Saturday, July 20, 2019
Although I woke up at 5 am, as usual, I decided to go back to sleep until 6:30. I found Ben, Egon and Eric were packing their belongings into Ben’s truck in preparation for their drive back home to Abbotsford. Before they left, they boiled some water for their morning ‘ Mate ‘ that they would be taking with them.
After they left, Ike and I had a simple breakfast, while I finished editing my journal for the previous day.
I packed a few things to take with me and left shortly after 8 am. The temperature was 11 C ( 52 F ) when I left Grand Forks and it didn’t get above 13 C ( 5 F ) until I reached Chiliwack, where the temperature slowly increased to the high 20’s C ( high 70’s F ).
The drive to Surrey winds it’s way through the Rocky Mountains with many switch backs, some of which change direction by 180 degrees and have a recommended speed of 20 kph ( 12 mph ).
At first the mountains were heavily forested, mainly with evergreens, but as I neared Osoyoos, their were scattered trees among the rocky mountainsides. Osoyoos is a beautiful resort town in a lush valley with a huge lake that has become a popular resort town. The fertile ground in the valleys are ideal for berries, grapes and tender fruits ( peaches, plums, etc ). I noticed that the apples in the valleys are commonly grown on the vine, like grapes.
As I got closer to Surrey, the mountains were covered with trees, similar to the Grand Forks area, except they are much taller, some reaching the clouds.
I arrived in Surrey at 2:30 pm and had a wonderful visit with Tim, Shannon and the boys. The boys played, while Tim, Shannon and I sat outside and discussed many different subjects, particularly about our latest experiences. Before we went inside for supper, we took a picture together to remember the day.
Shortly after we finished eating, Shannon’s father, George, came to the house and we had dessert while we visited with him. After George left, we talked a little bit longer before going to bed.
Ralf Hamm 
Great photos Ralf! Here I am again, travelling vicariously through you!
Thanks Les. It’s been an interesting trip and I have seen a lot of things. It’s sometimes a little awkward getting pictures and writing about my adventures, but it helps me to remember what I did.