Days 226 to 229 Salmon Arm to Sicamous, B.C. (including an event day and a couple of days off)

Day 226 in Salmon Arm, was an event day. I was not rostered today, so Jeremy and I headed out to some shopping, (toiletries and such). We came across this fish pond in one of the malls.

Now don't be coy with me!

I saw this post card of B.C. and it made me think of the 2 months and a bit will be spending in the province on the relay.

A little guerilla knit art on a tree outside the art gallery

There's a lot going on in the downtown core, good to see Salmon Arm hasn't given into the big box stores (yet)

The next day, seeing as how spring is setting in, a few us thought going to the driving range and hitting a bucket of balls was a good idea

Lisa warming up.

Don and Barn looking good, after watching them, I don't think I will golf with them anytime soon, they would kick my butt!

In the afternoon, I went for a walk on some of the trails around the hotel, which are part of the bird sanctuary on Shuswap Lake. There was pole set up for an Osprey nest.

but it was taken over by a Canada goose, I have never seen that before, they usually nest on the ground.

The trail stetched 4 kilometres in one direction.

This nest was farther out, and I believe was being used by an Osprey

and there it is!

Looking out towards the pier.

That evening, Mike, Don and I went to a restaurant called the Shuswap Chefs (check out the link for the rave reviews it has received) It was a little pricy, but it was worth it!

I had the elk, with candied beet root risotto don't you know! It was very nice, I thought it would have more of a wild taste, but was not the case.

Mike had the Enderby wild boar medallions

and Don had the spinach and goat cheese phyllo wrapped salmon. I would recommend this place if you ever come through.

back in the room, I took a look out the hotel window and this full moon was staring right at me.

Day 228 was a relay day. Jake and I were back on shuttle 3, and our meeting point was in Sicamous (population about 2,500)

Sicamous is an adaptation of a Shuswap language word meaning "River circling mountains"

Our meeting point today and the site of the end of day celebration for the 25th anniversary Rick Hanen relay was at the Eagle River Secondary School

Eagle River
The Eagle River starts from high in the Monashee Mountains near Three Valley Gap and flows west through Malakwa. Eventually the river flows west on its way to the Shuswap Lake at Sicamous. During the summer the Eagle River is very popular for fishing, swimming and tubing destination for the locals.
.

big words from a little pup.

I always enjoy the powerful messages the schools provide for their students.

Jake teaches the Rick Hansen and the 25th anniversary relay story to this group of Sicamous difference makers.
(imagine, making them come to class on a Saturday!)

Our first insertion point was at the foot of Sicamous Narrows, a body of water that connects Mara Lake to Shuswap Lake.

Sicamous prides itself on being known as the "house boat capital of Canada", and this was only a few of the hundreds we saw around town.

great day for a relay

back at the school I got a pic of our event lead, Ainsley and her friend Mark, who is a medal bearer today.

and the proud difference makers of Sicamous are ready to go!

We got to our insertion point by Sicamous narrows, and there was not a soul around, which is the first time that has happened to me on the relay. Usually, the pilot vehicle or the convoy is close by. Then this house boat goes by and I can see the rest of the relay team is on board! Apparently they went for a little tour courtesy of the owner, and they were a little late getting back. But we did start our segment on time.

Here comes the end of day medal bearer, and the nominee from the town of Sicamous, Kathy, proudly hanging onto the 25th anniversary Rick Hansen medal. Here is her story:

Kathy  moved to Sicamous in 1979 with her husband Paul and two sons, Chris and Steve and has been driving school buses for School

District 83 ever since.Kathy is a master at building positive relationships with her students, their parents and the school community. Kathy has

accomplished many things to this point in her career as a school bus driver: providing student safety training for school bussing; and an

impeccable driving record.Kathy began helping train school bus drivers and ended up helping write new handbooks for drivers, both safety and

practical. The new program was such a success that she was been invited to Toronto a couple of times to set it up there and do presentations.

She travels around BC to various Communities helping get it up and running.In 2011 Kathy was runner-up for the Association of School

Transportation BC School Bus Driver of the Year Award.Kathy has been involved with Cubs and Scouts and Brownies as a Brownie Leader. She

went on all kinds of field trips, always researching the history of where they were going so that she could share it with the group.In 1989, Kathy

and another parent started on Dry Grad 90, where she helped the grads raise money to go to Disneyland. Kathy ran the cafeteria and did all

kinds of baking throughout the year. It took many projects to raise the $27,000 as there was no grad action in those days. Not only did Kathy

volunteer as a chaperone she drove the school bus to Vancouver. One of the projects, the Eagle Valley High School Craft Fair she still puts on

today – 22 years later.Kathy has been a member of the Sicamous Citizens on Patrol for the past 16 years.Kathy has organized the Sicamous

Safety Fair for the last 11 years.Kathy is also an active member of the Lions Club and still does field trips whenever asked. In 2011 Kathy was

bestowed the Freedom of the Municipality Award.

A smaller but still an enthusiastic crowd.

The end of day group shot.....

and then this character (apparently the town mascot, "Moose Mouse"??? jumped into the picture.

After the end of day celebration, we headed back to Salmon Arm, this stretch was the straightest of the drive, which winds along Shuswap Lake.

Week 33 of the relay is coming to an end, that means cleaning up the shuttle and handing it over to the driver that is rostered on it for week 34..

Day 229, was a day off, and beside a trip to the gym and the usual blogging, I didn't get up to much. A few of us were invited to Marilyn's in-laws just outside of Salmon Arm for dinner. They had a beautiful place right on Shuswap Lake. It was nice to have dinner in a home for a change instead of a restaurant.

This juniper tree on their property was one of the gnarliest I have seen. They say it has been there for generations. This is one beautiful area, it certainly grows on you the more time you spend here. (At least I get to enjoy it for two more nights)