July 21 to 26, 2008

July 21 to 26, 2008

 

Monday ; Today we took Teddy to Penticton for his annual examination, rabies vaccination, and thyroid hormone blood test. We went to a different veterinarian than we did last year. The one we went to last year was unsatisfactory, to say the least ! The one we went to this year was quite satisfactory, and will be our regular "home" veterinarian. While Teddy doesn't usually like driving in the truck, he was very mellow today on the drive to Penticton and back, as well as in the vet's office. The veterinarian and technicians were quite impressed with what a laid back fellow Teddy is.

 

Tuesday ; This afternoon we set off to explore the opposite side of the Similkameen River from where we are located at Riverside RV Park Resort. We drove to Hedley, and just past Hedley where a bridge on the highway crosses over the Similkameen River we turned onto Gold Mountain Road. It was a one lane dirt trail on Native lands along the west shore of the river. We had intended to drive all the way back to opposite Riverside RV Park. But a few miles along we encountered an abandoned car blocking the trail. We couldn't get around it, so we had to turn back. It was a fairly new car, but showed obvious signs of being an "Indianmobile". I guess when one of our local First Nations people experiences a car breakdown, they just leave it and walk away, maybe to seek assistance, or maybe just to leave it sitting there in the middle of the road forever. Who knows ? ! ?

On our way back home, we stopped to give assistance to a woman with a flat tire. The wheel lug nuts on her car had been severely overtightened by some moron with an air gun the last time she had her tires rotated. I broke one of the wheel studs trying to remove the lug nuts to get the old tire off. And I was unable to get a couple of the mangled thread lug nuts back on when installing her spare tire. After considerable effort and two skinned knuckles, we drove her into Keremeos to get a tow truck.

 

Wednesday ; Today at 6:45 P.M. we left for Hedley, to attend a 7:00 P..M. dinner concert at The Hitching Post Restaurant. The Hitching Post has a small stage, and about once a month features a performer, usually a folksy, coffee house kind of performance. Tonight was a female singer songwriter from Manitoba. We were delayed a few minutes by a car accident on the highway on the outskirts of Hedley. A little red car had failed to navigate a curve in the road, on the bridge over Twenty Mile Creek. It hit the concrete wall of the bridge then bounced over to hit the concrete wall of the bridge on the opposite side of the highway. When we got to the restaurant, it was full. HMPH ... guess I should have made a reservation. Which I’ll do for the next concert, which I’m interested in, in a few weeks. HEY ... it’s Hedley ! A gold mining ghost town with a population of about a couple of hundred people ... maybe ! Who’d have thought one would need a reservation in Hedley ? ! ?

We decided to drive back to Keremeos and have dinner somewhere, since we were primed for dinner out. Our first choice, Fish & Chipper, had just closed for the evening. Same with our second choice, the K Café . We ended up at the Riverbed Bistro, a new restaurant. It was ... okay ... but too mediocre to justify its prices.

 

Thursday ; Well, am I ever pissed off ! ! ! Today I was culling old files. As a result, I checked our Air Canada Aeroplan frequent flyer miles accounts status online. As a result of my frequent travel by commercial air during the 1980's and early 1990's, while employed by Canada Post, I still had more than enough frequent flyer miles left for two free tickets on Air Canada. But because we had not flown with Air Canada for over 5 years, our frequent flyer miles had expired. HMPH ! ! ! All those early morning flights, jammed into DC-9's, for naught ! ! !

 

Saturday ; Today was the Red Bridge Centennial. Red Bridge is on the west side of Keremeos, on the Ashnola River Road crossing the Similkameen River. Red Bridge was originally a railway bridge, on the rail line that ran from the Mascot Gold Mine in Hedley to the American town of Oroville, across the border from Osoyoos. The ore from the gold mine would be transported by rail from Hedley to Oroville where it would be transferred to U.S. trains. Coincidentally, that rail line ran across what is now the property of Riverside RV Park Resort. As a matter of fact, when we were having our lot excavated for development, remnants of the old rail line were evident. Red Bridge is one of the last covered bridges remaining in Western Canada.

The 100th Birthday celebrations began in town in the morning with a pancake breakfast, stories about the old bridge, an "armed train robbery", and a band playing before the festivities moved, with a "walk, run, & cycle" to Red Bridge led by the RCMP, mounted on horses, of course. After lunch there were dignitary speeches and stories by historians, followed by an afternoon of "period" activities. Demonstrations of archery, arrowhead making, butter churning, horse shoeing, gold panning, pine needle basket making, saddle making, and trapping.

Of course, while all these demonstrations were taking place around Red Bridge, I played my first hired entertainer gig as Hobo Dan, the juggling magician clown railroad hobo from 1908. I had devised a personal story. Born to gypsies in Budapest in 1854, I grew up to be a magician, performing on the stage of the Moulin Rouge in Paris, France. I came to this Godforsaken land of ice and snow known as Canada in 1888, performing on the great stages of Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal, before heading out west in 1904, "looking for adventure, and whatever comes our way" ( with apologies to Steppenwolf ). Now, in 1908, I had lost everything, and was living amongst the hoboes along the rail line on the banks of the Similkameen River, taking shelter underneath this new Red Bridge, with nothing but these two coins to my name. And how could a man survive with only two coins to his name ? Well ... they were, of course, < cue the music ! > magic coins ! HA HA HA HA HA !

It went well. I had fun. And it was my first paying "job" in over 4 years. Now I'm an employed homeless vagabond. HA HA HA ! While the Vancouver Travelling Band, a large marching band of wind instruments, played on the bridge, I juggled in front of them in time to their music. I wandered up and down the bridge performing magic for small groups of children. And I performed a "sit down" magic show for children near the end of the day's festivities. I was supposed to perform on a little stage, but I decided to just sit down on the pavement with my audience of children sitting in front of me, adults standing behind them. My clown colleagues were two older women, also in clown face makeup and hobo costumes. They specialized in making balloon animals.

DSK