The last entry......? Probably not

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Well, here it is, my 75th (I think), and final entry (maybe). It was 5 1/2 months ago that Derek, Mark, and I said goodbye to our loved ones, boarded a BC Ferry, and left the land of Tim Horton's, Canadian Tire, cold Pacific Ocean, and sane traffic behind. Yah, that was a random summary of Canada, wasn't it? Well, it's what came to mind. I thought I would do one last entry to sum things up a bit. And yet, I'm really not done my year of crazy travelling. In fact, as I write this I'm sitting in bed in Whitehorse where outside it is -10C and there's a whole lot of snow on the ground. Soon I'll be off to Edmonton for my cousin's wedding. Then I think I have a trip to Ottawa in May. Then in June to the Sunshine Coast, then back to the Sunshine Coast for 2 weeks in July to help manage the subcamps at the provincial scout jamboree. Then I sleep in my bed for ONE NIGHT before flying to London, on-route to the Gambia. Am I insane? One thing's for sure, I definitely need to resist taking a potentially amazing job training a bunch of courses in Whitehorse and go home so I can stay put... for a little while, at least!

This is the supposed to be the point where I write about all the epiphanies I've had during my adventures, however I don't really feel like I've had sufficient time to get my thoughts together to come up with such jewels of wisdom. I suppose if there's one thing I've learned, it's how much I really, really love living in Canada, and BC in particular. It may just be because it's where I've lived all my life and therefore the culture and landscape I'm most used to, but I love it just the same. Today during the flight to Whitehorse I was treated to three solid hours of breathtaking scenary of incredible, snowy mountain ranges with snow-covered lakes and partially frozen rivers. The best part of all this? It was completely uninterrupted by human development of any kind. Just vast wilderness. I love it. Europe was really beautiful from a historical and architectural purspective, but at the end of the day I'd take wild nature and old growth forest in a second. And SE Asia? Well, it had wilderness, too, but unfortunately due to our transport limitations we didn't get to see much of that. We just got to see the areas where gross, neglegent tourism practices had desimated the natural surroundings. That was less than enjoyable. I did really enjoy what nature we saw, though--particularly what was left of the coral reefs. I'll remember those forever. Australia had some beautiful national parks which I enjoyed emmensely, though I still prefer the BC wilds to the Aussie Outback.

Jim, my host here in Whitehorse, showed me pictures tonight of the village we're going to in the Gambia, and I'm really excited. Only one building in the whole village has electricity, though, so it's definitely going to be a rustic 3 weeks! Shouldn't be too bad--it's not like we'll need heating. The ol' blog will likely be dusted off around that time, if only to post pictures upon my return (if they don't have electricity, I don't think I'm going to get on the internet!) Besides, I'll have already been camping for over 2 weeks on the Sunshine Coast, so I'm sure I'll have forgotten what luxuries like electricity are all about. =)


If you're wondering, the trip home from Paris went off without a hitch, but BOY was it LONG! 23 hours of travel from the time we left our hotel, in fact. We visited 5 cities on the way. Paris to Montreal to Toronto to Calgary to Victoria. Sheesh! Ohhhh but the view over Newfoundland was just incredibly stunning. I HAVE to get over there as soon as possible. It is my next major trip goal. My friend Chris from Science Venture gets to teach camp there this summer and I am extremely jealous. Maaaaybe next summer I'll get to go teach camp there, if my life is a little more stable and I can actually commit to such a thing early on. Alright, I'm basically just rambling now so I'd better sign off, at least for a while.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your kind notes along the way! I hope you enjoyed my entries. I really enjoyed writing them. Bye for now!

Jess

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Photos

Ohhh Timmy Ho
Is it sad to have this much love for a beverage establishment? And to come back right in the middle of Roll Up the Rim To Win, too! It doesn't get any better. I love Tim Horton's. Honestly. This was taken in the Toronto Airport while we waited for our WestJet flight.

Comments

[Mom]

My days will be much the poorer without the anticipation of finding a new blog entry from you. I very much look forward to seeing you in person in the near future. Love Mom

[Aunt Nancy]

No place like home
So Dorothy was right after all. We're so glad you shared your marvelous adventure with all of us. Love, Aunt Nancy

[Uncle Dave]

Very perceptive Jess. We are so lucky to live in the country we do, and unfortunately there are those of us that take it for granted. Welcome back! Love Uncle Dave