Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Kuwait City, Kuwait on March 31st.

Friday, August 17, 2018

Well, four new tires are better than none

We went back over to the Kal Tire store first thing Thursday morning to get Sherman's new tires installed. But unfortunately, the two tires we were waiting for didn't show up! When I had ordered them, we were told they would be in "Wednesday at the latest"... but it didn't happen.

So, there were four tires there. The other two they were now told would show up Monday, which is too late for us!

Nothing anybody could do about it, so no point in getting upset. They would install the four new ones on the rear, and they would ship the other two to whichever Kal Tire store I would choose along our route. To give them enough time to complete the shipping, I chose the one in Cranbrook, B.C., so we'll get them done right after the reunion next weekend. It means putting yet another 1,000 (600 miles) kms or so on the old front ones, but I think they'll last that long.

So, with our four new tires installed, we set of for my cousin Calvin's place in Burns Lake.

The final bill for the four tires, installed and balanced was $1096.84 CAD ($850 USD) tax included. Obviously we will have another bill for half that again when the two front tires are installed. But, it will actually be a bit more because I'll have a wheel alignment done at the same time.

For a motorhome, Sherman has small wheels. They are only 16" rims, so of course the tires are generally cheaper than most motorhome tires.

Back on the road. A little bit of haze due to the forest fires.

A nice blue sky, but forest fire smoke is all around.

Stopped for lunch in the town of Houston. There isn't a whole lot to see in the town itself, but they do have a nice park and a couple of other things...

A huge stuffed grizzly bear.

The world's largest fly fishing rod.
Can you see me standing at the base?

We went for a stroll in the park.

Just outside of Burns Lake, a black bear ran across the road in front of us. 
Ruth grabbed the camera and managed this quick shot.

Parked up at my cousin Calvin and his wife Brenda's house. They have a nice spot right on the lake. Too bad about the forest fire smoke!

My cousin Calvin has an interesting job. He's a farrier. Essentially, a farrier is a blacksmith who specializes in horse hoof care, including the trimming and balancing of horses' hooves and the placing of shoes on their hooves, if necessary.

He made this firepit from old horseshoes.

Haven't seen my cousins Calvin and his wife Brenda, and his younger brother Bruce and his wife Jean, and my aunt Audrey since September 2006, almost 12 years ago! They all came over and we had a nice dinner together. Forgot to take photos, but we'll be seeing them again at the family reunion next weekend.

Took a couple of shots this morning though...

Brenda, Calvin, Kevin, and Aussie the dog.

We woke up this morning, and the smoke was gone!
Wind must have changed direction.

Today, we'll visit my cousin Shannon, and then to Aunt Audrey's place. Tomorrow, my Uncle Dave's place in Prince George.

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Nice deal on this 9'x12' RV Patio Mat...


And in Canada, a good deal on this





14 comments:

  1. The smoke is all here in Winnipeg! It's been pretty bad the last few weeks, and suppose to get worse, all coming from BC and Alberta.
    That is the coolest fire pit I've ever seen!!

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    1. Yep, poor British Columbia isn't having much luck with their fires. They really need the rain. We remember working at the campground in Saskatchewan and getting smoke from the fires in Alberta and British Columbia as well. It is amazing how far the smoke can travel.

      Calvin did a fantastic job on that firepit!

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  2. Imagine the size of the fish that pole would could catch:)

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    1. Lol, I said the same thing to Kevin when we saw it! ;-)

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  3. Replies
    1. Definitely and Sherman can't wait to get his other two tires changed!

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  4. Can't believe it's not smokier than that there. I wish we could get a few days of good solid rain in B.C. and slow down these fires. Brutally smoky and dark in the afternoon here in the South Okanagan. It's really having a negative affect on tourism, agriculture, especially wine grapes and the two big triathlons going on this week. OK yes, you get what you pay for with bikes I agree, but, Kevin if you haven't found a bike yet when you get to my area, you can borrow mine. You're going to need something to ride with Ruth on the world famous Kettle Valley Railroad trail you know! In fact, I'm so confidant that this 100$ Walmart cheap bike will impress, that you can keep it if you like it. Absolutely nothing to lose, just want you to try it, take it for a spin and see if it's not the best bike you've ever ridden like Ruth said. I want to get a good bike anyway! Tired of cheap junk! Haha. Cheers and hope that you have a great time in B.C.

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    1. It got worse throughout the day. Also Burns Lake isn't quite as close to the big Shovel Lake fire, Fraser Lake is though and it isn't so nice there. It was actually a little better in Fraser Lake yesterday than it has been because the wind had changed direction and was blowing it all over to Prince George who got it pretty bad yesterday. It was like nighttime and it was only 9am. They need rain badly up here!

      Kevin can give your bike a try but after having a good quality one for the last 15 or more years I am sure that he will notice the difference. Thanks for the offer, as you said he has nothing to lose. We have hiked a small part of the Kettle Lake Trail back in the fall of 2007 so it sure would be nice to go for a good bike ride on it. :-)

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  5. Nice that you got the 4 tires installed, and the front two will be forwarded to another location. Have fun at the family reunion.

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    1. Yes, 4 tires are better than none but it would have been nice to have been able to have got them all done at once.

      The family reunion isn't for another week yet although it is nice to stop by and see some of Kevin's relatives along the way, especially because we won't be seeing some of them at the reunion. A few have canceled for different reasons but some of them it is because of these fires and they need to stay and watch their houses and keep them watered down as they are close to the big fire here and are under evacuation alert. :-(

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  6. I spent 15 years in Burns lake (age 1 - 15) so have a lot of fond memories and a lot of friends. Terrible what is going on in Fraser Lake

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    1. Looks like it would have been a beautiful place to grow up providing there weren't forest fires all around. I am sure there are still people living there that you would remember from your time there.

      We really hope that Fraser Lake gets some much needed rain and that they will get it soon!

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  7. Awesome pictures. I was in Santa Fe, NM for the weekend and Albuquerque and surrounding cities/towns were full of smoke. I coughed a bit trying to breath. News said smoke was from wildfires in California. It seems the whole western side of north America is on fire. So sad for animals and people.

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    1. Thank you!

      Yep, being in a smoky atmosphere is not nice at all. We found even driving through the really smoky sections that it would bother us. We would drive with the windows up even though it was quite warm out, luckily we have a couple of little fans inside to circulate the air for us and keep us a little cooler. We feel sad for the animals too as well as the people living in these areas. :-(

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