Wednesday to Wednesday, November 4 to 11, 2020 (Oceanside RV Resort, Saanichton, BC)

This was not really a very exciting week...well, not for me at least, but a good one for Steve (at least four days of it)! We didn't do much Wednesday and Thursday...out for walks, basically the usual.

Rob and Steve have been watching the weather for the coming few days and have decided the planned hunting trip is a go. Rob is taking Conner and Bryce out for 4 days/3 nights to the same area where they hunted last month. They will leave early Saturday morning and meet up with Steve's buddy Jim in Lake Cowichan.

So Friday morning I went into Sidney to pick up some groceries Steve needed for the few days. Steve basically packed and got his stuff ready to take over to Rob's house later on this afternoon.

We arrived at the house just before 5:00 and transferred all of Steve's gear into the cargo trailer. Steve helped Rob hitch up the trailer and do some odds and ends and then we all enjoyed pizza I had ordered for dinner. I was getting a little concerned when it was a half hour late being delivered...but it finally arrived.

We basically "ate and ran" so that Rob could finish getting all his gear and food needed for the next 4 days packed.

Saturday (Nov. 7) morning we were up at 5:30. After a quick cup of coffee, Steve showered and then finished his packing. He was ready when Rob and the boys pulled up at 7:45. There were a couple of excited little boys ready and rarin' to go! The forecast for today and tomorrow is pretty nice but cold. The forecast of possibly snow Monday has me a little worried...hopefully they won't get too much!

I was looking forward to some "me" time so basically spent the next 4 days shopping (got a good start on my Christmas shopping done!), cleaning, doing laundry...and of course, getting out for my walks.

There was even a beautiful sunrise one morning....

I'll now pass this over to Steve to tell you about his hunting trip....no deer were harvested. ):

Well lets just say taking a 5 and an almost 8 year old on a hunting trip is more of a camping trip. Conner had been before but this was Bryce's first time. Due to the short attention span of an adolescent our morning hunts were shorter than normal, and I volunteered to stay behind during the evening hunts to be entertained by the boys and let their dad have some alone time. We had slingshot and bb gun shooting competitions, and a game of eye spy.

Dad giving shooting lessons. Conner aiming for the beer cans in the bush...Then it was Bryce's turn. The gun was a little too heavy and the stock a little long but with dads help he eventually caught on...Normally the weather here would be lots of rain but we lucked into cold and clear...down to -4C/25F!The boys really enjoyed chopping kindling...Jim, Rob and the boys...Me and my boys...Bryce trying to hit the beer can with his slingshot...Bryce getting a ride with Jim...Then Conner...There better not be a rock in that slingshot Bryce!Out on our final morning hunt. Conner was always with me. This stump is much larger than it appears...No deer over here Grampa...Bryce found some ice...Okay the hunts over...It's time to slide on the ice...We then drove up the mountain across the valley from our camp which can be seen in the distance...Our old site was occupied as were the sites at McClure Lake. We've seen little to no sign of deer tracks or droppings anywhere. Last month we had 14 deer sightings! There is lots of logging activity, wood cutters and hunters...just too busy around here. It's also getting late in the hunting season so the deer are probably a little smarter and the ones that weren't during the rut have probably already been harvested:)The lake is just out of view to the right of our camp...McClure Lake...View to the left of our camp...On the final evening hunt Rob got a great surprise. This 6 point, in Canadian, (12 point US :) bull elk was feeding below him about 20 yards away and had no idea Rob was there. This is the same area I saw elk sign on our hunt last month. With it being the rutting season we found it strange that this bull wasn't with any cows...unless he just needed some alone time:) After hunting this area for some 30 plus years this is our first elk sighting which is a great sign. Unfortunately there has been a lot of poaching of these magnificent beasts...We had some rain and sleet last night and awoke to snow just above us...With the cloud cover it had warmed up to -2C/28FAfter some breakfast snacking, the boys kept themselves busy colouring while the rest of us started packing up...On our way out we ran into some snow but the roads were mostly just muddy...Which was a good thing as this is a very long steep hill...

This was the only deer seen on our trip. It was either a doe or small spike that didn't know which way to go...

We had lots of unloaded logging trucks heading in from where we came, and just one loaded one that we allowed to pass...

Another great trip even though we got skunked. The boys had a blast and we really lucked out with the weather. This was our last trip for this season and are thinking about trying a different area next year. 

Back to Dianne...

I was waiting for them when they pulled in about 12:30 Tuesday (Nov. 10). I got a quick "low-down" from the boys...wow, sounds like they had a good time! After gathering all of Steve's stuff out of the trailer, we said goodbye...I think the boys were looking forward to seeing their mom!

Wednesday (Nov. 11)...Remembering those that made the ultimate sacrifice. Hard to believe it has been 4 years since we toured all the landing beaches in Normandy and attended the Remembrance Day ceremonies at Juno Beach.

From the Legislative grounds in Victoria, BC...a pre COVID-19 Remembrance Day ceremony.

 

"Lest we forget"