Going to Australia!!

Been a while since I posted anything, but a lot has happened in terms of my plan to study in Australia.
I have gotten all the courses figured out, got my application accepted by CSU, got my student visa (very quickly, took just 20 seconds for it to get approved), and got my flight booked.
I will be leaving Vancouver on February 14, 2010 at 11:45pm, and fly for 15.5 hours on Air Canada flight 33. Move-in day at the University is February 19th, and orientation starts shortly after that.
I have about a month after exams end to do some traveling across Australia, and maybe I will even get the chance to go to New Zealand!
On July 14th, 2010 I will be flying back, so in total my trip will have been 5 months long, but who knows, I may decide to extend the trip...

Back in the swing of things

Unfortunately summer is over already, and I have already been in classes for 2 weeks.
This summer seems to have just flown by, but it was a pretty great summer. I may have had broke my pinkie finger, but I still climbed mountains, went river rafting, had family over, and much more. I also worked at a co-op job that I got extended for the fall semester. So that along with 2 classes is keeping me pretty busy, but it will be over before I know it. Which will hopefully bring me to the winter semester where I plan on studying at Charles Sturt University in Australia for a semester. This will definitely give me something to look forward to during this busy semester.

Whistler Blackcomb

Yesterday we went up to Whistler Blackcomb to check out some of the stuff up there such as the Peak 2 Peak, Farmers Market, Alpine Experience, and visit some relatives.
The weather was alright, a bit cloudy in the morning and overcast later in the day. But overall it was pretty good, can't wait to head up there in the winter for some skiing!

New Laptop

My 2.5 year old HP dv9644ca decided to kick the bucket with an graphics issue (Nvidia graphics). So I had to get a new laptop a little earlier than I though. I was hoping to get a new one at around Christmas time, but what can you do. I decided to get the Gateway ID59C 02H laptop with an 2.26 GHz Intel i3-350 processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 15.6" LED LCD, HDMI out, and a 1.3MP webcam
It has a nice aluminum finish and is just 1 inch thick. Its a lot thinner, lighter, and faster than my old laptop! In the 4-5 days that I have had it so far, I have been pretty happy with it, especially considering I got it for just $569.99. More information on the Gateway ID series can be found here.

Britannia Beach Mine, Shannon Falls and West Vancouver

On Sunday the family went to the British Columbia Museum of Mining (Britannia Beach Mine) near Squamish and then to Shannon Falls and then later to some family in West Vancouver.
The mine is still undergoing renovations as they got some of the stimulus money from the government, but it is already much improved. They added a new roof and siding to main building while preserving the original roofing and siding on the inside. The tour was also interesting and it was near to hear about the history of the mine and how the mine came to be and how it operated back in its time. They demonstrated some of the equipment that they used to mine, and how it progressed over the years. Check out their website at http://www.bcmuseumofmining.org/

Shannon Falls

Next we went to Shannon Falls which is nearby and another great stop to get out and enjoy the beautiful scenery that surrounds us here on the west coast. Parking is $1 for an hour, or $3 for the day, and well worth it. Its a pretty short walk up to the main viewing area, and then a few minutes farther to the second viewing area. But we went even farther making our way onto the rocks to get just a few meters away from the falls and climb onto some of the rocks (like the one I am standing on below). Another hike that is off the same trail is the Stawamus Chief trail which is about 2.5KM with 550m elevation gain. But I'l have to do that some other day.

Me on a rock next to the falls

English Bay with Stanley Park on the left

Finally we made our way to some relatives in West Vancouver where we had dinner and an awesome view as you can see here. I created these shots using long exposures of like 6 seconds or so. As much as I wish I had a DSLR (eying the upcoming Nikon D3100 at the moment), these shots were all taken on our Canon PowerShot SD750. 

Lighthouse Park out in the distance

Rafting the Thompson with Kumsheen!

Today we went rafting on the Thompson river near Lytonn with Kumsheen river rafting and had an amazing time. We had awesome weather (30c or so) and the river was a nice temperature as well at about 18C. We went on the motorized boat, which I had my doubts about, but was a lot better than I expected, especially with the ability to do some good rapids twice. Another nice thing about going in the middle of the week is that it isn't very busy, as we were on a boat with just 8 people, they normally hold 20 people. 
Some of the cool things that we got to do was go was go through some amazing rapids, get out of the boat and go though some rapids in the water, operate the boat for a few minutes, and more.
After we were done rafting we went in to the pool and hot tub they had there for an hour or two. Overall it was an awesome day and tt was definitely one of my best birthdays in a while!

If you ever get the chance to go there, just do it! You will enjoy it!

Peach Arch, White Rock, and Iona Jetty

Yesterday was a nice day to get out and about before summer ends so me, my brother and my sister went out to  the White Rock and Richmond areas. Our first stop was at the Peace Arch border crossing park where the Peace Arch stands and there is a park in which you can walk across the border freely. Its a nice little area if you ever get the chance to check it out.

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was White Rock, which was also a nice place to check out and enjoy the nice breeze and the views. The picture here is at the beginning of the pier.

 

 

 

 

 

After we visited White Rock we went to Iona Jetty behind the Vancouver International Airport not know that its a 4KM long walk. It looks a lot shorter than it actually is. But with the sun shining and the breeze coming off the water it was a nice walk. And with the airplanes coming and going, it kept it a bit more interesting.

 

To top off the day we made a quick stop at the Richmond Olympic Oval, which is a very nice beautiful building.

Abbotsford International Airshow

The Thunderbirds

I went to the Abbotsford Airshow on Sunday and had a great view and a great experience. Despite the heat it was still a great time, and the pilots there did some great aerobatics. Those Thunderbirds are amazing! Its quite the experience being able to stand within 50 feet of them parking or having them fly right over you. You don't even hear them coming and before you know it, they are gone.

Hiking Needle Peak

On the Monday of BC day long weekend (August 2nd 2010) we decided to go hiking up in the Coquihalla region at a mountain called Needle Peak. I discovered this hike on a website called clubtread.com which is actually quite useful for finding interesting hiking trails in your area. The page for this hike can be found at: http://www.clubtread.com/routes/Route.aspx?Route=1 It will give you details on what the hike is like, how to get there, GPS waypoints, and a few pictures.

The start of the trail

The hike is quite a scenic one going through the different layers of the forest and eventually though the tree line as we neared the top which is a bit of a scramble. A good chunk of the hike is on a ridge which gives you great scenic views throughout most of the hike. I'm certainly not the best hiker out there by any means, but even with my broken pinkie finger, I did make it all the way to the top which is at about 2100m. The picture showing Needle Peak looked a little larger in person, and had us thinking, are we really going to climb that??
Well we did eventually make it to the top and it was a great feeling knowing that I reached the top of the mountain and despite the smoke, the view was still great.
Overall, if you get the chance to make it out that way, I would suggest taking this hike as its a very nice area and worth the effort once you reach the peak. They don't call BC the best place on earth for nothing!

Needle Peak on the left

The first scramble (Easiest way is following a path on the left)

The second scramble all the way to the top

Us at the top

Heading down from the peak

Some very large granite rocks

Giving blogging a try again

I keep wanting to blog, but something always seems to come in the way. Such as school, work or just wanting to do something else. So hopefully I will be able to post something that interests me every so often and kind of keep a record of the things that I've experienced in my life and the things that interest me.