Humankind is made up of two sexes, women and men. Is it possible for
humankind to grow by the improvement of only one part while the other
part is ignored? -Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder and the first president
of Turkey (19 May 1881-1938)
Tummler, you may want to subscribe to Dictionary.com as well. I have been on it for a few weeks and it seems to compliment/rival Wordsmith. Hope to see you both in Vancouver, mid July. Fond regards to all, W
Thanks Patrick for such a nice chronicle. I envy you guys a little, however seeing family and friends is always good. We will be back on Friday, so by all means count me in for any future endeavors. Regards to Corinne and you,
Cheers Mike
Delighted to be joining Tyrannosaurus Tinka's "alternative" hike this morning. Starting near White Lake, it was to be a GB version of Ricardo's hike. According to our Fearless Non-Leader, who had somehow reclaimed the Hiking Throne, "The plan is to go an hour later and in the opposite direction. With a little luck we might meet in the middle of nowhere and, more importantly, have some refreshments together, for the sake of the old times."Truly believing that the once deposed despot was trying to consolidate his political power by the tried and true strategy of divide and conquer, I set out anyway, leaving the house at 8:45 am for HH.
I thought Sergeant Spumoni was there as I saw her car as soon as I pulled into the lot but could find not a trace of my favourite bridge partner. A minute or so later, Chatterbox and TW pulled up behind me and suggested that she had almost certainly quisling-ed herself into Relentlessy Rugged Richard's elite troop which had already headed for the hills. Shortly thereafter the Dronkmobile screeched into the lot with Unabashed Al and Olga Polga. Fond greetings and embraces duly dispensed, we figured out who would ride in which car and I drew the lucky card, having Rolly Polly all to myself in the back seat of the Robson Rattletrap.
A particularly stunning view of Peach Cliff, across the lake, as we shot south on 97. Ten or fifteen minutes later, we were parked at the lot just outside the gates to the DRAO on White Lake Rd. Lilliana joined us there and once everyone was ready we followed Big Bad Al, [Every morning at the orchard you could see him arrive...], along the perimeter fence which skirts the facility and were soon walking through the lush pasture land nearbye. Never one to take the easy way out, (a gate in the cattle fence was within sight!), Autocartic Al insisted we crawl under the barbed wire fence we next encountered, trying as best we could, while slithering underneath on tummies or backs, whichever was easiest for one, on the sodden grass, to keep from ripping jackets or exposed skin on the rusted, needle sharp barbs, as well as flailing, wildly, to fend off the dive bombing, mercilessly angry, starving mosquitoes. As might be expected, Tinka the Terrible enjoyed our sorry plight immensely!
Not long after, however, our bites and scratches were completely forgotten as we came upon the first of the stunning expanses of Lupines we were to encounter, again and again, over the course, of much of the hike. How best to convey the colour of these close to waist-high fields of blooms? I really needed Dorothea or Lady Dar to tell me what shade of blue they were but I've settled, Dear Reader, upon "Ulysses Butterfly", in part because I'm quite drawn to the name itself, but also because it captured the essence, (At least as best my colour-blind eyes could tell from consulting the "hexadecimal color codes for shades of blue, teal, cyan", I referred to!), of the roiling tsunamis of such staggeringly beautiful flowers.
Like young children, on Christmas morn, eyes-wide in wonder and amazement, we spent a goodly amount of time taking in the spectacle until kind, benevolent Uncle Al shepherded us into formation, for the first officlal group shot, and then we were off again, ever upward, gently, at this point, towards and through the pines, into yet more meadows and rolling hillsides carpeted with these crown jewels. By this time, many in the party, wanted to shed their rain gear, donned against the light, light drizzle that we experienced almost from the beginning of the trek, as the sky had cleared, somewhat. Stopping to do so, we were all ready targets for the aforementioned, voracious mozzies and those with and wanting repellent, slathered it on. I must say that this is the first hike, since joining the group last year, that I've been on in which these pesky critters were so omnipresent, so thick, at times, that I almost inhaled a couple and certainly squashed a number that managed to buzz their way into my ears! Perhaps the terrain was drier but today, the lush meadows and the tall grass, all dripping with moisture were made to measure for these relentless, unforgiving airborne leeches!
That being said, even these merciless insects couldn't spoil the hike as we continued to follow the ever steepening trail. A number of us had been on the very same path, earlier this spring, and, at that time, it had sported a lovely stream-let coursing down its middle. Further along we saw evidence of the now dry, shallow, rocky bed. Shortly thereafter we left the well-worn path to take off, cross-country, for a bit of easy, creative blundering and trunk adoration to eventually reconnect with the trail and stop for a refreshing Tinka "Tea Only" Break! Funnily enough, it was in the exact same spot where we'd stopped on the earlier hike although Tea Leaf Tinka had never been here before.
Congratulating ourselves on how pleasant and physically undemanding the trek had been, as we sipped and chatted, we soon had these silly notions dashed as the order to move out was barked and Tough Terrian Tinka took us to the top of a fairly steep ridge to see what he could see, a look-out from which to reconnoitre the surrounding terrain, the better able to lead us through impenetrable thickets, awash with obstacle course dead-fall. From our perch we could see DRAO in the valley below and at our feet a smattering of Indian, ("Common" for the politically correct!), Paint Brush, and another remarkable specimen, (Whose name I was told but now, simply escapes me. Note to self: Take Notes!), its single stalk supporting thirteen or fourteen tubed flowers, ending in a star burst of five petals, bright orange running to fuchsia, each blossom possessing four or five stamens, pollen yellow, ever so delicate Q-tips beckoning, come hither looking, inviting a close, mutually beneficial encounter of the fertilizing kind.
Kew Garden Flower Show over, we were herded back down the steep slope, most of my companions slaloming, I gingerly choosing each foothold, until back on level ground, only to be treated by even more wild flowers, a number, in particular, arresting us, a mixed, small, vivid bouquet of Paint Brush and Larkspur and a Kimberley Wild Rose bush, one bud a deep pink nugget worth more than its weight in gold. And then the ascent of Helicopter Mountain commenced, a free-for-all scramble up a truly steep slope, covered in loose rock which made the going quite difficult. Here the party splintered, each climber choosing a route, most mountain-goating at, to me, astonishing speed and with incredible nimbleness, up and soon out of sight, while I inched my self-pitying way across the slope, its very surface dissolving beneath my feet. Imagine, if you can, a swinging bridge, over a yawning chasm, one of its ends collapsing behind you, rung by rung, each small plank falling, spinning lazily, in slow motion, into the abyss, as you scrabble, desperately, towards the other side, knowing, in your screaming brain, that you can't make it, and you, Dear Reader, might understand the predicament I found myself in!
At least I wasn't alone as Lillianna was not far from me, slightly above and to my left. I took great consolation in her presence and followed some of her zig-zags as we managed to millimetre our way to solid footing, not far below the crest of the challenging hill although it seemed more like a peak in the Rockies to me! The last part of the ascent was actually extremely pleasant, the footing secure and easy, the rocky terrain offering still more vibrant plantings of Lupine, Bitteroot and a Canary Yellow cluster of Daisy-like flowers, [O Sister Spamela, Where Art Thou?], a virtual carpet of blossoms leading us to the helipad where our companions were already enjoying luncheon. Olga Polga came to greet us and her winning smile warmed us, taking away the dread that burdened our souls, if not our shoulders, as we hauled ourselves up the precarious slope.
What a spot for a picnic! The rough log and plank helipad was a ready made table and bench, affording 360º of panoramic views. Although it had stopped drizzling when Lillianna and I reached the top, the vista to the north showed Skaha, Okanagan Lake and the hills which clasped them, "all misty wet with rain", as Van Morrison, would have it. OK Falls with the vineyards of Blue Mountain, Liquidity, Wild Goose and Stag's Hollow, emerald isle trampolines inviting us to jump onto them while the telescopes at DRAO kept their Big Brother eyes on us. Not long after I had started to munch on my sandwich, the wind picked up and the rain drop whipped the crew, huddled now against the chill and damp.
Just before we started to pack up, Explorer Al tore a sheet out of his trekking bible, How to Make Even the Most Ordinary Hike An Inordinately Difficult Challenge, and scribbled a note, to Ricardo, of the Sadistic Snowshoe, apprising his fellow torturer of our next intentions, and carefully tucked it under a makeshift cairn, quickly constructed of small stones and bits of wood, the latter found beneath the helipad. Message in a bottle left, we started the homeward leg, down the northwest side of the hill. The incline was very steep but the footing quite secure, no loose rock to speak of, so the descent went fairly easily and quickly, without mishap. Through a small ravine at the bottom and then up a bit of a rise and into a small, level clearing amid the pines.
Here, Talkative Tinka borrowed Aarturo's cellulare and established radio communication with Ricardo's Raiders, themselves now atop the helipad. They'd arrived there but 10 minutes or so after we'd de-camped, otherwise we could have had a a bit of a visit with the crème de la crème of the hiking world. Nevertheless, it would have been a pretty tough slog, back up the daunting slope, so our usually Hard-Nosed Non-Leader decided to go easy on us, for a change, and we set off in search the small lake which rumour had it was somewhere nearbye. For much of the way to the tarn, we followed an easy trail through the pines then a bit of bushwhacking closer to the tarn itself. We made no attempt to scramble down to the shores of the tiny lake as the dead-fall was pretty horrendous thereabouts. Fortunately, Jumpin' Jack Flash had brought along a his Husqvarna 240 Chainsaw and an extra Jerry can of fuel so he was able to cut through, with the greatest of ease, any and all fallen trees and tangled brush that lay in our path.
Once clear of this otherwise impenetrable woodland, we found ourselves back on another trail. This one, however, was quite overgrown with Balsam-root and other tall grasses so one had to thread one's way carefully as the surface was not always visible. Nevertheless, we were certainly of the opinion that the rest of the hike would be "a piece of cake", as Artless Al had suggested but few minutes earlier. It was almost as if we had tempted Fate as no sooner had we congratulated ourselves on a return which was going to be little more than a walk in the park, catastrophe reared its ugly head and Josinta took a very, very nasty fall, slamming her right knee into the sharp edge of a large rock after she lost her footing and crashed to the ground. I gather that the basket of her left pole had caught on something and as she turned her head to see about releasing the pole, she stepped ahead, with her right, and slipped on another rock, the rain having made any smooth surfaces slick and dangerous as most of us know, to the certain detriment of our physical well-being if not to our pride!
I was about 20 metres behind when I saw her, out of the corner of my eye, topple. I knew it was not a trivial case of simply slipping and landing on her bottom, suffering little more than embarrassment, if that. In this case she stayed down and remained down until helped to her feet by Gilliana, Jumpin' Jack and Phillipo, ahead of her at the time of the fall, who rushed back to provide assistance. Fortunately, nothing was broken or sprained but still a sickeningly painful fall. Once back on her feet she was able to shake her leg, rub her knee and begin to walk slowly along the trail which soon became both increasingly more visible and flatter. Tender-Hearted Tinka, once apprised of the accident, rushed back to ask: "Did you damage the stone, Jos?" For his part, Self-Absorbed Aarturo was too, too busy chatting up Olga Polga to offer but a careless, condescending, "Shake it off, Little Dutch Girl", annoyed that the centre of attention had shifted from him, as his long-suffering, and now uncomfortably sore and bruised wife, hobbled by!
In spite of these callous remarks, Josinta showed both her physical toughness and inner resilience by hardly slowing down at all, after she regained her composure, and we continued on. And then, not too, too far from the cattle fence near DRAO, we stopped and I was finally allowed, (In part, due to the fact that Thoughtless Tinka began to feel somewhat ashamed about his cavalier remark and now wished to give Jos a bit of time to rest her injured limb as well as to take the opportunity to curry more favour with the rest of his flock.), to take an Official Group Photograph. Restorative Justice accomplished, the rest of the hike, was, indeed, a walk in the park, as once over the barbed wire fence, (Rolly Polly and I held our ski poles against the top two strands to push them lower in order to allow both Josinta and Jumpin' Jack Flash to step over the barrier, [They did the same for us.]), we were soon strolling beside the wheel-mounted, ever-vigilant telescopes and shortly thereafter, back at the parked vehicles.
Just up the road we drove by Spumoni, Jimbo and Ricardo, sitting on the hillside just off the thoroughfare, waiting for the drivers of their support vehicles to return to collect them. We stopped to say hello and it was determined that many were going to the pub in OK Falls to celebrate the day's rewarding outing. I had much to do at home, as did Phillipo and Gilliana, so we decided not to join the gang there but made for home and HH, having already ejected Rolly Polly, rather quickly and unceremoniously, from the car! In spite of not tippling with the rest, everyone agreed that it was yet another tremendous, tremendous trek, in spite of the on-again-off-again rain and ubiquitous mosquitoes. Thanks again and again, ever-so-much, Armadillo Skinned Al! Map and Stats for hike:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1175579813#.Vz5Aqri_NRQ.email
Michele was not feeling well yesterday and although a bit better today we have decided not to infect you. See you on Saturday. Sorry to hear that! Give her my love. See you both on Saturday, Corinne Wayne I have your scotch. W
Typed long email and then forgot to keep draft😖! Happy u had a good celebration. All well here, our 46th July 4. Recently celebrated Frank's 72nd, May 6. My 70th Nov 6, same date as Fred Penner. Went out for a lovely meal at a Greek restaurant, Kalvas. Close so walked. Wine we ordered was a Syrrah from Naramata Valley.
Nice weather here. Need rain desperately. Another dry summer predicted. Keeping busy with our activities, Pickleball, golf, ballroom line dancing. Excited for family to arrive mid June & mid July. Headed back to Yuma for Nov-Mar. Missed our active lifestyle in the sun. Cheers, Maggie
Corrine and Patrick: It's been a long time since we wrote you guys -I'm sure you will be glad of it - once you read through my LONG email!!!! We have had a lot of company (I said NONE next year!!) and therefore very busy with them and between guests trying to get the renos finished around here.... then just last month we decided on this NEW plan and it's been forever trying to get organized ..... As you probably heard from Pam - we have decided to travel Canada before settling in BC...We still haven't found a home we like - so we thought before we commit ourselves to a home - this is the time! I have never been to the East coast and there's many parts of Eastern Canada that Henryk hasn't seen either.
At first we had thought even with the exchange; it would be cheaper for us to buy a truck and 5th wheel here in US - and register and insure them here so we started looking.... Of course - all the RV sales were on the opposite end of town - so it was a 100 mile ride to view them... But it served the purpose as we found ones we liked.... only to have them sold on us before we could put in an offer (we were looking at used at first)... then we saw that the new weren't that much more.. so.... we went to an RV sale and found a style we liked (even with a separate room (called a bunkhouse) that could be used as an office for Henryk!)... we ordered it - put a deposit down contingent on when we saw it we could make the final decision -- well - we celebrated with our friends again! only to go and see the poor workmanship in the unit - and cancel the order..... Thus activated my superstitious nature! I didn't want anyone to know anything UNTIL we had a confirmed sale.... then we ran into Glitch No. 1:
1. a Canadian - even with a US residence cannot do that - Canadians have only 10 days to import and register in Canada So... we began looking in Canada - and to our pleasant surprise - the prices were comparable. --- very good news!
Henryk found a truck right away - in Rosetown Saskatchewan - so we bought that -- and then we found the 5th wheel we liked (unfortunately named "Cougar") used in Alberta - we spoke to the farmer - offered a deposit to hold it for us - he said he would talk to his wife --- he called the next day to say they had sold it - grrrrr....Someone upstairs was watching our for us! Glitch No. 2:
2. Henryk started calling RV sales in Canada - and we both started looking online - we found the same unit again - he spoke to a great salesman who asked Henryk if he had a Class C license - that when you have a 5th wheel that ways more than 10K lbs - you need an upgraded license.... OMG!!! so he looked into that - and there's classes involved and testing - that would take more time than we have - as Henryk only has taken a week off work to get us back to Canada and to internet service so he can get back to work! so we started looking for 5th wheels that are lighter.... we had to get a unit shorter in length and give up the little office.... but we found one....Glitch No. 3:
the unit is in Orillia Ontario! So; we will be on the road for a while - staying at friends until we pick up the 5th wheel....Our plan isn't to come to BC until September - and we know that you still have our container.... We are sooooo sorry to intrude on your space for such long time... the tub contains our winter clothes - and should be waterproof - so if you wanted to get it out of your garage; you could gladly store it outside in some obscure spot - we certainly wouldn't mind.... As for the large littler box - if you wanted to get rid of that - you could donate that to a thrift store... as we will pick up the one at the lake and put it in our trailer.... Yes - Venus is looking forward to this adventure too - LOL
FYI - Venus is on new meds - perozac for her stress - she seems to be better - although since she's been on; we've only had one last group (Henryk's family from POLAND :) - and I kept her locked in the bedroom - as there was 4 of them and the doors seemed to be constantly open! Here's our plans for the summer....
Monday, May 23rd: We leave here and head to Rosetown Saskatchewan overnight in hotel - we will try and get 1/2 way - looks like somewhere in Idaho..
May 24th Arrive in Saskatchewan - late overnight in hotel - probably Swift Current as Rosetown is small!
Wednesday, May 25th We will pick up the truck - and then head to Winnipeg - we will be staying with our friends that come here every year and stay for Superbowl. They have a little suite in their basement that is open for us to use and we can then let Venus out of her cage and not worry about her interaction with other people... We will need to stay a couple of days in Winnipeg to get some business done - register the truck as well as our new 5th wheel! -- :)
Friday, May 27th or Saturday May 28th I would expect we can get things settled and then leave for our family cottage at Ignace on Friday May 27th or - or Saturday morning...We will stay in Ignace for a week - gather up our stuff and head east - we have an appointment on June 6th to pick up our trailer in Orillia Ontario. ---
Monday, June 6th pick up the 5th wheel in Orillia and get training for the use of all the 5th wheel equipment travel to Niagara Falls RV park for probably a week -(Henryk has never seen the falls :)).. then after that head east to the Maritimes... We will probably not make those plans until we have time to breathe sitting in the park in Niagara Falls!!!... or perhaps while at Ignace..
Friday, JULY 22nd We have to be in Neepawa (close to Winnipeg) for a wedding on July 23rd..... after that we will stay in Winnipeg for probably a week - see our Dr, dentist and friends...
Monday, August 1st, (or there abouts) If the camp isn't sold; (we've had some inquiries and debating selling) we thought would head back to Ignace and spend the month there that way we can visit with my family from Thunder Bay...
.
September: Sometime in September we will head west - to start the house hunt again; it's the fruit season so don't want to miss that!
Important Information: We can only stay at RV parks that have internet - for Henryk and I both to work... and also can only travel on weekends - so we will be at least a week in each location - so that won't make us feel too much like gypsies! nice thing is - NO packing -- we will have everything available to us each time we stop - even at a rest stop! :).
Well, I should end this trilogy! -- and get moving.... I have a few things to do before this evening. We brought 14 bottles of wine with us from the Okanagan to share with our friends here and haven't been able to organize a date to do it.... so; it's TONIGHT - a way to also say good-bye and officially open the new bar we've been working on on our patio. It's not quite finished - I haven't finished painting the mural - but they will get the gyst - as I do have some fish painted on the walls for our 'underwater' theme... We've printed a map of the Okanagan for the wall - and I typed up all the information on each wine for the tasters to have --- think it will be fun.
Sorry I missed seeing you in Vancouver Corrine - but that sister of yours is a tough boss :)....I hear you guys are heading East yourselves - to help your parents Corrine... that will be difficult to leave Falcon after all that time -- but good they were able to make this decision themselves.... Safe travels to you both. I will be posting our travels on Facebook so we can keep in touch through that.... again... sorry about the container...take care, Louise and Henryk
Hi Louise, thanks for your newsy letter. By now you must be heading to Winnipeg in your new truck and fifth wheel. Hope your wine tasting was fun!
We are driving to Manitoba, leaving here on June 8th and will spend a few weeks visiting mom and dad and other friends and relations.
Mom and Dad are not moving as George is not working this summer but spending his time making it possible for them to stay at Falcon.
You are welcome to stay here in September, park your fifth wheel or whatever works for you two. Don't worry about the container you left we have lots of room in the garage. We have made lots of changes since you were here. Looking forward to seeing you in the Fall. Have a wonderful time in your travels which sound great. Something I would like to do with out the fifth wheel.
Safe travels, Corinne
Tummler, you may want to subscribe to Dictionary.com as well. I have been on it for a few weeks and it seems to compliment/rival Wordsmith. Hope to see you both in Vancouver, mid July. Fond regards to all, W
Thanks Patrick for such a nice chronicle. I envy you guys a little, however seeing family and friends is always good. We will be back on Friday, so by all means count me in for any future endeavors. Regards to Corinne and you,
Cheers Mike
Delighted to be joining Tyrannosaurus Tinka's "alternative" hike this morning. Starting near White Lake, it was to be a GB version of Ricardo's hike. According to our Fearless Non-Leader, who had somehow reclaimed the Hiking Throne, "The plan is to go an hour later and in the opposite direction. With a little luck we might meet in the middle of nowhere and, more importantly, have some refreshments together, for the sake of the old times."Truly believing that the once deposed despot was trying to consolidate his political power by the tried and true strategy of divide and conquer, I set out anyway, leaving the house at 8:45 am for HH.
I thought Sergeant Spumoni was there as I saw her car as soon as I pulled into the lot but could find not a trace of my favourite bridge partner. A minute or so later, Chatterbox and TW pulled up behind me and suggested that she had almost certainly quisling-ed herself into Relentlessy Rugged Richard's elite troop which had already headed for the hills. Shortly thereafter the Dronkmobile screeched into the lot with Unabashed Al and Olga Polga. Fond greetings and embraces duly dispensed, we figured out who would ride in which car and I drew the lucky card, having Rolly Polly all to myself in the back seat of the Robson Rattletrap.
A particularly stunning view of Peach Cliff, across the lake, as we shot south on 97. Ten or fifteen minutes later, we were parked at the lot just outside the gates to the DRAO on White Lake Rd. Lilliana joined us there and once everyone was ready we followed Big Bad Al, [Every morning at the orchard you could see him arrive...], along the perimeter fence which skirts the facility and were soon walking through the lush pasture land nearbye. Never one to take the easy way out, (a gate in the cattle fence was within sight!), Autocartic Al insisted we crawl under the barbed wire fence we next encountered, trying as best we could, while slithering underneath on tummies or backs, whichever was easiest for one, on the sodden grass, to keep from ripping jackets or exposed skin on the rusted, needle sharp barbs, as well as flailing, wildly, to fend off the dive bombing, mercilessly angry, starving mosquitoes. As might be expected, Tinka the Terrible enjoyed our sorry plight immensely!
Not long after, however, our bites and scratches were completely forgotten as we came upon the first of the stunning expanses of Lupines we were to encounter, again and again, over the course, of much of the hike. How best to convey the colour of these close to waist-high fields of blooms? I really needed Dorothea or Lady Dar to tell me what shade of blue they were but I've settled, Dear Reader, upon "Ulysses Butterfly", in part because I'm quite drawn to the name itself, but also because it captured the essence, (At least as best my colour-blind eyes could tell from consulting the "hexadecimal color codes for shades of blue, teal, cyan", I referred to!), of the roiling tsunamis of such staggeringly beautiful flowers.
Like young children, on Christmas morn, eyes-wide in wonder and amazement, we spent a goodly amount of time taking in the spectacle until kind, benevolent Uncle Al shepherded us into formation, for the first officlal group shot, and then we were off again, ever upward, gently, at this point, towards and through the pines, into yet more meadows and rolling hillsides carpeted with these crown jewels. By this time, many in the party, wanted to shed their rain gear, donned against the light, light drizzle that we experienced almost from the beginning of the trek, as the sky had cleared, somewhat. Stopping to do so, we were all ready targets for the aforementioned, voracious mozzies and those with and wanting repellent, slathered it on. I must say that this is the first hike, since joining the group last year, that I've been on in which these pesky critters were so omnipresent, so thick, at times, that I almost inhaled a couple and certainly squashed a number that managed to buzz their way into my ears! Perhaps the terrain was drier but today, the lush meadows and the tall grass, all dripping with moisture were made to measure for these relentless, unforgiving airborne leeches!
That being said, even these merciless insects couldn't spoil the hike as we continued to follow the ever steepening trail. A number of us had been on the very same path, earlier this spring, and, at that time, it had sported a lovely stream-let coursing down its middle. Further along we saw evidence of the now dry, shallow, rocky bed. Shortly thereafter we left the well-worn path to take off, cross-country, for a bit of easy, creative blundering and trunk adoration to eventually reconnect with the trail and stop for a refreshing Tinka "Tea Only" Break! Funnily enough, it was in the exact same spot where we'd stopped on the earlier hike although Tea Leaf Tinka had never been here before.
Congratulating ourselves on how pleasant and physically undemanding the trek had been, as we sipped and chatted, we soon had these silly notions dashed as the order to move out was barked and Tough Terrian Tinka took us to the top of a fairly steep ridge to see what he could see, a look-out from which to reconnoitre the surrounding terrain, the better able to lead us through impenetrable thickets, awash with obstacle course dead-fall. From our perch we could see DRAO in the valley below and at our feet a smattering of Indian, ("Common" for the politically correct!), Paint Brush, and another remarkable specimen, (Whose name I was told but now, simply escapes me. Note to self: Take Notes!), its single stalk supporting thirteen or fourteen tubed flowers, ending in a star burst of five petals, bright orange running to fuchsia, each blossom possessing four or five stamens, pollen yellow, ever so delicate Q-tips beckoning, come hither looking, inviting a close, mutually beneficial encounter of the fertilizing kind.
Kew Garden Flower Show over, we were herded back down the steep slope, most of my companions slaloming, I gingerly choosing each foothold, until back on level ground, only to be treated by even more wild flowers, a number, in particular, arresting us, a mixed, small, vivid bouquet of Paint Brush and Larkspur and a Kimberley Wild Rose bush, one bud a deep pink nugget worth more than its weight in gold. And then the ascent of Helicopter Mountain commenced, a free-for-all scramble up a truly steep slope, covered in loose rock which made the going quite difficult. Here the party splintered, each climber choosing a route, most mountain-goating at, to me, astonishing speed and with incredible nimbleness, up and soon out of sight, while I inched my self-pitying way across the slope, its very surface dissolving beneath my feet. Imagine, if you can, a swinging bridge, over a yawning chasm, one of its ends collapsing behind you, rung by rung, each small plank falling, spinning lazily, in slow motion, into the abyss, as you scrabble, desperately, towards the other side, knowing, in your screaming brain, that you can't make it, and you, Dear Reader, might understand the predicament I found myself in!
At least I wasn't alone as Lillianna was not far from me, slightly above and to my left. I took great consolation in her presence and followed some of her zig-zags as we managed to millimetre our way to solid footing, not far below the crest of the challenging hill although it seemed more like a peak in the Rockies to me! The last part of the ascent was actually extremely pleasant, the footing secure and easy, the rocky terrain offering still more vibrant plantings of Lupine, Bitteroot and a Canary Yellow cluster of Daisy-like flowers, [O Sister Spamela, Where Art Thou?], a virtual carpet of blossoms leading us to the helipad where our companions were already enjoying luncheon. Olga Polga came to greet us and her winning smile warmed us, taking away the dread that burdened our souls, if not our shoulders, as we hauled ourselves up the precarious slope.
What a spot for a picnic! The rough log and plank helipad was a ready made table and bench, affording 360º of panoramic views. Although it had stopped drizzling when Lillianna and I reached the top, the vista to the north showed Skaha, Okanagan Lake and the hills which clasped them, "all misty wet with rain", as Van Morrison, would have it. OK Falls with the vineyards of Blue Mountain, Liquidity, Wild Goose and Stag's Hollow, emerald isle trampolines inviting us to jump onto them while the telescopes at DRAO kept their Big Brother eyes on us. Not long after I had started to munch on my sandwich, the wind picked up and the rain drop whipped the crew, huddled now against the chill and damp.
Just before we started to pack up, Explorer Al tore a sheet out of his trekking bible, How to Make Even the Most Ordinary Hike An Inordinately Difficult Challenge, and scribbled a note, to Ricardo, of the Sadistic Snowshoe, apprising his fellow torturer of our next intentions, and carefully tucked it under a makeshift cairn, quickly constructed of small stones and bits of wood, the latter found beneath the helipad. Message in a bottle left, we started the homeward leg, down the northwest side of the hill. The incline was very steep but the footing quite secure, no loose rock to speak of, so the descent went fairly easily and quickly, without mishap. Through a small ravine at the bottom and then up a bit of a rise and into a small, level clearing amid the pines.
Here, Talkative Tinka borrowed Aarturo's cellulare and established radio communication with Ricardo's Raiders, themselves now atop the helipad. They'd arrived there but 10 minutes or so after we'd de-camped, otherwise we could have had a a bit of a visit with the crème de la crème of the hiking world. Nevertheless, it would have been a pretty tough slog, back up the daunting slope, so our usually Hard-Nosed Non-Leader decided to go easy on us, for a change, and we set off in search the small lake which rumour had it was somewhere nearbye. For much of the way to the tarn, we followed an easy trail through the pines then a bit of bushwhacking closer to the tarn itself. We made no attempt to scramble down to the shores of the tiny lake as the dead-fall was pretty horrendous thereabouts. Fortunately, Jumpin' Jack Flash had brought along a his Husqvarna 240 Chainsaw and an extra Jerry can of fuel so he was able to cut through, with the greatest of ease, any and all fallen trees and tangled brush that lay in our path.
Once clear of this otherwise impenetrable woodland, we found ourselves back on another trail. This one, however, was quite overgrown with Balsam-root and other tall grasses so one had to thread one's way carefully as the surface was not always visible. Nevertheless, we were certainly of the opinion that the rest of the hike would be "a piece of cake", as Artless Al had suggested but few minutes earlier. It was almost as if we had tempted Fate as no sooner had we congratulated ourselves on a return which was going to be little more than a walk in the park, catastrophe reared its ugly head and Josinta took a very, very nasty fall, slamming her right knee into the sharp edge of a large rock after she lost her footing and crashed to the ground. I gather that the basket of her left pole had caught on something and as she turned her head to see about releasing the pole, she stepped ahead, with her right, and slipped on another rock, the rain having made any smooth surfaces slick and dangerous as most of us know, to the certain detriment of our physical well-being if not to our pride!
I was about 20 metres behind when I saw her, out of the corner of my eye, topple. I knew it was not a trivial case of simply slipping and landing on her bottom, suffering little more than embarrassment, if that. In this case she stayed down and remained down until helped to her feet by Gilliana, Jumpin' Jack and Phillipo, ahead of her at the time of the fall, who rushed back to provide assistance. Fortunately, nothing was broken or sprained but still a sickeningly painful fall. Once back on her feet she was able to shake her leg, rub her knee and begin to walk slowly along the trail which soon became both increasingly more visible and flatter. Tender-Hearted Tinka, once apprised of the accident, rushed back to ask: "Did you damage the stone, Jos?" For his part, Self-Absorbed Aarturo was too, too busy chatting up Olga Polga to offer but a careless, condescending, "Shake it off, Little Dutch Girl", annoyed that the centre of attention had shifted from him, as his long-suffering, and now uncomfortably sore and bruised wife, hobbled by!
In spite of these callous remarks, Josinta showed both her physical toughness and inner resilience by hardly slowing down at all, after she regained her composure, and we continued on. And then, not too, too far from the cattle fence near DRAO, we stopped and I was finally allowed, (In part, due to the fact that Thoughtless Tinka began to feel somewhat ashamed about his cavalier remark and now wished to give Jos a bit of time to rest her injured limb as well as to take the opportunity to curry more favour with the rest of his flock.), to take an Official Group Photograph. Restorative Justice accomplished, the rest of the hike, was, indeed, a walk in the park, as once over the barbed wire fence, (Rolly Polly and I held our ski poles against the top two strands to push them lower in order to allow both Josinta and Jumpin' Jack Flash to step over the barrier, [They did the same for us.]), we were soon strolling beside the wheel-mounted, ever-vigilant telescopes and shortly thereafter, back at the parked vehicles.
Just up the road we drove by Spumoni, Jimbo and Ricardo, sitting on the hillside just off the thoroughfare, waiting for the drivers of their support vehicles to return to collect them. We stopped to say hello and it was determined that many were going to the pub in OK Falls to celebrate the day's rewarding outing. I had much to do at home, as did Phillipo and Gilliana, so we decided not to join the gang there but made for home and HH, having already ejected Rolly Polly, rather quickly and unceremoniously, from the car! In spite of not tippling with the rest, everyone agreed that it was yet another tremendous, tremendous trek, in spite of the on-again-off-again rain and ubiquitous mosquitoes. Thanks again and again, ever-so-much, Armadillo Skinned Al! Map and Stats for hike:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1175579813#.Vz5Aqri_NRQ.email
Michele was not feeling well yesterday and although a bit better today we have decided not to infect you. See you on Saturday. Sorry to hear that! Give her my love. See you both on Saturday, Corinne Wayne I have your scotch. W
Typed long email and then forgot to keep draft😖! Happy u had a good celebration. All well here, our 46th July 4. Recently celebrated Frank's 72nd, May 6. My 70th Nov 6, same date as Fred Penner. Went out for a lovely meal at a Greek restaurant, Kalvas. Close so walked. Wine we ordered was a Syrrah from Naramata Valley.
Nice weather here. Need rain desperately. Another dry summer predicted. Keeping busy with our activities, Pickleball, golf, ballroom line dancing. Excited for family to arrive mid June & mid July. Headed back to Yuma for Nov-Mar. Missed our active lifestyle in the sun. Cheers, Maggie
Corrine and Patrick: It's been a long time since we wrote you guys -I'm sure you will be glad of it - once you read through my LONG email!!!! We have had a lot of company (I said NONE next year!!) and therefore very busy with them and between guests trying to get the renos finished around here.... then just last month we decided on this NEW plan and it's been forever trying to get organized ..... As you probably heard from Pam - we have decided to travel Canada before settling in BC...We still haven't found a home we like - so we thought before we commit ourselves to a home - this is the time! I have never been to the East coast and there's many parts of Eastern Canada that Henryk hasn't seen either.
At first we had thought even with the exchange; it would be cheaper for us to buy a truck and 5th wheel here in US - and register and insure them here so we started looking.... Of course - all the RV sales were on the opposite end of town - so it was a 100 mile ride to view them... But it served the purpose as we found ones we liked.... only to have them sold on us before we could put in an offer (we were looking at used at first)... then we saw that the new weren't that much more.. so.... we went to an RV sale and found a style we liked (even with a separate room (called a bunkhouse) that could be used as an office for Henryk!)... we ordered it - put a deposit down contingent on when we saw it we could make the final decision -- well - we celebrated with our friends again! only to go and see the poor workmanship in the unit - and cancel the order..... Thus activated my superstitious nature! I didn't want anyone to know anything UNTIL we had a confirmed sale.... then we ran into Glitch No. 1:
1. a Canadian - even with a US residence cannot do that - Canadians have only 10 days to import and register in Canada So... we began looking in Canada - and to our pleasant surprise - the prices were comparable. --- very good news!
Henryk found a truck right away - in Rosetown Saskatchewan - so we bought that -- and then we found the 5th wheel we liked (unfortunately named "Cougar") used in Alberta - we spoke to the farmer - offered a deposit to hold it for us - he said he would talk to his wife --- he called the next day to say they had sold it - grrrrr....Someone upstairs was watching our for us! Glitch No. 2:
2. Henryk started calling RV sales in Canada - and we both started looking online - we found the same unit again - he spoke to a great salesman who asked Henryk if he had a Class C license - that when you have a 5th wheel that ways more than 10K lbs - you need an upgraded license.... OMG!!! so he looked into that - and there's classes involved and testing - that would take more time than we have - as Henryk only has taken a week off work to get us back to Canada and to internet service so he can get back to work! so we started looking for 5th wheels that are lighter.... we had to get a unit shorter in length and give up the little office.... but we found one....Glitch No. 3:
the unit is in Orillia Ontario! So; we will be on the road for a while - staying at friends until we pick up the 5th wheel....Our plan isn't to come to BC until September - and we know that you still have our container.... We are sooooo sorry to intrude on your space for such long time... the tub contains our winter clothes - and should be waterproof - so if you wanted to get it out of your garage; you could gladly store it outside in some obscure spot - we certainly wouldn't mind.... As for the large littler box - if you wanted to get rid of that - you could donate that to a thrift store... as we will pick up the one at the lake and put it in our trailer.... Yes - Venus is looking forward to this adventure too - LOL
FYI - Venus is on new meds - perozac for her stress - she seems to be better - although since she's been on; we've only had one last group (Henryk's family from POLAND :) - and I kept her locked in the bedroom - as there was 4 of them and the doors seemed to be constantly open! Here's our plans for the summer....
Monday, May 23rd: We leave here and head to Rosetown Saskatchewan overnight in hotel - we will try and get 1/2 way - looks like somewhere in Idaho..
May 24th Arrive in Saskatchewan - late overnight in hotel - probably Swift Current as Rosetown is small!
Wednesday, May 25th We will pick up the truck - and then head to Winnipeg - we will be staying with our friends that come here every year and stay for Superbowl. They have a little suite in their basement that is open for us to use and we can then let Venus out of her cage and not worry about her interaction with other people... We will need to stay a couple of days in Winnipeg to get some business done - register the truck as well as our new 5th wheel! -- :)
Friday, May 27th or Saturday May 28th I would expect we can get things settled and then leave for our family cottage at Ignace on Friday May 27th or - or Saturday morning...We will stay in Ignace for a week - gather up our stuff and head east - we have an appointment on June 6th to pick up our trailer in Orillia Ontario. ---
Monday, June 6th pick up the 5th wheel in Orillia and get training for the use of all the 5th wheel equipment travel to Niagara Falls RV park for probably a week -(Henryk has never seen the falls :)).. then after that head east to the Maritimes... We will probably not make those plans until we have time to breathe sitting in the park in Niagara Falls!!!... or perhaps while at Ignace..
Friday, JULY 22nd We have to be in Neepawa (close to Winnipeg) for a wedding on July 23rd..... after that we will stay in Winnipeg for probably a week - see our Dr, dentist and friends...
Monday, August 1st, (or there abouts) If the camp isn't sold; (we've had some inquiries and debating selling) we thought would head back to Ignace and spend the month there that way we can visit with my family from Thunder Bay...
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September: Sometime in September we will head west - to start the house hunt again; it's the fruit season so don't want to miss that!
Important Information: We can only stay at RV parks that have internet - for Henryk and I both to work... and also can only travel on weekends - so we will be at least a week in each location - so that won't make us feel too much like gypsies! nice thing is - NO packing -- we will have everything available to us each time we stop - even at a rest stop! :).
Well, I should end this trilogy! -- and get moving.... I have a few things to do before this evening. We brought 14 bottles of wine with us from the Okanagan to share with our friends here and haven't been able to organize a date to do it.... so; it's TONIGHT - a way to also say good-bye and officially open the new bar we've been working on on our patio. It's not quite finished - I haven't finished painting the mural - but they will get the gyst - as I do have some fish painted on the walls for our 'underwater' theme... We've printed a map of the Okanagan for the wall - and I typed up all the information on each wine for the tasters to have --- think it will be fun.
Sorry I missed seeing you in Vancouver Corrine - but that sister of yours is a tough boss :)....I hear you guys are heading East yourselves - to help your parents Corrine... that will be difficult to leave Falcon after all that time -- but good they were able to make this decision themselves.... Safe travels to you both. I will be posting our travels on Facebook so we can keep in touch through that.... again... sorry about the container...take care, Louise and Henryk
Hi Louise, thanks for your newsy letter. By now you must be heading to Winnipeg in your new truck and fifth wheel. Hope your wine tasting was fun!
We are driving to Manitoba, leaving here on June 8th and will spend a few weeks visiting mom and dad and other friends and relations.
Mom and Dad are not moving as George is not working this summer but spending his time making it possible for them to stay at Falcon.
You are welcome to stay here in September, park your fifth wheel or whatever works for you two. Don't worry about the container you left we have lots of room in the garage. We have made lots of changes since you were here. Looking forward to seeing you in the Fall. Have a wonderful time in your travels which sound great. Something I would like to do with out the fifth wheel.
Safe travels, Corinne
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