Our trip to Kamloops.....

My weekend in Kamloops was great. Seeing my girlfriend after four years was just wonderful, it was as though time had stood still. We just picked up where we left off. Her daughter and toddler son drove from Kelowna for the visit as well.

Our day had begun with an early get up as we wanted to catch the first ferry, for which we made. We picked up youngest daughter and made a couple of stops before heading out. We were on the Trans Canada Hwy by 1030 in the morning. I still can't believe all the traffic. Gosh I lived in Vancouver for over 40 years and yes I knew it was big and busy, but when you haven't been there for awhile you forget, but it quickly comes back and I realize why I love the Island life.

We decided to take the leisurely Canyon Route rather than the faster pace route of the Coquihalla Highway. The canyon route follows the mighty Fraser which then turns into the North Thomson.

Our first stop was Bridal Falls which is about 20 mins from Hope. I have passed these falls thousands of times but never have stopped. This trip we decided to stop and I am so glad we did.

A view of the falls from the Highway

It was a 15 min. walk up to the falls, you can have picnics here the picture just don't do it justice

Youngest daughter and I weren't really dressed for the walk....it's very lush and green you can see the moss hanging from the trees.

After the falls we got back into the truck and headed towards Hope and the Fraser Canyon.

I find the sights along the breath taking....nature at it's finest. In the photo above we have the mountains in the background the the Mighty Fraser in the fore ground just spectacular. One of the things I like about the drive up to Kamloops is the dramatic change in vegetation. With in a few hours you go from the lush green of the coast to the arid dry sage brush countryside of Kamloops which is situated in the Thomson/Okanagan district. Within the Okanagan you have Canada's only desert which is Oysoyoos. Travelling the Fraser Canyon route we travel through one of BC's hot spots named Lytton temperature can sore into the 40's Celsius during the hot summer months. During this time of year the rivers are raging a white water rapid fanatics dream, the run off from the mountains rise the river water levels and the water runs extremely fast and it is icy cold. Not a journey for lighthearted. Whenever I make this route I often think of the early travelers and the adventures they must have endured, such as Sir Fraser (whom the Fraser River is named after). We made a stop where they had displays of how Sir Fraser with the Indian guides manoeuvres these rivers, without any bridges to cross, they scaled the side of the mountains by walking along tree branches which had been suspend with rope and tied to a tree above.....I truly don't know how they could have done that.

The two above photos gives you a look at the changing vegetation and the quickness in which the river is flowing. You can see the railway tracks above, can you imagine being involved in building the route through the mountains, many lost their lives building these train routes through the canyon. It was a long day, but a very enjoyable one. We stopped when we wanted and enjoyed the sights and smells that surrounded us. Another roadside waterfall, it is these waterfalls that feeds the vegetation throughout the hot summer months. This is photo is looking north east towards Kamloops

My next post I will share more of our trip, we decided to take the Coquihalla home and our travels through the mountains.

Heading out of town for the weekend......

Well hubby and I are catching the first ferry in the morning to the Mainland.

Once on the mainland we will be picking up youngest daughter and leaving town and travelling to Kamloops for a little R&R and to visit with my friend that I haven't seen in four years! It's 0200 and I should be sleeping as I have the alarm set for 0400 so we can make the 0630 ferry, but the excitement, allergies and my head being active thinking about whether I got things all organized is keeping me awake.

I don't know about you, but when I go away it is more than just packing a suitcase. It means that the house has to be dusted, vacuumed the bathrooms are clean and the laundry is up to date folded and put away.

When the girls were little it was really a chore. Not only was it the cleaning but it was the packing for the five of us. I would always try and anticipate scenarios and hoped that I had packed for them(I guess that is the nurse in me coming out). First aid kits, loaded with antiseptic creams, band aids, antihistamines,calamine,bug spray you name it I had it. Or at least I hoped I had it. Before they started putting DVD players in vehicles you use to have to pack your own form of entertainment for the children in the vehicle. In my day it was just our voices and sing songs. When my girls were little, I packed individual care package for each of them. I would fill each bag with little snacks, colouring books,crayons and some sort of game so they would have something to eat and do in the car other than fight with each other. I also would pack their favourite blanket and stuffed animal, no matter what their age...it was a tradition. The funny thing was, that they were all terrible travellers, they use to get car sick. So after a few trips of cleaning up vomit I opted to give them all a dose of "Gravol" before we left the house. By the time we were in Chilliwack the girls would be sound asleep and often wouldn't wake up until we were half way into the trip. But it was the last portion of the trip, when their father and I would be getting tired, that they would start nagging about "Are we there yet!" We always made stops so they could stretch their legs and burn off some energy, but sometimes even that wasn't enough, and those travel bags full of goodies often were found on the floor of the vehicle all squished into the upholstery. Ah yes travelling with children isn't it fun!!

Now days, it's just hubby and I that have to get ready, but I still do the whole house cleaning thing and now it seems that because I don't have to worry about packing for the girls I added the need to make sure the yard is in order. This time of year the grass and weeds seem to grow like wild fire. So yesterday afternoon their we were out cutting the lawn, trimming the grass and watering the plants. Yup I am a bit of a nut bar when it comes to things that I "think" need to be done before I go away. Do you think I might suffer from "OC?" LOL.....

Anyhow, I should put this weary head on my pillow it is going to be a long travel day today.....so I wish you all a wonderful weekend and I will catch up with you when we get back!!!

Humour Thursday.......

Well here we are another Thursday.....guess that means it's time for a little humour....

Well my friends, I hope some of these put a smile on your face...here's wishing you a fantastic Thursday.....I leave you with this thougth for the day.....

"I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else. " ~Dolly Parton~

The Happier side of our weekend......

The fire of Saturday night kinda out shone the other adventures that hubby and I had that day. On Saturday morning we decided that we were going to head up Island to go watch the Highland games. It was a glorious day the sun was shining and nice breeze was in the air, a perfect day to go watch the games. This is something I have wanted to do for a very long time. I have always watched in amazement how they toss these stones, anvils and of course the Caber.

When we arrived there was activity all around us.....pipers on one side of the park, drummers on the other....highland dancers in the middle and off to what is normally the ball diamond was where the heavy sports were taking place.

They had two sports going on at the same time...one was the kettle toss...it's kinda of like high jump....but they attempt to toss this kettle which weights 4 stones(56 lbs) over their heads and backwards, attempting to have this object clear the bar...oh and did I mention they do this wearing kilts.....

There certainly is a technique in tossing this thing....do you see the bald guy in the red t-shirt...he won the competition, he tossed the kettle 14 feet!!!

Then there was the hammer toss...again another interesting sport...it reminded me of the modern day hammer toss but they wear the specially designed metal toed shoes that have spikes in them in order to keep them connected to the ground...if they didn't they would possibly go flying with the hammer.....this hammer weights 16lbs(which is just a little over a stone) and the winner of this competition tossed the hammer 35 meters.

The next sport we watch was the Stone toss...in this competition the competitors picked their own stones from the river....some games use a Braemar stone which is a heavier stone and it has to be put from standing position no run...the stones in this competition weighted 16-22 lbs for men and 8 -12lbs for the women...and yes there were some women competing in these events.

The last sport we watched was another weight toss...this one the weight was attached to a chain

Getting ready......

spinning before the release......

and finally the release......

Well the day wouldn't have been complete with out observing some highland dancing.....these little tykes were just so adorable......

I wanted to stay longer but my back and shoulders started to hurt....we hadn't brought our chairs and forgot the blanket in the truck....so we decided that we would go pick something up at the grocery store and go for a picnic.....we found a spot on the beach on our way home.....it was just glorious to be by the water.....but turns out we weren't the only ones who enjoys being by the water.....

He decides to take flight as do we as we make our way home....it was a lovely long weekend.....

Not so sleepy in Sleepy Hollow........

Here we are the May long weekend full of traditions. It's the unofficial time for the camping season to begin, bar-b-ques in the back yard or on the beach are abundant, and tourist season begins. The weather this weekend is finally cooperating...temperatures 25-30 degrees celsius for those north of us that would be in the low 80's to mid 90's!!!

Well my little village of sleepy hollow was not so sleepy last evening....actually it was all a bustle and became rather scary at a few points.

For me it started around 6:00 pm last evening....I was over at my in laws on their deck, when I noticed a big cloud of smoke coming southeast towards us. I thought it odd, who would be burning right now, especially as the Qualicum winds had picked up and were blowing a good 20 - 30 km/hr. I watched and then went home....I went about my business watering my plants and puttering around, when I heard the sound of a helicopter. Now helicopters are rather frequent in these areas as grow ops are rather abundant and they frequently do aerial searches of the properties looking for sites. Last night was something different.....they flew over..and rather low I might add....then they came back..... the whirling of the rotor blades on the helicopter stirred up the smoke even more....so that and the winds started to make for a bit of a mess...and gave grounds for concern. Hubby went into the truck to go have a look.

Twenty minutes had passed and he hadn't returned....I started to make my way up the drive...as I was walking down the road one of the neighbours came driving by...he told me that the property above us was on fire. While he was telling me this hubby came flying by us like a bat out of hell....what's up? You see the gates to get to the property were locked and hubby had the number of the owner of the property...or so he thought....he couldn't find it....we needed to notify him that his property was on fire.

It was all a little unsettling as this property is only approximately 600 meters from us....with the winds blowing the fire was moving rapidly and the fear was that is would make it's way to the power lines, and if it did that it would have been a catastrophe. The helicopters flew over dropping buckets of water, but this took time, they were flying to a lake near by to pick up the water...in the absence of the helicopter the local volunteer fire department were there, and finally the forestry fire fighters showed up.

We were on alert, I went up there with hubby to see what it was all about....my chin dropped...I was shocked, scared and saddened. The forestry fire fighters were there by this time. They were so calm and professional....it's amazing how they worked their way through the fire switching back and forth bringing in hoses and maneuvering their way around....They are an amazing group of people. Hubby and I stayed up there till about 10:00 pm and then made our way home....I prayed the wind would die down and give them a better chance of getting things under control. The smoke around here was bountiful last evening and through out the night.

Well we didn't get a knock on our door last evening so I had to assume that was all good news and that they got things under control.

I went for my run this morning and went up to the sight. The fire made it all the ways to the hydro lane...that is where the power lines are...the piles of trees and brush were still smoldering...there were plenty of hot spots...there was a truck still there watching the site....fire hoses were still laid out....what devastation....but if it hadn't been for the professional and hard work of those firefighters it could have been so much worse....those folks have my admiration ten fold!!!!

Here are some photos and a short video.......

This is a google map...the area in green is where the fire was....the right is where I live..it's approximately 800 meters...2400 sq. feet.

We were told that the fire started as a result of burning that was done about 2 1/2 weeks ago...the ground was still very hot and when the winds picked up last night it ignited the fire.

The video is a little longer than I thought....

Humour Thursday.....

I haven't done this in awhile.....so here you go.....

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Handle every stressful situation like a dog.......

Piss on it and walk away!!!

The eccentric person in all of us.......

Just one of those days.....

I hope you all have a fantastic Thursday.....smile ...you never know who's watching.....cheers!