And they all fell down

Today the clearing of the lot began. We've waited 11 years for this but it is a frightening thing to watch the destruction. The taller trees will be topped by a "Feller" but for today it was all about the excavator pushing, pulling and uprooting the small cedars and the red alder. The pictures above were taken in April of this year, our lot from both directions. The shots below are from similar angles taken today as the excavator worked.


Clearing back to the 18m setback from the creek will take the better part of this week. The brush and small trees will become fire wood or will be chipped. The large maples and cedars will remain on site to be milled for use on our house.

Freeing Napoleon

Anyone who knows Roy knows how fond he is of his BBQ. The large stainless Napoleon was one of the last things onto the moving truck, so the first into the storage unit. Yes, poor Nappy was at the back and on the bottom out of easy reach, but finally we mounted a force to break out the BBQ. Ian joined us with his pick-up truck and we hauled everything out. Took most of the morning, but well worth it - by evening we had the steaks on and the wine chilled!

Osoyoos

Osoyoos is a town located in the south central interior of B.C. The climate is semi-arid, the mountains desert-like with tumbleweed and low scrubby bushes, grasses and wild flowers.. The valley is the opposite, lush and fertile producing abundant fruits and vegetables. The contrast is striking. A picturesque old western-style town catering to tourists completes the picture. The highway descends from the mountains in a series of steep switch-backs which brings the whole valley into view. This setting has to be unique in Canada.

Dawn on the Straits of Georgia

The Nile Creek originates up in the mountains inland of us and eventually flows into the Georgia Straits, a 15 minute walk from where we will build our house. The other morning Roy and I got up early and walked down to the mouth of the Nile and strolled the beach at low tide. It's a rocky beach strewn with large stumps and logs washed up from past storms. There are grasses and wild flowers and the most amazing views of the mountains on the mainland. We walked and talked and looked in tidal pools and finally headed back to the trailer for breakfast. Roy mentioned that a walk on the beach before breakfast reminded him of holidays we had taken down south. It does feel like we are on holidays. Nice.

More Miscellaneous Stuff

Westerners have a preoccupation with "Squatches" (Sasquatch or Bigfoot) and we saw a number of different tributes to the big hairy man. I have to admit that I much prefer the happy creature perched on the roof of Mugwumps Country Store.

Green roofs are becoming popular in central Canada, but have been common in the west for some time. The clever Westerners have even come up with a way to keep the growth of the rooftop grasses under control. I know he looks "fake" but I saw him move. He actually has a ramp down on the far side and a friend as well. Someone went to a lot of trouble...



Everything is big out here, the trees and the trucks that carry them to the sawmills.
I don't have a lot to say about logging trucks except if you see one - get out of the way!


Talk about everything being big out here - take a look at the garden slugs. The buttercup will give you scale. Nothing I've ever learned about gardening has prepared me to do battle with these behemoths. Guess I won't be walking around bare foot either.
And check out the size of the maple leaves. They don't call it the Big Leaf Maple for nothing.

And last but not least...when does a Tim's not look like a Tim's? When it is in Osoyoos!

Aftermath of the Storm

We crossed the prairies and western Canada in about 5 days and as we crossed the country we passed through many weather systems; cool, hot, sunny, cloudy and stormy often all in one day. We encountered a lot of rain in the prairies and saw standing water in the fields, the effects of a wetter than average spring. We passed through the town of Maple Creek near the border of Saskatchewan and Alberta during the worst of the downpours and saw rivers flooding their banks. I glimpsed a woman standing in the rain beside her car contemplating the swirling flood waters that separated her from her home. As we later learned portions of the Trans Canada highway were closed behind us, and some remain closed even today, a week later.

Day 6 - Qualicum Beach B.C.

Last leg of our journey and we will soon be home. We left Cilliwack and headed to Horseshoe Bay to catch the ferry over to Nanaimo. We missed the 10:30 ferry by 3 cars so had to wait for the 12:30, but there is a beautiful park (photo opp!) there and shops and cafe's, so not so bad. I was able to get some nice shots from the ferry as well. The trip is about 90 minutes and passes quickly. By 3:00 we are home sweet home.
I am having some difficulty right now as we have not been able to get internet to the trailer...something about the lack of a pole? Blogging and e-mail may be intermittent for a while. Stay tuned.

Day 5 - Chilliwack B.C.

I had to lead in with sunny photo's. Yes it does shine in the west occasionally.
Today was the last full day of travel and a challenging one, 740K through the twists and turns of the mountains. We ran the full gamut of weather; sun, cloud, wind, rain and snow. It was freezing in the higher elevations and hot in Osoyoos, the closest thing Canada has to a desert. Driving through the mountains is not for the faint of heart with switchbacks and sickening drop-offs, but the views are spectacular. I took a lot of pictures and will post them separately. More signs below. There are so many & so often that it became humorous and I had to show some of them.





Ok, it didn't snow on us, but we saw it. That counts doesn't it?