Melancholy Musings

Wednesday, July 23

            Sorry about the title of this entry but it seems to fit, as you will see.

            On Friday we sold our trusty old RV. It gave us 10 summers of wonderful adventures, very little trouble and a lifetime of memories. But it was time. We’ve been talking about selling it for several years but always had that, “Aw, what a great way to travel” moment and found ourselves emptying, cleaning and winterizing it at the end of each summer in Canada. Last year, though, the RV was marooned on the wrong side of the flood and we were forced to drive our little Jeep on our jaunt to Montana and – guess what? – it was a hoot!

            We bought YuneYit (long story, but that’s what we called it) in 2005, sight-unseen, from a family in NE Calgary. Neither Jim nor I had ever driven an RV and the size of it was a little intimidating at first (even though it’s only 23 feet long – a shrimp compared to most of the rigs on the road) but we immediately set off on a 10,000-mile journey lasting two months.

            During that long first trip we visited friends from Maui — Hana and Wayne in Big Fork MT, Suzanna and Tom in Prescott AZ, Joe and Claire in Las Cruces NM, Linda and John at the Trigg Ranch in NM, Ron and Evelyn in Durant OK. We travelled to the Mexican border and back up to Toronto; we visited Jim’s old college in Ann Arbor Michigan and dipped our toes in four of the Great Lakes.

            In the ensuing years we travelled to Alaska, through most areas of Montana, Idaho and Washington State, all over Vancouver Island, just about everywhere driveable in British Columbia and Southern Alberta, and made an amazing trek to Yellowknife, NWT. Top Ten favorites (in no particular order): Whidbey Island WA, Nanaimo BC, Sandpoint ID, Dawson City Yukon, Kluane Dead Dog Hill in Nebesna Alaska, Yellowknife, Beaver Mines Lake Alberta, Crow Butte State Park WA, Highway 20 through northern Washington, Butte MT.

            And there were The Firsts:

            1^st campsite - Mountain Shadows in Sparwood, BC.

            1^st flat tire - near Devil’s Monument in Wyoming.

            1^st  breakdown - near Sandpoint, Idaho.

            1^st ‘let me outta here’ traffic - in Toronto.

            1^st crossing of the Mississippi - Memphis, Tennessee.

            1^st rat nest in the cabin - Kamloops, BC.

            1^st ‘we got in here, how do we get out’ moment - at a Tim Horton’s in Canmore Alberta.

            And so, we’re continuing our travels in the Jeep, not a bad thing at all. Since my last blog we’ve been at the ranch, enjoying the glorious views and the mostly fantastic weather. The creek is back to its clear, cold and narrow normality after the June flood; the black flies, deer flies and lazy flies arrived on schedule July 4 and will be gone next week; the mosquitoes are insatiable. But the fishing is good, Jim paints in his attic studio almost every day, and I have created several new bags in my own studio.

Smoky sunrise

I told you the mosquitoes are big!

            We had a lovely two-week visit with Sherry and Sharon (formerly of Maui, now from Sun City, AZ) who camped in their huge motorhome on the far side of the creek and joined us for meals and fun. Rick and Daphne, our camping/fishing friends from BC, arrived for a three-day visit as well — a great reunion. Peter and Shane drive out for a night or two with us each week and we have a quiet time, making minor repairs around the house, working on jigsaw puzzles and reading. We had about three days of thick smoke from the forest fires in BC, Idaho, Washington, NWT and Saskatchewan. It seemed no matter which way the wind blew, it brought smoke with it.

Jim at the top of the East Ridge, looking down at our home.

            Mom is doing better than ever at Cottonwood in Claresholm. Jim and I accompanied her to the Lethbridge Casino on the seniors’ bus a couple of weeks ago and she had such a good time she asked when we could do it again! Watching my 92-year-old mom playing the machines with a grin on her face and a sparkle in her eyes was worth every penny.

My brother fixing fence; it never ends, does it Tony?

            Today we’re in High River, staying with Peter and Shane. If the thunderstorms stay away we’ll be attending the High River Air Show tonight, with a special appearance by the Canadian Snowbirds. Tomorrow we’re off to the ranch again, to welcome our other cousins Brian and Hazel from Yellowknife. 

And then, sometime around the 1^st of August, we’ll be heading south to visit friends in California. Our potential route (subject to forest fires and weather) will take us through Idaho, down the Columbia River Valley, south on the coast to San Francisco, the back north through Sacramento, Reno and Idaho. In the Jeep. Staying in motels. Ah yes, I already miss YuneYit.