Crystal's Epic Adventures

  From the moment you are born, you learn how to be a human, how to express your emotions, and build your character by WATCHING every move of the very people you are surrounded by growing up. I see it now in the eyes of my gorgeous granddaughter Ava as she holds almost any item up to her ear and babbles to it as though she is chatting on the phone.   However, what if those people are not quality people?  What if those people are deeply broken humans themselves?  This Maya Angelou quote has had me thinking this whole challenge-based year, and it is strange how when you ponder something, it will come up repeatedly in all sorts of places you don't expect.  C250AC has been about connecting with the people in my life, connecting with myself and learning to love the person I am.  I have seen and read this quote a lot over the years and Miss Maya was a woman I admired from the day I first saw her on an episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show back in the 90's. Such ...

  Squamish Nation Thunderbird Logo If you haven't done the Squamish and Líl’wat Cultural Journey along the Sea to Sky Highway yet, I highly recommend it!   So many times travelling this route, with the start of a hiking trail as the destination, I have seen the signage in traditional language, the blue viewpoint signs and the hat-shaped kiosks at the amazing viewpoint stops.  I had no idea that it was all part of a beautifully designed story told through the eyes of the two nations of people who existed in harmony and thrived in the Whistler area since time immemorial. This past Saturday, Klaus and I spent the day traveling along one of the world’s most iconic drives, winding from Vancouver to Whistler following the curves of bays with the Coastal range landscape. For me, it was far more than a beautiful drive, it provided a glimpse into the rich traditions of the Squamish and Líl’wat Nations. The roots of the project all started in 1997, when the Resort Municip...

What a start to September!  Wow, life is always full of adventures whether you planned them or not. In keeping up with July and August, Klaus and I planned one last summer backpack trip to the absolutely stunning Twin Lakes, having invited our friend Sylvia along for the trek.  Klaus has been in the area three or four times before, so he knew exactly where we were going and where we were going to camp.  Perfect!  Like always I put my head down, with my 50lb pack on my back and slogged my way up the first 10K of quad road.  Looking back where I just came up - photos never show just how steep it is Very loudly in my mind I complained pretty much the entire way since the first 3/4 of the trail was completely boring and yucky walking on a wide road as I cursed those damn quad riders for messing up my wilderness with their knobby tires. Mostly an double-wide ATV-sized track now, the trail used to be an old pack trail, upgraded to a road in the 60's and later neglecte...