Here is part of the message i sent to my Corinne so maybe you would like to be regaled as well. Please forward to Kjell and Jane
We just arrived in Lillooet at midday. The drive from Tyax took two hours, with many curves as well as long stretches with steep dropoffs and no signs of guardrails.We ended up in the classic chinese canadian diner, for lunch smorg. Normally, Snobby Bobby would have turned up his nose at such a place, but today pride was swallowed along with a sizeable lunch. Frankly, after all this camping, the black bean chicken with green beans was starting to border on the utterly sublime.
After the Bralorne email yesterday we continued our tour in this spectacular country on the leeward side of the Coast Mountains. From Bralorne we descended into the Bridge River Valley. Then it was up a long dusty hill with long washboards stretches. Gunn Lake turned out to be a big beautiful body of water surrounded by numerous cabins and house. Of course mountains made up the breathtaking backdrop. At the far end we followed the Slim Creek Main, a steep narrow track down to the highway. Breathtaking drop-offs included and of course we met a large pickup motoring up the hill, with only one car width and scant shoulder room to maneuver. Rain caught up with us by late afternoon and persisted for a few hours. The weather change began with the growl and grumble of distant weather as dark clouds built up over the peaks. The tent was excellent in keeping us dry. Anna read inside and eventually we got supper organized, as a team, as the rain slowly diminished. Later we went into the big wood building and i had a beer on draft. Anna was surprised that such a fancy place would supply her with such a mediocre cocoa out of a pouch. Fortunately my brew wasn't marginal.
Afterwards we took a canoe out into the lake for a short paddle on glassy smooth water. Retreated to the tent to build a fire out of scraps of paper and fine fuel out of the forest, as we had no axe for firewood. Anna was very adept at getting the flames going given how damp everything was. Soon the loons were calling before we hit the sack. I should add i had a lot of cuban rum last night - enough that i was not my usual good cheer when i got up. Waking up the long hill to the showers was more demanding then i care to say. Now i need a wee nap.
Please forward to Kjell please.
Hi from the Interior!
Hi Pat and Corinne,
Here is part of the message i sent to my Corinne so maybe you would like to be regaled as well. Please forward to Kjell and Jane
We just arrived in Lillooet at midday. The drive from Tyax took two hours, with many curves as well as long stretches with steep dropoffs and no signs of guardrails.We ended up in the classic chinese canadian diner, for lunch smorg. Normally, Snobby Bobby would have turned up his nose at such a place, but today pride was swallowed along with a sizeable lunch. Frankly, after all this camping, the black bean chicken with green beans was starting to border on the utterly sublime.
After the Bralorne email yesterday we continued our tour in this spectacular country on the leeward side of the Coast Mountains. From Bralorne we descended into the Bridge River Valley. Then it was up a long dusty hill with long washboards stretches. Gunn Lake turned out to be a big beautiful body of water surrounded by numerous cabins and house. Of course mountains made up the breathtaking backdrop. At the far end we followed the Slim Creek Main, a steep narrow track down to the highway. Breathtaking drop-offs included and of course we met a large pickup motoring up the hill, with only one car width and scant shoulder room to maneuver. Rain caught up with us by late afternoon and persisted for a few hours. The weather change began with the growl and grumble of distant weather as dark clouds built up over the peaks. The tent was excellent in keeping us dry. Anna read inside and eventually we got supper organized, as a team, as the rain slowly diminished. Later we went into the big wood building and i had a beer on draft. Anna was surprised that such a fancy place would supply her with such a mediocre cocoa out of a pouch. Fortunately my brew wasn't marginal.
Afterwards we took a canoe out into the lake for a short paddle on glassy smooth water. Retreated to the tent to build a fire out of scraps of paper and fine fuel out of the forest, as we had no axe for firewood. Anna was very adept at getting the flames going given how damp everything was. Soon the loons were calling before we hit the sack. I should add i had a lot of cuban rum last night - enough that i was not my usual good cheer when i got up. Waking up the long hill to the showers was more demanding then i care to say. Now i need a wee nap.
Please forward to Kjell please.
Hi from the Interior! bob
Hi Intrepid Explorers!
Enjoyed your tales of precipitous cliffs and Boy Scout/Girl Guide camp fire building!
Much the same here with The Cruel Swiss leaving each morning to explore city. I had a very pleasant ride with Whirlissimo yesterday. He was away in Seattle/Portland so had not ridden in almost a week. He is off to Hornby Island for two weeks of camping, at a co-op campground, so hope weather holds.
Day before, managed a fairly decent ride with an interesting twist. Didn't leave until about 3:30pm and by then, sun was just starting to peak through cloud cover. Had been fairly overcast, gloomy and coolish until then. At any rate I made my way out to UBC and along Marine. Dropped down Crown and into Musqueam, up to entrance of Shaughnessy and then back down to take a look at how construction was proceeding on new recreation centre. Past there, I usually take a side street to make my way back to Marine. Just as I was about to turn down this street a chap who had been sitting on a large rock at the edge of one of the corner houses, chatting with a number of other people, came out into the street, waving his arms and telling me that I couldn't go any further as this was private property and did I know that I was on a reservation. When I explained that I simply wanted to take a look at new centre he simply reiterated that this was private property. I said "Okay" and asked him which way he wanted me to leave. To this he said I should return the way I had come so that is what I did.
Not quite sure how I feel about this, for a number of reasons, but on one level, it hardly seems to advance positive relations between indigenous peoples and non-natives. I have noticed, on earlier rides past this site, that there is a large sign noting that Federal Funds are paying for at least some of construction costs so some fraction of our tax dollars is helping to build this rec centre. I know for a fact that income of First Nations, if situated on a reserve, is not taxed, so conceivably the band or some its workers are not paying any tax on wages earned for work done on this project. Seems as if First Nations cyclists are able to ride through neighbouring Dunbar without restriction while this is not the case for non-native cyclists in Musqueam. The band seems quite happy to encourage people to use their golf course and lease lots but a quiet ride of a summer's evening is a willful trespass. I'm sure whole issue is far more complex than I have made it out to be but I wonder where common sense is in this whole debate. Wrongs, historically and more recently, of course, were certainly done but is this the way to move forward? Anyway, guess Musqueam will not be part of route from now on!
Friend, Alan Soroka, former colleague, Reference Librarian in Law Library, had this to say about confrontation:
I wouldn't get too upset over this. First, its some kind of payback for all the land use transgressions of the colonizers. Too bad it has to burden the lone cyclist. Second, I think you would get the same response if you tried cycling onto the Shaunessey Golf Course roadways. I recall when I was at Columbia in NYC once a year they closed off 116 street between Broadway & Amsterdam on account of the University's position that it wasn't a public thoroughfare, it was owned by Columbia, and they licensed it as a pedestrian crossing from year to year. This private property shit is a fundamental attribute of our class society, protecting the private property owners from the predations of the landless classes.
At any rate, had a pleasant ride with Giorgio, catching up on his trip. His girlfriend, Kerry, had never been to Portland before and she was quite taken with city. They spent almost half a day in Powell's!
Back home, after stopping at Young Brothers on Broadway, for kartoffel, local, new reds, as Flamin' had specifically asked me to bring a dish, prepared in the manner of my choice, for bbq at their place that evening. Once home I put spuds in steamer and when done, into frying pan to roast with copious amounts of minced garlic! Swiss came home, their noses twitching with delight, leading them into kitchen from patio!
Had a grand meal on the Sutherland's patio. Sarge did wonderful pork chops on bbq, along with roasted vegetables, (mushrooms, peppers), so with my kartoffelage and Flamin's blueberry infused saladin, and loads of hootch, it was a feast royale! Wonderful chocolate cake for dessert. Cruel Swiss left after dinner to bar hop downtown. Kid Chelene and I took on Cora Lee and Sarge at bridge while
Flamin' and Beckster, The Kid's main squeeze, watched the most unimaginably aweful reality show:
Big Brother. I could only wish that Orwell's Big Brother would "take care" of its producers and mindless followers!!! A couple of stiff snorts of malt helped to calm me down and kept my blood from boiling at this unmitigated nonsense! I actually find it both sickening and disgusting, in the extreme, that such shows have proliferated to the extent that they have! My rant for this message!
Cora Lee and I repaired upstairs after bridge to watch latest episode of MI-5, leaving behind the pre-masticated pap for the masses! No Hoi Polloi mind numbing drivel for the Hoi Aristoi!!!
Dom Marcello is supposed to join me, later today, on a jaunt to Steveston. Not sure if Gianna will join us or not. Fond regards to your long-suffering daughter. Cheers, Patrizio!
Hi Patrice,
Oh the wonderful welfare mentality of some of our natives can be quite
disconcerting. This brings back many instances that I remember from my
school days going to functions or dropping / picking people up down there
and experiencing just this sort of behaviour. Usually from the older ones as
I think the youth is a little more progressive and looking to integrate into
modern society and reap it's rewards.
I call it welfare mentality because it seems the more people are given it
seems the more contempt they have for things and have expectations that they
should be getting more and more . I'm reminded of a motorcycle trip that I
took with my friend Steve down to Washington state. On our way back we went
through the Lummi indian reserve, all was fine until we stopped at a
pituresque spot along puget sound to take some pictures. It was then that we
saw a native across the street sitting in front of his house with a kid not
more than four years old. when we looked over at him he told us to "get off
our land" , I remarked in a friendly manner that we just wanted to stop for
a minute and take a couple of pictures in front of the water. He then stood
up and took an aggressive stance and said much louder this time "get off our
land". Now I was a little pissed off and said something to the effect of
"wow really friendly people around here ". At this point he went running
toward his house and went inside, we both assumed he was getting a shotgun
so we got the hell out of there in a cloud of dust and squealing tires! Left
quite a negative impression on me unfortunately and as you say not
furthering their cause at all.
Had a good ride myself yesterday by my standards anyway. went over to a
chiro appointment at metrotown and then down through deer lake park and
back. It is quite the hill coming back up to our place and feels like a
really good workout. As I said I'll see how the time goes and will get a
ride in with you before too long.
Take care, Al
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