Off the Grid in Nipika

For my friend Brooke's birthday, we traveled to British Colombia to an eco-resort called Nipika for the weekend.  We arrived Friday evening and settled into our lodge.  There were 15 of us total so we had a large cabin that slept about 12 and another smaller cabin that slept about 6.  The lodges were beautiful and very eco-friendly.  The entire resort ran on very limited electricity and we had to leave our hair dryers, computers, and other plug-ins at home.  With no TV and no cell service, it was nice to relax and not worry about anything.  The first night we met everyone and told stories by the fireplace.  Some people took a dip in the firewood-heated hot tub, but Matt and I opted to stay inside by the warm fire.

The hot tub and sauna

Saturday morning, we woke up and had breakfast.  We had assigned meals ahead of time to groups of people so Brooke and a few others were in charge of breakfast for Saturday morning.  They made scrambled eggs, bacon, and pancakes.

Shauna, Adrien, and Brooke preparing breakfast

Matt "living the dream" after breakfast

After a hearty breakfast, we decided to go for a hike to a natural bridge over the Kootenay River.  Normally, Nipika has snow at this time of year and the trails are used for cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing.  This particular weekend, though, there was no snow so we made the most of it and hiked the trail to the river.  The scenery was beautiful and when we reached the river, the colors of the water were amazing.

Top view of the natural bridge over the river

Limestone which lines the bottom of the river, giving the water that amazing blue-green color

After our 3 hour hike, we headed back to the lodge for some lunch and rest.  We were all on our own for lunch so Matt and I heated up some soup and sat by the fire.  We played Scategories and Scrabble to pass the time.  Later, the group on dinner duty prepared chicken and veggie skewers, pork tenderloin, and rice.

The next morning, it was our turn for breakfast.  Matt and I, along with another couple, made bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, and french toast.  While preparing and eating breakfast, it began to snow outside, just in time for us to pack up and head home.  It was still really pretty to see though.

As we packed our things and got ready for the 2.5 hour drive back to Calgary, we took a peek at the guest book.  This was the first entry:

Sounds like they had a great time...and so did we!

Our First Fall Fest

Matt and I have sadly missed the first 3 annual Fall Fests and decided that we couldn't bare to miss another.  So, we flew back to PA so that we could visit with friends and family and finally see what all of the hype was about.  Unfortunately, we got stuck in Minneapolis for a night on our way due to "maintenance issues" (thanks, Delta), but we finally arrived right in time for Fall Fest.  Fall Fest was complete with tons of food, kegs, family, friends, and a massive bonfire.  Dad actually had over 90 pallets to burn for the bonfire.  Jenny and I created a scarecrow to initiate the lighting of the fire.  Thankfully, there was very little tackling this year, but lots of fun and games.  The next day, mom made a huge Thanksgiving dinner for us (even though the real Thanksgiving was still a few weeks away) just so we could enjoy the yummy food with our family.

Pumpkin Carving Party - Halloween 2012

To get into the Halloween spirit, Matt and I decided to have a Pumpkin Carving Party with some of our friends.  It was BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) and most of our friends hadn't carved a pumpkin since they were little, but for Matt and I, it's always an annual tradition.  We had a feast of snacks, including beer bread, guacamole, salsa, deviled eggs, and veggies and dip.  And of course there were drinks - even a special Halloween Punch that Matt concocted.

Some came in costume, but others didn't.  We had a Conehead, a witch, and Where's Waldo's girlfriend, Wanda.  For those who came costume-less, Matt recruited some more Coneheads :)

After some chatting and snacking, we got started with the pumpkin carving.  Brooke decided to use a pattern for her giant pumpkin, but the rest of use chose to go with freehand designs.

Mostly, we all made a pretty big mess, but of course had fun in the process.  Everyone's pumpkin turned out great!

Playing in Portland

Matt, Melissa, Brooke, and I planned a long weekend trip to Portland, OR where we met up with Kara for The Color Run. Our weekend of fun went like this:

Thursday:

• Arrived and checked-in to our hotel
• Explored the city - visited Tugboat Brewery and few other pubs

 

Friday:

• Headed to Stumptown Coffee and Voodoo Donuts for breakfast

•  Rented bikes and rode around the city for some sightseeing and shopping

• Grabbed delicious dinner at Henry's
• Met up with Kara and went to My Father's Place for some drinks

Saturday:

• Woke up early for The Color Run 5K

•  Cleaned up and grabbed lunch at Shiraz
• Then we split up - Kara and I went to play soccer while Melissa, Matt, and Brooke went shopping
• Ate dinner at Sizzle Pie and then headed to the Timber's game

•  Matt and Melissa called it a night and headed back to the hotel while Brooke, Kara and I went to meet up with her friends at Dig a Pony

Sunday:

• Went for brunch at Mother's and walked around Hawthorne to check out the vintage shops
• Brooke and Matt headed back to Calgary but Melissa and I stayed an extra day
• Went to a Fiesta themed birthday party for one of Kara's friends
• Had dinner, wine and watched a movie with Chelsea and Kara at their house

Monday: 

•  Met Kara for lunch at a restaurant where they were preparing to film Portlandia!
• Got a tour of Kara's office
• Melissa and I headed to the airport to fly home

Pretty view of the Rockies from the plane