Jess’s smiling face was waiting for us when we finally landed in Kamloops…so good to see her again our baby puppy !! We grabbed some food to eat on the way home - I bought a McDonalds thickshake and it was almost double the normal size we get in Oz !! we all couldn’t finish it. We tok about an hour to get to Ashcroft and then a short drive on, we arrived at the Sundance Ranch !! Yeehaa.. Cynthia greeted us very warmly and took us to our Rodeo Room, and brought us some wine, beer and nibbles to help us settle in - talk about being spoilt !!! and so it has continued !!! Great meals, good bottles of wine, great chats and today, we went for a 2 hour horse ride, through the foothills of the interior plateau where the ranch is located. The hills are steep and wooded in pines - although the pine beetle is causing immense destruction to the forests -and the Thompson River weaves through the landscape. There was a 2 train derailment nearby just before we came and we have seen some of the damaged containers as they are transported away. Rail is an important daily part of life around here and they run almost constantly through the region. Glenn and Greg have been able to spend a lot of time together - just chatting, playing golf, which they have enjoyed - even though dad beat Greg by one point (he he) I think he let him win !!! One of the special things here is when they let the horses back into the fields at night. The whole 90 or so of them head off into the paddocks, kicking and running and enjoying their freedom…. it is such a beautiful sight each night.
We have had some deep chats as couples and resolved some past hurts/misunderstandings. I feel like we have gotten to know them so much better and also gotten to know Dan and Taylor - they are great young people and now we have spent some time together, I hope we will keep in touch more frequently. Dan is starting a flying course tonight which goes for 4 months and which will enable him to come to Aust one day to do a Uni course and become a pilot.
Back to our ride, Glenn & I, Greg & Cindy, Daniel and Jess headed out - I was talked into going by Jess and I’m glad I went, although I am a tad sore now !!! The views from the top of the ridges were great and the others had a few good gallops - I chose to be sedate !!! Jess now rides pretty well and was given some warm compliments from Cynthia, who knows her stuff. She was also complimented on the great job she has done here during the summer in the dining room…. I think that we all need to be complimented on a job well done - it validates a person and is such a healthy esteem builder. I regret not telling my kids and workmates more often how I felt about them - in a positive way. All too often, all we hear is re our mistakes !!! So folks, make sure you tell people how you feel about the good stuff too !!!
Jess was actually quite impressive and showed us how she mounts a horse Indian style - very nimble that girl. Whilst I’m saying stuff like this, I think I forgot to say how blessed and cared for we were by Luke - he was so generous and thoughtful to us - we certainly felt very well looked after - by both of them - and we had real good fun too !! I saw how similar Dad and Luke are like I haven’t before….it was very interesting to see their humour and approach to things is often alike.
Anyway, we only have a few more days here and then we are off to Vancouver and Victoria Island. Jess is coming down to spend a few days with us before we leave for the USA again. We have had a fair bit of time with Jess and are looking forward to her being in Perth when we get back in Jan. We have a B & B booked for 3 nights in Victoria - which should be a good base to explore the island and see the Buchart Gardens. When we are in Vancouver, we hope to see the aquarium and a few museums…should be fun. Anyway my fingers are worn down now so i will leave my bloggie here for now.chat again soon, Love me xox
