The
Squamidian Report – July 30 / 11
Issue #479
Including:
From Carol & Al
The Ontarion
Hi All,
The west coast actually had a hot sunny day. Just one, and now its long gone. We suffered through the 27 degree heat and harsh bright sunshine and now we are back to our familiar upper teen temps and overcast skies. That’s ok, we didn’t know how to handle the short-lived heat.
Ryan and a friend of his who is now riding our old Yamaha Virago, and I, did a day trip over to Vancouver Island last Monday. Some of you may be familiar with the documentary called ‘Long Way Around’ where two actors, Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman rode around the world on motorcycles. Anyway, Charley Boorman was finishing up the last leg of a Canadian motorcycle adventure he was filming, this last leg being on the Island between Duncan and Tofino. The biking community was invited to hook up with the ride and tag along. Several members of the Port Alberni CMC chapter were intending to connect with the ride in Coombs and then do the remainder of the ride out to Tofino. We decided to hook up with the Port Alberni riders at the staging point in Coombs. The ferry timing would work out that we would be able to get there ahead of the expected column of bikes.
Nothing ever works out as planned when there is really no planning at all. The Boorman ride ended up an hour late and fragmented into clumps of bikes spread out for miles down the Island. We decided to do our own ride. So, we did a CMC ride from there to Sproat Lake with riders from several chapters. It made for a great ride. We pulled into an ice-cream shack at the lake and that’s where we watched parts of the Boorman ride go by. Most of us no longer had time to continue on with Boorman’s ride but a couple from Port Alberni decided to anyway and rode the rest of the way with them. They ended up meeting Charley and he ended up riding back to Port Alberni with them. Kind of cool.
We worked our way back to the ferry at Nanaimo and got there just as one was being loaded. Cars were driving on as we pulled up to the ticket booth. However, we were on bikes so they tucked us in, right on the tail of the ship. We had not really expected to make that sailing in time so it worked out quite well. We were home a couple of hours sooner than expected.
So, I went out for another ride on Wednesday morning and got home Thursday evening. My riding friend left Castlegar at the same time and we hooked up in Princeton for lunch. The ride on Highway 3 over the Alison Pas was COLD, luckily there was no rain. From there we headed up 5A to Merritt and on to Kamloops. This is a very scenic ride and well worth doing. We saw lots of wild life including a beautiful brown bear by the side of the road. In Kamloops we pulled in to the Harley dealer. I have been having some problems with my bike’s starter and the dealers in the Lower Mainland are not even remotely interested in customers, they want to sell bikes but they really don’t want to see you again after that. The Kamloops dealer is one of the few across the country who have a great service department and treat the customer with respect. I told them about my problem and they said “no problem, we can look at it and have you out of here in no time”. Cool, it was already 3pm. An hour later the bike had a new starter and we were on our way. We took a motel room in town and then rode out to explore the area for the evening. Kamloops area is ‘old west’ with its high hills and sage brush, dry canyons and blue lakes and the beautiful Thompson River.
Next morning we headed south east to the Falkland Valley area with its farms and ranches tucked into the valleys between the low mountains. Very scenic and relaxing. Late morning found us in Salmon Arm and it was time for us to head home. He turned south, I turned west. My ride took me along the TC and back through Kamloops, along the Thompson River to Kamloops Lake. Then out to Cache Creek, through Marble Canyon and into Lillooet. There are uncountable vistas of incredible scenery all along the route but very few safe places to pull off with a bike for picture taking. Most of the pull off areas are steep loose gravel and that’s dangerous when riding two wheels. So, I got what pictures I could but wished I could stopped in many more places. From Lillooet it was over the Duffy to Pemberton and on home.
Put on 1,233 very enjoyable kilometers and am ready for the next one. This was really the first real ride of the season. It has simply been too wet and too cold to go very far at all this year. I’ve uploaded some pics to my web site at this link:
http://www.thedougsite.net/11-Rides/BK-Rides/Interior1.html
doug
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From Carol & Al
We just finished reading the two Squids that we missed while away in Newfoundland and realized a brand new one will be sent out tomorrow. Next week we will send Doug some pictures to post and give you highlights from our trip but thought we would send out a few general observations in this week's edition.
Doug has been mentioning the unseasonable cold they have been having this year on the west coast, well the cool weather has also been chilling out Newfoundland in the east. We did have four days that topped 20 degrees but also one that didn't make it past 6 degrees. The cool year has had a remarkable effect on the flora. In bloom, (all at the same time!!) were lilacs, snow-ball bushes, wild roses, rose of sharon, daisies, irises, peonies, buttercups, lupines, clover, wild blueberry & raspberry bushes, lilies and we even saw fall mums in one location. We were able to enjoy 3 seasons of flowers all in the 2 week period.
The Sea to Sky highway in BC has the reputation of being one of the top drives in the world for visual splendour. We were on several scenic drives in Newfoundland that rivaled it. The big difference is we were able to putt along at 30 to 60 and stop when a view was more breath-taking then usual without worry of bothering the few other cars on the road as they were gawking also or were locals who passed without worrying about the possibility of a car coming around the curve at them. Actually on any road that wasn't a new main highway you were lucky to drive any where near the 80 speed limit because of the terrible condition of the roads. The pot-holes had pot-holes. We ended up off-roading a few times because of signs (when there were signs) miss-directing us. You motorcyclists would love some of those hills we ended up climbing in our rental car. Jeff & Paulette had given us a Tom-Tom GPS saying we would need it in Newfoundland and they were so right. The only problem was that the GPS maps were not always accurate but it did help when the roads went in all directions. You could tell the locals because they all seemed to drive very big trucks and didn't care how they took the pot-holes, curves and blinding fog. They didn't pay much attention to basic rules of the road either. Not once but twice we were stopped at red lights when a local went around us and made a left against the light. The attitude seemed to be that a red light is just another yield sign, if the way is clear just go. Since we were visiting because of a wedding we met a lot of the locals and they were all welcoming. And every single one has a relative or friend who lives in this area.
One finale observation; even though we were in Newfoundland all the rental cars seemed to have Nova Scotia license plates. Better yet we felt we were down east because all the ice-cream places had Scotsburn ice cream. As everyone knows a holiday isn't a holiday if you haven't had ice cream. The 3 times we indulged ourselves we thought of Sus and Ward in Scotsburn, Nova Scotia.
Carol & Al
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
The past week I went up to the St Jacob’s Farmer’s Market to do an errand for Carole. I wandered around for a few minutes after finding what it was she sent me up for. The aromas of that place not only make a person hungry but they bring back memories of places, events and good times in my past! As I walked down the isle that was nearest the livestock pens the aroma of manure reminded me of the Saturdays I spent at the Kitchener Stock Yards out on Victoria St when I was a kid. I used to go out to the Stock Yards with a couple of friends and a cousin of mine and the farmers would pay us a quarter an hour to help them rustle the cattle and pigs into the sale arena when their number was called. It was fun and it was also where I picked up my first puppy for free! That’s another story for a future Ontarion!
I continued my walk through the Market and the next aroma that caught my attention was one of cotton candy at a venders stall. I used to love cotton candy when I was a kid and every time we went to a fair at the Kitchener Auditorium I’d bug my mum to buy me one of those big balls of pink fluff on a paper cone. It was the sweetest and stickiest stuff you could give a kid but it gave the best gut aches a kid could ask for! MMMmmmMMMMmm! Also in those days you only went to the dentist when you had a toothache so the cotton candy helped speed up the visits to the dentist I’m sure!
As I walked the rows of vendor’s booths the sights and colours were amazing! The vegetables piled high on the tables and in the baskets had such vibrant colours and looked like they needed to be eaten on the spot! The smell of the fresh peppers, the sweet onions and all the other foodstuffs just made my mouth water! Another of the delightful things about the market is the free samples that they hand out on every corner stand. There was a lady offering fresh purple and green grapes and of course it’s fun to partake of her generosity. The next booth with free samples was the strawberry booth and man were they sweet and juicy as well! From that delicious mouthful it was on to the bowls of Honeydew melon chunks and of course the slices of succulent watermelon to cool your taste buds on a summer day! Did I mention the words “gut ache” before, well all this fresh fruit can bring one on as well but luckily not this time! After taking in most of the free sample offerings outside, I decided to head on into the building that houses all the fresh meats and cheeses etc. They’ve always got lots of sample plates sitting up on the top of the display counters. Of course when you dig in to the open plates full meat and cheese cubes you’re taking a chance that the guy before you hadn’t just picked his nose or recently wiped his ass and put his “sample” finger through the paper into his sphincter and then didn’t bother to wash his hands before heading out into the meat/cheese section for some free goodies! YUCK! Just the thought of such a thing going on is almost enough to keep one from trying a free sample, ALMOST! So, on I went munching on bits and pieces of pepperoni and cheddar chunks with the thought of just how stinky some of that cheese smelled if you took the time to take a whiff before ingesting it! No matter, it was more than likely just the natural aroma of the different cheeses on the sample plates!
Suddenly I happened upon another very familiar aroma from my childhood years. It was the smell of good ol’ “Summer Sausage”! When we were kids my dad worked as head of security for Burns Meats as I’m sure I’ve mentioned to you all in past Ontarions. He used to take me or my brother or both of us in to the Burns plant on Guelph St in Kitchener on a Saturday when he had to check on the watchman that was on duty for the weekend. It was a regular thing he had to do as part of his job. The very first thing I would notice upon entering the meat processing building would be the smell of “Summer Sausage” hanging on rack after rack in the curing rooms we had to walk through. Back in the 50’s it was a common thing for a man of any age to carry a jack knife and my dad was no exception. He’d invariably stop by one of the racks of fresh “Summer Sausage” and hack off a chunk for each of us with his handy pocket knife. With one whiff of the summer sausage at the Farmer’s Market I was back in 1956 standing on the greasy floor of a meat packing plant with my dad, chewing on a delicious hank of Burn’s Summer Sausage with not a care in the world! Ahhhhh …. If life were only still that simple, how wonderful it would be!
By the way, did I ever mention that my dad got hired (Mid 1940’s) by Burns Meats to head their security dept with a recommendation from his boss at the Kitchener Police Department? That’s right, dad was a cop for the city of Kitchener and his boss and friend at the time was Police Chief Ewan Cameron! What a coincidence eh?
What a transition this was, from running an errand at the Farmer’s Market, to “Summer Sausage”, to Chief Ewan Cameron, all in one column! Hope you enjoyed the trip!
Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… GREG
PS: Something To Think About>
Because of the speed at which Earth moves around the sun, it is impossible for a solar eclipse to last more than 7 minutes 58 seconds!
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Have a good one..
the doug
The Fine Print!
The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.