LEFT THE ISLAND, HEADED TO THE OKANAGAN AND SHUSWAP

Yes, our time on Vancouver Island has come to an end for another year.  The past few weeks have been very busy with lots of fun filled happenings.  We did have one traumatic and sad event when Mitzy was viciously attacked  by my nephews dog on Saturday.  He had been around her many times in the past couple of years but that day, he just dove at her from about ten feet away and before I could do anything, he had her head in his mouth and was chomping down.  We took her to the local vet who had just closed but a tech still there checked her over and referred us to a vet in Nanaimo that was open late.  They didn't stitch up the bite mark on top of her head and she has medicine and eye drops for her left eye.  We don't know if she will regain the sight in that eye.  Very discouraging!
We were up early this morning and on the road to the ferry where we had a long wait for the next boat.  We would rather get there with lots of time to spare so as to not have to wait for the next sailing.  We did have a sunny day for travelling which was great.  We had planned on going to forestry campsite on the other side of the Coast Range on Highway 3 but we were pooped out and stopped at a commercial campsite early instead.  It could have been nearly dark arriving at the forestry site and that is something we try to avoid.  We will just drive by it tomorrow on our way to Penticton.  The plan is to spend the weekend there then head up to Salmon Arm next Monday.  Bev had a new parking spot for us at her sister in law's that promises to be fairly quiet.  We will likely stay in the Shuswap for a week then depending what the weather forecast looks like, we will decide whether we go through the Rockies into Alberta.

I went for a last ATV ride on the Island on Sunday.  It was a gorgeous sunny morning when we left home, but it didn't last long.

We only suffered from a couple of these storm cells, most went around us.

We were surprised to see several Dogwood trees blooming.  They normally bloom in April and May in this area.  It was neat seeing the fall coloured leaves with the blooms! 

A peek a boo shot of a little lake we rode past up in the hills

We had to get home in good time on Sunday as we had a family supper to attend.  That's me on the left with my seven siblings.  I'm the oldest and the other were born over a fifteen year span.

And these are our spouses

On Monday, we went to Duncan and met with Richard and Georgia for the afternoon.  We started off with a treat at DQ then drove to Saltair for a walk in Stocking Creek Park.  This Douglas Fir tree is being embraced by a Western Red Cedar tree.

This long legged spider was perched on a maple leaf

Georgia and Aileen on one of the stairs

And going up another one

Some of the Broadleaf Maples were changing to their fall colours

Aileen, Georgia, Mitzy and Richard

Tuesday evening we went out to supper with friend Bev D and her sister Dorothy.  Afterward, we caught our last Vancouver Island sunset for this year

Tonight after a rest, I went for a stroll along the road in front of the RV park we are in and got to see some interesting and dramatic skies.  I was carrying my small camera so the images are grainier than if I had my main camera. 

JUST ABOUT DONE HERE FOR THIS YEAR

Well that was a fast and furious week!  We camped with Aileen's sister Anne and her husband John at Miracle Beach Provincial Park from last Saturday until this Friday.  Five of the six days saw John and I out geocaching.  The other day, Sunday, was our drive down to Victoria to attend Aileen's and Anne's Cousin Pat's wife Irene's 90th birthday celebration.  We also went to a care home and visited a friend from Cluxewe who has recently relocated there from intensive care at the Victoria Hospital.  He'd had a stroke in his trailer at Cluxewe and nearly died.  He hasn't recovered enough that he can return home yet and he may not.
John and I visited close to 200 caches over the six days.  I logged 172 caches and John 160.  The different numbers reflect the fact that I had already done some that John didn't have and John had done  some that I hadn't found.  John borrowed a mountain bike from his daughter and I had mine so we did quite a few on bikes.  Most of the rest we walked to . I think we burned a lot of calories during the week. Aileen and Anne enjoyed having some quiet visiting time and did a little shopping and wandering as well.
We are getting down to the end of our Vancouver Island visit.  We are having a supper tomorrow night with, hopefully, all seven of my siblings and their spouses.  On Monday, we are getting together with Richard and Georgia one last time.  We are planning to catch the ferry Wednesday morning then drive to Penticton, arriving Friday.  Likely we will head for Salmon Arm on the following Monday to spend a few days.  Everything else after that is weather dependent.  I hope to head through the Rockies and into Southern Alberta before crossing the border in the second week of October.  We are going to visit our Grand Junction, Colorado friends again on our way south to Arizona.
I didn't take any photos worth looking at the whole week (I was on holiday from my camera) so I dug into my archives for a few for today.  These were all taken on slide film then scanned.

Chase Falls, Chase, BC

A parrot in a long closed facility in Victoria, BC

North of Revelstoke, BC back in the 90's, I think.  We backpacked in to this area then camped a couple of nights.

Out in the Douglas Lake Ranch area of south central BC

This is blacklight photography taken one night at camera club back in the 90's.  Blacklight shining on coloured strips of paper shot through a glass dish.

BUSY TIME AT THE RALLY

We had a fun week visiting our friends at the Escapees Chapter rally at Seal Bay RV Park near Comox, BC.   I think we had sixteen rigs attending and twelve of them were in the main circle while the other four were adjoining them so great for visiting.  The fire pit and nice lawn were in the center of the circle so very handy for most people.  We had meals together one way or another most evenings.  Some sat around the fire in the evenings and a few of us played cards every night.
We moved to Miracle Beach Provincial Park yesterday and will stay here until next Friday when we will move back to Errington.  Aileen's sister Anne, and John, are parked across from us. Today, the four of us are off to Victoria to attend a tea in honour of Aileen's Cousin Pat's wife Irene's 90th birthday.  We hope to also visit our old friend from the Cluxewe campsite who is now residing in a care facility in Victoria.
John and I went geocaching yesterday afternoon and will likely get out several more times this week.

As is usual at our rallies, we had a couple of meals out

Some of us visited Shelter Point Distillery

The sampling table

Their neat old truck at the entry gate

This is the old mining museum in Cumberland.  Some of us took a walking tour around Cumberland checking out the many interesting small businesses and historic buildings

One of the side streets

I led a group to view Elk Falls from the new viewing platform and the suspension bridge

From the viewing platform

That's Aileen in red

From the suspension bridge.  It was difficult getting a time when someone wasn't making the bridge jiggle.

On our way to the old viewpoint

From the old viewpoint looking across to the suspension bridge in the top and the new viewing platform top right

Yours truly, the tree hugger

We had a little dance the first night

Lots of social time around the fire every afternoon and evening

MOVED TWICE

Our friend Bev D's mother passed away on the weekend so Monday morning Aileen and I helped Bev clean out her Mom's room at the lodge.  After that, we moved the motor home down to Duncan and parked at my Cousin Neil's (and Carol's) property.  They have a nice big yard so no problem fitting us in.  We enjoyed some good visits and good meals while there.  It is so nice to have all these friends and relatives who allow us to mooch-dock in their driveways.
On Tuesday, Aileen and I went to the Red Poppy in Ladysmith for lunch.  It is a gluten free deli and bakery and Richard had given us a gift certificate for there.  We enjoyed our lunch.  In the afternoon, I helped Neil and Carol move a bunch of rocks that were in the way for a guy coming to remove some diseased trees.
Richard and Georgia came up Wednesday and we met them at Providence Farm.  Aileen and I had ridden with Carol as she was taking some donations there.  She actually attended school there for two years so was very familiar with the farm.  Georgia enjoyed meeting a bunch of animals.  After lunch at the Old Fork, this time with poor service, we went for a walk out toward the Chemainus River Estuary.  I got to pick up a few geocaches along the way but we didn't get to the river before running out of time.
After lunch on Thursday I went caching.  I ended up on top of Cobble Hill Mountain, although I didn't know that's where I was going, and only got four caches.  It drizzled on me for a while and then at the top it was more like rain.  I spent most of my time in the trees so stayed sort of dry.  I gained nearly 1,000 feet of elevation.  It was 3.8 kms to the top with my wandering and 5.3 total back at the car.  
Summer is definitely over as we have had quite a bit of rain and much cooler temperatures this past week.   We moved back up to Campbell River today and are again parked in Bill's driveway.  We are here until Monday when we are to move down to Seal Bay RV Park for the Escapees Fall  Rally.  Next Saturday,  after the rally, we will likely move down to Miracle Beach Provincial Park, hoping to spend some time with John and Anne.  Sometime after that we will be leaving the Island and heading to Salmon Arm to visit our daughter Bev (and Kev) for a few days.  Then it won't be long before we cross the border on our annual trek south.

From the internet:

The history of Providence Farm

The Sisters of St. Ann purchased the 400-acre farm near Duncan BC, now known as Providence Farm, in 1864. The farm was first a boarding school for young Native girls (1864-1876) and then enlarged to make room for orphaned girls from the Academy in Victoria.

It next became a boarding school for boys in 1904. In 1921 a larger school was built, now known as Providence House. In 1950, girls were enrolled as externs and in 1956 Providence House become a day school for girls and boys. On June 22, 1964, the school bell rang for the last time.

The many endeavours and ministries of the Sisters of St. Ann, through over 150 years of service, have been motivated by compassion, deep faith and a trust in Divine Providence.

The Sisters of St. Ann partnered with the Vancouver Island Providence Community Association in 1979 by providing the land for a shared vision of community service. In September 2009, at the celebration of Providence Farm’s 30th Anniversary, the Sisters of St. Ann formally transferred the stewardship of Providence Farm to the Vancouver Island Providence Community Association.

WHAT WE DO NOW

We are a therapeutic community that provides programs for people who are encountering barriers to education and employment. Our programs are based on principles of horticultural therapy and vocational training that guide our success that –caring for the land together is by nature healing and therapeutic.

The Sisters of St. Ann gifted the beautiful 400-acre Cowichan Valley property to the Vancouver Island Providence Community Association (VIPCA), also known as Providence Farm, to develop innovative programs to service the needs of the community.

Today there are 34 full-time and part-time staff, and 130 people participate in our programs.

Paddle boards are very popular at Qualicum Beach, BC

The calm ocean made for a nice evening

Art venue at Providence Farm

The old school at Providence Farm

Dahlia in the garden

Extensive flower and vegetable gardens behind the school

While Richard and Georgia made a quick visit to a toy store in Duncan, I zipped around and took a few photos.  This is a three dimensional subject against a two dimensional mural 

I thought this looked a bit like Tuscany, but in Duncan

Aileen, Georgia, Richard and Mitzy out for a hike

Oooh, do I want to go that way? 

Michaelmas Daisies viewed from the motor home doorway at Neil and Carol's

Daisy closeup

I spied this interesting Arbutus tree on top of Cobble Hill Mtn.  It was raining at the time.

With the rain and low cloud, there wasn't much of a view