Well, folks, I have to apologize for not getting an entry up sooner, but it's been a busy week. And sadly, I've missed out on more of Amber's visit than I would have wished. But it has been good; we've put smiles on her little face and given her and her brothers memories that I doubt will ever leave. They've had a close call with a cougar, and they've been out riverboating on the Skeena. They've been to Prince Rupert and dipped their feet in the Pacific Ocean.
As I said, a lot of this, I've had to miss out on a bunch of it, but that's not sour grapes, that's just life. And so I'll write on what I can, starting with the trip in the riverboat.
My coworker, Kelly, won a boat a number of years ago, and he's one of the kindest people I know, particularly when it comes to young children. When I mentioned to him that Amber and the guys were coming out from Ontario, he suggested that we get them out on the river. Because of the weather, we were finally able to make that happen on Thursday evening after work. My brother and everybody (except Susie and my mother,) met down at Fishermen's Park with Kelly and helped him launch, and I rushed over as soon as I finished working for the day. The boat is restricted to five people, so it was originally planned that Colin, Alex, Ryan, and Amber would all go with Kelly for a turn, and then come back. Poor little Ryan got scared, though, and I climbed in in his place. We took a turn around Skeena Street, saw properties on the south of Graham Avenue, and came up the west side of Ferry Island and looked up at the Big Blue Box (that is, WalMart,) and then circled around Ferry Island, down through Hell's Gate, and then back up around Alberta Bar before returning to where we launched from. We offloaded Colin and Amber, and loaded my brother, Bob. We essentially did the trip in reverse to what we had just done, except without going around Ferry Island. It was a very memorable trip for all of us, and the kids got to see eagles, seagulls, and afterwards, while standing on the boatlaunch, a black bear. It was a good end to what was a great day. Here's a quick video:
The next day was the only day I was really able to spend with them entirely. We had decided to spend the day fishing, and due to restrictions, decided to head west towards Rupert. We had to get past the Exchamsiks River in order for them to not have to pay extra licensing fees. The drive was pleasant, with a couple of black bears spotted beside the Kalum River; even the brief rainsquall didn't dampen our spirits as we drove through. We ended up starting to fish at the Kwinitsa River, seeing at first a few good splashes of trout. And none of us noticed that the fish stopped jumping while we were there. After no action on several flies, my brother and I noticed quite a large wage from something we couldn't see, and we naturally thought it was a large fish. After it made a 360 turn, we finally realized that something was amiss... the river had been invaded by a seal. We packed up and started to move ourselves back upriver, looking for a place to fish before we hit the Exchamsiks River. A number of little creeks were investigated, and rejected, until we ended up on the Kasiks River. There we saw some nice risers, and decided we would fish it, but after we fed Ryan, who was complaining of being hungry.Of course... it made us realize WE were hungry, also, so we sat down and had a burger and fries at the Kasiks Wilderness Resort. This was simply one of the best burgers I've had in a restaurant in a long time. And the fries... YUM! Folks... don't let the appearance of the building fool you... don't let the small dining area fool you. The restaurant has good food, good coffee, and the prices are simply excellent. Oh yes... don't just simply figure on it being simple truck-stop fare... the daily special was a curry chicken rice hotpot with naan bread.
Afterwards, we returned to the Kasiks River and fished, mostly without success (although I did manage to get a small trout to take my fly.) We shared the fishing hole with two others on our side of the river, and perhaps eight people who had arrived on the other side of the river in two boats. One of the fellows on our side succeeded in landing a Cutthroat trout, which after determing what it was (who goes fishing without knowing your species? Or at least a reference?) he cleaned and kept, and my brother watched the group across the river catch and release a number of larger fish... at least one coho, and probably a few pink salmon. With time running out, we packed up and returned to town.
Dinner that night was at our place, and Deedee had made a really nice Shepherd's Pie, Coleslaw, baguette, and Strawberry-Rhubarb and Blueberry-Peach pies for dessert. Dinner was great, and the house was filled with laughter and merriment. The one person who would have made things complete, my sister, was unable to be there, but it was still simply great to have us all together. We got people together and took a few pictures, and then, sadly, it was time to begin goodbyes. I hate goodbyes, especially when it has a tendency to be a year or more between visits... I had last seen Collin 12 years ago, before Dad got terribly ill. And I was only just getting to know his wife and wonderful children. It didn't seem quite right...
This morning I brought them up to the airport and put them on the plane. Well... through security, anyway. Not much point in hanging out simply killing time when you can't visit with the people you're seeing off. So be it; I will make the best of my day, and remember our visit, and plan to go out their way for a change. Next year, I tell you... Next year. And I hope and pray that little Amber is still going to be around for Deedee, Raeanne, Rechelle and me to go and see again.
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