Nascar

I know that Nascar was created in the Appalachian country of America's south. It developed as the delivery system for the moonshine industry of the mountain folk. Fast cars and skilled drivers often proved too much for the cops.

Well, we have mountains out here in British Columbia. We have some fast cars and skilled drivers north of the border, too. On our way home from Castlegar, we were looking forward to a relaxing scenic drive most of the way. I drive well in the mountains. I don't slack off in keeping the speed limit, even in the corners. But I had several vehicles, trucks, no less,....that simply drove those roads harder than I.

I didn't start of as a race, not for me, anyway. I just happened to be the first car off the ferry boat. Being first on the road has a responsibility with it. Don't be an idiot and drive slowly. So, I did my part and was zooming along, checking my rear view mirror now and then. I was out ahead of everybody, for about five miles, and then I noticed a pickup truck closing in on me. I was astonished, actually. I was driving well, but this red pickup truck was just eating up the road! Behind him, was a silver pickup, and worse yet, behind him was a panel delivery truck.

Here in BC, there seems to be a local value on, how do I say it...owning the road. For example, we have a lot of visitors from Alberta come here. Albertan drivers seem to be used to straight roads and no speed enforcement. Many drivers from Alberta come to BC, and exceed the speed limit in a big way. (some die here too.) They go fast, that is, until the road curves. At the curves, the go fast foreign drivers hit the brakes and creep around the corner as if they are hoping for somebody to hold their hand and tell them it will be alright. These drivers annoy the BC drivers. It is therefore incumbent on any BC driver to pass the slow novice mountain drivers at the first opportunity.

I have BC license plates on my car, but just because somebody has BC plates doesn't mean that the car is driven by a good ol' boy from BC. So, driving in the mountains is like the survival of the fittest. I was doing my part in holding up the integrity for British Columbia, and after the trucks closed in, I sort of shifted into a "game mode" of wondering if how long I could keep my first place position
Well, the red truck seemed to stay behind and show little interest in passing me. That was good. That meant that I was holding up my end of driving as a good BC'er. But the silver Ford 3/4 ton 4x4 passed the red truck and closed on my tail. It was like I was in a dog fight; me in my A-10 and being pursued by a Mig-19. I could tell he wanted to take me, and it was game time!

The roads were very curvy. That is where the Saturn excelled. It is low and wide and tracks in curves as if the road was Velcro. But I have a 4-cylinder motor, and the car was heavily loaded. Pushing the limits did not seem wise, so I just focused on driving well, and making the silver truck have to work hard to get around me.
Well, it took miles, about ten grueling miles before the opportunity came. There was a 200 yard straight shot with no on-coming traffic. The silver truck seized the moment, touched off the afterburner (or so it seemed), and in a moment, he passed me. I wondered how he could stay upright in the curve coming up after putting on so much speed? Somehow, he did, and he extended his lead each minute.

Then the 1-ton panel truck, a uniform delivery truck, passed me! I was amazed!! How in the world did that guy dare to drive that top heavy, bulky truck, so fast? I don't know, but I figure one thing, Nascar guys, watch out for these BC drivers. They can really take the game to you!

Castlegar Quality Inn

We left Swift Current, SK this morning, and drove the southerly route of BC to Castlegar. We are at the Quality Inn.

During the trip, see saw many deer, three elk, and one moose. The rivers are full and raging.

There is still snow in the elevations of 3000 feet and higher.

I think we will have another 4-5 hours of driving tomorrow, to make it home. Someone might be wondering, why didn't we get tough and just finish driving home? Our little Saturn is loaded. The rear end is rather low. That means that the headlights of the car are no longer aiming at the road. Driving in the dark would be a bad idea...and very irritating for every car driving past us. They would think I have the high beams on. So, an overnight is the merciful thing to do.

Now, it's time to get some food and rest. We are thankful to God for safety over these many miles.

Plans Change

We put in some serious driving in the past two days. Getting in over 1000km each day. We stopped last night in Swift Current, SK. That put us within one days drive to Salmon Arm. We were hoping to get home on Wednesday evening, but that will not happen.

Our travel plans were dependant on good roads. Good road conditions are not to be taken for granted from November through June. Mountain country has different rules than that of the Flat-Lands. Snow melt in the mountains needs to be slow and regular. That allows the water to soak the thick dead plant matter that has fallen on the forest floor. This helps to retard forest fires later in July and August, when lightening will strike. The slow regular melt hasn't happened.

During the winter, we got a lot of snow. Last week, in British Columbia, the temperatures got hot during the day. The melt off of snow has been fast. Rivers are raging, overflowing their banks, and threatening some bridges. Yesterday, a mudslide closed our main route home, west of the city of Golden. It has opened up for limited travel, but the threat for another mud/rock slide is very possible. It is raining now. Conditions are likely for more trouble in that road section.

So, we have to take a detour going home. It will take us south, and add hours to the trip. Instead of making it home on Wednesday evening, we expect to get home on Thursday. So, that is the plan. Plans change.

North West

The last week in Kenosha proved to be a busy one. Kim asked for help in putting up a six foot high privacy fence. We rented a power auger to drill the holes. I had never used one before, but soon found it to be a BIG help. I was used to the old hand powered post hole digger. Considering the rocks we dug out with the power auger, I figured I might have dug three two foot deep holes in the afternoon. I got six drilled in an hour with the power auger. Still, it is a lot of work man-handling that awkward and heavy auger. But, still better than the old method. So, we got the fence up.

On Saturday afternoon I received an invitation to preach during the Sunday evening service, some 24 hours away. I paused a moment to think, and remembered that I had some ideas for a sermon but hadn't developed them. It was a moment for faith. I figured if God inspired the pastor to call me, then God would deliver the right message and words, too. So, I accepted the invitation.
Sunday afternoon, I sat on the bed and wrote down my ideas. More Scripture verses came to mind, and in a couple of hours, I had an outline for the sermon. That would have to do. There was no more time to craft each paragraph in full.
When I stood up to speak, I found myself rather emotionally moved. I didn't know if it was because I was standing before old friends and family in my old church in Kenosha; or if it was the Holy Spirit,...or both. So, I began with prayer and asked God to take charge. Then as the Scripture says, "I believed, so I spoke."
It went very well. God did have a message, and it blessed me, the pastor, and the congregation, too. It was one of those invitations to grow in faith. (smile).

Monday morning, at 0630 hours, we hit the road for home. We made it all the way to Fargo, North Dakota. That was nearly 1000km. The window is open in our stuffy hotel room, and the sound of a police siren is wailing in the distance.

I hope sleep comes soon.

Rainy Day

My last entry was on the 5th of May. Since then, we went to a vacation tourist hotspot in Wisconsin. It is Wisconsin Dells. Amanda and her daughter Delilah came, as did Dennis, Kim, Lauren, and Christopher. We rented a "cabin" for a couple of days. During the day, we would visit the various water parks in the vicinity. There were three close by, and quite enough to keep us busy. One of them had a large wave pool. When the waves were coming, they were impressive. I wouldn't want to be a life guard at that place. There was too much risk with so many little kids and the waves. Still, the grand kids had a ball, and the rest of us enjoyed the parks, and visitting.

We are in our last five days in Wisconsin. We are busy trying to finish connecting with all the various things and people that we need to before we leave.

It is a lovely rainy day here in Kenosha. It is the soft rain. I have to go to Racine for a visit, but wish I could go back to bed and snooze. Maybe later...
Thoughts turn more regularily to home in Salmon Arm. It is that awkward time of transition from being to going. We are grateful for the goodness of God in blessing this vacation time.

What happened in a week?

I went bowling a week ago. Too bad...sort of wish I did not go. This was ten-pin bowling, not the 5-pin Canadian variety.

I was good, I stretched out my back and arms and shoulders before I rolled my first ball. From the first throw, I had a problem. I felt a sharp pain in the long finger of my right hand as the ball left. It didn't stick in the hole. There was plenty of room for a smooth release. I rubbed the finger, and continued to play the game. After a while, the pain in that finger was so great that my game fell apart.

I don't know what happened inside my finger, but it isn't good. After ice and heat, rubbing and stretching it for a week, I guess my finger strength at 30% of what it used to be. That is my right hand...my main hand for many activities. This affects using a hatchet, axe, hammer, carrying objects and shooting a bow and arrow. Carrying a canoe or kayak, or teaching an archery class is going to be a challenge. I had a brace on it for a while, to protect it from further injury. The brace makes typing tricky, so I had a delay in writing the blog.

On a happier note, we have been having fun getting acquainted with our grandchildren in Kenosha, Wisconsin. We go to the park, take walks, play hide-and-go-seek, and a princess game on DVD. The princess game is produced by Disney Corp. It asks questions about Snow White, Ariel, and three or four other Disney movie princesses. If I can't remember the names of the other princesses, you can guess how good I am at this game. Well, I just play so the girls can feel good about winning big over grandpa.

We went to the movie with two grand daughters. We went to see, "Horton Hears a Who". I come from a very practical upbringing. I rarely go to see a movie, and I never buy drinks and pop corn. But the dear little grandchildren were asking for them, and Jannie smiled so sweet and said, "We don't get to take them out oftern, can't we make an exception this time?"
Being the nice guy that I am, I smiled and said, "Sure!"
Sixteen dollars latter, and that was just for two drinks and two pop corn cups, we were making our way to Horton and the Who's.

The kids parents said that they haven't taken the kids to see a movie. They figure that is a nice activity for grandparents to do. I can see why!

I expect those kids are going to be remembering the generous sacrifice made by their grandparents from Canada. I expect it since I plan to remind them about it over and over again until they are 30 years old. (just kidding)

How was the movie? The kids chose to climb the steps in the dark theater all the way to the balcony back wall. Then, as the drinks dissappeared, there was the urgent request to take them to the toilet. Back down the long steps in the dark to the toilet, and back up the steps to the back of the theater...twice! (ha) Easy for me...they were my grand daughters. Jannie had the honors. (he he he...)