Tripping around and over British Columbia

White Lake marsh near Sorrento, BC

It seems a lifetime ago I wrote about our current trip. 

But here we are still on the road almost three weeks later.

We woke up in Sorrento June 29 and made a B-line for the coast. We visited with sisters in Langley; which was the first time in a long time where the four Lacombe girls spent a day with just us. I learned some things about me that day.

Rain forest pine on Quadra Island

Then three of us hopped a ferry to Nanaimo, drove to Campbell River and hopped another ferry to Quadra Island. On Quadra, we spent a week at a private women’s retreat where I learned some more things about myself and wrote the poem that precedes this entry called O Mother. 

I knew some of the women when I arrived and all of them by the time we parted. I think that’s all I will say about that for now.

My sisters dropped me in Victoria at my son’s home. Unfortunately for me that wasn’t planned very well and I missed seeing the grandkids.

Houseboat at Fishermen's Wharf in Victoria, BC

However, I think that’s the most time I’ve spent alone with my son in about 15 years or more, so more learning took place along with some quality son time.

 Then my daughter and son-in-law picked me up and took me back to Langley. On the way, we watched the super moonrise over Swartz Bay as the ferry headed for Tsawwassen, BC.

 In Langley, I hung out with sisters of two generations for a few days. The younger generation are sisters and cousins and it would be interesting to send them off for six days together in one house. One of them is a nurse, so they should all survive. LOL

Tuesday, the original sister pair piled into the van and headed for Nakusp where sister two has lakefront property. And here we are until tomorrow or Sunday.

On our way up here, we ran into a road blockade due to a grisly accident on Hwy 97 between Kelowna and Vernon. A half-hour segment of our trip took over three hours in 38^C heat. Air conditioning doesn’t work all that well in a car moving at 5 km ph and we never broke 10 km ph during that entire detour. So, that’s when I learned that no matter the tragedy taking place in anyone else’s life, I can be ticked at the inconvenience it’s causing in mine. This proves beyond doubt that we live in our own Now regardless of our compassion for fellow men. My divine compassion boiled off somewhere between hour one and hour two that afternoon!

This is what crossing Uper Arrow Lake looks like in the dark!

Anyone who travels in British Columbia knows that the landscapes are spectacular and varied from rainforest to desert. The roads can be twisty and the trees grow right down to the edge of the pavement almost. So, when the delay had us driving from Lumby to Needles after dark, we drove on high alert for deer and saw four beside and one on the road. THAT was a LONG drive.

I’ve tweeted a bunch of photos from along the way too. You can see those @umbelH2o

We landed at our destination around midnight and were mighty happy to sink and swim for the next day in and out of the lake. I have two more days before I return to reality. I’m going to soak those puppies up!

 

Sunset on Upper Arrow Lake