Canada's Got It Going On!

I have spent a lot of time in some pretty impressive National Parks during my time in scouting, but Canada just blew America's parks out of the water. If you haven't been, put this place on your bucket list!

This is Emerald Lake--my favorite destination. The brilliant turquoise water is fed by glaciers on the towering rocky mountains that drop right to the water's edge. Beautiful!

Stef's family built this place up so much I wondered whether I would be disappointed. Turns out, they could have gone on and on, and I still would have been blow away.

Most Hilarious Moment: For some weird reason, I have to climb on everything. Stef and I were hanging out on the bridge to the little hotel, and I climbed up on the railing. I think Stef told me she would give me $10 if I would jump into the glacial water backwards. I was like, "You want me to dive into a LAKE backwards?" As I was speaking a 60-something-year-old mother walked by and said, "No, you don't want to dive into to the lake!" Her husband was embarrassed and trying to get her to keep walking, but she wouldn't. I said, "Don't worry, my mother taught me to never dive into lakes so I don't break my neck." As she started to walk away, she apparently didn't believe I wouldn't jump into the lake. So, over her shoulder, in a loud slow voice, she said, "HERE...YOUR...MOTHER'S...VOICE!!!"

I laughed and laughed and laughed...Oh mom, if this isn't proof that your prayers are answered, I don't what is.

We spent some quality time soaking up some sun on the dock of the bay.

What more can I say? It was perfect.

OH Canada!

I have always been pretty intrigued by Canadians--they're basically Americans, but not. And all I have to say is that you better not forget their country of origin or they'll whip out a Canadian flag so fast it will make you head spin.

Before this trip, I had never ventured into the boarders of our friendly neighbor to the north, and I was quite excited to get this Canada thing sorted out in my mind. You know, just figure out what's going on up there...

When we finally arrived at the border and handed over our passports, the pleasant guy in the booth asked us to park our car and go inside. Next thing I knew, we were being separated and interviewed! I've crossed a lot of borders and never been welcomed with type of treatment so I got a little antsy.

Border Patrol: "Have you ever visited Canada or attempted to enter Canada before?"

Me: "Nope. I'm a first timer."

Border Patrol: [Not entertained by my answer and looking very intense.] "What is the purpose for your visit?"

Me: "Travel."

Border Patrol: "Have you ever been convicted of a crime anywhere in the world?"

Me: "No"

Border Patrol: "Are you sure I am not going to find anything?"

Me: [Beginning to wonder if I actually did do something wrong.] No, nothing.

Border Patrol: "What is your current occupation?"

Me: [Thinking that's kind of a tough question and wondering if they wont let me in if I don't have a job.] "Well, I just graduated and I am currently searching for work."

Boarder Patrol: "Where did you got to school?"

Me: "Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah."

Border Patrol: [Testing me.] "What did you study?"

Me: "I graduated with a degree in communications and a minor in business."

Boarder Patrol: "Who are the people you're traveling with?"

Me: "Well, that my girlfriend and those are her parents."

Border Patrol: "OK, you can send the next person over."

Luckily, we passed and got to continue our journey. The road was pretty beautiful and we got to see a lot more sites through the window as we drove.

We even got to see a bunch of Big Horn Sheep. There were just chillin' on the side of the road.

Road Trip!

So after seeing Seattle on Monday, we set out our 7-day road trip. Let's be honest, I was a little concerned. Sitting in a car for countless hours isn't exact my idea of great time, but it turned out to be a lot of fun because we made some very amusing side trips.

This is us a Stef's house right before we took off...I think we drove more than 2,000 miles.

One of my favorite stops was actually before we entered Canada. You see, Stefanie has a little fetish with fish hatcheries--she loves them. I never really understood, but then it happened...

MY FIRST FISH HATCHERY!

Here's the Tanner family right in front of the large outdoor tanks.

A wonderful redneck took us on a little tour. (This is where the river meets the hatchery and newly grown fish are released)

This is the fish latter all the spawning Salmon use to return home.

I wish you could see all the huge recently returned Salmon swimming below Stefanie.

We saw the movie and learned all about growing fish.

The head honcho showed us the egg incubation drawers.

And taught us how to sort eggs. (These are Salmon and Steelhead.)

AND THEN...he took us in the freezer where we saw all kinds of crazy things.

A huge freshwater Steelhead--frozen stiff.

And honestly the experience wouldn't be complete without a frozen bear head, right?

This whole experience was a total blast. Who knew fish hatcheries could be so much fun?

Seattle & Canada

I just returned from a 10-day trip to Seattle and Canada with Stefanie and her parents. We had an absolute blast. I wanted to write all about it, but I just can't seem to get it together...so you'll be happy to know that I am just going to put up pictures with captions.

We started out our tour of Seattle at Gasworks Park; it was the beginning of a very busy day.

We saw the world famous Fremont Troll. (It has an actual VW Bug in it's hand.)

We ate some delicious seafood in Pikes Place Market. This place is a blast!

I ate one of the top 3 peaches I have ever eaten! Now that's a highlight!

We put our gum on the gum wall...it was so delightfully disgusting.

We went sailing on Lake Washington and saw Bill Gates house. It turns out I'm a natural, who knew?

Well, that's all I have for now. I'll have to post again with pictures from Canada.

Seattle

I arrived in Seattle Saturday night for a little vacation with Stefanie. Life has been great. I've played cards on the deck, met all of her ward and family, eaten at Pike's Place Market, and sailed in Lake Washington. All in all, it's been amazing.

We packed the car last night and now we're just finishing preparations. Oh Canada--here we come! We going to Banff and Glacier National Park. Along with a lot more stops.

Until we meet again...Monday night.