Year 3 Week 19

October 22 to 28, 2006

Oliver, B.C.

Year 3 week 19

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and mild.

This morning we loaded the old sofa bed into the back of the truck, and drove to the Oliver Community Centre where there was a community garage sale. I parked the truck in a parking spot visible to everybody entering and exiting, and slapped up a "for sale" sign on the side of the truck. The sofa bed was sold half an hour later. We delivered it to the purchaser's new house under construction. Bought the new loveseat for 50 bucks. Sold the old sofa bed for 50 bucks. Worked out pretty well. HA HA HA !

This afternoon I did some minor maintenance projects, then watched the Air Cadets fly their gliders. We went to the grocery store, where I gave a boost to an old Ford diesel with 2 dead batteries. The owner was a long haired, long bearded, hippy throwback, older than me by probably ten years. There's a lot of old hippy throwbacks, and younger "bushies" here in the B.C. Interior. Suits me fine ! The longer we're on the road, the less fond I become of urban "civilization". After working at YMCA Of The Ozarks 2 years ago, Joanne is still musing about wanting to become a survivalist hillbilly up in the Ozarks.

When we returned from grocery shopping, we were met by a "neighbour" who came by to discuss Harvey. She and her husband had owned a 1998 Cardinal fifth wheel, the same as Harvey. She even brought over her photo albums to show us pictures. Since their 1998 Cardinal, they have also owned a larger Mountain Aire fifth wheel, and now have a Class A motorhome. Some people change their rigs every few years, apparently. She chatted, and chatted, and chatted ... we were beginning to think she was never going to leave.

I barbecued a couple of nice steaks for supper, as a sort of a celebration for the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaking through 12,000. We watched Amazing Race, our weekly "must see TV".

 

Monday ; Today was sunny. At 8:00 A.M. the temperature was 35 degrees. BRRRRR ! By mid-afternoon it was 70 degrees. Much better !

This morning I had another lengthy conversation with the electrician I have hired to install the hydro on our lot next spring. We reached an understanding, and agreement. I have only one small detail left to arrange for the basic preparation of our lot next spring ; the pre-cast concrete power pedestal riser with attached sewer inlet base.

Early this afternoon the mobile RV repair service man brought back Harvey's repaired furnace. I helped him reinstall it. After he was gone, I removed it and reinstalled it again, to my standards of fussiness. You know ... no stripped screws, no stripped screw holes, no mismatched screws, etc.. If the furnace ever needs to be removed again, it should only require 1 screwdriver to remove 4 screws, not 3 screwdrivers because 3 of the 4 screws have different heads ! Yes, I know ... that's anal retentive !

Late this afternoon we gave Bo his monthly bath. He sure is a stinky little dog sometimes. Joanne blames me for letting him romp in lakes, rivers, etc.. I think it's just because he's a little Alabama redneck terrier. HA HA HA !

 

Tuesday ; Today was partially cloudy and cool. A good day for exploring.

We drove south on Hwy. 97 towards Osoyoos. First stop was Lavender Harvest Farms. They were already closed for the season, and will re-open next spring. Too bad. Joanne wanted to look around. She wants to plant a lavender garden on our new RV lot next year. Good for her. I want to build an Inukshuk ! HA HA HA !

Next we stopped at a fruit stand that we knew carried her favourite apples, the Aurora Golden Gala apples. I’m partial to the Ambrosia apples myself. From there we drove to the Desert Centre, a local outdoor educational centre with interpretive hiking trails. It, too, was closed until next spring. I guess the tourism season is over. We drove back towards Oliver, then crossed the Okanagan River to get up onto Black Sage Road, along the “bench” on the east side of the river. We stopped at Carriage House Wines to buy a bottle of their Kerner wine which Joanne likes. We tasted it at the Festival Of The Grape a few weeks ago.

We had learned, from the people that we sold our old sofa bed to, that there is a dirt road leading west from Oliver, up and over the mountains, coming down in the little town of Cawston, the next town over from Keremeos. We decided to explore it. It was a little, often one lane, dirt road winding and twisting over the tall mountains that separate the Okanagan Valley from the Similkameen Valley. We didn’t get too far up this road before I had to shift Lanoire into 4WD. It was an interesting route to explore. The road ended down in the Similkameen Valley, at Cawston. We returned to Oliver on the more civilized route, east on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos, then north on Hwy. 97 to Oliver.

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and warm.

DAMN DAMN DAMN ! I found out this morning that I made a U.S.$75 brain fart. I sold a small amount of stock in my U.S.$ investment account, to get some U.S.$ for traveller's cheques, forgetting that there is a minimum transaction fee of U.S.$75 on my U.S.$ investments.

I made phone calls to get details of recent investment transactions, purchase travel medical insurance, and change our cell phone plan. We use a Canada wide plan for the summer, and a North America wide plan for the winter. I got online and changed my AOL plan from Canada to U.S.. I walked "downtown" with Joanne to buy some groceries. I'm not walking enough, when we stay in one place. I spent awhile sorting out and entering my investment trade data.

I phoned my sister. No answer. Joanne phoned her sister. We chatted with the little nieces about their Hallowe'en plans. HA HA HA ... I needed to chat with a 7 year old and a 5 year old to remember how exciting Hallowe'en can be.

 

Thursday ; Oliver to Penticton & return

Today was partially cloudy, cool, and windy.

I was awakened early this morning by a phone call from a female with a Jamaican accent from the Ontario Ministry Of Finance, who continues to be concerned about the date I selected as the fiscal year end of Misty Ventures & Developments. Geeeeez, sweetheart, it's an inactive company with no assets, no revenues, and no expenses. Change the fiscal year end date to whatever floats your boat ! I'm going back to bed !

Today was our weekly day of errands in Penticton. We drove north on Hwy. 97 through Okanagan Falls to Penticton. First stop was the Bank Of Montreal where we bought traveller's cheques for our winter in the United States. Next stop was Bling Performance where I picked up the set of chrome door handles I ordered. I need to replace the chrome door handle I botched up during installation. Next was Wal-Mart for supplies, Great Canadian Warehouse for diesel and groceries, Safeway for more groceries, then Midtown RV for some RV parts.

Back at the trailer I did a bit of online research on a small motorhome I saw at Midtown RV. I sent the information to my friend Erbon in Ottawa. I think he might be interested in it.

After watching the late news, I pulled out the atlas to see how close today's horrific forest fire in Southern California is to where we'll be workcamping this winter. Wow ... only 14 miles away !

 

Friday ; Today was partially cloudy and mild.

We had a lazy day, lying around, reading, napping, walking the dog, etc.. This morning when I went to get a complimentary cup of coffee at the customer lounge adjacent to the park's office, I spent awhile chatting with a 31 year old male nurse from Kenora, Ontario who is staying here at Desert Gem RV Resort while he searches for work at hospitals in the Okanagan Valley.

I spent some time online, paying bills, reading and sending e-mail. I did a monthly backup of all my computer files.

The California wild fire is moving east, towards Guide Dogs Of The Desert. Uh-oh !

 

Saturday ; Today was cloudy and mild.

My sister Sharon phoned this morning and we chatted briefly. My project for today was to replace the chrome door handle on the passenger's side front door. Now it's done, I can forget about it and stop beating myself up for botching it up during the first installation a couple of weeks ago. Bo needed a "drivey" so we drove to the grocery store, bought some groceries, and refilled all our water jugs. We drove to the south edge of town where Joanne wanted to see a store advertising itself as a Mexican and Portuguese grocery store. I didn't see anything Mexican or Portuguese about it ! It was all East Indian.

I watched quite a few small planes arrive and depart today from the little airport across the street. Saturday is a busy day at the Oliver airport.

I spent the evening reading today's Globe & Mail. Today was the last chance to read a Saturday Globe & Mail until next spring.

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 18

October 15 to 21, 2006

Oliver, B.C.

Year 3 week 18

 

Sunday ; Oliver to Osoyoos and U.S. border & return

Today was cloudy and mild. It rained overnight and again a bit this evening.

Joanne walked downtown this morning to do a bit of grocery shopping. I did some online work, and listened to Stuart McLean's Vinyl Café on CBC. I like his story telling. It took me a long time, and a lot of fine print reading, to determine that my investment company's web site, with access to my investment accounts, won't work properly with Internet Explorer version 7 which I downloaded a few days ago. I had to delete version 7, and restore version 6 to be able to access my investment accounts online.

This afternoon we drove to Osoyoos to explore. Osoyoos is about 15 minutes south of Oliver on Hwy. 97. We drove through Osoyoos, finding the Bank Of Montreal, and checking out other stores and services. When we live in Keremeos, our shopping and service centres will be Penticton and Osoyoos. Just on the edge of town, we drove onto the Nk'Mip ( pronounced Inkameep ) band lands. Nk'Mip is the Osoyoos Indian Band name. We drove through the very nice Nk'Mip RV Campground. This past summer we had thought that it was going to be where we spent the month of October, until we changed our minds and decided to stay at Desert Gem RV Resort at Oliver. We drove up the mountain past the Nk'Mip Resort and Spa, the Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre, and stopped at Nk'Mip Cellars, the only Native owned winery in North America. We walked around their wine tasting and gift shop, admiring the Native art exhibited within.

We drove back down the mountain off the Indian lands, back through town, and drove south on Hwy. 97 to the U.S. border crossing to Oroville, Washington, 5 km. / 3 mi. from Osoyoos. We turned around, headed back to and through Osoyoos, and back towards Oliver. We stopped at a produce stand to buy some fruit. We sampled, and bought some apples. There are so many types of apples available locally, neither of us can remember the name of the type of apples we bought today. I walked across the highway from the produce stand to see the harvesting of grapes. The harvesters were all East Indians / Sikhs. East Indians / Sikhs seem to dominate the local orchard and vineyard businesses. The harvesters snip the bunches of grapes from the vines, and drop them into huge plastic pails ( about 20 gallons ? ) that they tote along with themselves as they harvest. It takes them about 2 hours to fill each pail with grapes, and they get paid $50 a pail. $200 a day / $1000 a week. Good money ! Joanne surmises that maybe all the scruffy Quebecois kids that we are seeing around here might be here to harvest grapes and / or apples, before heading off to the ski resorts in B.C. to work for the winter.

 

Monday ; Today was raining all day.

We spent a lazy day because of the weather. We went shopping for a few groceries, and some hardware I needed. I fabricated a new waste tank valve handle extension, as a spare. I downloaded and processed some photos I took yesterday. I read and napped. We watched TV.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny but cool. It looks like the warm summer temperatures are now over, and the cooler fall weather has arrived here in the Okanagan.

Today was another slow day. I spent much of the day making phone calls, doing Internet research, and sending e-mails about the RV utility power pedestal and pre-cast concrete pedestal and sewer inlet base that I want to buy for our lot at Riverside RV Park Resort. Some companies are so easy to do business with ( like Valid Manufacturing in Salmon Arm ) and some companies are impossibly difficult to do business with (like Oliver Redi Mix ) !

 

Wednesday : Oliver to Penticton & return

Today was partially cloudy and cool.

We drove to Penticton this morning. First stop was Parker's Chrysler. I had Lanoire's loose radio antenna mount tightened, and the under hood sound & heat insulation liner replaced. It was slightly burned by the heat of the turbocharger. When towing a heavy trailer, for long periods non-stop, on hot summer days, up and down mountains, the turbocharger apparently gets hot enough to burn the insulation liner under the hood. The same thing happened on Dee-Dee, but it's such a minor problem that it's not worth bothering with, on a vehicle that's beyond warranty. I guess that I will periodically replace the under hood insulation liner on Lanoire until the warranty expires.

I went next door to Bling Performance and ordered a set of chrome door handles, to replace the one that I broke during installation. I had to order a set of two, for a regular cab truck, but at least I didn't have to pay for another set of four. We went for lunch, and stopped into an Edward Jones office. We made an appointment for later this month, to discuss our future needs to have an investment broker here in B.C. when we "move" to Keremeos. We shopped at Wal-Mart, then Real Canadian Warehouse, then Safeway. We drove downtown to the Bank Of Montreal and ordered some U.S. dollar traveller's cheques. Finally, we headed back towards Oliver.

On the way back to Oliver, we stopped at a business called Tickleberry's, at Okanagan Falls. We knew about Tickleberry's, having purchased their chocolate covered berry products at the Ottawa Christmas Craft Shows in the past. Tickleberry's at Okanagan Falls wasn't exactly what we expected, having bought at their booths at the Ottawa Christmas Craft Shows. They were a small tourist and gift shop filled with what we consider to be trivial junk items, like the Pine Ridge Hollow store near Bird's Hill Park that my sister likes so much. Chacun à son goû t.

Back at the trailer, we discovered that the trailer's furnace wouldn't work. It was working fine yesterday. I wasn't able to determine the cause of the problem. Of course, what I know about RV furnaces would fit on the head of a pin. Tomorrow I'll have to phone a local mobile RV service company to come over and take a look at it.

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and cool. The weather has definitely changed from t-shirt weather to long sleeved shirt weather. Could be worse !

This morning we took Bo for an obedience walk in the vacant lot next to our RV park. Joanne felt that we should both take him today, and give him a more challenging session than he's been getting lately. While he was in a "sit stay", and holding it quite nicely as we walked quite far away from him, a quail ran across the vacant lot, between Bo and us. THINK ... THINK ... THINK ... ZOOOOOM ! BO ... STOP ! So an errant quail somewhat broke his concentration, and contributed to what happened next.

We got him refocused, then while I stayed with him, Joanne went around a corner, behind a fence, and commanded him to come. He ran around the corner towards where Joanne was hidden, looked across the road at the airport, saw birds on the airport field, dashed across the road, squirmed under the fence, and took off as fast as his scrunty little legs could take him, across the field, and runway, chasing birds ! Bad dog, Bo ! Joanne and I ran across the road, calling to him. He ignored us for a minute or two, and then ran back to us, just as I was contemplating climbing over the airport security fence to chase after him. Good dog, Bo ! He sure can cover a lot of ground in just a very short period of time !

This afternoon the mobile RV repair service man came by. I helped him remove the furnace. It wasn’t easy, even for someone who knows what he’s doing. He took it back to his shop to inspect and, hopefully, repair it.

The Dow Jones closed above 12,000 today. WOO-HOO ! That warrants a little celebration.

 

Friday ; Today was sunny, mild, and windy.

This morning the mobile RV service man came by to advise me that Harvey's furnace needs a new blower motor. He ordered one, and should be ready to reinstall the furnace on Monday. This will be a fairly costly repair, but overall, we have not had many expensive repairs on the trailer in the 3 years we've owned it. Harvey the trailer has been much more satisfactory than Dee-Dee the truck was.

We reviewed and changed our plans to travel south starting on November 1. We had planned to cross into Washington, turn east and cross over the Rockies, through Idaho and into Montana, then head south, on the east side of the Rockies, through Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Joanne really wants to visit Colorado. But we've changed our minds. We've come to realize that the weather on the east side of the Rockies, in the fall, is much worse than it is on the west side of the Rockies. Two years in a row now, we've encountered winter blizzard conditions on the Alberta side of the Rockies, in the Banff and Jasper regions, in September. Travelling down through Colorado, in November, is likely to be too cold for our tastes. We've decided to return in the spring, up the east side of the Rockies, through Colorado.

This fall, we'll head straight south through Osoyoos into Washington, then across Washington to the Columbia River corridor, which is the Washington / Oregon border. Maybe we'll visit Mount St. Helen's. We'll definitely stop at the Escapee park in Oregon, the only one of the 19 Escapee parks that we have not yet been to. We want to stay far enough inland to avoid the fall rainy season of the Pacific Northwest coast, but far enough west to avoid the cold of the Rockies.

For the last few days I have been having a 3 way discussion by e-mail, with the RV power pedestal manufacturer in Salmon Arm, and a concrete company in Kelowna that may or may not be able to pre-cast a concrete pedestal and sewer inlet base to mate with the RV power pedestal. It's a slow, slightly frustrating process, to have a 3 way discussion by e-mail, including the exchange of shop drawings and photographs.

 

Saturday ; Oliver to Osoyoos to Keremeos & return

Today was sunny and mild. We like the weather here !

This morning I watched a tow plane towing gliders up over the nearby mountains and releasing them to glide on the thermals. The local Air Cadets have a tow plane and a couple of gliders at the Oliver Airport across the street from our RV park.

We had an early lunch, then drove to Osoyoos to look at a used fifth wheel stabilizer tripod that was advertised in the local Bargain Hunter. Joanne picked up a copy of the Bargain Hunter yesterday to verify that our ad for the sofa bed was in it. She noticed an ad for a fifth wheel stabilizer tripod. I've never really thought that one was necessary, particularly because of our constant travelling, but it might be useful to have when we're parked for 6 months at a time in one place, as we will be starting next spring. Anyways, I didn't like what was being sold, and didn't buy it.

We drove to Keremeos, then to Riverside RV Park Resort. We met with Ben Nendick, the contractor I have hired to do most of the preparation of our lot next spring. He will do everything except the electrical work. He will excavate trenches, install the sewer, water, and phone lines, backfill the trenches, haul in 4 truckloads of ¾" shale and dump it on the site, then level and compact the site. After our meeting with Ben, we met with Mitch Netterfield, the Sales Agent, who wanted our opinions on dog selection. He and his wife are going to look at a litter of Lhasa Apso puppies tomorrow, and will probably get one.

We drove back to the Village of Keremeos, and bought some fruit. It's pretty difficult to drive through "The Fruit Stand Capital Of Canada" and not buy some fresh fruit. After buying fruit we went to Victory Hall where the annual "Taste Of Our Valley" event was being held today. Around the perimeter of the hall were tasting tables set up by local wineries, orchards, and restaurants. We ate, drank, ate, drank, ate, drank ... and so on. I chatted briefly with the wife of the local veterinarian. Too bad he's retiring at the end of the month. Hopefully, there will be a new vet in Keremeos by next spring.

Our friend Jennifer from Vancouver introduced us to the wonderful local apples known as Ambrosia. What we didn't know until tonight's Taste Of Our Valley was that the Ambrosia apple was developed / invented right here in Keremeos in 1997. It's truly a local product, and they are GREAT !

DSK

Year 3 Week 17

October 8 to 14, 2006

Oliver, B.C.

Year 3 week 17

 

Sunday ; Oliver to Keremeos & return

Today started out cool and cloudy with very light drizzle, but it cleared and warmed in the afternoon.

We met Dwight and Jennifer at Riverside RV Park Resort, had a picnic lunch, explored, and had Thanksgiving dinner in Keremeos.

We left Oliver this morning in light drizzle, driving south on Hwy. 97 to Osoyoos, then west on Hwy. 3 to and through Keremeos to Riverside RV Park Resort. We met Dwight and Jennifer there. They drove about 4 hours from Vancouver to visit us. Thank you, Dwight and Jennifer, for coming to visit us. We had lunch inside the clubhouse, because it was still raining lightly. After lunch we walked around the RV Park, showing it to them.

We all got into Lanoire and drove back into Keremeos. We stopped and shopped at a couple of fruit stands. Jennifer bought 25 pounds of Ambrosia and Fiji apples. We wandered up and down Main Street, exploring antique shops. We drove to the edge of town, and stopped at a local winery to sample some wines in their tasting room. Joanne bought a bottle of pear wine. We drove back into town and went to Arleigh's restaurant, where Joanne had made reservations for an early Thanksgiving dinner. Arleigh's is a small, home style restaurant. We sipped tea, and Jennifer showed us some photos on her computer of their recent journey to New Zealand. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner ; home made soup, salad, a large turkey dinner, and pumpkin pie. A great meal served by a very efficient and friendly server. Afterwards, we lingered while Jennifer continued showing us photos.

Backing out of the parking spot at Arleigh's, I bumped the truck parked behind us. )@(#*$&%^! My first "bump" with Lanoire. I was very embarrassed and upset with myself. Fortunately I did not damage the other truck, but I scuffed the corner of Lanoire's rear bumper. I hope that I can remove the scuff with solvent tomorrow. We drove Dwight and Jennifer back to their car parked at Riverside RV Park Resort and said goodbye. We drove back to Keremeos, turned north on Hwy. 3A to Kaleden, then south on Hwy. 97 back to Oliver. The route we drove this morning, and the different route back this evening are both about the same distance.

We had a great day.

Here is a picture of us taken by Dwight at a fruit stand in the village of Keremeos ; http://static.flickr.com/106/265780184_1112ffe582_b.jpg

 

Monday ; Happy Thanksgiving

Today was sunny and warm.

My priority this morning was to remove the scuff mark on the rear corner of the truck that I made yesterday bumping the truck behind me in Arleigh's Restaurant parking lot. I cleaned it off with solvent. There is still a slightly visible scuff mark on the lower rear corner of the fibreglass dually hip, if you look at it hard enough. I was inclined to touch it up with spray paint, but Joanne advised against it. She thinks that an amateur spray paint touch up is likely to be more visible than the little scuff mark. I know she's probably right, but it's going to be very difficult for me to overcome my anal retentiveness, and stifle myself from getting out the can of touch up spray paint. The first road rash mark on a new vehicle is difficult to accept, especially when caused by one's own carelessness. Doggone it !

I did some work on the new loveseat. The mesh material on the underside was a bit frayed from the loveseat being moved around on thick carpet. I removed it. Tomorrow I will buy some small furniture feet to install on the underside of the loveseat. I did some Internet surfing, browsing RV lots for sale in the southern U.S.. Geeeeez ... some lots in Southern California sell for U.S.$250,000 !

The grocery store only had large turkeys for sale, so we bought some turkey wings for tonight's Thanksgiving dinner. They were horrible ! Nothing but skin, fat, and bones. No fault of the cook, whom I love unconditionally, but it was the worst Thanksgiving dinner I've ever had.

 

Tuesday ; Oliver to Kelowna & Penticton & return. Happy 52nd Birthday to me !

Today was sunny and warm.

A new motorhome moved into Desert Gem RV Resort today. A Prevost ! Prevosts start at half a million ! And this Prevost's towed is a Hummer ! HMPH !

This morning we left Oliver driving north on Hwy. 97 through Penticton to Kelowna, about an hour and a half away. We joined the SKP Okanagan Chapter 33 members for their monthly luncheon outing at Ruby Restaurant. Since we are "moving" to Keremeos next May, Chapter 33 will become our "home" SKP chapter. As is usually the case with Escapee groups, these people were welcoming and friendly. They sang Happy Birthday to me.

On the way out of Kelowna, returning south on Hwy. 97, we stopped at an RV dealer to buy an RV part we need. We continued south on Hwy. 97 to Penticton. First stop at Penticton was Canadian Tire, where we bought some hardware, and chrome "Ram's Head" tail lights, my birthday gift from Joanne < rolling eyes >. Lanoire is a Dodge Ram. Next stop was Bling Performance, for another birthday gift "from Joanne". I bought chrome door handles, and a chrome tailgate latch handle for Lanoire. Woo-Hoo ... pimp my ride !

We filled up with diesel, and replenished supplies at Wal-Mart. We returned to Oliver, driving south on Hwy. 97. We got home about supper time. It seemed like a long, tiring day.

Joanne prepared my favourite dish ( spaghetti with an old family recipe meat sauce ) for supper, and baked me a cranberry chocolate birthday cake. What a good wife ! Thank you, my dear.

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and warm, temperature in the 70's.

This morning my sister Sharon phoned to wish me a Happy Birthday. She thought today was my birthday. Talk about a "senior moment" ! She has a cold, and sounds horrible. Her knee is progressing okay after surgery a few weeks ago. I chatted with her about our purchase of a lot at Riverside RV Park Resort, our future living here in the Okanagan / Similkameen, and the snowfall in Winnipeg yesterday. BRRRRR ! I'm glad to be here !

This afternoon I installed feet on the new loveseat, and then screwed it down to the floor to keep it from moving around when we travel. We went to the mall for haircuts. Before our haircuts, our ad for our old sofa bed was on the grocery store's bulletin board, but after our haircuts, it was removed. I hope somebody removed it because they intend to purchase our sofa bed, not just because they wanted a free plastic page protector !

I printed investment updates, and updated my investment files. I always take an accurate "snapshot" of our financial status on my birthdays, and every January 1. Many years ago I built a "retirement planning" spreadsheet, and I track my progress against that plan. Although ... I guess we're already "retired". For a few years, at least. Maybe not forever.

Well that's pretty good ! We've travelled extensively and expensively twice around North America for 28 months, bought and paid for a new truck, put a small "waiting list" deposit on a lot in Yuma, Arizona, put a purchase deposit on a lot in Keremeos, B.C., and our investments are still worth exactly the same amount as when we started 28 months ago !

 

Thursday ; Happy 32nd Anniversary to us !

Today was sunny and warm again, temperature well into the 20's / 70's again.

I spent much of today on the telephone, and doing Internet research. I paid the cell phone bill by phone. I had a lengthy discussion with some low level bureaucratic clerk in the Ontario Government who doesn't like the fiscal year end date I chose for Misty Ventures & Developments CT23 Ontario Provincial Corporate Income Tax Return. After 14 years in business, I learned to be quite adept at avoiding having low level bureaucrats throw monkeys on my back. I deflected her attempts to saddle me with work to make her job easier. I made a series of phone calls to B.C. Government agencies about health care coverage for new residents of B.C., then discovered it was far more efficient and less aggravating to find all the answers and order the forms online. I phoned an electrical manufacturing company in Salmon Arm about an RV utility pedestal they manufacture. I phoned a local concrete company about a precast concrete utility pedestal and sewer base. I phoned an excavation contractor in Hedley, and another one in Salmon Arm to discuss the preparation of our Lot 89 at Riverside RV Park Resort next May. I phoned an electrical contractor to discuss the installation of hydro on our Lot 89.

I worked on the installation of my "birthday gifts" on Lanoire. I installed the Ram's Head tail lights. I installed the chrome tailgate latch handle. I installed the chrome door handles. I screwed up the installation of one of the door handles, and had a lot of difficulty rectifying my screw-up. Just once I'd like to be able to do a job like this without screwing something up ! Joanne thinks I'm too hard on myself. Oh, well, I finally did get things fixed up so that you can't tell that I screwed up in the first place. And at least I wasn't paying somebody else ninety bucks an hour to screw up.

< singing > Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp dressed ride ! ( with apologies to Z Z Top )

We went for an anniversary celebration dinner to Toasted Oak Wine Bar & Grill, a local upscale restaurant located in Oliver's restored town fire hall. They specialize in local wines served by the glass. Joanne had a glass of Dirty Laundry Vineyard's Gewürztraminer Woo Woo, and I had a glass of Stag's Hollow Winery's Tragically Vidal. Dinner was excellent, as were the wines. I had a bit of sticker shock when the bill came, though.

 

Friday ; Today was sunny and warm again. Sure is nice weather here in the Okanagan / Similkameen in the fall.

It became apparent to me today that my botched up chrome door handle installation on the front passenger's side door of the truck will require replacement. I'm hoping, but not hopeful, that I can buy just one chrome door handle, and not have to buy an entire set of four to replace one. I made more phone calls today to contractors and suppliers regarding the preparation of our Lot 89 next spring. A man came to look at our old sofa bed that is for sale, but he did not buy it.

We spent the afternoon exploring the local area by truck. We crossed the Okanagan River in town, then drove south along Black Sage Road on the east side of the river. Black Sage Road runs alongside and through many vineyards and orchards, and up and down the sides of the local mountains. Very pretty country. I took some photos. We stopped to look around Burrowing Owl Vineyards, but didn't buy anything. We crossed back over the river to Hwy. 97, and headed back towards Oliver. We turned west up into the hills again, and explored the mountains on the west side. The west side was more desert like, with sage brush growing in sand and gravel. We drove back out of the hills and down into Oliver, stopping at the municipal park on the north side of town to walk around and let Bo blow off some steam. The municipal park seems to be the local gathering place for the itinerant workers ; Mexicans and scruffy young Quebecois. We're quite accustomed to seeing weather beaten Mexican itinerant workers all along the Mexican border through California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. But the weirdo Quebecois kids are scary looking ! Lock the doors tonight !

 

Saturday ; Today was partially cloudy and mild.

I spent the morning replacing the black water valve extension handle. I started out working on tightening it, but it became apparent that it needed replacement, not just tightening. Fortunately, I had previously fabricated a spare valve extension handle. Over the next few days, I will buy the hardware I need to fabricate another one. Keeping a spare is a good idea.

We spent the afternoon exploring Oliver's municipal parks. We drove to Lion's Park, and went for a walk along the Okanagan River Hike and Bike Trail. Bo raninto the river. Of course ! We played "Bo-gility" games in the park. Bo loves to play on children's slides. We lead him to climb up a rope ladder to the slide platform, then he happily jumps on the slide, and slides down. What a silly dog ! From Lion's Park, we drove across the Okanagan River to the Rotary Public Beach on Tuc-El-Nuit Lake. More Bo-gility ... HA HA HA ! And chasing geese out into the lake ! Way to go, Bo ! We drove around the residential "suburbs" of Oliver, gaining "no maintenance" landscaping ideas for our lot at Riverside RV Park Resort.

I spent part of the evening working online on our investments. I rebuilt our investment portfolio in an investment tracking web site. I had our investment portfolio previously built in this website, but I lost it when I cleaned my laptop of all "cookies". Who knew ? ! ?

DSK

Year 3 Week 16

October 1 to 7, 2006

Oliver, B.C.

Year 3 week 16

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and very warm.

We went to the Festival Of The Grape today at Oliver Community Park alongside the Okanagan River in Oliver. The price of admission included a souvenir wine glass, and 3 wine tasting vouchers. The main stage entertainment was a local classic rock band, and the well known Canadian à capella quartet, The Nylons. There was a Grape Stomp stage where various groups competed in grape stomping contests. There was also an unsuccessful attempt to establish a new Guinness World Record for grape stomping. All around the perimeter were various vendors. In the middle of the park was a huge tent canopy. Under the tent canopy there were many of the local wineries offering tastings of their products.

We had a great day, until the very end. The weather was great. We watched the entertainment. We sampled 8 different wines. We had a nice lunch. We wandered around the vendors area. We went to the art show featuring art by local artists. We watched the grape stomp competitions. HA HA HA !

At the conclusion of The Nylons second performance of the afternoon, a fireman using a high pressure water hose from a fire truck began to wash the grape mash mess off the Grape Stomp stage. Stupidly and carelessly he sprayed water and grape mash over the audience at the side of the main stage, where we were still sitting in our folding chairs. I'm livid ! We got grape mash splashed on our folding chairs, our hats, and our clothing. Joanne was wearing cream coloured pants, and an irreplaceable hand made, hand embroidered blouse she bought when we were in Costa Rica. The fireman was apologetic, but that doesn't diminish the damage done !

After supper we watched Amazing Race, and brainstormed the pros and cons of buying Lot 89 at Riverside RV Park Resort.

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and mild, a bit windy in the morning.

This morning I went to the Post Office to pick up our mail. My investment mail, from my cousin in Thunder Bay was there, but our regular mail, from my sister in Lorette wasn't. Darn ! Joanne walked "downtown" to sightsee and shop. I spent much of the afternoon reading the Riverside RV Park Resort disclosure documentation. I made an appointment with the Dodge dealer in Penticton on Wednesday for routine servicing of Lanoire. Imade an appointment with a lawyer in Penticton to discuss the purchase of a site at Riverside. I chatted briefly with the "next door neighbour". She and her husband have lived here at this RV park in Oliver for much of the last 4 years. Sheesh ! I phoned an RV park in the north Okanagan, up near Enderby, that has lots for sale, then did online research on the place.

We have decided to buy Lot 89 at Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos. WOO-HOO !

 

Tuesday ; Today was partially cloudy and mild.

This morning I prepared Lanoire for servicing tomorrow. Rotating tires on a dually is a big deal. And I'm fussy about the installation of the dually valve extenders. So I removed the hub caps, the wheel liners, and the valve extenders. I phoned Riverside RV Park Resort to tell them we want to buy Lot 89. Mitch the sales agent had the day off, so I left a message for him to phone me. Joanne and I did some planning of our lot completion and improvement plans and priorities. Looks like I've already got enough plans to keep me busy for the next 2 summers.

Joanne wanted to go shopping for produce this afternoon. First we drove south of Oliver towards Osoyoos, to M & M Orchards. They seem to be mostly a large scale wholesale operation, and were a bit of a loss to figure out how much to charge us for the very small quantities we were buying. The proprietor was an elderly Sikh man wearing a turban. His English was completely incomprehensible, which added to the confusion of how much our bill was. We drove back through Oliver, and picked up our mail at the Post Office. On the north side of town, towards Penticton, we drove up the side of a mountain to Pancho's Country Market. Lots of Mexicans at Pancho's Country Market, their retail operation, and Covert Farms, their adjacent wholesale operation. I guess Mexicans have settled here over the generations, having come here originally as fruit and vegetable pickers. Similar situation in Southwestern Ontario, near Windsor. Driving back through town again, we stopped for some groceries at Super Valu, the large grocery store in Oliver.

I printed and reconciled our September bank statements. I printed my investment account statements, and updated my investment files. Joanne wanted to know the status of our finances before buying Lot 89 at Riverside RV Park Resort.

Got an e-mail from our friend ( and my blog mentor ) Jennifer in Vancouver, telling us that she and Dwight will be coming out to visit us on Sunday. What a great surprise !

 

Wednesday ; Oliver to Penticton & return

Today was sunny, windy, and mild.

This morning we headed for Penticton, half an hour north of Oliver on Hwy. 97. We took Lanoire to Parker's Chrysler for an oil change, tire rotation, and 36,000 km. inspections. Parker's shuttle drove us to the office of Albas Wahl, the law firm we are going to use for the purchase of our lot at Riverside. We walked into what was supposed to be the lawyer's office, and found out that they have recently relocated to the other side of town. When I phoned them to set up the appointment, I guess they had no way of knowing that I had their old address, not their new one. But ... you would think that it might make sense to ensure that new clients have the correct address, since they have just recently relocated. We called a taxi to take us from their old address to their new address < fume >.

We met with the lawyer, and discussed the legal aspect of purchasing our lot. The lawyer has represented a number of purchasers of lots at Riverside, and from a legal perspective, there are no concerns. After our meeting we called Parker's Chrysler to have their shuttle driver pick us up at the lawyer's and return us to the dealership.

We went across the street from the dealership to have lunch at White Spot, a B.C. chain of family restaurants. It was fine, although somewhat mediocre. After lunch I did some browsing at Bling Performance, a truck performance shop next door to Parker's Chrysler. I took a look at a 2006 Dodge dually on Parker's lot. YIKES ! $64,000 ! ! ! When I checked Lanoire after the work was done, I was dismayed to find that they had done the tire rotation completely wrong ! There is a tire rotation Chrysler factory protocol for Dodge duallies with high performance all terrain tires which have a specified direction of travel / rotation. Doggone it, I would expect a Chrysler / Dodge dealer's service department to know that ! After waiting another hour for the tire rotation to be redone, we went shopping.

Groceries and supplies at Wal-Mart, fill up with diesel, groceries at Real Canadian Warehouse, more groceries at Safeway, supplies at a couple of Dollar Stores ... I thought we were never going to be finished shopping ! We left Penticton at 6:00 P.M. and were back in Oliver at 6:30.

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and very warm.

I was awakened very early this morning by an RV Park up near Enderby returning my phone call. He thought he was phoning Manitoba, and he was phoning somebody 2 times zones away, at 9:30 A.M.. I hate receiving phone calls at 7:30 A.M.! This morning I worked on Lanoire, replacing the valve extenders, wheel liners, and hub caps. I took a propane tank for refilling.

Joanne has been trying for some time to convince me that we need a new love seat to replace the sofa bed in Harvey. Last week she picked up a local "Bargain Hunter" newspaper, and found an ad for a loveseat that she thought would be suitable. It was $125. This week the same loveseat is advertised again, but now at $75. She arm twisted me into going to see it. We drove north on Hwy. 97, just past Okanagan Falls, about halfway to Penticton. The love seat was being sold by a young woman who is selling everything she and her boyfriend bought 7 months ago. He's already left for a new job up north, and she's going to follow him after selling all their stuff. Fine by me. They paid $300 for the love seat 7 months ago. I bought it today for $50 ! We loaded it into the back of Lanoire, and drove back to Oliver, arriving just as it got dark. We put the new loveseat on our picnic table, and covered it with a tarp. It will have to remain there until Saturday when I can remove the sofa bed from Harvey.

I spent the evening reviewing the latest batch of mail I picked up Tuesday at the Post Office.

 

Friday ; Oliver to Keremeos & return

Today was mostly sunny and mild. There was a few minutes of light drizzle early this morning.

This morning we headed to Keremeos to buy Lot 89 at Riverside RV Park Resort. We drove south on Hwy. 97 from Oliver to Osoyoos, then west on Hwy. 3 to Keremeos, then another 15 km. west to Riverside RV Park Resort. We met with the sales agent, Mitch, and took care of the financial and documentation aspects of the deal. When we were done, Joanne and I went to have lunch sitting at a picnic table beside the Similkameen River. Gorgeous setting ! After lunch we walked around the park, formulating ideas for the development of our lot, and chatting with residents.

We drove back into the village of Keremeos, parked, and walked around the small "Main Street" area, looking for a restaurant in which to have lunch on Sunday with Dwight and Jennifer. There were about a half dozen restaurants and café s, all acceptable. We went to a couple of produce stands, and bought more fresh vegetables. The fresh fruits and vegetables available in this area are really quite outstanding.

We took a different route back to Oliver. From Keremeos we headed north on Hwy. 3A to Hwy. 97 at Kaledon, then south on Hwy. 97 back to Oliver.

 

Saturday; Today was sunny and warm. Nice weather here in the southern Okanagan Valley.

Today's priority was to get the old sofa bed out of the trailer, and < fume > the new loveseat in. We wrestled the old sofa bed out. The new loveseat would not go in through the door. We had to put it in through the largest window < more fuming >. I removed the window valance. I removed the day / night shades. I removed the window interior trim. I removed the window out of the wall ! ! ! I recruited a neighbour to help me, and we loaded the new loveseat in through the window. I replaced the window, the interior trim, the day / night shade, and the valance. I weather stripped the window with putty tape before remounting it into the wall opening, then while I was trimming the excess putty off after the window was reinstalled, my knife slipped and I made a large scratch in the fibreglass gel coat on the trailer exterior wall around the window. She just had to have the sofa bed replaced, didn't she ? ! ?

I reluctantly concede that the new loveseat looks very nice. It's a perfect match for the trailer. The colours are right, and the size is right. And Teddy especially seems to love it. So ... that's all that matters. Doesn't matter how hard it was to get it in. As long as the wife and the cat are happy !

Jennifer Lamb phoned from Vancouver, and we made arrangements to meet tomorrow at Riverside RV Park Resort. Joanne took the truck and went to buy some groceries. A few minutes after she left, I realized that the next job on today's "to do" list was to get a haircut and beard trim. I walked down to the mall, but the only hairstylist in the mall had enough customers already waiting to last until closing. I walked over to the grocery store and joined Joanne.

Back at the trailer I took photos of the old sofa bed, added text, and printed a couple of copies to post on bulletin boards to advertise it for sale. If we can't sell it, perhaps we'll donate it to the clubhouse at Riverside RV Park Resort

 

DSK

Year 3 Week 15

September 24 to 30, 2006

Revelstoke to Oliver, B.C.

Year 3 week 15

 

Sunday ; Today was sunny and warm.

This morning I got online to update my blog. I learned by e-mail that our good friend Shirley Johnson's mother had died Monday. Please accept our deepest sympathies, Shirley.

While doing an obedience training session with Bo, I sat and watched an introductory kayaking class taking place on Lake Williamson. About 10 students and an instructor. One student could do nothing but turn in tight circles to the left. I guess every class has to have one of those !

Taking advantage of the lovely weather, we spent the afternoon giving Bo a bath, washing the trailer, and washing the truck. Whew ! Filthy dog ! Filthy vehicles ! Especially the trailer.

 

Monday ; Revelstoke to Shuswap Lake, B.C.

Today was sunny and warm.

We left Revelstoke this morning continuing west on Trans-Canada Hwy. 1. When we got to Sicamous we stopped to look at RV sites for sale at the Silver Sands RV Resort. YIKES ! $94,600 to $186,400 for RV sites ! Makes the prices of the RV resort in Keremeos that we're going to see seem more reasonable, by comparison. We had lunch at a road side rest area on the south shore of Shuswap Lake. When we crossed the Squilax Bridge to get to the north side of Shuswap Lake, we stopped to see the famed Adams River Sockeye Salmon run, the world's largest salmon spawning run. Looking down onto the large river from the bridge high above the river to see the salmon was anti-climactic after seeing the Kokanee salmon up close a couple of days ago. We stopped for the night at Cottonwood Resort on the north shore of Shuswap Lake.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and mild.

Our plan was to go to Kamloops for shopping and sightseeing, but that didn't happen. I spent part of the morning watching the salvage operation of a large, very expensive, power boat that had sunk yesterday tied up to the dock here at the campground. While walking Bo just before leaving for Kamloops we began to chat with a neighbouring camper. They wanted to chat about the full time RV lifestyle. They are a soon to be retired couple who are trying to muster up the courage to become full time, or half time RV'ers. We ended up chatting with them for a couple of hours. Frankly, I don't think they're ever going to make the leap. They told us about an RV park selling lots nearby, at the town of Scotch Creek.

We drove east on Squilax-Anglemont Road to the town of Scotch Creek. We found Caravans West RV Park and checked it out. The park is about 5 years old, and some lots are available for resale. The lots originally sold for about $25,000, and now are reselling for over $100,000 ! WOW ! The park is extremely nice, and well developed. Joanne thinks that a 350 site park is a bit too large for her tastes. Driving back towards our campground we noticed another RV park with lots for sale across the road from our campground. It is a brand new park, just completing development. The lots are completely unprepared, unlandscaped, unlevel, and rocky, selling for $51,000 to $59,000. YIKES ! Except for the waterfall coming down the side of the mountain behind the park, it was a downright ugly development.

We headed west on the Trans Canada Hwy. 1 towards Kamloops. Joanne decided that it was too late in the day, and too far to go to Kamloops for shopping. We went into the town of Chase, and bought some groceries.

On the way back to our campground we stopped at Roderick Haig-Brown Provincial Park to take another look at the Adams River Sockeye Salmon run. We learned that it only happens every fourth year, and this is the year. At the provincial park there is a wooden viewing platform built over the bank of the river, to watch the salmon spawning.

The Sockeye Salmon return from the ocean, and enter the Fraser River at Vancouver. It takes them 18 days to get from Vancouver to here, travelling up the Fraser River, the Thompson River, and finally the Adams River. This year the run is estimated to be about 4½ million fish ! In 2002 it was estimated to be 7½ million. We viewed the spawning Sockeye Salmon from the viewing platform, and occasionally saw some of the much larger Chinook Salmon, which also spawn in the Adams River.

When I was walking Bo after supper, the neighbours invited me to chat around their campfire. I spent the evening with them chatting around the campfire. I learned that the Thompson River and the Adams River both run into Shuswap Lake adjacent to this campground. The Adams River Sockeye Salmon come out of the Thompson River, into Shuswap Lake adjacent to the campground, and turn the corner to head up the Adams River to their spawning grounds starting at the campground and continuing up theshort Adams River to nearby Adams Lake.

 

Wednesday ; Shuswap Lake to Kamloops and return

Today was sunny and warm.

We accepted the neighbour's invitation to join them on their daily morning hike, along the Adams River upstream for a couple of kilometres to view the Sockeye Salmon Spawning Run. At one point along the river there was a Fisheries crew, netting and tagging the Sockeye. We thought it unusual that they would be tagging fish shortly before they die. As soon as the salmon are finished spawning, they die. At a few spots along the river, where there is very little current, and along a stretch of the lake's shoreline at the mouth of the river, the stench of dead fish is already becoming strong. Apparently, a few weeks from now, when the Adams River and Shuswap Lake at the mouth of the river are filled with 4½ million dead, rotting Sockeye, the stench is overwhelming.

In the afternoon we drove to Kamloops, about an hour west of here on the Trans Canada Hwy. 1. We entered Kamloops from the east, drove through town to the airport on the south, then back through town to exit on the west. We turned around and drove back through, west to east, and returned to Shuswap Lake. Kamloops is bigger than we expected. And we were definitely not impressed with the city. We didn't even stop at the Wal-Mart to do some shopping, which was the main reason we drove all the way to Kamloops.

 

Thursday ; Shuswap Lake to Vernon, B.C.

Today was sunny and very warm.

We left Shuswap Lake this morning, heading east on TCH 1. We stopped to buy a new exterior thermometer for the trailer at an RV dealer in Salmon Arm. We turned south onto Hwy. 97B, then Hwy. 97A, then Hwy. 97. We filled up with diesel at Enderby.

At Vernon we had lunch in a shopping centre parking lot, then went Wal-Martin'. After Wal-Mart we went grocery shopping at Save-On-Foods. We went to another couple of RV dealers looking for an RV supply item that neither of them had. We drove back out of Vernon, to the north, to an RV park that has lots for sale, and a campground. We were planning to check out their lots for sale, and stay overnight. After checking out their lots for sale, I felt a bit disgusted, and we left. We went to a nearby Good Sam RV Club affiliated park, Silver Star RV Park, and checked in for the night.

After getting set up in our site, we went for a walk around the slightly shabby lakefront campground. This campground is on the north end of Okanagan Lake. While Joanne prepared supper, I phoned Sharon to see how her knee is doing after surgery.

 

Friday ; Vernon to Keremeos, B.C.

Today was sunny and very warm.

This morning before leaving our campground in Vernon I installed a new exterior window thermometer on Harvey ( the fifth wheel trailer ). It appears to be grossly inaccurate. Either that or it was very, very warm today ! Right now, at 9:16 P.M., it's reading 58 degrees F.. I suppose that's possible. It's pretty warm here in the south end of the Okanagan Valley / Similkameen Valley.

Also, before leaving Vernon, I phoned Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos. I arranged for us to visit and view their development this afternoon. We are here now, spending the night.

We drove south out of Vernon on Hwy. 97. At Kelowna we stopped at an RV dealer to look for Damp Rid closet hangers. They didn't have any.

I have a brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and niece living in Kelowna. Sadly, my brother and I have been estranged for many years. It pains me to drive through Kelowna, to be so close, and yet so far.

We stopped for lunch at a rest area alongside the south end of Okanagan Lake near Penticton. Beautiful ! Bo ran into the lake to chase Canada Geese. Just south of Penticton we branched off of Hwy. 97 onto Hwy. 3A leading to Hwy. 3 at Keremeos. At Keremeos we turned west on Hwy. 3. We were in Keremeos and surrounding area a year ago. We like it a lot. Keremeos is "The Fruit Stand Capital Of Canada".

We drove 15 km. west of Keremeos to Riverside RV Park Resort to take a look at their RV lots for sale. We met with their sales agent and viewed the entire development. It is a new RV park development, just nearing completion of the infrastructure. There are 133 lots on the development, of which 33 have sold already. The sales agent invited us to spend the night, so we can get a better look at the development tomorrow morning. We accepted the offer.

We parked in a vacant spot belonging to one of the park's developers. We walked around the park, comparing the 4 or 5 sites that are of interest to us. We both favour site 89. I think we may have just found our new "summer home".

The park is developed on 3 tiered levels. The lowest level is adjacent to the Similkameen River. The upper level is adjacent to Hwy. 3. The middle level sites, including site 89, have a tall rock retaining wall as the back border, buffering noise from the highway. There are 4 price levels, from $46,900 to $61,900. This is the most reasonable pricing we've seen of the half dozen or so parks we've looked at. And the price goes up $7000 per lot in 2 weeks ! Because of cost overruns on the development of the indoor swimming pool / sauna / hot tub complex. The original cost estimate was $700,000. They have just awarded the contract, for construction of the complex to begin next week, at $1,100,000. One point one million ! Because the 2010 Olympics construction projects have consumed so much of B.C.'s construction resources, construction costs are skyrocketing. And the park's developers had to change some design features from concrete to metal. The 2010 Olympics construction has gobbled up 100% of B.C.'s available concrete !

The park is in the Similkameen Valley. The Similkameen River is the western edge of the property. It is surrounded on all sides by tall mountains. The climate is hot and dry. This area is considered to be Canada's desert. I don't mind hot, as long as the humidity is low, which it is here. It's quite a scenic place. And it's obvious, from the lots that have already been developed, and are currently being developed, that this is going to be a beautiful RV park, with rapidly increasing values.

I'm strongly inclined to "get in on the ground floor".

 

Saturday ; Keremeos to Oliver, B.C.

Today was sunny and very warm.

Well, our new summer home is probably going to be Lot 89 at Riverside RV Park Resort.

We got up quite early this morning, and spent much of the morning walking around Riverside RV Park, comparing the 7 lots we had some interest in, watching how the sun tracks across the sky, and how it shines, or is shaded, on each site. I took many photos. We met with the sales agent in his office and spent the rest of the morning asking questions.

We had lunch, and departed. We drove 15 km. east on Hwy. 3 back to the town of Keremeos. While Joanne phoned some RV parks in Oliver, I went into the Keremeos Information Centre and picked up information on the Keremeos and Oliver areas. We continued driving east on Hwy. 3 to Osoyoos, then turned north on Hwy. 97 towards Oliver. By the time we got to Oliver, we had decided that we should buy Lot 89 at Riverside RV Park Resort.

At Oliver, we found our way to a campground that we thought had RV lots for sale. Turns out that they have RV lots for lease. I didn't like the park, and they didn't have a site available for overnight tonight anyway.

We phoned Desert Gem RV Resort, where we had reserved a site for the month of October. We decided we might as well arrive a day early, and just pay the expensive daily rate for tonight. Especially since tomorrow there is a huge celebration in Oliver called The Festival Of the Grape. Arriving at Desert Gem a day early allows us to be free all day tomorrow to attend the festival, instead of having to prepare for departure, move from one campground to another, and set up all over again.

While I downloaded and processed all the photos I took earlier today at Riverside RV Park Resort, Joanne phoned her sister.

It's ironic that we're suffering angst over the prospect of investing an amount of money in real estate that's equivalent to the cost of buying a one ton diesel dually, which we did 5 months ago without batting an eye !

DSK