Medicine Hat to Summerland -- 999 KM

Long, but very pretty drive from Medicine Hat to Summerland on July 29.

Hard to believe that in a couple of days, I will be leaving Vancouver for my meandering journey back home.   Random thoughts:  3 weeks is a very long time to "hang out" with Popo.  We have been very busy accomplishing all the things in her annual "job jar for when Brenda comes".   Things like replanting various plants large and small, purging and cleaning drawers and closets that haven't been touched for a year.  Medical appointments -- eyes, memory assessments.   Patio purge (plants and junk).  Cooking and cleaning activities visiting Uncle Jim in the hospital (fell and broke his hip, surgery to repair and now in rehab), shopping, dining with Andrew, Erra and the girls, visiting the Berry Farm with Andrew and family...

Visits to Gerri and Graeme at Sunset; spending time with your cousins and their significant others and children (no kids yet for 4 Jenn and Kevin), perhaps wedding plans in the future for Laura and Cody.   Today there is the annual condo "social" event.  Will be interesting to see how many of the people who live here show up for hot dogs and hamburgers; they are erecting a 20' x 20' tent right now in the grassy area beside the front door.  

Rented a guitar from Long & McQuade again this year and have been practicing about an hour a day.   It is getting easier, perhaps I should start trying the bar chords soon.

So glad that I was able to get copies of the Yip Sang Book written by Frances Hearn.   It was $33.88 - $52.05 on Amazon, but I went to the publisher in Surrey (just outside of Burnaby) and scored 8 copies at $9.95 each :).    Remind me to give them out with Christmas dinner (I will forget) .

Heading out on August 22nd back to Summerland for a few days with Heather and her family.   Had a very lovely short visit (July 29 - Aug 1) on my way in.   The kids are not kids anymore!   Last time I visited with them was about 18 years ago.  KJ is now 34 and co-owns the construction company that Gerry's (Heather's husband) father started many many years ago.   Shalyn is 32, she and I share the same birthday :)  now has a Master's degree and has started a LGBT community outreach program in Penticton (about 30 minutes south of Summerland).  Nick is 29 and just finished a Computer Science diploma at the local College in Kelowna (about 1 hour North of Summerland) and will be starting a Computer Science Degree at the Kelowna UBC campus.  So proud of these kids who have had so many ADD/ADHD/OCD/Bi-Polar challenges growing up.   So cute, KJ asked his mom if Auntie Brenda would cook another Chinese dinner for them before I left :)  I didn't even remember that I had done the same so many years ago!  Will do some chinese grocery shopping tomorrow :)

Heather and Shalyn

Heather and Gerry are easing into retirement.   Heather still has her chickens (50 laying hens).  Fresh (same day!) eggs are soooooo amazing!  They have 2 cows (beef, they are/were boys so I don't know if they are still called cows .. or if they were bulls, but now are cows ?). Two because they started with 1 and it crashed through the fence and ran away.   They needed help from their rancher friend who rounded it up from the hills behind their place using cattle horses (that would have been so much fun to see).  Learned that it needed a friend (so they got another one) and then put up electric fencing to keep it/them penned.  They have 9 Turkeys (not like the ones that wander through our neighbourhood -- these are for eating), that will be in the freezer by the time I get back on Tuesday!  

Will spend a few days there before heading out to Banff for a couple of days.   Booked a cute B&B (will see if it's like "Backyard Oasis!" ) which I will use as home base while I do a side trip to Jasper and Lake Louise.   Not sure if Heather can get away for a couple of days, but if she can, we will be a couple of "Thelma and Louise" explorers.

Observations from Medicine Hat to Summerland:

• Left the Canola and grain fields of Saskatchewan to Corn, Hay, and Sunflowers of Alberta and entered cowboy country!  Cattle and horses and acres and acres of grazing country.

• A grain train (I'm guessing about 150 cars long because it stretched for-ever) ! 
  
• Even the road signs are different 
  
• As I crossed the Alberta/BC border, it was nice to see mountains again!

  Alberta  Entering BC

• Driving through the Rockies, it took me a while to get use to no guard rails (just don't look over the side, I kept telling myself) !   The forests and natural parks I drove through were mostly very very tall pine trees.  And again, here, where there are miles and miles and miles and miles and miles of forest, no fences between the treeline and the road, therefore it is very common to find critterish things on the road, especially at night.

Critterish things:

 Watch for Elk, Moose, Bears (and baby bears)

This innovation in BC was very cool! 

  Apparently, there are sensors on the sides of the road which trigger flashing lights when there are critters nearby (thanks google images ..) there were actually NO flashing lights while I was driving through these many areas that are monitored.

While I didn't actually see any critters (other than a giant raven and lots of hawks circling overhead), there were lots of road signs for cariboo, elk, moose, bears and mountain sheep.

 This is just outside of Penticton BC, where there's a very large forest fire about 20 miles north.   

The smoke filled air followed me to Burnaby where it blocked the sunshine for a few days  

 Blueberries from Chilliwack, about an hour west of Vancouver.

Here we are yesterday, watching Solo (developer) dismantle a giant construction crane that is no longer needed.   Took them an entire day and dozens of flatbed transport trucks to haul away the crane pieces.   Very interesting and educational to watch this.  Like dismantling a giant meccano set.   Notice the Blue Sky!  YAY!  It's been much cooler the past couple of weeks, averaging 23-24ish with sunshine every day.

That's it for now.   It's only about 4.5 hours from Popo's to Summerland.  I think I will take this blue route back to Summerland (same route I took to get here).  It's about 1/2 hour longer than going on the grey route using the Coquihalla Highway.  But that route is kinda scary.  The peak is 4k above sea level and even driving in the centre lane doesn't do much to ignore the fact (for heights challenged people) that it's a very long way down! (not to mention that it's now 120KM) and there is no cel coverage for miles.   That's the route I took 18 years ago from Squamish to Summerland.  Stunningly beautiful, but if you only look from the horizon up, what's the point, says me!

Will update blog when I get to Banff on Aug 25th.   Heather has no cel reception in the valley where she lives, and internet (satellite) is also compromised due to the smoke from the fires in the interior.  I will send text message from Summerland when I get out of the valley on departure day (Aug 25).

Olives Mum oxoxo