So....

Hold onto your hats, lots of updating to be done shortly.

But today we rest and contemplate because tomorrow we open a door and jump from a plane!

BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER

So....okay people, much is occurring, I just got back from an impromptu visit to Vancouver Island. Which im afraid to say is as close to paradise I have ever experienced...more to follow when Chelsey gives me the photos.

But for now, I am eating pasta (and my nails) and re-hydrating for the Half Moon Adventure Race this Saturday.

So at 12 noon Mountain Time and 7pm UK time spare a thought for Dan and I (a.k.a Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure Team) as we run, scramble, mountain bike, climb zip, line, kayak and sweat our way across a valley range in the Rockies, for 8 hours!!!!

http://www.fullmoonadventure.com/files/FMIJ%20Trailer.mpg

BE EXCELLENT TO ONE ANOTHER

Oh and as a side note, congratulations for my mate Mike back in Leeds UK for starting his own business, I wish you well (save me a piece of wall and I'll make it lovely)

Graham & Selina Selina go to Mongol Mongolia...

So...Okay so I always have a lot of time for people who are ready for an adventure...

There was a sailing god at my yacht club when i was a kid, Mr Graham Preistley, I think he won the world championships when he was 14 or something ridiculous like that. Anyways, he's all grown up now and he's a teacher, he has a super cool Missus called Selina Selina (also a teacher, we all wish she'd been ours).

Well get this, they just got married, and instead of going somewhere boring like Spain or the BVI's for their honeymoon....they ARE CURRENTLY doing this:

THE MONGOL RALLY

http://mongolrally.theadventurists.com/

Thats right, there are adventures afoot! Basically a team buys a rubbish old car

they plan a route to Ulaanbaatar Mongolia, they get to Greystone Race Track,

someone waves a flag and then they're off!

How cool is that? Im very pleased about the whole thing, so please follow their progress guys:

http://mongolrally10.theadventurists.com/index.php?mode=teamwebsites&name=ulan-bataar-bahtat&page=blog

Be excellent to one another!

Other things to do in the Mountains that aren't tiring: Operation Lamb Roast

Its true, The Rockies are flipping amazing, they're huge, they're rugged and they have more adventure within them than I even know how to begin explaining,

HOWEVER, there are things you can do out there which don't tire you out,

Dans friends' Dad in law has a cabin out near Rafter 6 Ranch which is a respectable 45 mins drive from Downtown Calgary. Its nestled in the foothills with some shockingly gorgeous views along the valley into the Rockies proper.

Every Easter, these guys have a hog roast, using a lamb, so we'll call it a Lamb (Hog) Roast.

After the preparations are made: Lamb (Hog) attached to a roasting device

and plenty of salty water doused on said meat, there is time to drink and enjoy

the company and the sights and some daring souls go for a horse ride.

Below is an image of Me, Andrea (AKA Baby) and Dan on our horses.

I forgot what Baby's horse was called, but Dan and Me were riding brothers

Dans' horse was called Braveheart, and was in the movie and had climbed the Calgary Tower,

mine, his older brother was called Cruise, had done nothing and wanted to eat anything green that we walked past

[i think the girls choosing the horses had more of an insight

into real life than I had first imagined]

On our return the Lamb (Hog) was looking a great deal better

(didn't I say Dan was getting good with his camera)

this was a pot luck weekend (over here thats when everyone brings a dish or two)

And here is the finished article, regarde:

After the meal it was onto party time, and to top it all off

some superb guy broke out the Guitar. Seriously this guy knew every

song we asked for, even though I sang the first line a good 2 mins before it was needed....

Continue to:

Be Excellent to each other!

Other things to do in Calgary away from the Mountains

There are other things to do in Calgary apart from Mountains and Campings

Dan and Simone have a really great Yard which has become the perfect spot

for evenings by the fire where we were introduced to such delights as "Smores"

which is when you melt a marshmallow and some chocolate on a stick or fork

then stick the gooey loveliness between 2 crackers. These are especially

good with a fine Brandy or Whiskey

to help beat back the cold.

(image supplied by the emerging genius Dan Gun,

coming soon to a National Geographic near you!)

Then there is Curling, which needs no explanation apart from its a great

deal harder to do than you think...

Then of course Michelle invited us to some kind of Dub Nightclubs'

Birthday Part at Broken City Nightclub, where there was a nice bit of cake,

and what might possibly be the best bit of rapping I've ever witnessed when

Michelle's friend Ouda rhymed

"RAw, rAW, I like it rAW!

women-use-my-vegatables,

to make,

ma coleslaw!"

And lest we forget "the main event", which was the one and only Gift of Gab!

From Blackalicious and yes he did do Alphabet Aerobics!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvPnM2Q1nwU&feature=related

(a must watch, he starts each verse with the next letter)

Cant you tell?

Lovely..more soon dudes,

Be Excellent to each other!

Ribbon Falls

So so so, another weekend, another Hike!

This time we are heading to Ribbon Falls, the crew had 2 new additions, lovely Monica Aguss and my new room mate Chelsey Ann McPhederan. We also had Phoenix the poodle on board.

The Ribbon Falls 5

This hike was truly beautiful, with some serious eye Trifle, some of the peaks up there stagger belief.

We set off in high spirits, the sun was out and there were quite a few people on the trail. the trail follows the river up hill and very once in a while mother nature decides to give you a glimpse of what an amazing country this is. The river carves out the most amazing pools and water falls. Dan and I were so excited that we had to stop and 'woop' at every single one (much to the chagrin of the girls)

Every Pool looked very 'swimmable' though it was still very cold water up there

Me and Phoenix by the falls

We got to the top and its glorious, the views from the falls up to the peaks on either side is just awesome. We had brought a packed lunch, and you can sit in the mist from the falls and get nice and chilly after the hot walk up there.

Phoenix loved it since the presence of people meant food on the ground which meant Gophers were all over the place. She got particularly interested in one under the rock we were using as a seat, so Dan thought he'd give her a hand.

Like the Greek god atlas he grasped the seat boulder with both hands and shifted his weight....

Have you ever had those moments when the world just seems to slow down?, well in the moments that Dan was trying to shift the 1/2 ton boulder I saw Phoenix clawing underneath and was thinking "this isnt going to end well', I was pretty certain the poor dog was going to get trapped. The rock shifted and soon gravity was showing Dan the way so he had to let go of the boulder, which crashed over (I'm pretty sure the Gopher was quite alarmed) and sent some picnic over. The only real casualty was one of my apples ended up in the River! (So much for leave no trace!)

After a quick lunch it was back down the hill for Car Park Yoga then back to Calgary...

More coming soon Guys

Into the Mountains: Part 2 a. Nihahi Ridge

It was a sunday, Dan and I had imbibed the night before so with thick heads and poor planning we headed out in the car to Kannnannnnaassssskkkkkiiiiisssss country again.

We picked a route up Nihahi Ridge, by the time we got to the car park, it was snowing, did that phase us? It did not! So with trail map in hand 1 bottle of Powerade and big smiles we began our

ascent.

Halfway up we were already doubting the grand idea of hiking in the conditions, but Dan and I have a slight competitive handicap so neither of us were going to admit it. The powder was 2 ft deep and it was almost blizzard conditions!

I should remind you that we had neglected to tell anyone where we were going. "School boy error"

But it was an adventure none the less and as the hike plateaued out before the final push to the ridge we were really nervous about avalanches, not falling onto us, but sliding away from underneath us, the top had no cover and the was little vegetation, so yes, we were bricking it.

To lift the mood Dan prayed to Allah, Buddha and Jesus asking for a snowboard and some kit because the Powder was lovely, and this was in June people! We waited a few moments and when nothing came we pushed on up the steep stuff...

We got to the ridge, this thing runs for a good few kilometers, but the ice and snow stopped us from getting over the hump, so we elected to peek over the top and giggle at how scary it all was.

Hiking up is all well and good, but down in that slippery stuff was a real challenge, but we got down, finished our Subways and headed for home! We were still in 2 pieces!

Heres what it looks like on a good day:

http://www.braggcreek.ca/kananaskis/trails/nihahi.htm

Stay tuned

Into the mountains: Part 1. Mount Fatty

So Dan is more or less Mr Mountain Man, he bought a book on scrambles and our rule is "as soon as you put your hand down: You're scrambling!"

Our first outing was to Mount Indefatigable http://hikealberta.com/hike/mount-indefatigable-trail, we set off in high spirits, (and even higher blood pressure after stopping off at Humpty's) with a mission statement:

"To build an Inukshuk for my friends Anth & Sam who had just had a baby boy called Daniel"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inukshuk

To our growing dismay the further we drove into Kananaskis country the more I read about the place we were venturing into, it was a lovely fresh spring morning, and little did we know that as the snow melts, Momma Bears through out the

region are getting their cubs out of hibernation and shaking off a winters sleep.

The guide book warned against hiking here during spring, the guide book said 'by no means take animals' (we had Bohdi, the most rambunctious Husky I've ever met), the guide book gave 3 completely different ways to react to a Bear encounter, one of which involved fighting a Grizzly.

[Hushed silence through out the vehicle]

Dan: "Shall I put some music on?"

We all began texting people we knew to let them know where we were going and where to have our ashes scattered the next week.

And on we drove dear friends. And thank god we did....

Highway into Kananaskis Country

Halfway up and full of beans (nerves)

Eventually we found a nice spot for building, there was a nice overhanging ledge and plenty of large flat stones for construction purposes.

NB please observe my high tech Hiking Gear, an old Vest and a plastic bag containing the guidebook and a twix

Hopefully Dan wouldn't fall since

there's no way we could go to find him without climbing gear, AND he had the car keys...which is where our (no signal) cell phones were stashed!

And look at the view people! The little guy is on the rock just below the tree

And so we began our trecherous work above what must have been a 400m drop!

The article assembled all that was left was to get some group photos and get the hell out of there (Bohdi had started to bark a great deal) whilst singing the entire Beatles' White Album so stave off grumpy and most likely hungry Bears!

So here's the gang, Yours Truly on left, Mr Gunn, Ali (holding Bohdi) and Baby (or Andrea)

Oh and we found some time for Tom Foolery

Be good people, and there's lots more to come. I didnt write much because A) Im at work, and 2) I fell off my skateboard last night at 1am after drawing a tee shirt for Mon and my thumb is very sore.

Loves

Jo Luke is 30, and there's oddness afoot

So...

Honesty is often the best policy so this blog is about to take on a sombre but more truthful tone.

And so we enter decade 3 of Jo Lukes life we have found ourselves once again in 'troubled waters'.

Nathalia and I didn't work out, we were having a tough time then our house burned down and things just got very messy back there for a while. So we broke up....[gasps from the crowd]

We will call this time in my life, "The Dark Days leaving Transylvania"

Its horrible breaking up with someone, I imagine its like someone dying... I figure some people are good, I am a screaming wuss, but life must and invariably does go on. Riddled with insecurity (bald, old, own nothing, worth little) I tried very hard to be down on myself. But there were glimmers of hope in new friends and new experiences, I learnt alot about myself and adopted the new mantri "the universe will provide" and "live in this moment"

To say I was devastated is an understatement comparable to saying Jimmi Hendrix wasn't bad on the guitar. It took me alot of pain and worry and tears to get through, (not sure if through is the right word) and if it wasn't for lovely Dan and his GF Monica (ladies and gentlemen Monica Aguss-icelandic goddess, yoga queen and purveyor of tea and heart-to-hearts ((and stern looks))

People can we just take a moment to really appreciate our friends, who never leave and put up with all kinds of terribly boring self harming talk without rolling eyes or letting go [Thanks Dan]

I was out on the streets, Dan's lovely housemates (Simone, Pumba, Baby, Cristine and Bodhi the Husky ((who leaves his hair every where, and spoke to me in a dream)) took me in and let me stew on their couch for a good month, so we entered a time called

"The YYC House Hunt" I spent many an hour walking the streets of YYC map in hand seeing people I wouldn't trust with my cat, never mind me living there. ( i haven't seen my lovely cat Hurley in 2 months) There were hippies, there were geeky girls who jumped every time I opened my mouth. There was even a house of people that were into Guerrilla Artwork and had broken glass on the walls. And lets not forget the house I turned up at with 3 boys from Penrith living there, I knocked on the door, they opened it laughing, I asked why, "you dont wanna live here mate!", "how comes", "let me take you on a tour", there was a beer fridge in the kitchen for groceries and a hole into the basement, down the stairs one lad pulled back a sheet to reveal 'Alice's Room' a mattress on the floor under the stairs. The search was tough!!!

Finally I settled with a girl we'll call Goth chick, and all seemed fine. I got my deposit to her, I ordered a new cheque book. THEN...

The day I was to move in, we met, the key didnt work!!! (dum-dum) then as we finally got into the apartment there was a Ouija Board on the living room table...I began to sweat. Visions of me coming home on a friday night with a Pizza and a DVD, opening the door and finding an orgy of goths speaking to the dead, flitted through my head. My mouth dried up. I made my excuses and left. As I left a girl called Chelsey emailed, she was in Marda Loop (near Dan), she was replying to my begging email saying "i knew she put in the ad only girls but my name was spelt Jo and that was the girls way and would that help?" She said that the humor had changed her stance, HOORAY! all those years of being ridiculed at school were for a reason!

We met the next day, the house is great and we clicked like the last satisfying turn of a completed Rubix cube...

I took a deep breath and a strong drink, I called Goth Chick, she understood!!! I would only loose 150 bucks from deposit.

I moved in with super Ali for the time being (who is from Carlton, worked in Hide in Yarm when I did, was on the British Windsurfing Team ((I sailing team)) and has sailed over the Atlantic ((albeit in much more luxury than I did ((( see above)))) [thanks Ali]

Last week I moved in with Chels, and she is an Angel, Dan and I have already been to the Beer Festival with her, camped out at Rafter 6 and had some happy times [NOON!!!]. She's going to take me Horse Riding in the Foothills (which I have never appreciated fully) she's weaning me off meat, and showing me that there's hope and that lunch is in the fridge!!

On top of all this I lost my Common Law status with Nathalia, which meant back on the visa train for yours truly. Many gut wrenching conversations with lawyers trying to figure out the best approach have been sidelined by the awful revelation of June the 11th.

So we are now in the age "The Post 30 Fuzzy Period"

Today I learnt that the business Im working for is in turmoil, so I am to have my hours cut back (no worries, I get paid nicely enough). But this puts me on the gloomy side of 37 hours a week, which means I am no longer working full time, which means all my Visa hopes have been dashed into the Canadian wind like forlorn tears in the rain.

>>Meanwhile I have been having a terrific summer, baby sitting for my boss and dominating his children at Wii sports, BBQ's and fire pits, Camping and Climbing with the aid of Good Old Dan Gunn and his trusty car Shiela, hanging out with sexy arty types in the form of Michelle Beaujot (spell) drawing fantasic naked black women and getting into mischief of one sort or another.<<

>>Dan and I have had some scrapes, we climbed Mt Infatiguable in order to erect an

Inukshuk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inukshuk, in honour of my friend Anth Lowe's baby Daniel, this meant taming bear country down in kannanaskis, and scrabling out onto a ledge 300 ft above the skree slopes below and building the little blighter. Photos to follow (DAN??)

We had an impromptu scramble up to Nihahi Ridge

http://www.braggcreek.ca/kananaskis/trails/nihahi.htm

, when we set off in short trousers it was snowing lightly, [the Brits are coming] by the top (7500 ft) we were wading through 4 ft of snow and damning ourselves for not telling anyone where we had gone and only bringing a bottle of Powerade for fluid. Also we were wondering how to survive an avalanche in 2 layers of clothes.

So in the morning I call my lawyer, and we will see if anything is salvageable from this whole episode. Then we will dust our selves off, make some decisions and get on with living it "Jo Style"

Fingers Crossed people. Who knows what will happen. One thing is certain. I will blog like never before, no experience will go unblogged and at least we'll have a good story if things end up sour.

Please try to enjoy yourselves.

As Bill S. Preston, Esq. once said: "Be excellent to each other"