This morning I did some budget planning. After lunch and a nap, I went fishing in the Similkameen River. First fishing outing to my "secret fishing hole" on the Similkameen River this summer season. I hiked upstream to my "secret fishing hole". < blink blink > It's not there anymore ! The entire river has changed as a result of this spring's flooding and extremely fast flow. I fished in a "new" set of rapids. The first Rainbow Trout that
I caught, I attempted to handle without a net. I pulled it up onto the rocks, unhooked it, picked it up to put it into my pail, and ... dropped the ****ing thing back into the river ...
< gritting my teeth >. Why carry a net if you're not going to use it, Dan ? ! ?
Including the one that I dropped back into the river, I caught five Rainbow Trout today. My daily limit of four ... into the freezer !
I shared my fishing space with a large family of ducks ... who seemed to be much more successful at catching fish than I was ! And an oriole. And a Bald Eagle. And a small rattlesnake ! The snake and I scared the bejesus out of one another ! ! ! HA HA HA !
I just about stepped on it ! It was very interesting to watch it drinking out of the river.
Monday ; Mostly sunny and hot, lots of wildfire smoke. Joanne baked a couple of apricot loaves in the Sun Oven today, somewhat hampered by the smoke The apricots came from the tree we planted about ten years ago on our previous home in this park, lot #89.
This morning I bought a checked baggage allowance on Joanne's flights to Winnipeg and back in a couple of months. Since when does a checked bag on an airline flight cost extra ? ! ? This afternoon we attempted ( unsuccessfully ) to clean the charcoal air filter on the back of our new ( to us ) evaporative ( swamp ) cooler. Evidently the previous owner was a smoker ! And the cool air emitted by the room air cooler smells of cigarette smoke ! Eventually we gave up trying different methods to clean the filter, and I figured out how to remove the old filter and how to replace it with a cat litter box air filter that I will cut to the correct size.
This afternoon after a cardiac exercise session in the swimming pool I adjusted the air pressure in my bicycle's tires, then inspected the caulking / sealant around the front upper bedroom window of the camper. Yes ... it needs to be replaced. It's old, and cracked, and falling off, creating risk of leaks around the window.
In the evening I did some preparing for our upcoming trailer delivery job to Vancouver Island, including preparing an invoice / receipt for the client. And doing online research to determine the exact length and weight of that model of trailer. < sigh > Thirty-nine feet, two inches in length, twelve feet, eight inches in height, twelve thousand four hundred pounds "dry" ( no water, propane, or anything else inside ). < sigh > And temperatures during our delivery trip well in excess of a hundred degrees F / reaching forty degrees C ! ! !
Tuesday ; Sunny and very hot.
This morning Joanne went to Penticton by herself for a day of running errands. I did pet ear and dental care, then made some appointments by phone. I did preventive maintenance on the truck, then loaded trailer towing equipment and supplies into the truck for the trailer towing job that starts tomorrow. I did some monthly investment statement reconciliations, and I went bicycling just before supper. We had an interesting new Mexican recipe for supper while watching Amazing Race Canada.
While in Penticton today Joanne bought a cat litter box charcoal filter, and tonight I cut it down to size to make it fit the evaporative / swamp cooler's filter panel. Well done !
Wednesday ; home to Winfield and return
Sunny and extremely hot.
We drove 150 km., THROUGH WESTBANK AND KELOWNA GRIDLOCK, to pick up a trailer for delivery. It wasn't ready ! Won't be ready until tomorrow ! Our return trip home was six hours / 434 km. of driving, due to a 284 km. detour caused by a
semi-trailer accident and fire very near to our home. Total driving today of 584 km. ... to accomplish NOTHING ! Will write more tomorrow while on ferry to Vancouver Island.
Left home at 11 AM. Drove to Penticton Hospital to have knee X-rayed. X-ray department short staffed, so wait time longer than one hour. UH-UH ... goodbye ! Drove to Westbank, refilled with diesel fuel. Drove into Kelowna, had lunch at Old Spaghetti Factory. Bought guy stuff at Princess Auto. Drove to Winfield, advised by RV dealership salesperson / client that trailer would not be ready until tomorrow morning. < sigh > Advised client that I would be billing $1 per km. for unproductive drive.
Drove back through Kelowna and Westbank rush hour gridlock. Decided to take "scenic route" home to buy RCMP Musical Ride tickets in Princeton. Had planned to buy them tomorrow, on way from home with trailer through Princeton on way to Lower Mainland ferry terminal, but ... trailer pick up tomorrow will result in changed route, not through Princeton. Bought tickets in Princeton, was not allowed to turn east on Hwy. 3 due to fiery semi-trailer crash between Hedley and Riverside RV Park Resort. Had to drive 65 km. north back to Okanagan Coquihalla Connector, 85 km. east to Peachland, south through Peachland, Summerland, Penticton, Keremeos, west to home. As we drove through the village of Keremeos in the dark we could see a lot of flames at the top of K Mountain, the mountain "backdrop" to the town.
Semi-trailer fire that caused our detour ignited new wildfire on each side of the
highway ! Good thing there were many nearby firefighting crews and bucket equipped helicopters that immediately responded, and had the brush fires on each side of the highway extinguished even before the semi-trailer was finished burning.
Thursday ; home to Winfield to Vancouver Island
Sunny and extremely hot, temperature in excess of 100º F / between 38º and 40º C.
Today, and ten days ago, were the two hottest days in BC recorded history. And on both of those days ... I was towing large and extremely heavy fifth wheel trailers on two of the most difficult roads in BC ... probably in all of Canada ; the Coquihalla Highway from Merritt to Hope, and the Coquihalla Okanagan Connector from Peachland to Merritt.
We left home this morning at 9 AM and drove 150 km. north ... ( again ! ) ... to Voyager RV in Winfield. On the way we refilled with diesel at Superstore in Westbank. We made good time and arrived at Voyager RV at 11:45 AM for our rescheduled noon pick up time. I bought something I needed in their parts department, then the salesperson guided us on a short drive to the dealership's storage yard. HOLY MACKEREL ... what a lot of inventory ! We were hitched up to the large fifth wheel trailer and on our way about 12:30 PM.
Back all the way through Kelowna, then Westbank / West Kelowna , and onto the "Connector" headed west. About 85 km. uphill from Peachland, then about 40 km. downhill to Merritt. I "managed" the ascent better than I did last week, and did not overheat the truck's engine and transmission ... as much ! Merritt to Hope, south on the Coquihalla for 115 km, about 65 km. uphill then 50 km. downhill. Also managed better than last week.
We refilled with diesel at Flying J in Hope, then continued west on Trans-Canada Highway 1 to the Lower Mainland / Vancouver area. Rush hour traffic was gridlocked through Abbotsford and Aldergrove ! We needed to be at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal by 7:30 PM for our 7:45 PM boarding time / 8:15 PM departure time. We arrived at 7 PM, giving us enough time to walk Ozzie and eat our picnic supper in the truck.
I am typing this on the ferry, at 9:15 PM. It arrived in Nanaimo about fifteen minutes late, at 10:30 PM. We were at our motel by 11 PM. BUT ... < sputter > ... despite addressing my need for a sixty foot long parking spot in my reservation, and again by phone ,,, there was nowhere for me to park the truck and trailer ! I advised the night clerk that I expected a no charge cancellation, and we left ... tired and frustrated. We spent about another frustrating hour searching for another motel to stay at. All we found ... with the assistance of a taxi driver ... was one motel whose rate was $175 per night, and Ozzie was not allowed ! We spent the night parked in the Nanaimo Visitor Information Centre parking lot.
I slept poorly. Joanne slept very poorly. Ozzie slept just fine ! And I agreed to Joanne's demand ; no more Vancouver Island trailer deliveries !
Friday ; Vancouver Island to home
Sunny and hot.
We washed up this morning in the Visitor Information Centre's bathrooms ... like the rest of the homeless people living in their cars in the parking lot ! We drove the short distance north from Nanaimo on Island Highway 19 to Parksville, arriving about 9:30 AM for our scheduled 11 AM trailer delivery. The clients were very eagerly awaiting the arrival of their new home, having spent the last two nights in a motel after selling their previous trailer. Positioning the large fifth wheel trailer in their RV park lot was extremely challenging, but ... that's why I get paid the big bucks ! HA HA HA !
We got the trailer positioned, levelled, set up, and did an orientation with the customers ... as pre-arranged ... and were finished and leaving at 11:30 AM. We rushed back to the Nanaimo ferry terminal in an attempt to catch the 12:45 PM ferry. When we arrived at the Duke Point ferry terminal about 12:30 PM, the 12:45 PM ferry was already full. As were the 3:15 PM and 5:45 PM ferries ! ! ! Good thing I had reservations on both of those !
We drove back into Nanaimo to have lunch. We refilled with diesel at a Co-op Fuel Bar, then had a very nice lunch at Smitty's. Don't think we've ever been to a Smitty's before. Good food, good service, how pleasant ! We finished lunch at 2 PM, and were back at the ferry terminal at 2:30 PM to check in for the 3:15 PM ferry. It was so hot and humid on the lowest level vehicle deck of the ferry we were reluctant to leave Ozzie in the very hot, stuffy cab of the truck. I attached a short tie-out to the fifth wheel hitch in the bed of the truck, and left Ozzie and his bed in the bed of the truck. Just like some kind of a miniature pit bull. HA HA HA < SNORT > HA HA.
The ferry arrived in Tsawwassen ( Vancouver ) on time at 5:15 PM. I told Joanne that if we didn't stop for supper or fuel, I could get us home in five hours. I did it in four hours and fifty minutes, arriving home at 10:05 PM. Of course, I had to drive like everyone else in the Lower Mainland, 30 km. / hr. over the speed limit !
As we drove through Abbotsford around 6:30 PM, 120 km. / hr., bumper to bumper congestion ... WHOA ! SNOWBIRDS ! ! ! Nine red and white, little Tutor 33 jets, Canada's military precision aerobatics team. It's difficult to drive 120 km. / hr., bumper to bumper, and watch an air show performance at the same time. HA HA HA ! Must be the famous Abbotsford International Air Show tonight / this weekend.
As we approached Hope, there was much wildfire. And many helicopters with buckets on long lines, all flying around like dragonflies, in the smoke ! SHEESH ! Methinks it's just a matter of time until two of these helicopter cowboys collide in mid-air.
Saturday ; Cloudy, warm, intermittent thunderstorms with huge drops of rain, on the verge of forming hailstones.
We slept very late. We deserved it ! I puttered around with job accounting. And I did some housecleaning. It's the time of year when little bugs come in at night, through the screens, and then die around my desk lamp and bedside lamp. I processed some photos from my camera to my computer. I lazed around and read a book. Too bad it's a crappy book !
DSK
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