SATURNA UPDATE

POST # 204

Thirty-six years ago tomorrow, on February 29th, 1980, I was crossing the border from Raxaul, India, to Birgunj, Nepal.  Tomorrow, on February 29th, 2016, I will be hanging out with Pebbles the cat, here on Saturna Island.  Even though it hasn't arrived as of this writing, my guess is, that the 2016 version of February 29th will be way less adventurous than the 1980 version.  I'll find out tomorrow.


In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy my remaining days here in this peaceful paradise, with Pebbles as my sole companion, seeing as my friends from Washington, left earlier today to return home after a weekend visit.

Here comes the ferry, to collect my friends, Mary, Tom and Karen.

Below is a photo of Pebbles with a look that says, "What,  more visitors?"

Fortunately for the furball, the visitors were feline friendly, and by the time they had left, she was totally relaxed.

Saturna provides plenty of views for anyone who makes the effort to spend some time here.

Finally, a couple of videos to round out this entry.

Ah, memories.

Happy trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

A footnote:  Today, the power went out for about two and a half hours.  We take it for granted, and when it's not working, nothing works.  This was a small taste of what life will be like once industrial civilization finally collapses.  It kind of makes me think of this little youtube clip.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=xoCZ07hwoZ4

All the more reason to enjoy the moment.

"HAVE THEY LEFT YET, PAUL?"

POST # 203

" I know it's late in the day, Pebbles, but in answer to your question in the title of this post, the answer is most definitely, YES.  I made sure to leave here in order to get our visitors to the ferry terminal on time, and I watched them board before I left.  So they are well and truly gone, and you have your house back to yourself.  Well almost, however you still have to put up with me for another week or so, but I'm sure you'll cope."

"I did make sure to take a photo of them yesterday, just in case you start to miss them.  At least we can both stare at this image on the computer screen, and you/we can be reminded of their visit here."

MIKE AND TALYN

" While they were here, you probably had thoughts of spending time near this spot."

"Maybe at times, you were so  desperate to be away from the house, that you would have even considered this place?"

"After all, hanging out with pooches has to be better than visitors, right?"

" In any event, I did manage to get them out of YOUR house to show them around YOUR island, so that you could have the whole place to yourself.  Yesterday, one of the places that I took the visitors was to Boat Pass.  While you were probably sleeping, we were enjoying scenes like this."

"However, you and I did have some moments together while the visitors were still asleep in the guest house, like this morning when the goats came wandering by."

"All things considered, Pebbles, you must admit it was a pretty fun weekend.   I certainly enjoyed Mike and Talyn spending some time here with us, and I happen to think that you did as well.  Of course, we did miss out on our afternoon nap together, but we have plenty of time to do that this coming week.  And I promise you that I will."

"For now though, you can relax, and take a well deserved rest.  You've earned it."

"Sweet dreams, furball."

Happy trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer

SATURNA SOLITUDE

POST # 202



I've used the above image before, however it makes me laugh every time I see it.  In addition, I now have a furball to care for which looks suspiciously like the one above.

Introducing, PEBBLES.  She may not look as annoyed as the other furball, but she does have her moments. Thankfully,  I've now been here long enough for her to decide that she will PUT UP with me.  It's so nice to be WANTED.

Yesterday I went for a walk from here to the beach at the west end of Trueworthy Road.  It was a grey old day, however the walk was an enjoyable one, just the same.  Plenty of scenery to look at, and the water was alive with seals.  The park at the end of the road is called Thomson Park, and while I was there I took a photo of the sign which explains some of the history of this area.

I have had a few days of sunny weather, so I made sure to take advantage of them by doing some exploring around the area.  Immediately north of my location, the land rises up rather abruptly, and in order to get to the other parts of the island, one has to climb over a very steep grade.  This road is not for the faint of heart.  It's also narrow, so caution is advised.  Below is a photo I took the other day when I was returning to my  housesit location.

Along this road there is a turn off that will take you to the top of Mount Warburton Pike, which at 397 metres (1303 feet) is the highest point on the island.  It's a spectacular view, and when I was up there the other day I took a video.  I mention in the video that I am on one of the highest points on Saturna, which was true as I was slightly downhill from the mountain's summit.

 Unfortunately, I couldn't see my house from this location, so I decided to take another trip up the hill the next day, to see if I could spot my place.  It took some effort, and there were a couple of precarious places that I had to be very careful of my next step, but in the end, it was worth it, and I achieved my goal.

I placed a biodegradable marker on a tree, so that when I'm sitting here at the house, I can  spot where I was on the mountain.  With all the rain we've had lately, I don't imagine that my marker will be there for very long.  It will become part of the soil at some point in time.

Back here at the house, there are a few choice places to sit, if the weather is nice.

And finally, after a hard day of pet/house sitting, it's always good to enjoy a spectacular sunset overlooking South Pender island.

The day is slipping away, and there is walking to be done before the sun goes down, so I'll be on my merry way, and continue this story next week.

Happy Trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

FROM DAWSON TO DAFFODILS???

POST # 201

Somewhere along the way since I left Dawson, I'm quite sure that I saw a daffodil.  Considering how warm it was during my time in the Yukon, I wouldn't have been surprised at all to see a daffodil up there.

The day of my departure was shrouded in fog.  The Air North flight couldn't land in the morning, and even though it looked clear enough to land on its return journey from Inuvik, it just flew right on by.  Needless to say, the crowd that was assembled at the Dawson airport was somewhat disappointed.

This is what it looked like on the morning of my scheduled departure.  The fog didn't lift enough for the plane to land that afternoon.  At least the boneheads were happy.

Fortunately for me, some Dawson friends were there at the airport as well.  Diana was planning to fly out, and after the plane failed to land, her partner, Martin said, "Well, it looks like I'll be driving to Whitehorse."  Diana and I were expecting to catch the early morning flight from Whitehorse to Vancouver the next morning, and if it wouldn't have been for Martin's generous offer to drive us there, I'm not quite sure how things would have turned out.

On the journey south as we crossed the bridge at Stewart Crossing, lo and behold, the  friends that I had just finished housesitting for, were crossing at that exact moment heading back to Dawson.  It was just a fluke that we passed each other while on the bridge.  It was a good opportunity to stop for a quick visit.

From left to right:  Diana, Martin, Terry and Jannice.

Diana, Martin and I arrived late in the evening in Whitehorse, but not too late to go out for a bite to eat prior to heading off to our respective hotels for the night.  The next morning Martin would drive back to Dawson, and Diana and I would make our connection to Vancouver.  All's well that ends well.

I'm now settling in at my latest housesit here on Saturna Island.  Only one furball to care for this time around, which will be very relaxing indeed.  More news and photos next week,

Happy trails,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer