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The road to the Shuswap area is full of diverse scenery. Leaving the lower mainland (Vancouver BC) one will pass through a lush valley of farmland and verdant green forests. The scenes will include rugged mountains and swift flowing creeks. Once a person gets near the Nicola Valley the land changes to ranch land and grasslands.

It is a different climate than the coast. Inland it is drier, hotter in summer and colder in winter. The hillsides tend to have more brown and smaller trees. There is plenty of sage brush along the road sides making the air smell fresh and fragrant.

The other noticeable thing about the air is that a person can actually smell “fresh” air. It is not just the sage brush that makes the air smell good, but the absence of pollution from cars and trucks. The sweetness of the air makes a person feel like breathing deeper and longer.

The picture shows the area along Highway 5A. It goes from Merritt to Kamloops. These were about halfway between Quilchena and Kamloops.
Sundown at Shuswap Lake

Where I was standing to get the pictures was mere steps away from my friend's house.
I had never been on a quad before so I dressed for the crash. My friends thought I was over dressed. I had on my motorcycle pants and boots and gloves ( I took my gloves off for the ride back) .....double layered my shirt, too.

Yes, I was hot, but I felt a bit more confident knowing that if I did tumble, I wouldn't get too scraped.

Truly once you leave the big cities behind for a few days you will start to relax and sleep well. That is why I call it the road to paradise.

I am looking forward to my next road trip……

I have been commuting back and forth to work all week. The weather has been sublime.

Until yesterday. We had thunder and lightning and pounding rain. So the bike stayed parked.

Early this evening while at home, I noticed that the light outside had changed. The grey was gone and the golden glow of sundown started. I grabbed my camera and got into the car to go find a vantage point. Here is what the sky looked like tonight.

Night riding

It's been quite a while since I rode at night. Ever since my new "foisted upon me" shift at work, I have been too tired to do anything after work....let alone ride a motorcycle.

I am slowly adjusting though. My choice was this shift or go on the casual list. After 18-1/2 years that's what they said. Anyway...I am on what is known as a compressed work week. I work ten hour days/4 days a week. I'd rather have my 7-1/2 hours and 5 days a week.

I have been commuting by motorcycle so at least I'm getting in a little bit of riding. The mornings are fantastic. Sunny but cool. Going home has been sunny but warm.

This evening my friend called as I was leaving work and asked if I'd like to come by for a bite to eat. That was a nice surprise. I readily accepted.

I rode to her place and we talked and had supper. After supper we watched a movie and shared some laughs. It was dark going home.

The weather is dry, clear and cool. The traffic was light. The gas prices had suddenly dropped by several cents a liter, so I stopped and topped up the tank.

It was such a nice ride home, that I am pumped to go riding at night again. Unfortunately it is forecasted to start raining tomorrow afternoon. So...I'll have to wait until it's dry. I won't ride at night if it's raining. It's too hard to see.

That's how I felt riding this evening.

My Kawasaki is wearing a new pair of Metzler tires. (or tyres for you British types)

I had pre paid for the tires and installation and had already made the appointment a week ago...so off I went in the rain to go to the shop.

I was cautious coming home.....new tires on wet roads...fortunately the rain had stopped long enough for the ride home so visibility was good.

It's hard to describe....but the Metzler tires roll differently than the Dunlops. Smoother? Easier? Just different.

Now...awaiting my pal so we can go the RV show. Roof over our heads and 4 wheels underneath.

I went for a ride today. We finally have a dry sunny day here.

When I came home from the shop with the new tires on my bike, they were slightly underinflated because of being new and the roads were wet. Yes, it was another rainy day.

So..this morning I checked the pressure and pumped up the tires to the indicated amount on the side of the tire.

I went to Squamish and back...

The tires handled very well. They do have a different feel than the Dunlops that were on the bike. My first bike came with Dunlops and I replaced those tires with Dunlops when they wore out. This bike I have came with Dunlops and they had reached their limit.

So this time I have Metzlers on the bike. I don't know what kind of mileage I can expect, but so far I like them.

A gratuitous picture of my motorcycle from an evening this week.
This is how I deal with leaving my helmet behind on the bike when I go away for a walk or lunch or whatever. Sometimes it's just not convenient to carry a helmet with you.

Do you ever wonder why people are so afraid? Afraid make a commitment? Even if something is only 2 days away?

Why are people so afraid of saying yes instead of I'll have to think about it? Do they think that something better will come along?

Why do those people think it's ok to keep someone dangling? Is it a form of control? Well...enough is enough....

My bike is parked for a while so I have no riding tales to tell

Due to the lack of commitment from my now former BF, I am preparing to downsize my place.

I'm working on clearing the clutter in my home and my life. It's a slow process.

I have managed to purge quite a lot of stuff so far. I have reached a point where I need to quit hauling so much stuff around everywhere. The memories are in me and not in the pieces of china or clothes or furniture I own.

When I moved into my present abode, the clothes I had filled 2 double closets. Mainly because I never got rid of anything.....even after I outgrew them in size or age.
My clothes now fit in one closet. Although my assortment of riding gear still takes a closet in the other room.... I did give away a few things though to someone who was going quad riding.....

I found a new home for the 2 chest of drawers I have had from when I first got married. I managed to empty them when I started my purging....I'm not sure...but they may have been the last of stuff from "those days".

I've been going through paperwork...holy cow.... there is so much....a lot of it has gone in the shredder or recycle.... but there is still so much more. I know I'm not alone in this "hanging on to stuff".... why do we feel the need to keep all this old paperwork? I had pay stubs from a company for whom I used to work....that company isn't even around anymore....those pay stubs are now sitting in the shredder bin....

Even with all the stuff I have purged, I still have lots I could get rid of. One of my main problems is that I have been so conditioned to not throw anything into the garbage (trash for those USA types) because it goes to landfill. Some stuff is not recyclable so I don't know what to do with it...therefore, it sits on a shelf or in a cupboard taking up space.

Do you think that all the recycling I have done over the years will make up for one clean sweep into the dumpster?

Is recycling still in its infancy? Is it for the younger generation? The complex where I live is mostly old people and they throw out an enormous amount of stuff. Are they lazy? Uninformed? Don't care?

Do you ever feel like, "Why should I care when so many don't"?

Oh, the dilemma.

Enough deep thinking for today. I'm going to make a cup of coffee and then continue my search for my 2010 tax forms.
Due to the incompetency of my company's former accountant, I got a reassessment in the mail regarding my 2010 taxes. The former accountant was so bad there were constant mistakes in pay and tax forms.... He was finally let go...The current accountant started in 2011. Since she started things have been fine.

Dumpster it, it goes to the transfer station and is all sorted by hand into it's relevant destination. Don't feel bad, if it can be recycled it will be...

Now that winter has arrived...and along with it some snow, slush and ice...nobody is riding around here these days. We don't usually get much snow around here, so it was quite the novelty. It was my day off from work so I was able to go out and help with snow shovelling for 2 hours.

We did get a crew in to clear the big areas and the sidewalks.

As usual, the snow stopped and then the temperatures rose and it all became slush. The roads are clear but there is still a threat of ice.

I went walking in the snow later just to enjoy the "winter wonderland" look.
Unlike some northern and interior regions of BC, the coast just stays grey. We don't get much sunshine in the winter. When we do it's spectacular.

The picture is from December 20 when we had the big snowfall.

Due to the fact that my motorcycle is parked for a bit...it's not insured to go out at the present time....

I drove my friend and I to Squamish and Brackendale for the annual return of the bald eagles. They return every year to feed off the spawned salmon.

Believe me, it's not a pleasant smelling venture to go to the river when the fish have spawned. The eagles and the sea gulls love it though. Lots to eat.

Some of the eagles sit in groups in the trees across the river or sit on the beach picking away at the dead fish....for those ones a person needs a hug lens. A short walk up river though and my friend and I saw a lone eagle sitting close enough, but still protected by an inlet of water...


Here is a photo bomb.....I only recently learned about photo bombs and sometimes find them quite amusing.
Here's a dead fish. It has had its life cycle and now lays waiting in the sand for a hungry bird.
Here is an unrelated picture...a photo bomb...from Thanksgiving...I was going for a picture of my sister-in-law because it was also her birthday...just as I snapped the shutter, my sister stuck her head in sideways.