Summer Travel to Reunions! In British Columbia, and Saskatchewan.

 Looking back, it appears that our last post was some time ago, and we had just returned home to leafless trees and a few small snow patches.

One of the first items on our summer agenda, was to apply for a brand new 10-year passport - Done!

 Next, was to put the truck camper on, as we had places to go - done.  Of course, whenever he was outside, Bailey would run to the door of the 5th wheel, and ask to be let inside - so he could check it out, and make sure no mices had taken up residence.  For the first time, some red squirrels apparently found the entry point into the 5th's basement, no doubt following on the trails of the California pack rats!  Took some serious deterrence to get rid of them.

 Winter was not about to give up it's grip on the area, and a few days later over 6" of fresh snow was deposited on everything.  Thank goodness for the hot tub!

 

Despite bouts of winter-like weather, more and more birds keep arriving, and passing over on their way further north.  My large flock of resident (under my eaves) Cliff Swallows began arriving about the 12th of May.  Perhaps as a result, I rarely see a mosquito here!

 

But just prior to that was our first summer excursion, starting with a celebration of life of a gal I used to work with in Jasper, back in the day.  We stopped in Lake Louise, where I also used to reside and worked for 15 years, to get some water to go.  While most of the area was clear of snow by this time, the campground, though open had huge piles of snow throughout.  The RV dump was plowed clear, but the water was not turned on yet!  Luckily, I remembered a tap on the front of the shower building to get my fill.

Not in a rush to get anywhere, the next night was spent on the west boundary of Yoho National Park, along the Beaverfoot river.

Still ahead of schedule, we went up Revelstoke lake for a couple of nights at one of our usual spots.  Water was still cold, of course, but I made it in waist deep. 

 

Still lots of snow in the high country. 

Cupboard cat.

Bailey, 'helping' with this post!

 

A good time was had in Salmon Arm, with a bunch of old retired Park Wardens! Several days of chatting reminiscing, and enhancing old stories, and a performance by our house band, The Wardens!

 

 

After that, we headed up the west side of Shuswap Lake to Seymour Arm. That involved some exploration, and the discovery of a couple of 'new to us' camp spots along the lake

 

We were a bit beyond cell phone service, but my Starlink wanted to send me a txt before it would connect...   So, I strapped my phone to the drone, sent it up a couple hundred feet, and it came down with the required txt code - and we were online!

Around that time after we got home, it was very hot, and the winds were howling from the NW.  A presumed lightning-caused fire broke out in the bush to the west.

It appears pretty close in these pics, but it was actually 23 km away at that time.  But if the wind had changed direction a few degrees it could have gotten interesting in a hurry.  As it was, there were a lot of bombers working the fire perimeter, as well as helicopters bucketing, cat lines being constructed, and night helicopters working around the clock.  After a few days of intense action, they had it under control.

Next trip was up to Abraham Lake for a week, where friend Don joined me with his 5th wheel.  We did some hiking and exploring and watched a few hockey games on TV.

Back at home again, Bailey took on this grizzly - on the TV!

Next, we were off to Saskatchewan for two more reunions!  The main one was for mostly retired Conservation Officers, and our college class had a small 50 year (must be some mistake?) get together the night before.  And the very next day I got together with a whole bunch of family who live in Saskatoon.  Twelve of us enjoyed a great meal and some good visiting.  Of course, Bailey was a hit with all the young kids involved.

Back home for a few days to mow the grass, and we're off again, this time to Vancouver Island!