Chilcotin Wanderings (May 23)

After returning from Europe I felt the need to spent some time in wilderness and re-visited old stomping grounds from my paddling days: Bridge River country and Fraser Canyon. Found loneliness. Dramatic skies. Lots of bear and deer.

Germany: Storks, Orchids and Asparagus (May)

In spring I took a trip to Germany to visit my family and catch up with friends.

A friend took me on a photo-tour to his favorite stork watching area north of Berlin and lent me his long lens. I liked it so much I had to order one myself.

The countryside was dotted with yellow canola ('Raps') fields, quite different from my memories of German spring time views. Interesting how eco-policies change landscapes.

With my parents we checked the limestone hills near Jena where orchids grow in great numbers.

An additional bonus of visiting Germany in May is that it is in the middle of Asparagus time and I got to feast on it. The white variety is difficult to find in Vancouver.

And I definitely won't rent a Mini again. Although I'm not prone to back problems and German roads are not worse than average, driving this car for 7 hours on one day left me with a back so sore I could feel it for a couple of weeks.