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  • Amy Phillips

Canada

May 2019 Lue lisää
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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Kluane National Park

    17. syyskuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Today I drove a couple of hours through the clouds to get to Kluane National Park. On my way there, I was considering turning around because I literally could not see a thing with it being so cloudy!! I arrived at the visitor centre to get a map of the hiking trails and the lady told me a certain trail to do because it was in the forest so didn’t matter if it was cloudy or not. I stopped by a hostel to rent some bear spray for the day and they told me to do the King’s Throne hike...so I headed there and as if by magic, there were clear skies and sunshine!! Boy, it was a hard hike though! Very steep, and mostly shale/rock underfoot so a bit of a scramble most of the way up! Made it tough coming down. But the views... wow!! After the hike, I spent some time sitting at Kathleen lake before I headed to my next hike.

    The next hike I did was Rock Glacier. It wasn’t so long or steep but as it was an old glacier, underfoot was all rock again so kind of tricky. On the way down, I thought I was going to have my first bear encounter. Turns out, it was just a bear shaped thing ..phew!!!

    Headed back to my hostel and the drive was amazing because I could actually see what was around me! An early night tonight again I think, and expecting my body to feel the hikes in the morning!    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Carcross

    18. syyskuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Today I set off in the car with my destination of Skagway, Alaska. My first stop along the way took me to Carcross, about an hour away from Whitehorse. It’s a very small village but there’s still a few things to see. The first, Carcross Desert - the smallest desert in the world! Well, it’s not officially a desert...the sand once lay at the bottom of a glacial lake. I went into the visitor centre, grabbed a coffee and took a wander around Carcross Commons before anther 2 hours in the car to Skagway. Also along the way was Emerald Lake, another of Canada’s many beautiful lakes!Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Skagway, Alaska

    18. syyskuuta 2019, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    I continued my journey through British Columbia, crossing the border into Alaska and onto Skagway where I spent the day. It was very busy, and turned out there were 3 cruise ships all in dock. Now, it is more of a tourist destination, especially for the cruise ships. But previously, Skagway was the gateway to the Klondike Gold Rush. It was fascinating to learn all about the gold rush which brought around 100,00 people from all over the world to the Yukon in search of their gold. I treated myself to a yummy lunch in the Skagway brewing company - I had Alaskan Salmon - before heading back to Whitehorse through more clouds!Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja
    2

    Miles Canyon and a few beers!

    19. syyskuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    I had a lazy morning and dropped the hire car off and stopped by a bakery on the way back to my hostel. Then I set off with someone in met in the hostel to walk the Miles Canyon loop. I naively thought the 15.4km loop would be a flat and paved trail....it wasn’t! But it was still a really enjoyable trail and took us about 4 hours! After a bit of chilling out, a few of us went for a beer, had some dinner and then went for a walk up to where we could see the whole city. We were hoping that the slightly clearer skies would make good northern lights viewing but it was not to be. I don’t think I’ll be lucky enough to see them on this trip.

    I think my steps for the day has to be a record!!    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    A slightly easier day

    20. syyskuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    I took it a bit easier today and went to the MacBride Museum of Yukon History and then the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre. Yukon is very proud of its First Nations history and you see that all throughout Whitehorse. They still keep their traditions alive and pass them down the generations, even the Native languages which are all so different in the different communities.

    I took a stroll around the city and did a bit of shopping before heading to the Klondike Ribs and Salmon for dinner. I’m told it’s thee place to eat in Whitehorse and tonight was the last night before they close for the season. I went for the house special - ribs and salmon - but I kind of regretted it as soon as it arrived at my table. Well, it did taste good!! I only managed half of it though, so the other half will be dinner tomorrow! 😊    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Last day in Whitehorse :(

    21. syyskuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    I spent my last day in Whitehorse enjoying nature in a slightly different way - on a horse trail ride! It was so much fun, and I was the only one there so had my own private guide! It was with a wilderness ranch, who also have over 100 husky’s that they train year round for dog sledding.

    Then I went to Yukon Brewing for a tour and tasting...a great end to my time in Yukon!

    It will be an early night tonight ahead of an early start tomorrow for my journey back to the ranch in Merritt!    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja
    1

    Last trail rides of the season

    1. lokakuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    We managed to get on another 2 trail rides before the snow came which were great, both for us and the horses! We went to Loon lake and back both times which was about 2/2.5 hours. I’ve really been enjoying the trail rides and working with the horses.

    The first time I took Shorty, but with his short legs he was struggling to keep up with the others, and all he wants to do is eat the grass!! So the next time I took Buck who was a better fit for keeping up with the horses but he ended up losing a shoe! All good in the end though!    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja
    1

    What happened to Fall?

    8. lokakuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ⛅ -2 °C

    A few of us went to our first hockey game in Merritt to support the Merritt Centennials! It was great, and they won!

    I think we’ve skipped fall and gone straight into winter here on the ranch! We woke up the other day to lots of snow and minus temperatures!! The snow is now slowly melting but we’re still waking up with around -10C each morning! The ranch is at quite a high elevation (approx 3600ft!) so we’ve had it pretty bad!Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Happy thanksgiving!

    12. lokakuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    Happy thanksgiving from Canada!! We had a few of the residents at the ranch who brought some family and friends for the weekend. They put on a huge turkey dinner and invited the volunteer crew to join them. Wow...what a feast!! There was about 30 of us and we had 3 turkeys, a ham and all the trimmings! Myself and another of the volunteers made (way too much!) dessert! Needless to say we’ll be eating leftovers for days!

    We also went to an Indian Reserve to watch their annual round up. Every thanksgiving weekend, they roundup as many of the wild horses as they can to separate them and brand the new foals amongst a few other things. They have over 500 wild horses on their land and were out for 2 whole days trying to find them and bring them in. They didn’t get nearly all of them but there was still a fair amount. It was hard to watch some aspects of it, but it was also interesting to be welcomed and be a part of this tradition.

    We’ve ended our thanksgiving weekend with some drinks and music around the campfire.    Lue lisää

  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Look who's in the big city of Van

    16. lokakuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    I made another trip from the ranch to Vancouver to meet Grace for a week’s holiday! We went straight to our first NHL hockey game to support the Vancouver Canucks! It was a fairly violent game but the Canucks won!!

    The next day we were both a bit tired so had a lazy start and had brunch at Jam Cafe - you have to have pancakes when in North America, but I couldn’t finish mine, it was so big!! Then we went up the Vancouver Lookout for views all over the (rainy) city. We had a wander around Canada Place and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the Museum of Vancouver. The city has such a rich history that I didn’t know much about before!    Lue lisää

  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    A few dry hours means a walk in the park

    18. lokakuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    Well Vancouver is known to rain often but it just has not stopped since we arrived! Yesterday we decided to do a bus tour around the city to try and stay dry! We ended up meeting a friend who we both used to work with years ago for dinner which was lovely!

    Today, we went back on the bus tour but got off at a few stops to make the most of a dry morning but the rain soon caught up with us again! We made a couple of stops in Stanley Park, then we got off in Chinatown and had a yummy lunch! We then headed off to the Capilano Suspension Bridge.    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Capilano Suspension Bridge & Football

    18. lokakuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    The Capilano Suspension Bridge was amazing! At this time of year they have lots of lights all around the trees and it just looks stunning! I was actually surprised when we arrived because I thought it would have been a bit further out of the city.

    After the bridge, we headed to BC Place for a BC Lions football game - Canadian football 😳 I had absolutely no idea what was going on for the whole game but it was a fun atmosphere so we enjoyed it nevertheless!    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    A day trip to Seattle

    19. lokakuuta 2019, Yhdysvallat ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    We were up at what felt like the crack of dawn today to go and pick up a rental car and headed straight for Seattle! When we arrived we headed straight to Pike Street Market for some lunch and then went to the Space Needle. It was fun to see the city from up there and there’s even a revolving floor which is cool, but also messes with your head a bit!

    After that we went to the museum of pop culture which was really interesting, before going for a walk to the Olympic park and along the Pier to watch the sunset and ferry boats (Grey’s anatomy fans will know the significance!) We enjoyed some locally caught fish for dinner, grabbed a coffee from the original Starbucks before driving back to Vancouver! We really could have don with another day or two to see more of the city but it was still a really great day trip.

    We arrived pretty late and have another early start tomorrow morning... 😴    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    A day out of the city

    20. lokakuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

    Another early start this morning!! We headed out of the big city of Vancouver this morning and headed to Kelowna. We drove through a snow storm the way. We stopped in Merritt, had a coffee and a walk around the murals and handprints of the country music stars who have performed in the annual country music festival. Our next stop was a winery tour! Yes please!!

    We went to the Mission Hill Winery which is stunning and set on a hill overlooking Kelowna. The tour was very interesting and we tasted a few wines as well!

    Seeing as it is Fall and close to halloween, we did something very North American and went to a pumpkin patch which had a giant corn maze and lots of cool things to do. It was pouring so we didn’t stay for long before we headed to the ranch in Merritt...drove through another snow storm!!

    I showed Grace around where I’ve been volunteering and we joined the crew for dinner before heading back to Vancouver. It was a close call whether we would actually drive back that night or stay at the ranch because it was snowing again and we weren’t sure how the roads would be! We took the chance and drove, and it was fine. The roads were a bit snowy but safe enough!

    We have to drop the car off early tomorrow, so not much sleep again tonight!    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Food, food and more food!

    21. lokakuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ 🌧 9 °C

    After our early start and having dropped the rental car off, we went out for breakfast. It was really yummy! I had a fancy mushrooms on toast!!

    We had a wander round the city, went to see the steam clock in action and then I took Grace for poutine for lunch - you cannot come to Canada and not have poutine!! I think it was one of the best I’ve had so far!

    It was another (not surprisingly) wet day so we took shelter in a bar and had some drinks at happy hour before heading out to a nice restaurant for a fancy meal on our last evening. Grace has found this restaurant and although it was a bit pricier, we wanted to treat ourselves and it was so worth it! They have a family style sharing concept, so you order a few dishes for the table and you share. It was actually really nice because you get to try more things! And the food was delicious!!

    After dinner we went to the botanical gardens where there is a Halloween light walk. It was really fun but also really wet so we’ve come back to the Airbnb to get ready for leaving tomorrow. 🙁    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Hay delivery and my last day on the ranc

    28. lokakuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ 🌙 -5 °C

    So we’ve been expecting this delivery of hay bales for at least a month now. Every time we have good weather, we are all prepared and ready! And it never came...until today - my last day!

    By the sounds of their experiences from previous years, I was expecting to be at it all day, but a couple of hours and 280 hay bales later we were thankfully done! It was such a workout and my legs are scratched and bruised, but it was also (kind of) fun!

    I’ve had such an amazing time here on the ranch, it will be hard to leave and say goodbye. But I am off to see a new part of the province and try out something new by volunteering on a winery.    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    It’s wine o’clock!

    30. lokakuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    I arrived at the winery yesterday after a bit of a long journey to find out the owners weren’t even there and that there isn’t a lot of work to do at this time of year - great!

    I must say, the place is stunning and a lot warmer than the ranch! Haha! There is a volunteer house with a big living room and kitchen which is nice, and even a resident kitten called Bruno.

    I really hope I will have some time in the winery to learn more about the production of wine..but it sounds like we at least get to drink free wine every evening 👍🏼

    Last night the 2 other volunteers went to a trivia night in the town of Osoyoos (the winery is about 20 minutes away), so I joined them which was nice.

    I will give this place a chance, but the people at the ranch already said I would be welcome back if things don’t work out here.    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    More wine time!

    6. marraskuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ 🌙 10 °C

    Things are still pretty quiet here at the winery, but I have at least been helping in the winery a few times. It’s been really interesting and actually a lot of the work still has to be done by hand. I will definitely appreciate wine a lot more from now on!!

    I’ve been doing punch downs - using a big metal tool to push the grapes that are on the surface down to the bottom so they dont dry out. Of course we are doing the red wine so things got a little messy. We also took the juice of the grapes, so we had to pump the juice to another tank and then press the grapes one last time before discarding them. Some of the wines, we’ve been moving into barrels, and also preparing one new barrels by spraying them with water.

    I’ve been making the most of the warmer weather and beautiful location and going out for walks every day (as there isn’t much work to do), but it looks like I will probably beheading back to the ranch where I won’t feel so useless!    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    And I’m back...

    23. marraskuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

    As we all thought, I ended up coming back to the ranch. I was just so so bored on the farm at the winery that I didn’t want to stay any longer. I felt more useful at the ranch :)

    It’s been good fun, even with the snow and freezing temperatures!

    The 6th picture is of a mini forest destruction by beavers!! It’s absolutely crazy how strong these animals are!

    I’ve been doing a lot of work with the horses as animals to cover other volunteer’s days off and I really enjoy that! It’s so hard when it’s so cold and the ground is frozen, but the animals make it worth it!

    Well I’ll be leaving the ranch soon (for good this time) and heading back East to Burlington for 10 days before heading back to Scotland.    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Go Leafs Go!

    5. joulukuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    I’ve been back in Burlington for a few days. It feels like being home!! It’s so nice to be home and see my friends. Last night I went into Toronto to a Maple Leafs hockey game. I lived in Ontario for a year and never made it to a game so made sure I got tickets for before I left.

    They lost :( but it has to be the best hockey game I’ve been to in Canada. The fan interaction was great, and the atmosphere was just something else!

    Even though it’s a good bit warmer here, it feels colder! I think it’s going to be really hard to say goodbye when the time comes.    Lue lisää

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  • Amy PhillipsCanadaMatkaaja

    Thats a wrap

    10. joulukuuta 2019, Kanada ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    I’ve now been in Canada for a total of 20 months which has just been the best 20 months! Some of the places I’ve seen are indescribable, I’ve met some amazing and interesting people who are now friends, and I’ve learnt so much. Working on an alpaca farm, hiking through the Rockies, working on a ranch, learning how to ride a horse, and making my way to the north of the country to the Yukon - just some of the things most people will never be able to say they have done. I’ve been so lucky to have this opportunity

    It was nice to end my trip where it all began, in Burlington! And a trip to Burlington wouldn’t be complete without dinner at Demetre’s! Yum yum!    Lue lisää

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    Matkan lopetus
    11. joulukuuta 2019
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