do the double bubble dance!

There are fires burning all over the place, thanks to warm 40km winds that have been blasting FSJ all day. After one day at base to get things organized, it looks like we'll be right back out there for the weekend - on double time!

first day, first fire - oh yeah!

Within 1/2 an hour of arriving at base for our first day of work yesterday, we were headed out to our first fire. Overtime on the first day - that's got to be a record-breaker. And on the second day. And again tomorrow morning. Three out of three ain't bad :)

ladies and gentlemen, let the burning begin!

I just got a call to be on standby tonight and I don't even start work until tomorrow! I guess all the farmers are taking advantage of the 25 degree heat and high winds to burn their fields and the fires are getting away on them. Light 'em up, cowboys!!

geo-caching across america

I made it! In a record-breaking 4 days (+ one to visit my grandparents), I made it from Montreal to Fort St. John AND managed to hit a few geo-caches along the way. I drove through the US, hoping to see the badlands in North Dakota, but I guess they're further south than the route I took. Still saw tons of ranch-land, antelopes, pheasants and horses that made the ride enjoyable. With the back of my car so full, I couldn't change my cd's for most of the ride and so I listened to country music on the radio more or less the whole way across, which was quite fitting. And depressing.

This little flower that Rob sent along with me made it the whole way out west (and across the border twice, tee hee).


Two very proud grandparents with their first little geo-cache. They had a great time 'treasure hunting' around Gore Bay.


Gas bar or brothel? Who came up with this name?!


There's a geo-cache hidden somewhere in these old dinos


Taa Daa!


The wide open spaces of North Dakota and Montana.

every end is a new beginning

yesterday i drove away from montreal for the last time... sniff. i've got everything i own (and most of what rob owns) packed into my little subaru and i'm headed west. because i've been travelling so much over the past year, it's hard not to think of it as just another road trip - probably a good thing since it keeps the mood light. i'm going to go through the states because a) gas is cheaper and b) i've always wanted to see the badlands in north dakota. oh, and i'm going to geo-cache the whole way there. here we go....

oh to be a thirteenth century mongol...

So I'm reading a book about Ghengis Khan right now (I don't really know what made me want to learn about him all of a sudden), and I just don't think there's any arguing the fact that the Mongols really had it going on back then. Sure they killed a lot of people and looted a lot of cities, but I find it fascinating:

~ that women ran the whole empire while the men where away at war.
~ that they enjoyed religious freedoms that even modern countries can only dream about and that they would organize religious debates in which christians, muslims, buddhists and animists would argue their point of view just for the sport of it. Anyone that dared to speak with contempt against another was killed.
~ that the khans (emperors) happily divided looted wealth among all the people of the empire rather than hoarding it for themselves and their families, and made sure that widows and orphans recieved the same share as soldiers.

Sounds like a pretty nice place to me!

should i be scared?

Rob did the famous leader test (see last post) and he's most like Saddam Hussein. Eek.

bet you never knew this about me.....

If I were a classic movie, I'd be:

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

And if I were a famous leader, I'd be:

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

sugarloafin'

There wasn't much snow, and it rained most of the day, but being back at Sugarloaf (my family's favorite ski destination while we were living in NB) still felt great. I skied all our old favorites: Narrow Gauge, Tote Road, Gondi Line, White Nitro and Ramdown.

One of my best childhood memories is chasing my dad down Narrow Gauge - after he told me not to - with my ski tips chattering, my helmet pulled back, wind-induced tears streaming down my face, totally out of control and scared to death but loving every minute of it. And especially loving it when I'd stop right beside him at the bottom and he'd look at me, only half suprised, smiling and shaking his head, no doubt glad that my mother wasn't watching.

ladies and gentlemen....the world's dearest little grandmother

Why my grandma is the world's dearest little grandma:

1. Check out that sun hat!
2. Before all the breakfast dishes are cleared from the table, she's already shuffling the cards for a game of hand and foot - and she ALWAYS wins.
3. She's got 18 different angel figurines in her bedroom. I can't count high enough to figure out how many are in the whole apartment.
4. More wall space in her apartment is covered with pictures of her family than is left blank. About 80% of them are from when we were all little kids.
5. She puts on a long gown to have dinner, even when it's just the two of us.
6. She packed me a lunch for my trip home (homemade jam and applesauce with bread and fresh baked cookies) and actually put it in a wicker picnic basket.