's what's been happening thus far, I see that the girls and Ray are back from their shopping break, so I'll write some more at my next opportunity.

Weirdos, Cows, and Trees (the Bay Area, North California, South Oregon)

Bandon, Oregon, Thursday June 26, 11:30am

Well, I guess it's been a few days since my last post, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy. The last few days have been spent exploring Monterey, then a couple of days in the Bay Area visiting with friends, finally onward to the northern California and southern Oregon coast.

Last Sunday (has it really been that long ago?) I spent the day exploring the Monterey Peninsula, home to Pebble Beach. I spent the morning hiking around Point Lobos State Preserve, a rugged area that features many birds, seals, deer, rare cypress trees, and fantastic views of the rocky coast. I had read on the internet that entrance was free, but when I got to the front gate there was a $10 entrance fee. After chatting with the Ranger on duty, he told me that if I turned around and parked outside the gate, I could hike in for free, so I promptly turned around and parked with about 5 other cars in a little parking lot just outside the main gate.

After about a 30 minute hike through heavy forest, I finally got to the southern end of Point Lobos, from where I started by exploration northward. One highlight was Cypress Cove, where I found a grove of cypress trees (apparently there are only 2 wild stands of cypress in the USA, other being at Pebble Beach) overlooking the rocky cove. Another highlight was Whalers Cabin, which was built by Chinese fishermen in the 1850's, and still houses a collection of whaling paraphernalia as well as the bones of 3 whales.

Photo 1 – Blue Oyster catcher nesting at Bird Island

Photo 2 – Cypress trees fighting the wind and crags

Photo 3 – Whalers Cabin with whale bones in the background

After Point Lobos I tried to sneak onto Pebble Beach Golf Links, not to play, but to snap a few photos. Apparently the rich folk that live there decided to make the entire village private, putting in gates at all of the intersections and charging people $10 to enter. A lot of reviews said that 17 Mile Drive was not worth it, since all you saw were fences and gates, and little else. However, that's the only legit way to go to Pebble Beach, unless of course you know of another way.

During the US Open I met a couple of fellows from the area, and one of them told me of another way to walk onto the course. After parking my van near one of the entrances, I walked through the Carmel gate (peds enter free) and proceeded about 4 blocks, where I found a maintenance road that led right onto the 12^th fairway. As I walked up the path, however, I noticed that all of the caddies were staring at me (Pebble Beach is a caddy mandatory course), so I didn't really have a chance to take any pictures. Oh well, I guess I should have grabbed a handful of grass on my way out, but I wanted to get outta there before the thugs arrived.

On Sunday night I arrived in San Jose to visit with extended family, Sophie and Ken (Sophie is Helen's cousin, if anyone is interested). Ken's an avid photographer, and he was nice enough to capture our wedding rehearsal and dinner for us a couple of years ago. They are budding gardeners, with tomato plants and a large apricot tree in the backyard laden with early summer fruit.

I spent a couple of days exploring San Francisco, commuting from Sophie and Ken's house in San Jose (not too bad of a commute, about 40 minutes on the freeway). Monday was spent visiting some landmark neighborhoods, including Haight-Ashbury, the Castro District, Chinatown, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Haight-Ashbury was the centre of the counter-culture hippie revolution in the 1960's, famous for psychedelic rock, drugs, and free love. It's now much more gentrified, with clothing boutiques, restaurants, and nicely restored houses, but it still shows its roots with stores catering to the cannabis sub-culture and alternative music. Many of the shops date back to the 1960's and sport colorful murals illustrating its past.

When I visited on early Monday morning, it seemed as if the area was just cleaning up after a party, with street cleaners and garbage trucks going through the neighborhood. There weren't very many “strange” people about, but I still had to dodge the occasional panhandler. The entire vibe of the neighborhood reminded me very much of Queen Street West in Toronto, once seedy but well on it's way to becoming a hip, urban place to live, visit, and be seen.

Photo 4 – Colorful store mural in “the Haight”

I then moved onto the Castro District, which is the predominant gay area. I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but given that it was still Monday morning, I'm sure I saw less than if I visited on Saturday night. During the day this was a normal looking city hood, just getting ready for the lunch rush. The only thing to distinguish Castro Street from any other were the rainbow flags and gay advertising.

I started to get hungry, so I headed over to Chinatown for a quick bowl of noodle soup to satisfy my craving for Chinese noodle soup. After walking up and down the hilly streets, I found a restaurant with various BBQ meat products hanging in the window, so went in and sat down for a bowl of noodle soup with BBQ pork, roasted duck, and wontons. Mmmm, a nice hot bowl of BBQ pork noodle soup for a cool San Francisco day was perfect, even though it wasn't nearly as good as King's Noodle House in Toronto's Chinatown. Lunch was capped off with a warm, crispy sesame ball filled with red bean paste from a local Chinese bakery.

Photo 5 – View of the Bank of America building through the streets of Chinatown

After a quick photo op at the bottom of Lombard Street, I headed over to the north end of Golden Gate Bridge. The wind was howling, and there was a mist that hovered around the bridge and harbour area, typical of a San Francisco summer day. As the fog ebbed and flowed, the bridge seemed to be swallowed up in the distance.

Photo 6 – Tourists driving down the twisting Lombard Street (who else would do this?)

Photo 7 – Golden Gate Bridge shrouded by fog

After saying my goodbyes to Ken and Sophie on Tuesday morning, I headed north along the PCH north of San Francisco. At one stop I captured a para-surfer and sea kayaker braving the incredible wind and surf off the coast. There was some spectacular scenery along the Sonoma county coastline, but some of it was marred by the haze and smoke of wildfires burning all throughout northern California. At one point I had to stop to allow cows to finish crossing the highway, I thought I was back in India, mooooo!

Photo 8 – Para-surfer meets sea kayaker

Photo 9 – Moooooo! Watch out for land mines!

Somewhere after the cows, I began to notice the transition of topography from coastal seashore to Pacific Northwest type rain forests. On Wednesday, after many hours of driving along very winding roads, I managed to make my way to Redwood National Park. It was amazing to drive along a road bordered on both sides by towering redwoods that blocked out nearly all light, almost creating a tunnel-like effect. I stopped to admire a couple of the more famous residents, The Big Tree and Corkscrew Tree. I was told by the Ranger that The Big Tree is about 1500 years old; the picture doesn't do it justice, it was massive and had a diameter of about 20 feet or so, making it over 60 feet in circumference!

Photo 10 – The Big Tree

Photo 11 – Corkscrew Tree

Photos 12-14 – Some of my faves from the northern California and southern Oregon coastline

For today I plan on visiting Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, a hoity-toity resort that is supposed to recreate the original Scottish links style golf courses that can be found on the coast of the North Sea. After seeing how the richer half enjoy themselves, I'll continue along the Oregon coast and eventually to Portland.