Five Days = Six Hours of Snowboarding!

With five days left and very soon I will need to hand in my staff pass! This means we need to ride our boards for the last time.

I have only ridden a hand full of times since being here, about a month ago I had a nasty stack that scared the bejesus out of me! Plus I was working 6 days a week with one day off, no ride breaks or time to ride, it really meant I wasn't getting any time to snowboard or learn how to ski!

So it was set! Thursday would be our last day of snowboarding! We chose Thursday due to how many friends had the day off and also because Colin doesn't have a free pass anymore so its an $84 lift ticket per day for him. One day is all we needed!

First thing we were up there on the Grizzly Gondola -- I was really nervous! But after that first nice long Deer Run, I had my confidence back and ready to push myself! Up the Glacier lift, down Wiwaxy, up again on the Gondola, down Pika to Temple. A drink break before heading up Ptarmigan, down Deer Run to Whitehorn for lunch with Dave and Scott! Had a little break and a delicious lunch with cocktails and a gorgeous view before riding again. The boys eventually got my confidence up to go to Top of the World! Always fun to have snow thrown on us by Gill coming off Glacier haha (memo to self: still need to get revenge). We were literally in the clouds at Top of the World, it was such a high to be up there! I was lucky to be wearing my low res lenses but I was still struggling to see anything!

Dave and Colin were amazing! They stayed close to me whilst I came down my first blue run at Lake Louise! I was a bit scared because of how high and steep the first part of Home Run was but I did so well! I didn't fall over once on my way down! It was awesome! Unfortunately Summit was closed we got there in the afternoon, it was getting late - I felt bad that Colin didn't get a chance to do it.

For our last run we went down Jerry's Jungle where I went through the trees! It was the most fun and stunning run I have ever done! It was so very beautiful! The trees were so high and full of snow, and because we were alone, it was like we were in a magical land, just the three of us. That led onto Upper Wiwaxy where we just slowly rode down nice and easy - by the time we were at the bottom it was nearly 4:30pm, we were the only ones left on the mountain. A perfect day of 6 hours riding. Something we really needed to do before we depart.

I saw the whole of the mountain and went on all but two lifts. I really wish I could of done more, you really need a few days to do the whole mountain but its good to end my snowboarding on a high note! Feeling amazing and confident on "Lake Louise Blue Runs", linking and snaking my turns and riding switch! I couldn't end it better than that!

My favourite runs of the day were Pika -- a lot of snowboarders say they don't like it because of how "flat" it was - but I found it amazing! It was a run so relaxing and cruisey where I could just snake and link my tuns the entire way down carving nice and slow. If your someone who loves to go fast and just zoom then probably not the right run for you but it was perfect for me! SO much beautiful scenery to view - why would you want to go through Pika fast? Do me a favour if your snowboarding in Lake Louise, stop and look at it all!! Take it all in!!

Jerry's Jungle!! Again -- stunning! It was just the most beautiful thing to ride through the trees. Its also really fun, like a natural half/quarter pipe, it just leads you through. I loved it! It was so so fun!! Definitely one of my favourites - a bit less relaxing and more adventurous.

Overall, it was perfect! Everything I wanted it to be!! I just wish I could of had more time to experience it again and again and more. The best part was, I did it all with Colin! He stayed with me the entire time  we were riding, always made sure I was ok and had fun! I know its corny but my absolute most favourite part of the day was when Colin and I were coming down Wiwaxy and we were both side by side, very close together on the flat of our boards riding in unison! It only lasted a moment of course but it was just so magical to be able to do that together!

A perfect last day of riding!

The Road to Seattle

Los Angeles to Las Vegas, desert. Los Angeles to San Francisco, as boring as the desert. 10 hours from San Francisco to Portland, breathtaking!

Jess signed off staring down the barrel of a 10 hour drive to Portland, and neither of us were excited to spend an entire day driving. For those that haven't seen the Californian country side, once you leave the Cities and the Townships it is boring. Our trip was spent on the Interstate 5, so that is what my opinion is based off.

It wasn't until we passed the town of Redding that things started to change. We entered the mountains of Shasta Lake and what was originally barren plains of farmland became lush forests. Americans refer to this time of year as Fall, for us Aussies it is Autumn. It was hard to find the right words to describe how the forest lit up as the sunlight hit it. The reds, oranges and yellows set the forest ablaze with colour in amongst the green pines. It was just beautiful, and this scenery carried on all the way to the border. This was how we met Oregon, a brightly coloured beautiful State.




Before we reached Portland for the night we stopped in a town called Salem for Applebee's. No this wasn't the same Salem as the Witch Trials, however it was the first time we ate at an Applebee's! Our general opinion of the experience was great! Cheap tasty food, friendly service and a fun atmosphere mainly because the Colts beat the Broncos. At this point it is 9:30pm and we still have another hour to drive before we reach our pit stop in Portland.


Portland unfortunately wasn't a big stop on our trip, it was an overnight break at Hostelling International's Portland Guesthouse before heading to Seattle so in total we spent maybe 14 hours there, including sleep. Definitely our biggest mistake of this trip. Portland is the kind of city you want to live in, its a Big City with the Small town feel. So let me wrap up our experience there...














10:30pm we check into the HI Northwest Portland Guesthouse. It is one of three stunning Heritage listed buildings on the block that have been converted into hostel style accommodation. Sleep!

7:30a.m Alarm goes off... Sleep..
8:17a.m Wake up realizing we have no time. Showers are had, teeth are brushed, car is packed, we check out and buy a coffee from World Cup Tea and Coffee across the road. Relax... Walk in Couch Park across the other side of the road.

10:30a.m We arrive at Voodoo Donuts. Now these guys have revolutionized the idea of a donut! It's funky, it's original and best of all inexpensive! As with anything worth having in the States there is a line. Thankfully it wasn't an hour and a half like Mama's (not complaining) but within 20minutes we had a box full of donuts and we were ready to go for a walk in Forest Park.























11a.m Jess and I both love nature, Jess being a photographer likes taking photos, I like making stupid jokes about everything. We went for a lovely walk through Portland's Forest Park. It is huge, we only saw like a shard of ice after the titanic hit the tip of the iceberg kind of huge. Words do no justive so look at the pretty pictures below.

 12:30p.m. Goodbye Portland! We will be back! And we drove.

3:30p.m Three hours later, 43 punch buggies and an empty tank of Gas we reached Seattle. And yes we counted punch buggies, anybody that knows Jess and I knows that we have intense games but neither of us could believe how many we saw.

Stay tuned for Jess's post on what goes on in Seattle.