Thursday, April 30, 2009
In Terrace, B.C. now. Just came in for the day to do some shopping and Kyle and I will be driving back to the cabins tomorrow. We left Cache Creek on Monday, the 20th of April and drove as far as Smithers, B.C. before getting a motel for the night. On the 21st, we drove the last 250 miles up to the homestead place to find that there was still a lot of snow covering the logging road that would take us to within a half-mile of the cabins. We had to leave the truck and hike in about three and a half miles. The weather has been absolutely beautiful. Temperatures to 70 F during the day and down just below freezing at night. The snow is melting rapidly and we made one trip a day, packing in supplies and stuff. The worst part of the hike is getting up out of the valley. It is like climbing 40 flights of stairs, except there aren't any stairs, just a steep and somewhat slippery hillside.
We did make a trip into Stewart last Saturday. Stayed with a friend overnite and drove back the next day. We have been eating oatmeal porridge with raisins for breakfast, some bannock and peanut butter and jam for lunch, and suppers have included rice, macaroni, cheese, sausage, beans, more rice and more macaroni.
We have started to get the garden area dried out, by opening the dam which our flat-tailed furry friends had built. They tried to rebuild or repair for a few days, working at night while we slept, but for the last few days the beavers haven't worked. Saw one otter one morning. A few crocus are blooming in the yard now. This whole area is very slow for economic activity now. Most sawmills are down and not much mining going on now either. Lots of robins and ducks are back now. Leaves are just coming out on the gooseberry bushes.
Lots of work to do. A few big, dumb, slow mosquitos are out already. The bears are just coming out of hibernation now. Lots of deep snow especially around Meziadin Lake. Usually it is all gone in the Ningunsaw valley by mid or late April, but there is still some there now.
Now we can drive the truck in to the top of the hill, but we still have that hill to climb, but now we can make a round trip to the truck in about an hour, rather than three or four.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Back in Canada
Right now, I am in a motel near Everett, Washington.
I left Wisconsin on the 14th of April and drove my heavily loaded HHR (Hertz rental) about 860 miles the first day out. Most of my route was on Interstate 94, through Minneapolis, Fargo, and Bismarck. Some parts of I-94 were under water because of the snow melt in North Dakota. Still, I made excellent time, covering about 860 miles while behind the wheel for about thirteen hours. I spent the first night in Minot, ND, and headed out for the Canadian border early the next morning. I got to the border at Portal about 8 a.m. and I had no problems with the Canadian customs inspectors. I picked up the TransCanada highway near Regina, Saskatchewan. Rain was falling all morning, but as I neared Swift Current, Sask., it changed to snow and visibility was lousy, so I laid up at a truck stop for a couple of hours and had a pepperoni pizza. And checked my e-mail!
It was still snowing lightly when I got back on the road, but before I got to Swift Current, it was just rain again. Then, by Medicine Hat, the rain stopped and I had dry roads all the way to the mountains. I drove through Calgary about supper time, but continued on until I got to Canmore, Alberta, where I got a motel room for the night, right in the Rocky Mountains. 760 miles that day.
On Thursday morning, I headed west again, driving through the mountains. The roads were rougher here and of course, they were not flat and straight like the ones I had been driving on for the last two days. I had to adjust my speed and driving habits, but the cruise control still came in handy.The scenery was fantastic and I filmed as I drove. By early afternoon, I was in the Shuswap area and drove up to Eric's place where I met Natalia and Kyle and saw their mother, Deanna, for the first time in fifteen years. 380 miles through the mountains!
I spent two nights in the Shuswap area. Kyle and I bought a canopy for his pickup truck as well as a new Honda generator and a Stihl chainsaw and other supplies. We loaded all of my stuff into Kyle's truck, added the new purchases, and then I headed out with the rental car so that I could return it to Seattle. That's why I'm in Everett, Washington tonight. Spring is well under way here. Thousands of daffodils blooming everywhere, ornamental fruit trees are blooming, and the leaves are coming out on the hardwoods. In the morning, I'll take this car to the downtown Seattle Hertz rental place and catch a bus to Cache Creek, B.C. to meet Kyle so we can begin to head up north to the old homestead.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Virginia to Wisconsin
Saturday morning, March 28, 2009
I am now back at Ma’s place in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. I left Twin Oaks on Thursday morning at about 6:20 am. I arrived here about 7:30 a.m. EST, today (Friday). I stayed in the Knight’s Inn Motel near Shelbyville Indiana last night, after covering about 650 miles in about ten hours. I took I-64 to a spot near Lexington, Kentucky, and then went north on I-75. I arrived in Shelbyville (home of a huge Honda manufacturing plant) by 4:30 pm on Thursday. I didn’t want to try to drive any more yesterday, since I would soon be hitting Indianapolis, and then after that, Gary, and Chicago. Ten hours of driving is enough in one day. It was drizzling lightly when I left Twin Oaks, and the rain increased during the day. When I was in West Virginia, is was coming down pretty hard and steady. The rain didn’t let up until I crossed into Kentucky. I had a burger at the Waffle house about 4;30 pm, then watched TV in my room for a while, but I went to bed early and woke up about 2 am, feeling rested and ready to go so I had a shower, then a quick breakfast at the Waffle House before hitting the road at about 3:30 am. I managed to get through all of the big cities before the rush hour traffic started. It was about 44 degrees when I left Indiana, but dropped to 31 by the time I got to Waukesha.
The crocuses are just starting to bloom here.
Right now, I am using the NEO keyboard that Dream gave me. It is a lot handier to use for keeping notes like this. Handier than the laptop. This thing boots up instantly and is so light and easy to carry around. It weighs less than a pound and it sits very nicely in my lap.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)