Back To Oliver

The old 89 Honda ran perfectly once again and got us to Oliver by 8:00 pm. I am feeling bad about how I have neglected the dependable old beast. It has 250,000 Kilometres on it but you would never know it. It revs up to the red line when I accelerate and shifts through the gears with a snap. There is nothing wrong with it and it will probably be around for at least another 100,000 if not more! There is a slight leak in one of the gaskets under the hood, allowing a tiny bit of oil to leak out onto the exhaust manifold, producing a little smoke and smell when I start it up after it has sat for a couple of days. It is a very tiny leak and I have never had to add oil between oil changes which I try to do every 5000 or 6000 KM. It has never been in an accident but there are a couple of parking lot dings and one bit of rust near one of the rear wheel wells. The paint is showing signs of too much Arizona and Mexico sun so maybe I will give it a treat in Mexico next winter and buy her a two or three thousand peso paint job.

We called Rick and Sandra at their Maple Leaf Motel & RV Park to ask them to save a room for us for the night. When we arrived, Sandra gave us our key and told us to drop off our bags and to come to the patio for a glass of wine. One turned into several and the conversation went on until we had polished off two bottles of Sandra’s “good stuff”. She has very good taste so I am sure what we paid for the room would not even replace the wine. Thanks Sandra, the wine will be on us next time!

I was awake at seven this morning, got Norma out of bed, thanked Rick and Sandra and were soon on the road. We picked the motorhome up with it’s new convection oven and headed towards Kamloops. From Kamloops we took Highway 5 North towards The Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16). This is a favourite of the truckers because it is the least mountainous route across the Rockies to Edmonton. We have not been on this stretch of road for a few years and I had forgotten how beautiful it is. We stopped for gas at a Husky Station in Blue River and got permission to park in their lot for the night. The mosquitoes are vicious here so I hope I can kill all of them that snuck in the door before I go to bed. Tomorrow night we will be parked in front of my brother’s house in Edmonton.