June 22 to 28, 2014

Sunday ; Sunny and very warm, a bit humid.

I didn't really want to go to Penticton today, but ... I wanted an advertised item, and today was the last day of the sale price. So ... after taking care of morning chores
I headed to Penticton. I returned the piece of shit little barbecue I bought recently for a refund, then ... bought another barbecue that was twice the price ... on sale today for half price. HA HA HA ! I refilled with diesel, bought some groceries, then headed home.

This afternoon I removed the camper from the truck. First time I did it without someone to help. HMPH ... much easier with help ! Afterwards I washed the truck.

Just received an e-mail from Joanne. Her train arrived in Winnipeg six and a half hours late ! At 4 AM ! ! !

Monday ; Sunny and warm. Still really severe mosquitoes ! Hope they end soon !

This morning I worked on gardening ; watering, weeding, replanting lettuce. I cleaned our ( home ) bupkis barbecue. HA HA HA ... inside joke ! This afternoon I did laundry. Took a long time. It's a chore I'm not very good at. I continued working on our
non-functional generator. I've tried everything I can think of to repair it. Including taking it to a small engine repair shop. Where I was told that it's a piece of junk that's not worth paying to have repaired. Which might be reasonable, given its cost. I have one more thing to try in an attempt to repair it, then I'll very reluctantly declare it ready for disposal.

Tuesday ; A bit cloudy in the morning, then mostly sunny and warm in the afternoon.

This afternoon I did some gardening work, then assembled the new barbecue I bought a couple of days ago for the truck camper. I had an early "last supper", then began my colonoscopy "preparations". No food for two days. "Purging" drugs. < sigh >

Got an e-mail from Joanne. She's sick !

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm.

As I type this at 8:35 PM, I'm feeling very ill from "colonoscopy prep". OOOOOPS ... time to head to the bathroom again ! HURRY ! ! !

Thursday ; Sunny and warm, becoming cloudy and cool in the evening.

My entire day was occupied by having a colonoscopy. I was up at 8:00 AM to take my last dosage of purgative medication. And I was ill from waking up until now ( 7:30 PM ).

I puttered around with minor chores until leaving for Penticton at 12:30. I was driven there and back by neighbour / friend Jeannine. I had not eaten for 40 hours. I was hungry. I had had nothing to drink for 4 hours. I was thirsty. Yesterday and today I had taken purgative drugs for gastro-intestinal lavage. My stomach, small intestine, and most importantly, large intestine / colon were empty. I felt weak and dehydrated. And nauseous !

Jeannine dropped me off at Penticton Hospital at 1:30 PM. My colonoscopy began at 2:30 PM. I woke up in a recovery room about 4 PM, and was eager to leave at 4:30 PM despite the severe cramping I was experiencing. Air must be injected into the colon to expand it during the colonoscopy, and today that was causing much more than usual discomfort. The cramps were too severe for me to eat anything, as I am usually very eager to do following a colonoscopy. The nurse gave me some cheese and crackers "to go" and I had prepared a small snack that was waiting for me in Jeannine's car, but
I couldn't eat. The ride home was painful.

When I was explaining to the nurse why I was being driven home by a neighbour instead of my wife, she asked “And you didn’t want to go to Winnipeg to celebrate your sister-in-law’s fiftieth birthday ?”. I said “no ... I’d rather have tubes shoved up my ass”. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA

I arrived home about 5:30 PM and immediately took Bo for a long walk. That allowed some of the air to pass from my colon, and the pain began to subside. I went to sleep for two hours and woke up feeling just fine, thank you.

NOW I'm hungry. What's for supper ?

Friday ; Partially sunny, warm in the morning. Raining heavily in the afternoon, but clearing by supper time. I had a very difficult time shaking off yesterday's sedative medication, sleeping from 10 PM last night until 11 AM this morning, and I woke up only because there was a knock at the door.

Before the rain began I did some preventive maintenance on the truck, spray painted the range top from the truck camper, and harvested lettuce again. Bo and I went for a slow, long walk.

Recently I have been communicating by e-mail with a couple that are travelling in a camper van from Argentina to Alaska. They are currently in Osoyoos for a month or so, earning some money as cherry pickers. ( Let's pretend that we're unaware of Canadian labour laws regarding undocumented foreign workers. ) I had arranged to meet them tonight in Osoyoos, at the final act of the evening at the new Canadian music festival called Desert Live being held in Osoyoos starting today and ending Monday. They did not show up !

I drove about fifty minutes in each direction to Osoyoos and back. About halfway there it began to rain heavily ! Just before reaching the rain there was an AWESOME triple rainbow ! By the time I reached Osoyoos the rain had stopped, although it was all around Osoyoos ... and threatening.

The act that I had gone to see, the final performance of the evening, was a band from Vancouver billing itself as "blues / rock". They weren't blues. They weren't rock. What they were was ... crap ! I lasted fifteen minutes before leaving. That was about twelve minutes too long. If I hadn't driven so far to see them I would have left after three minutes !

Saturday ; Happy 50th Birthday to Joanne's sister Lorraine
 
Sunny and warm. Once again I got a late and slow start to the day.

This afternoon I visited with a neighbour for awhile then headed into town to buy some sandpaper. The local hardware store did not have what I needed < sigh >. Oh, well ... might as well buy some groceries while I'm in town.

Back at home ... WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO, WOO-HOO ( says Bo ) ... today was the first day of Saskatoon Berry harvest 2014. I pulled the truck right up close to our entrance gate, where the Saskatoon bush hangs over, climbed into the bed of the truck with Bo and ... HA HA HA ... we harvested Saskatoons for about half an hour, me harvesting high, Bo harvesting low. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA. Yes, yes, I know ... I shouldn't let him eat that many Saskatoons, but ... Bo LOOOOOOVES harvesting his own Saskatoons. Good dog, Bo, well done. Life is short ... GO FOR IT ! I love his spirit, and watching him harvest his own Saskatoons is SO amusing. HA HA HA HA HA ! ! !

This evening I watched an old movie ; Cool Hand Luke, 1967, with Paul Newman.

DSK

June 15 to 21, 2014 ; Keremeos to Kamloops & return ; Joanne to Winnipeg, Manitoba

Sunday ; Keremeos to Horseshoe Lake in Roche Lake Provincial Park

Mostly sunny and mild, chilly beside the lake in the evening.

We had a very definite plan for today. But ... did not follow the plan much at all. This morning we finished preparing for departure, then headed into Keremeos to run a few errands before leaving on a camping / fishing adventure on the way to Joanne catching a train on Wednesday in Kamloops. We refilled a our water jug and picked up a new prescription of mine at the pharmacy, then headed back home to drop off the water jug and pick up Sully.

We headed west on Hwy. 3 towards Princeton, stopping to have a picnic lunch at Bromley Rock Provincial Park, one of our favourite local spots. At Princeton we turned northwest on Hwy. 5A to Merritt. At Merritt we refilled with diesel, then headed north on Hwy 5A along the east side of Nicola Lake. At the north end of Trapp Lake we turned east on a gravel road leading about 12 km. to Roche Lake Provincial Park, and the three campgrounds within the park.

We found our way to the remote Horseshoe Lake campground, with five unserviced sites. Tough to get to, but this is why we bought the truck camper ! We had Horseshoe Lake all to ourselves. We selected a site then I went fishing before supper. I fly fished for awhile with no success. I barbecued supper on a new, small barbecue I recently bought. What a piece of junk ! I hope I can get a refund ! The barbecue is now used, and I no longer have the packaging. After supper I went fishing again for awhile, this time using my old spinning rod and reel, again with no success. HMPH ... so much for Horseshoe Lake's claim to "world class trout fishing".

It was daylight until 9:40 PM !

Monday ; Horseshoe Lake to Paul Lake Provincial Park

Chilly, overcast all day, raining all afternoon and evening. A yucky day ! We had a very definite plan for today, and once again did not follow the plan at all.

This morning we left Horseshoe Lake and drove a few miles on a very rough road to the west side of Roche Lake, to Roche Lake West Campground. The road was as bad as anything we've ever encountered in Mexico. Odd for a provincial park to have such bad roads. We checked out the campground, decided it wasn't to our liking and continued on.

We drove around Roche Lake, to the east side, to Roche Lake North Campground ( go figure ! ). Another few miles ... maybe a bit more ... of very bad road. This campground was even more not to our liking. Despite the alleged "world class trout fishing" of Roche Lake, we left. We drove back to Hwy. 5A, then north on Hwy. 5A to Kamloops. We stopped at the Visitor Centre and had lunch in their parking lot before dumping our grey waste holding tank and refilling our freshwater holding tank at the Visitor Centre's RV sani-dump station.

We drove through Kamloops and headed north on Hwy. 5 until a few miles north of the city and found our way to Kamloops North Via Rail Station where Joanne has to catch a train at 6 AM on Wednesday. We wanted to be certain of where the train station was, and to see if it was possible to boondock there overnight. It is !

After Via Rail we drove about 20 km. or so east to Paul Lake Provincial Park. By then it was raining steadily. We drove around the campground looking for a campsite to select, then drove to the lake nearby where there was a day use picnic area, boat launch and fishing dock. Why would the Province of B.C. develop the campground so far away from the lake ? ! ? I contemplated fishing for awhile off the dock, but ... it was raining.

We returned to the campground, selected a site, then ... spent the rest of the afternoon and evening inside the camper, avoiding the rain and cold outdoors ! Camping can be so much fun !

Tuesday ; Paul Lake Provincial Park and Kamloops

Sunny and warm today.

We got a slow start to the day. We left our campsite about noon and drove over to the day use / picnic / beach area and parked. I spent the entire afternoon fishing off the dock. I didn't catch anything, but the weather was nice, the scenery was great, a family of loons kept me company for much of the afternoon, calling plaintively on a frequent basis. Nothing relaxes like a loon call.

At 6 PM we left Paul Lake Provincial Park and drove back to Kamloops. At the Visitor Centre we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank. I made a couple of phone calls. We went to Canadian Tire and did some shopping. We went to Swiss Chalet for supper. We went to Wal-Mart and did some shopping. We drove to the Via Rail station to boondock there overnight, arriving there shortly after 10 PM.

Wednesday ; Joanne on Via Rail "Canadian" heading east to Winnipeg, Daniel from Kamloops to Harmon Lake

10th Anniversary of retirement / full time RV'ing / homeless, unemployed vagabonds

WOW ... we're ten years into our two year plan ! HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA !

We were up at 5:30 AM for Joanne to catch the 6:35 AM eastbound train, the Via Rail "Canadian", running from Vancouver to Toronto. First time she will be taking a train across the Rockies. The scenery from Kamloops to Edmonton should be spectacular ! ! !

The train arrived 35 minutes late, at 6:35 AM, and departed 40 minutes late, at 7:15 AM. I returned to the camper, showered and took care of morning chores. I drove back into Kamloops and went to shop for a few advertised specials at Princess Auto. After Princess Auto ... oh ... there's a Shopper's Drug Mart. I need something there. Oh ... and Cooper's Foods. I need a few grocery items. Oh ... and Dollarama ... I need something there. I drove to the Visitor's Centre to refill freshwater and dump grey waste. By the time I left Kamloops ... it was noon !

I drove south on Hwy. 5A back towards Merritt. Near Quilchena ... which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere ... there was an RCMP roadblock. Many RCMP officers .... apparently looking for .... drunk drivers ? In the middle of nowhere ? On a Wednesday afternoon ? My tax dollars at work ! ! !

My objective for today was the campground at Peter Hope Lake North. Had never been there before. When I arrived ... the scruffy little campground with 25 campsites was ... full ! I continued southbound to Merritt where I refilled with diesel. A bit southeast of Merritt I turned off the highway to go look for Marquart Lake. Didn't like it, didn't stay. Then Lundblom Lake. Didn't like it, didn't stay. Then Kane Lake. Didn't like it, didn't stay. Then Harmon Lake. Liked it, stayed ! Been here before.

Chilly and windy tonight at Harmon Lake, same as previous visit. Tried fishing, but wind made it difficult. Started a campfire, roasted wieners for hot dogs for supper. Campfire and wiener roast not much fun without Joanne's companionship. Miss her already !

Thursday ; Harmon Lake to home

Cloudy and cool in the morning, becoming sunny and warm in the afternoon.

This morning I left Harmon Lake, and continued exploring on the way home. Stopped at Kentucky / Alleyne Provinicial Park. Drove around Kentucky Lake Campground. Fished briefly at Alleyne Lake. Stopped for lunch at Gulliford Lake Rest Area. Fished for awhile after lunch. HA HA HA ... caught three teensy Rainbow Trout, much too small to keep.

Stopped in Princeton to buy some groceries at Cooper's Foods and fishing flies at Princeton Outdoor Supply. Arrived back home about 6:30 PM, just about the same time Joanne would have been arriving in Winnipeg ( 8:30 PM CDT ). For supper I barbecued some Sockeye Salmon I bought in Kamloops yesterday. AWESOME ! ! !

Wildlife viewed in the last few days ; many deer, many marmots, quite a few loon families ( male, female, and baby), Bald Eagles, and one beaver.

Friday ; Started out sunny and warm, became windy and cool in the afternoon.

This morning I went into town to run some errands and get a haircut and beard trim.
I washed the lower part of the truck and the camper at a self-serve car wash. Haven't used a self-serve car wash in many years. Did a poor job of cleaning mud and road grime off the truck. I'll have to manually wash it at home with soapy water and a scrub mitt.

After lunch and a long nap I harvested lettuce and radishes from our garden. Processed photos. Unloaded the truck and camper.

Saturday ; Sunny and warm, a very pleasant summer solstice day.

Spent the day puttering around with minor maintenance chores. Late in the evening Joanne's 93 year old friend Eilene, her friend Dorothy, and her daughter Alice arrived from Williams Lake. Fourteen hours on the road ! Would have been a couple hours less than that if they hadn't made a wrong turn when they arrived at the village of Keremeos ... and ended up in Osoyoos. They were here to spend the night in one of our park's guest suites on their way home to Oregon.

OUCH OUCH OUCH OUCH ! ! ! I banged my head and split my scalp open on the corner of an open cupboard door. If I've told her once, I've told her a million times ... "SHUT THE ****ING CUPBOARD DOORS ! ! !" Wait a minute ... she's not here, she's in Winnipeg. Well then ... who the hell left that cupboard door open ? ! ?

DSK

June 8 to 14, 2014

Sunday ; Mostly sunny, hot, humid.

A few days ago we bought four plants to be planted on our front yard rocked slope. Today we planted them. Very difficult work due to heat, humidity, mosquitoes, and location. We also set up the new to us composter we got yesterday at SunKatcher's yard sale. It's our second composter. Joanne wants to have two composters and rotate the use of them on an annual basis.

Monday ; Keremeos to Penticton to Okanagan Falls to Osoyoos to Keremeos

Sunny and very warm, humid again. And ... < sigh > ... I felt ill for most of the day.

Recently an RV dealer in Penticton hired me ... d.b.a. Similkameen Trailer Towing ... to deliver a large fifth wheel trailer from their dealership in Penticton to an upscale, lakefront, seasonal campground in Osoyoos today. Joanne prepared a picnic lunch, and we took Bo along for a day of "drivey" adventure.

We drove to Penticton and picked up the trailer at the dealership. We drove to Okanagan Falls where we met our Yuma neighbours / friends Judy and Terry ( and Spanky ) for a picnic lunch in the municipal park. They are camped nearby at Okanagan Falls Provincial Park. After lunch we continued on to Osoyoos and delivered the trailer to Nk'Mip Campground. Easy money ! Afterwards we ran some errands in Osoyoos before heading home.

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm. Bath day for Bo. Squabble day for Daniel and Joanne.

Wednesday ; Sunny and warm. Pet ear care day. Pet nail trimming day. I like when Sully screams loudly in protest when I trim his nails, as he did today. It's a barometer of his good health. HA HA HA ! Joanne went into Keremeos to run a few errands.
I removed the fifth wheel hitch from the truck bed and prepared the truck bed for the reinstallation of Elsie the truck camper in a couple of days. I did an agility session with Bo. Well done, Bo, good dog ! While we were doing Bo-gility he leaped up onto the top of the truck storage chest that was on the ground behind our shed, anticipating that
I was going to command him to do so. HA HA HA ... well done Bo, but I wasn't going to ask you to do that. HA HA HA ! Good dog !

I rebuilt the Inukshuk in front of our shed. I was going to dismantle it, because I wasn't happy with its appearance, but as I was dismantling it a neighbour across the street encouraged me to keep it, so ... I reconstructed it, smaller and with a different appearance.

Thursday ; Sunny and warm all day in Penticton. Thick, low clouds and rain in the evening at home near Keremeos.

Today was another long day of running errands in Penticton. Just before leaving home this morning I checked e-mail, and there was a message from Okanagan Skies Aviation / BP Aviation. For the second time since we've returned home from the south a month and a half ago, they cancelled my scheduled Cessna 172 check ride at the last minute. Hey, guys ... if you want to get my money out of my pocket and into yours, you'll have to improve your customer service attitudes A LOT ! ! !

The check ride was one of two main reasons we were going to Penticton. The other was an appointment with my gastroenterologist. < sigh > My medications have not been managing my Crohn's / ulcerative colitis as well as they should for the last eight months or so. She wants to do another colonoscopy. < sigh > In two weeks ... while I'll be alone, while Joanne is in Winnipeg. Having a colonoscopy is tough enough when I have Joanne here to pamper me through the agony, but alone ... < sigh > ... ! ! !

Friday ; Cold and raining all day ! YUCK !

This morning I headed into town to have some tests done at the lab at the South Similkameen Health Centre a.k.a. Keremeos Clinic. The wait time to see the lab tech was ninety minutes. For me, having arrived at 9:30 AM. For people who arrived an hour earlier, when the lab opened at 8:30 AM, their wait time was two hours ! Ninety minutes to two hours of waiting ... that's atrocious and unacceptable, in my opinion ! After the lab I went to the pharmacy to drop off a prescription to be filled, then ran some other errands in town before heading home.

This afternoon a service technician from Skyview Blinds in Penticton showed up to measure our living room's French doors to our deck, for fitting Phantom Screens which we will be buying and having installed in a couple of weeks. While Joanne prepared supper for guests I went to the storage area and did a teensy bit of work inside the truck camper.

In the evening, Joanne's ninety three year old friend from morning water aerobics at Kofa Ko-op in Yuma, Arizona, Eilene, along with Eilene's similarly aged friend Dorothy, and Eilene's daughter Alice, their driver on this road trip adventure, arrived for an overnight visit. They drove all the way from Portland, Oregon today ! Geeeeezzzzz ... that's two days of driving for me ... three days if we dawdle ! Eilene, Dorothy, and Alice are on their way to visit Dorothy's sister and brother-in-law in Williams Lake, B.C.
We had supper ready for them upon their arrival about 8 PM ( after fourteen hours of driving ! ), and had booked for their overnight stay one of the two guest rooms available here at Riverside RV Park Resort for the convenience of residents' guests / friends and family members.

MMMMM ... Eilene brought us some of her famous, home made date cookies.

Saturday ; Sunny and warm. Wow ... what a difference a day makes !

Eilene, Dorothy, and Alice were on the road headed to Williams Lake before we even woke up. Safe travels, ladies.

We put Elsie the truck camper onto Lanoire the truck, and prepared for departure tomorrow. The ****ing generator won't start AGAIN ! ! !

DSK

June 1 to 7, 2014

Sunday ; Mostly sunny and warm.

Spent the morning doing minor repairs. In the afternoon we gave Bo a haircut. And trimmed the hair and nails of a neighbour / friend's dog.

Monday ; Mostly sunny, warm, humid. A very long day of running errands and shopping in Penticton.

Tuesday ; Sunny and warm in the morning and evening, raining in the afternoon.

I was up way too early this morning in order to take the truck into town to have a repair done at K Mountain Auto Repair. After having a rear brake caliper replaced I returned home and went back to sleep, napping with Sully until noon.

In the afternoon Joanne went into town for another doctor's appointment. I worked on minor maintenance projects. After she returned home late in the afternoon we took Bo for a long walk, ending up visiting at a neighbour's for quite awhile.

Wednesday ; Sunny and mild, a bit windy ... severe mosquitoes !

Today we were visited by our Yuma neighbours / friends Terry and Judy, and their dog Spanky. After all these years as a "traveller", Bo is not the least bit surprised when one of his dog friends / "pack members" from one part of North America shows up somewhere else thousands of miles away. He just takes it in stride. "OH ... Spanky ... haven't seen him since Yuma more than two months ago ... what's for lunch ?" HA HA HA !

Terry and Judy are on their way from their summer home in the Vancouver area to elsewhere in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley. We had supper with them and visited for the evening. They "boondocked" overnight in a neighbour's driveway. Their truck and trailer were too long to fit into our yard. Lord knows, we tried !

Thursday ; Sunny and warm, still severe mosquitoes, as is likely to be the case for the entire month of June.

After our friends Terry and Judy ( and their dog Spanky ) departed this morning we got busy. And had a very productive day. I helped Joanne get the laundry underway, then she helped me replace the roller blind inside the entry door of the truck camper. She continued with laundry and I replaced the screening in the upper section of the truck camper's entry screen door. I spent much of the afternoon replacing the five sections of damaged vinyl siding on the house, one section damaged in two places, for a total of six damaged areas ! It was a difficult job, with a lot of "learning curve", and I'm proud of accomplishing it !

You know ... we live in a "secure" ( ? ) gated community. It should be reasonable to expect that we can go away for six months in the winter, and return to an undamaged house ! ! ! Is the neighbour who lacks the courage to "fess up" listening ? ! ?

Found Fiddleheads at a grocery store in Penticton a few days ago, and bought some, despite Joanne's protests about cost. Six bucks for enough Fiddleheads for one serving for each of us. Haven't had Fiddleheads in many years, and this is certainly the first time we've found Fiddleheads available west of Ottawa. Ontario. These were grown at a Lower Mainland / Vancouver area mushroom farm. Maybe to test the demand in the local / B.C. market ? Had them for supper tonight. Very good !

Friday ; Mostly sunny and warm. The severe mosquitoes make it difficult to get much done outdoors. Today we worked on storing underneath our house a twelve foot long box of vinyl siding sections.

Saturday ; Today started out sunny and warm. We set up the Sun Oven and put in a beef pot roast. And ... of course ... shortly thereafter the clouds rolled in ! < sigh ... rolling eyes > And into the oven in the house went the pot roast.

Very reluctantly, this morning I allowed myself to be dragged to the nearby SunKatchers RV Park annual yard sale. And ... < blink blink > ... I bought fourteen items ! ! ! How did that happen ? !

DSK

May 25 to 31, 2014

Sunday ; Mostly cloudy, mild, a bit of rain early in the evening.

Puttered around with minor maintenance chores for much of the day. Had a neighbour / friend over for supper tonight. I barbecued Pollo Asado, the achiotte marinated Mexican version of barbecued chicken. It was good, but I still can't replicate Pollo Asado in Mexico. Canadian chickens have less fat, and are fed differently ( Canadian chickens are fed grains, Mexican chickens are fed Marigolds ), so their meat is different. And in Mexico they barbecue Pollo Asado over a Mesquite wood fire, not a gas grill. Spent the evening after supper visiting with her. The neighbour / friend, not the chicken. HA HA HA !

Monday ; Mostly sunny and mild. A few minutes of heavy rain late this morning.

Main project for today was to install the camper onto the truck in preparation for departure tomorrow morning for a couple of days of camping. Installing the camper onto the truck was not without some difficulty. I'm still learning the process, and still making mistakes !

Joanne spray painted the legs and cross braces of a used coffee table she recently bought for the gazebo. Nice to see that I'm not the only one whose spray painting skills are ... less than perfect ... < snicker >.

Tuesday ; Keremeos to Princeton to Otter Lake Provincial Park

Mostly cloudy and mild early in the day, cold and raining at Otter Lake in the late afternoon and evening.

This morning we took care of routine chores, then departed Riverside RV Park Resort heading west on Hwy. 3 to Princeton, about an hour away. We had some shopping to do in Princeton before continuing on to Otter Lake for a couple off days of camping and fishing.

I bought some screening at Princeton Builders Mart. I bought some fishing flies and had my fly fishing rod tip repaired at Princeton Outdoor Supply. We bought some groceries at Cooper's Foods, Princeton's grocery store.

From Princeton we took the Coalmont / Tulameen Road northwest, through Coalmont and Tulameen ( DUH ) to Otter Lake Provincial Park. We got set up in a site, and
I napped briefly with Sully before heading to the lake's edge to practice my fly fishing, a new skill that I'm finding a bit frustrating to learn.

The frequent rain kept interrupting my efforts. I would fish for a short while. It would begin to rain. I'd return to our campsite and wait out the rain. I'd return to the lake and try again. < sigh > Repeat frequently ! The rain also botched our plan to have a campfire in the evening, with supper cooked over the campfire.

Wednesday ; Otter Lake Provincial Park

Cold and wet ! A really crappy day, especially for camping ! Until 6 PM !

We spent much of the day avoiding being outdoors. We read. We napped. Repeat as necessary ! During one of the few brief periods when it wasn't raining we had a fun "hide & seek" obedience session with Bo. I went fishing a few times, never more than about fifteen minutes each time.

Around 6 PM it finally stopped raining ! Hallelujah ! I lit a campfire. Joanne prepared a foil packet of seasoned carrots to cook over the campfire, a new recipe she found recently. We roasted wieners. We mused about how many years / decades we have been enjoying wiener roasts together. While we were outside getting supper ready, Bo was inside the camper ... eating hot dog buns off the counter. Bad dog, Bo ! ! !

After supper ... not all wieners in hot dog buns ... we sat around the campfire, enjoying its warmth and each other’s company. Around 8:30 PM I decided to go fishing for about half an hour or so before it got dark. WOO-HOO ! Caught a Dolly Varden Trout. My first fish on my new fly fishing rod. And my first Dolly Varden. WOO-HOO !

So ... those last few hours of the day made the camping trip worthwhile !

Thursday ; Otter Lake to Princeton to home

Mostly cloudy and cool. But no rain !

We spent the morning and early afternoon at Otter Lake. I fished. We read and relaxed. After a late lunch we departed the campground, driving through Tulameen and Coalmont back to Princeton. I shopped for some fly fishing gear ... again ... at Princeton Outdoor Supply, and we shopped for groceries at Cooper's Foods. On the way back to Riverside RV Park Resort we checked out Pickard Creek campground and Stemwinder Provincial Park campground.

For supper we baked the fish I caught last night. And ... after cooking it, and eating it ... I don't think it was a Dolly Varden Trout after all. I think it was a Whitefish ! It ought to be renamed "Bonefish" !

Friday ; Four years as a non-smoker

Congratulations, Daniel, well done !

Today was mostly cloudy and cool. This morning we headed into town for anther doctor's appointment for Joanne. While she waited to see the doctor I ran some errands in town. I went to the local hardware store to see why one of the staff who was supposed to phone me last Monday with some information failed to do so. Well ... talk about fumbling the ball ! She forgot, she lost the note she had made, etc., etc.!
I'll make sure when I shop there in the future not to be served by her !

Back at home, we emptied the truck camper's waste holding tanks at our RV park's dump station. Joanne did some vacuuming of the camper and the truck. I did a minor repair to my fly fishing reel. I removed the camper's screen entry door and began to work on replacing a section of screening. DARN ... I left in our shed in Yuma the package of screen spline that I need ! I'll have to buy more in Penticton.

Saturday ; Sunny and very warm. Finally ! For supper tonight Joanne cooked a chicken and rice recipe in the Sun Oven. It was excellent ! Chicken and rice are two of the things that the Sun Oven does very well.

Mosquitoes today ! We removed the truck camper off the truck into our new storage space up in our RV park's storage yard. One of this park's rules is ... "no truck campers stored in yards when removed from truck" ... < rolling eyes >. What this park really needs is a rule that says ... "no assholes allowed" ! Geeeeez, did I really just type that ? ! ?

DSK