I love the winter games, and this year, they are taking place in our backyard, Vancouver, BC. Unfortunately, due to our warm & dry El Nino winter, there is no snow at Cypress Mountain where the snowboarding & free style events are taking place. The City of Vancouver has been trucking in snow in order to coat the mountain! There seems to be enough snow at Whistler Blackcomb for the major ski events. The good folks at Mt. Baker, near the Canadian border, are standing by, ready to import additional snow, in case it's needed!!
The symbol of the Vancouver Olympics is an Inuit 'inukshuk'. Technically, it's really an 'innunguaq', which is the stone cairn in the shape of a person. An inukshuk is just a stone cairn. The symbol means friendship and goodwill.
In a very generous gesture by BC Premier Gordon Campbell, he directed the Olympic Torch to swing into Washington at the Peace Arch in Blaine, which straddles the border between our countries, and then back up to Vancouver.
As a tribute to our neighbors to the north, I present a slide show of the photos I shot on my trip to Vancouver in 2006.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN!
No pictures of my cousin Don?
ReplyDeleteI heard about the snow.
No such thing as global warming.
They use one of those cairns on a Rush album.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited about the Olympic hockey!Four 'Canes will play for their home countries!
Ruutu (my fave) and Pitkanen for Finland,Staal for Canada and Gleason for the U.S.
I'm rooting for all three countries.It'll be the only sport I watch from the whole thing.
As always,you have the BEST photos!
Thank You for sharing your wonderful pictures..Canada is somewhere I really want to visit :-)
ReplyDeleteI enjoy the winter games much more than the summer ones, I have to say
I'm REALLY looking forward to the winter games. I actually find the summer ones endlessly uninteresting (apart from the cycling and tennis), but the winter ones; if you haven't seen it before, try to watch the Biathlon events. How the hell you can cross country ski and then be expected to hit 5 targets with a rifle is beyond me; but they do.
ReplyDeleteDon't take this the wrong way Vancouver, but I wish you some serious snow ;0)
Oh Jojo, thanks for the great post!
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are beautiful....everything my country is NOT. Literally. I can't wait to go there one day.
We don't get to see the Winter Games here :-(
If its not soccer, rugby or cricket, our broadcasters don't care :-(
Bryde, SO wish I could watch the HOCKEYYYYYY!!!!!!!
I like the winter games. I sit thinking
ReplyDelete'Oooh look! Mad person whizzing down an icy drain on a tea tray...'
'Oooh look! Mad person about to jump off a ramp with thingies attached to his/her fee'.
:-O
feet not fee
ReplyDeletealways edit...
lovely pictures
ReplyDeleteSpectacular pics!! Winter olympics are the most awesome. Cheers Jo!!
ReplyDeleteI have been glued to the TV since Friday watching everything I can. Too bad I have to go back to work tomorrow; I would love to stay home and watch curling....
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