The sky was clear, and no smoke was in the air. From a province so recently consumed by forest fires, it was surprisingly idyllic. The waterfront at Kelowna was a bustling hive of relaxing people, despite a brisk wind whipping the waves up. Adults lounged on the grass, and children swarmed an inflatable adventure park set up just offshore. I spied some serious looking young adult staff, and figured a spontaneous boarding party of semi clothed adults would be pretty strongly discouraged. We passed up the tempting adventure park and strolled around downtown Kelowna. The statues in the area were lovely, and the water fountains were whipped into interesting new patterns by the wind. We had managed to hit a few wineries on the way into town, wandering thru the hills just north of Kelowna. There is some serious money up that way! I have never seen so many luxury cars on such narrow roads. We took turns navigating the RV along these twisting roads. Justin displayed an excellent perception of exactly how much space we needed, and balls of steel. I eventually gave up looking at the road too much, as it was more relaxing not to!

Justin had arranged to purchase another telescope and tripod from a person living in the area, and we stopped to pick it up. He added it to the herd of telescopes and tripods already in RV residence, and we carried on. Don’t ask me why this one was better, it had something to do with the tripod. As it was Sunday late afternoon by this point, we didn’t linger too long. A quick snack of some of the items likely not welcome at the border, and we pressed on south. The whimsically named towns of Summerland, Peachland, Freestone Peaches (really? was that a town?) slipped by in the gathering dark. There were many signs advertising wine tastings, wine tours, and any wine related activity you could care to name. I was hoping to cross over the border that night, and then hit some wineries on the other side, while still in the Osoyoos Valley. We drove on, tho we were both tired from the night drive the previous night. Passports at the ready, all citrus eaten, wine neatly counted and boxed, we reached the border. A disinterested guard asked where we were from as he scanned our passports, then where we were going that night. We had plans to park at an RV park in Oroville, just over the border, and told him as much. Handing back our passports, he waved us on, telling us to have a good trip. I blinked at Justin. He hadn’t even asked how long we were staying, which was surely in the bare minimum of questions! I swear, Justin has miraculous abilities to appear harmless. Oroville was not much further, and we parked without incident. As the night was quite clear, nothing would do for Justin but to set up his new telescope and view some stars. I left him to it and retired for some well earned sleep.

The tail end of summer 2017, and it hasn’t been a great summer so far for me. Too much personal stress, likely a pretty good sign I needed to work on my own self a bit. Ah well, self improvement can wait until the long nights of winter, when there is nothing to distract, and only the endless hours of darkness ahead. For now, enjoy the last month of warmth and sunshine. The back to school flyers are circulating already, reaching out to drag summer bronzed young people back to the stuffy classrooms. I emphasis with their distress, and deal with my own problems in my time tested way.

I ran away. Funny how when the problem is in your head, it tends to follow.

The new (to us) RV had already been tested on a voyage to BC, out to a festival near Hope. I had been holding the RV in a state of mild distrust, fearing the RV gods would demand a mechanical sacrifice. They so often turn their eyes to the festival crowd, cutting down vehicles on the path to an event. Of course, most festival RVs have only a passing encounter with anything resembling regular maintenance, so the rate of attrition was hardly surprising. By the time an RV ends up at a festival, it has usually seen a few years. Our RV (yet to be named to mutual satisfaction) had made it up and over the Coquehalla, and even back again! This mountain pass sees quite a few break downs, and an overheating leading to vehicle fire is not an unusual event. When our RV trundled over the summit and happily down the other side, I had breathed a sigh of relief. A quick visual inspection of the brakes on the other side showed no serious signs of overheating either. I felt my heart open a bit, to allow this new vehicle in. I had accepted it, and was now prepared to shoulder the upkeep. Not uncomplainingly mind you, I reserve the right to bitch at the mechanical trials I endure.

We left Edmonton comically and unsurprisingly much later than anticipated. I find this does actually help me now, as I have lots of time to let my mind wander as I wait. I usually remember the last few things I ought to pack, and my rate of forgotten items is much less than it used to be. A last minute visit with Justin’s family, and we were off into the growing darkness. Eager to put some kms behind us, I had purchased an energy drink, and had a compelling audio book all ready to go. On the highway, I set the cruise control, and sunk into the world that was being described to me. I eagerly set aside my own problems to listen to the struggles and triumphs of the characters in the audio book. All they needed was a magic sword to find their way thru. Ah, escapism.

Rain pattered down on the wide windshield, with the wipers making comically staggered swipes to clear. Ye olde mechanical linkage with leverage points. Less than a smooth effect for wipers, but long lasting and effective. The rain was no doubt dragging the smoke that hung over most of BC down, and I had hopes for a glorious morning. Perhaps I would see it from behind the steering wheel, perhaps just the next day when I woke up. There is a certain freedom to travelling with your bed already set up. Justin dozed on the couch behind the passenger seat. I tried to drive gently, and did a much better job this trip of not hitting the rumble strips. That was never a fun way to wake up. The hours passed, and eventually the stimulants lost the battle. We had made good progress in the night hours, the road mostly empty and nothing to stop me from taking the corners as fast as I dared, other than consideration for my sleeping partner and a healthy dash of fear for top heavy vehicles and their relation to gravity. I pulled the RV into a vacant lot in Blue River in the hours before dawn. Several other RVs had stopped here, all facing the same direction and quiet. A herd of lumbering beasts bedded down for the night, grouped together for protection from predators. In this case, an over zealous park warden was our most likely harasser.

Justin wanted to sleep without moving much more than he felt like driving. I couldn’t blame him, the BC roads had been less than restful. We curled up in the bed, grasping an hour or two before the sun would rise over the mountains we knew surrounded us.

How often does a solar eclipse come along?!? Turns out, rather more frequently than I had thought. But there was a cool festival around it this time, In Oregon, We decided to go for it!