Must Do Checklist: The Luau

It's one of those extremely expensive tourist things that has to be done, so here we are queuing on the beach, near twilight waiting to get our hands on those free complimentary Mai Tai's.

To be fair, it was a free bar and all you can eat, what else could you ask for?

Here's the pig going into the ground. For those that don't know, a Luau is where they cook a whole pig in the ground before serving it up.

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Maui

After arriving overnight, driving in the dark along the coast to find the Ka'anapali Villas where we would be staying we finally got to glimpse the beauty of the island of Maui. Far left is Donna overlooking a place where whales can be spotted. Unfortunately we were too early in the season to see them.

Left is a lava rock beach close to Makena Cove, south of the island where we were 3 days from sealing the deal.

Below, some trees behind Makena Beach where I was ambushed by a Mosquito and Donna standing on Makena Beach.

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Sasquatch!

First the grizzly and now this guy! Someone must have radioed ahead and told Snow White I was coming to Canada for the first time... because Snow White then got on the blower to the bluebirds, and the bluebirds spread the word to the rest of the forest to be on the lookout for me.

This one didn't talk much, but he was used to having his picture taken and offered to pose like he was just caught sneeking out to the liquor store.

Actually I think we actually had caught him sneeking out to the liquor store. Mrs Foot was not pleased.

Here's a nice view of some valley at sunset which is quite beautiful. This was just before we entered the (teehee) desert. Yes folks apparently Canada has a desert...

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Cranbrook to Trail

A turn-of-the-century mill grain elevator in Creston, which is pretty cool. I wonder if Canada has laws like England that list protected buildings? A country as large as Canada would probably be able to do it and still look good, in contrast to England, with lots of small crappy buildings and crappy streets which have trouble accommodating 21st century transport and housing development.

Below is a stream that runs parallel to Highway 3. I have no idea where it was we stopped. But I just had to get a shot. Raw, natural beauty.

Wild mountain goats we ran into on the Skyway between Creston and Trail. I think the largest free roaming animal we have in England is a badger or a fox (we do have boar apparently but they are rarely spotted). You would never see goats mountain sheep, moose or bears roaming wild around the English countryside, so to see it is breathtaking.

And they just don't care, they don't run away, they just ignore you as you drive on up, pull out your camera and start taking shots. I actually have these guys on video so when I work out how to edit it on the puter, I'll upload for all to see.

Edit (16/5/07): Doh! Elsie wrote to correct me:
"Sorry Wes More editing ! Donna is not doing her job. The buildings in Creston are not mills, but grain elevators. The pictured animals are not goats but Rocky mountain sheep. We do often see goats on that route, but those were sheep."

Pumpkins

We stopped off in this small town called Creston(?) on the way to Vancouver. Elsie was having a meltdown because the car was having trouble starting. She'd just spent $1000 (£~500) on a new transmission on her van. Turns out they had left the battery cables loose is all.

This is the biggest pumpkin I have ever seen. I think there was a competition to guess the weight and you could win it. I think the competition should have been eat it in one sitting and you don't have to pay for it.

Ha, check out that witch, Canadians have a terrific sense of humour.

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More Hidden Cranbrook History

Here's Donna standing on the wrong side of the bridge that leads from Cranbrook to Kimberley.

Donnas Dad helped build this bridge, she showed me his initials (AM) in the cement overlooking the beautiful valley.

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Crows Nest Pass

A large crow guards the entrance to Crows Nest Pass.

On the right, a picture of us standing outside the smallest chapel in the world(?). I had the camera on a flash with slow shutter since it was getting dark but we moved before it had finished capturing. Looks kind of spooky.

Gravity Hill

So we're back, after a long hiatus, back on the journey towards the the wedding on the beach. We know you've all been faithful and patient as we waited for our broadband to come on and to sort through things.

This image is of Gravity Hill. That's the unofficial name. It looks like we are standing at the top doesn't it? Well, Donna took me to the 'bottom' which is like, the third telegraph pole down and asked me to stop when I thought we had reached the lowest point. Then she put the car into neutral.

The car rolled back to where we are now and the photo was taken from. Weird huh?

So that's the story of Gravity Hill.

Stand by for more posts, I am now abandoning the back-dating system and simply posting with current dating.

On The Road: Calgary to Cranbrook

Some random photo's on the road to various places.

Views of Highway 22X "The Shortcut" Cranbrook to Calgary. Canadians are a friendly people, it's almost as if they purposefully put all these landmarks and interesting things out for your enjoyment and amusement as you travel. Above is a fence with a baseball cap on every post, and one even had it's own bra.

This is possibly the most photographed tree in the world. It's located on a highway near Crows Nest and is regularly used for magazines and publications, recognise it?

Canadian Hedgehog

Canadians don't have hedgehogs (small animal with spikes, usually roadkill), so this is the next nearest thing. Except if your car runs into this guy you are in trouble.

He was meandering across the road oblivious the small amount of cars that were now queing up
on the road to get a look. I wound my window down and bravely stuck my camera out to get pictures. He got right up about 12 feet from the car, then stopped to sniff the air. I think he must have smelt the A&W wrappers, then he went into the forest behind a tree. Donna says they have poor eyesight and he didn't see us, but personally I think he was scared off by the high-pitch squeals coming from our car "Wes! It's a bear, it's a GRIZZLY, LOOK IT'S A GRIZZLY!"

What I Learned About Calgary, Alberta

Calgary, where you only pay one set of taxes, thanks to the local conservative government.