One for my mother

My mother loved owls. I never really knew why. I was barely out of my teens when she died and hadn't yet gotten to the place where my mother was at all interesting. But I knew she loved owls and most of all she loved Snowies.

Snowy Owls are a rare occurrence in the Pacific Northwest - they rarely migrate this far south, but every few years one or two can be spotted in some areas around Seattle & the coastal areas. But this year seemed like a bumper crop of Snowy Owl sightings. They were sighted in & around Seattle and reports were coming in from Montana & North Dakota. But the Boundary Bay area in British Columbia was the most interesting for birders - up to 20 Snowy Owls could be seen sitting on the drift logs at any time. Photographers & birders "flocked" to the area.

I was thrilled when a birding acquaintance told me she would be leading a Mountaineers trip to Canada to see the Snowy Owls and other birds at Reifel Bird Sanctuary. I wanted to try & get a picture of the owls.

My mother had been on my mind a lot lately - just the stresses of life and how I remember her warm & loving hugs. One day while shopping, every rack of shelves held an owl something: a figurine, a cup, a candle holder. So when the opportunity to photograph one of her beloved birds came up, I couldn't say no. Even as the weather looked bad, I knew I would go. My back account was stretched thin before payday, but I took out the cash to pay for gas. There wasn't a question in my mind that I would go.

I hoped the birds would be close enough for me to see and photograph. I don't classify myself as a wildlife photographer, so don't have all the fancy equipment to capture animals at a distance. But I needn't have worried, the owls were lined up on logs not 20 yards from the trail sitting, watching, grooming. Camera lenses and birding scopes in a line pointed at them and I set up along with them all - focusing on one large fluffy bird on an interesting stump hoping he might do something more interesting than stare at us.

Then he did. He twisted around to start grooming, lifted his head feathers outstretched and I got a picture my mother would have been proud of.

Nelson, BC

One of my favorite movies, especially in the romance genre, is Roxanne with Steve Martin & Daryl Hannah. The movie, if you haven't seen it, is set in a wonderful little mountain town named Nelson that I adore and have wanted to visit, but never found out where it's located. One night as Michael & I sat watching Roxanne, I mentioned that I would love to visit that little town in the mountains. The next morning, I awoke expecting a conditioning hike in preparation for the next week's backpack. Instead, we went on a surprise road trip.

He refused to tell me where we were heading - and let me tell you, trying to cross the Canadian border when you're trying to be secretive is a very interesting experience. Then you throw in the fact that we are from Seattle, drove to Spokane and crossed the border at the last border crossing before entering Idaho (it was on a dirt road folks). The customs agent had to have been thinking "do I strip-search them or not" as Michael was being evasive about our destination. Believe me, border guards now-a-days don't take "we're just out for a drive" light-heartedly. I actually did guess our destination earlier in the trip but Michael wasn't about to let it slip even when our passports were being questioned. We finally made it past the confused customs agent and soon came across a road sign for none other than Nelson.

The town is even more spectacular than I had imagined. Set on a hillside overlooking a large lake with another large hill (mountain) on the other side. The green of pine trees and fresh summer gardens filled every inch of the landscape. We spent the afternoon walking around town enjoying the gardens, architecture and park found ourselves a sweet little B&B and settled in as the sun set behind the opposite mountain. The next morning we awoke with the dawn and ventured out on an architectural tour of town. Nelson is a Victorian mining town and the homes and businesses have in the older part of town have either maintained their appearance or been built for the appearance. Simply put, I felt at times in another time that morning on our stroll around town where our only companions were the dog lazily barking as we passed or the cat who couldn't get enough tummy rubs and followed us for a block flopping on her side for more every time we stopped.

We finally had to leave our respite in a slower paced time and drive back towards Seattle. I was sad to go - I didn't believe I had spent enough time exploring the ins and outs of Nelson, but there are other weekends when a road trip is just what we need more than a hike.