Summer here ended quite some time ago, the final bell having rung for local golf course operations on October 31. By and large, Fall has been mild but wet, though just as I started to look south a few weeks ago, winter arrived with record low temperatures (for here) and now, substantial snowfall. At the time of this
writing, the deck and railings have accumulated 15 cms of snow (measured with my old Lake Louise office ruler, so it must be accurate) with more coming down as we speak. Temperatures have recovered from about -12° C to sit at - 5° C. These might be perfect conditions for ski areas but are not necessarily ideal for towing 12000 pounds of unruly trailer out on the highways or, for that matter, just getting myself out of the driveway and onto the road. For the moment, I shall hang tight until conditions moderate – possibly this coming weekend. I have my new truck tires (Yokohamas because of their excellent road-wear warranty – $140 rebate per tire) and am ready to test them on snow-clad Blue Mountain Summit in North-Eastern Oregon.
Returning a week ago from the annual Fall visit to Vancouver Island, I discovered frozen water lines from lake to pump housing, the latter of which had cracked and will have to be replaced. Fortunately, I had drained the upper lines, so they survived. Other than that, the several buckets and jugs that I had left in the cabin were OK, so I am now in full bird-bath mode for a while and have been grateful to beg a free shower or two from friends.
My plan for the winter is pretty well a repeat of past years with a quick 2500 km jaunt from here to somewhere in Arizona (via Kelowna, Osoyoos, the Omak Walmart, Pendleton, Blue Mountain Summit, Boise, Twin Falls, Jackpot, Lake Pahranagat and Vegas), after which I shall camp on BLM lands, moving as the desert winds blow, so to speak.
The few of you that read these dispatches may have noted that I didn’t send any in the summer months, partly out of habit and partly, because if you want to know what goes on at the sunny Shuswap, you have to come and visit. In short though, the summer was up to scratch with some hot weather but also enough rain to keep the forest fires away from this area. My only trip, other than Spring and Fall visits to Vancouver Island, was to Ponoka for the Stampede at the end of June and it was on this voyage that my only little bit of excitement occurred. East of Lake Louise, one side of the rear axle on the trailer broke loose, slid forward to abut on the front axle, with the result that tires smoked profusely and I got truck and trailer carted off to Calgary on a flatbed. Not having utilized my BCAA Road emergency card before, I was thankful to have had it.
A succession of summer guests dropped by to sample the waters; I managed to golf one or two sub-90 rounds in late Fall (thanks in large part to new hybrid clubs) following a Spring and summer of mediocrity (and worse), went for a few bike rides along the celebrated circuit de torture (circuit of torture, for unilinguists) on mountain trails behind the cabin and had the boat out once or twice to explore remote regions of the lake.
There are a few of you out there who are presumed, like the Monty Python parrot, to be deceased, as I have not heard from you in over a year and have, therefore, fallen into that most shameful of categories – deleted! Fortunately, you may never know that sad bit of news unless someone sends this note along to you. It has been said (by many, I’m afraid) that these winter communications are often a bit lengthy, so this year, I’m going to focus more on the wheat and less on the chaff. As always, I shall look forward to occasional notes related to skiing, snow and other northern items of interest.
Should anyone express an interest in monitoring my winter activities, I sometimes post these same e-mails on “travelswiththegoldenfalcon.blogspot.com” (sans parentheses). If I can properly work out the method for posting photos in the blog, it should appear much like the e-mails.
As in the past, my e-mail is jmworrall@hotmail.com. Phone calls can be directed to my cell at 250 804 9880 - fellow travellers should note that Telus no longer offers their North America flat rate plans; rather, they have what is called the US Voice Pass. For a monthly fee of $20, one can pay $.25 per minute (regular rate $1.45 per minute). Based on 250 minutes, this works out to be a little higher than the old rate but close enough not to worry.
JW
