I would give up my right arm (and probably the left one, too) to have every year start out with a three week Jan-Term trip like when I was "studying" at Whitworth. Hiking up Diamond Head or fresh fish tacos in Nuevo Vallarta sound glorious right now. I don't even like fish! ...
...And just as I expected, both upper appendages are still attached and fully functional as I am typing away. In Spokane. But as far as Januarys in the post-college world are concerned, this one has been the perfect concoction of adventure and relaxation to cure my winter doldrums.
...And just as I expected, both upper appendages are still attached and fully functional as I am typing away. In Spokane. But as far as Januarys in the post-college world are concerned, this one has been the perfect concoction of adventure and relaxation to cure my winter doldrums.
Marc turned 24 and put in his two weeks on the same day—a call for celebration! We had a memorable dinner at The Shogun, a Japanese steakhouse in downtown Spokane (think Spokane’s version of Benihana). At The Shogun, food preparation is an art form, and our teppanyaki chef put on a wild show! He sliced and stacked onions to create a miniature volcano representative of Mt. Fuji. I think it looked more like Mt. Spokane, and based on our chef’s stacking skills, I’m guessing he’s no good at JENGA. The chef also juggled an egg on his knife like Tiger Woods can juggle a golf ball on his club, behind his back and everything. But instead of driving the egg 300 yards on the final toss (which would be WAAYY more entertaining), the chef sliced the egg open on the edge of his knife onto the hibachi where it was later added to our flied lice. I don’t have to be P.C. because my Japanese waitress wasn’t. After an embarrassing ten minutes of wearing hideous, rubber, sumo wrestler wigs and factory-made kimonos to identify Marc as the birthday boy and me as the birthday boy’s girlfriend, we headed to O’Doherty’s to share the rest of the night with Marc’s friends and soon to be ex-coworkers.
I am equally excited about the next two things. First, I got a new camera!!!! I have been dreaming of and saving for a new camera the way a little kid fantasizes about a trip to Disneyland, scrambling for pennies abandoned on the sidewalk and putting them into a real, pink-pig piggy bank waiting for them to amount to a conversation with Mickey Mouse. I wanted something that could capture the essence of my experiences, although I realize pictures rarely do justice to the real thing. Anyway, it's a Canon EOS Rebel T1i Digital SLR camera with a 15-55mm IS lens and a 50-250mm IS lens. I pretend to know what this means.
Second, for Christmas, Marc promised me a trip to Fairmont Hot Springs whenever we could squeeze it into our schedules. So we found some time and visited our friendly neighbor to the north, Canadia--new camera in hand. We are lucky we actually made it to the resort. Tip of the day: Don't drive to Canada at night. Marc had to slam on his brakes at least three times to dodge the elk and deer iceskating across the Canadian highway. Plus, the views along the drive are spectacular.
The Fairmont Hot Springs Resort is nestled in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies.
Like Spokane, the area around the resort had very little snow, and our dreams of snowshoe-fondue were shattered. ;) This is the resort's showshoe tour that concludes with dipping your frost-bitten fingers in a vat full of warm, gooey chocolate and slowly nibbling them down to the knuckle while sitting in a teepee (spelled "tipi" in Canadia). But in all seriousness, the lack of snow did not hinder the experience one bit.
There was a great forest trail. I love, love, LOVE animals and was hoping to catch a glimpse of a deer, or a squirrel, or a yeti. No luck. We did, however, come across this...
No need to grab your wilderness guide. That's a cougar track. Anyone that knows me really well, knows that I have been haunted by cougar nightmares my entire life, so I was less than thrilled to know Mr. Mountain Lion had been stalking unsuspecting hikers the previous day. Needless to say, we picked up the pace. :)
We came to a clearing with a panoramic view of the Columbia Valley, the Columbia River's source. Included in this view, were the Hoodoos, cliffs assumed by the Indians (they don't call them Native Americans in Canada) to have magical powers.
From the same lookout, we could do a 180 and take in the majesty of the jagged mountain peaks.
It goes without saying that we also relaxed in the resort's hot pools. The natural temperature of the water is unbearable to sit in, so the water is actually cooled down to 102 degrees. The fact that it has to be cooled down astounds me. Then the pools are drained in amazing fashion...
Over time, the minerals in the water have etched funky designs in the creekbed and have left a milky glaze on everything the water touches.
I've had an amazing three weeks, and short of palm trees and a trip to the equator, I've decided this is exactly how Jan-Term in the "real world" should be.
