canada: hiking in b.c.

i have a serious problem....we went on several AMAZING hikes in b.c. with my cousins...and sadly, i CANNOT remember the name of all the places we went to.  so i will have to leave it blank and hopefully kim will fill in the names. you can see it was amazing because oliver has a much happier look on his face this time....

first up was this beautiful little creek named _______ (UPDATE from kim: st. mary's creek) which started small then eventually turned into an awesome waterfall in a canyon. (UPDATE also from kim - the falls are named marysville falls)

and as an extra bonus, it wasnt raining! we thought it was cold but we had no idea what kind of winter was in store for us. in retrospect, it was lovely weather.

we also went with kerry, daleann, evan and logan on a pretty hike whuch then ended up at a stunning waterfall. fortunately i took a picture of the sign! (note to self: do this more often).

we spent a while trying to guess what we should beware of...

perry creek was also interesting because we found an old miners cabin. gold has been found in b.c. since the 1860s, and even today there are prospectors working the streams and old mines for gold. perry creek was worked actively in the 1850s and 1860s and on and off since then.

my 2 awesome cousins (correction from my proofreader - they are my cousins' kids, so 2nd cousins? cousins twice removed? niece / nephew? not really sure) from b.c. - evan and logan. these 2 never fail to impress me with their spirituality, talent, humility, easy-going nature and just being fun to be around.

my uncle daryl and aunt lynne. they have a small house built on one of the most serene and beautiful places ever. their front porch looks out on a beautiful forest with occasional deer showing up to browse. in the new system i may have to seriously consider moving to b.c.

uncle daryl is also the only person i know personally who lives on a road named after him (possibly technically his dad, but i like to think its after him)

 
sadly, all good things come to an end and thus it was that jose tomas and gang loaded us up into their van for a trip to the u.s. to a small airport in spokane. but in order to go out with a bang, we started early and took in lots of sights along the way.

yep, the statue of liberty is actually in sandpoint, idaho. i cant believe those guys in new york copied it without even a credit.

mongolian restaurant: if you ever get the chance, i highly recommend this place. you chose a bunch of raw items - veggies, meat, etc. then choose a sauce (or several) then these guys dump it all out onto a huge flat frying pan, use these sticks to fry it all up. to pass the time, they throw bowls and other items at each other then gracefully tip everything into a bowl for you. and as a bonus, it tastes  sensational.

sadly we said our goodbyes, quickly repacked our suitcases to get through airport regulations and boarded our flight back east to NY.

our final sight before our night long flight was this beautiful view of the rocky mountains - one day we will be back to explore this spectacular part of the earth again. but the best part of this trip was meeting some of my cousins and  family that we had only heard of (yep - murray, laura, spencer, kirkland, jorja - talking about you). and spending time with others who we havent seen in the flesh for a very long time.