Spunkygirl Monologues

It’s breathtakingly rugged and serene.  It’s iconic. It’s one of my favourite places in Canada. Discovered in 1883 by three Canadian Pacific Railway construction workers, Banff National Park is home to majestic mountains, stunning glacial lakes, caves and roughly 250 glaciers -a fact that I didn’t know when I visited Banff earlier this month. I knew of the Columbia Icefield. I’ve driven passed the information center to Jasper a few times over the years. However, I was blissfully unaware that Banff National Park contained 250 glaciers.

Since 1940 the Icefields Parkway has given millions of visitors access to some of the most stunning sites that both Banff National Park and Jasper National Park have to offer. Aside from gorgeous glacial lakes, and majestic mountains, the Icefields Parkways offers views of several glaciers. In fact, a drive along the Icefields Parkway will take you past not one, but four icefields – the most famous one being the Columbia Icefield.

Partly in the northwestern tip of Banff National Park and the south end of Jasper National Park, the Columbia Icefield is positioned atop the triple Continental Divide. It feeds 8 major glaciers and its melt-waters empty into the Pacific, Atlantic and North Atlantic oceans.

The most visited glacier within the Columbia Icefield is Athabasca. Framed by Mount Andromeda on the left and Snow Dome on the right, Athabasca Glacier is a must see. Due to heavy snowfall in the winter (mid-Oct to mid-April), the best time to see the glacier is during late spring to early fall.

There are a few ways to see the Athabasca Glacier.

Icefield Centre

Located on the east side of the Icefield Parkway, is the Icefield Centre. A hot spot at any time of year, the Icefield Centre can be as congested as Grand Central station during peak season.  As with all tourist centres, many of the services inside the Incefield Centre are overpriced ($2.50 for a small bag of chips, $3.50 for a bottle of coke. $3 for 30 mins of internet). However, there are also some valuable aspects of the centre, such as the Glacier Gallery Exhibit (lower level) and a fabulous panoramic view of the Columbia Icefield.

Forefield Trail
It’s a 1 kilometer walk (or a short drive) from the Icefield Centre to the head of Forefield Trail -which takes you to the foot of the Athabasca Glacier. It’s an easy hike, and most importantly, it’s FREE! When you reach the foot of the glacier, there is a small roped off section of the glacier which you can walk on. DO NOT walk past the barrier!

Snocoach
At first, the $50 charge may seem exorbitant. However, after participating in Brewster’s Columbia Icefield Glacier Experience, I’ve become a big fan of the snocoach option.

The drive from the Icefield Centre to the Snocoaches is about 8 minutes, as the road is narrow and steep in places. You’ll pass moraines on both sides of the road, as well as stunning views of Mount Andromeda and Snow Dome. When we arrived at the Snocoaches, my excitement grew. They’re massive! Hell, climbing aboard the snocoach is an attraction all on its own. It’s like riding inside a Monster Truck -except it’s longer and only has 1 speed, slow.

The drive down to the surface of Athabasca Glacier is steep. As we descend, our driver (Kelsey) warned everyone to buckle their seat belts. Over the half the bus (including me!) looked for theirs before we realize there are no seat belts and Kelsey is just playing around. As we drive along the glacier I spot streams of glacial water flowing through the ice. Its beautiful. I couldn’t get over the contrast of the blue water flowing through the white snow and ice of the glacier.

The scene is surreal. It’s August. It’s hot in the city, but here I am, freezing on a glacier. As our snocoach comes to a stop we’re asked to stay within the barrier of blue pylons and invited to drink some glacial water. I have to admit, I was disappointed that the blue pylons were so close. However I understood why. Every year there’s a fatality on the ice because some moron decides to walk past the barrier and ends up falling into a crevasse. For this reason, I decided to stay within the boarders. However, I would later watch in horror as a 6 year old boy ran around the glacier, way beyond the barriers without a parent in sight! Seriously, how dumb of a parent due you have to be? Thankfully nothing happened and the little boy eventually returned to the crowds within the barriers.

Even with the barriers being so close, the experience is well worth the expense. It was cold, but nobody cared. We were standing on a GLACIER! With camera in hand I began walking around, snapping way too many photos. My only wish was that the day hadn’t been so smoky, but what can a girl do? I didn’t start all those forest fires in BC.

The Athabasca Glacier measures about 6 km long, and 270 ft to 1,000 ft thick. At one time, the glacier was all the way to the Icefields Parkway, however it’s receded 1.5 kilometers in the past 125 years and continues to recede 2-3 meters every year. As I stood on its surface I couldn’t help but feel sad. It’s disappearing so quickly. How much longer will people be able to visit before it would be too dangerous?

There is a lot of talk around the globe about the ozone layer and how natural resources are disappearing. It’s becoming even more important for us to live a more green lifestyle, to preserve nature and help to educate each other. In Banff -as with all National Parks in Canada- protecting the environment is a top priority. With focuses on water conservation, minimizing environmental impact, recycling and special treatment systems, Brewster has created an award-winning environmental stewardship program that is helping to protect the Columbia Icefield (as well as other sites in Banff).  Using low-water fixtures and recycling gray water, educating visitors, and using recycled materials such as asphalt are a few ways that Brewster is giving back.

The glacier experience lasts roughly 80 minutes, but I was so enthralled in my surroundings that it felt more like 20 minutes. My only wish was that I had brought a better camera with me.

Traveling to the Columbia Icefield may seem out of reach if you’re visiting Banff, Lake Louise or Jasper and do not have a vehicle. However that’s not the case. Brewster offers guided Canadian Rockies tours that include transportation from either of the the three towns listed above, as well as the guided tour of Athabasca Glacier.

The tour I participated in left from Banff and made stops at Lake Louise, Bow Lake, and Peyto Lake on the way to the Columbia Icefields. It was a great way to sit back, relax and enjoy the amazing work of Mother Nature.

Spunky Baby!

I’ve spent months brainstorming ideas on how I can blog for my niece. I’ve toyed around with names (Spunky Monkey was in the running at one point), starting a separate blog or designing a special page on my main blog. But they all seemed so involved and with everything else happening, I wasn’t sure I had enough time and money to invest in those ideas.

As I spoke with my brother on the phone tonight, I brought up the idea of blogging posts for my niece. I leave for my trip in 3 days. I need to just do it already. That’s when I decided to  create a category called ‘Spunky Baby’. That way he can easily access my posts to her and still be able to read my regular post without having to leave my blog.

I’m so excited to share my travels and experiences with my niece (Soon to be nieces!). Although she’s only 2.5 yrs old, she’s a curious little thing. I’ll miss talking to her on the phone -even though the conversations are short and she sometimes goes off on rants about Dora the Explorer!

My posts in this category will be to her and her little sister -or bother sister as she calls the baby who has yet to arrive. For anonymity reasons (at my brother’s request), I won’t be using my nieces’ real names on this blog, and so… ‘Spunky Baby’ is born.

Edinburgh is easy to love. The compact capital of Scotland, from UNESCO Old Town to UNESCO New, is up there with Europe’s best of the best. While the nickname “Athens of the North” may be a bit much, it’s certainly not because Edinburgh is unworthy of such comparisons.

The decidedly more suitable “Auld Reekie” fits the overall aesthetic of this humble city much better. True, while Edinburgh is hardly “Old Smoky” any longer, the lovable moniker effectively conveys the inherent warmth, conviviality and witty wryness of the Scottish capital.

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The world’s largest arts festival, the Edinburgh Fringe, is as indelibly woven into the city’s cultural fabric as bookend Royal Mile landmarks Castle Rock and Holyrood Abbey. What began as a protestant alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947 is now a behemoth annual event with ticket sales in the millions. So massive and mainstream is the Fringe, some sixty plus years down the line, that it regularly inspires offshoot festivals in parallel – or “Fringe Fringe” festivals, as it were.

If you visit in August and early September, be sure to book your Edinburgh accommodation well in advance. Understand too that many festivals fall under the auspices of the Edinburgh Festival. For prospective visitors to the city then, it pays dividends to appreciate Edinburgh’s phenomenal festival scene beyond the wildly popular Fringe. Check out some other worthwhile events on the city’s extraordinary arts calendar.

Hogmanay

Few places on Earth ring in the New Year like Scotland. Hogmanay, the Scots term for the last day of the year (think “Auld Lang Syne”), is particularly spirited in Edinburgh, where a jovial Street Party actually begins on December 29 and wraps up on January 2. A slew of concerts, cultural performances and theatrical events culminate in a fantastic fireworks display over Edinburgh Castle in front of close to 100,000 spectators.

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International Festival

The International, consecrated in 1947 to shake Europe out of its post-World War II doldrums, is the premier arts event that started it all. Eminently respected and revered, the annual end-of-summer event lures a who’s who of international talent to the Scottish capital’s best stages. The refined, classical counterpoint to the Fringe features a first-class line-up of opera, ballet, contemporary dance, visual art, orchestral music and theatre.

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Book Festival

Billed as the “world’s largest celebration of the written word”, the Edinburgh Book Festival is fittingly held in the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature. A venerable two-week symposium with top literary talents and eager audiences, the festival features hundreds of events in Edinburgh New Town’s gorgeous Charlotte Square Gardens.

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Art Festival

Though a relative newcomer, Edinburgh’s Art Festival is already seen as a welcome complement to Art Basel and the Vienna Biennale. The five-week event features workshops, conferences and a brilliant parade of avant-garde, contemporary visual art.

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Jazz & Blues Festival

In typical Edinburgh fashion, the city’s Jazz & Blues Festival is the foremost-such event in Great Britain. Yet another reason to visit the Scottish capital during the first week of August, concerts and impromptu jam sessions feature a genuine line-up of jazz and blues greats. A boon for genre purists, the Jazz & Blues festival makes superb use of the Grassmarket area near Edinburgh Castle hotels, among other city venues.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that I like to be different, quirky and fun. So, where everyone else is calling this list their ‘Bucket List’, I’m calling mine, ‘Flights of Fancy’. Kind of suits me- don’t you think? After all, I can be a little flighty at times and I tend to be spontaneous and change my mind- a lot.

As I gear up for my round-the-world trip, I’ve started thinking about the places/sights that I’d like to visit and experience. There are so many mysterious and intriguing places in the world. Although I know I will never visit or experience all of them, there are ones that I cannot live without seeing.

*This list is in no particular order.

Kashgar, China
Before my trip to China in 2008, Kashgar had never entered my mind. However, things quickly changed when I observed the treatment of the Uyghur people by the Han Chinese. My heart went out to them and their struggles for equality.

Lhasa, Tibet
Brad Pitt. My initial fascination with Tibet started after watching Seven Years in Tibet- whose didn’t! As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to respect not only the culture, but the struggles of Tibet. When I was in China in 2008, I tried to get in. I wasn’t successful as the protests were still raging at the time.

Ulaangom, Mongolia
In Mongolia, near the Russian border, Ulaangom is one of those out of reach places. I long to meet the locals, wander the market and maybe buy a pair of Mongolian biker boots- I’ve seen photos of them, I want a pair!!

Kathmandu, Nepal
I’m hoping to volunteer at an orphanage in Kathmandu, and hopefully make my way to the Everest Base Camp.

Hyderabad, India
The fact that this city is also known as ‘The City of Peals’ ensures its place on this list!

Mumbai, India
Mumbai -or Bombay as it was originally known- has always had a place in my heart. It conjures up exotic images. If I were to close my eyes I can see the streets crammed with colours, people and vehicles.

Chiang Mai, Thailand
I’ve wanted to visit Chiang Mai since 2005, when I worked at Future Shop. A co-worker had spent a summer in Thailand and we would talk for hours about her travels. In recent weeks my obsession has grown as certain travel bloggers have been clogging my Twitter feed with all things relating to Chiang Mai. Truth be told, I like it. I feel as those I’m there already!

Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Yes, a site that is on just about everyone’s list. I have seen hundreds upon hundreds of photographs. I’m drawn to its history. Nothing says adventure like an ancient ruin!

Thimpu, Bhutan
Also known as Shangri-La, Bhutan is a country that has restricted access to tourists in the past. Although the restrictions are not as severe as they were in the past, Bhutan is expensive. No matter. I still want to -and will- visit Bhutan.

Dhaka, Bangladesh
Built in the 7th Century, Dhaka holds a certain magic. I’ve known a few people who have traveled through Bangladesh, and listen to their stories has only increased my desire to visit and explore.

“We should come home from adventures,

and perils, and discoveries every day with

new experience and character”

- Henry David Thoreau

You may have noticed that this is a rather small list. There’s a reason for that. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a spontaneous girl who changes her mind, a lot. I could spend hours compiling a list of all the places in the world I’d like to visit and explore. But, truth be told, that list would change. As I grow as a traveler and as a person, my desires, ambitions and goals change. Evolve.

In 3 short weeks I’ll be leaving Canada- finally- and traveling to Asia. My plans are to travel throughout the region for roughly 6 months. What happens after that is unknown, and exciting.

What are your flights of fancy?

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The World in my Oyster

Asking someone to define the word ‘Travel’ is like asking someone to describe the word ‘Home’. There is no right or wrong answer. Perhaps that’s why they’re held with such reverence. Think about it. Whenever you talk about travel (For those of you who enjoy traveling) or home, there is always that sigh of joy. Personally, they can be a sort of yin and yang. When I’m at home too much, I want to be on the road, traveling the globe. When I’ve been traveling for too long, I want to be home, in my cozy bed. It’s the whole ‘Grass is greener’ scenario. But that’s okay.

I love how versatile and diverse the world of travel is. Like a lot of things in this world, it’s not a cookie-cutter set up. There are no defined lines, no instructional manuals, nothing. For me, travel is like the free-form colouring of a 3 yr old. Why colour inside the lines when there’s an entire page screaming for attention?!

Travel is as diverse as the world itself. It’s a personal journey. Parents can send the kiddos on a weekend sleepover and create their own vacation at home, there’s family vacations- which provide entertaining stories for weddings and graduations, Two week holidays, Weekend getaways, Round-the-world, adventure and many more. Like I said, travel is as diverse as the world itself.

No matter what your travel style is, it’s important for you to plan the trip or vacation that YOU want to take. It’s wonderful to ask friends and other travelers for advice and tips, but at the end of the day, it’s your trip, your time, YOUR STORY.

At the moment, my story involves traveling through the Pacific Northwest and Asia. I have a plane ticket until March 22, 2011. Whether I’ll last that longer, or want to stay longer has not been decided. I haven’t planned very much. In fact, I’ve planned too little. I should probably be working for a few more months. But, I’ve decided to go any way. It’s a personal decision that I could regret. I’m taking the chance. I don’t want to regret NOT trying. This is MY STORY. There are all kinds of variables involved. Back stories, lists etc. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, than we’ll find out how my story will end together. For me, that’s the fun part.

So, what’s YOUR STORY? How do you travel?

The day was perfect for photography. The sky was blue, with a few puffy white clouds scattered about, and the sun was bursting with heat. Although the lines can be a wee bit intense, the views from the Top of the Rock were breathtaking.

Before the Olympics arrived and the Canada Line was built there were roughly 3 ways to travel from the Vancouver Airport into downtown Vancouver (this is based on not knowing anyone in the city). As a traveler you could take a taxi, which would cost you about $25, take the Airporter bus, which was $7 or a city bus for $3.

It was a warm, sunny day in May when I walked through the domestic terminal in Vancouver. I had some extra money on this trip, so I decided to splurge and take the Airporter bus into the city, as it would drop me off close to the hostel. I bought my ticket and went outside to wait for the bus.

Within minutes a woman came outside and told the first 10 people in line that the bus would arrive in roughly 5 minutes. She then told the rest of us that we would have to wait another hour. I was annoyed. There was not a chance in hell that I was waiting an hour. (Where are you going? There’s more…)

I’ve been floating through the web for more than a couple years now reading travel blogs and forums (Bootsnall). I had big dreams, I wanted to do what other people my age were doing, traveling.  I would read their posts or blogs and get jealous when I’d realize that most of them had started traveling shortly after high school. They’re younger than me, and in many ways they seemed smarter than me as well.

I’m not the world’s best saver. In fact I’m savings challenged. I always have been. I like to shop, I like to go out and party or have dinner with friends. I like going to movies and taking last minute trips. Most of my trips since high school have been just that, last minute escapes. More often than not I used whatever cash I had in my bank account, went away on some 5-day adventure (I flew to London and did London and Paris in 5 days) and then come home to a month or more of backed up bills.   Short escapes are great when I’m doing them. I’m happy and free, but then I feel the crush when I’m home.

My family is very much a working family. My parents are both work-a-holics, in other words they give 110% at the job, and it’s something I’ve learned to do as well.  When I was younger I made the decision to quit my well paying job and move from Ontario to Alberta.  I had a summer hotel job lined up to bring in some cash and I was excited to be leaving home and venturing out on my own, but my family was a different story.  When I told my parents my Mom was not happy, but supportive. My Dad stopped talking to me.  I was crushed.  My Dad had never just stopped talking to me before.  In fact he and I usually had some wicked arguments (he did this “Well you’re not mad at me, you’re mad at yourself thing that would piss me off like you wouldn’t believe!). I tried to talk to him, but nothing. For 3 whole days he ignored my existence and it’s an experience that is still very fresh in my mind 10 yrs later if I allow myself to walk down memory lane.

Work, money & responsibilities are all things I’ve been taught, and there is nothing wrong with that. But blue-collar life isn’t meant for everyone. Some of us dream of more, and if you’re like I was, and drowning in debt – your dreaming of a nice shiny lotto ticket to solve all your problems.  I’ve been in the corporate or retail game for years. I thought that that was what I wanted. I wanted the big promotions and the big money. But when they came I was miserable, still unable to save money and still in debt. So how have I changed the cycle? It’s not easy, even today. My views and priorities changed after a major life event that has affected me in many ways and although it’s fairly personal, I’m going to share it with you (in shorter amounts) in hopes that you may get something out of it.

Last fall my parents were trying to reach my Grandmother on the phone, but she wasn’t answering and something felt odd. My Mom then asked my Dad to go over (she was at work already) and see if she was okay. My Dad found my Grandmother on the floor by her bed, unconscious and had no idea how long she had been like that.  Let me tell you, the 2.5hr drive from my house to theirs was agony! When I walked into the ER I didn’t even recognize her. My Mom had been there all day with her and there were no changes.  My Mom and I spent the next 4 days by her bedside in an emotional roller coaster, wondering if she was going to make it. She almost didn’t. But she kind of turned around.  We then spent the next 2.5 weeks by her bed making sure she was eating, monitoring her vitals etc. In other words, the hospital was our home. It was draining. I had worked as a Personal Care Aide when I was younger, so I was able to help my Grandmother more than I normally would have. If she asked me about her condition, I would be honest and give her a no shit answer (she would have killed me if I had lied to her). We were never close, my Grandmother and I.  It was always awkward going to visit her as we had nothing in common and she could sometimes have some very hurtful opinions.  But as I sat in her hospital room I understood her. I bonded with her and I realized that even though she may have been a tad cranky, she always lived her life the way she wanted to and never paid attention to what others thought.  She didn’t worry about spending her money because she couldn’t take it with her.

My Grandmother eventually left the hospital, but not for home. She was sent to palliative care. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and things were moving faster than the doctors thought.  I lost my Grandmother (my last Grandparent) at the beginning of December.  But, as I look back I don’t dwell on all those draining, stressful days spent by her bed. I dwell on the life lessons she taught me; to live and enjoy my life while I can. I still suck at saving money, but my Grandmother has left me some money in her will.  It’s my Grandmother that inspired me to finally suck it up, get myself out of debt and finally do what I’ve been dreaming of doing for years. Thanks to her I now have a solid focus and direction.

It’s funny how you can change your destiny with the right motivation. For me it took a life-changing event to ‘see the light’. I evaluate everything I buy, and if I falter and find myself having buyer’s remorse the next day, I return it. I’m trying really hard to shrink my bills. I opted for the basic cable pkg (which really sucks some days). I save my recycling and take it to the depot to get the levy back. I’m trying hard to take lunches to work (I’m really bad at this. I take a lunch like 2/5 days and sometimes I just skip eating it all together), but I find myself walking to Quizno’s more than I should. Saving money is hard when you’re not a saver to begin with. As for my debt, I pay a little off with every pay. I save extra money I get from GST credits, recycling etc without using any of it for bills. I’ve even had to go as far as opening a savings acct at a bank that’s totally annoying to discourage myself from taking money out (It has like $4 in it right now).

I’m not a 20-something traveler; I’m a 30-something traveler. My style has evolved; I have more focus and direction.  It’s taken me a lot longer to wake-up, but I’m awake now. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows yet. It’s still a struggle. On bad days I remember trips to China, Cuba, Scotland or my-5 day adventure to London and Paris.  On good days I look forward to the new adventures I’ll be having and the start of my RTW trip in August December. I still get a little jealous of the 20-something travelers, but I wouldn’t change my life experiences for anything. I’m a late traveler bloomer and I’m okay with that.

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