Road Trip: Friends and Family

Sorry to leave you waiting for so long! That last overshot post should have kept you thinking for awhile at least. I have been away on a road trip to visit friends and family..... and I just couldn't bring myself to announce here at the blog that we would be gone, leaving our house empty. Being a policeman's daughter, I'm cautious about such things!

After packing and making up dog dinners for Calli's time at the doggy resort, we started our trip with this view:

These gals were waiting in the ferry line up to cross to the Vancouver side!  Soon we were all aboard and on our way. This is leaving Nanaimo:

We had a grey start but these clouds soon cleared away and we had sunshine. Also the start of a high pressure that was to bring hot weather to much of our area. Our air conditioning in the car couldn't be fixed as they couldn't find the leak.... this could be a problem!

We buzzed through the Vancouver area and out into the Fraser Valley. We were heading to Merritt the first day so we had a great drive. Once past the town of Hope, we were into big mountain country and a section they call avalanche alley. While I've showed you pictures from there on last years trip.... here are some fresh ones:

Mt Yak

Not sure of this one's name but its across from Mt Yak

After a few hours we reached Merritt

After a pleasant evening there we headed out to Kamloops and found this lovely view from the hillside east of Merritt of the Nicola Valley.  This is sage brush country...home to logging and cattle ranching.

Kamloops is also a hot and dry place but a confluence of highways, rivers and quite a boom town! We stopped here for breakfast at a Denny's east of town and I snapped some pictures of the hoodoos they have all along the river. I tried hard to get the three dimensional feel of them and all the benches. Tough when you are a basic point and click shooter!

They are really beautiful and reminded me of our visit to Dinosaur National Park near Brooks, Alberta in 1993. If you are ever near there, you *must* see it!

After Kamloops, there are small little places along the road: Pritchard (Hi Wendy!), Chase, Sorrento, and Blind Bay. We used to live in Blind Bay and we just had to cruise by the old house:

The trees are larger, fuller and the place looks nice. Yup, we should have stayed there.... oh, well! Too late now and too much water under the bridge. (I'd cut those cedars back if it was mine still)

We arrived at Gudrun and Alfred's place in Tappen just after lunch. They live at the foot of Mt Bastion, across the Shuswap lake from the city of Salmon Arm. Their little community of Sunnybrae is beautiful and a real slice of paradise.  Gudrun had some of her weaving on display at the local art gallery and the day we arrived was the last day of the display, so we had to go and see it!  Now there was weaving by three other weavers but unless you had their express permission, you could not take pictures, not even a over-view shot from the doorway!  So it looks like a one woman show as a result.

Gudrun with her metal sample loom. Her Jacquard woven yellow sunflower weaving in behind.

Beiderwand table cloth with Pine Tree Borders

Interesting bit of history associated with this one!

We posed for pictures: Elizabeth (Shuswap Guild President), Gudrun and myself.

Gudrun played the grand piano (she is a lovely pianist!)

We left there about 3:30 pm and had some time so we visited Lori Talerico's Fine Art Gallery nearby. What a delightful little gallery! Lori has so much talent and when we arrived she was working on a 'caustic' painting (I think that was her term) Its where you paint and then apply wax over top, more paint and then more wax and you build the painting up in layers. The finished result has a 3D look to it. It also means using a heat gun to melt the wax and given the ongoing heat wave, Lori is truly dedicated to her craft!

Alfred enjoying a coffee and some of Lori's art.

Then Lori and I realized that she had bought one of my shawls a few years ago and agreed to model it for me! My first "post purchase" picture. I usually never really know where my weaving goes after it leaves my hands so this was neat for me! 

Next up, we went just a short distance from Lori's gallery to the lake foreshore and Alfred and I sat in the shade of a tree and admired the view:

Shuswap lake and Mt Bastion is to the right of the picture. Gorgeous huh?

Bruce and Gudrun walked the pier.

At 5 pm we went into town and met Shuswap Guild friends for supper. What a GREAT time! I was hugged so much and it was nice to see them all. Given it was a long weekend, it was nice of them to take time to come and see us.  

Meet (left to right) Elvi, Judith, Gudie and Julia. Elvi is a beautiful weaver; Judith a spinning instructor, Gudie is the Queen of Recycling Fibre (and yarn bombing), and Julia is an accomplished fibre enthusiast, and woodworker. She usually plays a harp every Christmas at the annual sale that she made

This is Darlene with Gudrun. Darlene is a sweetie and also a beautiful weaver/ knitter.

We spent the next day quietly at Gudrun and Alfred's home. Gudrun and I discussed all things weaving. She has two studio rooms: one for her antique Scottish loom and the other is for her tapestry loom.

Tapestry loom with new project under way! This will be revealed here in the future when its all done. Trust me, its very unique! On the wall to the left, a tapestry called "Night Migration"

Here's all the shades of grays being used and all fibre types depending on the effect Gudrun wants to achieve.

The light from the windows make getting a shot of the front difficult but you can see the fly shuttle boxes.

Its an amazing loom and built in 1932 or so.

There is weaving all over Gudrun's home: rugs on floors, tapestry on walls, table cloth on the dining room table along with placemats and napkins. Even new upholstery fabric on their Ikea chairs! Its really a weavers home and every room had something special.

Transparencies hanging in the stairwell...

...and the most amazing overshot coverlets on the beds!!

This was our bed. It was woven in two pieces and sewn together. It takes a careful beat to get two sections to match up and trust me, they match! (on both coverlets)

After my last post on overshot, this was a real treat to find!

We enjoyed the cooler evening air on their deck with this stunning view of Mount Ida and the city of Salmon Arm along the shore of Shuswap lake.

Next day we headed off down the road and drove through towns like Enderby, Armstrong, and Vernon:

Swan Lake north of Vernon

Coldstream Valley

The beach at Kalamalka Lake was full of people trying to keep cool!

Almost to Kelowna!

and then we arrived in Kelowna to visit Bruce's mother. She was celebrating her 90th birthday! By the time we arrived, the heat had me all done in. It was reaching 38-40 degrees Celsius and I'm used to a more sedate and cooler 20-22 degrees on the Island.  A cool shower and some time in the cooler basement and I felt better!

We stayed with Lorraine for three days and before we knew it, we were on the road home again. We weren't too far along on the highway between Kelowna and we came across these beauties browsing along the highway near Pennask Summit:

The scenery between Kelowna and Merritt on the "connector". Rolling hills...

Then back through Avalanche Alley....

This rock cornice looks menacing...especially when you look at the slope below it!

The fresh green growth is where previous snow slides have taken out the trees. We try not to travel during the winter months and that starts in late September way up here.

Finally we arrived in Vancouver!  We stayed overnight at the Sheraton and I upgraded our room as a special treat: king size bed on the top floor, free internet and wifi, free dinner appies and a free full breakfast. Best of all, air conditioning!! It was the crowning touch to a great week away!

Then we were looking at this welcome view.... That's Nanaimo in the middle there and home is forty five minutes away. Oh, and the heat wave eased off once we got in the door.