Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Out and About

Well hello there folks. It seems to me I have been away for some time now and haven't provided much of an explanation as to where it is I've disappeared to. Well since I left Dawson City in 2007 I've continued my rambling ways circumnavigating the continent mostly with no money and no form of transportation, other than m trusty right thumb. I headed out to Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland for November and December, 2007. In th heart of Gros Morne National Park I made my home in a small cabin with Nico and My dog Lilly. We roamed the mountains and forests along the coast for a while exploring everything we could and loving every breath before we decided to head to Halifax for Christmas and a splash of the east coast city life. Nico and I parted ways once in Halifornia and I stayed with some university kids until Adrienne came out from Ontario to travel west in the darkest days of winter hitchhiking the entire way to B.C....to be coninued

Friday, October 12, 2007

The Beautiful Colour

This is Alissa.

Monday, August 27, 2007

4 Dead


One of the few photographs that managed to escape the massive raping of my belongings (theft) in Penticton, BC. This shot was taken at the Dawson City Cemetary through the picket fence on my first day in one of the greatest towns in Canada. I had a summer to remember adventuring my way through the mountains and forests and made some great friends. I wish I had some of the 4000 pictures I had taken over the last 9 months to show but they were stolen along with my laptop, camera, and other expensive materials - it sure made hitch hiking back to Ontario a hell of a lot easier though. Stay tuned for updates on the cash fund as I save for a new Camera.
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Thursday, May 24, 2007

The Tombstones

Sweet Hike.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Cabin

Found this old cabin on my way out of the bush coming down from a 7 hour hike to the top of Grey Mountain the other day. Photo's from the top still to come! Stay Tuned.

New Growth

There is always the opportunity for new growth, to start fresh and positive. In my travels I have purposely entered the "slums" of the communities I visit to interact with the people and hear their stories. Often they are full of optimism but fail to act on regeneration and starting a new life - away from drug and alcohol abuse. It is with that optimism in mind, I offer the many friends I have made along the way to consider the above image and strive for new growth. It is achievable - life is what you make it - make it awesome!

Spruce trees rise from the ashes of the 1998 Fox Lake burn - north of Whitehorse, Yukon.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Wow!

All I have been able to say for the last 3 days is "Wow!" I have been flabergasted by the beauty around me and the possibilities for adventure everywhere I turn. This will be an exciting stop off in my travels across Western Canada this summer. Whitehorse...Wow.

11:30PM

This was the scene I found myself viewing just an hour north of Whitehorse, YK. The Sun set beautifully over the lake after a perfect day of hiking the surrounding hills. This shot was taken at 11:30PM Pacific Standard Time!

...Strange Things Are Done In The Midnight Sun By The Men Who Moil For Gold...

Sunday, May 06, 2007

Backyard Beauty


Last night I spent my first night in the Yukon just outside of Whitehorse. I found a nice little clearing in the woods where some had camped before so I decided to set up shop and call it home for a while. This is the view from the edge of the forest where I made camp. Stay tuned for more pics!

Gillian


Here's Gillian at the edge of the Pacific Ocean inside Clayoquat Sound on Meares Island. We had an awesome day checking out the giant cedars and douglas firs.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

SS Klondike

While applying for jobs today I snapped a few quick shots along the Klondike River in Whitehorse. This is the infamous SS Klondike from the gold mining days. More pics to come - including some of the wildlife I saw on my way up here.

Welcom to Whitehorse

Remember the sign that welcomed me to Tofino? It Read 'Welcome Home Neil.' I thought that sign would never be topped, that is, until I came to Whitehorse. After getting off the bus at 4:30am I walked up the street to sit in Tim Horton's before the rest of the town opened up and this sign was hanging out next door. Seemed to be a lovely welcoming gesture to me. More pics to come - stay tuned!


Thursday, May 03, 2007

Bus Stop Blues

Had a 12 hour wait in the Vancouver bus stop before making my way up to Prince George (where I am right now) and boy is 12 hours in a bus station a long time. This gentleman was feeling the pain as well since he had been standing around waiting for his transportation for a couple of hours as well. More pictures from my return to the mainland to come including Victoria, Vancouver, Prince George, Northern British Columbia and the Yukon! Stay Tuned.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

So Long, Fare Well

Thanks For Everything Tofino! I Had A Blast Hiking The Mountains And Rain Forest and Enjoying The Surf And The Beaches And The People Made The Experience One Of The Best Of My Life. I Will Miss Everything About This Oasis Of Beauty And Tranquility. I Am Moving On To The Yukon. I Don't Know What To Expect, Only That I Will Arrive Next Week With Very Little Money And VEry Little Idea Of What To Do Next - It's Going To Be AWESOME! Stay Tuned For Upcoming Shots From Victoria, Vancouver, And My Journey North Through The Wild. Thanks Again Tofino, I Will Return.

Monday, April 16, 2007

Friends

Emma & Adrian are a pair of Aussie's that I so gratefully had the pleasure of sharing a home with for a few short weeks during their final days here at Long Beach Lodge Resort in Tofino, British Columbia. They are beautiful people with beautiful hearts and beautiful minds and I enjoyed their company and their friendship in my early days in Tofino. Here is Adrian, and our friend Brenda in the distance, on Cox Bay as we started out on a bit of a jaunt to Sunset Point to witness one of the most spectacular displays of light and shadow over the Pacific Ocean as day turned to night. Adrian and I had a blast on the return home making our way across the rocks in a Parquour style, leaping and climbing as fast as possible along the waters edge. Emma, Jenny, and Brenda took the boardwalk back and seemed to lose us in the process. Adrian and myself began to worry and eventually ended up walking all the way back to the point in search of our friends only to realize that they had already made it out of the forest and back home before we had finished our rock climbing. Emma and Adrian are down in Mexico surfing it up and living the life right now and I look forward to their return to Canada someday when we can once again have some fun and good times together. Good Luck out their Kids!

Thursday, April 05, 2007

"Snot Came Outta My Nose Again!"



Here are a few snaps from a wicked 3 hour hike i went on through the bogs and up the side of a mountain to reach the wreckage of a bomber plane from the second world war that slammed into the mountain. We traversed its strewn about remnants and stopped to explore for a while. Adrian, Emma, Katie, Jenny, Tim, and myself had and awesome hike - Wish you were here.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Lost

Last night i spent the night in the rain forest with only the clothes on my back - no coat or anything! I went for a walk which turned into climbing a mountain. From there i saw another, much taller mountain so i went and climbed that. I noticed the sun was starting to get low in the sky by this point so i thought i would cut through the rainforest in between a small set of mountains/hills and would come out on the beach close to where my lodge is. Well, i few hours later i popped out on the cliffs at the oceans edge no where near the lodge so I began to run along the rocks as i knew the light was not going to last. I was really going fast along the cliffs and could see the lighthouse off the point where my lodge is off in the distance - i was getting close - but not close enough. I came to a massive cliff with no way around and about 80' of frigid pacific water separating me from the other side - i would have to go back into the forest to navigate my way around. By the time i was in the brush it was completely black and with a 150 foot cliff on the side of me i thought it would be wise to turn back and sleep on the rocks for the night and try again in the morning. So i hunkered down and made a makeshift bed out of some ground cover and froze the night away getting only a few blinks of sleep here and there before sunrise. In the morning i re-entered the dense forest and soon found myself totally lost and losing hope. Remaining as calm as possible i sat and listened to the forest for a solid 10 minutes, meditated, and gathered my instincts to find my way to the peninsula on the way back to the lodge about an hour later. Deciding to stick to the rocks i clammered and climbed the huge jagged cliffs holding on with everything i had in me and eventually made my way back to the beach. Relief! I made it out alive and had the rest of the day to enjoy the sunshine and nap outside, reliving my experience with contentment for the remaining afternoon.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Ancient Giant

Some of the oldest trees in Canada are rooted on Vancouver Islands west coast and are primarily Western Red Cedar and the magnificent Douglas Firs. This is about a third of the base of the biggest tree I have seen in 15 years and is thought to be over 1600 years old. The Niagara Escarpment in Ontario, where I call home, also boasts some of the oldest trees in North America as the cedars that line the limestone cliffs are estimated to be in the multiple thousands of years old - extremely unique and beautiful but not nearly as awe inspiring as of one of the perpetually enormous trees found out here on the west coast. It truly is awesome.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Long Walks & Simple Pleasures


life is great.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Zonsondergang op Cox Bay


So On My Second Last Day At The Hostel I Was Staying At In Tofino, Before I Moved Into The Resort, A Dutch Girl Wandered In And We Were All Delighted To Find Out About Life In The Netherlands. She Entertained Us With Her Weird and Ugly (She Admits It) Language And We Gave Her A HArd Time About Her Inability To Speak PERFECT English. Anyways, She Now Works With Me At The Resort And Has Provided The Title For This Image - Sunset At Cox Bay - The Bay Where Our Resort Is Brilliantly Perched. I Think I Will Love This Place. Less Than 100 Meters From Here There Is A Peninsula Dubbed "Sunset Point" - The Same Name Given To One Of My Favourite Places In Ontario And The Place I Refer To When i Am Asked "Where Are You From?"
Sunset Point.

50 Cent Piece


Here's a Sand Dollar I Found On The Shores Of Cox Bay in Tofino, BC - Where I Now Call Home! It's Been A While Since I've Updated With Anything Too Spectacular But I Have Had Camera Troubles, Work Issues (No Tome For Photography), And I Have Been On The Move A Lot Lately. A Week Ago I FOud Myself On A Bus To Tofino And Since Then I Have Found A Job And A Place To Live And It's All So Amazing Out Here. I Have Many Pictures TO Post Already And A Some What Reliable Source Of Wireless Internet To Try And Update Regularly Once Again! This Means More Stories And More Pictures Which Everyone Loves - Am I Right? So Stay Tuned For Future Posts And The Return To Regular Updates. Peace & Love

Saturday, February 03, 2007

West Coast Riding

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Drifters

I Wandered Down To The Beaches On Wednesday Afternoon And Enjoyed Hours Of 10 Degree Sunshine, Mountainous Cliffs, Rocks, And Water. I Brought Out My Harmonica And Sat Playing It On The Rocks While I Watched This Elderly Chap Doing The Same Thing I Was Doing; Having Fun Climbing And Enjoying The Sun, And Smells Of The World Around Us, Only In A Much More Relaxed And Experienced Manor.

Jump!

From A While Ago During The Week Of Music Where I Saw The Decemberists & Noel Gallagher In Consecutive Nights. Cheers!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

The View From Here

Hey Guys And Girls, Thought I'd Show You What I Get To Look At Out Here In Victoria On A Daily Basis. This Is Looking State Side At Mt.Baker! More Images To Come Stay Tuned For Some Really Nice Shots Since My Last Posts Have Lacked The Quality I Set For Myself A While Back. Peace.
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