Last Easter we took a road trip ( http://bit.ly/cSPwOP ) from Vancouver to, and including a stay in very remote Bella Coola. Here is some of the video footage and photographs from this adventure.

From bellacoola.ca:

The Bella Coola Valley, a gem of natural beauty within the Central Coast of British Columbia. Wilderness abounds and beckons nature lovers and soft adventurers who wish to get off the well-trod tourist path. It also has an alluring history: the First Nations Nuxalk people (pronounced Nu-hawk) date back 10,000 years. The Valley boasts a temperate climate that encompasses the Coast Mountains, crystalline rivers and inland regions. The Bella Coola Valley lies at the head of a 100 km (60mi) inlet from the outer Pacific Ocean and therefore has much less rainfall than the outer coast region.

Journeying to Bella Coola is an adventure. The Valley stretches 80 km (50 mi) from North Bentinck Arm, to the base of “The Hill” on Highway 20 and can be reached by road from Williams Lake, by scheduled and chartered air service, by private boat and BC Ferries seasonal service. At the eastern end of the Valley is Tweedsmuir Provincial Park a haven for outdoor recreation. Relax with a fishing line in hand, explore a hiking trail, drift a river, hire a guide to watch wildlife, tour the petroglyphs, go horseback riding, mountain biking, air-touring, heli-hiking, swim among salmon. In winter, the mountains guarantee deep powder for heli-skiing, heli-boarding and snowmobiling as well as ample snow for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

Small galleries and shops showcase the diversity of artisans who call the Valley home. Accommodation is welcoming with campgrounds and RV locations, small hotels and motels, family-run inns, woodsy cabins/cottages and charming bed and breakfasts.

A visit to Bella Coola is about escaping the hectic pace and embracing the great outdoors — let the adventures begin.

Freedom Road: The “Bella Coola Hill”
Descending the Bella Coola Hill, Easter weekend, 2010.

The romantic name for the last 65 km (40 mi) of Highway 20, the Freedom Highway, came about because of the amazing saga of how this section of road was built. The story dates back to before World War I when the residents of Bella Coola asked the government to build a road from their isolated community of Bella Coola to Anahim Lake. That request was denied, as were many more pleas over the next 30 years. Finally, in 1952, the exasperated citizens decided to build their own road. http://www.bellacoola.ca/culture/hill.php

Exploring Bella Coola
Easter weekend 2010 in Bella Coola, BC. Stayed at Coast Mountain Lodge https://www.coastmountainlodge.com/ Visited the Tallheo hot springs and watched the heli loggers on a boat tour with Chris Carlson of Nusatsm House http://www.bellacoolahost.com/

Petroglyphs at Thorsen Creek, Bella Coola
One of the highlights of Bella Coola is a guided hike to the petroglyphs at Thorsen Creek, which archeologists have dated to between 5-10,000 years. Follow a Nuxalk guide along the magical forested route and immerse yourself in this ancient culture. On a high bank, surrounded by forest, you gaze at weathered etchings of human faces, and others of frogs, fish and geometric patterns carved into rock. The wind whispers through the trees as your guide relates legends. This is a spiritual place and should be experienced with a knowledgeable Nuxalk guide. Our guide was Nels. This may well be the heart of Bella Coola.

[Show as slideshow]

Silestone — ‘Above Everything Else’ from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

More here…

My mother found an original copy of this book in her basement the other day, and it has inspired her to visit Arizona and New Mexico. I will definitely want to accompany her on that trip, because she really knows how to have an adventure! This is what she told me:

The name of the book is The Marvellous Country; or, Three Years in Arizona and New Mexico, The Apaches’ Home…Exploration and Adventures in Arizona and New Mexico by Samuel Woodworth Cozzens. The important thing about the copy I have here is that it is a VERY early edition. (1874)…says it was published in Amherst, N.S: by Rogers and Black, 1874…Something also interesting is that it says “Sold only by subscription, and not for sale at the bookstores. Residents of any State desiring a copy should address the Publishers, and an agent will call upon them.” This is a very early edition indeed….Love you too!~ MUM

I believe I have found the complete and exact version of this on Google Books (except it was not printed in Amherst, NS). You can download a PDF of the whole book right here.

If anybody knows a way we could figure out how much this book is worth, please let me know!

COMPRISING: A Description Of This Wonderful Country, Its ImMense Mineral Wealth, Its Magnificent Mountain Scenery, The Ruins Of Ancient Towns And Cities Found Therein, With A Complete History Of The Apache Tribe, And A Description Of The Author’s Guide, Cochise, The Great Apache War Chief.
THE WHOLE INTERSPERSED WITH STRANGE EVENTS AND ADVENTURES.
BY
SAMUEL WOODWORTH COZZENS.
ILLUSTRATED BY UPWARDS OF ONE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS.
LONDON: 
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, LOW & SEARLE, Crown Buildings, 188 Fleet Street
1874

Watch these extremely fascinating and mind blowing videos:

Dr Quantum – Double Slit Experiment

Also, a cool article from the CBC: Quantum ‘weirdness’ used by plants, animals

Any model we make does not describe the universe it describes what our brains are capable of saying at this time. All perception is gamble. We believe what we see and then we believe our interpretation of it we dont even know we’re making an interpretation most of the time.

Lawrence Krauss gives a talk on our current picture of the universe, how it will end, and how it could have come from nothing. Krauss is the author of many bestselling books on Physics and Cosmology, including “The Physics of Star Trek.”

Richard Feynman’s lectures on Quantum Mechanics:

1. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1501838765715417418#
2. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5604842186235091737&hl=en&emb=1
3. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2622437302869951111&hl=en&emb=1
4. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-366187591938740087&hl=en&emb=1