I'm back from the Rockies!!
I got back last night around 6 pm and wow, may I say what an amazing trip it was. It's all still falling into place for me because it was so action packed and non-stop on the go. Also the thing about just constantly being surrounded by such beautiful picturesque scenery is that it gets overwhelming after a while so a lot of the trip is a blur at the moment.
What I can't tell you now due to lack of time I will try to write up while I'm away on the Vancouver Island trip which starts tomorrow morning. Unfortunately I had a very very busy day today and so will not get to accomplish everything I had hoped to. What I'm trying to do now is upload all the pictures... 6 rolls!!!... and put in some comments and then go from there.
Today I had 2 loads of washing to do so that took a while. While I was in the laundry doing that I met an English guy who was really nice and it turns out he and his friend are doing the same Vancouver Island trip as me tomorrow so looks like I already know 2 people now :)
I also booked my flight to Montreal so I leave Vancouver next Monday night and arrive in Montreal on Tuesday morning. I will probably stay in Victoria till Monday evening then get a coach back to the airport in Vancouver and save some money by doing it that way.
I picked up my photos... then had to go meet a couple of the boys as we were supposed to do a walk around Stanley Park and a swim at the Aquatic Centre. Alas I had some bureaucratic matters to take care of so I went to meet them to bail out then went and opened a bank account and put in my application for a Social Insurance Number which is somewhat like a tax file number. By the time I did all that and got back to the hostel it was 4 pm and since I've been trying to catch up on my emails and upload photos etc before I have to rush back to the hostel, shower, dress, pack, meet the gang for dinner and a movie and get some sleep before the next trip tomorrow morning!

Sorry guys... ran out of time, have to run... but will send more detail and photos soon

Well, another busy busy day here in Vancouver! Woke up at about 7.30 this morning, had a HOT shower! Yes, the first couple of showers I had here in Vancouver were freezing cold and I found out later that it's because the particular shower I was using was broken. Since I found out I've been taking some sadistic pleasure in not telling others and when they come out of that cubicle I say "Did you just have a cold shower?" and they go "YEAH! It was freezing!!" and I casually say "Oh that's because that shower's broken". Except if they look like really nice people... then I warn them before they go in :)
After my shower I went down and made myself some breakfast and sat in the common room writing out some Hawaii postcards. Yes, I know. Shame on me.
Then I scooted off to the post office to also send some of my clothes to a friend in Montreal to lighten the load a little since I'm going to be moving around a fair bit over the next couple of weeks. Then it was back to the hostel to book my next leg and yes, I got in so I'm back on the road tomorrow for a 6 day trip to the Rockies. I come back on Sunday night for two nights then leave again on the Tuesday for a 4 day trip to Vancouver Island which will end up being a bit longer than that for me because I'm going to spend some time with Sheila in Victoria and I guess I'll get the Pacific Coachlines back.
Then I went down to Radio Shack to see about a power transformer and the guys there were really helpful and it turns out I didn't need one so I just got a plug adaptor thereby saving myself a cool 50 bucks.
Then I set out for my day in earnest. What a day... I've walked around so much again. I even forgot to eat so until 6.30 pm I hadn't eaten since 8 am when I had a small bowl of muesli. I'm a bit annoyed at myself about that actually because I don't want my metabolism to slow down even more!
Anyway, I had planned to go visit the Museum of Anthropology and of course the pamphlet didn't include all the bus numbers you could take to get there and basically said you get any of the buses mentioned from Downtown. Well Downtown is a pretty big area. Pffft. I found a bus but no thanks to any of the damn tourist guides.
On the subject of buses, it's really stupid here (and in Hawaii). You have to have exactly the right change for your fare because the drivers don't have change. You put your money in a machine and the ticket comes out... well, they call it a transfer because it's valid for further travel within 1.5 hours of the purchase. That bit is pretty cool.
But I digress as usual. I had to get a bus to UBC which is the University of British Columbia. That takes us over to West Vancouver and through Kitsilano and Jericho so I can pretty much tick those off my list too. You go past the Pacific Spirit National Park and into the heart of the University and from there there's about a ten minute walk to the Museum. Another side note, Vancouver could really be a more American version of Sydney in a lot of ways, the main difference is that between buildings here you see snow-capped peaks which is really not something I'm used to and it's very beautiful.
The Museum was fascinating for me. The exhibits only related to the First Nations of the West Coast, particularly the North West and mainly the Haida people of Queen Charlotte Islands. Those people had 90% of their population wiped out by diseases brought here by the white man... mainly smallpox. Very sad. Most of the exhibits were totem poles and canoes etc made of Red Cedar which the natives call the tree of life. They use every bit of it, even the roots for basket weaving. I have no doubt now that my tatoo design is from the people of British Columbia. The Raven is the most prominent animal in their stories, having stolen the sun from an old man to put it back in the sky and later discovered the first men in a clam shell on the beach. There was a beautiful 4 tonne wood carving depicting the raven and the clam shell. I took a couple of pictures of it and I hope they turn out. The Haida people had brought sand to rest the sculpture on and the sand is from the same beach where raven is said to have found the clam shell.
I couldn't take many photos because of the lighting but I did also take a couple of photos of the outdoor totem pole and reproduced Haida house (that normally sheltered about 40 people) and the mortuary house which they used until Europeans made them bury their dead.
I think I ended up spending about 4 hours there and it was well worth the 9 dollar admission fee. I was also lucky enough to arrive in time for a guided tour which I think is crucial for a deeper understanding of what you're looking at.
Afterwards I came back into the city and bought the pants I needed and walked back up to the West End for some dinner, and now here I am!
I have to go have a shower and do some laundry now so I have clean clothes for the trip. Hopefully I'll get some great photos of the Rockies for you!