Out of the Valley and into the Desert

Hey folks

Thought I'd use YVR's free internet to my advantage and get my blog on. May as well give a reason to dragging this laptop around the world. I swear my carry-on adds a fair bit to my overall luggage weight, laptop, camera, guitar... it's alot of stuff.
However, my other pack isn't all that light either, I managed to fall on my back, beetle style, in front of some transit guards at the Vancover City Centre train station. For a second there I thought they were both going to have to come over and help me up. Ah I'd forgotten how fun it is to lug large packs on public transport and use them as a vehicle to provide ultimate embarrassment. It's been a while.

In fact its been 6 months in Canada and nearly 6 months at camp, so being in the aiport (to actually catch a plane as opposed to saying farewell/loitering) is quite a strange experience. I was the last gapper left at camp and one of the last staff, so I have already said alot of goodbyes in the last few days, but I think the hardest one was saying goodbye to the Valley. The Upper Squamish Valley has been my home for the last 6 months, is the most beautiful place I've ever worked and the meeting ground for the congregation of some of the most incredible people I've ever met. As Parky drove me out of the driveway and down the valley road, I realised how much I'm going to miss this place. It's funny, it doesn't really feel like I'm not going to be back there in a couple of days, waiting for a fresh busload of kids to hang out with for the next few days, sitting in the staff lounge watching Role Models (for the 80th time) and riding a bike with no suspension around Boundary Trail just to save travelling time between my cabin and the Lodge. I'm sure once my flight touches down in Phoenix and I find myself out of the forest and into the desert it will dawn on me. Best of luck to Emily, Duncan, Trev, Eddie and Parky who are still busy tidying up the site after our last group a few days ago.

As sad as it is to leave my 'home' and all my new friends, embarking on the next phase of my gap year is incredibly exciting! It's kind of fun to have everything I own in the world once again fitting into a backpack (well it will be like that after I go to the US, I have an extra bag right now of things I'm sending home) and to be footloose and carefree. Also, all the visiting I have in store for the next few months in uber exciting. Can't wait to see Spud, Vicki, Summer and Kylie in Phoenix! In fact, boarding just opened and for some strange reason for a change I am at the front of the plane, so I better go!!

P.S. Here are a few more pictures from the Fall:

BC Coastal Mountains on the way back from Whistler

The weekend I helped Emily move into her Whistler house. Bit of a jump photo taken by a stranger. Love it

Sunset over Burrard Bridge. We were driving into Vancouver to celebrate Vanessa's birthday/Megan's housewarming

Sunset over Kitsilano Beach in Van. We took heaps of photos of this because it looked kind of like an Aussie sunset

Duncan with his new G&S skatey

One of my favourite photos I've taken all trip. The 'Band Photo' featuring Duncan, Eddie, Tyler and Crumbles

Night shots of the cabins in West Village: Charlie Charlie, Cloudburst, Serratus and Zenith

View from the Watershed Grill, our most frequented restaurant in Brackendale (the suburb outside Squamish)

Belden and Tyler at Tim Hortons, the Canadian's answer to overpriced Starbucks. Large Hot Chocolate $1.56... my drink of choice (mainly because it sets you back less than a toonie)

Crumbles, Tyler and I looking off into nowhere the night of our very first Thanksgiving. Thanks again to Trev's parents for welcoming us into their home for an amazing meal!

The annual Valley-wide Thanksgiving potluck dinner Parky hosted at camp. As none of the camp staff can cook/have the facilities, we earnt our meal organising parking and entertaining children. Some of the most amazing food ever, prepared by residents from the Upper Squamish Valley

The driveway on the 3 degree morning when we watched in snow in the mountains around camp. If you look at the trees on the mountain, you can see a line where the snow fell to. Aussies were incredibly excited about this, Canadians and Kiwi just complained about the cold.

Crumbles, Tyler and I on the doorstep of the Fort we built on Guerilla Monday (a Monday off where we spent the entire day running about camp dressed as guerrilla fighters shooting nerf guns) The cigarette Crumbles is holding is fake by the way... we were going for the authentic Vietnam look

Outside the high-tech camouflage wall Tyler built on the Fort. Three of the happiest guerillas you will ever meet.

Fall staff dinner at the Copper House opposite Shannon Falls in Squamish. Such an amazing night, excellent food, even better company and a really nice way to round off the Fall and the whole 6 months.

The place settings at our dinner, decorated by hand by our boss Shannon Wilson

Welcome to Fall, the Season Where Nothing Ever Dries

Hey team

Yes so first off apologies for not writing in like... a month... whoops.

Anyway so Fall is definitely well under way, in fact, we only have 2 groups left until the whole thing is done and dusted. I can't believe its coming on 6 months working at camp. I've been here for so long I can't fully imagine how its going to be not being here.

So quite a few things have happened since I last wrote at the very beginning of Fall. The vast majority of these things is work. Fall has been quite literally jam packed full of kids! We saw the same number of kids in the first 2 weeks of Fall that we saw in the entire Summer.

Oh and just quickly I'll point out that I have not forgotten that it is indeed called 'Autumn'. However, as I am in a country where things do quite literally fall from the sky (mainly leaves and snow) I feel that particular moniker a rather appropriate one.

On that note of things falling from the sky, the landscape really has taken on some amazingly dramatic changes in the last few weeks. Trees are now nearly bare, their leaves in massive piles of brown and yellow. I raked my first pile of leaves and then jumped into it. Actually I pretended to die into it... Emily shot me... so to speak.

And speaking of shooting, yesterday we had the day off and so Tyler, Crumbles and I put it to good use. We found some foam dart guns under the house, loaded up and spent a good 6 hours running around in the forest pretending to be members of a rebel guerilla force fighting against a coup that had overthrown Parky (he was out of town for the weekend). The militia were the kids onsite and the other staff, we couldn't let them see us. We barely even fired any darts, it was all in our heads, creeping through the bush, seeing parts of camp for the first time, building a giant fort from trees and moss. It was such an awesome day, we stormed the kitchen (it was actually a terrorist base) and stormed Eddie as he cleaned the Lodge bathroom (he was actually using chemicals to make a bomb to take out the fort). It was a truly brilliant day.

So just before Fall began, we had a few days off, which I mentioned in the last post. We were undecided as of what to do so we headed down to Vancouver for a few days to see what would happen. Quite a few interesting things did happen, some of which involved going to airports... being kicked out of them for asking about hotel rooms in silly accents... walking... lots and lots of walking... some poor map reading... more walking... some sidewalk napping and finally a well earned coffee and muffin the following morning. Eddie took us to the cultural hub of Granville Island, before I met up with Alex. It was awesome to see her again after so long, we were pretty stoked. It's funny, Crumbles reckoned we talked exactly the same. Perhaps Perth has an accent? I ended up taking a ferry with Al over to the Island to meet up with George. It was awesome to all meet up, it was like we had never left, but at the same time we were all completely different people with all new friends, stories and experiences. It was so weird to all hang out, it felt like we were right back at the beginning of our trip, even though we had all been living in Canada for 5 months.

Other fun things have happened this Fall, such as our whole staff trip to a Vancouver Giants vs. Emmerton Silvertips ice hockey game. It was a Western Hockey League match (like the WAFL) so all the players were like 16-19 years old and busting their butts to make the big league. Good quality hockey, aggression-wise and lots of fights. The best type of hockey, or so I'm told. I had to sit next to Emily so she could explain to me what was going on.

Fall is now rapidly coming to a close, after leaving camp I'm going to head to Arizona to visit Spud and Vicki, and maybe even Mum. Then 2 weeks maybe touring some of Eastern Canada (Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa) before heading to New York then on to London. If it all works out should be a real party.

Anyway I better head off, I'm missing the mad action of Pauly Shore and 'In the Army Now'. Great film. Hopefully will post again after my very first Thanksgiving (next weekend) but no guarantees there will be one before I leave camp, so this may be the last Summit blog!!! Hope its satisfactory.

Here are a few pictures from the Fall:

George and I looking awesome? on the streets of Victoria


Alex and I dancing down the streets of Victoria.... because we can?

The Perth Reunion on Vancouver Island at Alex's Aunt Roberta and Uncle Fred's house


The Vancouver Giants ice hockey game we went to as a staff. The guy on the right is a Storm Trooper from a bachelor party that was sitting next to us.


Crumbles, Luke and Emily getting angry at the game

Nothing like a good old Canadian hockey fight


Bouldering at the base of the Chief

Pancakes and an omelette for dinner? Gotta love IHOP.


Great Wall of China? Bay of Fundy? The Pyramids? Nah, IHOP in Vancouver, definitely the greatest place the Summit flag has ever been.