Well, I'm certainly not in Kansas anymore! Day 1 started off in Vancouver, an area with over 4 million people, but the area is still very pretty with LOTS of trees, rivers, and mountains in the background. Mike is our driver, historian, and comedian, and he's not afraid to admit when he's lost! Feel free to infer how I know that. Fun fact, Canadians cross the border to buy gas in the US because it is cheaper! Maybe next time I fill up I'll be thankful that it only cost me $75. The first stop for the 3 tour busses was Murphy Ridge Farms owned by Henry & Velma Braun in Abbotsford, B.C. Several local breeders had cattle on display for us. This area is known for raspberries and blueberries. I can assure you that the fresh raspberries are excellent! As we left the Abbotsford area, we passed some of the most fertile farmland in the area. I'm feeling a little closer to home - there were many dairies like the one pictured here. We could also see a dormant volcano across the border in Washington. At one point, we were only 2 miles from the US. My "bus photography" skills are improving but not perfect yet. Bus Photography: n. The art of taking somewhat in focus pics while riding a bus and not getting your reflection, power lines, or the large trees along the road. (Feel free to cite me on this one!) I found Hope! We stopped here for a break on the way to the second ranch. Basically, the busses dumped 150 people to invade this poor little town for 30 minutes. First off, I'd like to note that I took this pic from the opposite side of the bus. I'm impressed. This is the Hope Slide. It was a HUGE rockslide that wiped out where the road we are on used to be. An initial slide closed the road. 4 cars were parked there wondering what to do when the second slide happened. One of those cars has still never been found. And now I'm glad I live in Ohio! And then we went through lots of countryside that looked something like this. And this. Sorry you'll have to indulge me for just 1 more...being from Ohio, I find mountains fascinating. So, I maybe haven't completely perfected the bus photography. During this trek around the Cascade Mountains, we were very high up and in some cases it was a long way down! I'm glad Mike's been driving that bus for 22 years. It reminded me a little of our trip to the jr. show in Harrisonburg, VA. Garth Regula, Keayla Harr, and I were crammed in the backseat of our truck as we went on a detour through West Virginia. Garth was concerned about the drop off on his side where water washed the dirt beside the road away. I topped that...I couldn't even see the bottom on my side! Our final stop was the highlight for everyone. This is Copper Creek Ranch owned by Ron & Sharon Stevenson in Princeton, B.C. Their facilities were absolutely amazing and the scenery was breathtaking! They hosted Bonanza, the Canadian version of the jr. national, in that long barn with the green roof. I could live in that barn. We'd be showing every cow we owned! I would live here...if the Stevensons would like to adopt me, I wouldn't mind. This is the view from beside the house. Words can't even describe it, but I'll give it a try: beautiful, picturesque, tranquil, amazing, peaceful, heavenly, surreal. Notice the golf carts. They reminded me of the Mead sale, but the international guests were really hyped about riding golf carts to see the pairs! I happen to like this gal. She's a Beyond x Formula and owned by Cayley Brown. There were a couple breeders with cattle on display here as well.
From Princeton, we traveled to Merritt for the night and again bombareded a poor little town. The group is staying at 3 hotels. Small world moment of the day...I met someone who knows our local vets! The meals have been great. I ate lunch with folks from Australia, Denmark, and Norway and supper with Australians and Canadians! Today's shout out goes to my family back in Ohio. So, a big hello to my parents, who have to deal with my ornery cows while I'm at school, and grandparents, the Shannons and Wersts.
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I made it to Vancouver and am excited to start the first tours today! I thought I'd start off with a top 5 list of why yesterday was a good day.
So, if any of you are as bad with Canadian geography as I am, here's a guide for where I'm traveling. I'll be in British Columbia and Alberta so just north of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. And this shows the general route we're taking on the first part of the tour. The WHC shows will be held in Olds which is just north of Calgary.
I've also discovered that my American education failed me on the metric system, specifically converting Celsius to Fahrenheit. I would brag about how great the temperature is here, but I don't actually know! So, on the schedule for today are Murphy Ridge Farms and Copper Creek Ranch. We're supposed to get in late tonight; so, it'll probably be tomorrow morning before the next post. My brain works better in the morning anyways. I'm going to close each post with a shout out to someone or a group back in the states. Today's goes to Emily Harrison - I was thinking of you yesterday. My flight left at 3 PM. A year ago we left for the jr. national from my house with our brave chaperone, Mamma Harr, at 2 AM only to find the neighbor's cows on the road! Hi, I'm Heather Bradford. I grew up in the Hereford family and have tried to do as the NJHA logo says and take advantage of all the opportunities it has to offer. This is my final year as a junior member, and instead of a road trip to the junior national, I'll be doing something a little bit different.
Currently, I am working on my masters degree in animal breeding and genetics at Kansas State University. My major professor is fellow Hereford breeder (and past jr. council chairman) Dr. Dan Moser. My research involves calculating the heritability of udder quality for the American Hereford Association (AHA). I finished my undergrad at Purdue University in Animal Sciences in the spring of 2011. So why the blog... I am the lucky winner of the OXO World Traveler Scholarship to attend the 2012 World Hereford Conference (WHC). The Hereford breed is my biggest passion and I am extremely excited to have this amazing opportunity. A special thanks to Linda Swiercinsky and family for sponsoring this award! So, starting July 9th I'll be blogging about my trip in Canada starting in Vancouver and ending in Calgary with the WHC shows and activities. Along the way I'll be visiting some of the largest Hereford ranches in Canada, a historic national park, and the 100th aniversary of The Calgary Stampede. |