Sam’s just back from another Mount Kobau campout. As you can see, he was in his element. We are enjoying some quiet home time now, after a busy (and fun) summer.

Oh — hello. I didn’t see you there. I’m Ellen, and I’m back with another installment of trillium trails. We’ve been back from this trip for a mere month, so this is pretty much breaking news by my standards.

Our destination this time: Wenatchee, Washington! Didn’t see that one coming, did you? Why Wenatchee? Well, besides the convenient access to Aplets and Cotlets and faux Bavaria, we were meeting up with my mum- and dad-in-law on their spring campout. The spring sun was warm, the grass was green, the apple trees were in blossom. And not a mosquito to be seen.

I know that my reader(s) really only use me as a way to get updates, and more importantly, photos of Sam. Give the people what they want, I say. Here is himself at camp (above) and on a day trip to Steamboat Rock (below).

Meanwhile, all kinds of news has come and gone. It was a busy year for me at UVic. I went through an Eva Hesse period in sculpture. I did a lot of drawing and some animation. I highly recommend going back to school. I even got a box of free art supplies this year. And with the software discounts (Hello CS5!), I feel like I’m making money on the deal.

I finished a couple of stints at the museum, including the launch of their social media efforts. Look for them on Facebook, and check out this blog post featuring my former workspace in the basement electronics workshop (I’m not in the post, just my office and coworkers). Of course, my job ended just when all the fun was starting (the actual creative content part), but the group there are doing a fantastic job with it so far.

So much more is going on. I won’t go into it all right now, but I’m happy to be shifting to a different pace. Some things ending, other new things to look forward to. This summer: a good freelance project, a trip to Boston, and a class in printmaking among others. And more travels for the trillium. Starting this weekend with our first trip to Long Beach, Tofino and Ucluelet. Possibly Sam’s best beach trip . . . evah!

We have company! My brother-in-law and his family are here for a few days. Tonight they are meeting some Victoria friends for dinner, so I’ll sneak in a quick post. These photos are from the Moberly Homestead in Jasper National Park, which we visited one evening in the company of the very same brother-in-law. To reach it, you drive up the Snaring River road east of Jasper townsite.

The site was home to a Metis family about 100 years ago. The upper portion of the house was rebuilt using traditional methods, but the lower section is original. Here is some of Ewan Moberly’s handwork.

I love the marks the tools left behind, now weathered by so many summers and winters.

A path behind the cabin leads to the river. The homestead was located at a favourable river crossing, and the Moberly family would assist travellers to move people, goods and animals across the river.

Sam is in the other room dreaming right now. I can here him sleep-barking. Poor guy has had a rough week, but he seems to be on the mend. Gave himself a nice big scrape under the eye by running at full tilt into a set of high-quality wooden blinds. But that’s another story.

Day 1: Lac Le Jeune campground near Kamloops. Luau pinata gal: I have to admire your attitude.

Day 11: Cafe sign for the Charles Hotel in Boston Bar, BC, taken from moving vehicle.

After 10 days on the road in our Trillium trailer, we are back home safe and sound. Details to follow . . .

Fifty cents for this beauty! The Mighty Metchosin Garage Sale comes through again. Its an annual benefit for the community house in our little town, and involves fantastic bargains and shopping for all the stuff your neighbors are throwing away. Last year we went at the end (prices in the basement), and this year we traded up for better selection, and went first thing Saturday. Frankly, prices were still dirt cheap, and there were some goodies to be found.

My favorite find is this little travel diary in it’s own zipper case, complete with someone’s travel notes and ticket stubs.

The front section has all kinds of handy reference information for the traveller. Lovely old maps, and an array of advice for the oceangoing passenger, such as Time Keeping at Sea and Ocean Lanes and Distances. And this under Miscellaneous: “Travel light. Secure a deck chair when obtaining ticket and arrange that the deck chair is placed on the starboard side of the promenade deck when sailing East, and port side when sailing west.” (The origin of “Posh” — Port Out, Starboard Home). And don’t forget to be prepared for those fancy dress balls!

The last thing I found was a box full of beautiful and interesting stamps that I also bought for a song. They turned out even better than I realized when I bought them. I also got some Golden Books to collage. There’s something muted and nostalgic about the color and the printing of the books that I really like. At least the sixties, seventies era books.

That was just the beginning of a lovely weekend. Saturday was just a gorgeous, beautiful sunny spring day verging on summer-like. In the afternoon, we drove up the island to Qualicum Beach, where we’d been given the gift of an overnight stay in a little hotel on the beach (thanks Mom!). We poked around town, relaxed on the balcony, looked at the water, walked on the beach, had a good dinner, read books and generally felt like we were on vacation. This morning we scoped out Rathtrevor Beach for future camping prospects. Looks like a great camping spot, with beautiful big trees, mountain views and a wide beach.

The only thing missing was Sam, who stayed at home being looked after by our neighbor. Since we drove across the US on our move to BC, we’ve gotten used to having Sam with us most of the time. So on the drive home today, we talked about how to arthritis-proof our trailer (Sam’s shoulder has started to act up when jumping down from things), and our possible itinerary for a trip to Jasper next month. How I love that looking forward feeling.

Well, not quite. But I have been to some very nice places. This little cabin overlooking the Pacific, where Mount Tamalpais meets the sea, north of the beautiful magical city of San Francisco, and shared with great friends, is one of them.

Talk about dumb luck. A few weeks ago, I set off for a visit to Boston and made a stop in San Francisco to visit my dear friends Laura and Tom and their kids for the weekend. When they picked me up at the airport Saturday morning, I learned they had a surprise in store for that night. By a fluke, a friend of theirs had reservations that weekend at a campsite called Steep Ravine and couldn’t use them. A second friend used the reservation Friday night but couldn’t stay Saturday. As Laura says, this was like winning the lottery. These sites are really, really hard to get. They book for the season almost immediately. Pretty soon we were packing the car with camping goodies and on our way for a breathtaking ride over the mountain to the coast.

I had never heard of Steep Ravine, or its connection with photographer Dorothea Lange, who spent time here with her family in the 50’s and 60’s. (There’s some background on the story and some photos here.) That’s Laura playing the part of Dorothea in the photo above.

The cabins are like little jewels carefully set in the landscape. The mountainside rises up behind the camp, and the cliff drops below. A hillside path leads down to a rocky crescent beach tucked under the cliffs. The waves crashed on the beach all night, filling the quiet with that roar that makes everything feel, look and taste better. The camp is at the end of a narrow road which descends to the site, so you are well off any travelled roads, and sharing the place with a fairly small number of campers. Its a really special place.

It’s only been three weeks but it feels like another life. I’m glad I have the photos or I might feel I’d imagined it all. Thanks to my lovely hosts, big and small, for a wonderful visit.

Active Pass seen from the ferry.

Near Allison Pass, the summit of the Hope Princeton in Manning Park.

Pitstop at Princeton. Though we often stop at Billy’s Restaurant in Princeton, today we were trying to make Penticton before dark, so it was a quick refueling at the Husky station.

This little church is just outside Headley, in the Similkameen valley.

We start to enter the home stretch around Keremeos. In the summer, you can stop at Mariposa or Sanderson’s for fruit or a peach shake. This time of year the orchards are barren. The hills in the distance are Gary’s native territory, rising up behind the property where his family had their orchard.

Another shot from the Keremeos bypass road, with K mountain on the right. After this, it got too dark for pictures.

Just a couple of photos from the last couple of days in Courtenay. Having an interesting, fun time on the road, but I’m ready to be home. Three days left. . .

Travel day! This is at a breakfast stop at Merritt (someone else’s table). We left Revelstoke around 6 am with the sky dark and a slim crescent moon just above the mountains. This is about 4 or 5 hours in. I drove the truck today — a 16′ box loaded with our touring exhibit.

This pup was guarding some horses at the diner. I miss my dog!

Fast forward to 4 pm. At the Horseshoe Bay ferry. This was my first trip on the Horseshoe Bay-Nanaimo route. I’d never seen the little village at Horseshoe Bay or the cove there. It was really pleasant. We had beautiful weather for the drive.

On our way back to the island. It was a strange experience in several ways: for one, I flew to Kamloops, so it was odd coming back through the lower mainland without driving out through it. Same with coming back to the island — so odd to be heading here but not home yet. And I really missed Gary on the ferry. I don’t think I’ve ever ridden the ferry without him, and to take that trip for the first time without him didn’t feel right.

We landed in Courtenay at last about 14 and a half hours after leaving Revelstoke. I’m pretty bleary at this point after scrambling to finish and upload an assignment for my online class. Yay for in-room wifi. Now tired me is heading for bed, to have happy dreams because tomorrow Gary is driving up to see me, and we get to explore a place I have never been. Good night.