Duffey Lake Road - Sept. 29, 2018

It took us all summer to plan this trip. Actually summer formally ended before we put rubber to pavement. The fact that my motorcycle was out of commission for a month due to maintenance issues didn't help our cause either. But it certainly turned out in our favour as I would not have been impressed if it'd broken down on a 500 km trip.

Somewhere between Whistler and Pemberton.

As we were stopped for a traffic entanglement somewhere between Whistler and Pemberton we met a couple from Holland that were motorhoming through BC and Alberta. The gentleman was a fellow motorcyclist. I was impressed that he knew my bike was significantly older than Chris' by about 25 years.

This photo of our gas stop in Pemberton is not meant as a corporate plug; being a dog person, I just
like their logo.

The Autumn colours somewhere south of Lillooet.

Fortunately we didn't encounter a single transport truck, and only a couple
of motorhomes.

Our lunch stop in Lillooet.

On the return to Pemberton I noticed this tiny spot of snow.

Here's Duffey Lake between Lillooet and Pemberton.
The north part is blue and is divided by a log jam; the south part is green.

Here's the green part.

Here's the first sign of the clouds moving in at the south end of Duffey Lake.

Lillooet Lake near Pemberton.

Back in Squamish and the rain has begun.

As I compose this post on Sunday evening it's pouring outside and has been since I got home around 7 pm.

The Big Island

No, not Hawaii, although Hawaii was on my mind this week as the first episode of the Magnum PI re-boot debuted. I was half tempted to watch it too as I'd been a big fan during all the seasons that the original ran. But then again, I think I was in my early teens then. Funny how things we liked in our youth tend not to be so enticing as we age. Of course I'm not going to pre-judge the show having not tuned in, but...I don't know; maybe I'll catch it this weekend online so I can perhaps watch it without commercials. Sometimes that's a possibility on some websites for a week before the next episode airs.

The Big Island of which I refer is of course Vancouver Island. I was given 3 assignments last week spread out between Nanaimo and Duncan which called for an overnighter. I like doing those once in a while. An occasional road trip does the soul some good, in my humble opinion.

It wasn't a full sailing. Look at all these empty front row seats from to view
early morning Howe Sound.

Sunrise looking east toward Vancouver. This was actually worth the 4:30 a.m.
alarm.

Perhaps a bit too dark to see, but the faint skyline silhouette of Vancouver is visible.

The hovering cloud mass to the south was intriguing as well.

Deck chairs on the car deck seemed an odd placing at first glance until I realized they were set up adjacent to the dog room. Then I noticed the hydrant artfully placed on a patch of artificial turf. On a warm summer crossing this would be a nice place to sit with your canine best friend.

East Side 10K 2018

September's been a very busy month. Lots of overtime work, plus a running event I'd forgotten I hadn't blogged about yet. The East Side 10K was another wet one, but not nearly as much a super-soaker as our first one in 2016.

That one still remains our benchmark as a Pacific NW monsoon. As in, "Wow, it sure is raining hard this early Saturday morning for our weekly run. I wonder if anyone will cancel? Probably not; this isn't half as bad as that epic 2016 East Van 10K we ran!"

That first shot even looks like I'm half-enjoying myself!

The Persistent Pacers posing in the Woodwards plaza.

Galloping Goose 2018

Just got back late yesterday afternoon from our almost annual Galloping Goose bicycle trip on Vancouver Island. Jeff and I didn't go quite as far this year, only about 170 km, due to lack of bicycle riding leading up to this event. Somehow my motorcycle got more riding time this Spring than my bicycle. Nonetheless, after a new pair of tires and new brake pads front and rear, and of course a new  cheapo GoPro knock-off mounted to my handlebars, we were ready for action.

Sunrise was pretty impressive. Kinda made up for getting up at 4:45 a.m.

A rainbow send-off seemed a good omen for the weekend.

They say the prairies are "Sky Country", but on
Friday morning the Tsawwassen ferry offered up
some steep competition.

The new Johnston Street Bridge is open now and it made a good experimental
backdrop to try out the panoramic feature of my iPhone to create an accordion bus.

Here we are probably half way to Sooke on Day 2.

Jeff identified this as a bear print on the shore of
Matheson Lake on the way to Sooke.

Apparently there was lots of wildlife to be seen, but we saw
very little.

I'll call this my artistic representation of a weasel; the only wildlife
I saw on this trip. He was too fast for my shutter.

I wasn't expecting to see a paddle board on Matheson
Lake.

No shortage of warning that bears were about.

We'd never done a side trip to Matheson Lake before. Quite
a tranquil place.

Many sections of the trail can give one tunnel vision. Although admittedly, I
did enhance the effect just a bit.

Arbutus trees are not uncommon on Vancouver Island;
they've always been a favourite of mine.

Road construction is continued from last year in an attempt to alleviate
the dreaded "Colwood Crawl".

Same bridge, different camera.

Km 33; back at Swartz Bay ferry terminal.