August 6/09

Yes I am still out here ... just got away from it a bit ... I am still at home ... the fires in Lillooet have closed down all the roads into Bralorne so no work for a couple days .... Awwwwww ...

Not much new here in Merritt just sitting back and enjoying the sun ... we are half way to winter lol not that I mind as a big hockey nut I am lol ... go Canucks go.

Bralorne July 7th/09

I just looked back at a few of my postings ... and noticed all or most of the begin with "well" so today lol I am changing that.

The trip into Bralorne today was not too bad, the road has been improved immensely ... the weather was a bit cool with the top off the jeep ...just had to turn on the heater a few times to thaw out lol.

Of course when I arrived as per usual a lot of stuff down and turmoil kind of depressing ... but that is too be expected with the old equipment we have here .... should almost be in a museum ...

Any way I am sure tomorrow after I get the bugs out of m y system things will straighten up some.

See you all soon.

Sunday July 5/09

Well today is winding down, very nice weather today ... hazy but over 30 Celsius ... very slow and boring here today.

This morning got the 5th wheel ready to go, flushed the fresh water system ... and then went shopping with the wife... other then that I was sort of depressed. I think it's because I only have one more day off then back to the mine for two weeks ... I guess I am not into working anymore ...

So I hear tomorrow we are loosing our nice weather ... supposed to have thunder storms ... but they have been wrong before.

OK have a good night all you.... out there.

July 2/09

Well another funeral today, I hope that is the end of them ... very sad when a person leave so young like this.

Not much else new with me here in Merritt ... the weather really nice ... did my tanning outside on the deck ...was good.

Tonight my two sisters will get together and try a few bottles of white wine yuck lol.

Oh ya last night got ourselves invited to the neighbours couple houses down the street and the hubby and I drank a couple bottles of red ... yaaaaa .... lol was a good night ....

OK I am just yakking away at nothing here ... take care.

Merritt Fire

A few more pictures of the small Merritt fire.

June 30/09 (Merritt)

Well guess it's time to write a few more things in here ... so busy you know lol ...

Last Friday we laid our good friend "Lois" to rest and she is not in pain anymore ... fought very hard for three years with cancer ... we will miss her.

Another lady we know also passed away and will be laid to rest this coming Thursday (only fifty three). It was an anerism so she went quickly and probably very little if any pain.

Today the wife and I babied our jeep (should have taken a pic of it) ... if I remember will take one tomorrow ...

Last night at almost nine precisely I went outside to take Digger to do his business, I smelt wood smoke and seen a plum of smoke to the South of Merritt ... turned out to be a small grass fire and close to getting into the trees ... with the wind could have been serious ... anyway I did take a few pictures and will add them.

Hey is anyone reading these things lol if so make a comment good or bad!

Have a good night now.

June 21st/09 Bralorne

Well it started out a pretty good day up here and the day went well, I got the glow plugs changed in the old ford ... had to fabricate a pulling devise ... got the idea from the net ... worked well ...

Bad news when I phoned home after shift ... my wife informed me that a very close friend for many years passed away ... she had fought cancer for a couple of years maybe three ... 

Later as I sat by myself up here thinking which I sometimes do a whole lot more then I should ... I looked around at myself and the people around me .... realizing how fragile life is ... a couple months back the wife and I were at a little get together in a pub ... it was to raise money for a man who needed an operation ... his wife was donating one of her kidneys to him ... anyway this friend of ours who died was there and also across the bar my neighbour sat with his wife ... well since that day my neighbour died of a heart attack at the age of fifty one and now this friend of ours passes away .... and on and on ....

So if you happen to read this sit back and enjoy life ... smell the roses ... listen to the birds etc etc ... OHHHH YAAAA I took a little drive tonight up into the mountains to smell the air and mellow ... took a couple pictures which I will add later.

Have a good night and sleep well.

June 15/09 (Bralorne)

Well its Monday, I think eight more days and I am on the way home ... not a whole lot new up here .... of course I am the only guy in camp. The miners were all laid off until June 23rd the day I go home...

There is a ground support problem and they are bringing in shotcrete specialists to secure the bad ground the miners will come back at that time to advance the drifting and help  the shotcrete guys ...

The bar up the hill in Bralorne shut down today with sewer problems so I had to drive to Gold Bridge for supper ... no so bad as was a nice little drive... and the hamburger steak was OK too.

Other then that it remains as a very boring place ... being all by myself of course ... take care.

June 12th/09 (Tears)

Wow ...I am a Canuck fan to the bone, but tonight the Pittsburgh team brought tears to my eyes ... and I am so happy for Matt Cooke, after being let go as a Canuck ... what a thrill to win the Stanley Cup.

I had a good dinner at the pub and oh yes four big glasses of red wine, hence the tears lol...

Today was a laid back day at work ... and yes finally got a fairly good dump of rain.... hope it puts the fire to rest....

Ok you all have a good day kkkkk .... Ken.

Bralorne June 11th/09

Pretty quiet day here at the mine ... I am the only guy in camp ... do not have to put pants on to run down the hall lol ... not that I do anyway .... I took it easy today fixed the new truck ... starter and charge up the batteries .... tried to install new ignition in Suzuki but they sent the wrong one .... the rest of the day running back and forth from the portal doing small jobs nothing important enough to write down .... OK will keep this short .... weather threatening rain ... but none really came.

June 9th and 10th

Well yesterday was my day to come back to work and because of the fires up here I had to make a detour from Lilloett to Pemberton and over the mountain road (The Hurley) 

The Hurley is about 50 miles long ... that is from Pemberton to Bralorne. It is fairly rough and I sure noticed it in the Jeep ... with it's short wheel base and stiff suspension was a wild ride lol ...

Along the trip I was hit with a wild downpour of rain and of course I just had the bikini top on ... also a lot of lightening ... was thinking wow if this started a fire here then the escape road would be closed not a good feeling ... anyway I made it just fine ... should take some pictures of this road to show on here....

Today was the first day ... at work ... not a happy camper was I today when I found out all the miners were being laid off till the 23rd ... this means I will be all alone in camp for my whole contract ... oh well not a lot I can do they are all gone now ... I did get a few things done ... tomorrow I am sure I will get more into work mode ...well not too serious lol ...

June 5th and 6th (Birthday Weekend)

Thanks to all who came over for my 60th ... thanks to my wife who worked her butt off to make it a special day ... and thanks for the tool boxes which my two son's got for me ... almost brought tears to my eyes lol (very close).

Thanks to my sisters and brothers and all the little kids who were there having a blast with me and especially to the 5 little chicks who helped my blow out the candles wow 60 lol ... I did need help.

Thanks Scott for spending the day at the lake with your new boat and giving every one rides ... nice boat!

So to keep it short ... 60 came fast hope it slows down now lol .... 

Thursday May 14/09 (Merritt)

Well been a few days since I have wrote in here, no one but me reads it anyway lol.

Foot still sore, but I can feel the improvement every day, hope its better by next Tuesday as I have to return to Bralorne and work. That's if the fire up there permits it ... its still not under control and Bralorne and Gold Bridge under evacuation alert....as well as Gunn Lake and area.

The last couple of mornings as I sat in my hot tub (my place to think) I was feeling sorry for my self I guess ... thinking of all the people I know, they all seem to have lots of friends and are always busy with them. While me, I seem to be by myself all the time unless with family ... I guess I need some male friendship, which I will pursue, hmmmm.

I think all the above feelings has something to do with tomorrow, I will be sixty years (young), I think a lot of people go through this ... trying to look and feel young. Its what I believe will keep us alive and well for longer ...

Anyway I hope this summer is a good one with lots of exciting things in my life ... I know I got to get in shape, and I know this is talking long range but I am going to join the gym in the fall and work on it, summer is so busy I can not do it just now ...

Anyway I am babbling on here lol .... so will get back to my coffee.

Home

well I am way behind I am at home now and resting, or trying to ...

Hurt m y foot Sunday at work, dropped a hoist cylinder on it and is still pretty sore ...finally starting to bruise ...was swollen a lot when it happened ...oh well on the mend

I wonder how things are going at work ...Wednesday before I left ... we had a meeting and ... they were thinking on shutting down the BK portal as ground conditions were to bad and we all had a feeling someone would be seriously hurt or killed there... their option id too move to a new location maybe 33 feet down the road ... even though their is s fight with owner ... they would sell to company but want an unreal amount for each acre so not an option i guess...

OK is early and I am tired so will post this take care out there.

Friday at Work-May 22/09-Bralorne

Wow, five days have passed and I have had no time to get on the computer and add to my blogs. I am not going to try and remember what has went on the last five days or so since I was last on.

The weather here today at the mine was around 22 C a bit too warm for long johns ... which I had on of course lol...

I have been fighting a very sore heel ... this pops up from time to time on me and I have no idea what it is ... no swelling and no redness??

The equipment here is in pretty bad shape and I am having hard time keeping it running ... as well my cross shift is finding it the same ...

I emailed the mine manager tonight recommending he send two of the scoops (underground loaders) to rebuild shops where the are better equipped to hand this kind of repair. Anyway I only have 4-5 days left and then I am on days off for two weeks ... maybe some decisions will have been made by then?

Well its a weekend and not man workers in camp so will be fairly quiet tomorrow ... and hot they say ... so will leave the long johns in the dry lol ... you all have a good weekend now .... cya later.

Sunday & Monday 16th &17th May

Bralorne: Well its so busy here lol I had to do two days at once. I have been keeping pretty busy, today I started to rebuild a drill and also repaired the wiring on the compressor ... once I got the schematics was not to hard to figure it out.

Other then that not much happens here ... no excitement ... weather kind of cool today and tried to rain all day....

Just finished watching hockey ... the Kelowna rockets who won and also Pittsburgh who beat out Carolina.

So other then that now I am on my computer writing this down ... then to bed early ... getting old I guess.

Saturday May 16/09

Today started out as a good day ... weather looked to be nice ... and I had tons of ambition ... but as the day carried on I lost that ambition somewhat ... worked most of the day on the jumbo and got another drifter install on the left boom ... also I got into he electrical a bit.
The compressor decided today to die ... the electrical ... it lost all power and we have no manuals or schematics on site, we may have to call in a tech from Rand to fix this one.

Also at around the same time the managers truck decided to die also ... oil pouring from transmission area ... no time to look at, its low priority lol ...

So tomorrow is looking to be a busy day as well, no rest for the wicked lol ... did I say that right hmmm

Friday at Work

Pretty nice day today ... weather nice and warm ... I worked all day on the Jumbo ... Set valves on the engine and changed out the fuel filter (cleaned screen) system full of rust ... Drained and refilled fuel tank with fresh diesel.

Other then that an uneventful day at the Bralorne mine.

Have a good weekend all.

Thursday May 14/09 (Bralorne)

Woke up this morning to snow lol ... Ok thats it I am moving south lol ...

Anyway was a pretty good day ... played arounf a couple hours this morning welding and helping young mechanic on vehicle repairs ... then this afternoon I started on Jumbo ... Change the RH Drifter .... I will carry on tomorrow ... lots to do on this piece of equipment ...

Weather did warm up in the afternoon, actually got pretty warm ... I brought a hummingbird feeder from home and put it up this morning, they are sure loving it ....

Ok its getting late here and we get up early so see yuh all down the road.

Thursday May 14/09 (Bralorne)

Woke up this morning to snow lol ... Ok thats it I am moving south lol ...

Anyway was a pretty good day ... played arounf a couple hours this morning welding and helping young mechanic on vehicle repairs ... then this afternoon I started on Jumbo ... Change the RH Drifter ... Added a few pictures I took of the portal .... enjoy

Wednesday May 13/09 (Back to Work)

Went up to the shop with my partner on Wednesday morning ... weather kind of cold for the middle of May or almost the middle of May.
Fist thing I seen was the 250 Scooptram which will be one of my big prodjects this turn around ... I was not happy seeing how the boom was blocked up ... every other mine I have worked in you have to use engineered boom stands ... the inspector apparently seen this set up and said nothing ?
Other then that was a quiet day ... I did go up to the portal and change the fuel injectors on the Jumbo ....

Monday (follow up)

Well I am with mixed emotions: The Canucks (my hockey team) played well and came up short ... Their goalie Luongo fell short ... cannot win when he lets in seven goals in one game ... Other then that they were short on talent over all ... while the Black Hawks had more depth, faster skating team with more players with greater scoring ability ...

Anyway I am not going to try and analyze their series, I will let the experts do that ... and I am sure this will take place all summer long.

OK now I am off to Bralorne tomorrow ... who to hope for now ... Chicago and Pittsburgh would be a great series ... so lets see what happens!

Monday May 11/09

Well I made it to the hot tub again at just after 4:00 AM ... is a good time to sit in the tub and think, so relaxing and quiet.
As i was sitting in there this morning I thought back to Saturday, the wife and I attended my neighbours funeral. He passed away as a result of a heart attack ... and only 51 years old ... It makes a person sit back and realize how short life can be. He was a real popular guy the church was packed and it was a big church, would hate to guess but I would think a hundred or more attended ... just a guess.

I am off to work again tomorrow and I am going to try and keep up my blog as sort of a diary ... I will if course add pictures from time to time...

Oh yes GO CANAUCKS GO ... might be their lat game today (hope not) but if it is they put on a good show this year ... keep up the good work guys.

Add comments if you read my blog ... thanks Ken Tiessen

Bozeman Montana

We had a long day yesterday, we drove 800 miles ... somewhere along the way I picked up a bug or food poisoning as sure had the chills last night ... not sure how I feel this morning yet ... byt we are going to check out some old cars then we will start out on final leg to Merritt however still have 727 miles to go ... so we might have to spend one more night on the road ... I will edit these posts later and add a few pictures .....

Heading North

We are well on our way home, drove from Safford Arizona to ST Georges ... Via Vegas ... was a long drive ... we stopped off at Hillside Arizona to pick up some old mining equipment ... there I seen my first Gila Monster (Lizard) and also a rattle snake (live) (Mohave type) ... Note: I did not get to close.

Back to Merritt

Will start out on our return trip in the morning ... son and I went and said good bye to our American friends ... we will head for Bagdad Arizona in the morning ... I will add more as we go or when i reach final destination Merritt BC Canada.

Our Trip To Arizona

We left BC on March31st  and drove down freeway 5 to the end the went east till we ended up in Safford Arizona this took three days ... around 33 hours of driving ... give or take ... We went up to the mine on Friday and checked out the scoop for smoke, determined we need a fuel expert from Deutz to come and derate it to 6000 foot elevation ...

Saturday we went to some friends and bonded all over again.

Sunday Son and I went to Tomestone Arizona and checked out the old western town and boot hill was kinda neat ... although it is pretty much a tourist trap ... my wife would like the shopping though haha (will have to bring her this way) ... then in the afternoon we went to Tucson and went to the airplane museum there ... around 80 acres of old planes some war planes and some not ... kind of neat although you would need more then one day to go through it from end to end and read all the write ups on the planes and pilots who flew them.