Sunday, Aug 18 - Three days in a row we have wifi. And this time it looks like a nice strong signal, out here in the 'wilds' south of Prince George. Funny, it feels like we're a long way north, but when you look at a map of western Canada, you realize we're only a little north of Edmonton, and quite a bit south of Fort St. John. So we have some distance to travel before we're further north than we've ever been.

Had a nice day in Quesnel, which is quite a fine small city. Twice they're been winners of BC's best floral city. They have huge baskets hanging everywhere downtown, and rows upon rows of pansy plants along the Main streets. Homes are also well-tended with lawns and flowers. They also have a great display of historical artifacts going back to goldrush days, not far from the confluence of the Quesnel and Fraser Rivers. We did a nice hour-long walk along a fine footpath that follows the river, then rewarded ourselves with treats at the Granville Coffee Shop. Largest and best cinnamon bun ever.

We were only 90 minutes from our next r.v. park, south of Prince George, but decided it would be nice to have some time for a few household chores, so rather than going into the city, checked in by 3 p.m.. Then the sun came out, and we had a nice hour reading in the warm rays before a thunder storm came along. Checked out the yellow pages for shops in town that may be willing to do a brake job for me tomorrow, so let's hope one of them comes through. Then we'll be all set to trek north.

I mentioned previously that we met some interesting people on the train trip west. Here's a partial account.
Jody - a fellow in his late 30s from Montreal who has packed up his life there and is moving to Vancouver. He's a sound/light tech designer, and has worked all over the world doing various events and setting up for major bands. Things in Montreal have slowed down, so when a friend called from Vancouver and offered him a job and penthouse to share, he grabbed it. Sold everything, packed up and he's off to new adventures.
Manoel- from Belgium, he's taken a year off from work to travel. He is in the hotel business with Accor, a large international chain, has worked as hotel manager, then 10 years in headquarters as Marketing Director, then got tired of that and went back to management. Most of his work has been in Africa, various countries, which is where he'll probably go when his year is up. He'll call the head office on May 1st, when his year is up, and find out where they plan to send him. Meantime, he's not thinking about work...just travelling.
Alessandria - from Mexico City, a transportation specialist who works at home. Every year, she takes two weeks off, leaves her 11 year old daughter with her mother, and takes off on her own. She was a lovely lady, and because she and Manoel were neighbors on the same car, they became quite good friends. Both were spending a few days in Vancouver, so we have to wonder if they hooked up to enjoy the sights.
Garry - from the Sarnia area, a retired teacher, who had unsolvable hassles with his cell phone. A problem, as he and his wife Marilyn run an Air bnb, and he needed to be able to contact future customers. We had a long discussion about the problems of his area, the land covered now only 1.7 percent by trees, thanks to huge corporate farms that are tearing the land apart to grow corn and soy...nothing else. They'll leach out the soil and then depart, he figures, leaving a wasteland. He's fighting them, but with little luck. Reminds me of our Picton Terminal problem.
Who else? A young couple from Bavaria, both working in civil service jobs. He worked with the refugee situation for a few years, but happily moved to real estate acquisition for the state. So many headaches with the refugee situation in Germany
Anthony Calvert- A lively guy from Northern England very much involved in politics. Ran for. Parliament last election, and narrowly lost. He'll probably run again. When we stopped in Jasper, he saw someone get on the train that he thought he knew. Turned out it was the Assistant Chancellor of the Exchequer for Britain. They managed to get together for a chat when we stopped in Kelowna. Quite a coincidence.
We also overheard someone talking about Pender Island, where we were headed. I mentioned that we  were headed there, so turns out he knew our brother-in-law Dan's family. Another coincidence, not unusual when travelling.
Also, a couple of lovely ladies from Australia, another very nice young German couple, a fellow from Kentucky who shares my fanship for the Packers.
A couple moving to Edmonton from Australia, where she worked for 5 years, met him, and he decided to come along when she decided to move home. He's a great tall fellow with a big black beard. Hope it works out for them.
Finally, a chap who sort of took over the activity director's lecture on trains the first day. He corrected her about a technical item, making it clear he was a train expert. Turns out he manufactures replica train sets, all kinds, and has two factories in China. He is featured in a film we saw about the history of Canadian trains.

Enough of that. Just proof that there was a wide range of folks on this 4 day journey, which made it an even more memorable trip. We recommend you add it to your bucket list, as we're quite sure you'd enjoy it.

I'll do a separate upload of some pictures. Don't want to screw this posting up. So I'll close for now. More later. Stay tuned.