Summer Solstice

I wasn't able to stay up on the night of the summer solstice due to work commitments, but on Saturday June 24 I was able to stay up late till about 3 in the morning.  My family went to bed about 11 pm and I sat outside to watch the night sky.  Both Friday and Saturday night were clear and without wind.

It was amazing watching the western sky slowly get darker, but never totally dark, by about 2:30 in the morning the light could be seen in the eastern sky.  Summer nights are a treat to watch in the northern hemisphere.  On this night there was an added bonus.  The Aurora Borealis made an appearance.

Light in the northwestern sky, Light in the Northeastern sky and the sky dancing with the light of the Aurora Borealis.  My words can't accurately describe what it looked like but my mind remembers it well.  The night was well worth the lack of sleep.

Theories of the Universe

I have been intrigued lately with learning about the universe and its origins.  I have read a few books on the subject and the more I read the more it fascinates me.

There are many theories and descriptions about the universe and how it may be infinite.  What a wild concept to think of something in the infinite, it is beyond my simple comprehension.

I am going to continue to read and think about this.  I hope to be able to grasp some of these concepts.

North Boundry / Snake Indian River

This past week I had a great trip.  This trip was planned this winter and might be the highlight of the year.  The trip was three days of hiking and rafting in the north end of Jasper National Park.

The river we rafted was the Snake Indian.  This river has one of the most picturesque falls in all of the park.  It is not visited by many people as for most it is a two day walk either from the north end of the park or from the center of the park.

We started out Friday at Rock Lake south of the Willmore wilderness.  Here the horses were packed with our equipment and we walked.  It is about 15 KM to the Willow Creek horse camp which is a km from the start of the raft trip.  The walk in was great a good temperature and only a light pack.  There is a river crossing about half way and the water was not too high so the crossing was safe and fairly easy.  Although really cold.  The rest of the walk was smooth and the weather was good.

The night was awesome some of the people on the trip I had not seen in 20 to 30 years.  We spent a night around the fire and watching the spectacular sunset.

Day two started out easy with some breakfast and breaking camp.  The horses were loaded up with the stuff we were not bringing on the river.  The horses headed out to Rock Lake and we headed over to the raft.  We had a safety briefing, the two safety Kayaks put in the river and we were off and running.  The first day float was warm with clear blue sky's and some good white water. We stopped for a shore lunch and got to our second camp at Seldom Inn, just above the Snake Indian Falls, a short time later.

After a short rest in the sun we portaged most of the equipment to below the falls, although this was alot of work and the hill to the start point of the second day of rafting was along way down, we had fun doing this.

After supper we sat and talked around the fire till about midnight and it was still not that dark.  A great night was had.

The next morning we had breakfast and broke camp and portaged the rest of the equipment to where the boats were.  We were up and on the river by 11:30.  This day was incredible, the geology on the sides of the river are unique to say the least.  Folds with shale, coal and glacial deposits all down the banks for most of the day.  The white water was much higher and the rapid runs were longer than the previous day.  It was exciting.  The highlight of the day was a large S turn with heavy water followed by a 1/2 km float down a narrow opening with high steep walls on both sides of the run.  This run is something I will do again.

After that a short run to the takeout point at Celestine Lake Bridge. We portaged the equipment up to the waiting van and had a celebratory beer.  The nature on the trip was seconded to none and the people I was with were the highlight.

A great weekend and I am starting to plan for next year.

I just decided

I have taken a huge step in my life over the last number of years. I have decided that all I need is to be happy. Being happy has been a struggle for me in the past , not that being happy is hard but to be happy seemed that it was a destination. Next week when I do this next month when I do that next year this will happen.

It is all irrelevant.  I have just decided to be happy. And all it takes is to not think in the future.  I work in what many consider to be a high stress job. I am a chief financial officer for a successful and growing company.  In my position many people consider this position to be the  glue that helps guide the company.  The demands and the daily issues can be stressful (depending on where my mind is at)  Stress can create unhappiness and really create problems both with yourself and the people around you. I decided to be happy I needed stress out of my life to get there.

That is when I dawned on me. I am in control if I am stressed.  I am in control if I am happy.  It has been fun ever since that realization.

A Gringo from Alberta in Central America. Part 2

Day Ten Today we decided to go down country to see Punta Gorda in southern Belize.  From Punta Gorda if you wanted you can take a boat and go to Guatemala which is about an hour away.  The drive to Punta Gorda is scenic following the Mayan mountains most of the way.  It was sunny and hot along the coast.  The people were out and about in this little city.  Stopped and had a fish sandwich and watched the long boats go by.

What is interesting about southern Belize is there are more Mayan ruins with about three areas that are assessable by car and foot.

Drove back and spent the night sitting on the deck listening to the night sounds

Day Eleven  Today was a scuba diving day.  I got is two dives while Sherry snorkeled by the cayes.  An hour boat ride out.  Both dives were great and on one of the dives 7 large spotted Eagle Rays swam past as we moved along the sea wall.  It was an impressive sight to see.  The boat ride back was calm and sunny and we spent the time talking with the other divers and where that had dove before.

Day twelve  Well went diving again today.  We stopped at a Caye on the way out to Glover's Atoll where we were going to dive.  We dropped off our friends on Thach Caye and they spent the day hanging out in the Cayes.  I did three dives this day. All were very clear with alot of color.  The highlights was seeing a Moray Eel and getting up close and personal with a 6 foot nurse shark.

We spend the night at a local restaurant sharing tales of our day and the things we saw and did

Day thirteen  spent the day reading and sunning on the beach with a trip to the produce stand to stock up on vegetables and fruits.  I can't say enough about fresh vegetables and fruits in the tropics.  There is so much flavor and color.  Cooked up on the beach grill and had an early night.

Day fourteen  Today we went hiking in Cockscomb park.  The trail took us up a large mountain and down the otherside to a waterfall and jungle pool.  It was nice and cool sitting next to the pool after the long hike.  Hiking in 85% humidty is tough.  Sweating is a constant.  There were great vista's to see in this park and we completely enjoyed the day.

I met a young guy who was travelling the length of south and north America.  We exchanged a few stories and I gave him a few places to visit in western Canada.  I thought was a cool journey he was on.

Day fifteen Today i spent some time in the morning reading and they hanging on on the beach.  The days are enjoyable and I am able too get alot of swimming in.  Got on the Kayaks and dis a paddle along the beach.  This was a very enjoyable day.

Day sixteen  We started out the day with a drive out to Gales point.  This is a very small community located on the southern lagoon it takes about an hour off the humming bird highway on a dirt/clay road to get there.  Our hope was to see Manatees.  When we got there the wind was up and the waters were murky so no Manatees were seen.

We decided to do an afternoon hike in Mayflower Bocawina park.  The trail we went on takes us up a mountain.  The first third of the trip takes us by a Mayan ruin which is partially excavated and the trail is flat.  The next part of the trail is called the stairs portion.  There are stairs built into the trail to get us up to the bottom of a long falls.  The last section is what is called the rope section.  Here there are ropes along the trail to get up to the top falls and pool.  It is very steep and the ropes keep you from falling into the jungle.

The hike was well worth it.  We had a swim in the pool and were able to get some pictures of the jungle and the Caribbean off in the distance.

Day Seventeen  Today we left Hopkins and went to stay our last few days in Placentia.  We spent most of the day walking around the town and lounging by the ocean.  Finished off the night at a little restaurant taking with some local people and their kids

Day Eighteen  We walked for hours today all around the town looking at the ocean the lagoon and some of the local houses.  It is a small but cool little town.  The afternoon was spend walking more and my wife went to look in some of the local shops.  We finished off the day on the beach and a birthday dinner at a local restaurant eating local fish.

Day Nineteen and Twenty We packed up our stuff and drove to the airport to head home.  This was a great trip on this go around.  After flying in to Houston we spent the night then arrived home later that day.

Verdict:  a successful trip

Blog update

I have not posted in a while but I have been blogging.  One of my requirements this year for I Ho Chuan is to write about the things I do and see on my Travels.  As this is for my sanity and to have an artifact of my travels down the road, I have not posted it here.  I am hoping by doing this that I can describe things better and be able to remember them down the road.

If anyone wants to read about this they can go directly to my blog.