Circles and Lines

I have been on the road for the past three weeks- on a driving trip that took me from Calgary, through the mountains and out to British Columbia, stopping frequently along the way to visit family and friends. 

I'm fond of circles.  It is possible to do this trip without backtracking too much.  I determined to drive out through the southern Crows Nest Pass - nostalgia really - when I was a child travelling with my parents, the "Crow" was the only way to get from Alberta to BC and even then we had to dip down over the US border or brave the gravel road they called "the hump" which struck terror into my mother's heart.  The road has improved vastly over the years - and other than the rain, which followed me all the way to the Okanagan, it was a lovely drive.

My buddy libby - who as it happens is a wonderful travelling companion.  She rides shotgun - until I get out of the car at which time she moves over behind the wheel....and waits patiently.

The idea was to dip ourselves into the Pacific ocean, but we did a lot of river and lake dipping along the way - and of course a lot of rock diving.  And we did a lot of hiking.

Green is the colour of the forest on the West coast, ferns, evergreens, broadleaf maples make for a shaded walk, even if it does turn out to be 10 kilometres!  Island shores are rocky which suits libby very well, being a rock girl.

There are distinct advantages to being part of a big generous family with cozy beds for the taking, and big gardens for the eating.

I was quite impressed with Kathie's raised beds covered in cloth chuck wagon tents and full of carrots, tomatoes, herbs, beets, and all manor of wonderful veggies we were able to bring to the table for family dinners when I got to Quadra Island
And then, it was time to turn for home.  Keeping in mind circles, I backtracked a bit, down to Victoria, across Georgia Strait on BC Ferries and up through the northern route on  the Coquihalla highway and home.
I was quite pleased with myself. I managed this trip after a very difficult winter and a serious back injury- it was fun.  I think I'm going to be OK now.  Sometimes you just need to get away, have a change, see new things - to prove to yourself life is good - oh, and have a sock to knit

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