July 24th to 29th - to Pemberton,Surrey,Spokane

July 24th - Fri - to Pemberton B.C.
I made Buck & Snow (horse & donkey) very happy this morning by putting them out in a pasture so no one has to feed them while Marg is in Pemberton. We got a few other things organized and left about 10. Too many miles down the road to return, I figured that we had forgotten to take chicken out of the freezer to take with us. Marg confirmed this when we stopped to stretch our legs at Hat Creek so I rode with Marg so we could shop in Lillooet for more chicken. We also stopped at a produce stand and had Terry & Dad wondering if we would ever join them at the lunch spot.
We continued on the Duffy Lake road to Pemberton which includes some very steep hills - one is 18 %. There was construction and crack sealing crews on the road so we were stopped a few times. One timely stop allowed our brakes to cool before the last, steepest hills.
We arrived at brother Bob’s at 4 and set up between the house & the barn. Marg parked in the driveway so Dad would not have so far to walk. Brother Doug & his wife Judy arrived shortly after us. They live in Port McNeill on Vancouver Island and had a long trip. Their son Dennis and his wife Nina arrived about an hour later.
It was very hot so we set up lawn chairs and a couple of large folding tables in the deepest shade we could find. Bob raises & markets Pemberton Valley Natural Beef and provided steaks for dinner. We were joined by friends Allan & Shelley and by Bob’s son Trevor who lives nearby to make an even dozen for dinner.

July 25th - Sat - Pemberton
Judy made waffles & blueberry sauce for breakfast - yum! Then a trip to the cemetery to visit Mom’s grave. Doug, Judy, Dennis & Nina rode their bicycles while Marg, Dad, Terry & I followed in Doug’s car since we had not unhooked from our 5th wheel. We carried on afterwards to visit Dad’s friend Elmer who was not home. We chatted with his wife Ruth for a while, drove further up the valley and returned in time for lunch.
While Dad was having his after lunch rest, Terry unhooked our truck and he, Marg & I drove to town. We wanted to fuel up without having the 5th wheel in tow and also wanted something to do. We browsed through some stores, bought a few items and checked out some boots to replace a pair that Dad loves but are pretty ratty. Some huge raindrops came down just before we headed back and the clouds up the valley were very dark. When we got back, everyone had moved lawn chairs under cover and were standing under trees or eves to keep dry while the rain moved by. Lightening had hit the mountains and there were 4 fires burning that we could see. Helicopters immediately started checking them out and then dumped water on 2 to contain them.
We had a nice surprise when we returned from town. Aunt Jessie and Ed had arrived. No mud to mess up their parking this time so they were set up right behind us and made it 12 for dinner outside again.

July 26th - Sun - Pemberton
Dennis & Nina left early this morning on their way to Banff and then as far across Canada as their vacation time allows.
Judy wanted to go to the Doggie Fest in town so she & Doug rode their bikes the 10 or so miles and the rest of us followed later in 2 cars since there were 7 of us. There was a silent auction, a kids’ tent, a BBQ area and an agility course. There were a few dogs being put through their paces on the course. Some of our group had lunch and we asked when the agility competition would begin. Turns out it was just a demonstration and a chance for dog owners to work with the trainers.
We did have another reason for going to town and that was to have Dad try on and hopefully buy the boots that Marg & I checked out yesterday. The boots were too hard to pull on but I found a pair of slip on shoes that are sturdy enough for Dad to wear on the farm and he wore them out of the store. Bob ended up buying the boots that Dad looked at and a great straw type hat that offers more protection to ears & neck than a ball cap. Doug & Judy got into the swing of things with a leather cap for Doug and a purse for Judy.
We have a couple of big tables still set up outside so we had lunch in the shade. Doug & Judy were way overheated when they got back.
Bob & Doug took Marg’s motor home into the relatively cooler root house - which is now a shop - to work on the wheel well. Marg & I offered encouragement, held lights and fetched things. They got it patched up in time for Bob to shower and start barbequing chicken for dinner. It was lovely sitting outside until mosquitoes suddenly and fiercely appeared and sent us inside.
The largest mountain fire was had way less smoke this morning but as the nighttime moisture disappeared and the weather heated up, it flared up again so we saw more helicopters with water buckets.

July 27th - Mon - to Surrey B.C.
Doug & Judy left at 7 to catch the 10:10 ferry from Horseshoe Bay. Aunt Jessie & Ed were next to leave about 9 and we followed shortly afterwards. There is a lot of construction on Hwy 99 from Horseshoe Bay to Whistler in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics but the longest stop was about 10 minutes.
We planned to stay at the Pacific Border RV park with our friends Terry & Judy Huber but we couldn’t get them on the phone yesterday or this morning. I called the RV park and they said that Terry & Judy were away. We had decided to keep going south when Judy called and said they were just getting back so we got a spot and joined them. The RV park is right behind the duty free store and you wonder if you are on the right road when every lane includes “US Border” on the sign.
I have a very empty fridge but did have a couple of packages of baby back ribs (what else!?) in the freezer. Terry & Judy contributed all the rest and we had a nice dinner with them.

July 28th - Tues - to Spokane
Our long (for us!) drive today started with a 20 minute wait to get through customs and very few questions at customs. We hit a couple of slow stretches near Seattle, stopped for fuel and for lunch, stopped at a rest area to wake Terry up and arrived at Northern Quest casino about 3:30. Terry wanted to take the 5th wheel to Blue Crick RV tomorrow to get the brakes checked so thought we would stay overnight at the casino as it is on the same side of town as Blue Crick. Well, our “allowance” didn’t last too long at the casino so I persuaded him to take advantage of sister-in-law Kathy’s offer to park in their driveway. Kathy & Skip are not home right now but they generously included the use of the house which we really appreciated this evening with the weather remaining hot.

July 29th - Wed - Spokane
First to a brake shop and made an appointment to get the truck brakes worked on this afternoon. Picked up our mail and then ordered contacts from Costco. Good thing I have a couple of pairs left as they take a week to get here so we will have them sent to our mail box and then forwarded to us somewhere. Then we crossed another thing off our list by getting front tires for the truck.
We stopped at another shop to discuss our 5th wheel brakes and haven’t decided how to proceed yet. After lunch we went to Whites where Terry used to work to pick up the chairs that we ordered. Back to Skip & Kathy’s to put the chairs together. They look nice and are so much lighter to move around which we have to do each time we move.
I stayed to catch up the blog and do some laundry while Terry took the truck in for the brakes. It took longer than we expected so I had dinner ready when he got back. Now relaxing and enjoying the view from S&K’s windows.