The Squamidian Report – July 1 / 06
Issue #213
Also in this issue:
Fern Glen Update
The Ontarion
Hi All,
You may remember a few weeks ago when Warren did an article about his fishing and biking ride to the Blackwater and Anderson Lake area. We decided it would be nice to re-visit that area for a day of biking.
Warren’s Squamidian article and pictures:
http://www.thedougsite.ca/2006/june03.htm
http://members.shaw.ca/coastalcedarcreations/bw.htm
As there were three of us going on this ride we loaded up the three bikes into the back of his truck (mine is only big enough to carry two bikes) and drove up to D’Arcy, north of Pemberton. Like all the very small villages scattered through out the countryside, D’Arcy is populated mostly by natives. No industry or commerce or any visible means of support, just a bunch of houses with old trucks and people sitting around. Anyway, we off-loaded there and headed up the road that follows along Anderson Lake.
This gravel road, while technically public as an access to Seton Portage is and interesting ride. There are sections that are wide enough to pass an oncoming vehicle if you were to meet one, and where you can get up to 60k or so in speed. Then all of a sudden you are rounding a switchback that is so tight that you need to drop right down into low gear, and then really give it to make it up a steep loose section. The road follows Anderson Lake, at times being quite close to the water, most of the time being quite high above it, notched into the mountainside.
We took a side spur that would have taken us over the McGillivery Pass but it has become so over grown that we had to ride with our heads down. Then we came to a section that was badly washed out with ruts about a meter deep. Had to turn back at that point. The next side spur we tried was in much better shape but we came upon a momma bear with two small fuzzy cubs. The cubs scurried up a tree on one side of the trail and mamma stood her ground on the other. We never want to knowingly disturb these creatures and we certainly know better than to provoke momma bear any more than we already had so we headed back out to the main.
Those two spurs were on the up-hill side. The next one we tried was on the down-hill, lake side. This took us right down to the BC railway track that run along the water’s edge. There was a little shack there by a track switch, called Marne. At least that’s what was painted on it. Inside were dozens of old pictures of trains, trucks and cars. Don’t know who put them there but they were pretty neat. There were also some bullet holes through the shack. Other than that, it was in a rather remote location.
Once back up onto the main we rode on into Seton Portage, the village at the northeast end of Anderson Lake. It sits on the narrow corridor of land that separates Anderson from Seton Lake. Seton Lake drains into the Fraser Rive at Lillooet. We ate our lunches under the shade of a willow tree on the bank of the lake and then headed back. Took a side spur up toward Whitecap Mountain that gave us some nice views and then started back toward D’Arcy. Because of the heat the road was now getting dusty so we spaced ourselves out by about half a click from each other. That worked well and we got back to the truck, hot, happy and tired. Pictures at: http://www.thedougsite.ca/Pictures/Anderson/anderson.htm
*
And as hot as Saturday was, Sunday and Monday were hotter. At 7PM Monday evening the thermometer on my back deck read 39, that’s 102 on the old scale. Mind you, the thermometer was in the sun, but then so were we all day at work. Luckily, we have virtually no humidity here. The air stays clear. If the temperature is 30, the humidix well be…30. Handy how that works.
doug
****
July 1, 2006
Happy Canada Day my fellow Squamidians!
I'm sitting down late on Friday night to cobble together a few lines for you before things get too hectic around here. We've got a full house for the weekend with guests arriving Saturday afternoon. This long weekend really kicks off the summer tourist season for the region. So far, we have almost as many room-nights booked for the coming month as we sold for all of last July. Since it is highly likely we will get more short-notice bookings, we are sure to have a better month than last year. Hooray! We're doing something right! Even though June was a slow month for us, we did have some visitors worth mentioning. For instance, we had a four-legged visitor tear down our bird feeders late one night. It also visited our neighbour, Verna, and smashed up her feeder; and dropped in on our next door neighbours, Bob and Shirley. Their bird feeder is mounted on top of a tall, heavy post and the hungry visitor tore the whole post right out of the ground. That's how we knew it was a bear and not a smaller pest, such as a raccoon. The 'calling cards' the bear left on the lawn also gave him away.
As for our two-legged guests, we had the opportunity to give a lady a very special visit to the inn. It started with an email I received regarding a reservation request. The guest said she was coming to the area, from her home in Michigan, to research her family, as they had lived in the area in the 1930's. She signed her name Elsilee Marshall. She was surprised and delighted when I wrote back to tell her that she had booked her stay (here) at the original Marshall homestead! I put her in touch with my neighbour, Bob Marshall, who in turn put her in touch with more family members in the area. It turned out that Elsilee was able to meet many of her Canadian 'cousins' while she was here. They shared photos, stories, history, common interests. I made an open invitation to local Marshalls to come visit Elsilee here at the family homestead and they really appreciated it, although much has changed since any of them lived here or visited their grandparents here. It was also interesting for Jim and I to hear some of the history of our new home.
June was a banner month as we had two Squamidian sightings! The first came in early June when Dave Constant and Sue Windover stopped by one morning on their way home from playing a concert in North Bay. Even though their visit was way too short, it was wonderful to see them and to have the chance to show them our little patch of the planet. More recently, we were treated to the company of Ed and Evelyn Manse for dinner and an overnight stay. I don't know where these two get their energy for all their trips and adventures!
Ed and Evelyn provided an extra bonus during their visit: they introduced Jim and I to a new weapon in the war on bugs! It's a hand-held electric zapper, but I prefer to call it a Death Racket. It looks like a small tennis racquet, but instead of strings, it has metal wires which are electrified by pressing a little button on the racquet handle. So press the button, swat, and ZAP! Fry those suckers in mid-flight! It's evil, and I LIKE IT! Anyway, Jim and I each have our own Death Racket now to arm ourselves when we're out and about in the garden (or staining that huge deck of ours... another thing off the list!).
Another Squamidian will be coming to Fern Glen Inn very soon. My aunt Karin has arrived safely from Australia and is now in Hunstville visiting her father. I was lucky to have a short visit with Karin on Monday since I was visiting my Opa and his lady friend Vera when Karin arrived. I'm looking forward to seeing her a lot while I have her up here in the great north!
And the last visit I have to tell you about is not a visit actually, more like a meeting, a chance to get acquainted you might say. I've had my bicycle out since back in April, and enjoy taking a spin along the Seguin recreational trail almost daily. It's a great way for both me and the dog to get some exercise and also to immerse myself in a landscape of trees, water, wilderness. In the 12 km or so between our house and the town of Sprucedale, there is one hunt camp and one cottage in sight of the trail. The rest is just natural forest, marshes and small lakes.
Well, I had biked past the little lake just a couple km up the trail, past the hunt camp (nobody there), and as far as the little bridge over the creek that feeds the lake. There I turned around to come home. Saba was with me, as always, and we hadn't gone far when she stopped and started barking. That's when I saw the bear. He was on the trail in front of us, not too close, but he was walking toward us. (heart palpitations begin now!)
It's amazing how many things a brain can think in just a short time. First thought: are there cubs and that's a mama? Nope. Good. Next: This bear is between us and home. (since the Seguin trail is a former railway bed, it only goes straight, there's no loop to take back to the start.) Okay, what if I turn around and bike to Sprucedale? Scratch that idea. It's about 10 km of hard biking through sand. That's hard enough to do without worrying about a bear behind me. How about I leave the trail, cut through the dense woods, circle the lake and come back home any way but where that bear is? Nope. For so many reasons, nope. All right, the brain is finally thinking about what it's read about what to do when you encounter a bear. Make noise. Make yourself look bigger. Don't be an easy meal. It's really not interested in you, anyway.
This all took a matter of very few seconds, but it felt like forever. In any case, I started shouting and hollering, Saba resumed barking. She had started to move toward the bear but then stayed right beside me when I told her to stay. I got off of my bike so I could have it between me and the bear if it came to that. As we stood there shouting and barking, the bear gave us a long, cool look, then slowly—nonchalantly, even—turned and walked up a little access track that the hunt camp uses.
After about a minute, I started walking
forward. I was pretty sure the bear kept going up the track, but since I
couldn't see for the thick trees, I couldn't be sure. So we walked slowly, with
me shouting and trying to sound terrifyingly vicious. Saba had given up on the
barking and was probably wondering what the heck I was doing. As we approached
the track where the bear had turned, I even lifted the front of my bike up so I
was walking it on it's back wheel in order to make us look as big as possible.
Of course, the bear was long gone. So after a few more paces, I got back on my
bike and pedaled like mad all the way home. From the security of home, I
realize that I wasn't really in danger.
It's true that I am a poor match for a bear, but bears almost always want even
less to do with people than people do with them. I think what really unnerved
me out there was the fact that he was standing between me and home, with miles
and miles of nobody behind me. Strange sensation, and not one I'm eager to
repeat any time soon. But it makes for a great addition to the tales we seem to
be collecting as we continue along this adventure of life in the north!
Happy Canada Day!
****
Hello
Everyone!
As I sit
here wondering what to write about I can’t help notice Dr Phil on the desktop
TV working with a mother and her 17 year old dope addicted son. He’s helped
place the son in a rehab program to get him off drugs and to hopefully teach
the mother how to learn to trust him once he’s out of the program. She’s also
got to learn how to recognize the signs of his possible relapse if it should
happen. They’ve both got a rough road ahead and all I can say is “Thank God
it’s not me that has to deal with a child going through this!” This program is
on TV as I write this column however if I want to see it in real time right
this minute, all I have to do is take a look out the back bedroom window. There
are three teenaged girls (I’d say they are approximately 15 years of age)
sitting on a wall behind a cell phone switching enclosure at the base of a
hydro tower out back. I watched as they walked back there and plunked
themselves down and promptly produced a bag of drugs and a pipe out of one of
their purses. They smiled and laughed as they took turns puffing on the pipe
and holding their breath so as to get the most out of each toke! All I can
think is “Where the hell are the parents of these girls?” Is it that bad that
every parent has to search their kids purses and back packs every night to keep
tabs on these kids? I don’t know what to say other than “Thank God it’s not my
kid!”
*
Well it’s
Canada Day weekend and the weather is supposed to be sunny for the most part. I
guess I’ll have to go out back and bring our flag in so Carole can stitch up
the trailing edge so as to make it look respectable for the occasion. It’s in
pretty good shape otherwise so it should last another few months. Maybe I’ll do
the right thing and go buy a new one for the occasion. What to do? What to do?
LOL!
We are
looking forward to the weekend but have no definite plans. We thought of maybe
taking a weekend trip somewhere but don’t relish the thought of being part of
the long weekend throngs of holiday travelers to hit the highways. I think
we’ll find something local to do to celebrate the occasion.
*
A month
of so ago we switched our phone service from Bell to Rogers. The Rogers program
does everything that the Bell does but costs a whopping $35.00/month less. We
figured that was a significant enough amount to warrant the change. So far the
service has been just fine and it’s great to see something cost less at the end
of the month. Our Bell underground service was old and causing problems last
fall before we switched to Rogers. Even though we moved our patronage to
Rogers, the service was still running through the Bell phone lines. Rogers
rented the lines from Bell and were still able to sell the service at a lesser
cost than Ma Bell. We got a call from Bell last fall telling us that they were
coming to replace the phone line from the street to our house. When they
arrived, they decided to leave the major dig until this spring and ran a
temporary line from our neighbours beside us to our phone terminal inside the
basement. It’s been working fine but it was time this week for them to replace
the underground line. The guy showed up with a small excavator to dig a
4’x4’x6’ hole in the boulevard beside our driveway. He dug the hole and located
the main phone line. The young lad with him had the task of digging a shallow
cut in the neighbours lawn beside our driveway in which to burry the new wire.
They had called Rogers for a cable locate so they would be able to dig without
hitting the Rogers cable line and had been told by Rogers that they were clear
to dig where they planned. Well, after all that, the young shovel wielder
succeeded in cutting our cable in two places as he dug. Suddenly our phone,
internet and TV signals all went dead at the same time. I went out and told the
fellow what had happened and he said “Yes, I know! I guess you’d better phone
Rogers and have them come out and repair it!” I said “Just how the hell do you
expect me to do that when you’ve cut my phone service off?” He proceeded to say
that when he finished his dig, he’d call his office and have them call Rogers
to make an appointment to have it fixed. I told him he’d better make sure it
was repaired within a few hours. That we weren’t going to spend the next few
days with no phone etc. As he got on the phone to his office Carole and I
headed out to do some errands. I decided to stop at a pay phone and call Rogers
myself. I spent a half hour on the pay phone but was successful in arranging
immediate repair service. By the time we arrived home a half hour later, the
repair man was there and had a temporary line hooked up and laying on the
surface of the neighbours lawn. He said he would have a crew come over and
burry a proper line within a couple of days. The Bell digging crew just sluffed
off the fact that they caused all this trouble and loaded their equipment and
left. I said to the Rogers repair man that I was going to tell the Bell guys
that I expected them to burry the Rogers Cable since they did the damage. He
said not to bother, that they wouldn’t do it anyway and would resent my telling
them to do so. Before they left I asked how long it would be before the Bell
technician would arrive to connect the line at the bottom of the hole to the
main feed. He told me that all the tech had to do was climb in the hole and
make the splice and then feed it into the house at the other end and then the
excavation guy could come back and fill in the hole. He said the tech would be
here Thursday morning (this was yesterday, Wednesday). I said that’s good
because I don’t want this hole open any longer than necessary. He then looked
at me with a puzzled look and said “I know the guy that’s coming to do this job
and he’s the main Union Rep for the Bell technicians!” I said “So?” and he then
said “I’d be willing to bet that once he checks your number and finds that you
are being serviced by Rogers and not Bell, that he won’t do the hookup, he’ll
just pack up and leave and refuse to do the job!” I said that if that’s what
happens then at least I know that if any future buyer of our house ever wants a
Bell line instead of Rogers, that I can tell him where the line is anyway and
he can call Bell to come and redig the hole! What a shitty way to conduct
business! I would think that service or no service at this moment, Bell would
still want to have a line to every house in the city for potential business in
the future. Oh well, I guess I can’t expect every business to think the way I
would.
The Bell
Technician didn’t show up today and we didn’t get a call either saying what’s
happening. I guess he checked the number and did just what the digger said he
might. I bet the next person we’ll see out front will be the digger refilling
the hole without having the wire connected. At that point, I’ll fire off an
e-mail of protest to the Bell and probably get another blind eye and deaf ear
response. Oh well! At least we have our Rogers service back in order.
*
Thanks
for tuning in again! I look forward to talking to you all next time in The
Ontarion Report.
Bye for now… Greg.
PS:
Something To Think About>
The
customer is always right!
****
The Family and the Squamidian sites:
http://members.shaw.ca/doug_b/ and http://www.thedougsite.ca
Have a good one..
the
doug
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