2011 Year in Review
Even though it is already February of 2012, I am embarking on a review of 2011, since it was such a big year for me in so many ways and needs to be documented -- better late than never! I'll try to make the post somewhat chronological, but I'll be grouping some topics together that spanned the year, so as not to jump around too much.
It's strange to think that at this time in 2011, I had just wrapped up a three month trip to New Zealand. I left Canada in mid-November and my first couple months there were documented in sarahdownundah before I abandoned it due to lack of internet access while on the road with my friend Juli, who joined me for the last month. Here are some pictures of the jaw-dropping scenery and doing fun things like hiking, ice climbing, kayaking, and riding on the beach!
While we're doing jump pictures, here's one of Juli, although
to be accurate, she was actually piaffing down the beach. :p
From New Zealand, we headed back to North America, with a two-day stopover in Tahiti.
We returned to the mainland via LA, where we stayed one night, which we used to walk down the Boulevard.
The next day, we rented a car and road tripped to Phoenix, Arizona (eight hours), where Juli's parents have a winter home and vanraf (Maura) lives, who I stayed with after Juli departed back to Canada. She went home earlier than me as I wanted to make one more stop, in Las Vegas for a photography conference, before going home.
The view of snow-covered mountains with palm trees in the foreground while heading out of LA was strange.
The road trip scenery was pretty bland after that... lots and lots of cacti. :p
I do like the more "stand out" cacti, like this saguero (even if it does look diseased!).
Maura was again a great host (I have visited her before) and let me tag along to the Scottsdale Show, where she was helping in a booth.
She also let me ride the gorgeous Toodles, a National Show Horse (Saddlebred/Arabian)
and I got to go for a real rack down a long stretch! So fun... zoom zoom!
Maura and Toodles.
Then I was off to Las Vegas, where I felt a little out of place in the casino hotel, walking in with my backpacker's kit.
The photography conference, WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International), was as educational as the last time I went in 2008, although it was a little less fun this time as Tanya wasn't there to go on after-hours adventures with. I don't remember how we managed to fit those in anyway, as this time I was in seminars every day from 8am to 8pm!
I reluctantly flew home on February 23rd, and arrived in Calgary to a balmy -31C. As you can see from my various stops after New Zealand, I tried to delay my return as long as possible, but it just wasn't enough! We had SO much snow at home.
Our dog, Abby, was pretty happy to see me! Tragically, in May she ran onto the highway during a walk and was fatally hit by a truck. ;( We hadn't even had her for a year and had overcome a lot of behavioural issues during that time, so it was especially hard after we spent so much time bonding with her.
While I was away, Theo had been at a trainer's, having training done in preparation for his career launch as a vaulting horse, something I always knew he would be good at with his size and docile temperament. He looked AMAZING when I visited him! This is his trainer Marita riding him. Vaulting horses have to be strong, consistent, and of course as near bombproof as possible, with people leaping on and around them! -- so there is a lot of pre-training necessary.
The reason I did this was because I was planning to move to British Columbia and would be busy re-establishing my photography business, I decided I would only take Santana with me and would lease Theo out to a vaulting club in Alberta. I moved him to the vaulting place in early March, and only two weeks later, he went to his first competition! I don't have any pictures of him in it, but I visited him in June and caught a practice. He was doing walk/trot at the time, but has since moved up to cantering with vaulters.
The club even gave me a crash course in vaulting and let me try some moves! It's WAY harder than it looks.
I took Theo for a quick bareback spin in his pasture.
He is such a cuddler. :)
A week later, my mum and I went to Kamloops, my chosen BC locale, to look at an acreage that was for sale. I wasn't even planning to THINK about buying until at least six months in, but we were scoping out the potential market online and happened upon this place that looked perfect. The Realtor said, "Well first things first -- it was never a grow op." Things someone from Alberta doesn't necessarily think to ask about when looking at housing, but the first thing someone from BC asks! We didn't get it in the end, but it set in motion pursuing ownership sooner rather then later (dramatic foreshadowing).
While we were in Kamloops, we stayed at a guesthouse in a nice, newly renovated house. As we stayed there for almost a week, we got to know the owner fairly well. We found out that he was leaving for a month near the end of April to ride his bike across Japan (nuclear radiation and all!), and that he planned to close the hostel during that time. This started the wheels turning, and my mum and I asked him if he would be interested in letting me run it while he was gone in exchange for a place to stay. He agreed! I had't even officially moved to Kamloops yet, and I already had a job! I went back to Alberta for a few weeks to wrap up loose ends and pack, and then returned to start my new life!
Here is a photo of the guesthouse living room, so you have an idea of what it was like.
The owner had a lot of signs and labels in the house, but this one in the bathroom was my favourite!
For someone who had no experience in the hospitality industry (besides not even someone who likes making my own bed!), I transitioned into the role of guesthouse manager seamlessly. I loved meeting all of the travellers and hearing their stories. The great thing about guesthouses and hostels is that they encourage interaction rather than having you hole yourself up in a room. Just like when I was travelling, I made friends with many of the guests, and was invited to visit them in their countries. I enjoyed providing a safe and comfortable environment for them while they were with me. Sometimes, I would even cut fresh flowers to put in the rooms, as there were gorgeous cherry and lilac trees in the yard.
I was enjoying my new job and city, making friends, and exploring the area -- but something was missing. It was my horse, of course!
My friend Pepi brought Santana out in late May, and I was ecstatic. I had found a beautiful farm to board him at, with 20 acres of pasture sandwiched between the river and the mountains.
Although I had originally decided to limit myself to one horse, Pepi offered for me to take on one of her young horses, Flame, as a train and sell project for the summer, and I couldn't say no! Apparently he and Santana had buddied up during the ten hour trailer ride, as they were inseperable for the next couple weeks while they integrated into the herd of six other horses.
Flame was a real character and loved jumping, so we had a lot of fun together, although we did have some issues with back soreness -- luckily these were sorted out with the help of a chiropractor and masseuse.
Here's a comparison picture showing what a few months of training (and some delicious grass!) can do.
In October, I sold him to the first person who inquired about his online ad, a 74 year old lady from Vancouver Island! Everyone thought it was cute how their hair colour matched...
2011 was the best year yet for Santana and I. I truly feel like he blossomed, being allowed out on pasture 24/7 -- not only was he sleek and glossy, but he was more relaxed than ever before. That's not to say he lost any of his spirit -- he would still go for miles without ever wanting a break, including doing the 10 minute climb up the mountain to the trails without pausing once. I met some great riding buddies at the farm -- Jane, Heather, Melanie, and Lindsey.
He was so good that when my over-60 friend Marion came to visit, I put her on him -- something I never imagined I would be able to do. Let us remember that when I first got him, he only had two speeds: gallop and gallop faster, and he would literally rear his way across the fields in giant bounds if I tried to get him to walk!
Another milestone was jumping him 3'0". Santana has never had the best jumping form, but he will jump anything you point him at and clear it by an extra foot or two -- still, it took some guts to finally stand the barrels up on end and jump them! As you can see by my "holy bananas!" face, it was thrilling! Being so tall, Santana makes the jump look small.
In addition to Santana and Flame, I also took on an occasional lesson client, Linda and Mystic. Linda had a bad fall a couple years ago and although she sold the horse she had the accident with and found a safer one, she had lost some confidence. I started by doing groundwork with Mystic, who was very smart and a quick learner. One time, she jumped out of the round pen in a bid to stop working! Linda watched in amazement and said, "Appaloosas don't jump!" and I said, "Well this one does!" (for the record, I've known some great jumpers who were Appaloosas!)
Soon enough, I had Linda on Mystic in the round pen, then in the field, and then she trailered out to my farm to join Flame and I on a ride (Linda and Mystic top three pics, Flame bottom two). They did so well!
In September, Linda asked me if I wanted to take Mystic in a local gymkhana. Despite riding for half my life, I had never been in a full-on gymkhana -- the closest I've come was the fun classes at some horse shows in the past, where I would do the games in an english saddle! This time I rode in Mystic's western gear, and we had a blast doing barrels, a relay race, the obstacle course, and a few other games.
I think I rode more in 2011 than I have in many years past, as the weather here is so much better than in Alberta. Lethbridge is famous for its wind (it is the second windiest place in Canada, after Pincher Creek, which is just an hour west), and it frequently deterred me from riding, especially if I was training a young horse. Dust flying in your eyes and tarps flapping just isn't conducive to riding! I still got in a lot of hours in the saddle, but in Kamloops, there is far less wind (contrary to what the locals will tell you -- I guess what they call wind, I call a pleasant breeze!) and combined with many warm, sunny days, I found myself riding almost every day. I was actually kind of relieved when the weather was occasionally poor, because I would feel guilty if I didn't play outside when it was nice out.
I had to pinch myself when I was already laying on a beach in May. :)
Besides riding, I also drove around exploring a lot, joined the local hiking club, went camping, took up biking again, and went kayaking and boating. Here is ample photographic evidence of such.
The North Thompson River in early spring.
Kamloops Lake, which drains into the South Thompson River, with its much drier surrounds.
Kamloops is situated at the point at which these two rivers converge.
In August, Michelle (a girl I met through the hiking club) and I kayaked across Kamloops Lake to the "Painted Rocks", a natural phenomena of green and red rocks amongst the usual gray. On the way back, a storm blew in and we had to put our arms to the test to get to shore as quickly as possible!
There are lots of farms, ranches, and acreages in the area. This is the Blackwell Dairy Farm.
Acreages in Barnhartvale, a major horsey area 15 minutes east of Kamloops.
Looking north from Barnhartvale. I adore the textures of the land here.
The abundance of all these hills made me want to get into mountain biking. Here I am practising for my debut -- photo inspired by my hilarious friend Lisa!
After pounding the pavement a bit, I went out and bought this mountain bike for $40 from a travelling street preacher (seriously -- I found the bike on Kijiji and when I showed up at his house, he had an RV with Bible verses on it that he travels with, spreading the good word. I do meet the most interesting people!). I took it to Sun Peaks, the local ski hill, and rode the chair lift to the top. I then rode my BRAKES all the way down -- it was way steeper than I was expecting! Everyone else on the hill had FULL FACE HELMETS and body armour on. I felt a little out of place with my Zellers helmet and Fisher Price knee/elbow pads.
Opting for a more tame activity the next week, I decided to sleep in a nylon bag in the woods with the bears -- AKA, camping! My friend Kirin and I went hiking and tenting on the edge of Shuswap Lake, and I had an amazing club sandwich at a cafe found in an off-the-grid hamlet down the road (the chef had a white hat and everything -- although the waitress was dressed in a tube top...).
Boating on Shuswap Lake on another occasion, also with Kirin.
Backroading.
Bighorn Sheep.
Wildlife in the city at Macarthur Island Park.
The view from my first hiking club outing. Yes, we were up high!
Some members of the hiking club on another outing, to a rock/water feature.
As beautiful as the Kamloops area is, my favourite discovery of 2011 was near Merritt, about an hour south of Kamloops. It was the Kentucky and Alleyne Lakes, which I came across when returning from a music festival I went to in Kelowna at the end of July. I saw the Provincial Park sign and took the 5km detour to take a break from the highway. My jaw dropped when I saw the sparking, tropical-blue lakes nestled in the boreal forest!
Don't I look like I'm in the Caribbean?!
In contrast to all this water, here is a picture of a small forest fire near the Afton Mine west of Kamloops, which I saw on my way to a BBQ at my friend Marie's place. It was contained at this point. Forest fires are a fact of life in BC, as it can be so hot and dry in the summer, and there are ample forests to combust under the right conditions.
I also saw bright lights in the darkness when I went to Vancouver with Kirin to help him move there for school. I have never visited Vancouver properly outside of the airport terminal!
He showed me around Van and we went on a scenic drive to Whistler.
And I thought New Zealand native town names were hard to pronounce!
We found out that there was a free Sam Roberts concert in Whistler that
evening to celebrate the opening of a new outdoor stage -- it was great!
Kirin is a VW fan, so we went to a car show the next day, where I saw all sorts of weird and wonderful things!
I returned to Alberta in June, July, and twice in October to photograph two horse shows, three weddings, and a number of portraits. I flew for two of the trips and drove for two. You know you're in Alberta when there are crops as far as the eye can see!
But there are mountains too. I enjoyed driving through Banff National Park.
And I reveled in a spectacular display of autumn colours on my October drive (this is still in BC, though).
The Claresholm Dressage Show in June has become one of my favourite events -- this was my fourth year photographing it.
A new show I shot this year was the Calgary Area Dressage Association Show.
They asked me to design a calendar with the photos.
All three wedding couples had pictures taken with their horses!
Candice married her Match.com find, Mike.
Teresa married her cowboy, Matt.
Ashley married her farm boy, Miles.
This seems like a good time to present some of my favourite portraits from the year, both horse & rider, my specialty, as well as families, couples, and individuals. Taken in Lethbridge and Kamloops for the most part.
At the end of July, I moved out of the Guesthouse and into my own bachelor suite on the river. Sweet!
In August, I met my boyfriend, Chris, who has been wonderful addition to my life. He keeps me balanced and we have had lots of fun together!
Our first date was a steep hike above Paul Lake.
Sometimes he gets me flowers. :)
On my 26th birthday in November, he surprised me by taking me skating; he plays hockey, so he is a good skater, while I had not been on skates in at least a couple years -- but I didn't fall once! We also went to the farm and he took pictures of me riding.
He has even ridden Santana a few times! I was so proud of both of them -- Chris for being such a quick learner, and Santana for taking care of him and only trying to trot off a couple times (an achievement in itself, since that is his favourite thing to do... "Faster?")
In September, I had the opportunity to go to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to photograph a family whose portraits I had also done five years prior. They are from near Lethbridge, but wanted their portraits done while they were on vacation in Yellowstone. It was an honour to be asked back, even though they knew I had moved away and the trip would be twice as far for me -- 1400km each way, to be precise. I convinced my friend Michelle, who I had met kayaking, to come with me on this epic journey, even though we had only ever spent that one afternoon together!
We are a bit like Mutt & Jeff, since I am so tall and she is so short!
After my truck's fuel pump bit the bullet on the way down, our already short trip was shortened by a day while we got it repaired, but we made it there in one piece and I photographed the family in the beautiful park. It is interesting to see how they changed in five years!
We had one afternoon free to explore the park before we had to start the drive home again the next day to get Michelle back for work. We accomplished quite a bit of sightseeing though, from canyons and waterfalls to mud pools, hot springs, and geysers.
In October, I went to the Mane EVent, an equine trade show and demo weekend, as an exhibitor. It was in Chilliwack, three hours south (near Vancouver), but there is a sister event in Red Deer, Alberta that I have also attended as a visitor. As an exhibitor, I met a ton of potential clients, and I even had time to catch some clinics.
As Halloween approached, I got a little crafty and entered a scarecrow-making contest. Here is my mummy scarecrow creation.
I spent Halloween in an abandoned house with Chris... MY abandoned house! After months of keeping things quiet in case nothing came of it, everything came together near the end of October and with my parent's backing, I bought my first home! The quote "An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than she can chew, hoping she'll quickly learn how to chew it." (Roy Ash) was never more true than in this case, as I took on a 10 acre property with a 5 bedroom / 2 bathroom house in need of finishing and renovation work. As it was a foreclosure, it was not left in a very good state and I had (and have) a lot of work ahead of me.
Almost all of November was spent wrapping up loose ends in Kamloops and moving bit by bit, and after I officially moved in December, I spent the month cleaning, getting settled in, and starting the renovations. I moved Santana out to the acreage on December 4th and although I haven't taken him on too many rides this winter, it's sure been nice to just go out and hop on when I have had the time! He currently has Dusty, the neighbour's mare, to keep him company.
On that note, it's time to wrap this up before we get any further into 2012! 2011 was an eventful, life-changing, and fun year filled with a new home, new friends, and a new life, and I can only hope 2012 will be as exciting. :)
It's strange to think that at this time in 2011, I had just wrapped up a three month trip to New Zealand. I left Canada in mid-November and my first couple months there were documented in sarahdownundah before I abandoned it due to lack of internet access while on the road with my friend Juli, who joined me for the last month. Here are some pictures of the jaw-dropping scenery and doing fun things like hiking, ice climbing, kayaking, and riding on the beach!
While we're doing jump pictures, here's one of Juli, although
to be accurate, she was actually piaffing down the beach. :p
From New Zealand, we headed back to North America, with a two-day stopover in Tahiti.
We returned to the mainland via LA, where we stayed one night, which we used to walk down the Boulevard.
The next day, we rented a car and road tripped to Phoenix, Arizona (eight hours), where Juli's parents have a winter home and vanraf (Maura) lives, who I stayed with after Juli departed back to Canada. She went home earlier than me as I wanted to make one more stop, in Las Vegas for a photography conference, before going home.
The view of snow-covered mountains with palm trees in the foreground while heading out of LA was strange.
The road trip scenery was pretty bland after that... lots and lots of cacti. :p
I do like the more "stand out" cacti, like this saguero (even if it does look diseased!).
Maura was again a great host (I have visited her before) and let me tag along to the Scottsdale Show, where she was helping in a booth.
She also let me ride the gorgeous Toodles, a National Show Horse (Saddlebred/Arabian)
and I got to go for a real rack down a long stretch! So fun... zoom zoom!
Maura and Toodles.
Then I was off to Las Vegas, where I felt a little out of place in the casino hotel, walking in with my backpacker's kit.
The photography conference, WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International), was as educational as the last time I went in 2008, although it was a little less fun this time as Tanya wasn't there to go on after-hours adventures with. I don't remember how we managed to fit those in anyway, as this time I was in seminars every day from 8am to 8pm!
I reluctantly flew home on February 23rd, and arrived in Calgary to a balmy -31C. As you can see from my various stops after New Zealand, I tried to delay my return as long as possible, but it just wasn't enough! We had SO much snow at home.
Our dog, Abby, was pretty happy to see me! Tragically, in May she ran onto the highway during a walk and was fatally hit by a truck. ;( We hadn't even had her for a year and had overcome a lot of behavioural issues during that time, so it was especially hard after we spent so much time bonding with her.
While I was away, Theo had been at a trainer's, having training done in preparation for his career launch as a vaulting horse, something I always knew he would be good at with his size and docile temperament. He looked AMAZING when I visited him! This is his trainer Marita riding him. Vaulting horses have to be strong, consistent, and of course as near bombproof as possible, with people leaping on and around them! -- so there is a lot of pre-training necessary.
The reason I did this was because I was planning to move to British Columbia and would be busy re-establishing my photography business, I decided I would only take Santana with me and would lease Theo out to a vaulting club in Alberta. I moved him to the vaulting place in early March, and only two weeks later, he went to his first competition! I don't have any pictures of him in it, but I visited him in June and caught a practice. He was doing walk/trot at the time, but has since moved up to cantering with vaulters.
The club even gave me a crash course in vaulting and let me try some moves! It's WAY harder than it looks.
I took Theo for a quick bareback spin in his pasture.
He is such a cuddler. :)
A week later, my mum and I went to Kamloops, my chosen BC locale, to look at an acreage that was for sale. I wasn't even planning to THINK about buying until at least six months in, but we were scoping out the potential market online and happened upon this place that looked perfect. The Realtor said, "Well first things first -- it was never a grow op." Things someone from Alberta doesn't necessarily think to ask about when looking at housing, but the first thing someone from BC asks! We didn't get it in the end, but it set in motion pursuing ownership sooner rather then later (dramatic foreshadowing).
While we were in Kamloops, we stayed at a guesthouse in a nice, newly renovated house. As we stayed there for almost a week, we got to know the owner fairly well. We found out that he was leaving for a month near the end of April to ride his bike across Japan (nuclear radiation and all!), and that he planned to close the hostel during that time. This started the wheels turning, and my mum and I asked him if he would be interested in letting me run it while he was gone in exchange for a place to stay. He agreed! I had't even officially moved to Kamloops yet, and I already had a job! I went back to Alberta for a few weeks to wrap up loose ends and pack, and then returned to start my new life!
Here is a photo of the guesthouse living room, so you have an idea of what it was like.
The owner had a lot of signs and labels in the house, but this one in the bathroom was my favourite!
For someone who had no experience in the hospitality industry (besides not even someone who likes making my own bed!), I transitioned into the role of guesthouse manager seamlessly. I loved meeting all of the travellers and hearing their stories. The great thing about guesthouses and hostels is that they encourage interaction rather than having you hole yourself up in a room. Just like when I was travelling, I made friends with many of the guests, and was invited to visit them in their countries. I enjoyed providing a safe and comfortable environment for them while they were with me. Sometimes, I would even cut fresh flowers to put in the rooms, as there were gorgeous cherry and lilac trees in the yard.
I was enjoying my new job and city, making friends, and exploring the area -- but something was missing. It was my horse, of course!
My friend Pepi brought Santana out in late May, and I was ecstatic. I had found a beautiful farm to board him at, with 20 acres of pasture sandwiched between the river and the mountains.
Although I had originally decided to limit myself to one horse, Pepi offered for me to take on one of her young horses, Flame, as a train and sell project for the summer, and I couldn't say no! Apparently he and Santana had buddied up during the ten hour trailer ride, as they were inseperable for the next couple weeks while they integrated into the herd of six other horses.
Flame was a real character and loved jumping, so we had a lot of fun together, although we did have some issues with back soreness -- luckily these were sorted out with the help of a chiropractor and masseuse.
Here's a comparison picture showing what a few months of training (and some delicious grass!) can do.
In October, I sold him to the first person who inquired about his online ad, a 74 year old lady from Vancouver Island! Everyone thought it was cute how their hair colour matched...
2011 was the best year yet for Santana and I. I truly feel like he blossomed, being allowed out on pasture 24/7 -- not only was he sleek and glossy, but he was more relaxed than ever before. That's not to say he lost any of his spirit -- he would still go for miles without ever wanting a break, including doing the 10 minute climb up the mountain to the trails without pausing once. I met some great riding buddies at the farm -- Jane, Heather, Melanie, and Lindsey.
He was so good that when my over-60 friend Marion came to visit, I put her on him -- something I never imagined I would be able to do. Let us remember that when I first got him, he only had two speeds: gallop and gallop faster, and he would literally rear his way across the fields in giant bounds if I tried to get him to walk!
Another milestone was jumping him 3'0". Santana has never had the best jumping form, but he will jump anything you point him at and clear it by an extra foot or two -- still, it took some guts to finally stand the barrels up on end and jump them! As you can see by my "holy bananas!" face, it was thrilling! Being so tall, Santana makes the jump look small.
In addition to Santana and Flame, I also took on an occasional lesson client, Linda and Mystic. Linda had a bad fall a couple years ago and although she sold the horse she had the accident with and found a safer one, she had lost some confidence. I started by doing groundwork with Mystic, who was very smart and a quick learner. One time, she jumped out of the round pen in a bid to stop working! Linda watched in amazement and said, "Appaloosas don't jump!" and I said, "Well this one does!" (for the record, I've known some great jumpers who were Appaloosas!)
Soon enough, I had Linda on Mystic in the round pen, then in the field, and then she trailered out to my farm to join Flame and I on a ride (Linda and Mystic top three pics, Flame bottom two). They did so well!
In September, Linda asked me if I wanted to take Mystic in a local gymkhana. Despite riding for half my life, I had never been in a full-on gymkhana -- the closest I've come was the fun classes at some horse shows in the past, where I would do the games in an english saddle! This time I rode in Mystic's western gear, and we had a blast doing barrels, a relay race, the obstacle course, and a few other games.
I think I rode more in 2011 than I have in many years past, as the weather here is so much better than in Alberta. Lethbridge is famous for its wind (it is the second windiest place in Canada, after Pincher Creek, which is just an hour west), and it frequently deterred me from riding, especially if I was training a young horse. Dust flying in your eyes and tarps flapping just isn't conducive to riding! I still got in a lot of hours in the saddle, but in Kamloops, there is far less wind (contrary to what the locals will tell you -- I guess what they call wind, I call a pleasant breeze!) and combined with many warm, sunny days, I found myself riding almost every day. I was actually kind of relieved when the weather was occasionally poor, because I would feel guilty if I didn't play outside when it was nice out.
I had to pinch myself when I was already laying on a beach in May. :)
Besides riding, I also drove around exploring a lot, joined the local hiking club, went camping, took up biking again, and went kayaking and boating. Here is ample photographic evidence of such.
The North Thompson River in early spring.
Kamloops Lake, which drains into the South Thompson River, with its much drier surrounds.
Kamloops is situated at the point at which these two rivers converge.
In August, Michelle (a girl I met through the hiking club) and I kayaked across Kamloops Lake to the "Painted Rocks", a natural phenomena of green and red rocks amongst the usual gray. On the way back, a storm blew in and we had to put our arms to the test to get to shore as quickly as possible!
There are lots of farms, ranches, and acreages in the area. This is the Blackwell Dairy Farm.
Acreages in Barnhartvale, a major horsey area 15 minutes east of Kamloops.
Looking north from Barnhartvale. I adore the textures of the land here.
The abundance of all these hills made me want to get into mountain biking. Here I am practising for my debut -- photo inspired by my hilarious friend Lisa!
After pounding the pavement a bit, I went out and bought this mountain bike for $40 from a travelling street preacher (seriously -- I found the bike on Kijiji and when I showed up at his house, he had an RV with Bible verses on it that he travels with, spreading the good word. I do meet the most interesting people!). I took it to Sun Peaks, the local ski hill, and rode the chair lift to the top. I then rode my BRAKES all the way down -- it was way steeper than I was expecting! Everyone else on the hill had FULL FACE HELMETS and body armour on. I felt a little out of place with my Zellers helmet and Fisher Price knee/elbow pads.
Opting for a more tame activity the next week, I decided to sleep in a nylon bag in the woods with the bears -- AKA, camping! My friend Kirin and I went hiking and tenting on the edge of Shuswap Lake, and I had an amazing club sandwich at a cafe found in an off-the-grid hamlet down the road (the chef had a white hat and everything -- although the waitress was dressed in a tube top...).
Boating on Shuswap Lake on another occasion, also with Kirin.
Backroading.
Bighorn Sheep.
Wildlife in the city at Macarthur Island Park.
The view from my first hiking club outing. Yes, we were up high!
Some members of the hiking club on another outing, to a rock/water feature.
As beautiful as the Kamloops area is, my favourite discovery of 2011 was near Merritt, about an hour south of Kamloops. It was the Kentucky and Alleyne Lakes, which I came across when returning from a music festival I went to in Kelowna at the end of July. I saw the Provincial Park sign and took the 5km detour to take a break from the highway. My jaw dropped when I saw the sparking, tropical-blue lakes nestled in the boreal forest!
Don't I look like I'm in the Caribbean?!
In contrast to all this water, here is a picture of a small forest fire near the Afton Mine west of Kamloops, which I saw on my way to a BBQ at my friend Marie's place. It was contained at this point. Forest fires are a fact of life in BC, as it can be so hot and dry in the summer, and there are ample forests to combust under the right conditions.
I also saw bright lights in the darkness when I went to Vancouver with Kirin to help him move there for school. I have never visited Vancouver properly outside of the airport terminal!
He showed me around Van and we went on a scenic drive to Whistler.
And I thought New Zealand native town names were hard to pronounce!
We found out that there was a free Sam Roberts concert in Whistler that
evening to celebrate the opening of a new outdoor stage -- it was great!
Kirin is a VW fan, so we went to a car show the next day, where I saw all sorts of weird and wonderful things!
I returned to Alberta in June, July, and twice in October to photograph two horse shows, three weddings, and a number of portraits. I flew for two of the trips and drove for two. You know you're in Alberta when there are crops as far as the eye can see!
But there are mountains too. I enjoyed driving through Banff National Park.
And I reveled in a spectacular display of autumn colours on my October drive (this is still in BC, though).
The Claresholm Dressage Show in June has become one of my favourite events -- this was my fourth year photographing it.
A new show I shot this year was the Calgary Area Dressage Association Show.
They asked me to design a calendar with the photos.
All three wedding couples had pictures taken with their horses!
Candice married her Match.com find, Mike.
Teresa married her cowboy, Matt.
Ashley married her farm boy, Miles.
This seems like a good time to present some of my favourite portraits from the year, both horse & rider, my specialty, as well as families, couples, and individuals. Taken in Lethbridge and Kamloops for the most part.
At the end of July, I moved out of the Guesthouse and into my own bachelor suite on the river. Sweet!
In August, I met my boyfriend, Chris, who has been wonderful addition to my life. He keeps me balanced and we have had lots of fun together!
Our first date was a steep hike above Paul Lake.
Sometimes he gets me flowers. :)
On my 26th birthday in November, he surprised me by taking me skating; he plays hockey, so he is a good skater, while I had not been on skates in at least a couple years -- but I didn't fall once! We also went to the farm and he took pictures of me riding.
He has even ridden Santana a few times! I was so proud of both of them -- Chris for being such a quick learner, and Santana for taking care of him and only trying to trot off a couple times (an achievement in itself, since that is his favourite thing to do... "Faster?")
In September, I had the opportunity to go to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to photograph a family whose portraits I had also done five years prior. They are from near Lethbridge, but wanted their portraits done while they were on vacation in Yellowstone. It was an honour to be asked back, even though they knew I had moved away and the trip would be twice as far for me -- 1400km each way, to be precise. I convinced my friend Michelle, who I had met kayaking, to come with me on this epic journey, even though we had only ever spent that one afternoon together!
We are a bit like Mutt & Jeff, since I am so tall and she is so short!
After my truck's fuel pump bit the bullet on the way down, our already short trip was shortened by a day while we got it repaired, but we made it there in one piece and I photographed the family in the beautiful park. It is interesting to see how they changed in five years!
We had one afternoon free to explore the park before we had to start the drive home again the next day to get Michelle back for work. We accomplished quite a bit of sightseeing though, from canyons and waterfalls to mud pools, hot springs, and geysers.
In October, I went to the Mane EVent, an equine trade show and demo weekend, as an exhibitor. It was in Chilliwack, three hours south (near Vancouver), but there is a sister event in Red Deer, Alberta that I have also attended as a visitor. As an exhibitor, I met a ton of potential clients, and I even had time to catch some clinics.
As Halloween approached, I got a little crafty and entered a scarecrow-making contest. Here is my mummy scarecrow creation.
I spent Halloween in an abandoned house with Chris... MY abandoned house! After months of keeping things quiet in case nothing came of it, everything came together near the end of October and with my parent's backing, I bought my first home! The quote "An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than she can chew, hoping she'll quickly learn how to chew it." (Roy Ash) was never more true than in this case, as I took on a 10 acre property with a 5 bedroom / 2 bathroom house in need of finishing and renovation work. As it was a foreclosure, it was not left in a very good state and I had (and have) a lot of work ahead of me.
Almost all of November was spent wrapping up loose ends in Kamloops and moving bit by bit, and after I officially moved in December, I spent the month cleaning, getting settled in, and starting the renovations. I moved Santana out to the acreage on December 4th and although I haven't taken him on too many rides this winter, it's sure been nice to just go out and hop on when I have had the time! He currently has Dusty, the neighbour's mare, to keep him company.
On that note, it's time to wrap this up before we get any further into 2012! 2011 was an eventful, life-changing, and fun year filled with a new home, new friends, and a new life, and I can only hope 2012 will be as exciting. :)