Returned Home

24 July 19 

Today we are going home as we have been away for 11 days. However today is Todd's birthday and he has to return to work at his shop in Calgary, mainly because he has be away for a few days and his shop always host a party on his birthday. He left for Calgary around 8 AM. Unbeknownst to him , Carroll suggested that we crash the party so shortly after he left we also left. 

We arrived at the party a little late but all the staff and invited guest where still there so we got to me folks that we had never met before and there was plenty of food left. Todd calls it "Miracle Day" when he was born and of course the staff has a lot of fund with that. 

After the party we headed home and as it happen there was a terrific wind and the MH does not react well to the high winds. It was a fight to keep the MH on the road. On the way home there was a 18 wheeler who had an accident and we also came upon a large grass fire in the fields, probably started by the railroad. We noticed Fire Trucks from 5 different  towns, including the Fire Service from the Suffield  Military Base. End of our trip. Cheer

Visit the G/Kids at the Cabin

23 July 19

The 4 kids were at the cabin with Dad as Mom was at a Jonk family Anniversary in Minot , ND. While in Kelowna, we purchased  20 lbs of Cherries and 20 lbs of Blueberries, knowing, full well that the G/Kids would consume most of them. 

Emily , age 16, works at a Pizza and ice cream parlor beginning at noon so she got us up at 9 AM so her Dad (and us) would take her out on the boat to go Wake surfing. After we went boating for an hour or so we returned to the cabin for breakfast.  And then the other 3  ( Rhett, Quinn and Megan ) wanted to learn to surf behind the boat, s o in the afternoon we went boating again and too our amazement all 3 G/kids were able to get up and Wake surf behind the boat. That was enough boating for today. Cheers

Leaving Nakusp and going to visit our G/Kids at there Cabin

22 July 19

We left Nakusp and planned to stop at our son's (Todd ) cabin which is located on hwy 93 between Fairmont and Canal Flats on Columbia Lake. Due to our " unscheduled " stops along the way we were not sure if we can make it today. 

First we had to catch a ferry at Kalso to cross Kootenay Lake and this is a 1/2 hour crossing. Of course the ferry left just as we arrived at the landing so we had a 1 hour watch. The entrepreneurs of Kalso have taken advantage of this Ferry Landing by setting up several business such as a bakery, a cafe and a dress shop. Due to the wait time Carroll decided to " Browse" the dress shop.  The ferry crossing is free, but Carroll's dress cost me 75.00. 

Carroll had designs on stopping along the way in Crawford Bay which is an "Arties/ Farties " ( Artisans ) tourist trap village for us wayward  travelers who just have to but something even if it is over-priced. 

We visited the " Barefoot Handweaving " shop where they have 2 weaving loons and they weave most of their items right in the shop. Yes, it cost me another 100.00 to get out of that shop. We continued down the street to the " Dog Patch Pottery " shop and again it cost me to get out that shop as Carroll had to buy a Mug to add to the ones at home that we don't often use. 

The village has many other Artisan shops but the one of note is the "Northern Woven Broom" shop because it makes hand woven broom and they provided the brooms for the Harry Potter movies. 

Finally, we got back on the road and headed for the cabin, arriving just in time for supper. We plan to stay here until Wednesday. Cheers  

Heading for Nakusp, BC

Sunday 21 July 19

The first question our friends ask is " Where the heck is Nakusp " and why did you go there. The best answer is that we have never been there and it is "kinda " on the way home. Besides a few years ago a lady at the drug store mention that she was from Nakusp and as a well traveled traveler I decided we should visit it someday and today is "someday". 

From Kelowna you  travel to Vernon BC and then take Hwy #6 east which is a very winding , two lane road that goes thru several small towns/villages such as Lumby and Cherryville until you reach Needles. The trip on #6 is slow but very scenic so if you are in a hurry take  the TC #1 where you will see nothing but people trying to pass and jocking for position. 

When you reach Needle you will board a ferry and cross Arrow Lake ( which is a portion of the Columbia River system ) which is an enjoyable  10 to 12 minute crossing and the ferry is pulled by and endless cable. The landing on the other side is at a town called Fauquier and you then continue north on #6 for about an hour and you will reach Nakusp.

Nakusp is a village,and became  a settlement in 1892 and is located on the shores of Arrow Lake in the West Kooteney region. It is surrounded by the Selkirk and Monashee mountain ranges and as a result they have 2 Hot Springs resorts which is a definite draw for tourist along with golf , fishing, hiking and a lovely Japanese Garden. We visited the Halcyon Hot Springs resort and it is definitely a place to visit and stay if need be. The village has several  hotels at a reasonable price , several RV parks and a beach on the lake, with a good shopping area including a Save-On food store. The RV park was well run and we would have stayed longer if had more time. Cheers

Toured Kelowna and dinner with our Granddaughter and family.

Saturday 20 July 19


We made arrangement to meet our Granddaughter  ( Amanda ) and family for a supper date around 6 PM at a restaurant that they selected. Therefore we had the whole day to tour Kelowna and to observe the life during the summer in Kelowna. As anyone who has visited Kelowna knows the have a beautiful right in the city and as usual it was very busy with most activities on or around the late. When went to the the downtown area and it too was a bee hive of activity.

As I mentioned , we are camped outside of the city so on the way into town we passed several fruit orchards, mostly cherries and peaches. We decided to stop at a fruit and veggie market to check the prices as we did want to get some cherries, peaches and blueberries to take home. Then we went to an orchard to see what they had and if their prices were and less that the market. As it turns out the prices were the same as the market so we bought 20 lbs of Cherries and blueberries ans a small basket of peaches as the freestones were not available yet. 

I'm sure you are wondering what we will do with 20 lbs of Cherries and blueberries. Well, we intend to stop at our son's cabin between Canal Flats and Fairmont BC on Columbia and we were sure that our 4 G/Kids, better known as the  "human garburators " would devour  most of the fruit. 

After supper with Amanda and family we returned to their home to say our goodbyes' and to take some family photos. We hope to see them again sooner than the 4 years that had passed. Cheers

Horsefly to Kelowna, BC Friday 19 July19

After saying our "Goodbyes " to Bob we left Horsefly and headed for our destination which was Kelowna where we visited our Granddaughter and her family. I turned off the GPS and decided to follow my own route as I was sure it was a better route meaning a better drive and just a fast as the GPS route. We followed hwy 97 south from Williams Lake to Cache Creek and at that point I and I alone decided to take TC1 even though the "navigator" mews that I might want to take another look at the map. Then we got to Spences Bridge where we would take # 8 thru the Nicola valley and hook up with hwy  97 C which would eventually get us to Kelowna but certainly not as quickly as I though. On the map, road #8 road look fairly straight and uncomplicated, however I later found out that the guy who drew the map never travel on the road because it had a few hundred cruves that he fail to enter on the map. However, the scenery was endless and so were the curves. There was a bit of noise coming from the "navigator " saying that we might want to listen tot the GPS in the future. It was a rhetorical question and did not require a response nor was one given.  

We eventually reach hwy 97C and headed for Kelowna where we arrived about 2 hours behind my estimated arrival time. Lesson Learned:  Take a second look at the GPS suggestion; the fastest route may be the fastest route. 

We arrived in Kelowna in the late afternoon and the traffic was unbelievable but we were later told that Friday afternoon in the summer is always wall to wall traffic. We actually had to creep thru the city to reach our campsite on the east side. We have learned a lesson; don't go to Kelowna in the summer months.

When we reached our campsite we were shocked. There was no hookups, the site were at random wherever you could find a spot and the price was 45.00 per night. Unbelievable that they had the nerve to charge for this dump. The young guy that was the park utility man ran an extension cord so we had 15 amp services and he ran a hose so we could get water but that was it. We had to stay because we needed a place to park for the night and we had a supper date with our Granddaughter and her family in 2 hours and we did not want to be late.  Most of the other 10/12 campers where ; let me just say, they did not dance in our circle but they were polite and quiet. 

We have not seen our Granddaughter and family in 4 years as they had moved from Gibbons , AB (near Edmonton) to Kelowna about 2 years ago. Her children then 12 and 16 did not enjoy living in the country and her husband works near Ft Mac so he had to fly into work his shift so Kelowna wasn't much more of a deal then Ft Mac. 

Her children are now; Sabian 18 and graduated and Keenan who is 15 so Kelowna provide a much better social life for the entire family.  They have a beautiful home and we had a nice supper and chatted into the late evening. We made arrangement to go out for supper tomorrow evening. cheers   

Traveled around Horsefly Lake

Thursday 18 July 19

Bob and a friend go to Williams Lake every Thursday to shop and to do any necessary appointments. This a 100 KM round trip so they try to squeeze in all things on their trip. Today Bob's friend had to take his truck into town for maintenance, hence both drove their vehicles so they would have a vehicle while in town. 

While they were away we drove around the area of Horsefly Lake to see what really attracted people to this area. Obvious  there are people who want to get away from the " Maddening Crowd " of the city because there are many many houses/ cottages all around the lake. The idea of fishing on this wonderful lake during the summer is an attraction but it has got to be very boring during the long winter. It does appear that many people do live here all year. So each to his own. 

Since we will be leaving tomorrow and since Bob would not be home until suppertime,  we had planned to make supper. However, when Bob arrived home he surprised us with a large pizza so supper was on him. 

After supper we talked about all things  "important " until about 9 PM and then tiredness took over and sent us all to bed. Cheers 

Kamloops to Horse Fly Lake... Wed 17 Jul

Wednesday morning as we where about to hook up the car to the MH at Barker's it started to pour rain as it did most of the night. Since we were not in a hurry we just had another cup of coffee and finally the had  stopped. 

We left Kamloops heading for  Horse fly to see another military friend ( Bob Donker ) who we had not seen in several years mainly because he lives in a place that is also in the middle of nowhere. 

The trip took us about 6 hours even thought the GPS said 4 hours. The GPS doesn't take into account that we need a pit stop, a fuel stop, a lunch break and a snooze stop. It was an interesting drive as the towns/cities had odd names such a Cache Creek, 70 Mile House, 93 Mile ( they left off the House ) , 100 Mile House, 150 Mile House. Incidentally the distance between 100 and 150 Mile House is not 50 miles. But maybe it was in horse and buggy days. 

After leaving hwy 93 just north of 150 Mile House we travel another 56 km to our friends house in the town of Horse Fly. The town doesn't have much, just a general store with a  liquor dept, post office, school and a cafe ( call ahead to see if is open ). The area is mainly cottages and fishing but I did see a few small cattle farms.

When Bob built his house on the 7 1/2 arces of bush land he had the foresight to included an RV parking space complete with a full RV hookup ( PWS ) and satellite TV. Bob and his wife Elanor ( she passed away 3 years ago ) where avid RVers and they expected their many RV friends to visit hence the reason for the RV hookup.

We spent the rest of the afternoon swapping stories about family and friends and keeping our throats wet with Bob's beer.  Carroll had 3 steaks in the MH so we offer to Bar-B-Q the steaks for supper and Bob supplied the potatoes etc. After supper we again talk about our military buddies. Bob goes to Williams Lake ( 56 KM one way on a paved road but not your normal hwy ) every Thursday with a friend to run errands such as doctor and dental appointments and to do the shopping. Since they leave at 8 AM we called it a night fairly early so Bob could be ready when his friend arrives to pick him up in the morning.  Cheers