On the road again!

Sunday Oct. 30, 2011

We are presently stopped in Kelowna after a two day drive from Terrace.  We left home on Thursday morning in light rain, not a surprise since it has been raining steady since we got home last May.  It has been the worst summer ever with only the odd day of sunshine and no hot weather at all.  Even the optimists were growling by September!  At least we get to leave for the winter.  The rain stopped a short way from home and the rest of the day was clear and around 8 C.  Very pleasant.  We stayed at the Bon Voyage at the west end of Prince George as it is an easy stop with plug ins ($14)and a restaurant.  The restaurant used to have the worst food ever but a couple of years ago they were taken on by someone who can really cook.  I had a great Greek dinner and Eric had his usual ….liver and onions! 

We hit the road early 7:30 as the drive from Prince George to Kelowna is about 700 km and we don’t like to arrive in the dark.  The wind had started up over night and we had a nasty south head wind as we left town.  No rain or freezing, just wind which is killer for our fuel consumption.  Well the wind never did stop until we hit Kamloops so it was an expensive day and a tiring one for Eric. '

We had a funny thing happen in Cache Creek when we stopped for fuel …..again! …..and a quick sandwich in the truck as we were in a hurry.  A new Ford pick up with a grey haired guy pulled up beside us and guess who, our son-in-law Wade from Terrace.  He had stayed in Prince George (got in after we were in bed) and was on his way to Kelowna to pick up his custom snowmobile trailer. It was a last minute decision for him to make the trip so we didn’t expect to meet him.   We had a quick chat and a laugh about the coincidence and we were on our way.  Wade said he was staying with a buddy in Kelowna, picking up the trailer and then heading back to Terrace on Sunday.

Wade and our daughter Erika have had a busy summer.  Wade sold his power line company (Twin River Power)  to a big company called Altec and he now works for them managing the business in Terrace.  They sold their house and bought one twice as big on 30 acres, Erika quit her job at B.C. Hydro and so they have seen a lot of change in a few months.  We are really happy for them as they are both hard workers who deserve their good fortune.  Wade worked hard to build his business and he has put a lot of long hard hours into it so it is great to see that he has benefited from that. 

We are now parked in Ian and Linda’s driveway (Eric’s brother and wife) but they are away in Japan so we are here on our own.  They had a relative house sitting but he has gone home while we are here so it is quiet.  I will visit with my sisters (Anne and Elisa) and Eric will rest while we are here.  We are both exhausted after getting the house shut down, stowing all the machinery, unloading valuables to a friends basement, packing the rig and a two day drive to Kelowna.  Even though we have pared the house and rig down it is still a big job to pack up for six months away.  We plan to hit the road again on Tuesday stopping in Othello Wash., and then on to Meridian, Idaho for a couple of days.  We’ll check the weather in Ely, Nevada to see how cold it is before we make our next hop and then hopefully to some warm weather.

Eric has been trying to sell his 100 acre parcel that is adjacent to our farm for the past few years and last year we had big wind in October before we left home that really made a mess of it.   Trees down everywhere and a huge amount of work to clean it up.  In the end he had to call in the loggers to cut all the wood that would have fallen down and take the wood that was already on the ground. If the wood lies on the ground for a year it is unsalable  It was really stressful for Eric as logging leaves a huge mess that he would have to clean up.  We did get a bit of money out of it even after paying for the logging and trucking as the wood was sold as export to China so the price was good.  Now we have had an offer on the land and they want it as is with no clean up so we have our fingers crossed that the deal will go through.  We have enough on our plates with the farm (40 acres) and all it’s maintenance so this would be a big relief to sell the 100 acres, not to mention a little extra cash!  Eric worked hard to get that land as it was an ag lease that he had to log, clear and plant so he deserves to benefit from his hard work.  Wish us luck. 

What’s been going on!

May 21, 2011

Well, lots!  I spent the first week unloading the rig and then, since the weather was shi..y I washed down the inside as well.  What a good girl!  Okay, it really was weather dependant and since it was raining anyway it was easy to do.  I also made a list of all the things I need to buy before we leave next fall since it is easier to remember what I want to take now rather than try to figure it out later.  When I got that all done there was six months of mail to look at as well as the taxes to be done and  I put my head down and got that out of the way as well.  Meanwhile Eric was getting the rest of “Big Red’s” importation done.  Thanks to Sam for her new name, it really fits.  Turned in our proof of time in Mexico to ICBC for our winter rebate and then got our old dog Moxie back for the summer.  Our daughter Erika and husband Wade along with granddaughters Abby and Holly did a great job looking after her for the winter.  They even let her sleep in the house when it was too cold outside!

Get out of my yard bear!

Luckily she has realized that she can’t chase them anymore and besides that she is quite deaf now.  The nose still works well!

She was 13 in the winter and they have had her with them for the last four winters and for that we are really great full.  She is as much their dog as ours and I think she has a special spot in grand daughter Abby’s heart.  We have been arguing with a black bear since we got home as to who actually lives here and I think we have finally convinced him that it is us!

Guess what that is and who it belongs to!

If you guess him, you are right.

Yelling and shooting birdshot in the air helped a bit.  A bit of birdshot in his butt helped too and finally Eric ran him with the tractor and I think he finally gets it.  There have always been bears up on the hill grazing in the spring and that’s fine with us but I don’t want them in my front yard.  This guy thought he could be a lawn ornament but I say “NO.” 

I helped out a bit with Holly over last weekend as it was her final dance recital and Erika had a horse show to run as well as pony club testing and since Wade was away another driver was needed.  That was me and it was great to see the final recital as I don’t get to see any of that over the winter.  I didn’t get to see Abby ride in the horseshow but I’ll catch up with that at the next one. 

These are the little tiny dancers and the are so cute they bring tears to your eyes. 

Grand daughter Holly is on the ladder!

The next few days were spend getting all the dead stuff off the perennials and then getting a lawn mow clean up done.  Eric was great because he got all my garden machinery up  . and running quick so I was ready to go.  I am now trying to get things done in the garden since the house is pretty much in order and Eric has washed the outside of the rig and is now waxing it.  A really big job and of course he has found some delamination right were he thought it would be on the slide and he will deal with that as well.  RV’s are so sloppily manufactured that there is always something to fix and it is an ongoing job.  It is great to have it under cover now so the washing etc. can be done out of the rain.   

I have managed to catch up with my friends and it is really great to hear their voices and catch up with their news. 

So in the end we have managed to get a huge amount done in the last 2 1/2 weeks and feel like we are moving ahead with things.  Eric has even managed to squeeze in a couple of rides on Big Red.  Oh, I forgot he also rebuilt Blue’s starter and she is back in business.  He has decided to offer her for sale so we’ll see what happens with that.    He could keep her if he wants but I think he’s thinking it will be hard to ride them both. 

For those of you who might wonder where we live here are a few pictures.

That’s Eric’s new pole building on the right where the rig is now stored when we are home.  If the sun was shining there would be a big snow covered mountain behind that cloud.  Oh, did I mention how cold and winter like it still is here.  We’ve had a few nice days but mostly cloud, wind and rain.  Yuck.

Our little house.

This is the beautiful Skeena River that we drive along on our way home.  The Seven Sister mountain range is in the distance.

The Seven Sisters. 

We live in a very beautiful area, especially when the sun is shining.

We are home!

Prince George to Terrace, B.C.

Tuesday May 3, 2011

We left Prince George at about 7:15 am yesterday morning in the rain and fog (4C)  which makes for nasty driving conditions.  By the time we hit Fraser Lake and stopped for breakfast and fuel it had eased off a bit and it was lightening up.  Better.  As we drove it was amazing how cold and late the spring is.  Snow everywhere, no leaves and all the lakes are still frozen and here it is the 2nd of May.  We have never seen it this late. 

We couldn’t get into the pumps to get fuel in Fraser Lake because you know…..someone was parked in the way inside getting….pop? chips? cigarettes?   So breakfast and fuel down the road.  The breakfast was an expensive special with rubbery pancakes which was less than mediocre and I am really tired of eating out.  It has worked well for us stopping for a later breakfast and then no lunch but hard to find good food so I’m glad that’s over with.  The fuel stop at the native Esso Station (Stelat’En) was a good one.  They are cheap and really friendly and nice so they are where we will stop from now on.  As we passed through the Burns Lake area still no leaves and even the big lake was still frozen.  Crazy. 

By the time we hit Topley we were getting dry spots and it was a bit warmer 6C and the next stop was Houston to dump the p….p!  We rolled in and stopped and the dump had no water and said “Closed for Winter”  Hey, it’s May you know.  We decided to dump without using water but that went bad.  We started but the drain must have been frozen and we had a back up.  Yikes, stinky stuff that.  We packed up and decided to dump at home in Eric’s new dump tank. 

It was a bit greener and warmer in Smithers and up to a balmy 10C. 

As we got closer to home about 5km south of Princess Lake we had the scariest and potentially most dangerous incident of the whole trip and it was all due to human stupidity.  We were coming down a hill with the river and an abutment on the right and a double no passing line and a rock face on the left and as we came around a corner there were two bicyclists riding two abreast in our lane.  Eric was already geared down and hit the brakes and the horn at the same time as we rolled up behind them.  They were chatting and “DID NOT MOVE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD” Eric kept on the horn and they finally moved when he was almost touching one of them.  A young woman with a helmet and a young guy with no helmet.  There was plenty of paved shoulder for them and when we slowed down and opened the window to yell at them the girl gave us the finger.  Eric yelled” Do you want to die!!!! Are you trying to get yourself killed!!!! and then we moved on.  We absolutely could not believe that it even happened.  We could not have gone around them into the other lane and made it back if someone was coming the other way.  Absolutely and completely nuts!!! If they don’t get killed they certainly will get someone else killed.  As we drove on there were many semis coming south and also a fully loaded B train behind us so we knew what could happen.  If my cell phone had worked out there I would have phoned the police.

So, in the end we made it home and Eric walked up the hill to check the driveway for snow.  No snow!  In we came but there was a tree across the road so he had to get the chain saw and cut our way in.  Everything at the house looked pristine and just the way we left it six months ago so that is a huge relief.  You just never know.  We pulled into Eric’s new building to park under cover and went up to the house to turn on the power.  One huge pile of bear shit at the edge of the driveway and we could see the culprit out in the field grazing.  Good, stay out there!  The house looked good and so did the garden except for one small tree that had most of it’s branches broken off from the snow.  Oh well, it’s not dead. 

We switched on the power, set up, turned on the heaters and had happy hour.  Journey done.

Today we will have to run our gravity water system to clear the mud out of the lines and then turn on the water in the house.  We drain all the lines before we leave in case the power goes out while we are away so it is a one day job to start everything up again.  There is always that potential for leaks when washers have been dry for six months. 

It is nice to seen green trees and the mountains of home.  Eric is already overwhelmed with the immensity of the projects that await him.  We had a huge wind storm about three weeks before we left last fall and the aftermath of that is everywhere.  Everything in good time!!!

Kelowna to Prince George

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Hooray, Hooray it’s the first of May.  Now there is another part to this happy saying but it is x rated so I’ll leave it out.  Okay lets try this…..Eric used to work with a woman named Glenda who finished the saying with “Out door scr..i.ng starts today.”  You figure it out!  She was a nice Gramma looking type lady with a foul mouth.  It’s hard to think of the first of May without recalling Glenda. 

Our trip today was good.  We got up a little late 6:45 am and yes we were a little stiff from our two hour hike last night but ready to hit the road.  Out of the driveway, byes said to Ian and on the road by 7:30 am, not bad.  Since it is Sunday the roads out of Kelowna were quiet and so was the rest of the trip.  Sunny and warm but supposed to change to cloud and rain showers tomorrow.  Oh well, we can’t complain.

We stopped for a brunch in Cache Creek and filled up with fuel and back on the road.  We rolled in to the Bon Voyage on the north end of Prince George at about 5:30 pm.  $15.00 for plug in and we didn’t have to unhook, so an easy stop.  A long day but good driving conditions so we aren’t too bagged.  Tomorrow we will get up early, hit the road and have breakfast in Fraser Lake before we finish the drive home. 

A good day.

Hanging out in Kelowna

Friday April 29, 2011

I had a nice visit with sister Anne yesterday as I caught up with her on her day off.  She already had some appointments planned but we managed to squeeze lunch in and then I took her to get her hair done.  A really nice “Hair Design Shop” with really good stylists.  The owner is Oriental and has been cutting Anne’s hair for some time and they were kind enough to squeeze me in for a cut while I waited for her.  She had some blonde foil highlights and a cut but as usual with lots of stylists hers’  really want to froof her up.  Anne looked pretty country when she was done but I’m sure once she washes it her hair will look great, too funny.  A good cut and color.

Don’t you think Anne looks a little worried while Jimmy’s hands are flying ?

Had lunch with one of my other sisters (four of us all together) Elisa today and caught up with her news.  A good visit.  She and husband Ralph have a lake boat that they bought last year and are really enjoying their time on the water.  Okanagan Lake is a beautiful place to be on a sunny day.  A little shopping and laundry for me while Eric and brother Ian did their own guy shopping and visited with nephew Gordon. 

So, nothing big happening and we will head home either Sunday or Monday as we decide.

Late Saturday update.   Heading out early tomorrow morning hoping to make it to Prince George before the final haul home.  Today we organized things, finished our shopping and then walked over to the local public golf course (Michelbrook) for dinner.  Oops, they decided to close because they didn’t have many customers.  What’s up with that.  We walked to two other pubs but it was all too too toooo noisy with the hockey game and some big fight on T.V. so…..we walked home and ate there.  Only a two hour walk without dinner.  I think our feet will hurt tomorrow! 

Night night!

Othello, Washington to Kelowna, B.C.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

We made it.  We rolled into Ian and Linda’s driveway and were parked by about 3:30 pm yesterday.  Really tired and ready to stop driving.

We started out early again yesterday morning at about 7:15 am and it was about 3C and sunny.  Sweet.  Our first stop was supposed to be Moses Lake for fuel but you know what, the route travelled looks different in reverse!   As we approached our usual fuel stop we couldn’t decide if it was the right one and missed it.  Crap!   Luckily we found another one at the far end of Moses Lake and it looked tight but in the end there was a small gravel lot behind it that we could turn around in after getting fuel to get back out onto the road.  This kind of problem used to be a really, really big deal but Eric is so much more relaxed about all of this and seems able to roll with it.  He has done a fantastic job of driving through some nasty conditions and we both seem a lot better at the end of the day than the last couple of trips.  He said it would all get easier but I didn’t really believe him!  He was right!

So a fairly quiet drive up highway 17 to Okanagan, Washington where we stopped for a Mexican breakfast.  Huevos Rancheros for me and Heuvos a la Mexicana for Eric.  A Spanish music video was on the TV and the cook was Mexican so we felt right at home.  Onward to the border. 

Eric stopped on the American side of the border and took the bike paperwork in where they stamped the official title and that was all.  They didn’t look at the motorcycle  or check any numbers.  Sweet. A non event.

At the Canadian border stop I declared some beer (not as much as I had), a bottle of tequila and not the wine in my cupboard.  I told him I had about $200 worth of purchases and a few vegetables.  Eric declared the motorcycle and we were told to park to the side and go inside to complete the paperwork.  I was told to put my vegetables in the customs freezer which I did except for the tomatoes that I hid under my bread.  What a big smuggler I am!  They really don’t want to check anything and as long as you give them something to put on the slip they are happy with that.  They want taxes for anything you buy and we just take off the labels and use or wear whatever we buy, which by the way isn’t much.  You are even supposed to give them tax if you have an oil change done on your vehicle.  How nuts is that! 

Eric filled out all the paperwork inside and then gave them about $1000.00 for tax and import fees.  He got to claim the $750. personal deduction for himself but couldn’t use the rest of mine even though the bike is in both of our names.  So, in the end I could have had another $500. worth of purchases for my deduction.  They gave Eric all his paperwork, told him to file with RIV and said bye, bye to us.  Again, no one checked the motorcycle, or looked at any numbers of any kind!  Couldn’t have cared less, just wanted our tax money.  We will still have to pay PST when we register and insure it after the other paperwork is received from RIV to our home address and also have our inspection done at Canadian Tire.  More dinero to be paid there as well.  Eric says it would have been a harder thing to deal with if we had bought the motorcycle privately. 

The drive from the border at Osoyoos to Kelowna was not a pleasant one either.  They seemed to be paving in every small town we went through (Oliver, Okanagan Falls etc.) and when we hit Westbank on the other side of the lake coming into Kelowna it really got crazy.  As we came over the crest of the hill into Westbank the traffic was stopped ahead of us going downhill and Eric had to make a really quick stop.  Nasty with that big heavy piece of iron attached to our butt!  We thought there was an accident or construction but it was just regular traffic.  Westbank has been hugely over developed in the past couple of years and is now just one mall or office building under construction from the top of the hill almost to the  bridge over the lake.  Much of the land is owned by a First Nations Band and they are doing a great job of “Pave paradise and put up a parking lot!”  Just like the white man has done.  Sad.  There is no paradise in the Kelowna area any more.  They do not have enough water for all of the people moving into the area and the level of Okanagan Lake is dropping from overuse.   It was actually a little quieter when we hit the downtown Kelowna area than it was up in Westbank. 

Eric parked the rig in Ian’s driveway in one smooth move and it was all easy as pie.  He is getting better and better at all of this!  A lot easier on me too!

 

 

Parked in the driveway.

We had a chat with Ian and found out that they had been robbed again since they got home.  Someone, he suspects the house kitty korner to them (dealing drugs?) was watching the house and when he and Linda were out at 1:30 in the afternoon they hit the house again.  A neighbor across the back yard on her deck saw they guys in the driveway but thought they were just doing some work for Ian.  Oh, they were doing some work alright!!!   They opened every drawer and stole everything they didn’t get the first time only this time they got all of Linda’s heirloom jewelry as well.  They took  Ian’s  power tools and all sorts of things that he hasn’t even missed yet.  He said every time he goes to look for something it is gone.   Luckily they  hadn’t replaced anything since he got home or they would have got a pile of new stuff as well.  The RCMP said that it is a usual plan to come back a few weeks following the initial break in  and hit you when they think you have replaced all your stuff with insurance money.  They found a car that they think was stolen and used in this robbery but haven’t confirmed that yet.  So a sad state of affairs.  Double deadbolts on the doors and new patio doors etc. to keep out the thieves.  Ian and Linda’s neighborhood has changed over the last few years and younger families with teenagers have now moved into the area.  He never even used lock his doors and now even locked doors don’t help.  Times they are a changing!  Makes you feel unsafe.

We had a nice visit with our great nephew Angeus who is Ian’s son Gordon’s son.  Grampa Ian was babysitting and running everyone here and there yesterday.   Angeus  is 4 1/2 and quite a clever little guy.  We showed him the motorcycles and took a picture of him.

He thought it was quite a nice bike.  A future Harley rider perhaps!  Probably not if his mother has anything to say about it. 

He enjoyed a tour of the trailer and was impressed that it was just like a little house.  He especially liked the automatic awning going in and out.  Fun!

So today is a quiet day and we will relax, visit and regroup before we think about our final two day journey home.  It is just barely spring her and Ian thinks it is about 3 weeks late.  Apparently the same at home so no huge hurry! 

A hard drive from Meridian, Idaho to Othello, Washington

Monday April 25, 2011

We decided to just suck it up and move today even though the weather over Lime and Cabbage Hill didn’t look very promising.  Once again there was that possibility of snow showers.  It had started to rain when we went to bed last night and then started up again early this morning.  At least it wasn’t snow.  In the end the rain and snow threat wasn’t the big issue.  We left at 7:15am this morning and decided to have breakfast at our first fuel stop.  This has been a new plan for us but seems to be working as it saves us time because we don’t dawdle over breakfast and don’t need to stop for lunch. 

As we were travelling along I had another head ache crop up.  Windows on my lap top decided that there was an issue with my Map Point navigation software coupled with my plug in GPS and decided to shut down.  Great!  I started it a few times but no luck.  I could run Map Point without the GPS but that meant I didn’t know exactly where we were.  Not a good thing.  I left it alone for an hour or more and tried again and no …..problemo!  Who knows what that was all about but having it shut down in the middle of a city would be a huge problem.  Windows can be a giant pain in the ass sometimes!

We made it to La Grande, Oregon and stopped for a 10am breakfast and then up over the Cabbage Hill.  This time we were going down, and not up,  so not as hard and although there was a really brisk wind it was behind us. 

When we got to Pendleton at the bottom of the hill it got ugly.  The wind really picked up and was hitting us broadside. Big, big wind!!!  Nasty and I was really hanging on.  This was by far the worst wind we have hit yet and it was not in any forecast that we  had looked at.   Tumbleweeds were rolling by and Eric was worried one would go through the radiator and that of course would be a huge issue.  It was a nerve wracking drive until we made our turn up to the Tri Cities.  Even there the wind was blowing like hell but at least it was now slightly behind us.  We made it through the Tri Cities and you really have to pay attention to the exits so you end up where you want to be.   I didn’t screw up which was a good thing as that would have been ugly when we were so stressed from all the wind.  It’s a good thing we had two big Harley’s in the garage to hold us down or we could have been like Dorothy and ended up in Kansas!

We found fuel at the north end of the Tri Cities (Richland, Kenniwick and Pasco) and then on to Othello.  Again more wind and rain and not a fun drive. 

We rolled into the Wal Mart parking lot in Othello around 3:00pm and tucked ourselves out behind in a quiet area.  The main parking lot was really full and there were a bunch of construction trailers parked in front as well as circus trailers from Washington ahead of the parking lot.  Usually there is no one here when we stop going south but this is our first time stopping here going north. 

 

Our view from the Wal-Mart parking lot.

The portable propane fireplace is going, (love the Glow Warm) we’ve had a couple of beers, supper is prepped and tomorrow is another day.  Hopefully the bike importing will go okay and we will be in Kelowna tomorrow night.