My World Tuesday

Once again it is 'My World Tuesday'.
This is the full, uninterupted view of the Mountains, taken from the dike nearby. This panorama can be seen from most of Maple Ridge, north of Lougheed Highway. Any further south of that slopes down to the Fraser River where you then see the view which is shown in my header photo.
This week I want to show you the ever changing view of the Golden Ears Mountains from my kitchen window. If you are a regular reader, chances are, that you have seen this view here before. I must have a thousand photos of this magnificent hunk of rock. I never get tired of looking out there. The following photos were taken this weekend.

This is the sight I see between the trees at the North corner of the back yard, the trees obscure much of the view, but I am thankful to see the main peaks. When we first moved here 12 years ago, we did not even have this much of a view as the neighbour had a row of enormous poplars growing along the fenceline. One morning a few years ago, I got up and glanced out the window, and said to Keith, "OH the montains look so pretty today". Then it struck me that I was actually seeing them from my own window! I started jumping up and down and yelling "Oh my GOD!!! I can see the Golden Ears from my own window!!!!! Wooohoooo!!!" The neighbour had cut the trees down the day before and we had been out until dark so had not been aware of the change untill the morning. In this picture, the neighbours' roof is in the forground. Usually I aim the camera high to avoid capturing the roof. But I thought I would share it with you this time so you get the 'whole picture'. It also gives some perspective.

The incredible thing about the Golden Ears is the fact thay they have so many different personalities. Many times they are blanketed in fog and seem to dissapear altogether when the clouds are low.

In winter, while it is pouring rain down here, up on the Golden ears, it is snowing. After a few gray days, the clouds blow away revealing the peaks to us. The majestic view of the snow covered peaks against a vivid blue sky, takes my breath away everytime I see them.

When I go into town, other Maple Ridgers will say to eachother, "Lovely day, the mountains are out!" or "Aren't the Golden Ears gorgeous today"

For other contributions to My World Tuesday, Please click on the My World link in my side bar.

Family Camping Trip

Keith , me, the boys, Heidi and her best bud, Steph, headed for the hills for a couple of nights. With the van loaded up with camping gear and the canoe, we headed off up to Golden Ears Provincial Park. The campgrounds up there are amazing. Huge sites, surrounded by huge pine and cedar trees and dense underbrush. You almost feel like you are up in the middle of nowhere. Yet it is just a 20 minute drive from our house. Not much of a get away you may think, just a few kilometers from home. But with only a couple of days, why waste time travelling far, when we live in such a beautiful place?

We got the tents set up, one for us and one for the kids. We made supper over the campfire, salmon for the vegetarians and burgers for the rest of us. Followed by smores for the kids. None for me thanks! Smores are made by melting marshmallows over the fire on the end of a stick then placing it between two graham crackers with a piece of chocolate. The whole lots is all gooey and melty, but apparently quite delicious. After my busy week, I was pretty pooped out, so headed into my tent by 1opm and fell promptly asleep.

The dog loved romping through the water and fetching sticks. It was so warm and sunny on the beach and out in the open. The woods and the campsites were cooler though due to the dense shade. Once he was back at camp, poor little Binny would start to shiver. So the kids bundled him up in towels and blankets and sat him on a chair by the fire. What a spoiled pup he is. These kids treat him like a toddler. Lucky for us though, they had the dog in the tent with them at night and they got to enjoy the noxious vapours that only dogs seem capable of producing!

In the morning, we went down to the lake, accessed by a short trail through the woods. It seems short when you just walk down there but when you are hauling a huge canoe, it felt like a couple of miles! The water was so still and quiet. I just had to take a little video to share the beauty of this place with you, I wanted to be able to show it off! Yes! Even amidst the solitude of Allouette Lake, I was thinking of you guys! Heidi was up in the front, and Keith paddled from the rear, while Steph and I got to lounge in the center like ladies of leisure trailing our fingertips in the cool water. Very nice. After we got back to the beach, Keith and I got out and the girls went off canoeing on their own. They found a secluded spot and went skinny dipping! Cheeky girls!

I am trying to upload a video I made of our canoe ride, its taking forever, I hope it works, I took it with you guys in mind. I just wanted to share the beauty and stillness of this place with everyone. It worked! See the VIDEO at the end of this post!

While we were out on the water, the boys went off hiking in the woods, for hours. They are both get such great enjoyment out of being in the forests. They love their solitude and the peace of this place. They hiked all day and did'nt see one other person out there. Kind of scarey to me, to think how hard it would be to locate them if they got lost! They seem to have little built in compasses though.

By supper time they were all starving. By the time they all got back to camp, I had a nice dinner ready for them. Potoatoes, carrots and onions, sprinkled with garlic, dried red chilly peppers and oregano, wrapped in foil and cooked on the fire. Salmon and smokies as well. They gobbled that down in a hurry.

After supper we sat around the fire, chatting, my favorite part of camping. Late night snacks of frozen pizza, folded in half and cooked over the fire. Thats David's speciality! I am so grateful to have teenagers who still enjoy time with family. It was a wonderful couple of days. Andrew will be twenty soon, I wonder how many more trips away like this there will be. Won't be long and it will be just hubby and me and the kids will be off doing their own things.