Memorial Day Weekend in Canada

The big weekend, Memorial Day in the US! Not us, that’s for sure! Why fight the crowds when you can go up to Canada and find a great spot for the weekend. We packed up the camper and set out for Premier Lake Provincial Park, located just Northeast of Skookumchuck, BC. (49.916° N 115.679° W) As soon as Linda got out of school on Thursday, we hooked the Jeep up behind the truck and drove North. It takes a bit over three hours to get up to the park and it worth the drive.

We met Darren and Marcy at the Premier Lake campground, arriving about 9:00 pm our time. They had left early and were set up saving us a spot to camp next to them. We said “hi” and set up the camper. With in the hour we were to bed and getting our first good nights sleep in quite a while.

Friday morning we got up and puttered around the park, Linda ran and I had coffee and read. We spent most of the day checking out the lake and winding down. The fish were just finishing up the spaun and the egg gathering crew worked several morinings gathering eggs and sperm from the fish caught in the trap. We walked down to their work area a couple time a day to watch the fish, see the eagle that purched above the creek mouth and enjoy the view of the lake. In the evening I cooked a dutch oven dinner of pork chops with almonds and apple sauce and a rolled flank steak with cheese and spinach. It turned out very good and I learned a bit more about cooking with the ovens stacked. We talked and sat around the fire until the evening rain drove us to bed. Saturday was 4 wheeling and geocaching day! We loaded up the Jeep and drove the Premier Ridge rode into Wasa.

There were four geocaches along the way so we stopped every few miles and hunted for them. The ladies found most of them. I think Darren and I were so transfixed on the GPS technology that we failed to look around and spot the hiding places. Plus we wanted to give our lovely wives the opportunity to participate and have fun. On the third cache, Darren found it, we ran ahead of the women and made sure we spotted the hiding spot before they got there. Yeah it was a cheep shot but we had to do something.

All along the road we spotted deer and other small critters. It’s a beautiful drive and well worth the mud and bumps. Like I said we ended up in Wasa and then drove the highway back to the park. It was a good three of four hour trip but great fun and a lot of laughs.

Chris New, a good friend from Cranbrook, and his two kids stopped up for a visit. We talked about all the happenings over the past year or so. The kids road their bikes and played at the camp playground while we sat by the fire and laughed.

Darren and Marcy made dinner for us that night. Dutch oven lasagna and salad hit the spot. Boy, Darren is getting good at those meals, I gotta come up with some innovative meals to keep up! Chris ate some of the food and cooked hotdogs for the kids. We sat around the fire and had some beer and wine. Chris left at about 9:30 PM and bed came around 10 PM. We drifted away after reading and talking.

On Sunday Linda and I took a drive North to Whiteswan Lake. Our first adventure was to find a hot springs that Chris New had told us about a few miles from the park. We drove up a mountain road but failed to find the springs. We did however see a lone elk with very white fur standing abouve the Jeep road. It was odd to see it and it didn’t move much, so we drove on. As we drove to Whiteswan we captured two more geocaches. Linda spotted a wolf/coyote sitting and keeping an eye on some road kill. Not sure which critter it was, but no matter what it was, it was fun to see it and watch it for a short time. visited the hot springs that is located along the road into the lake. We didn’t really prepare for a dip in the hot pools, it was raining and our stuff would have gotten drenched. So we opted to look it over and continue our drive.

Whiteswan Lake was very beautiful. We drove to the Home Basin Campground and checked out the sites. There are quite a few primo spots on the lake, it would add about another hour travel time to our trip, so we may try to camp ether some day. We drove back to Premier coming in and out of driving rains. Some times it was so heavy that you could see a wall of water coming at you. Back at camp we fixed DO Mac & Cheese, ate, sat around the fire and got sleepy.

On Tuesday we drove home, leaving the park about 10:30 AM and arriving home in time to clean everything up and put it away. Stuff was damp so we dried things out and got it back in order, ready for our next trip. It sure is nice to have the camper now, I think we are hooked and will be traveling a lot in the future.

The Weekend Is Over!

Not much to say today except that we did more stuff last weekend then we normally do in a month! Wedding went great! Saw a bunch of people who I went to school with and got a chance to find out what many of our old friends are up to. Fitz was so nervous but did a great job of keeping composed throuhout the entire event. Julie looked great, but didn't speak to me. Guess I represent the anti-friend to her. It's ok, Steve will be fine.

Linda ran in another duathlon on Sunday. She did great! She had ran there a few weeks ago and so she knew the course and had something to compair to. She cut 1 minute 48 seconds off her previous time and came in 2nd in her age group. That's super! A friend from the college ran in the same event. Rick came in 5th overall. He has only been running and riding about a year. Give him a couple more years and he is going to be winning those things. (in the pictures Rick is #162)

We are heading up to Canada for the long weekend. I'll keep you posted on what's going on there. We have a student staying at the house and watching things that will be nice for them.

This Weekend, wow!

Thought I would post an update fro anyone who ventures in to Canyonwren Travels. This weekend starts tonight, Thursday with a big bachelor party blow out for the last hold out of our childhood friends. Yup, Fitz, (aka. Ratzo, Catatonic, Stevey Ohohoo, Fitzie, Butthead) is finally getting married. So, tonight is the bachelor party and the wedding is tomorrow night. It should be a late one with tons of laughs and lots of food. I prepared the meal Linda and I will be bringing last night, should be great by tomorrow.

On Saturday we have a gathering for a bunch of folks who are leaving the college, most leaving for reasons of a presidential magnitude. So we will get to see bunches of friends and once again eat lots of food. Connie Dawson-McKenzie has resigned her job as Financial Aid Director and we are really going to miss her around the college. She can't be replaced, but the college won't know that until they try. The keep saying she retired, funny retirement and resigning is such a different thing. I think she should get the benefits of retirement, but no, the college could never do something like that for an employee who gave so much.

Sunday Linda is participating in a duathlon at 9 Mile Falls near Spokane. I'll be her support team with Baka as the anchor dog.
May 18th, the day that I married the person that my whole world revolves around. Linda is my gravity, holding me to the earth. Without her I would fly off into space never to be seen again. By choice we spend all our free time together and when we can't I don't feel whole. 21 years seems like seconds. Time would stop with out her by my side.