From the Shuswap Nov 30th 2009

November 30th 2009.

Poised and ready to go, it occurred to me that I had almost forgotten to get the word out that departure date from the Shuswap will be tomorrow, December 1st. This makes the 11th trip south since retirement from Lake Louise so, by now, one would think that all the mysteries about living a nomadic RV life for a few months every year might have been solved. The reality, however, is that since more questions arise than get answered, I’m further behind than when I started. Over time, I have learned a few things about backing the trailer into tight spaces and watching for overhanging obstacles that threaten to decapitate the air conditioner but still have trouble defining amps and volts without the use of coulombs or by use of the flowing river analogy that helpful electrical staff at Lake Louise always dragged out to make it obvious to me.

Golfing at Salmon Arm ended before the end of October this year because we experienced two or three nights of freezing temperatures at Thanksgiving, followed by a month or more of mild, if not sunny, days, during which we could have continued golfing until December (under umbrellas) except that an executive decision to close had been made and only we, a few paid-up members and therefore not very profitable, were turning up on a regular basis. In fact, this situation reminded me a little of late season skiing at The Lake. In the end, I had plenty of opportunity to spend my spare time on the end of a chainsaw or axe, hauling and chopping almost 3 cords of wood, enough to keep the fireplace going for two or three years. A ten day trip to Vancouver Island was extremely pleasant thanks to visits with my mother and various friends but was also very wet, due to near-record rainfalls. My bike remained on the truck and didn’t get used once.

Other than my less-than-adequate-golf, the summer and fall were interesting in part because of the amount of downed timber on the property. A highlight of the logging season, prolific here thanks to the pine beetle infestation having killed nearly all my pine trees, would have to have been the Thanksgiving visit by friends from Lake Louise and district. A fine turkey dinner was enjoyed by all; this followed the next day with a demonstration by Joe Nexhipi of how to defy gravity by convincing a large ponderosa pine to fall uphill. For reasons too obscure for me to comprehend, except that Kokanee may have been a contributing factor, the tree (approximately 120’ high and 25” diameter at base) fell squarely downhill, missing a storage shed by inches and falling directly over my motorcycle. Those old Yamahas were built tough, so, other than a few dents and a bent luggage rack, it survived, having been protected under the lee of the embankment at the side of my driveway. In the end, this accidently near-perfect exhibition worked out quite well with tree close enough to the cabin for bucking and hauling to the wood pile and I, with my arthritis and artificial hip really not very interested in riding the Yamaha anyway.

These group e-mails are directed at two separate audiences; one, the few old friends that still remember from Lake Louise days and before and; two, those people whom I have encountered since that time, particularly those who travel in similar circles to mine, or a mixture of both since, as we age, more retirees are discovering boondocking, an affordable and enjoyable lifestyle. My apologies that some e-mails are of little interest to some, but, if one doesn’t actually live under solar, then what possible interest could voltages, batteries and sundials have? Anyway, as inspiration strikes, I’ll try to send out the few usual notes related to details about campsite co-ordinates, cacti and the lack of wildlife in winter months, not to mention bicycle dramas, drug mule, coyote and illegal border-migrant sightings.

Most of my destinations will be ones that I have been to before, though, each year, I try to find one or two new ones. Included amongst the former should be Plomosa Road between Bouse and Quartzsite, Ajo and Why – all in Arizona. From the Shuswap, I shall head south on # 97 to the Tri-City area of Pasco, Kennewick and Richfield, south-east on I 84 to Twin Falls, ID, then south on 93 to Las Vegas, possibly stopping to take a break en route to commune with the snow geese and herons in the bird sanctuary at Upper Lake Pahranagat, north of Vegas .

Internet access this winter will be via a mix of wi-fi, where I can find it, and my Telus 3G card. For this reason, e-mails heavy with data content (old jokes, large pictures, etc) will only be opened occasionally, if at all. Also, because of the size of my mailing list, I had to make a few cuts this year. Sadly, on the presumption that those who were unable to respond last winter might be dead or have better things to do than answer my e-mails, I guess it won’t really matter. Anyway, hope all is well with all of you (dead or alive).
I always look forward to receiving news from the north and also anticipate meeting up with some of the fellow travellers out there.
JW