WANDERING WESTWARD

 POST # 488

My journey back to the coast started here.  This was the little house that I had enjoyed the company of my furball friends since early January.  But, like all good house sits, it had to come to an end at some point.  I said so long to the owners, as well as the furballs, and hopped into my rental car (above), and was on my merry way.

Originally, I thought that I may break the trip up into two days, and car camp overnight along the way, but as the day progressed, I decided that I would push straight through to Vancouver.

Of course, there are many things to see along the way, and once the morning fog burned off, it ended up being a very enjoyable journey.  The frosty morning caused a magnificent coating on the trees.

I even came across a place that my sister Gerry would enjoy.

The journey westward continued, and I arrived in mid-afternoon at the Hope slide.

My original plan was to car-camp here overnight, but I changed my mind at some point and decided to push on.  I seem to recall a family trip to the coast back in the year 1967 if memory serves.  The image of the collapsed mountain seemed much more ominous to me back then, when I was a mere 12 year old lad.

Pushing on, I arrived back in Vancouver late in the afternoon of January 22nd.  I didn't have to return the rental car until the next day, so it was my "home" for the evening.  Having done this before, the plan was to find a place close to a park.  That was for two reasons.  The first is that I didn't need to worry about people staring out their windows at the guy snoozing in the car, and the second was to be close to a tree that I could "water" in the evening if required.  I found what I thought was the perfect place, however it wasn't a very comfortable sleep.

After this photo was taken at 5:41 am last Sunday morning, I did manage to drift off to sleep for a while longer, only to be awoken by an army of kids and adults.  They had arrived early to practise soccer.  If I had known that was going to be the case, I probably would have found a different spot to park the car.  Oh well, so it goes.  Another successful journey has come to a close.

Of course, each year on this blog post, I tend to remember that yesterday was my last shift at Aquabus, way back in the year, 2009.  Thirteen years have just evaporated, and it amazes me that the time has flown as fast as it has.  All the more reason to appreciate each day, as it presents itself.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer