August 24-27, 2015

What happened…

Amanda writes:

August 24

With the help of our host Mike we loaded up our bikes in the morning and headed down to try and find some tubes as were all out and to try and get the racks fixed by a welder. Up to this point I’ve really wanted to try and ensure we weren’t welding anything on the bikes, but the bolts for the racks are breaking far too often. I finally agreed and we went down to the welding shop and they figured they could help us out. We unloaded the bikes and the shop got to work on them. They were finished in under an hour and that was terrific. Just as we were packing up the bikes to roll out again Andrew called our friend Mike to let him know we were leaving Fernie shortly and would hopefully be arriving near him at about 5pm. When he reached Mike we learned he was at the Tim Horton’s in Fernie which was right across the street. Andrew told him to not move and we were on our way.

We said farewell to our host Mike and road over to the coffee shop. We were so happy to see Mike and Nicki and road up beside their truck and just started unloading our bikes. Nicki and Mike were a bit surprised because they thought we might want to be purists and ride. Well after as many flats and broken racks we had along with over 100 kilometres the day before, we were more than happy to get in a truck. We were just so lucky and grateful that they were in a truck and no on their motorcycles and the timing was perfect!

After loading things up we did some errands with them and had a nice lunch. Then we drove off toward their place in Elkford. We’ve hitched rides before but this was different. The timing was perfect, it was with friends and it just felt right. I felt no guilt at all about taking a ride. Even while in the vehicle Nicki was able to show off her beautiful area she lives in and told us what all the sights were as we drove past. We even got to stop in Sparwood and take a picture of what used to be the worlds biggest truck. All in all a great day with friends.

August 25-27

After a good nights sleep in a warm bed with a roof over our head we enjoyed a lovely breakfast. This was followed by some awesome motor biking! Nicki and Mike have a few motorcycles and they were happy to show us some trails and teach us how to ride. As a kid I rode motorcycles and was quickly reminded how much fun it was. Because of my short stature I had to ride one of the kids bikes but it still has a lot of kick to it. Andrew hasn’t ridden motorcycles before so Mike was eager to teach him the ropes. As with most things for Andrew, he learned quickly and I think he enjoyed it. After riding around on the bikes we headed back and just hung out with everyone and it was so great and relaxing. Hanging with Mike and Nicki was so easy and comfortable. Mike and Andrew have known each other for over 20 years so there is a certain comfort for them, but I too found that the ease with which we hung with them was great. If our lives were headed down a different path and we lived near them, I’m sure we’d spend loads of time with them.

During the few days we spent in Elkford we got to meet Nicki’s kids. Tavin, Dayle, Robin and Aidan are awesome! When I first met Dayle and Robin; the two oldest I thought they were just good friends. I didn’t realize they were sisters with a few years between them. Robin looks much older than she is. Seeing how those two interact reminded me how much I miss my sisters. Dayle worked so we didn’t get to know her as much as the others, but in the short time we spent with her, her smile and great laugh stood out for me. We got to hang out with Robin over the couple of days we were there and she is so smart and well spoken and well informed I enjoyed simply speaking with her. She strikes me as an ambitious young woman who has the voice and reason to make a difference. When you combine that with her ability to articulate herself I look forward to keeping in touch with her to see where her life path takes her. Aidan and Tavin are the youngest and again, two boys that were a treat to hang out with. Both of course are into video games and electronic devices so they enjoyed Andrew more than me. They played some card game on the iPad with Andrew for hours and rock band and just swapped stories about games. Aidan too I found very well spoken and confident when speaking. He struck me as one of 4 kids who struggles to get a word in edge wise which makes me smile when I type it because I am one of 5 and can relate. When Aidan manages to get in there, he makes sense. At the end of our stay, it was high fives and hugs with all of them. They’re lucky to have each other and I hope they know it.

We also got to spend time with Mike’s daughter Shaylene who I have only met once. She has a little boy named Ryan that we got to meet too. Then as an added bonus Mike’s parents Patti and Jim came and visited too! We saw them in Salmon Arm about a month before so it was just so awesome to see everyone together. Everyone was able to hang out and sing Mike happy birthday. So great to see four generations together.

Nicki and Mike were so generous and welcoming to us I was a bit overwhelmed. To take us in and feed us and treat us to such wonderful company was just what we needed after some flats and mechanical issues. I’m grateful we saw them when we did and that they were as generous as they were. It’s because of people like Nicki and Mike that we can live the dream that we are living.

Today’s Photographs