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Travels with Tucker

I'm not John Steinbeck and Tucker is certainly no Charley. But after our first year together travelling over 14,000 miles, criss-crossing America, hitting 17 states, I thought it was about time we started documenting our adventures.

Eyes to the Skies, Nose to the Wind

12/11/2016

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This time it wasn’t weather but time that was not on our side. Being this far north this time of year means the days are quite short. The sun rises at 8am and sets by 4:30. The sun’s workshift is shorter than most American factory worker’s.

I am a night person. Left to my own devices, I don’t get going until 11am… 10am if it’s a good day. So here I don’t get days off, just hours.
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Granted, we don’t need to go far for a little forest. This is our morning walk—the trail at the end of the cul de sac. 
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​Not a bad way to start the morning: in the woods. 
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But still, I want to see and do more while I’m here, not just walk around my neighborhood.

Having gone south for Stanley Park the weekend prior, I opted to head north toward Horseshoe Bay and Whistler. Those were places I’d heard of, and I suspected the places between here and there might not be as crowded.
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Surprisingly, I was right. 
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A little trail in the little town of Lion’s Bay between Horseshoe Bay and Squamish provided a lovely forest hike with occasional views of the ocean and not a soul in sight. 
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Perfect.
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Except we didn’t get there until 3:00…
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... although beautiful, it was already getting dark.
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When Tucker stopped showing up in the pictures I was taking, I felt we should head back.
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I had a flashlight and a granola bar. I'm guessing neither would appease a bear should we run into one out after the sun went down.

So… fast forward one week. We get back on the road and head farther away from the United States border.
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The drive is gorgeous. If Central Colorado and the Southern Oregon Coast had a baby, it would be the southern coastline of British Columbia. The mountains towered over us to the right, and the ocean and bays with its islands and rock outcroppings saluted us on our left.
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The misty clouds made the view even better. I didn’t want it to be a bright sunny day. This was magical.
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We returned to the hard to find trail, and decided on the loop. Only about three miles, but more than we’d done while he had been here. 
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​We stopped at picnic tables. 
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​We walked through deep forest. 
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​Then open meadow along the cliff’s edge.
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​We saw the ocean.
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And a waterfall.
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​We even traipsed up the trail a little too far and ended up on a rural road. We turned around, headed back, found the trail, and continued back through the forest.
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​This is what I came to Vancouver for. I came for the forests and the water. I came for magic in the woods, and time to contemplate and walk and experience yet another geographical and spiritual aspect of Mother Nature.
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It was an easy hike. Easy for both British Columbian and American standards. There were no ropes to climb or pulley systems or suspension bridges to cross. It was just a walk in the woods along the coast.
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I don’t hike to challenge myself or even to feel like I’ve accomplished anything. I hike for the experience of the journey itself. I don’t need to push my body to the limits or make things more difficult than necessary.  Granted the boy gets pretty down if I turn him around before we reach the end, but for me hiking isn’t about the destination. It’s about the journey. And this is the journey: eyes to the sky, and nose to the wind.
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    2016.01.03 Home For The Holidays
    2016.01.04 A Hike On Another Planet
    2016.03.25 Equality Is For Everyone
    2016.03.27 Our Easter Weekend Services
    2016.04.15 Just Des(s)erts
    2016.05.29 Max Patch
    2016.05.29 Rising To The Peak
    2016.05.29 Spring Adventures
    2016.06.11 The Best Of The Unexpected
    2016.06.25 The Ghostly Tale Of Greybeard Trail
    2016.07.03 Escape...to Storyteller Rock
    2016.07.05 A Salute To Asheville From Chimney Rock
    2016.08.15 Up
    2016.10.01 Since You've Been Gone
    2016.12.09 How We Spent Our Summer Vacation
    2016.12.10 Let The Sun Shine In
    2016.12.11 Eyes To The Skies
    2016.12.11 Where The Rainy Day Takes You
    2016.12.18 Waiting For Whistler
    2016.12.31 Only In Canada
    2017.01.10 Christmas On The Coast
    2017.01.11 Christmas On The Coast
    2017.04.22 Out Of The Desert And Into The Land Of Enchantment
    2017.05.05 Someplace To Be; Not Somewhere To Go
    2017.05.20 New Canada
    2017.05.28 Rise To The Challenge
    2017.06.18 Exploring The 'Hood
    2017.06.24 Bishop's Lodge: Anything But Heavenly
    2017.07.01 Finding Your Church
    2017.07.08 Mother Nature's Springs
    2017.07.22 Beside Every Great Woman
    2017.10.15 Finding (Water)Fall(s)
    2017.10.28 This Is 40... Part I
    2017.10.29 This Is 40... Part II
    2017.11.18 Battle Amidst Beauty
    2017.11.25 To The Looking Glass
    2018.02.25 Where The Dog Takes You
    2018.03.31 After The Rains
    2018.04.14 Truly Home Again
    2018.06.02 Just A Walk On The Beach
    2018.07.21 Ready? On Set!
    2018.08.04 Return To The Redwoods
    2018.08.11 Return To The Redwoods
    2018.10.27 The Forty-First
    2018.12.15 The End Of The Tour
    2018.12.30 Santa Cruz
    2019.01.05 Chasing Mavericks
    2019.01.20 Finding Your Soulspace
    2019.02.09 Muir Magic
    2019.02.23 The Point Of Point Reyes
    2019.02.25 From Muir To Mori
    2019.03.02 Our Own Monterey
    2019.03.09 An Irish Escape
    2019.03.16 Hidden Vistas
    2019.04.06 Our Life: The Carnival
    2019.04.20 One Man's Trash Is Another Dog's Art
    2019.05.04 Black Rock And Blue Skies
    2019.06.08 Water
    2019.06.15 In Conversation... With Nature
    2019.06.29 Go Tell It On The Mountain
    2019.07.06 Not So Yosemite
    2019.07.07 Magic Chimneys
    2019.07.20 The Long Way Around
    2019.11.23 All Trails Lead Here
    2019.11.30 Seeking Solitude In All Directions
    2019.12.14 Forest Friends And Soul-Places
    2019.12.21 The San Franciscan Canine
    2019.12.26 An Unexpected Christmas
    2020.01.11 Kicking Off The New Year On The Coast: Part I
    2020.01.12 Kicking Off The New Year On The Coast: Part II
    2020.01.12 Kicking Off The New Year On The Coast: Part III
    2020.01.19 From The Beach To The Bay... Almost
    2020.03.01 Livin' La Vida Local (SF Style)
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    2021.09.26 In Light Of Grey Skies
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    2021.10.10 From The Sea To The Mountains
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    2021.11.14 To The End Of The Road... Or Island
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    2021.11.28 Giving Thanks To Mother Nature
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    2021.12.18 Right Here
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    And Away
    But Not Far Away
    Comes The (Water)Fall
    Everywhere
    Maximum Wind Speed
    Nose To The Wind
    Not Out There
    Not The Map
    Part I
    Part II
    Santa Clause
    Santa Paws
    The Look Of Discrimination
    The South's Answer To The Southwest
    Tucker Wescott: Interior Designer
    Up
    Water

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