Kelly Date May 27, 2010

Bear Storey....

Hey, thought I'd check in and let you know what I've been up too. I've been quite busy since this past Sunday and took most of Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to wander around. I've walked into town two more times - yikes, very long walk. The best was that I saw a bear! Ha, I realize that to some this might not been too exciting, but this was my bear lol. He was only a year old cub and about 150 lbs and cute as anything.

I was riding around with Dick (Haida Guide), and coming back down from the trail head to Sleeping Beauty Mountain. I saw him first and this little black bear was right at the edge of the road and turned back to look at us. I guess he got curious as he decided to climb the tree about 6 feet up and hang out looking at us, looking at him. He later climbed back down to get a closer look at this strange lady smiling at him from the truck.

I of course immediately got out of the vehicle to get up real close to get a great photo - ha ha just kidding. I stayed in the vehicle the whole time, but he was so close to us it didn't matter. He was within six feet of me and I had the window almost rolled up to the top, the whole time. Yes, they are cute but I'm no fool and realize how quick they can be in your face. We sat there for about five minutes taking each other in and then went on our way. I have some film footage that I will try to post as well. No promises, but a picture for sure.

Having a great time here in Haida Gwaii.

Me :)

Kelly Date May 24, 2010

Hey, sorry for the delaying posting the blog, but getting access to the internet can be problematic out here in the ida Gwaii Islands. So here it is......

How can one top amazing? They come to the Haida Gwaii! Seriously, anyone who’s never been here is totally missing out. I had a great week working at the Qay ‘Llnagaay and managed to get a lot done, but the highlight was getting to go out in the Loo Taas. This is a traditional Haida Canoe and even better, the fact that it was designed and carved by Bill Reid. It was such a privilege to get this opportunity. You may not know it, but Bill Reid is not only one of the most well known Haida artists, he was also a prominent Canadian artist. If you’ve been through the Vancouver Airport his huge bronze statue is on dislay in the international area of the airport. Being taken out with a Haida steersman, Andy, and a group of students from Sarnia was an honour. I have included a couple of pictures for you to see. I took some amazing photos and I wish I could share them all with you. Eagles, seals, waves crashing, paddlers paddling, and making our way around Indian Head Island.

Next up I spent my day off hanging out with a fellow by the name of Dick Bellows. He is a local Haida tour guide and obviously knowledgeable about the people and their history, culture, traditions, and the island’s many points of interest. We left at 9:30 in the morning and didn’t get back until almost 6:00 that night. We took a circuitous route north, up to Tlell, Port Clements and then made our way south again after stopping at some key places. Briefly, we stopped at Dick’s ‘Big Tree’, in which his grandfather had found an old pot many years ago wedged up in the centre of the split wood at the bottom. He grandfather took out and used it the rest of his life. Dick has the pot in his home to this day. We then went to see an ancient cedar canoe that was left in the woods by Haida carvers probably a 100+ years ago. What an amazing sight to see such a thing. Again, I have included a picture that will give you an idea of what I’m talking about.

Next we went to see the world’s largest Sitka Spruce tree (above) and the photo shows me standing in the middle to give you a bit of scale. It is one freaken huge tree. Wow. We trailed along old back trails and forestry roads to get there, but it was worth the trip. The tree is over 700 years old and over 250 high. It was all interesting as Dick was full of old stories and tales about his island. Our final destination was to head west to Rennell Sound, which is the furthest westerly point in BC. It was wonderful and we had to cross the Coastal Mountains and then drop back down to sea level on the other side. An amazing day and to top it off when we got back we ended up going to another potlatch and ate way too much again.

Last night was great as well. I headed off on foot to Queen Charlotte City just to see the place. It was further than I thought, but I had fun regardless as I took along some

tunes and the sun was shining and the scenery along the highway was spectacular. The roadway runs along the Skidegate Inlet and it is incredibly scenic. I took some photos of the entryway to the little town to show you how pretty everything is kept. Buildings are either really interesting or very quaint and very well taken care of. One place of note was Marvin’s garden (below left). Marvin is a Haida man and loves to garden as much as possible. He says he and his wife spend most of their summers puttering around their home. Can’t say as I blame them as they look out on what I would consider one of the most beautiful views in the world. Tough to beat living in a place like this. Marvin says he never ceases to marvel at the beauty around him and often just stops to look and take it all in.

Today, I spent a bit more time with Dick and he took me again out toward Tlell and an area of the island that has a number of artisans. Some of these small stores carry handmade Haida art. Silver braclets, shell jewellery, carvings, paddles, bowls, cedar bark hats, incredible paints, and and gold and silver pendants. Ha, at one point I whispered to Dick that I needed to get out of there before I spent horrible amounts of money. Ha, I departed with a card and a present for each of my daughters.

One of the more interesting places was where Noel lives. He also likes to garden, but wow this place was over the top unique. He is incredibly talented. There are flower beds and garden walkways and chickens running around to keep pesky bugs away. These are accompanied by pet ducks and a trumpeter swan he and his wife rescued some time ago. Apparently, someone had filled it full of buckshot and the swan approached his wife, injured and bleeding. This beautiful creature would certainly have died without their help. Noel said it took three weeks to get all the buckshot out. He simply shakes his head at the idea someone could so senselessly harm such an beautiful creature.

Noel and his wife have a particularly nice gift shop, but the thing I enjoyed the most was seeing his tree house. Noel and Dick said they don’t usually take people down to see it, but as I was by myself they kindly took me down the garden path to see it (ha). Noel and a pal many years ago found a very large stump and somehow or another came up with the idea of carving out the centre, turning it upside down, building a cool roof for it, and turning it into .... a tree house. Hell, you should see this place. Large enough to walk into and they have three carved chairs inside and a old burl table and little windows and art work carved/painted into the walls and ceilings. Seriously, this is a cool tree house. The hobbits of Lord of the Rings should be so lucky. I really wish you could have seen this place. Never ever would I have thought someone would take the time to build a mad hatter tree house in the middle of the Haida Gwaii.

As I said it was a top, top, top week and I’m sorry to go on for so long, but I wanted to share some of what I was up to. Oh, I did work as well, but the other stuff was much more fun. You have a great week. Tomorrow I’m climbing up to Spirit Lake which overlooks the inlet. Should be fun. Wish you were here. Kelly

Note the photo (lower right) is taken at the mouth of the Yakoun River of a washed down stump. This is one of the major river's on the island. The word in Haida means 'river of life'.

Kelly Date May 17, 2010

Siing Gaay Laaw, from Haida Gwaii, British Columbia. This

greeting means 'good day' in Haida. Apparently, I had it wrong last week - Maawa is 'thank you' in Haida. I've been quite busy as you may have guessed and a little late sitting down to do my Sunday blog. But I've been having a wonderful time, working hard and getting to know people, which is quite easy as everyone has been so nice.

I had a fellow stop and offer me a ride just this morning which was nice. I spend a lot of time walking back and forth so it was a welcome break from hoofing it. His name is Dick Bellis, born and raised in the Haida Gwaii. He is retired and offered to do some inland tours which his occupation at the moment. Nice guy and obviously knows everyone and everything about the islands. I'll likely go with him tomorrow to see some of the sights and get some photos; however, it is also a great opportunity to interview him for my research. As it turns out we both have an agenda of some sort - works for me lol.

I attended my first potlatch on Saturday evening and it was truly amazing. About 650 people attended and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the drumming and the singing. Much more so than I thought I might. Somehow, it is quite different to be physically present so you can feel the beat of the drums and the rhythms of the singers. The costumes were colourful with intricate designs and detailing the two Haida clans: The Ravens and The Eagles. I've included a few pictures to get an idea of what happened.

Oh, and the food was amazing - served from a centre table by designated servers, but the trick is you're supposed to bring your own plate. Of course, I wasn't let in on this little fact so didn't go to get any food. The kind lady sitting next to me suggested that I should go up anyway as they do have some paper plates for people who have forgotten to bring their own. Yes! I was treated to soup, crab, octopus cakes, salads, and gauwa (dried and boiled kelp with salmon eggs on it). Everything, with the exception of the 'gauwa' was great. I'd tried gauwa dried earlier and it was good, but the kind at the meal was soaked in a brine of some sort and didn't appeal to me at all. It was a wonderful experience and one I'd highly recommend. The children and youth did most of the dancing and the excitement to be performing for the new Chief, Reg Young, was obvious.

Although I've been busy, I have managed to go on several walks in the evenings. I headed toward Queen Charlotte City and stopped at a rocky area along the highway to take some photos. It was a beautiful evening and I totally lucked out when I spied an eagle eating something on the shore about 200 yards away from me. I of course hauled out the camera and started working my way towards him. I got close enough to take some amazing photos and included one here for you to see. They are such amazing creatures and he flew right over top of me once he had decided I was close enough. Wow!

On Wednesday, I'm taking a tour down to Louise Island to do some whale watching. Well that's the plan anyway. I'll let you know how it turns out. I didn't get an opportunity to help count the Ancient Murrletes (synthliboramphus antiquus) as they had enough volunteers this time. However, it is still an option for a future date. Hopefully, I will get a chance to do this. I would really like to take part in this conservation effort.

Anyway, I will report back once I've been out with Dick Bellis (his Haida name is 'Skil Q' Aas') and the whale watching tour to Louise Island. I should have some great photos to share with you.

Have a great day! Howaa :)

Kelly Date May 13, 2010

I know it’s a bit early to be reporting in, but wanted to do an update of everything that’s happened since arriving in Skidegate. First, I’ve met a ton of really nice people, who have all been welcoming and open. I've also been invited to my first potlatch which is absolutely wonderful. I plan on being there at some point this Saturday, but am scheduled to work for a good chunk of the day so will probably miss out on some of the festivities.

I have also been trying to work out an opportunity to do some conservation work with Ancient Murrlets, a small bird whose habitat is on Louise Island, just of Graham Island. Apparently, they are endangered and we get to catch and tag them and let them go. I guess the catching is easy as they walk 5 km through the forest, on very short legs, to get to the waters edge and then swim a great

distance to reach their parents who call to them. Cute little things and I really hope to get a chance to do this. Nick, the son of the lady I’m staying with, is doing this with his high school classmates and asked if I was interested in helping out.

The Qay (pronounced Kii) Cultural Centre is about a ten minute walk from where I’m staying and the township itself is a further ten minute walk down the road. Of course there is a coffee shop and internet service at the end of the route so I’ve spent quite a lot of time walking since arriving. The views are spectacular and everything is right on the bay so it is very beautiful. Apparently, the whales were in the bay just the week before, but they should come back so I’m sure to get a chance to take some photos.

The ferry coming into town was so amazing. We arrived just as they sun came up behind us, which lit up the whole town. I've attached one picture of this and several others I thought were striking. I’ve included a few pictures of totem poles as well to give you an idea of what I get to look at everyday. There are lots of eagles around, and land otters, and bears etc. I took a tour just this afternoon on the totem poles which was very interesting. Apparently there are only 13 clans (large family groups) remaining on the islands.

The rest were killed off during in the 1600's - 1800' from small pox epidemics. The estimate I heard was that the population went from 30,000 down to about 600-800 individuals at its lowest. The fan to the right is lined with fur and was done by an artist in Skidegate. It is really quite beautiful and I was able to take photos of it for the marketing fellow.

Other words that you need to know... well maybe not, are "Gouw", which means salmon eggs on the kelp and "Chow" which is a rude word for certain parts of one's anatomy. Just so you know. Another phrase used to greet people at the cultural centre is Siing Gaay Laaw, which means "Good Day". The spelling is left up to a best guess as traditionally they did not have a written language it was story based and passed on from generation to generation through clan affiliation and elders. I've learned much already and will share other things as they come up.

I'll blog again this coming Sunday and should have some photos of the potlatch to share with you. Have a great day .... I have to get back to work.

Hawaa (how-wah), or thank you in Haida.

Kelly.

Inside Passage, British Columbia / Kelly Date May 9, 2010

I had forgotten how difficult it was to sleep on the ferry. No cabin, no sleeping. I had expected a restless night, but about 4:00 a.m. four young boys on the bball team decided it was time for some fun. I’m pretty sure they woke everybody up and the Steward came by several times to quiet them to no avail. However, this encouraged me to start the day and by 4:30 I was up and waiting at the side door to catch the morning light.

Of course the ferry is built so that you can’t get to the bow, which is of course where the sun was to come up. Regardless, joined by two young fellows, one from Holland the other from Germany, we decided to enter the "forbidden zone", clearly marked "stay out" on the upper front deck. I think they call it a "restricted area", but at 5:00 a.m. in the morning we did not expect any company. And, we managed to enjoy the absolute best of the day, get in some great photos before getting booted lol. I'm smiling. Best shot of the day. However......

Apparently, we are brain dead idiots who can’t read lol. We three, were of course simply delighted to get in some good shots of the coming sun. It is going to be a glorious day and I will most likely add to the commentary throughout....

Okay, I'm back and right now I'm in Prince Rupert, BC waiting for the ferry to continue on its way to Haida Gwaii. We arrived at 2:00 p.m., but I'm here until 11:00 p.m. tonight. Ah well, I found a coffee shop and got a lot of work done, phone calls made, and my blog up-to-date.

Reflecting back on the day it was absolutely wonderful. The sun was out and it was warm enough to have spent a considerable amount of time out on the deck watching for whales. I met a young man BJ from Victoria who is also travelling to the Haida Gwaii to work for the summer and a gentleman by the name of Steven Bangos.

Steven was an instant mate who proved to have similar interests as my own. At heart we are both adventurers and we spent several hours yattering about everything from great bear stories to JFK's assassination. He is from southern California and headed to Anchorage, Alaska to start a restaurant. It is called the Silver Derby Dinner and is scheduled to open in 2011. So if any of you happen to be headed that way, be sure to check it out and let him know how you found out about this great spot. It is always nice to meet great people you can chat with while journeying - such fun and a wonderful way to explore other's ideas and thoughts.

Sadly, I did not see any whales but did see a small group of dolphins did pass by in the usual way. They looked like they were having a blast and I was glad to have caught them in a photo. Not a great photo, but I can assure you it is more difficult to get it just right given how quick they move through the water.

I cannot tell you how beautiful the Inside Passage is along the west coast of British Columbia. It almost has an eerie quality to it. I swear, I felt like I was in a scene from Jurassic Park when the birds would soar past the boat. I was lucky though as the water was very calm and the reflections could be seen along the shoreline, mirrored perfectly onto the water. I've included a picture of this to the right as it was so pretty and another photo of a lady looking out from the upper deck from just behind the lifeboat station. It looked as though she was having a lot of fun just taking it all in and getting the most out of the day.

I am writing this from a small pub (closed down the coffee shop) looking out over the harbour at Prince Rupert. Came for the chowder and actually got to watch a bit of the hockey game: Vancouver vs Chicago. We're winning yea! But, it's back to the ferry soon and a bit of work going over the tour information for the cultural centre. Should be fun.....

Kelly reporting in from the Inside Passage, British Columbia, Canada.

Off To Haida Gwaii - Packed, but not ready...

After hugs and kisses goodbye to Chelsey, Randy, and Mr. Finningan, I left Nanaimo, B.C. on the bus to Port Hardy at 10:33 sharp and headed out with great expectations as to what the day was to bring. I was not to be disappointed. The bus trip was fairly uneventful, but we did make pit stops in Parksville, Campbell River, and Port McNeil on the way north. We saw two bears about 50km outside of Port Hardy and a truck that was on fire somewhere in the same vicinity. Cool.

We stopped for nothing and no one - hot on the trail to catch the 6:00 o’clock ferry. With the exception of a very chatty lady who kept trying to get my attention with questions that might hopefully engage me: unfortunately my eyes were on the road ahead and was not to be easily engaged lol.

I didn’t actually make it into Port Hardy itself as the bus takes you right into the ferry terminal which is about 10 minutes south of the township. I took a couple of great pictures of the ferry prior to getting on and afterwards. What a fantastic ferry. It’s new and and from what I can tell a great place to spend the next 18 or so hours. Once aboard I headed to the purser’s office who kindly took my pack and then made my way to an outdoor sitting area to get some video footage and pictures. (Note: I will be posting some video footage, but have to figure out how to first ... so stay posted.)

It's 7:00 p.m. and I’m currently sitting in the cafeteria/lounge area and just to give you an idea of the prices: coffee $2.26; wine $10.06. I am drinking the coffee lol. I’m going to take some more pictures in a while. I want to catch the early evening and sunset so the light is better. It’s really too bright to get good photos right now. The afternoon has come and gone and I’ve managed to stake out a small space for myself in the Aurora Lounge.

There are about 10 people sleeping in this area tonight and much to my delight the guy right across from me snores. Argh, my worst pet peeve of all time. Not that he can do anything about it, but my instinct is to stuff a big old sock in his mouth. To top that off, he left his computer movie on full blast. So I shall pass the rest of the evening away listening to the gentleman snore to the beat of his boring movie. Thank gawd I brought earplugs and I can still here him ha ha.

Ah well, the upside is that there was an awesome sunset tonight and I took some wonderful photographs. You would be proud of me as it was dreadfully cold and the wind was battering against the west side of the ferry, but I hung in to the bitter end much to my delight now that I’m warm and comfy in my public state room. Things is just different on a ferry; you wander about, get the lay of things, stake

out some space and join all the other souls trying to get some sleep with no mattress. Oh right, the snoring guy brought along his own full size air mattress so he could sleep more deeply. Argh.

It’s been a fabulous day and please drop a note if you are curious about something in particular that I’m doing as I make my way northward. Always nice to hear from people.

Kelly

Kelly Date May 2, 2010

So leaving off from last Sunday, I arrived in

Nanaimo on West Coast Air, which flies you

straight from Vancouver to the town's harbour. Wow, wow, wow! It was incredibly beautiful coming across the straight. The sun was shining, the water was a deep deep blue, and the ferry was chugging its way across to the Vancouver terminal. I'd forgotten how lovely it was here and I had such a sense of coming home. Wonderful. Finnigan had a great trip as well, at least he didn't seem any the worse for his experience. However, he was exceedingly glad to see me ha ha.

Chelsey was there at the docks to pick me up and we had a warm and welcome reunion. Finnigan jumping and barking and the girlies hugging. Great to see her and we spent the week hanging out as much as possible. Went to dinner several times and you could not have kept me away from Bocca Coffee and a "Big Cookie". The best cookie on the planet in my humble opinion. Ha, even Randy was keen to get one. Chelsey is happy to be back at work there and is doing much of the baking. She's so good at it - huge pumpkin spice and cranberry muffins - my favorites, although I don't eat them often. Way too fattening. You can see how pleased she was that I was there to take pictures of her at work lol.

I'm missing Celise and Carissa, but will be stopping off in Calgary on my way back from Haida Gwaii to visit with them. So, I've been busy finishing up a few projects here at the university and ..... taking a break to go to the store with Randy. I require sustenance.....I'll be back. Me

So I'm now back from the store and dinner and a movie and a trip to the other store and fun with Finnigan and Randy. We actually ended up going to London Drugs in the end to pick a camera lens I was hoping to take with me to the Haida Gwaii. I have the zoom lens, but now I'll be able to take some wide angle zooms with the new prezzy I bought myself. Randy is of course quite proud of the fact that he had dragged me away from the store yesterday only totrack down a lower price, which they price matched. So I got a great deal and a lens cover for a lot less than what I would have paid otherwise. You can see him the picture to the left playing with the other prezzy.

My apologies for the lengthy blog, but I've had a busy week. I hung out with my dear friend Rose and we spent the entire time laughing about some crazy thing. We were late picking up Chelsey and we laughed about that. We laughed about last year and the year before that - as good friends do. We even picked up the mail and of course we stopped for coffee. Randy has been great and very helpful and we spoke to his Mom and Dad last night (Hello Anne-Marie) who live in Quebec. Always nice to hear from them and they had well wishes for me on my pending trip to the Haida Gwaii.

The last picture is a nice one from a walk Randy and I took up at Westwood Lake. We messed around taking lots of pics and trying out the new video camera. We took two hours to walk a distance that should have taken only 45 minutes tops. But we had fun and have proof of the excursion.

I will blog again this week as I get ready to leave on Saturday for Haida Gwaii. It will be a blast to pack and re-pack all the gear and totally fun to think of getting underway. I should have time tomorrow to figure out how to upload a video clip onto the blog as well. I'll try - no promises though. Have a great week and I'll be back soon to let you know how things are going.