My Flog for March 7 - Down the Gorgeous Fraser Canyon and Back Home Again - Road Trip Day 4

I have really lost track of time and place by now, but I do know we are headed south from Prince George. Our first stop is a pulp mill at Quesnel to pick up a load of .... you got it .... pulp. The scenery is fantastic, the weather is great.

We passed by a lot of small towns on the way, some of which have caused an itch in my brain. I really want to explore Clinton, 100 Mile House and Cache Creek, to name three. I doubt if I'll make it on Breehy , though - so it looks like some mini vacations are in the future for me and a travelling friend.

Pulled over at a snowy truck stop - this must be the only one that didn't have great views to capture on camera. Except for the son, of course.

After going shopping several times in Surrey and seeing women doing their daily stuff wearing their jammie bottoms, I made Howard promise he'd never let me out in public wearing the same. One evening, when it was dark, we were going to Steve's, and I felt too lazy to go upstairs and change - but he reminded me, so I did. However, here I am in the middle of nowhere, in the snow and cold - wearing a very classy jammie and boot combination. Classy, eh? Wah?

This is near Williams Lake ... good advice for the driver ...

Yes, we are going to go up that hill and around those corners ... make sure the seatbelts are buckled.

Near Ashcroft - another drive by town.

I can't get over the emptiness of this part of the province. There are houses built with no nearby neighbours - it all looks a bit too solitary for my tastes. There is a lot of ranchland here, lots of cows and horses -even the occasional llama (or alpaca, whatever.)

A cattle ranch - there were lots of mama cows with baby calves.

The mighty Fraser River.

This is all new growth after a terrible Forest Fire in 2008.

The poor truck really needs a bath by now - but no more than I do. I swear the minute I get home I will hop in a hot shower.

The rock formations are amazing.

Clouds in the mountains.

Here are some of the railway tunnels on the other side of the river - I'm not sure if I'd want to travel up there by train. Parts of the track look a bit scary. (This pic is zoomed in through the window, so yes, I know, it's crappy quality - but seeable!

And here the train is so close I could almost reach out the window and touch it. Can you believe there's a bike lane on this highway? Sorry, Breehy, you'll never see this part of the country.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Near  Lytton... see what I mean about not wanting to ride a train here?

And here we've reached Hell's Gate - could be on a future agenda.

There are 7 tunnels in this part of the canyon.

And here is one - we've got our tunnel vision ... see that bike sign? They must be absolutely crazy to bike here.

And here is the light at the end of the tunnel. I can see clearly now.

We continue through a few smaller towns, many of which I really want to explore - Clinton, 100 Mile House and Cache Creek are on my Pail List.

Yale not so much. I'm sure this little town is fabulous in summer, but this time of year it seems quite unsettling to me and my imagination. We only hit the outskirts, but I could imagine eyes on us as we walked along the street - and I was so reminded of the Stephen King books I've read. We were supposed to spend Neil's 8 hours of non-driving here - but as there was no truck stop, no washrooms, just a little dive of a diner that would soon be closed, no cell service, and the only person we talked to beside the older lady in the shop, an old timer who was content with his jim (?) and beer ... I wasn't the only person comfortable with curling up in the truck and going to sleep. (By the way - it was cocaine - for everyone else who doesn't know what jim is.)

The hardest part about all this, is we were only 2 hours away from home, yet stuck for 8 hours before we could leave.  Sucked big time.

So we drove into Hope.

Hope is completely surrounded by mountains - again, we didn't go into the town itself, just the outskirts by the river. I love the mountains - but I don't think I'd want to live where they surround me so closely - I think I'd feel a bit claustrophobic.

We walked around a few streets, tooks pics of lots of chainsaw carvings, and looked for a place to eat. A lot of restaurants were already closed - at 5 pm. However, we did find Rolly's Pancake House.

I ordered Cream of Broccoli Soup and a Grilled Cheese Sandwich - sandwich was ordinary, soup was a bit too thick, but the coleslaw was great.

Neil had a burger - he said it was good. Fries were frozen - well, they were cooked, but they started out in a bag in the freezer. That bacon sure looks good though, doesn't it?

After dinner, we drove to a pull out spot on the highway, and settled in for a few hours. We played Skat until I was falling asleep, then bunked up for over 6 hours, waking to another cold morning - well, middle of the night actually. I believe we left Hope around 1:30 am.

I was so convinced that Howard missed me, I knew he wouldn't have a problem getting up at 3:30 am and meeting us by our friendly local Walmart, so Neil wouldn't have to drive me home from Richmond before he headed home himself. 

And you know the first thing I did when I got home? Had toast and coffee - then went to bed with my hot Magic Bag and my cat. To hell with the shower - that came a few hours later!

And this is Granny Duck, Over and Out (for the count!)

My Flog for March 6 - From Calgary to Kamloops to Prince George and All Mixed Up - I May Have Dampened Jeans, But Definitely Not Dampened Spirits ... - Road Trip Day 3

Now, this is where my memory and photos may get a bit mixed up, but since none of you were with me, you probably won't be able to tell the difference. After a couple of days on the road, my sense of time went askew - for example, in Calgary, after sleeping about five hours, and waking at 7pm with darkening skies, I called Howard - heard Steve playing guitar in the background - and wondered why Howard was at Steve's early in the morning instead of being at work making oodles of money. It wasn't until the next morning? afternoon? .... sometime in the next something, anyway, that I realized I was going absolutely bonkers.

(When the black-out curtains are drawn against the frosty sunshine, and you tuck yourself in the bunk, and say 'Nighty night, son', it's kind of hard to believe it's 2 o'clock in the afternoon.)

We spent the remainder of Tuesday night heading towards the mountains. This time I was awake through Rogers Pass, and we pulled into the Superstore at Kamloops about 7 o'clock in the morning.

Unfortunately, even though they were expecting a delivery between 6 and 7, their receiver went home at 6, so another wait stretched out in front of us. When the store opened at 7, I dragged myself to the washroom, and went on a snack hunt - I hoped to find the same selection of goodies as the bakery wall in the Richmond Superstore - however, this was not to be. About the only pastry they were selling by the each were Cheese and Onion buns, and I didn't think that was a good breakie choice. So I opted for a 6 pack of chocolate chip muffins and a fizzy lemon water.

It wasn't until I half way through my muffin I remembered I was giving them up for Lent. Oh well, a gal's got to eat whatever was available. The label said they were baked in store, but we were left wondering where that particular store was - they looked like Costco muffins.

This was my chance to Discover  Kamloops with my camera, but I didn't - do you know how cold it is in Kamloops on an early March morning? Well, I do. So I'll let Kamloops Tourism department do that job for me - thank goodness for the internet, without it my blog would be quite boring and not very educational.

Scrubby hills - quite different terrain from towns in the mountains and near the Pacific shore.

This is where I thought I'd drag out the knitting - can't spend hours rolling on the blacktop or sitting in the parking lot and not do a few yarn overs. However, after dumping out all my bags, I still came up one needle short - oh well, the yarn got to breathe some interior air before I tucked it back into the backpack.

Finally, the container was partially unloaded - most of the cargo was heading to the Superstore in Prince George -and we were almost on our way. However, when Neil did his truck check, he discovered a problem with one of the rear air brakes on the trailer. It seems that's not a good thing, so he called dispatch and they sent us to a Peterbilt service centre up a long high hill - seems like a good place for a truck with faulty brakes to travel, doesn't it?

However, the guy there couldn't wouldn't and didn't take the time to check it out - he said they were busy, and if it warmed up a bit, he'd send a guy out to look at it in the afternoon -and suggested we go to Pine Ridge Trailer and Equipment Ltd, which was just a wee bit place farther up the hill - another call to dispatch, and they sent us there - so we were all fixed and ready to go in about another hour.

So, if your semi breaks down in Kamloops, be sure to call Pine Ridge, and not Peterbilt.

And on the road again, through the wide-eyed wonder of Cariboo Country, to Prince George.

Somewhere along the way, I decided it was a good time to try some Lemon Fizzy water. Note to self: never open a bottle of fizzy water while zooming along the highway - it causes you to say bad words in front of your son.

So off with the jeans, which were actually wet from front to back, and into a more comfortable pair of jammie pants.

The Barkerville sign below is misleading - we are not even close to it. But I would love to go there someday, so that means I will.

Now, I have to be completely honest. I have no idea if these were pics on the way to PG, or on the way  back, towards Cache Creek, where we stopped tracing our up to PG route and headed south to back home. So if you know this highway really well, and unlike me, know if you're coming or going, forgive me and keep your mouth shut. Thank you.

Whichever way the pictures are going, we ended up in Prince George after midnight - so I guess these are going back pictures, as it would have been dark on our way there. Crap. I don't feel like going back and rewriting the last bit, so we'll just use this as an example of Creative Non-Fiction and go from there.

And another day ends on the road - this is Granny Duck, over and out!

My Flog for March 5 - Rubber Duck and Granny Duck in 'They'll Be Coming 'Round The Mountains When They Come .... or kinda like that - Road Trip Day 2

After an almost 3 hour delay, we headed towards the mountains, with a tug-along full of empty totes and oranges. Driving in the dark really made it hard to take pictures - that just didn't work. 

Our first stop was at a Husky truck stop in Chilliwack - this is where I found the absolutely best Yogurt Parfait in the entire world - a huge plastic cup of yogurt and cherry pie filling and the best granola ever. I spent every succeeding mile longing for the next Husky station, but was disappointed when I found out that they don't all carry these delicious treasures. 

Other than the yogurt factor, Husky truck stops would be top of my list if I were travelling by car, bike or roller skates. The washrooms are super clean, and their coffee is super good. Every one had a herd of rigs lining up their lots - and a whack of sleeping drivers safe inside.

I so tried to stay awake - but after 24 hours or so of being up and at 'em, I started to nod off around Rogers Pass, which was fine, as later Neil said that was the most slippery part of the journey, and I would probably have been freaked out. I knew I was nodding off when my eyes would pop open and my head jerk back, but if I had any question at all about my alertness, all I had to do was wipe the drool from my chin. This getting old thing really sucks, so I've decided not to do it any more. 

However, when I did wake up for good, the day started. I was hoping to see a magnificent mountain sunrise, but that just wasn't going to happen, so I settled for some monochromatic beauty instead. I had absolutely no idea I took this little video - 

Words can't tell you the awe I experienced, so I'll just let the pictures talk for themselves. Remember these were taken through the window of a big rig barreling down the highway at about 100 km an hour. And be impressed.

We were really hoping to see some wildlife - there were Watch Out For Them signs all over the place.  Maybe they were obeying Watch Out For People signs behind the trees. We both saw a moose, though, and I saw a mountain goat.

 However, it wasn't very exciting. Moose on stilts rarely are.

Here's the mountain goat. At least I think it was a mountain goat - it's amazing I managed to get this picture, as I just pointed the camera out the side window and snapped as we rolled along. The other pictures I took like this were too blurry to use.

And the morning took us into the city of Calgary. Neil found the drop off place, and we headed to another Husky to eat and sleep. I felt pretty good again by then - until I dropped out of the truck and the ground under me started to shake. An earthquake? In Calgary?

No. Just me and a case of Stupid Sea Legs. As I stumbled drunkenly to the washroom, I'm sure people thought I was inebriated, as I had to carefully place each foot on that wobble snowy ground. In the washroom, the tiles under my feet were moving so much I had to check the water in the toilet - I was sure it was sloshing all over the place. Nope. Just me and my tired brain.

After scrambled eggs and toast, and some more life-saving coffee, we headed back to the truck  and slept the sleep of the righteous. Nice to have a vehicle with bunk beds, eh? Or for the Newfoundlanders, wah?

Unfortunately, by the time we were awake and moderately alert, Bonnie had gone to bed, so we didn't get a chance to see her. Since we had a whole hour before Neil could do his pickup, though, we headed out over snowy roads to see a friend from back home, whom I haven't seen since I was a young maid - Patricia grew up in Culls Harbour, I, in Traytown, and every now and then our parents would drive over the causeway and I'd have to drink tea. I always hated tea. I still do. But then we had to mind our manners, and weren't allowed to go into someone's house, and say, 'Tea is gross.'

We were offered beer or coffee. Thank you, Pat, for leaving tea out of this.

There's not much about Culls Harbour online that I can find - the only thing Wikipedia has to say its the summer home of the prestigious Tommy Burt - I have no idea who he is.

After a lovely little visit, it was back in the truck to get a container full of goods for The Great Canadian Superstores in Kamloops and Prince George. I'm ashamed to say I slept part of the night away, tucked up in my little bunk with my blankie wrapped around my head.

More tomorrow - keep tuned ...

This is Granny Duck, saying Over and Out.

My Flog for March 4 - I Would Call This Post Spontaniety If I Knew How To Spell It - Road Trip Day 1

Monday morning started off as usual - I started work late, as I do every second week, so I didn't have to crawl out of bed at the ungodly hour of 5am, and I was lucky enough to scrape enough change to feed the bus money box and not have to walk a mile and half to the sky train station, so the day did have a good start.  I only had one errand to do before I started work - and that was to get off the bus at the Chinese bakery and buy some buns - I promised the Monday/Tuesday bus driver I'd buy him one. I'm trying to make him nicer.

And see what I saw when I went to grocery store on my lunch break - a Steveston eagle. He was huge, just sitting up in the tree watching all the people who were watching him. I don't know why, but it does me the world to good to see an eagle.

Around 2pm, I got a phone call - seems Neil had a trip to Calgary, loading at six, and did I want to go? Did I ever! Pauline was kind and offered to work Tuesday for me, and I was so excited all afternoon it was hard to concentrate on work - which once more consisted of unpacking and stocking yarn. 

Neil came to the store when I closed, but before I left Steveston, I had one thing to do - get the Pineapple Bun to the bus driver. He wasn't in his bus, so I gave the bag to a lady waiting for the 410 and asked her to pass it on to him. At least I hope she was a lady, and didn't keep it for herself. Then it was off to Pro West to pick up the big, big truck.

As you can see, it is a very big big truck. It wasn't until we were leaving Calgary I noticed the instructions on the inside by the door as to how to get up and down properly - but by then I had it down pretty good. The getting up part, anyway. As long as I didn't have a coffee and a (ahem) pack of muffins in my hand.

Neil is very confident behind the control panel - this is one man who loves his job. Even before he started school, he wanted to be a trucker when he grew up - he dreamed about these Big Old Wheels on the Highway!

Because the container he had to haul wasn't at the warehouse yet, he brought the truck back to the yard and drove me home to pick up my stuff - the original plan was for Steve to meet us on at the weigh station. Nikkie had packed for me, but I grabbed a few more things - Cheez Whiz, crackers, tins of beans, can opener, spoons - things you really need for a trip across the mountains.

Then it was back to Richmond to hook up the container, and we were were loaded up and truckin', on our way to Calgary.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Salmon Chowder from Steveston Bakery. I should have known better, but I thought I would at least try it, something new and different. It smelled so fishy I had to hold my breath when I brought the spoon to my mouth, and only managed a few spoonfuls. Yech.
• Dinner - ? 
• Snacks - A truck stop coffee and yogurt .... there is no way I'm going to remember everything I ate. Truckers don't eat at regular times, and we (ahem) don't sleep at regular times. I had a bag of chips, but don't remember if this was on Monday or Tuesday ....

But - the fun begins! There are lots of pictures - people asked me for lots of pictures, didn't say they had to be good ones, though. The drive to Calgary was mostly at night, so no pictures for Monday. There will be some for Tuesday's blog though - keep tuned -

This is Granny Duck signing out.

My Flog for March 3 - Sunny Sunshiny Day, Back To Work, and Birds

I wasn't in the least surprised when I went out this morning and saw this - after all, it is the first of my 3 days at work. 

I don't know where all the rain that fell over my 4 day offs went, but it went somewhere pretty fast. I'm just waiting for Wednesday - if it rains again then, I'll know it's all about me. I'm not sure how long my sneakers will last if I have to dry them on the baseboard electric heaters every night.

The sunny day  brought hoards of people to the store, and that, combined with a thousand balls of yarn to unpack, made for a busy day. The only part I don't like are the customers that wait until 2 minutes before closing to burst in because 'I need it for .... ' whatever. I had to rush cashout/closing, and I just made it in time to catch the bus. Sure hope I remembered to lock the door. (Only joking - of course I did ... )

I think.

The bus driver said, 'I don't leave for another two minutes. The bus isn't even running yet.' Lucky bus - if I hadn't been running, I would have missed it.

Howard did give me a ride into Steveston this morning, and it was a beautiful trip - blue-est of blue skies, snow glistening on the mountains, scuddy white clouds. We saw two hawks sitting on light standards, watching the fields for breakfast take-out. On the way home, I saw the Smith Crescent eagle, who I'm naming Augrah - since it's on Smith Crescent, and since I don't know if it's a boy or a girl. This name sounds feminine at the beginning and ends with a bit of masculinity. I hope some people are pleased - it's not every couple who gets an eagle named after them.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Soup, Orange, a couple of biscuits
• Dinner - Chinese take-out - noodles and rice, 1 piece of Sweet and Sour Pork (I'm too tired to chew) plus a few fries
• Snacks - Yogurt

My Flog For March 2 - Staying Home, Doing Nothing, Absolutely Nothing At All

... and on the fourth day, she rested. After 3 rainy days of out-and-about, today I spent a lazy hazy day at home. I finally got a little bit of housework done - you can no longer trace your name on my television screen, for example, and I also got a bit of a lie down in the afternoon. I would have loved to sleep, but my brain just won't let me nap in the daytime. I haven't been sleeping well at night, waking up lots, and last night was particularly bad. However, just sorta kinda lying back in the chair mellowing did me the world of good, I think.

Howard made dinner, as I had no intentions of doing so. I knew I'd be left with the after-dinner mess, though, so I didn't even offer to help. I'm finding it's easier to eat the left-overs than pack them in the fridge. No wonder my jeans are tight. I am only tidying during commercial 'send-us-money' breaks, though - a PBS is showing  Celtic Thunder Mythology and I'm hoping, though doubtful, that Keith Harkin, will sing The Dutchman (just in case he doesn't.)

Just checked their playlist. He doesn't. Rats.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - Soup, Bread, Orange
• Dinner - 2 Fish Cakes, Rice, Coleslaw
• Snacks  - Strawberries, Wafer Biscuit, a piece of Nikkie's Bannock with butter

My Flog for March 1 - Seems I'd Rather Walk In The Rain Than Stay Home And Do Housework, and a New Yucky Number

I guess I'm all people, as I walk in the rain and get wet at the same time. In fact, today when I got home, I was soaked from stem to stern - the only dry clothes I was wearing was my underwear. However, I just took Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's advice - The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain. 

So I called Nikkie to see if she wanted to let it rain with me, and she got ready to go even though she knew a hard rain  was going to fall, and keep on falling. And off we headed - first to the bank, then to Money Mart to load my Titanium Visa (the only reason I have it is so I can pay Picaso for the privilege of loading pictures to this blog. It's a long story, but I went over my free space months ago - and I just wouldn't put a real Visa or MC number online. Call me old-fashioned.) However, since there was such a long line-up, we didn't wait there, but headed up to Value Village to see what kind of other people's garbage could possibly become our treasures.

After Value Village, it was another wait at Money Mart before I got tired of standing in line yet again, so we left again - to Pricesmart to drop off a prescription and buy strawberries and yogurt, then to McDonalds for lunch, then to that great market on 100 Av whose name I can never remember, to buy more fruit and veggies. By then, Nikkie had headed to a bus stop as she had to pick up the kids from school, but Georgia and I walked through a waterfall until we floated up to our front door. Well, I walked. Georgia rolled.

When I got home, dripping and squelching, Howard was sitting on the couch having a beer. I wasn't very talkative - he asked if I was wet, and I said no. I believe he may realize he, unlike Snoopy, is in the doghouse.

• Breakfast - Toast and Coffee
• Lunch - McChicken McNuggets and McFries, and a McSprite
• Dinner - Fried Rice. Yummy yummy fried rice, with onions, celery, red pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggs, Dainty Rice seasonings, and soy sauce. Mmmm.
• Snacks - Strawberries, Diet Pepsi, one Lindt chocolate and one cookie

And here we are at the start of another month. I was really glad I gave up muffins - I know I said I was going to give up standing on the scale too, but I had to this morning. 

173

Yes, Another pound. So it seems muffins have nothing to do with weight gain. I know some of you are thinking, She's doing a lot of walking, it's muscle weight. But you are wrong. Muscle weight wouldn't make it hard to zip up my jeans.