Day 166

i've never experienced an autumn quite like this. there's mountains all around and cool, clean air flows through the small streets and around the corners of brick buildings, carrying in its breeze a tame and established maturity. through the bustling of workers in their small snowboard stores and novelty shops along the downtown main and the buzz of the locals and their constant replaying of snowboard movie productions, i can tell that the valley is preparing for the coming influx of snow, winter residents, and visitors. i like this place. there's one of everything that deserves such. one mcdonalds. one best western. one tim hortons. simple stability.

i was feeling restless this afternoon so i went up for a cruise around town on a longboard to get some air and to carve the streets before the coming snows blanket everything. all this happened in a fashion that happened to last the exact length, from leaving the house to coming back through the door, of an eleven song playlist on the ipod.

one of the guys at this house, scott, is the hotel manager of one of the big resorts on the hill- one where visitors will pay a minimum of four hundred bones a night to crash during the snow season. after going to the snowboarder's for Christ Bible study, five of us went up to the quiet and massive log hotel and he unlocked the hot tub. in the shadow of the mountain and the quietness of stars and tall pines, we sat around and talked about books and faith and had a good chill.

Day 144

the humid, rich breath of evergreen forests hung in the overcast, autumn glow all day today. the pacific northwest. sometimes i would pause working and, standing on the little path i've leveled midway up the hill, look at the still lake water. the buzz of silence, perhaps more a silky stillness, is momentarily punctuated by the wisps of wings of a crow overhead or the splashing, crashing dash of a duck from flight to the still surface of water. i've seen several bald eagles as well as they quietly drop down from the treetops and glide above the glassy backyard lake.

i found three snakes today and also, surprisingly, a nest of turtle eggs. i know they are the eggs of turtles because the first 'round soft white rock' broke against a shovel stroke. i had to keep moving the rest of the sand in the area, but i've relocated the rest of the eggs to a different part of the yard where the sun can still keep them warm. hopefully they're cool with that.

now i'm inside- tired, full, and clean. i bought a really good photography book online, undoubtably the best i've ever found in my lifetime's broad bookstore experience, after finding it in a bookstore in portland. until that gets here, i have a solid short stack of material i'm rotating through throughout a morning and evening. it's supposed to rain tomorrow. if it's enough to keep me from making some constructive progress in the yard, then i will definitely enjoy reading all day.

i've also been contacting people and have turned in resumes in fernie. i have a hookup at a restaurant there and am really needing a pre-established job for a smooth border cross, so hopefully this process continues to go well. a friend in new zealand, tim if you remember him from very early posts, called the other night to talk and catch up. he's coming back to north america to join our crew for the winter and confirmed his confidence and prayers to the fulfillment of these final winter arrangements. many others have as well, which is huge and greatly appreciated.

now, i'm going to shamelessly drop a couple plugs. one's for some of my photography from the summer's adventures (innocent enough), along with some extras i wanted to have up. you'll see, as they're labeled accordingly. the second is for the website that some of these, along with many more, will soon be available for purchase as posters. you can see how this might be sheepishly presented, unless you're very interested in art, photography, or supporting a young traveler.

joelieske

wallblank.com

Day 135

clear skies and the open sun paled in the crisp cool of the breeze though the leaves. autumn is coming. a west coast fall. i like it.