This morning I made sourdough pancakes for brunch. They were not as good as I had expected / hoped they would be.
We mounted Elsie ( the truck camper ) onto Lanoire ( the truck ) in preparation for an upcoming camping trip. I puttered around a bit with some yard chores, adjusting the air in my bicycle tires, watering my tomato plants ... nothing too strenuous in this heat.
I puttered around with some online computer work, including placing a bid on a trailer delivery job from Edmonton to Oliver. After the sun had disappeared behind the mountains we took Bo to the dog park.
Monday ; Hot, hazy with forest fire smoke. Lots of forest fires in B.C., and all over Western Canada. Two fires nearby !
This morning I harvested peas. Not much ! Joanne harvested lettuce. MUCH !
I watered all our plants and gardens and composters ( yes, plural ). I went to town to run a few errands.
After the sun set we took Bo to the dog park, then for a long walk. We visited Jeanine. Today was her third chemotherapy treatment. It's taking a toll.
I received a phone call from a man in Vernon who wanted a trailer delivered from Little Fort to Vernon. I researched the mileage, calculated a quote, set up a deal with the customer, and then ... HA HA HA ... "sold" the job to my friend Laszlo in Kamloops. For a tiny "finder's fee". It makes perfect sense. Kamloops is midway between the pickup location and the delivery location. Were I to do the job myself, there would be a lot of "deadhead" travel. I hope this turns out to be a "win-win-win".
Tuesday ; home to Minnow Lake
Hazy with forest fire smoke, very hot in Penticton, even hotter in Kelowna, cooler up in the mountains where we're camping.
We finished our camping trip departure preparations and left home about 11:30 AM.
We stopped in Keremeos to buy some produce at Sanderson Farms. First stop in Penticton was Wal-Mart, then a quick lunch in the camper while parked at Skaha Lake Beach Park. I dropped Joanne off at Penticton Hospital for a mammogram then went to run some errands at Leisureland RV, Home Hardware, and Dollar Dollar. An hour after dropping Joanne off at the hospital I was back there, and she was finished and waiting for me.
We headed north on Hwy. 97, stopping in Westbank / West Kelowna to buy groceries and refill with diesel at Superstore. We arrived in Kelowna right about rush hour.
< sigh > I truly dislike Kelowna. It's such a pompous little city, that takes itself way too seriously, and has grown too much, too fast. We struggled through stop and go traffic all the way across the city to PetsMart. WOO-HOO ... thought Bo. Shopping at PetsMart ! We tried many new harnesses on him until we found one that we were satisfied with. Then bought two of them. The life of a harness on Bo is shorter than you might think ! HA HA HA ... tough, little redneck terrier is "hard on clothes".
< sigh > After leaving PetsMart the traffic got even thicker and more difficult. We finally made it through the city and out to the east on Hwy. 33. We drove about 40 km. / 25 mi. east of Kelowna, then turned onto a good gravel road for 5 km . / 3 mi. to a B.C. Forest Service campground at Hydraulic Lake. There were about two dozen or so campsites, perhaps a quarter of them occupied. We continued about 1 km.. further to another B.C. Forest Service campground at Minnow Lake. Again there were about a couple of dozen campsites, with only a few occupied. We decided to spend the night at Minnow Lake.
By the time we had arrived at Minnow Lake it was about 6:30 PM, and I was tired, especially from fighting city rush hour traffic with a large truck and camper. We selected a campsite, rested briefly, then went for a long walk around the large campground. Large in area, not large in number of campsites. It didn't take long for Bo to find a muddy, swampy section of shoreline to stomp through, getting his legs ... and the chest part of his new harness ... coated in mud. Well done, Bo ! < rolling my eyes >
There is a province wide campfire ban, so no campfire tonight to cook on. I felt too tired to want to dig the barbecue out of the cupboard and use it to cook supper, so Joanne cooked supper indoors. We ate outdoors at the picnic table, and I began to work on this journal entry at the picnic table after supper, but ... at this point in time ... 8:30 PM ... I'm getting bit by mosquitoes, so will be going indoors momentarily !
BUT ... before I made it indoors, Joanne wanted to go down by the lake and watch the sunset. Okay ! We did that ! AND ... it was obvious that fish were surface feeding, so after the sun had set we walked back to our campsite, I got my fishing gear, and went back to the lake to fish for about fifteen minutes. The fish ... trout, I presume ... were hungry and feeding at dusk but I could not cast out far enough from shore to where they were feeding. < shrug >
Wednesday ; Minnow Lake to Big White Ski Resort to Arlington Lake
Sunny and hot.
This morning we had ( leftover / frozen ) sourdough pancakes for breakfast then I went fishing very briefly. We did a hide and seek obedience session in the forest with Bo before departing Minnow Lake. We "backtracked" northwest on Hwy.33 a few miles then headed up Big White Road about 24 km. to Big White Ski Resort on Big White Mountain.
I had been to Big White once before, in the winter, about twenty years ago. Joanne had never been there before today. We drove around the mostly deserted ski resort town. It seemed ... like Kelowna, the city where most of its patrons come from ... pompous. And much larger than it was twenty years ago. While driving around the village I noticed a man washing his car. I stopped and asked him if I could use his garden hose to refill our freshwater tank. He allowed that, and while I refilled our freshwater holding tank we chatted about camping and exploring local Forest Service campgrounds. Nice fellow.
On the way back down from Big White to Hwy. 33 there was a bridge over a little creek. We stopped to check out if it looked like a good potential fishing site. It did ! And oddly, there was a small evergreen tree beside the creek covered in ... Christmas decorations. HA HA HA ! I fly fished for about forty-five minutes and caught ... all in the first half hour ... five Rainbow Trout and one Cutthroat Trout ! All the fish were too small to keep and eat. I released them all. Goodbye, little fishies ... grow big ! Bo had a lot of fun "helping" me catch fish. While I was fishing, Joanne was relaxing in a folding chair beside the creek, and Bo was wandering around. Whenever I had a fish on my line, Bo would rush into the water and try to "help" me net the fish. HA HA HA ... good dog, Bo, well done !
I have just found out ( at 8:10 PM ) from the campground host who came to collect the nightly camping fee that the creek is called the West Kettle River.
We continued down Big White Road, then turned south once we were back at Hwy. 33. Half an hour or so south on Hwy. 33 we turned onto Arlington Lake Road, a one lane rough gravel road, and drove about 4 km. to the B.C. Forest Service campground on Arlington Lake. It was scenic and we decided to stay. We selected a campsite with a great view of the lake, and a path down to the shoreline where I could fish.
We had a very late lunch. I fished. I read. I napped. I repeated as necessary. HA HA HA ! We've just finished eating our barbecued supper. While I work on this journal entry, Joanne is sitting in her folding chair using our new binoculars to watch a loon family ... male, female, and youngster ... fishing on the lake.
Thursday ; Arlington Lake to Canyon Creek / Kettle River
WHEW ! Sunny and hot ... 99º F. / 37.5º C.
This morning we left Arlington Lake campground, returned to Hwy. 33 and continued heading south on Hwy. 33. We stopped at Rhone Rest Area on the West Kettle River because it looked like a good place to fly fish. It was ! I caught ... and released ... three Rainbow Trout, all within the first ten minutes of my forty minutes of fishing. My theory is ... after catching a few fish, and the commotion that goes along with that, other fish are scared away from the area for awhile. We had lunch at Rhone Rest Area then continued south on Hwy. 33. We passed through the villages of Beaverdell and Westbridge before reaching Kettle River Provincial Park where we refilled our freshwater holding tank. We drove around the provincial park campground, musing about how overpriced B.C. provincial park campgrounds are at thirty bucks a night for unserviced sites. We "backtracked" north on Hwy. 33 about 5 km. / 3 miles back to Westbridge where we got onto Christian Valley Road leading north along the Kettle River ( not to be confused with the West Kettle River ).
The first 32 km. of Christian Valley Road were paved, then it turned to gravel. We drove up to about KM.40, viewing three or four B.C. Forest Service wilderness campgrounds along the Kettle River. We liked Canyon Creek campground the most, so we returned there. When we first saw it there was one other camper in the three site campground. When we returned to it a half hour later there were two campers. We took the last site. By supper time another camper had arrived. Now there were four campers jammed into three campsites. We were surprised by that, considering how far off the beaten path we were. Maybe we should stick to our long held belief that we should stay "off the road" for July and August !
Where Canyon Creek ( currently dry ) spills into the Kettle River ... at this campground ... looked like the most promising fly fishing location I have ever seen. Gentle rapids ending in deep pools of gently swirling clear water. I fished for about an hour. Couldn't catch a fish to save my soul ! ! ! Go figure !
For supper I cooked Dan-O-Cheeseburgers and fries on the barbecue. We went for a long hike alongside the Kettle River after supper. Bo needed more exercise. While Joanne washed dishes I went fly fishing again. I fished for half an hour before it got dark. I hooked a fish, but before I could bring it to the net, the fly / lure self-destructed and I lost the fish. HMPH ! Cheap fly ! Wonder where I bought that one ?
Friday ; Canyon Creek / Kettle River to Jolly Creek / Rock Creek
Sunny and hot in the morning, thunderstorms with thunder, lightening, and rain in the afternoon, becoming sunny and mild in the evening.
This morning we left Canyon Creek campground on the Kettle River and headed south on Christian Valley Road back to Westbridge where we continued south on Hwy. 33. We went to Kettle Creek Provincial Park again to refill our freshwater tank again. When we arrived at the village of Rock Creek we went in search of the fairgrounds. Joanne wants to attend the Rock Creek Fall Fair in September, so she wanted to check out the fairground's camping area.
We left the village of Rock Creek heading west on Hwy. 3 towards Osoyoos. Just a few miles west of the village of Rock Creek we turned north towards Mt. Baldy Ski Area and found our way to another B.C. Forest Service remote wilderness campground called Jolly Creek, located on ... Rock Creek. If it's on Rock Creek, why is it called Jolly Creek campground ? ! ? It was deserted, and we liked the idea of having it all to ourselves, so we decided to stay for the night.
Rock Creek, where it passes this campground, is just a teensy little stream, perhaps twenty or thirty feet across, and not much more than ankle deep in most places. HA HA HA ... just the right size for Bo ! He wandered through the creek, drinking, exploring, chasing birds, occasionally finding a deep enough spot that he would have to swim a few feet. I fished. HA HA HA ... just to amuse myself by enjoying Bo's "help" each time
I caught a teensy little Rainbow Trout. He would charge through the creek chasing the fish on the end of my fly line as I would reel it in. HA HA HA HA HA ... get it, Bo ! He's such a funny little dog. I went fishing four times this afternoon and evening. And caught one Rainbow Trout each time. Bo learns fast ! Each time I wandered down towards the creek, he would get all excited and charge down there, expecting me to catch a fish for him to chase.
Right now ... at 9 PM ... he's fast asleep beside me on the dinette seat in the camper. He's wrapped in the towel that we used to dry him off repeatedly today. What a dog !
Joanne wanted to go for a hike late this afternoon. We followed a trail running alongside the creek. And found ... many Saskatoon bushes laden with plump, ripe berries. Must be cooler and wetter here than where we live, because the Saskatoons at home were finished before the end of June. We returned to the camper, got some containers, and picked a lot of huge, plump, sweet Saskatoons. Bo was frantic to get some so ... I lifted him up and held him near the bush while he furiously chomped away at Saskatoons. HA HA HA ... Bo LOOOOOVES harvesting his own Saskatoons !
Saturday ; Jolly Creek / Rock Creek to Oliver Sunshine Festival to home.
Started out cloudy, hot, and humid. Shortly after we arrived home it began to rain.
We left the Jolly Creek campground beside Rock Creek and headed south on Mt. Baldy Road back to Hwy. 3, then turned west heading to Osoyoos. In Osoyoos we stopped for a brief rest at the dog beach. From Osoyoos we headed north on Hwy. 97 to Oliver, to attend the Sunshine Festival.
The Sunshine Festival was ... a bit of a bust, from our perspective. We didn't stay very long, perhaps an hour or so. We watched a few of the child performers on the main stage. I wanted to get a pair of pliers from our truck. So that I could pull out my fingernails. To divert my attention from the pain of watching child performers !
We did a bit of grocery shopping in Oliver, then had a late lunch in the camper while parked in the grocery store parking lot. We drove south on Hwy. 97 back to Osoyoos, then west on Hwy. 3 to and through Keremeos to home. We arrived home around 4 PM. We had supper a earlier than usual because ... < sigh > ... my colonoscopy preparations began at 7 PM. We watched a rebroadcast of the season premiere of Amazing Race Canada which we missed on Wednesday.
Almost immediately upon our return home Bo went to sleep, and slept for most of the evening. Five days of camping ( and fishing ) exhausted him !
DSK
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