Expedition Canada

Gibsons Beckons Fri Jul 2nd Today is our last day in North Van and our hosts at the property, where we spent our first month, have been as welcoming as ever.  Jack, who got on well with the resident lady boxer, Josie, has renewed the acquaintance and has had the temerity to abscond to their upper deck and steal her soft toys.  I'm sure there are better ways to a girls heart but it seems to bring her down to ground level each time! Temperatures have returned to seasonal normal in Vancouver, though the interior is not faring so well.   The number of wildfires has increased by 228 this week. See map below.   There is a suggestion of rain Wednesday next week, but only at 40% chance at the moment. Not great prospects at the moment for dampening down the prevailing arid conditions. On the Sunshine Coast where we return on Saturday, the three month anniversary to the day and date of our arrival in Canada, watering gardens has already been restricted...

Heat Dome Heads East Wed June 30th Five minute sit-down It is a cool early evening 24c as I write this and perhaps conditioned by the last few days, I almost feel ready to grab a sweater to keep warm.  I am sitting in the garden of our N Van rental with a glass of Sauvignon with Fred, relaxing after two days of rushing around.   Today we got the keys to the new rental in Gibsons and were up at 0500 to walk the dog and ensure we got a space on the first, 0730, ferry. There were no more bookings available (limited to a set number each sailing), so it was pot-luck.   No problem we thought until we turned up at 0600 to see a long queue of lorries, trucks and cars full of families escaping early for the summer holidays.  Schools close today.  Our rental 'Cargo Van', a bit like a Ford Transit but with a larger engine that guzzles petrol, was one of the last on the boat.  We'd made it! Jack, was not keen on the rental truck or the ferry, as we were on pa...