Crabdog Woes

Ignorance isn't always bliss. Especially when it comes to laws and regulations.There have been a few times in my life i can think of that I wish I had read the regulations ahead of time. Instead I assumed, or listened to others, and shouldn't have.

This came home to me last week again when I was going crabbing at the beach. Others had told me what the daily limit was, and the size they were to be. So I headed out over the sandbars in search of the elusive crabs. I thought to myself as I walked,"Boy, I don't think I have seen so many crabs, but they are all undersize." I had picked up 10 or 15, checked the sex, and size and most were thrown back -- too small. Don't reach the 165 mm. (6.49 in.) minimum required size. Eventually I reached my daily limit of 4, and later that day we had a wonderful feast of crab.

Having obtained a copy of the regulations when I got my crab license, I thought, "I should check these out as far as crabs go." And here's what I discovered: First, there are two kinds of crabs that can be harvested, The Dungeness, and the Red Rock crab. I wasn't making a distinction in the type. I was assuming a crab was a crab. Next, in the bay where I was crabbing the daily limit for EACH type is 4, not 4 total. Finally, the Dungeness crabs must be 165 mm, whereas the Red Rock crabs only need to be 115 mm. (4.5 in.). In the two days I had been crabbing, I probably threw back at least 10 Red Rock crabs that were of legal size. I could have harvested many more had I known the regulations.

Although the crabbing instance is minor, it could have been more significant if I had erred on the wrong side of the law. I can immediately think of several other instances where I didn't know the laws or regulations, and one that could easily have resulted in a more serious accident and my death.

So my point here is simple: I need to make the effort know and to keep up on the laws and regulations that pertain to the spheres of life I interact with: Traffic laws, hunting and fishing regulations, and tax-laws to name few. Where these are too complicated such as some tax law, I should spend a little to pay for good advice. The dividends in long run will likely pay off.

Grounded on the Sand

It's been a little while since I was last here. I got back from Alberta on July 9th and after settling back into home that weekend, faced the onslaught of the backlog and catch up of work needing to be done. The glow of a great bike trip would soon be lost in deadlines, demands, and daily details.

Respite came in the form of a weekend at my parent's place at Boundary Bay.

"The Bay" is a special place for me, as it is for my brothers and sisters and most of my relatives on my Mom's side. I can't speak for them, but I can share my thoughts.

The property was bought in the late 40's by my Grandpa for the princely sum of $1500. It sat as an empty lot for a few years until my uncle built a beach cottage on it in the early 50's. Although both uncles and their lived there briefly at different times, it was primarily a sanctuary for my Grandpa. In the early days he would take the family out from Vancouver but later he would drive from his house on the bluff to sit on a bench he placed in the trees at the front of the property overlooking the water.

It was routine from the time I was born to spend time at the Bay. One month each summer was spent in the beach house, enjoying the sun, surf, and sand. Lifelong friendships were established, family reconnected and the finest fare that was ever gleaned from the sea was regularly consumed. Much of what was good in my growing up years was associated with the Bay. So much more could be said. Perhaps another time.

When my grandpa died, my mom inherited the beach property and the by now, old beach house was torn down. My parents built their current place on the property. The new place on the old property became the gathering place and a place of retreat and respite for us all. It became the place for regular family gatherings on holidays and any other excuse we could think of. As much as possible the family still gathers in whole or in part, now down to the 5th generation. Again, so much more could be written, but I'm just trying to provide a context.

It is because of this context that the Bay is a place of respite. A place with personal and family history. A place where laughter and tears have echoed for six decades now. And it is through retreating back to that welcome place periodically that I have often sharpened my focus, renewed my soul, and regrounded my spirit for everyday life.

And so I'll go back again and again.

Including this weekend.

Majestic Monoliths

I haven't blogged for a few days, mostly because the nights have been late. Here's a summary: in Medicine Hat Saturday and Sunday, Calgary Monday, Edmonton Tuesday, Grand Prairie Wednesday. It was my first time in Grande Prairie. It is a lot like Fort McMurray. In case you didn't know, it is in northwest Alberta. We met with Ed Elias from the radio station and had dinner with him and his wife Evelyn.
We flew out early, picked up our car in Edmonton, and drove to Calgary. In Calgary Ben and I picked up our bikes at a friend's and headed out for Golden.
It has been hot, and the heat and fatigue combined made it very difficult to stay awake. We finally got to Canmore and had a Timmies. That did the job to keep us awake through the multiple construction zones until we got to Golden. Actually, the construction detours provided us with an even more scenic ride past Johnston Canyon and other campgrounds.

It was spectacular to ride through the Rockies on a motorcycle. I couldn't help but marvel at the massive, majestic mountains. These monoliths stand as mute witnesses to bygone aeons. In their presence my existence needs to be reframed as limited, weak, and fleeting. In light of that, how do we then live? What can be done that will stand as firm as these peaks?

A ride through the mountains is healthy for the soul. It can bring perspective to life -- a life that may be tyrannized by time and the urgent, having lost sight of the eternal and the important.

Tomorrow, we go home.

And Then There Were Two

Our morning started out in Kalispell, Montana with breakfast at Perkins' reataurant, which is not a bad place if you have to find something.

Our plan for the day was to finish off our week of riding together with a ride on one of the most well-known (among bikers anyway) and spectacular roads anywhere -- The Road to the Sun in Glacier National Park in Montana. It was originally built when cars were first invented. It is hard to imagine how they built it with mules and carts as it clings tentatively to the side of the mountain.

I first drove this road on a family holiday 20 years ago. Again, I had thought it would be a wonderful motorcycle road, never thinking I would ever one day actually drive it.

This year's ride provided a different experience than previously and from what I had expected. Spring thaw had been harsh to the road. Much of it had been washed away and so construction challenges were prevalent. There was so much more traffic than I expected, no doubt due, in part to being the US July 4th weekend. Finally, fog, rain, sleet/snow provided the final challenge. The rain gear came out at the beginning of the road, and didn't come off till the end. At least we were colorful --Ben in his "Harley orange" Bob in his red and white, and me in my yellow pvc.

The run was ended at Johnson's restaurant and campground where the potato soup warmed the innards and provided us with one last meal together. From there George and Bob headed back to Kalispell to continue their ride together for another week, while Ben and I rode the 20 miles to the Canadian border.

Ben and I rode to Medicine Hat where we end our vacation week and begin a week of radio station and donor meetings throughout Alberta.

It has been a wonderful experience in many ways. Great men to travel with, good roads to ride, wonderful memories to cherish, and the catharsis of having had nothing to worry about except keeping the shiny side up and my knees in the breeze.

(PS --Thanks to Bob for the pictures!)

Beautiful Places, Empty Spaces

We were in Dillon MT. last night. If you've ever seen the movie "Hot Fuzz" it was kind of like that. Cars in the streets, but no one around. Actually, I've noticed that about quite a number of the small towns we've been in. I wonder, "Where are the people? Are they in their houses watching The Price is Right?"

One of our group, Jim, left us this morning and headed home to Calgary. Admittedly, it was hard to say good-bye. He is such a unique character and brings down-home wit and wisdom to our riding and conversations. Speaking of someone that he had frustrating business dealings with he said in typical fashion, "I'd like to grab him by the lips, pull him through a knothole and give him a good talking to."

Perhaps the sadness at Jim's departure foreshadows the beginning of the end of our adventure and a return to the more mundane. It is hard to describe the feeling of getting up each day and hardly knowing what day it is, where you are going, or when you will get wherever you eventually decide to go. It has been a refreshing and stark contrast to my normal life of clock-dominated routine.

It was cool when we started out -- about 10 degrees C. So we stopped for coffee in, of all places, Wisdom. Are you searching for wisdom? Well, we found it. And we had coffee at Fetty's. No muffins. Or jam for the toast we eventually ordered. And the danish were soggy. The pickup parked out front with the two rifles in the gun-rack took me back to my days of growing up on the Canadian prairies.

We had lunch in Missoula, and although it rained a little on the way to Kalispell, this time we had our rain-gear on and didn't get wet.

In total we traveled about 500km today so it was a shorter day. Our estimated total distance travelled so far since leaving last Friday is about 4400 km.

We arrived in Kalispell mid-afternoon before heading to Capers for supper -- rated #2 of 68 restaurants in town. There, I was a little more adventurous and had Rattlesnake sausage pizza for supper. If you ever get a chance to try it -- do! It doesn't taste like chicken!

Be careful what you dream for...

There have been many times, while driving my car down a particular road I've thought, and even said out loud, "This would be an awesome road to take on the motorcycle."

That thought was in my mind twenty years ago when, while on a family vacation, I drove through Yellowstone National Park. And I didn't even own a bike at the time! Today, I had that dream fulfilled.

I was up early today and began by washing the dirt from yesterday's storm off the bike. I had also tried to repair a detached speedometer cable, but that had to wait until tonight. We left Cody Wyoming with blue skies and big smiles.

At the suggestion of fellow motorcyclists whom we met at breakfast we changed our plan and headed to Chief Joseph park with its scenic highway. And the ride was amazing! The consensus was that it was one of the best rides we have ever been on. There is almost no traffic and the roads themselves are in almost pristine condition.

Completing that we headed into Yellowstone Park. Apart from the intermittent road construction
the travelling was fabulous. We saw a tremendous diversity of wildlife -- moose, bears, deer, antelope, eagles as well as the ever-changing landscape of this vast century-old park. I saw herds of bison, as well as herds of tourists gathered to take their picture. It was a busy place, but to be able to traverse the highways of Yellowstone was actually a dream come true.

But here's the funny thing -- I didn't realize this was something I had thought about doing before until I was doing it. My mind flashed back to my previous visit 20 years earlier, and it clicked. Have you ever had that experience? You've thought about doing something and then forgot about it? It's not deja' vu because I hadn't done it before. Nor did I see myself riding these roads. It was simply a desire, an aspiration.

Someone once said, "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it." Granted that is intended in a negative context. But maybe there's something good at work here too. Dreams don't cost anything. So why not dream big. You never know -- it just might happen.

Oh yea, I got the pictures into yesterday's blog. Check 'em out.