Sunday ; Sunny and hot.
This morning I went to see our neighbour Betty to ask her to care for Bo next weekend while we retrieve the client's trailer in Tofino and return it to Kelowna. I went to our RV park's dog park and did some maintenance on the signage I had made for the dog park about a year or so ago. I cleaned and polished shoes.
This afternoon I made some phone calls and sent some e-mails. Our American friends are on their way back from Alaska, and phoned today from Prince George, BC. We made arrangements to meet them Wednesday in Merritt and will take them to N'Kwala campground where I will take David fishing in the Nicola River for Rainbow Trout.
Joanne worked on camper interior cleaning, tough work on such a hot day.
< whispering > She's been really crabby all day today.
Monday ; Sunny and hot.
This morning at 11 AM I pulled the truck out from underneath the camper, our next door neighbour Marcy climbed into the rear seat, and we headed off to Penticton. I dropped Joanne and Marcy at Wal-Mart and I took the truck to Great Canadian Oil Change for an oil change and lubrication service. When that was done I ran the truck through their car wash. I returned to Wal-Mart, and picked up Joanne and Marcy. Next stop was real Canadian Fuel Bar to refill with diesel fuel, then Safeway for an advertised grocery special.
Around 1:30 PM we drove to Penticton Hospital and found a parking spot, a very difficult thing to do during the hospital's reconstruction. Joanne and Marcy went to visit Gord, and I went to the cardiology department. I had a cardiology stress test, including an echo-cardiogram before the treadmill test ( heart at rest ) and another one immediately after the end of the treadmill test ( heart under extreme stress / maximum tolerable angina ). WHEW ! The news was not great. But also not entirely unexpected.
My cardiologist will arrange for me to have an angiogram at Kelowna Hospital, hopefully within the next two months. The echo-cardiogram / ultrasound indicated some cardiac "abnormality", most likely coronary artery blockage. The angiogram will clarify whether more corrective measures will be required, probably balloon angioplasty and / or installation of a stent. < sigh > Thanks, Dad !
When I was finished at cardiology, I found my way to Gord's room, to retrieve Joanne and Marcy. Gord was whining about needing a fan, so ... off we went to Value Village to buy him a fan. Joanne and Marcy went into Value Village ... I waited in the truck ... and they bought Gord a fan. I drove them back to the hospital to deliver the fan while
I went to Lordco to buy a fuel filter for the truck, and Rona to buy some glue. I returned to the hospital, parked ( again ! ) and went to Gord's room ( again ! ) to get Joanne and Marcy ( again ! ).
We left Penticton about 5:30 PM and were home about an hour later. As we drove west of Keremeos on Hwy. 3, towards Riverside RV Park Resort, there was thick fire smoke coming out of the Ashnola Valley across the Similkameen River.
Tuesday ; Hot ! Thick smoke ... ash falling from the sky. I had difficulty breathing ... and angina discomfort ... for much of today.
First job for today was to mount Elsie the camper onto Lanoire the truck. Then ... we worked together to get the camper fridge drain hose cleaned. It was plugged. We always cleaned Harvey the fifth wheel trailer's fridge drain hose annually, but ... in the three and a half years we have owned Elsie the truck camper, we had never cleaned the fridge drain hose. And near the end of our recent trip to NWT and Manitoba, Joanne noticed that the fridge condensation tray was filling up with water, and not draining through the hose as it should. Today we used cotton swabs, bleach, CLR, and ... compressed air to clean out the dirty drain hose, plugged with mildew, desert dust, and ... who knows ?
In the afternoon we went to the clubhouse for a "celebration of life" memorial service for a neighbour who died recently. We trimmed Bo's dew claws. We cleaned and treated Ozzie's infected ear. Joanne went into town to refill our five gallon water jug and to buy some fresh produce. We took Bo to the dog park, which is when I realized how much the thick smoke in the air was bothering me.
At suppertime we closed all the doors and the windows in the house. My breathing improved and my angina discomfort diminished. After supper we watched Amazing Race Canada.
Wednesday ; home to Merritt to N'Kwala BC Forest Service Recreation Site to Granite Creek Forest Service Recreation Site
Sunny and very warm, a bit chilly in the evening.
This morning we left home about 9:30 AM, heading for Merritt where we were meeting friends at noon. West on Hwy. 3 to Princeton, then north on Hwy. 5A to Hwy. 97C / the Coquihalla Connector, then west again on Hwy. 97C to Hwy. 5, the Coquihalla, a.k.a. the Highway Thru Hell. A few miles north on the Coquihalla and we were in Merritt. We met David, Linda, and Jackie in the parking lot of Extra Foods about 11:45 AM.
After buying some steaks and pork chops we were on our way again by 12:15, Joanne and I in the lead, Jackie in her camper van behind us, David and Linda in their truck and trailer bringing up the rear. We headed through Merritt and then northwest on Hwy. 8 for about half an hour or so to N'Kwala BC Forest Service Recreation Site campground on the Nicola River. We got ourselves set up in a campsite, then I prepared to take David fishing in the Nicola River, the primary objective of this trip.
As we walked by a neighbouring campsite, the occupants saw us heading to the river with fishing gear and advised us that ... < SPUTTER > ... the Nicola River at that location at this time of year was closed to fishing ! ! ! WHAT ? ? ? He brought out the 2017 BC fishing regulations and proved it to me. WELL ... * * * * ! ! !
David and I returned to our campsite, and after a group discussion we decided to leave and head to another fishing spot, at Granite Creek BC Forest Service Recreation Site on the Tulameen River. We left N'Kwala, and drove back to Merritt where we all refilled with fuel at Extra Foods Fuel Bar. Then we drove back to Princeton where we turned northwest on the Coalmont - Tulameen Road and drove for about another half hour to the tiny village of Coalmont. On the outskirts of Coalmont, where Granite Creek pours into the Tulameen River, we set ourselves up in a lovely campsite right on the Tulameen River, in Granite Creek Forest Service Recreation Site campground. AHHHHH ... lovely ! With incredibly easy fishing access right at the back of our campsite.
While David and I prepared to go fishing, his wife Linda tripped on a campfire ring made of granite rocks, landing face first on a sharp edged granite rock. She sustained a large, deep gash to her left eyebrow. OUCH ! ! ! We did first aid as best as we could. By the time we got her cleaned up, and bandaged, her left eye was swollen and turning black and blue. We expect she will have a very black eye tomorrow. And cheek. The deep, ugly gash on her eyebrow took a long time to stop bleeding. It's a pretty severe, deep, mangled wound. < sigh > Linda was very stoic, claiming minimal pain, but ...
I think it hurt a lot worse than she let on. She went to lie down for awhile in their trailer before supper, while David and I fished.
< sigh > After half an hour ... no fish ! I set up our barbecue, and while Joanne boiled corn on the cob in our camper, I cooked pork chops for everyone else and a steak for me. Joanne also prepared "peachy tossed salad" ... with peaches, obviously. Supper was pretty darn good. We sat around for awhile chatting after supper, until it got dark and chilly.
Thursday ; Granite Creek BCFSRS to home
Sunny and very warm.
We spent the morning visiting with our American friends around the picnic table at our campsite. David barbecued wieners and sausages for hot dogs for lunch. After lunch we departed the Granite Creek BC Forest Service Recreation Site campground and headed back to Princeton. At Princeton we turned east on Hwy. 3 to Hedley. At Hedley we dropped our American friends off at Riverhaven RV Park. They decided they wanted to spend the night in a full service RV park, instead of boondocking on our neighbour's driveway as had been planned.
We continued home from Hedley. We dumped our camper's waste holding tanks in our RV park's sani-dump station, got parked in our driveway, unpacked food and some other priority items from the camper, then returned to Riverhaven RV Park in our minivan. David, Linda, and Jackie had invited us for a picnic dinner ; hamburgers, potato salad, corn on the cob, etc. While they prepared supper I fished in the Similkameen River at Riverhaven RV Park for half an hour. HMPH ! Caught nothing. Despite the Similkameen River there appearing to be an excellent location for trout fishing. HMPH !
We chatted with our friends until dark, then drove home. In my e-mail inbox was an e-mail from our trailer towing client confirming the pick up of his trailer in Tofino on Saturday morning. NO, SIR ! You hired me to pick up your trailer in Tofino on Sunday morning, two weeks after it had been delivered to Tofino on Sunday morning !
Stay tuned ! ! !
Friday ; Sunny and hot.
Early this morning I received a phone call from our trailer towing client, acknowledging his and his wife's confusion / miscommunication regarding their campground checkout date. Right ! See you Sunday morning !
First priority for today was to remove the camper off the truck and prepare the truck for our upcoming trailer towing job. Around lunch time a new neighbour couple came over to discuss some trailer maintenance chores and winterization they wanted to hire us to do. Reluctantly I agreed to do the work over the next two months, but I made it clear to them ( I hope ) that we were not looking for ongoing nickel and dime work.
This afternoon we prepared for this weekend's tough two day trailer towing job. We cleaned and treated Ozzie's infected ear. His ear is improving. Poor Ozzie. He's stoic as we hurt his ear plucking, and cleaning, and administering drops. I did some monthly budget work. I barbecued chicken to be part of the food we will be bringing with us this weekend.
Saturday ; home to Vancouver, ferry to Vancouver Island, Nanaimo to Ucluelet
Sunny and hot.
We were up at 7 AM this morning, very early for us. I took Bo over to our neighbour Betty at 9 AM, to be dog sat for two days. We were on the road at 9:10 AM. West on Hwy. 3 through Hedley, Princeton, Manning Provincial Park, to Hope by 11:30 AM. We refilled with ( expensive ) diesel fuel at Hope, decided it was too early for lunch, and continued west from Hope on Trans-Canada Hwy. 1 into the Vancouver suburbs, then onto Hwy. 17 / South Fraser Perimeter Road towards the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Shortly before reaching the ferry terminal we stopped at Tsawwassen Mills Mall, at 1:30 PM to run an errand.
We met our former next door neighbours, Joe and Lynn to deliver an item and some money to them, settling our accounts with them. I had agreed early in the spring, when they sold their lot next door to ours, to clean everything out of their shed, sell what could be sold, and split the proceeds with them. DONE ! Since we had not yet had lunch, we accepted their invitation to have lunch in the mall food court. BUT ... by the time we walked all the way through Bass Pro Shop, and halfway across the huge mall to the food court, and saw the line-ups at each restaurant, I decided we did not have sufficient time to stand in line, buy lunch, eat lunch, and be on time for our ferry. We visited with Joe and Lynn for less than half an hour, then left.
The traffic jam to get out of the mall was ... < blink blink > ... quite spectacular ! It served as another great reminder ... as if we needed one ...of how glad we are not to have to live near urban congestion ! We wrestled our way out of the parking lot and back onto the highway. The ferry terminal was only about fifteen minutes away, and we arrived at about 2: 30 PM for our 3:15 PM ferry. Perfect ! While we waited to board the ferry we ate lunch. Joanne had packed the fridge in our truck with enough food and drinks to ( probably ) last us for the entire two day journey.
The ferry arrived in Nanaimo about ten minutes late at 5:25 PM. We drove through Nanaimo and north on Hwy. 19 to Qualicum Beach, then turned west on Hwy. 4. We arrived in Port Alberni about 6:45 PM. We refilled with diesel at No Frills Fuel Bar then bought a large donair to share for supper. We had our donair picnic dinner at a picnic table underneath some big, old, cedar trees in a small park attached to a marina. We continued west on Hwy. 4, leaving Port Alberni just before 8 PM. We arrived in Ucluelet around 9:30 PM, refilled with diesel again at Petro-Canada, then found our way to the surfer's hostel where we are spending the night, sharing a room with three young surfers as our room mates ... < raising eyebrows >.
I am typing this at 10:35 PM at the dining room table in the hostel's communal kitchen. I'm exhausted and slightly crabby. I think Joanne has already gone to sleep in our room upstairs.
DSK
No comments:
Post a Comment