a weekend in the country

This weekend was pretty spectacular, weather not withstanding. On Saturday we drove out to Chilliwack to do some hiking. We hiked go Lindeman Lake which my guidebook said was easy. NOT! It was kind of treacherous and I realized that I have a real fear of walking on unsteady rock scree. Like anxiety-induced tears and a lot of shaking. Luckily, once we reached the tip of the lake, we ate a gigantic sandwich and drank a very much needed beer. The beer was the much needed liquid courage that enabled me to hop from rock to rock and get down the mountain in one piece. Thank you, Central City Empire IPA for saving my hiking ass!

On the way back, instead of booting it back to Vancouver, we decided to check out some local food markets. We loaded up on local vegetables at Wisbey Veggies (which I had taken as Wedgies Veggies!)...2 large bags packed with local produce for $20. Take that elitist farmer's markets! We also made a stop at Heavenly Cheese and bought some cheese curds and goat feta. The day was rounded off with a stop at Mission Springs Brewery for dinner. While the food wasn't that great, they do offer free tasters of all their beers before you order! A nice touch.

(photo taken by my friend Pam)

Still needing to fill up our quota of country, on Sunday, we visited Nathan Creek Organic Farm. My 2 friends and I are sharing a CSA membership this year, so we decided to peek in at the open house. It's a pretty wonderful farm and we got a great tour from the very enthusiastic farmer, Stephen. We also got to pick out some seedlings and harvest some rhubarb and greens! You can see the grey clouds but the very dry soil. The rain seems to be passing Nathan Creek's farm by! Needless to say, our dinner that night was pretty awesome.