The Squamidian Report – April 15 / 06
Issue #202
Also in this issue:
Brubachers
Settle on the West Coast - Part 2
Hi All,
The Sea to Sky highway, one of the five best motor trips on earth. Yup, that’s what is being reported in a British publication. The drive from Vancouver up to Whistler ranks up there with the best to offer anywhere. I don’t know what their criteria was but I assume it is scenery and interest. We got scenery coming out our ears and there are certainly lots of things interesting along the way. From Horseshoe Bay to Squamish the highway undulates back and forth from sea level to high elevation sections. There are places where it is notched into the side of the mountain, shear cliff above and shear cliff below. The curves are sharp and tight. There are very few places along that section that don’t give full vistas of the Sound, it’s islands, Coastal Mountains and Sunshine Coast.
That first half of the drive takes you to Squamish. As you head north from Squamish toward Whistler you leave the coast and head into the equally rugged interior. The highway begins to climb just outside of town and except for a few places like the bottom of The Canyon, climbs all the way. You have gained about 2500 feet of altitude by the time you reach Whistler, which is down in a valley. On your west side you have the Tantalus Range and then head on past Cloudburst. You go past Warren’s before entering The Canyon, then there is The Tusk, Daisy Lake, Brandywine and so on. Then you get to Whistler and you are into fantasyland tourist country. But the drive was sure worth it, unless you commute that route every day and then its just boring.
*
Garage door opener screw-up follow-up! The installation company returned this week as scheduled. However, instead of replacing the opener on my side of the garage to make it the same as the one on Sue’s side, they replaced the one on Sue’s side to make it the same as the one on my side. Now this is just as good as the other way around except that it meant we needed ALL new remotes and keyless pads. However, they left us the new replacement components so now all our equipment is a month newer than the original stuff that was installed. It really made no difference which way they did it but the solution they chose kind of surprise me. I figure that either they had no more of the ‘old’ ones left in stock and had to switch Sue’s, or they still didn’t know which model needed to be matched but they knew there was one of each so they simply brought a unit with them and matched to which ever of that model was here. The only difference between the two models is the frequency range and the colour of the programming buttons.
So everything is installed and working fine. I’ve programmed all the new remotes to open each door, depending on which button you push. It was a rather frustrating adventure but it has been rectified to our satisfaction. I would imagine it was even more frustrating for the installation crew who had to keep coming up here from Surry. Normally those things last for years and years with no problems what so ever. We should be trouble free for a long time to come now.
*
The Hummers are back. Sue hangs out a humming bird feeder each spring and they have started to return to it. Don’t know why, there are lots of blossoms and flowers around for them but maybe they like ‘fast food’. Who knows?
*
Ryan, Warren and myself somehow found the time to take the dirt bikes out for a toot up the Ashlu River Valley. We were able to ride as far as where an avalanche has blocked the road. This is the same place where one (or several) come down each winter and usually wipe the road right off the face of the earth. There is a steep slope and avalanche shoot up above which funnel the slides down the same path each time. Bigger slides have kept the trees from growing over a wide area, mowing them down as soon as they get bigger than seedlings. By the way, I should have been mowing the lawn instead of riding but the lawn could wait.
We still run into snow as we climb the side spurs so after playing around up in that area for a while we headed back out to the Squamish Main and turned up the valley. We then headed up Branch 200 with me in the lead but part way up a long steep slope I slammed on my brakes and skidded to a stop. The others had to come to a stop behind me on the narrow spur. Up ahead, standing upright in the road was a very large brown bear, perhaps a hundred yard away. That was close enough for me. I didn’t want to disturb it any more than we already had, it may have been a mother with a cub or a big old papa bear but it deserved to be left along. Besides, it could move faster than I could get turned around if it decided to stand it’s ground.
The coastal black bears only come in black on the coast. They can be all sorts of colours in the interior and they can have brown on their faces and throat on the coast but not all over. Brown bears, which are bigger, include Grizzlies, Kodiaks, Alaskans etc and can be found all the way down the coast in the out-back type areas except the Lower Mainland. We are north of the Lower Mainland. So it was a brown bear, not an overly large brown black bear. We have encountered our first Grizzly!
We headed back down and then went up another side spur as far as a nice lookout. Just a good little ride to get the season kick started. (Kick started – get it? Biker joke, groan!) Pictures (but not of the bear) can be seen at:
http://www.thedougsite.ca/Pictures/Ashlu/ashlu2.htm
doug
****
I’d like to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Also a Happy Birthday to Rosemary, Evelyn, Sue and me. That’s probably not the usual to wish oneself a Happy Birthday but I am. I’ll spend the day working but that’s okay, it’s really not that big a deal. We are having the earliest spring ever. Our pond has been free of ice for almost a week. We used to make bets on the date the last bit of ice would leave and the dates that were picked were never this early. Our pond is very sheltered and always the last in the province, I’m sure to be ice-free. We had 18 degrees Celsius yesterday. Today, Good Friday, is rainy but mild. Zane, our little brother, just arrived on his new 4 wheeler, a Kawasaki KFX 400. He traded his 5-year-old model on this new racing bike. This was his first trek, to our house via old railway trails and dirt roads. He is so proud of himself and excited beyond belief. He is 16 years old now and he wanted this more than a car and driver’s license. Things have really changed. We were encouraging him to get his license but that is not at the top of his list. Oh well maybe he is right not to be too anxious.
My father had a difficult time last weekend with his back so sore he was having trouble lifting himself up out of bed. Ward and Bob hung a paddle from the ceiling over his bed so he could haul himself up. It worked but looked strange in the middle of the livingroom. By Sunday we realized that Dad should go to the hospital to have a scan and see what is actually causing his trouble. Our doctor had suspicions of another tumor on the spine which could cause paralyses down the road. We pumped Dad full of pain pills and by Monday morning I was able to get Dad into the car for the trip into New Glasgow. Once there I wheeled Dad into hospital and up to the 5th floor. Our doctor met us and led us into the new Palliative Care ward. Our eyes nearly fell out of our heads. I had heard how nice the new ward was but never in a million years dreamed it would look this good. A 3-month fundraising campaign had raised a whopping 1.1 million dollars all for the purpose of making a patient and their family more comfortable in the last months or days of their life. The hall floors were a rich dark hardwood with beautifully calming colours on the walls. French doors on every room gave privacy but enabled the nurses to keep a close eye. At the end of the hall was a spacious room with leather couches, dining area, large TV, kitchenette and food. It felt more like a posh hotel than a hospital ward. Dad settled right in with CNN and a remote in his hand. I spent the day with him and accompanied him to his ex-rays. The next morning he called me to pick him up. His results were in and the news was good. He has arthritis and not a tumor. When I wheeled him out we both had a big smile on our face. Who ever thought arthritis would be good news but it was. So he is doing good again with the right medication. I’m becoming a regular pharmacist with all the pills I hand out to Dad.
Doug I’m not sure I want an automatic garage door after hearing about all your troubles but I love the idea of having a garage. Karen thanks for the encouraging words about my Mexican story. Maybe someday I’ll write more about it. I have a niece, Amber who left Wed. for Melbourne, Australia for about 10 days. So if you see a beautiful red head touring around with a big happy man, that’s her. They are on their long awaited honeymoon. Well I must go and send this on to Doug. He’ll be impressed with me. Two reports in two weeks!!
Warren your trek from Nova Scotia to was a
modern pioneer story. I read it years
ago but enjoyed it even more now. It’s
a story that needs to be told. Ewan you
are the great cruise date. She was
lucky. Sounds like a great time. I loved reading your story.
Until next time
****
Janice managed the wheel just fine and by suppertime we reached Winnipeg but decided to push on for Brandon, Manitoba for our night stop. We pulled into a Journey's End Motel about 10:00 p.m. where they gave us a free park and power. Many folks had the Christmas spirit for weary travelers. This Saturday night was our coldest at -30 degrees and absolutely still.
The next morning we treated ourselves with a hearty truckers meal and topped up our saddle tanks with gas. By the way, at this point in our journey we had used up one and a half quarts of oil and $1100.00 worth of gas. This old 366 engine don't know the meaning of economy but she sure is reliable.
We found our trip across the prairies the coldest for our passengers of our crew whilst driving as we were bucking a NW wind in bitterly cold temperatures. Tim, a neighbour back east, rigged the bus with winter thermostats before we left Nova Scotia but with the drafty side door and uninsulated wall behind our beds, anybody sitting behind the driver had to be dressed for outdoors with blankets too. Meanwhile, the driver would be cooking hot.
Sunday took us all the way to Strathmore, Alberta. Just south of Calgary where a gas station attendant was happy to set us up for the night. We were weary from driving through thick fog through this province.
Monday morning and looks like a 'chinook' coming in over the distant mountains. The city of Calgary brought back old memories for Janice and I as we had met each other here a long time ago. The kids were all ears to hear about it, too! What a wind we had to buck from Calgary to Banff !! Most of the time I was in 3rd gear and soon had to stop to pull the cardboard off the radiator as the temp gauge was climbing too high. It was amazing to see huge numbers of antelope and many coyotes on this trip. Near Lake Louise, I pointed out a huge elk herd to the kids. Decided to show the lake to the family so we drove up the switch backs to the parking lot above. The snow up here was at least waist deep. Walked to the frozen lakes edge for a picture and on our way back to the bus watched a guy shoveling snow off a cabin roof. Could only see him when he straightened up to chuck snow off his shovel. It began to snow quite heavily so we pushed on to the Kicking Horse Pass where the weather cleared and made for a beautiful drive.
The Rogers Pass on the other hand was poor visibility, avalanche warnings and lots of snow on the highway. What a wonderland up here with so much snow! Gives one the feeling, a cough or sneeze could set off a snow slide.
The bus had no washer fluid gizmo on it so now and again we'd have to send Jason out to remove the built up ice on the wipers and clear the window so we could see again. At one point I suggested we park inside a snow shed tunnel till the storm passed. By 6:00 p.m. we finally arrived in Revelstoke where the storm had become quite a blizzard. DAMM near went off the road trying to make our turn into town off the highway. Drove about the town and after a few rejections we found a friendly service station man who let us 'park and plug'. That is, he said, "if you don't mind moving your bus at 4:00 a.m. when they come to plow us out."
From here, we called Sus and Peter back east and Harold Geinger on the west coast to let everyone know of our progress. Harold replied, " well I'll be go to hell " and Peter, all he could say was, " wow, wow, wow." We shoved off before the snowplows were out , good and early, in the quiet of the stormspent morning, our eighth day on the road. It's 4:00 a.m. and while driving over the bridge out of town, back onto the TCH, I remembered way back, when me and Dennis slept in an old railroad shack here, hitch-hiking back from Van to Calgary in our teens.
Once in Kamploops, we took a chance on a MacDonald's Restaurant of their nutritious,' Big Breakfast'. The eggs were powdered and looked like fungal growth and the hash browns looked like the styrophome package they came in. What do people see in this place? We were hungry so we ate it anyway. Fueled up again at a Shell station where I almost forgot about our height and nearly took out the overhead roof above the pumps.
"This story is going to have to go into another part as it's now pushing on to 11:00 p.m."
Article with pictures: http://members.shaw.ca/coastalcedarcreations/bus2.htm
Warren.
****
Hello
everyone!
Well,
we’ve done it! We are officially moving back into the kitchen after living in
the hallway and dining room for a kitchen while the tile guy installed the new
floor. He did an amazing job on it! He arrived Monday at 10am and ripped out
the baseboards and old flooring and had a layer of concrete leveled in its
place by 3 in the afternoon. He did one heck of a lot of work in 5 hours. He
had tightened down the plywood base for the floor with three hundred 2” screws
to eliminate all the squeaks before pouring the cement. He assured us that we
would never have to worry about the squeaks returning. On Tuesday he spent
another 5 hours installing the tile. Wednesday he arrived and did the grouting
of the tile. We had to wait 24 hours before walking on the finished floor. We
decided to replace the old baseboards with new ones and told our installer that
we would do the work. Well, the floor is amazing and is totally squeak free.
Adam and I spent Thursday afternoon cutting and installing the new baseboards.
Carole actually stayed up Wednesday night and into Thursday morning to clean up
all the dust that had settled on most of the house. She also scrubbed the
remnants of the grouting off the tile so we could put the kitchen back
together. I think she finally fell asleep on the couch at around 7am Thursday.
We also replaced Carole’s stove with a new one. Adam and I picked it up
Thursday as well. When we got it out of the carton and into the kitchen, Carole
realized that it’s not the one that we ordered. She called the appliance store
and of course the salesman is on holidays. The woman that took the call told
Carole to use the stove for the weekend and they would replace it on Monday.
We’re having company for Easter dinner so not being able to use the stove to
cook the turkey would never do! It seems there’s always a snag when you have a
major project to complete. The stove is the only thing that went wrong so I
guess we were lucky at that. The floor will never need to be replaced and
that’s a good thing.
*
Well by
now I guess you all know about the 8 murders in the St Thomas area south of
London Ontario. The bodies were found in several vehicles in a farmer’s field.
This took place last weekend and by Wednesday the OPP had arrested five people
and today those charged appeared via video connection in St Thomas court. How
come our police can find murderers and arrest them within 2 days of the
incident in this vast expanse of a province and the Mexican Police can’t find
one or two murderers on a 10 acre seaside resort over a 2 month time period? I
guess we just have to admit we have the best! These guys were all members of
the Banditos motorcycle gang and were involved in a major cocaine transaction.
The OPP “Biker Gang” squad had followed a van from Toronto to a farmhouse near
St Thomas and didn’t know that the van contained 200kg of cocaine. They suspected
a drug deal was in the works but once they arrived at the farmhouse belonging
to another gang member, they decided these lowlifes were getting together just
for a party. Figuring this, they decided to discontinue the surveillance. When
the bodies were discovered the next morning only 20 minutes away from the farm,
the OPP raided the farm and arrested four men and one young woman and charged
them with the 8 murders. As it turned out, the people at the farmhouse decided
they wanted the cocaine for themselves and shot the three delivery guys. As
other members of the Bandidos arrived at the farm to get their share, they too
were shot and stuffed in their cars. Through the night, eight members were shot
by five fellow gang members and dumped in the field.
I for one
think the five killers did the rest of society a favour! There’s nothing good
about Biker Gangs and this incident has served to plant eight of these
criminals in the ground and another five gang members in the slammer for a long
long time! Our new Prime Minister has promised to get tough on crime and I
think he has a great opportunity to get off to a good start with this
particular series of murders. Although I like the idea of these guys (and girl)
going away for many years, I’d like it much more if they too were guests of
their local morgue. After all, each low life that our prison system holds costs
the citizens of Canada $100,000.00 per year. That may be a conservative figure.
I think I heard that as a cost about 5 years ago. What a waste of taxpayer’s
dollars! I guess I just made a statement in favour of capital punishment one
more time didn’t I? On the other hand, maybe in time and with the right therapy
while in the slammer the remaining members of the Bandidos can be “saved” and
turned into productive members of society. If you saw the pictures of the front
window of the ring leaders farm house you’d realize this guy’s beyond help. He
had a poster that read “Kill ‘em All And Let God Sort ‘em Out” and a sign next
to that that read “Is There Life After Death? TRESSPASS and Find Out!” and
there was a 9mm hand gun pointing at the reader. This guy was a nut case and
was known to be a “Dangerous Man” all his life. He’s not the kind that would
respond at all to rehabilitation. He had a huge collection of Nazi memorabilia
ie: WW II Nazi uniforms and German Luger hand guns, flags and military medals.
He wasn’t above shooting his friends with pellet guns at point blank range or
zapping them with Tazer guns. All in all, just a real loser and a career criminal.
He’s finally committed a serious enough crime that he’ll have free room and
board for the rest of his life and I resent having to pay that room and board
for him. Oh well, maybe he’ll have a cell mate that will place him on the
receiving end of something unpleasant. One can only hope the tables will be
turned on such a bad person and he’ll live in the same fear he instilled in his
associates and the public for so many years. I guess we’ll just have to wait
and see how much “house arrest” the Canadian legal system dishes out for this
one! LOL!
Gotta go
for now. Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again
next time in The Ontarion Report.
Bye for now… Greg.
PS:
Something To Think About>
Other
sins only speak; murder shrieks out.
John Webster 1623.
PPS:
HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!
****
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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