Sunday 7th - Glenallen - Whitehorse
Up at first light, I wanted to make Whitehorse by nightfall, some 475 miles away. Due to the seasonal light traffic and a very brief Q&A at Canadian customs (No search) I made it in to Whitehorse at about 8pm local time.  I drove around downtown and spotted a nicely priced motel next to an all night Internet Cafe and a Chinese restuarant. It was nice to have a warm meal and check my email. It was also nice to just walk after sitting all day feeling my legs turn to jello. I took a shower and watched Gladiator and The Cell. That sure beats sleepin outside in the Yukon Territory.

Monday 8th - Whitehorse - Liard River Hot Springs
With a trace of fresh snow on the ground, I pulled out of Whitehorse around 11am bound for Liard River Hot Springs. 424 miles away. I pulled in just before dark in time to set up my tent and eat a warm meal. Timing has been great! After the eating, the wind pickd up and the rain I drove through on way caught up to me. I spent about 30 minutes reading in the tent when all the sudden the skys cleared and the moon and stars appeared. Time to hit the Hot Springs! It was nice walking without a flashlight through the semi-tropical forest, the steam around me and migrating birds partying it up above. The water was around 120F. Nice and hot. I met a guy from Seward who had visited Girdwood during the Ween concert. It was nice to have someone to talk to from back home. After getting our fill of heat, we headed back to camp and had a beer and smoked salmon around the fire pit.
 

Tuesday 9th - Liard River Hot Springs In the AM I went back to the springs for some more soak time. In this photo, Im sitting in front of a waterfall, which is nice to sit under. All the water funnels into this one spot. I met some locals and learned that in the winter, hoar frost hangs from the trees created by the steam and if your not careful you could get a cold surprise landing on your head. I also witnessed someone cooking hard boiled eggs at the source of the spring. After almost passing out from the heat, I walked back to camp and packed up to hit the road. It was a sunny day. Nice drive, I saw a lot of wildlife (deer, caribou, fox, and musk ox. I ended up getting a motel room in Fort Nelson, the turning point from East to South towards Prince George. 471 miles to the south.

Thursday 11th - Prince George - McBride - Jasper
Sunny morning. I headed to the mall to get some internet access. Wow, that was the fastest connection Ive ever used. I imagine I will be discovering many advanced services that arent available where I come from on this trip. Got a Quisno's sub and headed east to Jasper. I stopped in McBride, the first Paragliding site of the trip. The sun was out and the fall colours were in full. The peaks were covered with snow. Quite gorgeous. A nice quiet town. It would be nice to fly there. I drove south to check out Valumount. Same thing. So its on to Jasper. Got there after dark. Wow, what a cool looking town. I got a room and hit the pool and hot tub. I could stay here a while and I havent even seen it during the day yet. Its like Girdwood meets Aspen. Mostly homes and hotels. The hotel I stayed in was very luxourous compared to the places Ive been staying and priced only slightly higher.

Friday 12th - Jasper - Revelstoke
I awoke after a cool dream about being a skating camera man at a hockey game. Interesting idea. Dense foggy day with snow and rain. Not the greatest for picture taking. I checked out the local tram depot. The 7 minute ride takes you over 7,000ft. up. with the clouds, I chose not to go. I also found that paragliding is not legal here in the National Park. So I drove around and enjoyed the sights. I would love to visit here again in winter or summer. The river has a deep teal blue tint with whitish colored stones. Absolutely beautiful. Ive got to come back to Jasper someday. I headed south through some serious snow and altitude gains. I decided not to go to Banff and headed south west along Hwy 1 to Golden and stopped in Revelstoke to get a motel room. After seeing the forecast (grim at best) I have decided to continue south and cross the border. Chelan, WA will be the next destination. I have been keeping up with border happenings on CBC radio and it sounds like Im in for a search. I hope they let me assist. I have worries about my computer and paraglider. If they pull the reserve parachute, I would be upset. When the rain lets up, I'll organize my car to make the search easier.

Saturday 13th - Revelstoke - Chelan
Sunshine at last for my push south to the high desert of Washington. I drove through a beautiful lake city called Kelowna. It was quite busy with traffic but it moved right along. Ive noticed that everyone in Canada drives over the limit 10-20Km/h. I entered apple country and the signs of desert terain. I reached the border mid afternoon and waited in line for 3 minutes and talked to the customs man for 1 minute. He took a glance at the contents of my trunk and said have a nice day. wow. I was expecting more. Thats one of the reasons I chose to enter the US further east. When I got close to Chelan I passed a bank with a time and temp sign that said 71 degrees! I yeehaa'd and said No Way! Sure enough it is bakin here during the day. The first place I stopped I met the nicest people on the whole trip. They run the Cabana motel on the lake front. I told them my story of adventure and they offered me $25/night $400/month at their amazing place. Nice rooms with everything and a heated pool to boot. I plan to return here later this month to take advantage of this great deal. The sun set over the lake and the stars came out. I cant wait to go flying!

Sunday 14th - Chelan - Chelan Butte
Up at first light to see the thin crescent moon over Venus and desert alpenglow. The rest of the moon was also dimly lit from reflected light off the earth. What cool sight. I walked to the lake and watched the sunrise colors on the passing clouds.  Curious about the butte that I read about in Paragliding Magazine, I took a drive to the top and took several pictures. I took my bike off the roof for the first time and traveled freely with the wind in my hair. I took more photos of the Chelan area and created a photo gallery. It was too windy to fly so Ill have to come back another day.
 

Monday 15th - Chelan - Seattle Spent the day getting organized and did some laundry. Visited with the kind people running the motel. Then the desire to get to Seattle hit me. It was a beautiful sunny day. Traffic was good until about 20 miles out of Seattle. I kept my calm as I entered the 6 lane freeways packed full of cars doing 60-70mph. I successfully navigated my way to the offramp next to REI. A huge beautiful store that I had never been to. They have the facilities to test drive all the equipment. Even a 4 story climbing wall encased by windows. The last time I was in Seattle was the day before they opened. They really went all out with the amenities. Conference rooms, snack bars, right down to the self flushing toilets. Neat. I then parked my car and walked down to the waterfront (Alaskan Way). It was really cool to be walking around and seeing what was new and recognizing older buildings that were there during my 3 year Art  Institute Education. I toured my old school looking at the art in the showcases and looking at the staff photos to see who was still there. After updating my Alumni contact info I went to meet up with my long lost girlfriend Leah. She works at a gift shop on the waterfront. It was a happy reunion filled with joy. We talked all night about everything. Catching up on a seven year gap. October 16th - 22nd - Seattle Planning on hangin here for a while. Im going to meet up with all my old band buddies for a reunion jam over in Bremerton. Leah has a 9 day vacation coming up. We plan to visit Mt. Rainier, Tiger Mtn. and Chelan. Maybe get some flying in. Ive got my laptop and at least 3 clients to work with in the mean time to keep me busy. I also need to get in touch with the local CH2MHill graphics department to see if they need any flex help. Pretty cool shot of the Space Needle with a flag in the fountain. Thats Leah and I in the corner and of course the Pike Place Market below. I have a lot of fun biking around flashing back to the Art Institute days.

October 23rd - 30th - Chelan
Sunshine graced us as Leah and I headed out to Chelan. There was some snowfall accumulating going through the pass and a few people off the road. No problem. I said "This is nothing". When the sun is out in Chelan, it is very warm. We enjoyed biking and walking. When it rains, its relaxation time. Its good to be out of the big city. We plan to visit the butte and do a little hiking and meditation. Pretty much just taking it easy. 

Saturday 27th - Chelan Falls - Halloween party
Paragliders are coming off the ridge! We drove to the LZ and introduced ourselves. I took many pictures as we hung out in Chelan Falls Park enjoying the gliders. We were invited to the club Halloween party that evening and to fly the next day in the Woman's fly-in. 
 

Sunday 28th - PARAGLIDING! - Chelan Halloween Fly-in Sunny! Looks like an epic day to go flyin! I caught a ride up with a local couple, stuffed in like sardines, we took the 30 min drive to Chelan Butte.  Winds were out of the NNE so we parked at the top and hiked down the east ridge from the towers (see above photo). I layed out and built a wall, then I had a fun first launch since Alaska! The wind coming up the ridge picked me right up off my feet as I slowly glided away from the hill. The hot sun heated the desert floor as we headed back up the butte in the club shuttle. A huge Suburban jacked up so high, it just cruised up that 4,000' gain dirt road like it was nothin. A good size crowd had formed around the east facing "ants" launch (right photo). The blue wing in the lower left has just launched off "ants". The wind varied enough for Nicole from Vancouver to launch her red Nova off the south launch (left center yellow wing). Nicole instantly latched into a thermal and climbed above launch. I said to myself, Im there! I launched in the same direction and climbed up to join her. I spent 35 min thermaling between 500-1000' over launch trading places at the top (5,000'). As you can see, there are still a number of people yet to launch. I heard conditions changed after I launched. I guess that proves that ya gotta go with your gut instincts. The view was incredible! I can remember doing a little laughing up there, I was so tickled. It was a combination of thermals and convergence making for some strong lift. I could have stayed all day but my fingers were going numb (with warm gloves on). I landed in the LZ with a 45 minute ride and a big smile. Later the guys told me "When you get cold, descend down to where its warmer and then thermal back up". Good advice. Ill try that next time.

Halloween Party!