We started
August in Lillooet, B.C. staying with Elsie’s cousin, Chellie. On the 2nd, we drove to Golden, to
look after 2 horses and 2 pot-bellied pigs, stopping en-route at Craigellachie
to visit the point where the last spike was driven to finish the Trans-Canada
railroad. There were
some nice views of the Rockies en-route but as we approached Golden, the smoke
from the wild fires started to increase.
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| Approaching Golden from the West. |
That weekend, it was thick enough to keep us indoors as we felt that any
health benefit from walking would be more than offset by damage to the lungs. The next week was mainly wet so we just
snatched little local walks when we could.
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| Mary |
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| Nora, complete with bits of bedding, hurrying to the feeding call of 'Pig Hooeey' |
Our host had
set out a comprehensive timetable for animal care. I did most of the piggy stuff and Elsie took
care of the horses. The pigs were
pampered with individual sties with soft bedding and even beds in the house for
winter. The horses slightly less so but they, too, were on very controlled
diets.
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| Eli |
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| Phish |
Brother Albi
and his wife Di came over the next Friday, camping in their car overnight.
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| Albi and Di |
Monday, 14th,
was our big day out. I had been to Lake
Louise before, when it was less crowded.
Now, in the season, you have to book shuttle busses in advance and park
at the ski resort. Animals were given a
slightly early breakfast and off we went.
We paused at Kicking Horse Pass, to look at the spiral tunnels but the trees
have grown and they can no longer be seen.
We took shuttle busses and walked the lengths of both Lake Louise and
Moraine Lake.
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| Moraine Lake |
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| Lake Louise |
Both very scenic but we have seen lots of scenic lakes this year
so were not blown away. In fact, the
following day, we went to Emerald lake in Yoyo N.P. and found it every bit as
good.
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| Emerald Lake |
We had
intended to drive via Kananaskis and Kelowna to our next sit at Chilliwack but
there were reports of out-of-control fires so we took the slightly less scenic
route back through Kamloops.
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| Fire in Kananaskis |
This sit
had, for variation, goats and hens, together with a very large and docile dog. It was my Birthday on the Friday and, to
celebrate, I developed an abscess on a front tooth, so that was fun.
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| Goats |
We moved on
the 22nd to Vancouver, spending the afternoon at Stanley Park and
then driving down through the city to Delta.
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| Lions Gate bridge from Stanley Park |
We caught a morning ferry over to Vancouver Island, staying 1 night in
an Airbnb then 3 nights at a sit near Victoria with 2 small dogs. Good walks were had each day: 1 along the
coast, 1 through forest and 2 in the local park.
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| Thetis Lake Park |
North on the
28th, staying overnight in a ‘tiny house’ at Qualicum. Having considered getting a campervan to use
in the U.K. and Europe, this was a salutary lesson. Although it had everything we needed:
Comfortable bed, settee, cooker, shower, loo, etc., the cramped space and the necessity
to climb a ladder to the bed with low headroom convinced us that we are too old
for these sort of games. Further north
to Coal Harbour, at the North end of the island for a 3 night stay. A lovely place with balcony overlooking a sea
loch. We found a parking space near Port Hardy where we could take walks along the shore or through the forest. This is a temperate rain forest largely of ancient cedar trees. When these die, they take many years to decay and, in the meantime, provide ideal nurseries for new trees. It is not unusual to find a 200 year old tree with the remains of its nursery still visible.
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| Tree growing from nursery log |
On a wet afternoon, we visited the local museum, located in a WW2 hangar, which had an eclectic collection including its history as a sea-plane base, hundreds of chainsaws, a few old vehicles and a stuffed bear holding a rifle.
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| Armed bear |
Unfortunately, Dora decided that she needed
attention. For months, there had been a
slight noise from the front end which I attributed to a wheel bearing on its
way out. I had taken it to 2 garages,
one of which charged me quite lots of money to investigate and suggest ways
that I could spend more. Now, the
transmission started misbehaving with jerky gear changes. I had stopped at Courtenay (where we have a
sit coming up) on the way up the island to see if they could check the
transmission fluid. The Lube Shop wouldn’t
attempt it as there is no dip-stick and the filler plug is a known problem. A transmission shop couldn’t fit me in that
day but we made an appointment for the following week. Now, it got worse. First start of the day, it
was reluctant to select any gear and then it wouldn’t change out of first. We couldn’t go to San Diego like that. With a lot of pleading, I got a garage in
Port Hardy to have a look. There is a leak
between the transmission fluid and the coolant so bits need replacing. They can get parts next week and loan me a car
in the meantime so we can move on and just have to bear the cost.
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