Finally Home and "Yes" it is Raining

We decided not to race home from Hedley, BC.  It would have been a very long Saturday and we would have been shocked to arrive at the ferry terminal, only to find out that a bomb scare on one of the ferries had created four hour delays and route changes.  Somebody was looking out for us.


Our decision to stop in Hope, BC was all the factor of the second game of the NHL finals.  The game started at 5pm and we wanted to be all set up and settled in by then.


We did stop in Manning Park for a walk with Kyle and had wonderful homemade clam chowder for lunch at the cafe.  We took some cute pictures in the Lodge main lobby and inquired about the prices.  The off season rates were very reasonable and the rooms appeared to be gorgeous.   We couldn't have stayed in the park even if we had wanted to. The main campgrounds were still closed for the season due to snow. A second disappointment was to find out that there is no longer a ski lift operating in the summer to take hikers up to the Alpine Meadows.  If you want to see the meadows, you hike the complete way up and down.  NOT.  Link to photo album.


After leaving Manning Park I explained to Kaye about the Hope slide (1965) and that my Mom and I visited it not many years after it happened.  When Kaye and I arrived at the viewing point, only the side of the mountain that came down looked anything like what I remember. The mass of the slide hit the lake at the bottom of the valley and the water was turned into a cutting force that eliminated every tree and piece of vegetation for quite a distance up the opposite side of the valley.  All of that destruction has regrown.   The mass of rubble at the bottom is still quite barren but even the 'slide' side of the mountain has started to regrow. Link to photo album.


Sunday turned into an uneventful drive to the ferry, then a shocker of a price tag for ferry. The truck and trailer were $230 one way and then that was topped off with a final 80klms in heavy rain.  We are home.  First observations:

The brick patio has been overtaken by massive thistle plants and running strawberries but the rest of the shrubs and flowers look wonderful.  Theresa has the inside of the house looking spiffy and the first words out of Kaye's mouth were; "I missed my bed".


First order of business was to get the hot tub running and the 'to do list' organized.  I installed a copper ionizer so we can quit using chlorine and put in new bearings so the pump is much quieter.  This morning Kaye and I enjoyed our first 'tub'.  Now we are home.  Time to go fishing.