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.