Canada Roadtrip: Whale Watching

During Labor Day weekend, we took a roadtrip to British Columbia, Canada.  On the way, we stopped just north of Seattle for a half day whale watching tour.  The skies were so blue that everything, even the snow-topped Mt Baker, appeared to be shades of blue. 

 

Mt Baker

We found a group of Orcas (killer whales) within 30 minutes of being out to sea.  I was surprised at how close to the shoreline they stayed.  They moved so fast; I have all new respect for those National Geographic photographers.  I had to burst shots as fast as my Canon would allow and sort through for the few good ones at the end.  I was lucky to catch a few of them in the air as they jumped out of the water.  They put on quite a show for us:

 

We caught up to a group of Orcas hunting sea lions.  They encircled two of the sea lions and the violent thrashing that ensued was an amazing spectacle.  The captain of the boat said that in the 12 years he has been doing these tours, this was one of the top 3 days ever.  To be able to see them hunt in the wild was a testament to their unbridled power.  They killed one sea lion, while the other sea lion made it safely to the nearby shore.  I was surprised it was able to get away from their speed and agility.

 

 

a seal rests safely on a buoy

 

the Orcas head back out to sea in search of their next meal

We also saw 4 bald eagles within a few hours:

 

 an immature bald eagle (no white plummage on his head yet) eating a baby seal on an island

bald eagle perched in a tree

bald eagle in nest

bald eagle soaring overhead

We finished the drive across the border and into the lovely city of Vancouver...stay tuned for the next post about our adventures in Vancouver...

Mt. St. Helens Expedition

Back in early March, I embarked on an expedition with my friend Mike from work.   Our mission was to conquer Mt. St. Helens.  We both snowshoed up the mountain, but used different methods to descend.  Mike snowshoed back down while I snowboarded.  Carrying the extra weight of my snowboard and boots up the mountain was worth it, because the descent was nothing short of epic.  Since it was fairly early season for climbing, we almost had the mountain to ourselves; we saw less than 10 other people during the entire day. 

Mike gearing up at the truck in the dark.  We left at 3AM  to get to the mountain and start before the sun came up.  Needless to say, I did not sleep but a few hours the night before because I was so excited for the trip (and because I was up until midnight getting all of my gear ready).

That's me in the far distance towards the center of the picture (this shows how much faster Mike is at snowshoeing).  It was my first time on snowshoes, so what better time to try than when climbing a mountain with a 40+ lb pack on my back?  The bulk of snowshoes definitely takes some getting used to, but I only tripped a few times. :)

Some beautiful snow formations including drifts, cornices, and even a few small avalanches

...about half way up, and we were finally above the clouds....and the views abounded!

Mt Adams in the distance with a lenticular cloud.  The cloud looks cool for its lens shape, however, Mike (who is an experienced mountaineer) educated me that it is actually not a good sign since these clouds form when there are high winds at the top of the mountain (high winds over on Mt Adams means high winds on Mt St Helens are likely, since there are no peaks in between to block the wind).

I had to take a few breaks to rest my legs because they started cramping.  Mentally, I can push myself and my body to do things that are far beyond my capabilities, however there comes a point where my body will not keep driving, no matter how hard I push.  This is one of those times.  At least it was a nice sunny day and the view was so spectacular, that I didn't mind kicking my feet up to relax every now and then. 

As we approached the top portion of the climb, it was very important to try and keep skin exposure to a minimum.  Even with SPF 50, I developed a nasty sunburn on that little part of my forehead that you can see exposed in this picture.  The more intense UV rays that come with high altitude, coupled with the reflection from the bright white snow, results in blinding bright sunlight.

Well, we almost made it to the top.  We got within a few hundred feet of the top edge of the crater before the harsh conditions forced us to turn back early.  The high winds coupled with pure ice on a steep incline made for conditions that Mike judged to be not worth the risk of completing the summit, even with the crampons we had packed.  Given the state of my almost failing leg muscles, it was not too hard for him to convince me.  Besides, Mike reminded me of an experienced hiker who died the previous month at Mt Hood due to a fall.  We decided to not become a statistic and to live for future adventures.  It took us about 6 hours to climb 5700 feet up the mountain. 

As Mike proceeded to snowshoe back down, I had a little time to kill so he could get a head start (as my descent by snowboard would be much faster than his walking down).  I sat for 30 min to enjoy the view, eat my lunch, and rest my legs some more in preparation for what might be considered the most epic ride of my life. 

Solitude.  Bliss.  Carving deep snow with fresh tracks everywhere I turned.  No rules. No boundaries.  No people.  No work.  No stress.  Just me and the mountain, becoming one in a true moment of Zen.  I respected her sheer size, immense beauty, and insurmountable strength.  She rewarded the efforts of my climb ten-fold. 
These are the closest that my feeble words can come to express how this day felt and what it meant to me.  Until you have pushed yourself to do extraordinary things, and until you have seen the tops of mountains that you have climbed with your own two feet, you have not truly lived.  I long for my next adventure, yet I fear this will one day be my downfall.

on the way down, Mike caught a shot of my snowboarding just before dropping into this cornice

*I want to give a very special thanks to Mike for providing his expertise and companionship on this climb.  I really could not have done it without him.  I also respect to the fullest degree that he did not let his pride get in the way of making a safe judgement of whether we should proceed with the final few hundred feet to the summit. 

China, The Final Blog

OK, now my final blog about our China trip. This is a hodge podge of pictures that didn't fit into the themes of my previous posts....enjoy!

we went to a park that had quite a few rules/restrictions...I'm still trying to figure out what a few of these are :)

The Summer Palace:

the Marble Boat (exclusively for the head concubine)

We went to a show that was akin to the Cirque du Soleil productions that most people are familiar with. It was very impressive, and they did not mind if you took photos during the show.

This man was supporting two contortionists: one with his feet and the other with his hands...AND he was rolling across the floor, from back to stomach to back, etc. As he transitioned from lying on his back to lying on his stomach, he had to do some flexible maneuvers with his shoulders that almost made it look like his arms were coming out of socket. Surreal.

11 people riding on one bike....doing tricks

OK, back to some classical Chinese architecture:

the Temple of Heaven - constructed with interlocking beams, without the use of nails

We visited the Lama Temple:

18 meter tall Buddha carved from a single piece of sandalwood

On our last day, we had a few more hours to kill, so we headed to the drum towers. They used to ring a bell in the morning and beat a drum in the evening to signify the time.

Amanda cautiously navigates up the extremely steep stairs to the top of the drum tower.

The view from atop the drum tower shows the juxtaposition of the nearby hutong (narrow alleys) and the modern city skyline in the distance.

original drum in the tower against the daylight flooding in through the paned windows

a troop of volunteers re-enacting the playing of the drums...I only wish they would let me play too :)

Well, this concludes the plethora of pics from our second China trip. With how fast the country is growing, I am sure it will be much different the next time we go to visit. If you ever have the chance to visit, I highly recommend taking full advantage of discovering all the sights and culture that China has to offer. There is a passion for prosperity that can be found throughout, and the respect and continuation of thousands of years of tradition is unparalleled in any other land on Earth.

China 2012: Great Food and Street Markets

One of the best parts about traveling is experiencing the local cuisine, and this is exactly where China shines as one of my favorite places in the world. The food is tasty and cheap. On our first trip to China, I gained 5 pounds in 11 days...no joke! It is just too good to pass up on seconds... and thirds.

If you go to Beijing, you must order Peking Duck, as it is the national food, and it originated there centuries ago. The chef prepares Peking Duck right at your table - his skill is evident in how fast and precise he carves the bird.

The perfectly carved pieces of Peking Duck fit together on the platter in a herring bone pattern; the crispy skin literally melts in your mouth. My advice: take small bites and spend time to savor the experience....because there is nowhere else in the world that they do Peking Duck this well.

crispy rolls in edible baskets

Of course, even in China, Emily found a Starbucks! Her resolve is unweilding.

We hit up a few local street markets to get some unique culinary experiences. The variety of food is so tempting, yet you need to be careful of what you eat due to differing tolerances of microfauna when traveling to new regions. I was untrusting of anything that could have been washed with tap water, so I figured that the high temperatures employed in deep frying would make these items OK for me to eat. Besides, deep fried foods are what street vendors are famous for!

a crowded local street market: one of my favorite stops where ever I go

lizards, centipedes, locusts, grubs, scorpions....now were talkin'! Yeah, I'm getting pretty excited to try some new foods here.

My choice for an afternoon snack: 3 scorpions on a stick. I grabbed the stick and was ready to chop down on it, then the vendor motioned for me to give the stick back to him. Apparently he still had yet to deep fry and season them!
Rule number 1: raw scorpions look exactly like fried scorpions.
They didn't have much substance to them, just really crunchy, but I'm glad I can say I tried it.

OK, on to some more "normal" foods at the street market:

bao and dumplings of every type you could imagine

...more dumplings and several kinds of tofu, including my favorite, "stinky tofu" (fermented tofu whose stench can be smelled blocks away, but it tastes amazing). It is very hard to find stinky tofu in the USA (a few places in San Francisco sell it), so I had to jump on every opportunity to enjoy this culinary delight while in China.

roasted birds of all types

and for dessert: sugar glazed fruit kabobs
...however, as good as they looked, we were too afraid to eat the fruit, fearing it was washed with unclean water :(