Sea Kayaking - Hotham Sound (Canada) (1996)

I went on a 4-5 day sea kayaking trip into Hotham Sound, a beautiful and wild area about 50-60 miles North of Vancouver. The sound was inland from the Inside Passage but large enough to explore for several days. With me were Walt Baxter, Matt Simon and Tony Lee. We had a great time telling stories, comparing Simpson's trivia (remember this was 1996 or thereabouts), eating oysters, and enjoying incredible wilderness.

Boys being boys. I'm not sure what Matt and Tony are doing here... but Walt doesn't seem to care.

Scenes from our paddle out to Hotham Sound.

The chops was so bad crossing from the protected cove from which we embarked over to Hotham Sound that we would lose sight of one another in the wave troughs. There are no pictures of these waves as we were all paddling for our lives (or so we thought), except for Tony Lee, who famously hollered: "Do Not Fear Death!".

We decided to camp on an island to avoid the larger mammals in the region (i.e. bears). Only after setting up camp did we realize just how small the island was. We designated an area on the far side as the "facilities" and proceeded to use it often. After our intestinal reaction to trying oysters we found nearby, we renamed the island Skookumshat Island after nearby Skookumchuck Narrows. If you haven't figured it out yet, Skookumchuck means "strong" or "powerful" in Chinook.

Skookumshat Island from the North










Matt and Tony readying the camp

Temperate rain forest

Walt stoking the fire that would cook our oysters

Walt and Tony working with the Boone's Farm wine we used to assist in the oyster steaming.

A sad goodbye to Skookumshat Island, our home for several nights.

The surface was like glass early in the morning.

A waterfall on the Northern side of Hotham Sound. Only later, after consulting a map, did we learn there was a beautiful alpine lake feeding the falls.

Everybody was kung-fu fighting

Walt and Tony on the trail. Our last camp site was on a pennisula. There was a trail leading up from the site so we wandered in. Some of the ferns were so large, our smallest team member (Walt) could squat down into one and almost remain hidden.

View from our last camp site up into Hotham Sound. We saw a bear wanding through the camp earlier in the day as we paddled back from a short excursion to the oyster beds.

Funky clouds in the sound

Some funny business on the ferry back to Vancouver

B-17 Ride

While in Phoenix for Christmas back in 1999 or 2000, I heard a B-17 was flying at a nearby airport. We went out to see it and while admiring the clean lines of this beautiful aircraft, the pilot walked up to a ground representative next to me and learned that someone had cancelled for the next ride. I eagerly volunteered to take the seat - at a cost of $400. It was a classic life experience.

Brees Summer in Steamboat Springs 2009

The Brees Family enjoyed two beautiful summer weeks in Steamboat Springs. The weather was classic Colorado - highs in the 70s-80s and lows in the 40s. We were there for the July 4 parade and fireworks, the Hot Air Balloon Rodeo and the summer Strings music festival.

Fly Fishing the Elk River

Jeb took an evening to fly fish the Elk River. It was an incredible way to spend an evening - withe current tugging at your legs, the cool evening descending on the water and nothing save the sound of the river rippling by.

Flat Tops Wilderness

We drove down to the Flat Tops Wilderness and hiked around a mountian lake. The wind was kicking up at over 20 mph and we all nearly lost our hats. Still the scenery was outstanding.

This field of flowers all faced due South toward the Sun.

Alpine Slide

Simon just loves the Alpine Slide.

Wyoming

Stacy and Simon had never been to Wyoming so we took a drive up from Steamboat and took a forest service road into the Medicine Bow National Forest. After some rough roads, we emerged at the North Fork of the Little Snake River. We parked the truck in the shade, set up some chairs, ate lunch and then played in the stream.