Over the past two weeks I helped my sister Norma finish preparing the house for selling. She did the yard work and I washed all the windows and painted all the mouldings and doors.
My brother-in-law, David Leach, took me for a day trip on the Coquihalla Highway (The Highway Thru Hell) to Merrit, B.C. two Mondays ago. It was a rainy day off and on and the highway is so high that you drive through the clouds. The views were spectacular.
I got to see Jamie Davis’ Heavy Rescue team in action. First there was a stranded car. Then we saw a car that rolled over into the ditch and finally a transport that missed his turn and totally demolished his truck and load. Jamie’s team of men were at every spot helping these people.
Merritt is an old town nestled in a valley between these towering mountains. Just like a lot of popular towns and cities it is also growing in leaps and bounds, mixing the old with the new. David took me to lunch and gave me a tour of Merritt before we headed back to Chilliwack.
I saw the stands where they place cannons to fire them to start an avalanche before it gets too big. There were tunnels made to protect the highway from mud slides and avalanches. I saw one mountain that was completely bare. It had no trees, earth or vegetation, just all rock reaching through the clouds.
Then we saw the areas that had been hit by mud slides in the last few years and had closed down the highway for days. It was a great day trip. The very next day Calgary got hit with that wicked snowstorm and the Highway Thru Hell was just that. We were lucky to miss that storm or Dave and I could have been on the next show.
Thanksgiving weekend Norma and I went on the ferry to Vancouver Island for five days. The ferry trip alone was amazing as the ferry meandered its way through all the islands to get to our destination. We landed in Victoria, BC where our Aunt Yvonne Mayhew lives and her son Keith and wife Tania and Lorraine Newton. They all live really close to each other in Victoria. We had a wonderful time playing cards and visiting for three days.
Then we drove to Whiskey Creek near Nanaimo, B.C. to visit with our niece Jennifer and her husband Tom. We also saw their children Cameron with his girlfriend Katie and Kelsy with her boyfriend Thomas. They drove us around the area and we went to Coombs Market which is famous for unique wood carvings and stone sculptures. But the funniest thing of all were the goats living on the roofs of these businesses. I took a lot of pictures and want to make an album of my trip this year.
Happy birthday to everyone celebrating this week.
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving.
