Chapter 1
Early Years
Each night, we would camp beside a lake or river, where the fishing always seemed to be good. Mom would cook up some grub on the Coleman stoves while Dad set up the big bell tent. After eating, we would sit around the fire for a bit, talking about the day. There is something about a crackling fire, joined by the hiss and snap of the Coleman lantern, that would lull both my twin and me to sleep.
Chapter 2
Growing Up Coastal
I was introduced to canoeing at an early age, and I was hooked from the first time my paddle hit the water. Canoeing allowed me to travel without the noise others make. There is nothing like silently gliding along in the early light of a fall morning, sunbeams shining through the morning haze. You can sense the haunting pull of all things to nature, and it is very humbling. It is a cosmic experience that can bring balance to your very soul.
Chapter 3
Hobbit Loggers
We were quite small, this lad and I. We were like a couple of hobbit loggers, but we were hired for the job because of our small size. You see, the company had felled trees right into the Elk River, and the Fisheries wanted them removed. They hired us because we were light enough to get out on the logs in the river to set chokers. I was happy to have a job.
Chapter 4
Cowboy Country
That first summer, Roger and I took a canoe trip up the Cariboo River into the Cariboo Mountains. This was a trip I had dreamed of doing for years, and now I was loading the canoe. We planned on going right up to the Cariboo Falls and back again. We figured it was going to take about 15 to 20 days to complete.
Chapter 5
Back To Logging
We were about halfway in when the wind hit us broadside with a blow that tore loose anything that wasn’t lashed down. The wind seemed to be a living thing as it picked us up and slammed us down on the sandbar. We tried to back off, but we were stuck fast. I ran below deck to check for damage, and the other two went out on deck to look the situation over. We had water coming in from a couple of spots, but the auto pumps would handle it. The story outside was a whole lot worse. I got back on the deck just as a wave crashed over the boat and rolled us hard to the port side.
Chapter 6
Trying To Find My Way
I had been offered pipeline work in Alberta, but refused anything to do with the oil fields. Brown and Root, who were out of Texas, offered me work in Kuwait welding oil pipelines back together after Saddam and his army had a meltdown and set it on fire. The pay was to be more than I ever made before if I signed on for a year, but I had a wife and young kids that I wanted to see grow up. Heard later that some workers had been shot.
Chapter 7
A Website Is Born
Riding around on bikes opened up the world; you were no longer zipped by things, and you had time to see all there was to see. I went out and purchased a new digital Canon Camera, as my old film-bearing Ricoh Camera was fine before, but digital was the new way of the future. I photographed everything. I began to look at things from a different perspective.