Kaleidoscope Gathering

This time last year I was in Canada, and I very much wise I was back over there.  You see I went to Canada to go to  a Pagan Festival.  Little did I know that the interesting Pagan festival I heard about via the Podcast Standing Stone and Garden Gate, was organised by a Canadian friend of mine who now lives in New Zealand, friends from when she grew up.  So when I proudly announced that in a years’ time I would be winging my way to Canada to attend a kaleidoscope Gathering Pagan festival of awesome, Bron blithely piped up that her friends organised that and that she could put me in contact with them.  Wow what an excellent start.  The time from that announcement to the arrival in Canada was a bit of a trial, redundancy, temp work decisions about whether or not I should be spending all that money to go over there.  I had saved around $5000, which is a lot of money, and when you don’t have a job.. even more.. decisions decisions decisions..  A lady at work was the one that said I would regret not going cause it was an excellent adventure..  Thus this time last year I was in Canada

And oh what an adventure I had!!  Below are a few photos for you view pleasure, and so I can remember this as KG it starting to gear up and people are arriving at Ravens Knoll and I am missing them..

This is what greeted me as about an hour or so out of Vancouver Airport and wonderful sunrise

So on Canadian Streets, there are wooden lamp posts that have had notices stapled to them for years.. many many years.. I had never seen anything like this before thus I needed to take a picture. 

OMG Squirrels,, so exciting, and this is what made me purchase a fancy camera when I got back to New Zealand.. cause I couldn’t get close enough with my little digital camera  This wee Squirrel had been specially trained by the Canadian Tourist bureau, to preform for nuts, he even posed several different ways.. *grins*..

 

then it was OMG Snakes!! so very very cool!

I do believe this was a face I pulled a lot during my stay in Canada..

my camp site..that blue tarp to the left is where my wee tent was pitched..it was wee.. but there was one other smaller tent

So no pictures of campers, or not so many as it was important to get permission, to post pictures on the internets.. also something that i had not considered before.. but i figure a very good thing to do.. *nods* and also i spent most of my time running around meeting people not taking photos of them.. *grins*

This was i beleive the smallest tent at the fest, which got filled up with ballons.. wheee..

this Canadian Pagan rode about on his bicycle with horns.. how cool is that.. he had many wonderful costumes it was awsome!

this is a frog one of the Kids in our camp caught.. it was awsoem and huge.

I loved the wild life in Canada, so different from New Zealand, which is mostly birds, in Canada i got to see squirrels, Ground-hogs, Osprey, and a chipmunk which i saw in a garden on top of a mall thanks to the lovely Juni who i enjoyed spending time with after the fest.. hooray!

This was the lake where i spend many an hour cooling down as it is very warm in Canada this time of year.. there were snapping turtles which i think i saw the head of once..*beams*

the infamous poison Oak, err i think it was we don’t have anything like that in New Zealand either. Anyway went on a nature walk workshop which was very interesting.. next time I will have to take notes and pictures so that I can then post it up here with more details.. *nods*

Drunken Gnoms, Wheee

OMG NOMS the best thing ever, Poutine, chips, cheese curd, and Gravey.. the best thing oh so yummie.

I got to try a bunch of new and good foods in Canada, I beleive apart from Poutine my favourite was Trout, cooked by the lovely people I was staying with.  Most excellent!!

Me at KG

It was wondours spending so much time with my peers, and new friends that I had meet in Canada.  And I am looking forward to going back next year. *nods*

Cross Posted here