September 15 2016

September 15, 2016

I like my setup here in my truck. I have created a barrier to curb prying eyes from the front and on the side isolating my light to my space within. The one side is totally exposed and since it faces the bushes a strategically placed pillow or my other jacket could plug that if needed. The mattress was an ingenious purchase and will serve me for years. I do not plan on giving up this truck for years but my next must be an equally sized vehicle because I must have room to sleep in the back.

I am back at the same picnic park in almost the exact same spot as yesterday. It is my last full day in British Columbia, but I still have four days of my vacation left afterwards. I woke up at seven thirty today and out of bed at eight as the sun broke over the hills.

When I am older and grayer will I too come to sit and stare at goats? “He is eating” one says “He is grazing” corrects another. “Yesterday he was left of the big tree and today he is right”. “Ah he likes the shade”. Camera click, click, click. Now we can show our grandkids what a mountain goat looks like. “Have they not seen one on movies?” someone will ask. “Ah yes, but this one was real, look here see my picture of it”. Flip, flip, flip. “It looks like a white rock” the viewer says. “Yes, but after that photo it moved” comes the reply.

Late Afternoon – I am trying to charge my camera and phone. I am fighting a strange feeling that someone is around my campsite. I guess I will have to pack in and head back over to ease the feeling. Clearly something is afoot with the internet, it just took me twenty seconds to post a reply on Google Plus. My campfire is particularly hot tonight which is good because I need to burn through all my remaining wood.

Evening – Page one hundred thirty-four of two hundred twenty. Next camping vacation, remember to bring a mallet, and find my portable radio too, and no more beans! Today I had two coffees, two muffins (cranberry-orange and blueberry), one CLIF bar, two waters and two cans of maple flavoured beans – and all of it appears to want out this hour. I left about forty-eight empty water bottles in the pile near the dumpsters.

I have two small logs on the fire and only one left to burn. I might finish “Brace New World” before I go back to work. I will take it to Red Deer with me on Saturday. I wonder if I should take the South route home tomorrow? Seven hundred seventy-two kilometres and ten hours forty five minutes versus eight hundred fifty-nine kilometres and eleven hours fifteen minutes.

It is just after eight, I think, perhaps later, and the last log is on the fire. She is burning now!

I like the smaller journals. I can only fit so much on a page but the content seems better. So, what can I take away from this brief but relaxing holiday? How does this one match up to others?

What were my ‘best’ holidays? Certainly, Vancouver was one, Robson Street at night, English Bay, a different cuisine every day on Denman. And then, Pacific Rim, camping in Canada’s rainforest, the Pacific, the goal achieved. Cape Croker, ten days was it, peace and serenity, the most activity was watching chipmunks and trail walks. And what did those three trips have in common, a contributing factor I am certain to their success – I was travelling alone.

Interesting, the bottled water I bought comes from sources in High River and Inglewood, in Calgary, Alberta.

I recall a geography class one time when we were studying the topography of the Mediterranean. I was called up to the blackboard to draw the mountainous coastline region of Italy. I took the chalk and with one wavy rolling stroke of my hand drew the coast and two mountain ranges. My teacher chuckled and pointed out while the mountains were not rugged enough they certainly resembled something. I stepped back and looked at my sketch and realized that I had drawn two rather bold mountains that closely resembled a woman’s voluptuous breasts. Not bad, not accurate to the Mediterranean but still pretty darn nice.