The Sasquatch Music Festival is happening this coming weekend, May 27th to May 30th, at The Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington State. The four-day music festival has been sold out for a while now and looking at the stellar line-up, one can see why.

Artists include Foo Fighters, Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, The Decemberists, Robyn, Flogging Molly, Cold War Kids, Tokyo Police Club, Against Me!, K-OS, City and Colour, Vancouver’s own Dan Mangan, and many more.

Rumour has it that the Kokanee-stealing Sasquatch may be spotted around The Gorge as well so it may be the right time to wear your Sasquatch hunting hat which is available in 20-packs of Kokanee (who is a presenting sponsor of the festival).

Lucky for one of my readers, Kokanee also has a spare pair of full festival passes (that’s two, four-day passes) available to give away and they’ve partnered with me to run the contest. If you missed out on getting tickets, have friends who are going, or are up for an awesome musical adventure this weekend, here’s how you can enter to win two full festival passes:

Since the festival starts in three days, this will be a quick 24-hour contest so the winner has time to plan their trip across the border. I will draw one winner at 10:00am tomorrow, Wednesday, May 25th.

Update The winner is Brian!

Fine Print: There is no purchase necessary and you must be 19 years or older to participate in this ticket giveaway contest courtesy of Kokanee.

Over the last two years there has been talk of a gondola to transport students up Burnaby Mountain to Simon Fraser University. In recent months, a proposal has been put together and the concept is now up for discussion.

Whistler Blackcomb’s Peak2Peak Gondola. Photo credit: Many_Jansen on Flickr

Connecting the Production Way SkyTrain station to the SFU campus, the proposed gondola would travel about 2.5 kilometers up the mountain.

“The concept would use the technology that’s currently employed in the Peak2Peak Gondola at Whistler,” said TransLink spokesman Ken Hardie. Peak2Peak is a 4.4-kilometre gondola system that connects the peaks of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. The SFU Community Trust had a gondola feasibility study drawn up last year, which projected the line could move between 2,000 and 3,000 people per hour. [Source: CBC Vancouver]

Serving students, faculty, staff and UniverCity residents, the line would replace the diesel buses that currently run up and down the mountain throughout the day.

The gondola will replace one major bus route and is expected to be a mere six-minute ride from Production Station directly to the Cornerstone bus loop on campus. During rush hour, gondolas would leave Production station approximately every 15 seconds, a fraction of the time that buses take.

If it were built, in addition to being reliable even in winter conditions, the gondola would reduce SFU’s 1.5 million bus trips a year by about half. Emissions would also be reduced by approximately 1,870 tonnes per year.” [Source: The Peak]

Apart from being more environmentally-friendly, cutting travel times, and potentially being a tourist attraction, there is some opposition to the plan.

TransLink’s plan for a $70-million gondola to Simon Fraser University has raised concerns from some Burnaby residents who worry they could end up living under the proposed tramline… …Glen Armstrong, who has lived in the complex for 25 years, said he can see how the project is more cost-effective for TransLink, but he’s worried the gondola will change his quiet, woodsy neighbourhood.” [Source: Vancouver Sun]

TransLink will be hosting a series of Open Houses this week to discuss the proposal:

I’d love to get your thoughts on the proposed gondola plan as well:
[poll id=”62″]

Following a quick pit-stop at home to sleep and re-pack after a trip to the Cariboo, John and I were off to Salt Spring Island for the weekend. This member of the Gulf Island chain in the Georgia Strait, between Vancouver Island and the mainland of BC, is a favourite destination of ours (that we fell in love with years ago).

Salt Spring has rolling hills, lush meadows, evergreen forests, groves of Arbutus trees, rocky seaside cliffs, and more artisans, artists, and farmers than you can count (among a full-time population of about 10,500). From Tourism BC: “Artists and young neo-hippies, retired millionaires and restaurateurs, trades people and boot-clad farmers, writers and musicians all happily co-exist on what the Washington Post once called ‘the coolest island in Canada.'”

While we usually take the ferry over to the Island (departing from Tsawwassen) we hitched a ride with Saltspring Air from Coal Harbour, just outside the Westin Bayshore. After a quick 30-minute flight, we were already landing on the water in Salt Spring’s Ganges Harbour.

We were invited out to Hastings House a few times last summer for their Chefs Across the Water series and were never able to make it. They were kind enough to host us this time around and a staff member met us at the float plane dock to drive us up to the inn, which is just a few minutes away.

Hastings House was originally built by English Navel officer Warren Hastings in 1940. His family owned the estate until 1980 when he sold it to a couple from Alberta to turned it into the resort we see today, perched on top of a hill overlooking Ganges.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

The estate currently consists of several buildings, from green houses, cottages, farmhouse, and a barn to the Manor House (where the famous dining room is located), and several hillside suites where ours was located.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

On our second day, we borrowed two bikes from Hastings House (they have half a dozen for guest use, including helmets) and we set out for Vesuvius Bay where we got our fill of our favourite fish and chips at Seaside Restaurant.

Braving the non-stop hills and inclines, we ended up cycling 28 kilometers that day, returning the bikes about 4 hours later. Well sunned and sore, we walked down to the Salt Spring Saturday Market the following day to pick up a selection of bath bombs from Saltspring Soapworks. We then promptly put them to use in our suite’s large soaker tub.

On our last morning, we took to the gravel and bark mulch path that circles the property, which follows a trail of public art on display.

Photo credit: John Bollwitt on Flickr

Aside from the hillside meadow dotted with sheep, the edible flower gardens, the sculptures, and the unobstructed harbour views, our favourite part of Hastings House was meal time. After a morning hamper was delivered to our suite each day including fresh-baked muffins and coffee, we could then head down for breakfast (included with your stay) which was served with farm-fresh eggs.

The three-course dinner was perfectly paired with local Island and BC wines thanks to Executive Marcel Kauer and Maitre’d Michael Coughlin.

Amuse bouche: Free-range chicken and quinoa with Sumac Ridge Brute

(Left) Mushroom & caramelized onion bisque with Stag’s Hollow Sauvignon Blanc
(Right) Local spot prawns with Garry Oaks Pinot Gris

Crusted Halibut, fiddlehead ferns, grilled corn with Lake Breeze Pinot Blanc

Lemon cream tart with Quail’s Gate Optima

If you have the opportunity to visit Salt Spring Island one day, take a walk around the harbour, visit the market, do a studio tour, go for a hike and explore hidden coves, visit one of the many farms, or snuggle up and enjoy the scenery. You can determine your level of activity and we made sure to take advantage of the great outdoors as well as the comforts of our hillside suite. Whether you get to the Island by float plane, boat, or ferry, it’s an experience that is not to be missed.

You can view the rest of our photos in John’s set or my set on Flickr.

Usually if I’m in a location for more than a day I’ll separate my travel coverage into several posts (such as food, activities, history). However, since I took so many shots at Echo Valley, I thought bit of a photo essay format would be best this trip recap.

Sitting on almost 200 acres of forest and meadow lands in the Chilcotin Cariboo region of BC owners Norm and Nan built Echo Valley Ranch Resort – their home – for all to enjoy.

Living on the property along with about a dozen full-time seasonal staff, they have managed to bring together rustic Western comforts, luxurious Thai spa and wellness, outdoor adventure along with friendly and caring people. All of these elements fuse together into the simple harmony that is Echo Valley.

Baan Thai Building

Aside from three square meals a day, there was no set schedule to follow – but there was no shortage of activity options. You can set your own activity level, trying out or honing your expert skills with fly fishing, horseback riding, gold panning, going on a 4×4 safari, or bird watching.

I should have been more inclined to sit on my balcony at the Dove Lodge and do some writing, looking out over the rolling hills that were spotted with black bears nibbling on berries in the distance.

The truth of the matter is that between horseback riding, hiking, and the Thai spa, the rest of our group’s time was spent reading in the lodge, feeding apples to the horses, petting the kittens in the barn, or playing fetch with one of the ranch’s eight border collies.

Aside from all of these components – the activities, the unique landscape, the food, and the people – Echo Valley is fully committed to sustainable practices. The buildings are powered by geothermal sources or zero-emission propane, and they offer carbon offsets for their guests’ travel.

Dove Lodge & View

Inside one of the cabins

Lookout Lodge

The kitchen is zero-waste, and they prepare ranch-raised beef, pork, turkey and chicken for organic meats and dairy products.

The family-style breakfast, lunches and dinners were complete with fresh fruit, vegetables, grains, and cheeses. We also enjoyed one of the best traditional Thai meals I’ve had to date.

There are several options when booking a trip to Echo Valley, whether you’re attending for a family reunion (kids are welcome), wedding, a girls or boys weekend, or a romantic getaway with your partner. There’s also a pool, sauna, and hot tub on premises along with a big cookout BBQ and campfire pit.

You can drive up to the ranch or do the “Rail to Ranch” trip like we did through Rocky Mountaineer. The ranch also has its own runway for charter flights and Norm’s plane.

Rates for various stays and packages are available on their website and are comparable to other luxury all-inclusive vacation packages (including all meals, deluxe accommodation, and all activities in a spectacular setting).

You can view the rest of my photos from the trip in my set on Flickr. Follow @EVRanch on Twitter, Facebook, or Flickr for news, updates, and photos.

Disclosure: cmp.ly/2 No publication, individual, or business has paid me to write this post.

The original Hangover movie in 2009 introduced many catch phrases into pop culture, anything from being a ‘one man wolfpack’ to well, a bunch of other things that would bump up my blog’s “G” rating. The modern comedy for men, that women still get a crack out of, is returning to the big screen with a sequel next week as Phil, Stu, Alan, and Doug head to Thailand for Stu’s wedding. What happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but what happens in Bangkok can’t even be imagined.

The Hangover Part II will premiere in Vancouver on Wednesday, May 25th at the Cineplex Odeon International Village (Tinseltown). If you would like to attend, I have two double passes to give away. Here’s how you can enter to win:

I will draw two winners at 9:00am on Monday, May 23, 2011.

Update The winners are Greg and @kaishinchu!