Logan Lake, Tuesday

It’s been a truly splendid day.  The night’s are so quiet. No trains or city car sounds,  Silence.  The morning is precious too. The sun up and light filtering into the camper.  Madigan so happy to see me up. Dressed I took him for a walk along the lake.  Another man and dog were a head of us but I veered off the trail to the path by the river where I let Madigan off leash.  He loved that running circles around me and covering 5 times as much territory as he would on leash.

Back in the camper I made coffee.  I had granola bars and a yoghurt.  

I’d slipped the truck out from under the camper at night and assembled the electric bicycle charging it through the night. Leaving Madigan in the camper I drove the white F350 with the folding electric bicycle in the box, to Wolverine the auto repair place in the Industrial centre behind the Esso.  I waited till the owner arrived. His son had been the one i met the day before.  We talked brakes and my hitch rack.  He didn’t think the hitch rack contributed and thought it more like a coincidence with brake wear.  

He told me he’d been riding motorcycles for forty years. I told him I’d just bought the Nightster Special.

“I saw them when they first came out a couple of years ago. Nice design.

“I’m planning on going down to Arizona in the winter with the camper and want to have a HD to drive around on.  This trip is a test of the idea.  The liquid cooled should do well in the desert.  I traded my Electroglide in for it.’

I’ve had 2 electroglides in my life.  Terrific bikes.’

“If i lived in the country I’d have kept mine. Best highway motorcycle but my Nightster is only 500 lbs and can go on a 600 lb hitch mount.  I couldn’t carry my electro glide that way”.

He showed me in there back where he had a custom trailer.  An arctic cat was on it.

’ That’s what I tow my electro glide with. The bottom comes up and takes the bike or goes like this and carries the cat.”

“Nice..” i said.  

‘That’s my son’s softtail,’ he said, pointing to a nice well kept machine.

“We’ll look over the truck and make sure it’s safe to get you home.” 

I certainly appreciate that I said leaving him the keys and also the security code if the batttery in the fob died again like it had the day before when I found that no one had that battery.  His son had told me they’d probably have one in Kamloops 60 km up the road.

I took my electric bicycle all charged up and headed home. I was glad for the electric assist going up the hill into the town.  Up hill.  The flat was fine and I was back at the camper to the joy of Madigan. I’d just time to make a coffee before sitting down to my first virtual patients. Later the Wolverine folk would phone to say the front brakes needed work they could do and the hitch was fine.  Terrific.  

All day I talked on the phone or hooked up virtually with patients. 

At noon I took Madigan on a walk on the nature trail, It took us around the lake,  There as a one of several seats where I took up my clothes down to my underwear so I could take another lovely swim. Water was great and it was wonderful to swim out to the middle of the lake and tried water. I felt weeds so it wasn’t a deep lake overall but perfect for an afternoon swim. Madigan didn’t join me but watched from the shore.  There were boats with electric motors out fishing and I’ve seen several folk cleaning fish at the station down the hill from me.  

Finishing another late day with lots of calls and patients to attend to I was rather tired but had the energy to walk Madigan down to the lake and back. Kraft dinner. Thanks to the air conditioning I could boil water without the place becoming stifling. It’s been hot but the breeze today made it tolerable until I decided to boil water or make coffee.  Madigan was glad to have his share of Kraft Marconi and clean the pot.  I enjoyed the comfort food and reading the historical fiction novel I have of the Berlin air lift.  Extraordinary story.  My patient told me he’d been to Berlin several times and his sister liked it so much she’d bought a flat there.  ‘Check point charley, so many people died there and now tourists take selfies.

Whenever I took to young people which is rare they seem not to know the corruption of the communists and their aggressiveness an alliance with the Nazis before Hitler turned on them.  

All day deer walked through the campground.   One doe had two spotted faun following her.  Madigan seems to accept the doe but is more interested in the fauns. I texted Laura a picture of him watching them from inside the campr as they crossed behind us.  She thinks it’s because they smell like babies. I think he’s young and identifies with other young animals as ‘fun’ .  They bound about playfully while the mother is serious and on alert for threats.  It’s lovely to have such a glorious view and to watch the deer.  Owners with a variety of dogs walk down to the lake through the day too.  

Last night was a Supermoon. My astronomer nephew texted us about it so I stayed up to watch this huge moon rise about the forest.  Bright yellow. I took a picture with my iPhone but it wasn’t steady enough and didn’t do it justice. I’m sure Graeme has great pictures.  

I texted his brother Andrew the post that Blavkdtone had bought genealogy for 5 billion giving them all this DNA information. I once talked with Andrew about future weapons DNA specific drone mounted sniper tools.  Certainly not something that one would want to find its way into the hands of Xi Jin Ping.  Blackstone is American based but for sci fi buffs like my nephews and I the future may be corporate wars not nation states. We may well be there.  I loved Dune, Heinlein’s master piece, and the recent movie was well done.  

I’ve read a lot here but haven’t used the tv.  I have the capacity to play DVD’s but should bring my old Apple TV here to see if I can in future get it to work with internet especially if I get my Starlink working.   I haven’t had it working yet because it says there’s too many obstacles here and the wifi has been sufficient.  Most of my work here has been cell phone, a higher cost this week I’ll gladly pay for the beauty of this place.   What a lovely retreat.