Here it is ... a rainy night in Vancouver and we're getting ready to head off to Calgary on a Canada Post run. From there to Edmonton and back to Delta to pick up a Yukon load leaving Wednesday night. We have a new, unblemished windshield and hopefully it will stay that way for a long while. On the roads here they used gravel rather than sand and the stones get flying pretty easily.


We had lunch today with my son, the constable (Christopher). He's doing real well and is moving this Sunday to a new place in Vancouver with a couple army buddies. He still has his place in Whistler and I've told him he can never sell that place. His cousin, Erin, has come out from Ontario and is staying at his condo while she tries to get a new life started in Whistler.


On our last trip to the Yukon, JoJo took some great pics of the bison there. I've been looking them up on the web and it's very interesting learning about them. There used to be about 30 million of them in North America in the 1800's but rampant hunting nearly decimated them. In the late '70s populations of wood bison were introduced into northwestern Canada and some of the herds have flourished. In efforts to keep them off the roads, various methods have been used including helicopter hazing but the bisons just wait in the woods for the choppers to go away and then come out. We come across the Norquist Herd along highway 97 in BC around the Muncho Lake area. They truly are a magnificent looking animal as you can see here. Imagine running into one of these fellows in the night!


Truffles got out in Whitehorse and tore up some real estate running around the parking lot of the truck stop in her "cold weather gear". She has a blast running around in her booties! I guess it is all of her pent up energy that she blows off from being cooped up in the truck.

Also on our way back on our last trip we had a "Level 1" Vehicle Inspection done at the scale in Prince George. This when they check EVERYTHING on the truck including all the documentation as well. We fared pretty well with just our cracked windshield and our rear licence plate was dangling at the back of the tractor! We've had those items fixed and should pass any other inspections with ease! Hmmm ... I'm amazed I can type with my fingers crossed!!

Time to have a snooze as I'm piloting our rig at 23:00 hours when we leave for Calgary. See ya!

With all the turmoil going on in the world it's no wonder that all of the so-called role models are falling off their pedestals. What ever happened to the everyday hero anyway? When you think about it, a woman having a baby might seem commonplace but in reality childbirth is frought with danger and the possibility of so many things that can go wrong. Now think of the woman who, later in life, decides to have a child and those risks just multiply. I know of a woman who took that risk at the age of 39 and gave birth just past her 40th birthday. A brave lady to say the least ... right? Now, this lady did this in 1950 and in giving birth in 1951, she instantly became my hero! I call her "Mom"! Mom passed on in 2000 but left our family with a lifetime of measures we try to live up to. She passed on her nutty sense of humour to me and I have passed it on to my children as well. I try to spread a good dose of it around everyday ... it seems that this is my mission.

JoJo & I are leaving tonight on another Yukon run. Today is our 5th wedding anniversary and I told her that I'm gonna take her to see the Northern Lights for our anniversary. I am so happy that we met and got married. There has never been a person in my life quite like her. What an amazing, wonderful person she is. She has a nutty sense of humour too ... how lucky can I get, eh? I truly am the richest man on earth.

February in southern British Columbia is a very beautiful time. The city crews in Delta were laying sod today as we came in from Edmonton! It is a delightful +9C here in Delta with the sun shining and just a few clouds. Our little poodle, Truffles, got out for a nice walk today and got to sniff a myriad of telephone poles, posts, bushes, trees and other dogs' poop. She musta been in heaven ... LOL

We arrived home late Sunday night ... well really it was early Monday morning. Our flight out of San Diego was delayed a couple of hours so, of course, we missed our connection in Washington!

It really was a great vacation. Lots of sun, sand, surf, food, booze and adventure! We went sailing on a 75 foot catamaran in Ixtapa (the Picante) and snorkelling there as well. I swallowed quite a bit of ocean and didn't even need a salted rim on my margaritas for the rest of the day! Cap'n Tony & I bonded and he let me help his crew hoist the mainsail and jib for the return voyage. I think he was taking advantage of my kind heart as it almost exploded from the work of hauling a sail up an 80 foot mast! But he was a pretty cool dude and we had a great time out there with him.

Here's Jo and Jody snorkelling in the bay. They were having a good time and we're very proud of Jodene for travelling so far out of her comfort zone. This whole trip has been quite an experience for her. First time on a plane ... all alone ... changing planes ... cruising on a big ship ... sailing on a not so big ship ... snorkelling, etc. Jodene was always telling us how grateful she is to us for taking her on her dream vacation and I have to say that for Jo-Anne & I it was a dream vacation too. As a parent you always want to do something like this for your child. It was a dream come true for us too. A great feeling for a parent.

We are just about finished packing for our western adventure. Tomorrow I have to pack the pick-up and off we go. Dennis is all geared up for taking care of our cat and his 2 bedroom apartment. Our cat also has a cleaning lady coming in once a month to clean his 2 bedroom apartment too!! How sick is that ... LOL

I have our route planned out and just have to sit with Tom-Tom and get him up to speed. I changed the oil in the pick-up today and put in a new air filter. Fill the tank and a spare tank as well and off we go. Truffles, our little poodle, knows something is going on but can't quite put her paw on it just yet. We got out a pair of her booties to show her so she has kinda figgered it's gonna be a tad on the chilly side for the next little while.

Our route planning software tells us that it'll take 38 hours of driving to get to Delta, BC taking a route through the northern US states. Looks good to me! I checked the weather and highway forecasts for our travel area and it looks real good except for maybe a few flurries through Washington state. The Snoqualmie Pass in Washington can always be quite unpredictable so hopefully it won't get closed. We'll be checking in with the Challenger BC office to confirm our arrival in time to take the Canada Post run to Calgary & Edmonton. After that we return to Delta and leave for the Yukon on Wednesday evening. Should be in Whitehorse Friday morning if all goes as planned. Hahaha ... we'll just have to see, won't we!

Stay tuned, eh!