Clinton, British Columbia

Laura and I drove up to Canyon Alpine RV Park where we spent the first night of the long weekend.  We were sorry to miss Brent and Brenda but the drive up from Vancouver had taken 5 hours due to several accidents on the freeway between Surrey and Chilliwack.  We left early enjoying the big sky opening up above us as we drove north out of the canyon.  We filled up with diesel in Cache Creek then drove on the 50 km to Clinton. We loved the sage brush cowboy country and the exquisite fresh scent of the dry air, always such a change from the coast. .  On the way back from the week north of Prince George we'd stopped at Gold Trail RV park in downtown Clinton. We liked it.  Michael the owner is a delightful eccentric. So we stopped there again. The place is clean and tidy but there's personality as well.  In town, Laura and I liked the moose wood carvings, the tshirts at Parkies, and Wendy's knitting at the craft store.  I was able to get ammunition at Irly. They had just about everything.  We ate brunch in the corner family restaurant, really good home cooking with a pleasant, helpful and rather beautiful waitress.  I've been hunting in the Clinton surroundings since Bill Mewhort brought me up with him in the late 80's and I shot my first moose. It was great to see the Circle H Ranch again.  It was also incredible to see men get their big load unstuck on a tight turn.  Laura, Gilbert and I drove around the countryside enjoying seeing a fox, mule deers does and one grouse that defied a barrage of bullets to fly off with quite the story to tell. Gilbert searched everywhere for the disappearing bird who had long since flown off to tell his family the story of how he'd first thought that it had begun raining around him before he realized he wasn't as invisible as he thought.  Laura and I had just killed a number of bottles and cans without any such difficulty which supports that notion that birds have a soul and their prayers are sometimes miraculously ansered.  As usual I am absolutely loving the environment here.