Peyto Lake

Arguably the most prominent Jewel in the Crown of the Rocky Mountains is the remarkable Peyto Lake located roughly halfway between Banff and Jasper.  The most outstanding feature of the beautiful water feature is the fact it outlines the shape of a dog's head.  Moreover than that is the stunning contrast of colours from the green alpine trees to the magnificent milky blue water, intensified by shadows from the vast surrounding mountains.  Highly recommended.

Stampede Shenanigans

Calgary Stamped 2010...Tick!

The introduction to the festivities began with the famous Stampede Pub Crawl. As the event was sold out I was quite glad to have 'lady random' on my side which had me meet a lovely local girl two days prior. Her Birthday party happened to occupy one of the busses and my Calgarian host was unable to attend due to unforseen work commitments which left one ticket available! Massive score!

I was a little surprised when I learned the day began at 12 noon and was well aware there was to be some early tap outs. I, however, was not one of them. My exploits took me right through until 3am the following morning, making it my biggest single party effort on record!! So that was my first gigantic tick for the country fest 2010. I must also note I met some very fun and entertaining people during the day foremost of which was the Birthday Girl, Tiff, who's drunken bus chants became increasingly unrecognisable as the night progressed!!

The next major experience was the actual Rodeo on the Stampede grounds. Have I been to a rodeo now? Yes. Was it the biggest rodeo show on planet earth? Yes. Whatever, no big deal... It's also worth noting that golf ball hail stones, fringes of cyclones and buckets of big fat rain were in abundance during my stay in Calgary. But having the weather god on my side was very comforting and I enjoyed the sunshine the day of the rodeo. My favourite was the main event: the Bull Riding. TV coverage does not do justice to the size and intensity of these beasts. There was also horseback rodeo, calf roping and wrestling and the ladies event, the barrel ride. Tick.

The visit to the Stampede grounds was topped of at night by a visit to the renowned party tent 'Nashville North' which allegedly houses up to 3000 people per night! It was quite an impressive sight, complete with full size stage, live bands and staggering acoustics. Tick.

Calgary Stamped 2010...Tick!

Rancho Relaxo

Shout out to Bella for the personal invitation to Rancho Relaxo, AKA Uncle Paul and Auntie Rita's beautiful country home in White Rock, Vancouver. What started out as a one night stopover in Van quickly escalated into a lovely break in proceedings where myself, Bella and Alex worked around the house and property for great food and some uninterrupted sleep. That's right, my own room! No sharing with super snoring Germans, no putting up with constant locker rattling, no smell of dirty socks and dirty boys. Ok so I was in the laundry room, but that didn't go on at night plus my room smelt lemony fresh!!

The work was actually quite fun getting outdoors for some landscaping, carrying supplies for renovations, transporting white goods and even on one day pulling apart to clean and reassemble an old computer to gift a studying single mum. My favourite job of all though was searching for the local beavers damn armed with a chainsaw!! The search continues but there are now several new trails down to the waterside.

Rancho Relaxo also happened to be one corner and several friendly horses away from the very country farm where Smallville was filmed. The "Kent Farm" was made popular as Superman's family home. RR also boasted an elevated tree house in a very well grown cedar pine providing quite an intense climbing experience. The meals provided as partial payment for our labour were an elaborate treat for a backpacker to say the least! Probably the reason our overnight stay turned into almost a week!

   

The beautiful home and gardens of Rancho Relaxo.

Friends and Faces

Shout out to all the amazing people I have met and travelled with so far on my trip.

 

Let me first get started with the California crew, who chopped and changed a little but held firm down to San Diego.

Badlands, my lead guitarist in Karnivool who was my major partner in crime for a completely random VIP night in Hollywood. Oh yeah, of course I'm the lead singer in a band, why don't I know anything about music production? Because I'm a purist rocker, I just turn up and perform...WHAT? I must also note that Badlands was present during my very entourage esque visit to the little country town of 'LAS VEGAS'. I had a lovely little win on the slots while milking the system for free drinks which then rubbed off on him who rocked the roulette wheel right round baby, right round. Needless to say the entourage enjoyed Hennessey that night.

The next member of the Vegas entourage provided an inexhaustible comic relief for not only that trip but also many a visit to fast food outlets and theatres, the most memorable of which being Jonny Rockets and Iron Man 2. Two thumbs up for entertainment value. Freeman also played big brother on occasion bringing much needed clarity and perspective to certain situations. Most memorable moment being his dashing attempts at wooing the heart of a very excitable hippie roller-waitress at Venice Beach. His skills extending as far as multitasking a facebook friend request with a random and very, very lost tramp.

The glue that bonded the men together came in the form of the softly spoken but highly opinionated Brit, Bella (or the Latin numero uno ankeles). One of the pioneers in terms of timeline, Bella made several bad decisions that had her split from the group and quite disappointed as a result. She quickly saw the error of her ways and cemented herself in as a member of the San Diego crew. Bella's feminine vulnerability proved an important dynamic in terms of bringing closer the wolfpack of Myself, Badlands our fourth member of SDC...

The Oracle, our token actor, was a valuable asset in LA as a live version of IMdb whenever a name of an actor or film slipped our minds. Simon was my first friend made on my travels and incidentally has accompanied me on the most amount of my travels, from the first days in LA, southward to San Diego then up a country to Vancouver and finally across to the magnificent Vancouver Island. On one vague pre coffee morning, the agreement was made that we felt like we had been friends since high school. Good asset in a travel buddy. My favourite and easily the most entertaining quality the oracle possessed, was his keen sense of direction...does anyone remember the liquor store West Hollywood?

You all brought something special to my life and made the first three weeks of my adventure extra fun and exciting. I'm glad to have met you all,

Love from Russ

Tofino Tranquility

Mission Beach beware!! I have found a corner of the planet that offers seclusion, restfulness and relaxation to rival all else...up to this point...Not only is the atmosphere uber chilled, the natural attractions within the region are uniquely stunning. Low numbered, scenic marine transfers are par for the course for any tour around the region, the experience of which heightened by the possibility of whale and bear sightings. Both I got to see during the Hot Springs Cove tour which was quite amazing. Hiking through temperate rainforest and along coastal ridges were fun, as were checking out the differences between Australian and Canadian beaches. My favourite was Tonquin Beach which is a cute little spot surrounded by rock walls and is reached by a short and pleasant walk from the town centre. And any tough day exploring could be rewarded with a few cheeky pitchers at the famous "Mac" or Maquinna pub. The true highlight for me though, was the level of restfulness I felt at all stages of my stay in Tofino. I was completely at peace with the universe and I felt really great energy there. I recommend the place massively and am very confident I will return sometime soon...perhaps even to work....

The beautiful Tonquin beach cave