Cloudy and cold ... freezing level ... this morning in Crossfield, clearing and warming by early afternoon, sunny and mild by the time we reached B.C.'s Okanagan Valley.
Up early again ! Just before pulling out of Crossfield Country Inn's parking lot I did my routine tire thumping to ensure air pressure in all the truck's tires. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, SPLAT ! HUH ? ! ? I thumped the last tire again. SPLAT ! What the **** ? ! ? A flat tire ? ! ? It was the same rear tire that I recently had a valve problem with, so before changing the tire ... an hour of very hard work on the rear of a dually ... I wanted to attempt to refill the tire with air, and check if the problem is simply a bad valve extender. From the hotel's parking lot I could see a Kal Tire. We drove over there. Closed on Sundays. < sigh > I found an Esso station in town. It was one of those service stations that charges a dollar to use their air compressor. Put in a Loonie, get a minute or so of air compressor time. I hate that ! And this station had a particularly pathetic air compressor. It cost me FOUR DOLLARS to fill the tire with air ! ! !
South to Calgary, then west to Canmore where we refilled with diesel and I checked the tire pressure. It was okay ! Into and through Banff National Park, through Banff and Lake Louise and into British Columbia. We stopped to have a picnic lunch at Finn Creek in Yoho National Park. Beautiful ! ! ! I checked the tire pressure again. Still okay !
After lunch Joanne drove for a couple of hours to give me a much needed and well deserved break from driving. Which turned out to be a bad idea for everybody !
I napped for awhile, then tried to "coach" her through the difficult drive through the Canadian Rockies. Up, down, around, through tunnels and construction zones !
What I think is "coaching" she thinks is criticizing. By the time we reached a place where we could get off the road and change drivers, I was angry and she was demoralized. < huge sigh >
We continued west to Salmon Arm, the northern end of the Okanagan Valley. We turned south and drove to Kelowna where I have a trailer to pick up tomorrow morning. We stopped at Superstore to buy something for supper, then checked into our hotel for tonight, the Recreation Inn. A few days ago a problem arose with the Recreation Inn, and our reservation for a "pet friendly" room. I had to get the booking website I had used, Hotels.com to resolve the issue. And they did ! Or so I thought ! When we arrived at the hotel our "pet friendly" room reservation was screwed up ... AGAIN ... and it took way too long to sort out and resolve. And probably would not have been resolved if not for the perseverance and good customer service skills of the lady at the front desk tonight, a recent immigrant from Finland named Eeva-Maria. Too bad her superiors are such ****wits ! ! ! Good job, Eeva-Maria, thank you.
Monday ; Kelowna to Willowbrook to Osoyoos to Keremeos
This morning we checked out of our hotel and found our way to the location in Kelowna where we were supposed to pick up a cargo fifth wheel trailer for transport. We picked up the trailer and headed south through Kelowna on Hwy. 97. We stopped to refill with diesel in West Kelowna. We delivered the trailer to a rural location in Willowbrook, up in the mountains west of Okanagan Falls. Fairly easy job, fairly easy money.
We drove down out of the mountains into Okanagan Falls and continued south on Hwy. 97 to Osoyoos. I bought some screening at Home Hardware. We had lunch in Bo's favourite park ... on Osoyoos Lake. He LOOOOOVES that park ! We picked up our Edmonton client's second trailer in Osoyoos and headed home, stopping in Keremeos to adjust air pressure in the trailer's tires. We arrived home late in the afternoon.
There was a couple of hours of daylight left, and we put it to good use, taking care of chores before heading out tomorrow morning for our second trip to Edmonton. We're all tired already, and all dreading another trip to Edmonton. Well ... Joanne and I are dreading it. I suppose Bo and Sully don't know what's coming yet. HA HA HA !
Tuesday ; Keremeos, B.C. to Hinton, Alberta
SULLY'S EIGHTEENTH BIRTHDAY ! ! !
WOO-HOO ! ! ! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SULLY ! ! !
We adopted Sully five years ago today at the BCSCPA in Penticton. He was my 55th birthday gift. Sully's life was about to be ended by the animal shelter after having been there for six weeks ! Nobody wanted a thirteen year old cat ! I promised him a five year "second chance". His part of the deal was to live to his eighteenth birthday, a ripe old age that neither of our previous two cats quite made it to. Well, Sully ... we each lived up to our part of the deal, didn't we ? Way to go, old boy !
Variable weather today, mild, with occasional rain.
We were up early again, for another long, hard day of driving, this time with a long, heavy travel trailer, much more difficult to tow than a fifth wheel.. We left home about 9:30 AM and headed west on Hwy. 3 to Princeton, north on Hwy. 5 to Merritt, then Kamloops where we refilled with diesel. We continued north on Hwy. 5, stopping at a rest area near McLure for lunch, then all the way to Valemount where we refilled with diesel again. WHEW ... lots of fuel getting used today ! At Tete Jaune Cache we turned east on Yellowhead Hwy. 16, passing through Mount Robson Provincial Park and into Alberta and Jasper National Park. We arrived in Hinton about 8 PM, checked into our overpriced hotel room, and had supper.
Wednesday ; Hinton to Edmonton and back to Hinton
Poor Sully. He woke up in the middle of the night ... third hotel room in five nights ... and ... "HEY ! WHERE THE HELL ARE WE ? AND WHERE THE HELL IS MY LITTERBOX ? ? ?". Poor Sully ... I know what you mean ! BUT ... since it's the middle of the night ... would you please use your indoor voice ? I think he woke up half the hotel !
Cloudy and cold ! Winter has arrived in Edmonton.
We were up early again this morning, and continued heading east on Yellowhead Hwy. 16. We refilled with diesel in Edson. We arrived at the client's storage yard north of Edmonton about 12:30 PM. As we arrived ... so did a little early winter sleet squall.
< sigh > I unhitched the travel trailer in the cold, wet, windy squall, then did a small repair on the client's fifth wheel trailer that we had delivered a few days ago, again working in the miserable weather. We were finished and out of there about 2 PM. We drove into Edmonton, refilled with diesel, and had lunch in the truck in a grocery store parking lot before heading back west on Yellowhead Hwy. 16, back to Hinton.
Upon arrival in Hinton about 6:30 PM we bought a few groceries at the supermarket across the street from our hotel, then returned to our hotel room for supper and an evening of watching Shipping Wars on TV. HA HA HA ... what a bunch of amateurs !
Thursday ; Hinton, Alberta to Keremeos, B.C.
Sunny and cool.
WHEW ... nine days ... four trailers delivered ... 5000 km. / 3100 miles driven ... to Edmonton and back twice ... one minivan earned.
Up early again. Left Hinton about 9:30 AM. West on Yellowhead Hwy. 16, through Jasper National Park, into British Columbia, through Mount Robson Provincial Park, follow the Fraser River, cross the Fraser River at Tete Jaune Cache and head south on Hwy. 5. Refill diesel at Valemount. Late picnic lunch at rest area. Stop for groceries at Kamloops. Refill diesel again at Merritt. South on Hwy. 5 to Princeton, east on Crowsnest Hwy. 3 to home, arriving at 8:30 PM.
About half an hour from home, between Princeton and Hedley, came upon horrific traffic accident involving large Class A motorhome and SUV. Police on scene already. Survival in SUV looked unlikely.
Friday ; Sunny and mild.
Spent the morning rearranging parking spot fencing in yard to accommodate both truck and minivan. Easier said than done ! Made arrangements by phone for minivan safety inspection. After lunch went into town to run errands. Picked up parcel at Post Office. Refilled water jug. Went to insurance agency to arrange temporary transport permit to allow minivan to be driven for safety inspection. Joanne bought fresh produce at "fruit stand". That's what produce stands are called in Keremeos ... "Fruit Stand Capital Of Canada".
After returning home I puttered around for most of the afternoon with the minivan while Joanne did laundry. Watched second episode ... first episode we've seen ... of new season of Amazing Race.
Saturday ; Sunny and mild.
Went into Keremeos this morning with both vehicles to have insurance agency "verify" minivan's VIN, then drove to Cawston and dropped off minivan for B.C. safety inspection on Monday. Purchase of vehicle from other province more complicated than
I had expected.
This afternoon did some work on truck, hoping to solve problem with one tire losing air repeatedly, but not consistently. "The Mystery Of The Declining Tire Air Pressure !" Washed the truck ! Very filthy, lots of road grime from two trips to Edmonton and back.
In the evening watched a Gene Kelly movie ; An American In Paris. What a stinker of a movie !
DSK
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