So after spending two nights in
Prince Rupert, which I thought was a pretty slick little town despite the lead up to it some people gave me. It is a hard city, there is quite a bit of poverty and a serious lack of industry. It is still a working city though unlike some other places that simply seem to be existing, waiting for a change in the economy or trading patterns to occur. They have a great little tourist spot called Cow Bay and everything is all painted up dairy cow style. I tried to eat at this restaurant that my friend recommended but hey...it's thanksgiving and these people are real, not some franchise employee who is droned out to work through all days for fear of losing their jobs, so they shut shop for two days...the two days I was there. Fair enough though, the sushi joint was closed, sandwich shop the list went on and on. I managed to get royally toasted with a hot chocolate and a muffin for a whopping $9.50 at the cowpaccino coffe bar during my morning walk. That was the extent of my eating out in rupert.
I should regress...I got off the ferry after that long not very satisfying night of sleep and thought I'd treating myself to the first luxurious hotel stay during my trip. The Crest in Prince Rupert...it just seemed better than some other dives. In truth I should have taken the offer to get a cabin on the ferry, slept, showered and shitted and I wold have left rupert in a day..but hindsight is 20/20 always.
So after staying the night I got up and went to my van and realized the airspring I put on in seattle was toast, ripped on the sidewall. Now it was due to one thing...improper installation :) The bag was settling on the bracket to the leaf spring. It was obviously rubbing for some time since the other bag shows signs of wear as well. But it really bummed me out to find that out. It just seemed...unfair lol
But hey...shit happens, I stayed a second night in the casino parking lot and headed out at first light towards jasper where I planned to spend my bday.
The drive was phenomenal. I know that some people give the yellowhead a hard time for being boring but I love it. Love it when I drove it before, loved it again now. The fall colours were fabulous and the cheap gas compared to the island kept a smile on my face.
My birthday started out great with a 1.09 fill up in jasper...that was like...a gift from those thieving bastard profiteering money sucking soul stripping mother earth killing son's a bitches in the oil industry ;)
I stayed again (last time in a hotel for a long time here as I gear up for the long legged part of this trip)...in a hotel.
The chateau Jasper. My only criteria for a bday in a hotel in have a jetted tub, not some rinky dink tub but a sizeable chill-the-hell out tub. The chateau did indeed. Initially she had me in some room for chumps... managed to massage her into giving me something she called the junior executive suite...when I arrived at the door I knew it was a good thing!
Had a great night, late night walk through the town,
pizza at Jasper Pizza, a long standing joint in Jasper. Looked the next day for a hat that I thought would be cool to represent the north before heading way down to the south...but came up empty after discounting anything with moose hoofs or wolf paws embroidered on it.
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| From my hotel in prince rupert |
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| on one side |
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| on the other |
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| loads of cow paint in cow bay |
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| Smiles...maybe next time |
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| random spotting in the coffee shop |
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| I thought of my sister when I saw this decorative fan |
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| Rupert had so many memorials, this one was pretty cool |
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| bastards |
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| chilly morning |
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| from a distance I thought this was a serious fire. It was serious but just a burn off |
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| After so long by the ocean seeing the snow, the mountain...it was nice and not so nice...winter is coming!! |
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| In Mcbride, last wooden caboose alive |
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| right here in this city!! |
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| fall is happening... |
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| The man |
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| The mountain |
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| The beast |
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| The mountains |
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| Wow! |
And then before you know it...I was in Calgary. God damn Calgary, home of the fabulous sunset, the gorgeous sunrise, the endless prairie views...oh and horrible traffic, poorly planned out roads, cookie cutter make me sick corporate box commercialism (which mind you is occurring across the nation...town by town you see the same stucco fronted square store strip-mall shops, they all have the same damn stores...and it's disgusting)....but as I pulled up to my parents house and parked the Baron in their trailer pad space...I did feel a little like I was home. Comfort awaited...
or did it...
The reality slap is exactly this to quote a superstar friend "Nothing ever changes at home...on the other hand it's always nice to see familiar faces and eat some home cooked food"
This section is an empty box in which I have written about a bazillion lines on how silly I felt coming home with expectation that I should not have....and cannot post
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http://photobucket.com/ptoj find more pics here
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