Que Pasa?

Wish I knew 😯  So much has been happened the past two days. In our downtime both the inside and basement of the RV have been prepped for our next trip to Mexico. I still can’t believe that we leave seven weeks today 😎

I hope that you are okay with these bits and pieces, not necessarily in order.

~I had purchased a large fillet of fresh wild sockeye salmon two days before we left.  Once we landed in this lovely spot and more or less set up this past Friday Colin left to pick up a few supplies for us to BBQ the salmon. No way did we want to waste that lovely salmon. The fish was perfect as was as the potatoes Colin picked up. Accompanied with  zucchini from our garden and a ceaser salad we ate very well. Last night we had a salmon burger.  Tonight we have a choice of Costco quiche, veggie burger, two types of hot pasta or tuna pies. Look like the chef has chosen tuna pies. The unsettling thing about the Friday meal was that Colin discovered that the local gas station was out of fuel. Oh wel, yet another thing to deal with on another day.

~tonight is our fourth night here. A very lovely RV park.  The girls are so very good. They seem to be alright sitting outside on a leash tied to a tree. Today Colin took them for a long walk around the park off leash. Then down to the rocky beach of the Kettle River. They listened to all his voice commands. I could see that they have changed over the past months but they certainly proved it to us.

~Colin had brought several bowls of tomatoes/zucchini and patty pan squash from our garden which he shared with everyone here. Back home someone graciously watered our veggie garden the other day ( I can’t remember ) and another friend watered the tomato  plants in our yard. Folks are being very helpful to us as well as all the evacuees. Hot food is being delivered free of charge all over the city and of course the fire stations. There have been over 50 homes destroyed but they are still counting. Several  fire-fighters have lost their homes yet keep fighting these three fires that remain out of control. I feel for them and of course their wives and children left with little emotional support. Most are working 16 hours shifts in the very very thick choking  smoke.

~I am spending hours online trying to figure it all out.

~as of this morning the fires had calmed however they all remain out of control. The University and area were taken off their evacuation order but remain on alert. However the smoke is being held down by its very thickness and not dissipating. Added to that are the associated smells of toxic fumes and burnt homes ( tires also plus ?? ) and vegetation. Air quality on a scale of 1 – 10 is literally off the charts at an 11+. Reports from those who have returned to Holiday Park are about the smell and thick toxic smoke.

~we have been debating on returning tomorrow or waiting until Wednesday. Winds are to pick up tonight, there is a 30% chance of showers  🙂 as well as thunder showers. Tomorrow ( Tuesday ) is a 70% chance of showers. We don’t mind getting wet as we unload.  Much better that breathing toxic air.  Many are worried about their A/C units being full of ash. What to do?

~today Holiday Park sent out a totally revised form on evacuation procedures as approved by the Kelowna Fire Department!  It varies quite a bit from what was in effect when we left. All to the good but why so late in the game 😯 Also the parks webcams are down, two were working up to yesterday but now we have no visual of the amount of smoke in the air 😡

~homes have been destroyed but we don’t’ have the total number nor any details. Those whose homes have been destroyed need to be contacted first.

~a day or two before we left the  temperature was 102F. The past two mornings we awoke up to 53F and 51F. Those temps have helped cool the fires but they are all still burning out of control as I type this.

~ of course we are very aware of Hurricane Hilary. For once there was no damage to the Isla. However Hilary hit the USA very hard 😥  The hope is that  she will drop some water on our fires tomorrow as she passes through

~thank you all so much for your comments on this blog via comments, via text, message or email and phone calls. They have all helped calm us and we are so very very thankful for you being there for us. It means so very much to realize how many of you care – and especially my long lost friends and our special blog reader from Australia. Tears did flow as your comments were read, we did not feel quite so alone

~we are ever so thankful that our RV park has been saved. However those who have returned to our park are still ready to leave at a moments notice. There are still winds and thunder storms in the forecast. We will make our decision to return or not in the morning.

~sadly the the fire fighting air support has been unable to fly the past few days. Worry some.

~however friends from the Isla who live in our park reported rain about 45 minutes ago 😎 Please let it rain. Fabulous news at 7:54PM Monday.

If you are ever down this way ( just  a mile or two from the US border ) The Kettle River RV Park is a wonderful place to relax in. Just a few miles east of Rock Creek.