3 Weeks In

It has been an eventful first 3 weeks of my summer! So eventful, in fact, that I haven't had much time to record the events. So here's the recap ...

Week 1 - BC Bike Race. I was asked to help support some friends who did this epic 7 day stage race. The days were long, the nights were short, the weather was hot and windy, the scenery spectacular and from what I was told, the riding was amazing. Check it out ...

Week 2 - zzzzz ... even supporting is tiring! I suffered from some short-term narcolepsy after Week 1; it seemed that I fell asleep at every possible moment. But, I did manage to get a couple of swims in at Batchelor Bay and Sasamat Lake before heading off to the sunny Okanagan.

Week 3 - Okanagan and Tour de Hospital with mom & Geordie (mom's Cairn Terrier).
Saturday - Osoyoos was HOT - 38°. Helped out at the blueseventy tent, went for a swim sans wetsuit in Lake Osoyoos and generally spent a lot of time trying to stay cool. Sunday - watched parts of the Desert Half Iron and cheered on friends. Special congrats to Karen for her first place finish in the competitive Women's 35-39 age group (5th overall!). Mom & I had a wonderful dinner at the Sonora Room at the Burrowing Owl Winery. Monday - we took the "back road" (Hwy 33) to Kelowna. Unfortunately it was raining, so we didn't do any exploring. The drive out of Osoyoos heading east on Hwy 3 goes up Anarchist Mountain and affords a spectacular view of the lake and valley:
Tuesday - Myra Canyon. Most of us recall the devastation that occurred during the Okanagan Mountain Fires of 2003. All but a couple of the trestles in the Myra Canyon, part of the historic Kettle Valley Railroad, were completely destroyed. Over the past few years, the Myra Canyon Restoration Society has restored all the trestles and the canyon is open for riding and hiking. We walked about 7 km (round trip), crossed 10 of the 18 trestles and went through both tunnels. Mom and I were impressed that Geordie braved all the trestles & tunnels! The canyon is well worth the visit for anyone in the Kelowna area.


Later in the afternoon, mom tripped on this ...
while carrying this ...
over this (too hot and slippery for little paws) ...
and shattered this...
And thus began the Tour de Hospital - Kelowna General Tuesday afternoon followed by a very fast drive down to Lion's Gate (4 hours door-to-door with a drive-thru dinner and doggie pee break). LGH Tuesday night, Wednesday and Wednesday night followed by Vancouver General on Thursday. In a nutshell mom is getting a shiny new artificial elbow next week.

Up next week ... Bard on the Beach; Family Dinner; elbow surgery for mom; prolotherapy round three for me; CMS Ironman Training Camp ... I think that's enough for now!