Echo Base

Saved from the clutches of disaster, our trip was saved, somewhat in part to my abilities as a pack animal.

Crazy stuff seems to follow me around, and it can sometimes be a little frightening. Imagine, if you will, a storm, followed by another, and another. And in the midst of these storms is your little car, packed full of articles, and shared with a noisy passenger. The result might be something like this:



Now, imagine my chagrin, seeing my over-enthusiastic passenger hanging out the window of my car with my several-thousand dollar camera poised from a shakey finger-only grip; snow and wind buffeting even the car. Grey hair shouldn't be too far off.

Given the opportunity to settle out of the cold for a moment, he snapped this one as well:



It appears to be rain on the way, but in actuality, those clouds are producing freezing downdrafts and something akin to slushy hail. I've never seen anything like it, and frankly, when I'm behind the wheel, I wish to never see anything like it again.

Upon arriving to our small cabin, we discovered it to be not-so-small after all. In fact, it was rather large, replete with jacuzzi and enough beds to sate even the most space-hungry materialist. An artist's rendition looks something like this:



The aim of our trip was to raid the nearest hill and to fall down it using one of several methods. Mine happened to be the snowboard, a curious invention which allows you to fall in any direction except those that your body is used to. Needless to say, I'm rather black and blue now from my endeavors, but I conquered the board in my own little way. Namely, sideways.

When not on the hill, our time was spent divided between three tasks. The most prominent being soaking in the lavish jacuzzi that adorned the back deck. It was all fun and games until somebody took the chlorine buoy out, reducing our once pristine hot-tub into a yellow cesspool of human skin bacteria. The culprit's excuse? "How was I supposed to know what it was for?"

Grade 6 educations are going pretty cheap these days.

The other two tasks of which I mentioned were split between jamming, and sleeping/having sex. Well, let me put it clearly. This was a once in a lifetime trip, and my pants stayed on the whole time. So, that said, I spent a lot of time playing guitar and sleeping. Well, trying to sleep. Discretion is a lost art amongst North American couples.

More to come soon. My fingers are too sore to keep typing.

My call sign was Echo Base.