These are a few of my favourite things....

Before we left on this trip Josh and I spent a lot of time thinking about what we would actually need to to bring along with us to ensure that we could have a fun and safe trip. Having never been on a trip like this we could not draw on experience only to make these choices, so we turned to the net. There wasn't much info out there to be honest so I thought I would put together a couple of quick posts about what we brought with us and which products have made our lives easier while we have been on the road.
Whist Josh and I were already pretty well set up with our outdoor gear we decided to invest some money before we left on upgrading some of our gear. We chose products that we thought would either reduce the weight of our packs or simply increase our comfort during our travels.
Here are some of the products that we have found particularly handy over the last few months....

Kathmandu Water Container
This is a pretty simple, boring, product, but it is one that we have used EVERY day over the last six months. It is the so called boring products working well that is the difference between an amazing time and going hungry! There have been times on our trip when we have been a long way from a clean water source and as such having the ability to cart large amounts of water has been essential. We took 3 collapsible water containers on this trip with us, this is our favorite. The durability of this container is faultless, it pours quickly (unlike the others we have with us) and it collapses down to a size that is easy to fit in your pack.
We also have a Sea to Summit Pack Water Tap (10L) with us, which at first looked very promising. The tap on it is a bit slow and thus not as convenient and you have to lift it, rather than pour it, which at dinner time can call for a third hand. Other than this we really liked this product, it folded up super small compared to the Kathmandu container, BUT recently the bladder has been leaking. The water is leaking into the wall of the bladder making it look like it is still full but the water is inaccessible.

Wilderness Wash
This stuff is amazing! It cleans everything! Clothes, dishes and people! You use such a small amount and it is super affective! Trying to reduce you pack weight? Trow away everything else and take this super gel away with you!

MSR Quick 2 System Pot Set 
I am so glad we have this set with us! There might be lighter sets out there, but I doubt they provide as much comfort as this; this system packs up so neatly that it takes up hardly any room in your pack! Two pots, relatively non-stick, with one strainer lid and one easy to use detachable handle (lighter than pot grips and no fear of forgetting to squeeze and losing your dinner!), two deep plates/bowls and two thermos cups. The cups are the perfect balance between maintaining temperature and expelling enough heat that you can keep your hands warm on a snowy day. The whole system packs up into the 2.5L pot and weighs in under 800g! If you need to take a pot system away on a backpacking trip for 2 people, this is the one!

MSR Alpine Deluxe Kitchen Set

Did we need this? probably not...has it made our lives 1000times easier? YES! this compact little set is awesome! Included in this light weight system is everything you need to cook like you're at home while you are on the road. The grater works, as good as any I have used before! The knife is still sharp after 6months on the road! The spoon and spatula are all you need to cook with. The towel dries everything in the above pot set and is tiny! The chopping board is really solid but folds up small. And Josh's favorite bit....the scrubbing brush. We no longer use sponges, this clever little thing makes cleaning up SUPER easy! Backed on cheese is off in seconds! We left the sauce containers, salt and pepper shaker and bottle opener at home as we were trying to reduce our pack weight and these things didn't seem needed. I love this set and I am so glad we brought it along. On another note, Josh will probably never use anything else to clean dishes again.

Macpac Citadel 3 person Tent
Between Josh and I we already had 3 tents, two lightweight, high quality 2person tents and one budget, heavy, three person tent. We were torn, we certainly were not going to take the heavy tent with us, but could we live happily with each other and our packs in a 2 person tent for months at a time? We could cope, probably, but would it be a good experience, probably not. We were considering buying a cheap 3person tent while we were away and disposing of it at the end of our Europe trip, but that would add 10kgs(ish) to our already heavy packs during the time that we would be carrying them the furthest, this didnt make a lot of sense. We began looking around at what was available and in our searching found the Macpac Citadel 3 person tent. We managed to snag quite a deal on this baby (being an ex-showroom demo), however with Macpac's lifetime warranty, even at full price this would be a good investment. The tent itself is super roomy (the biggest of the 3person tents we looked at), but it is the front vestibule area that really sold us! The front vestibule is as big as the tent itself and so there is LOADS of room to store your bags, climbing gear, food boxes, bouldering pads, and pretty much anything else you have with you! Combine this with the rear vestibule and you have more storage space than you could ever need! Ever tried to get into your tent when its raining and managed to get your down sleeping bag wet in the process, its fun right...well that need never happen again, there is room in the vestibule to take of your rain shells before you get into the tent...everything stays dry!
We have TESTED this tent, 40degree days in the Gramps (yep it was hot, but everywhere was hot and this tent has loads more ventilation than most!) and -15degree nights in Magic Wood (we stayed snugly warm, no condensation dripping onto our sleeping bags in the night. It held up to the snow when lesser tents collapsed or leaked). Equally importantly, Josh and I had somewhere spacious to hide out during the relentless bad weather! Oh yeah and it only weighs 3.2kgs; put the tent and fly in a compression bag and you have a small lightweight parcel for your pack that transforms into a kingdom when you get to the camp!

Aquatabs Water Purification Tablets
Another pretty boring item, but this is another that has made a huge difference to our trip! There have been times when finding clean drinking water has been difficult, either hike it in or boil it, neither is really convenient for months on end. Before we left we invested in 150 of these little tablets. 1 tablet treats 1L of water and all you have to do is drop it in and wait 30minutes and voila, safe drinking water! There is hardly any taste caused by the tablets (you wouldn't notice any if you didn't know), certainly less than what comes out of the tap at home! The tablets are tiny and work a treat!
On a side note, we did read that they are easily crushed during travel so before we left we took them all out of the packaging and put them in a little pill container stuffed with cotton balls; none of our tablets broke.
 
Solar Shower
We were given a Kathmandu Solar Shower before we left, I haven't tried a different brand shower and as such I am not so much recommending this particular shower as much as bringing a solar shower of any brand. There have been times when it has been too cold to heat up the water, but the rest of the time it is a free shower, meaning that we can shower as frequently as we like without any additional cost. Combine this with a cheap tarp hanging from trees to give shelter, a carabiner on a sling to hang it high in a tree and you have a private shower anywhere in the world! Ours is 20L, has a decent sized shower head and lasts long enough for both of us to take showers without being conscious of leaving water for the next person. Quite a few people we have met along the way have said they wish they had thought to bring one along!

Mountain Designs Endeavour 80L Pack
There is a lot of information of the web about what size pack you should take on your trip abroad. All of them tell you the smaller the better; some say anything over 60L is excessive. None of this information considers a trip where you will be carrying climbing gear, tents, sleeping bags, pots and pans, utensils, first aid kits, thermarests or the like. Yeah, if I was only taking clothes I could also pack it in a day pack, but that was relevant to our trip.

Josh and I both got the Endeavor 80L Pack for this trip and we couldn't be happier. The unique BAR harness system has so much adjustability that if you are not comfortable it can only be that you have set it up wrong! The cool thing about this pack is that you can make all of the adjustments with the pack on, not comfortable? No need to stop just pull this cord. The packs came with an instructional DVD so we knew exactly how to set them up perfectly. They are not the lightest packs, but the extra padding means that when we needed to carry them for hours on end we were able to! The pack comes with a 10L day pack, the perfect size for days out in the city or the forest. It has a built in rain protector and the harness can be protected by a zippered flap for travel. Both the day pack and the 80L pack are hydration bladder compatible.
The bottom of the pack is able to be separated off, if you are carrying less than a full pack you can shut this part off and cinch it up to keep the weight where it is best tolerated (higher on your back). The pack offers top and bottom openings as well as a suitcase like opening in the middle, meaning you can easily access any part of your pack without having to pull everything out to find that one thing you are looking for! There are loads of individual pockets so its easy to keep track of the smaller things, helping you to stay organized along the journey.
We were considering getting a smaller pack, but I am so glad we didn't a year's worth of gear fits pretty snugly into this system and I wouldn't want the packs to be 1L smaller!

Crash Pads

Moon Saturn Crash Pad
This monster of a pad is amazing to land on! We traveled Europe with only one pad and even in Magic Wood's granite boulder fields with its heinous landings we were happy with just this pad! Unfolded the Saturn measures a whopping 160cm x 120cm x 11cm. The foam is great to land on even if you fall from really high! The clever folding system folds the bottom of the pad inwards, no more dirty backs! The harness is actually on the top of the pad, during use it tucks neatly away under a Velcroed flap. The taco design allows you to stuff it with as much gear as you can stand to carry! Its not a small pad, it is bulky but once you take your first big fall onto it you will be glad you hauled it into the boulders!

Metolius Recon Crash Pad - Best BIG Pad for a chick
I wanted a big pad, Josh and I are getting on some high problems and we have only one pad each. This one is awesome! It's a tri-fold pad so it folds up super slim for carrying, meaning I don't get stuck going through narrow passages, it's the same width as my shoulders! It doesn't come up above my head so high branches don't bother me. It weights only 6.5kg and it unfolds to a massive 1.06mx1.5m, try to miss that! The foam is great to land on and the tri-fold allows versatility when it comes to padding up small areas or over protruding rocks etc. The stash pockets look really small but I managed to fit, a jumper, a book, a guidebook, a pair of pants, a can of drink and some snacks in mine, so apparently looks are deceiving! The stash pocket is at the top so doesn't add any bulk when full; clip on your shoes and bucket to one of the outside handles and your good to go! As a short, not overly strong person it is great to carry a pad that doesn't threaten to blow me off of the cliff when a wind comes up and still provides a massive landing zone!
MSR DragonFly
We didn't buy this specifically for this trip, we had it before, however it is still worth mentioning. This stove weighs only 400g and packs up really small, exactly what you want when your whole life is being carried on your back!
We really put this stove to the test while we were in Magic Wood. When we are at home in the Gramps, we usually cook at sea level using shellite here the stove preforms faultlessly. We thought this was bound to change at significant altitude when the best fuel we could get our hands on was petrol! But, we were wrong! This truly is a multi-fuel stove. Even with petrol we had amazing flame control and we had no issues of the stoves lines becoming clogged, fellow campers using other stoves were not quite so fortunate. If you are looking for a small, lightweight stove that really can be used with any fuel I can certainly recommend this one!

LaSportiva Wildcat Shoes
I started this trip with a pair of Columbia Hiking Boots and a pair of Columbia kayaking shoes. I had purchased the kayaking shoes because they were super lightweight and they provided loads of ventilation during summers in the Gramps. These shoes sucked! The grip was ineffective, meaning that I fell over pretty much every day, add a bit of water into the mix and rock became as slippery as ice. It didn't take long before I gave up on my hiking boots as they gave me huge blisters and hurt the balls of my feet. Once I gave these up I spent a somewhat miserable time wearing incredibly non-waterproof shoes in the snow and rain....not fun!
After one fall too many, Josh finally managed to convince me to looking into new shoes and after looking around I picked the LaSportiva Wildcat 2.0 trail runners. These shoes are SUPER GRIPPY! I have worn them on wet slabs and they don't loose traction for even a second! The female specific design is narrow enough to suit my tiny feet and the Gortex exterior keeps my feet dry regardless of the weather (a very welcomed change!)
Buying these shoes changed my trip, hikes I thought I would die if I tried were made possible and fun! Before buying these shoes I thought I slipped over loads because I was clumsy, since buying these I haven't fallen once! 

LaSportiva Solutions
I love these shoes! I came away on this trip with a pair or women's LaSportiva Miura VS shoes and I love them, but the Solutions are a welcomed addition. The Solutions made the technical footwork required for Font and Squamish's slabs so much easier, the sole is less aggressive than the Miura allowing you to open your foot and get more contact between the rock and the rubber when smearing. Additionally the rubber coated toe is amazing for toe-hooking. The heel is less sensitive that the Miura and as such normally I will turn to my Miuras for any heelhooks, however this lack of sensitivity can be a good thing on sharp crystals when you want to protect your foot a little more. I have worn mine for a few months now (most days) and they DONT STRETCH, the mid section has stretched a bit making them easier to get on and off, but the toe box is the same size! Don't buy these shoes small hoping they will stretch, if they hurt in the shop they will hurt every time you wear them!

Well that's pretty much it. Obviously this is not all of the gear we have with us, but the decision to bring these items away with us has shaped our trip for the better!

Sunny Squamish!

And so the road trip was paused for a few months as we settled into our new home; Squamish, BC. There is too much I to tell you about how beautiful Squamish is in the summer! The way the sun sparkles off of the water of the Sound in the morning light. The pink color of the snow on the surrounding mountains at dusk. The way the chipmunks and squirrels playfully skip in and out of the forest. There are a thousand little things that make the magic that is Squamish. But alas, I must resign myself to only conveying a miniscule part of this magic, as once again I do not possess the words to convey the charm of this place.

V0 slab climbing...not as easy as it sounds!

We have had the opportunity to do heaps of climbing here, and once again the boulders are unlike any I have experienced before. The rock is like a strange combination of Font and Magic Wood. Font's slabs and unfeatured rock unite with Magic Woods classic granite blocks, making Squamish bouldering a tough mix of technical and strong climbing. I have to admit to being disheartened for the first few weeks of climbing here, at first climbing V0s seemed an impossible goal as I struggled to read the rock. Slowly I have learned to move in the unique way that Squamish boulders require, however I am often still being schooled on V0s. The forest is amazingly beautiful and every day that we head out for a climb we enter a magical world. Perhaps all of the great fairytale authors drew the inspiration for their stories from the Squamish forest, as this is exactly the place I imagined as a child when my mother read to me of fairies, unicorns and other magical creatures.

Paradise Valley Bouldering Area

There is so much more to Squamish than climbing, though the climbing is world class! Pretty much any outdoor sport is accessible here. Josh and I have tried to take the time to experience as many of Squamish's offerings as we can; we will, however, certainly leave here having only scratched the surface. The summer has given us some amazing weather to explore the numerous lakes surrounding the town. It didn't take us long to realize how majestic the lakes are and we soon decided we wanted to spend as much time on them as possible and thus we justified the purchase of our inflatable boat, Dora - the Explorer. After a session in the forest we would head to the lake and swim until dinner time in the crystal clear waters. There is a magical vibrancy and life surrounding the lakes here - everything is so brilliantly green!

Josh and Sam taking Dora out for a spin

While we have been in Squamish I have also had the chance to really test out my knee. Up until this point I have looked forward to regaining the abilities that I had prior to hurting my knee, heel hooking, high steps and the like (all of which I am happy to say I have once more), but in the last few weeks I have for the first time done things that I could not have done prior to my injury! It is exciting to know that in some ways my strength and fitness has surpassed that which I possessed before I hurt myself. I cannot express the pride and joy I experienced when I reached the summit of the Chief, it was beyond my wildest expectations that I would be capable of doing such a walk with my bung leg. Suddenly the world has grown and there is so much I look forward to doing. Together my leg and I have managed to hike to some pretty beautiful places!

On the way to the top of the Chief

At the summit of the Chief - thanks Josh for convincing me to give it a try!

In the summer the Sea to Sky corridor comes alive, the festivals are too numerous that one simply cannot attend them all, that is unless that is all you were to do. We managed to get to a few. Hevyfest slacklining fesival was the first; Josh, Tim and I headed down to the Kite Surfing Beach and enjoyed some 30ish lines set up there. We had a blast playing on the lines (I even attempted to hula on one...this wasn't a particularly successful experiment) and when we were knackered there were some super talented peeps pulling all kinds of outrageous tricks to keep us entertained!

Josh and I headed into town to watch the Dyno competition at the Climbing Festival. Our main intention was to check out the expo that was taking place, to perhaps enter a few draws and look around at the gear on show. Somehow during this time I was convinced to try the dyno competition (though I had never tried to dyno before) and although I didn't do too well in the comp, I did manage to learn to dyno. During the comp Josh and I scored loads of free stuff, t-shirts, chalk, snacks and a DVD and we also had the chance to learn from the best as we watched one of the competitors attempt to break the world record, he came painfully close!
 

That's me judging the world champs!

Next it was Squamish Days - the Loggers Sports Festival. This was a mixture of hilarity and talent. On the first day Tim and I headed to the World Championship Chair Carving event; a pretty informal event given the gravity of its title. Here we watched as the competitors showed off the speed, creativity and artistic skill as they wielded chainsaws carving some impressively creative chairs out of their logs. What was the coolest thing that happened this day? I judged the event, yep that's right....I got to pick the winners! Oh and I also got a free t-shirt, though its a bit big haha. The excitement of the Squamish Days festival didn't end their. Later that weekend Josh, Sam and I headed to the Logger's Sports arena (yep there is such a thing) and settled in to watch some ridiculously impressive events at the Junior and Novice Loggers Sport Competition. Here we watched as people climbed 80ft logs, up and down, in under 10seconds. The competitors climbed, sawed, chopped and cut and the short story is the three of us were thoroughly entertained for hours!

Loggers Sports Arena

Free gondola ride up Blackcomb Mtn at Crankworx

 Most recently Josh and I headed up to Whistler to get to Crankworx mountain bike festival. The weather was a bit ordinary but we had a blast. The streets of Whistler Village were packed full of excitement, stalls and bikes. Josh and I enjoyed perusing the expo sampling the free treats. The highlights for me (apart from the free food, which made me pretty happy!) were the pumptrack competition and the Canadian Cheese Rolling Festival. The Cheese rolling festival was the funniest thing, groups of crazy people headed up Blackcomb Mountain, fully decked out in protective gear, and launched themselves down the mountain chasing after a wheel of cheese. The only thing more impressive than the free cheese samples were the tumbles that people had in the wet conditions as they singlemindedly chased the cheese. You think they are crazy don't you? That's because you don't live in Canada, the land of the overpriced cheese! Seriously, cheese is like gold here and if I didn't think I would have died (what with no protective clothing and a predisposition to falling over) then I would have chased that damned cheese with as much gusto as the rest of them!!!

Chasing the Cheese!

The chronological order of our experiences here in Squamish is lost on me and as such it shall also be missing from this post haha. I am more interested in telling you what we have been up to, and trying not to forget too much, than I am in telling it in order, so forgive me if you find yourself wondering how the timing works.

Tim, Josh and Sam at the beautiful
Shannon Falls!

Josh and I have enjoyed spending time with some great friends while we have been in BC. We were super excited to see Mel and Rob who moved to Squamish after living in the Grampians for a while. Our good friend Tim also headed out this way from Aus for an extended climbing trip and Josh's best mate Sam came over for a few a couple of weeks. In this way we have been spoiled with familiar faces at just the moment we needed a touch of home! After having been away from home for over 6 months now it was a really welcomed respite to be surrounded by our friends.
While Sam and Tim were here we all headed up to Whistler for a weekend of adventure! Thanks to a generous gift from my Dad, Josh and I had bank (a pleasant change)! On the Thursday we headed up to Whistler, another memorable drive, soo beautiful! We decided to camp in Callaghan Lake Provincial Park, this being the only free camping spot near the town. The park was beautiful, secluded and lush. The only downfalls being the 6km terrible dirt road, fit for 4WDs (which our car is most certainly not) and the march flies which enjoyed irritating us.
The lake was worth it!

Callaghan Lake - not a bad view to wake up to

On the first night I went for a swim. The water was chilly so the others didn't want to join, floating alone in the clear waters of this massive lake, gazing up at the mountains guarding its boarders is not something I am likely to forget anytime soon.
The next day we woke early and headed up to Cougar Mountain where we would enjoy 3 hours of tree top adventure at SuperFly. I cannot recommend this place enough, we had an absolute blast! The tree top adventure included zip lines, flying foxes, balance logs, Tarzan swings, rope challenges and sooo much more. The setting was incredible as we balanced our way across the ropes above the forest and river; the further into the course we got, the higher and more challenging the obstacles became. The guides were amazing, letting us go at our own pace and realizing our level of experience (as climbers) and tailoring the adventure to suit us, even letting us backtrack to repeat the best obstacles multiple times. After our tree top adventure we headed into the Village to have a look around; what a cool town!

Playing around in Whistler Village

The next day the pace changed as we headed to Scandinave Spa. Here we spent 5 hours indulging in hot-cold therapies at the Thermal Baths. Here is how the day went....15minutes in the hot spa, 10seconds in a Nordic Shower, 15minutes chilling by the fire on the deck; 15minutes in the sauna, 10seconds in Nordic waterfall, 15minutes chilling in a hammock in the sun. And so the day went repeating the cycle, 15mins hot, 10seconds cold, 15minuts relaxing for FIVE blissful hours. The spa is a silent zone allowing you to truly immerse yourself in the relaxation of the moment. AMAZING! The next day we headed back to Squamish (the trip out was a little stressful for Josh who managed to get us out of Callaghan Valley in the nick of time as a mountain storm rolled in and the the road conditions worsened, just a bit longer and we would have been stuck for sure!)

Shannon Falls, Squamish

Back in Squamish we were spoiled by Sammy who put us up in his hotel! And so out of our van we moved and into a luxurious world of real beds, long relaxing baths, hot tubs and an immense swimming pool with a surprisingly fast fully enclosed slide (what this slide is doing in a hotel I have no idea, but we certainly enjoyed its presence). Once again the time to say farewell sneaked up on us as Sammy headed back to New Zealand and Tim headed off to the Bugaboos (we will be seeing Tim again soon when he makes his way back to Squamish). But Squamish certainly has been the place where familiar faces are popping up and so continued the trend. Recently Josh and I have enjoyed bouldering with my friend Ed and a great couple of days with my Uncle and friends of my family in Vancouver, heading out to watch a game of box lacrosse and to IHOP for a feast of a breakfast that kept both Josh and I full well past dinner time!

At the lacrosse with Uncle Rob

The summer weather is slowly disappearing, Dora is packed up, deflated in our van, shorts are being replaced by pants and climbing on a particular day is no longer a given as the rain begins to move in. As the remaining days of good weather draw to a close, so to does our time in this beautiful part of the world. In a mere two weeks Josh and I will journeying on down into Washington State for the next stage of our adventure. That said, their is still a lot of adventure left in our remaining time in Squamish. Next week we will be once again joined by Tim and we will hopefully make our way up the five pitch Skywalker at Shannon Falls. Our friend Lukas will also soon arrive and Josh and I are both looking forward to getting out on some boulders with him (Lukas visited us in Magic Wood but was not able to climb with us then due to a finger injury...we shall make up for lost time!). Josh and I are also planning a four day 44km hike next week up to Mamquam Lake (approximately 2500m above sea level).

Josh and I have had the chance to experience so many new things here and all the while we have been surrounded by some of our favorite people. This adventure is life changing; and yes there are moments when it is not all sunshine and lollypops, when the lack of familiarity becomes overwhelming, but all in all I wouldn't change one moment. I am blessed to have this opportunity and I cannot wait to see what else is in stall for us!

Squamish Bound

It seems that all of my recent blogs (the term 'recent' obviously being used loosely) begin in the same manner, with a realization of how long it has been since the last time I had the discipline to sit down and write and with my wondering how I am ever going to write about all that has happened during said time. I hope that the lack of frequency in my posts only goes to highlight how great a time we are having on our trip, in that we rarely find a moment of non-excitement to sit and reflect. That said it is in this reflection time that we are able to truly appreciate all that has come to pass. Josh and I had a wonderful time in Europe and the UK after Magic Wood, however I am hoping to come back to the end of our Europe trip at another time, in another post, for now let's fast forward to New York City and the beginning of our America and Canada trip.

Dinner at Grand Central Station with my bro

The only exciting thing to come of our 4 day bus trip

It could be said that Josh and I took the scenic route from London to Edmonton, but before you judge it we managed to do it for AU$250 each!!! After arriving into NYC from London in the afternoon we met up with my brother for a VERY quick tour of downtown New York. It was great to see my brother again and to see how well he had settled into this amazing city. It was also great to get back to NYC and to have a chance to show Josh some of the sights. After the brief tour it was off to dinner at Grand Central Station, my favorite building in New York. After dinner it was to the Greyhound station and time for Josh and I to board our FOUR day bus ride to Edmonton. I wish I could say that the ride was quick, that we had plenty to do and that the scenery made up for the length of the journey, unfortunately that was not the case! The ride was heinous. We boarded our first bus from New York at about 10pm, it was everything Greyhound promises, WIFI, power sockets and comfy seats, thinking this would continue for the entire journey we closed our eyes for the night. When we woke up from our restless sleeps it was morning, we were in Toronto and it was time for a few hour stopover, then onto the next bus. The next bus was to take us to Winnipeg. Now that we had slept it was time to take advantage of the WIFI and plugs, but this bus did not have any, nor did any of the buses we caught for the next three days. Over the next three days two exciting things happened...Josh's feet swelled to the size of his thighs and....no, actually I was wrong nothing else exciting happened haha.

Canada Day Celebrations with Jaye

Eventually we reached Edmonton and once we arrived the trauma of the previous few days vanished! I have said before, and I will say again, it truly is the people we are meeting that makes this journey so unforgettable. While we were in Edmonton we were hosted by friends of my aunt and uncle on their old street; never has their been a street of more wonderful people! To Val and David, Harvey and Jaye and Lisa and Leeroy thank you! Thank you for being such wonderful hosts to us, for your AMAZING generosity and for showing us such a good time! Josh and I are blessed to have met you all! Our time in Edmonton went far too quickly but it was certainly packed full of highlights! Amazing meals with our hosts, buying our Van, trips to Edmonton Mall and soo many more.

After buying "Van Helsing" (our van, who sometimes give us hell) we headed out with Jaye to get all we needed to camperize him. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this conversion, you know who you are, we couldn't have done it without you.

Setting up the kitchen, stocked with food from the family!

Once Josh had finished cleverly knocking together a bed frame it was time to think about making tracks, but not without first making one last stop at Edmonton Mall. Thanks to Brad and Ashley, who gave us tickets to the theme park and water park within the mall, we were able to spend one EPIC day riding roller coasters and the craziest water-slides in the world. Seriously, let me tell you about just one of them. You are locked into an entry chute, basically a perspex coffin, then the countdown begins...."Launching in....3......2.....1.........then.....the floor disappears and you free fall 12 stories before making a loop upside down and dropping again. As I said EPIC!
All good things must come to an end and with that our time in Edmonton drew to a close. Farewells were said reluctantly and Josh and I began looking forward towards our next adventure.

First glimpse of the roller coasters at Edmonton Mall

And so the road trip began...we were Squamish bound! The drive from Edmonton to Squamish was the most beautiful drive of my life. From Edmonton we made our way through Jasper National Park to Mt Robson Park. As we neared the parks the landscape was transformed, mountains appeared bursting out before our eyes; soon the streams and lakes took on an icy glacial blue and we were met on the road by Mountain Goats, Deer and Bear!

Jasper National Park

Mount Robson - the largest Mountain in the Canadian Rockies

After Mount Robson we made one last detour heading south into the Okanagan Valley. Once again the landscape transformed before our eyes as glacial waters were, once again, replaced by deep blue, still, inviting water. Snow capped mountains were replaced with mountains abundant in life. We had entered a beach side paradise! We picked sweet cherries from trees and enjoyed the water in Lake Country before setting off again.

In a mere few hours we were heading north out of Vancouver along the stunning Hwy 99, the mesmerizing Howe Sound signalling that we had made it. We turned into the Chief car park and looked up at its might. We had arrived, we were home!

Looking over the Howe Sound from the Chief car park