Bill Robinson and his Camp Defiance

Bill Robinson. He was a miner, a trapper, a carpenter….well more than a simple carpenter, I guess an engineer of sorts, because he planned his home, and built it, fisherman,gardener and a fellow creature of all things nature.

I have searched and searched, dug through web archives and physical archives and have only a small bit of the man’s life. And that bit only tells of his existence at 22 Mile. 

21 Mile is a point that is literally, 21 miles from Hope. That is where Bill Robinson carved a homestead out of the forest right smack dab beside the Sumallo River. The Sumallo winds alongside the Crowsnest Hwy and is quite beautiful all on its own. The river is many miles long, but resembles a creek as it is on average 12 feet across and has many bends and turns in it. It is one of the many narrow rivers close by that are consistently being fished for it’s multitudes of Trout. Mmmmm, pan fried trout…

Bill Robinson named his homestead Camp Defiance. He built his cabin, a second smaller cabin and a cook house/storage shed, all from the forest around him.

A man after my heart.

I wonder what he thought when he realized that the Hope Princeton highway aka Crowsnest Hwy, aka #3 Hwy, was going to be built meters from his home in 1949. Here is a link with a bit of information, some very cool older photographs of Bill, his friends, his Camp Defiance and some beautiful watercolour paintings: Camp Defiance 

I grabbed Kelsie and we drove up the highway to snag some photos and do some planning. When the snow is gone, and it’s a bit warmer we are going to cross the creek and go exploring on Bill’s old homestead. Maybe even camp there for a night or two!

After driving this highway hundreds of times, we noticed something neither of us had before. Was it the remnant of an old stone chimney, or a monument of sorts? I don’t know, but am determined to find out!

 

A few blocks from home we stopped on the banks of the Coquihalla River to suck in some of the sun straining through the clouds. It was a vast difference from the grey and pissy days we’ve had of late.

More heart rocks…

Don’t forget about the super duper Full Moon tomorrow night! And enjoy your weekend!

Girls Day

Ticket, I, Kelsie and her daughter Brianne spent a bit of time at the river today. It was yet another grey and sometimes pissy day, only saved by the color Brianne’s boots. Her coat brightened it up as well, but the boots. Ohhhh, the boots.

I want a pair.

Ticket, very impatiently waiting for Brianne to * throwthedamnstick*

 

I wonder if she’s happy?

This and That

I was surfing one day and came across a web site that has to do with heart rocks. They were requesting other people’s stories of their own heart rocks, so I obliged by sending them my story of the first heart rocks I happened across. You can read it here at THE HEART ROCK COLLECTIVE

Daylight Savings began today.

An extra hour of daylight….well thanks! Who can’t use an extra hour of light? After the short and sometimes grey days of winter, this is a welcome change. I’m taking full advantage of the extra hour this spring. A fence and a long narrow garden box need to be built, a whack of scrub and 3 trees need to be eradicated, and a fair amount of tree branches need to be trimmed. Sounds great to me! The best thing is that I can do it at my leisure. It doesn’t all need to be done in a day…although I would love it to happen like that!

Made the last batch of winter suet for the birds yesterday.

This little guy got caught with a mouthful of suet, he looks angry!

The snow is basically all gone now, the grubs are plentiful. I found that out yesterday moving a chunk of fallen tree….they came skittering out. *shudder* I’ll keep putting out the dry commercial bird seed mixed with black oil sunflower seeds for another month or so. Then it’s over for those beggars, and onto cleaning out Hummingbird feeders. I forgot one hanging off a branch this past winter…it froze and cracked in a billion pieces. I never seem to come across them in thrift shops or garage sales, so I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a decent one on sale.

These videos cracked me up. Hope you get a few giggles too!

 

Don’t Piss Off Smokey!

Every time a Tsunami hits anywhere, all of B.C….well at least the people living close to the shores….begin to sweat. Questions and accusations are peppered at the city officials. “Why aren’t all the buildings up to Tsunami/earthquake code”, “Well what are you doing about it then”…when the answer is inevitably No.

The largest recorded Tsunami hit Lituya Bay, Alaska in 1958. It was a whopping 1720 feet tall wave. That’s just under 5 football fields in lengths.

If it ever does hit the shores of the southern west coast of B.C., there isn’t a whole lot people can do. Hang on? Instead of down at 0 ft. sea level, I’m at 152 ft above.

Where I’m at, I’m not worried about a Tsunami. The biggest natural disaster that scares the crap outta’ me is a fire.

In the spring and summer everyone that lives surrounded by forested areas sweats a little. Then, when the tourists start rolling through, camping in the midst of dry timber with all the campfires going, that gets even more stressful.  Every August for years now, the Ministry of Forests places a ban on all camping fires. A bummer for the campers who are looking forward to roasting the mallows and weenies, but a teeny tiny bit less stressful for those of us who live year round in these areas.

But as always happens, there are always a few people that think that law does not apply to them. That’s when we get serious here and sic Smokey on them.

But seriously…..

Me, Myself and I. Oh, and Weird.

I was a cruel dog owner yesterday. I went for a walk without them.

Drove about 20 minutes and arrived at Cheam Lake Wetlands , the big wet spot in the photo below.

View Larger Map

Here is a link to a pdf listing the various birds  and other wildlife that can be found there: Birds etc

Here's what was weird. I walked about a mile in all directions, and didn't see one effin' bird! Not a Junco, not a Jay......not even a crow for gawd's sake. How could that be?? It's a bird sanctuary! I did see the evidence of some busy Beaver though!

Look at this group of boulders

The biggest heart rock I've found!

And a panorama of the NE corner of the marsh. And a lesson to me...move my camera up to get the tops of the mountains too. doh.

As much as I covet my me time, I always feel wicked for leaving the dogs home. But, no canines allowed in this gorgeous place. Plus, hey, it was one of those rare times I could turn the volume control to the nth degree, swaying and rockin' to Stevie. Played this tune full blast all the way there:

and on the way home...damn, Jimmy plays a beautiful guitar:

Sigh

Yesterday was a series of sighs.

I sighed as I left home to tend to money matters in the city.

I sighed as I looked out the window of an office building at the mountains. They were simply, majestic. A series of blues and greys, they criss-crossed each other for miles. Only the tops were visible though as they were obstructed by wires and buildings.

Sigh.

And damn the wires and buildings.

Only relevant and known to B.C. folks, but do you remember back in the late 80’s early 90’s when Bill Vander Zalm was Premier? He had gone on a junket to California, and came back with the proposal of burying hydro lines. A more beautiful and pleasing B.C. to tourism he suggested. While I disliked him as a politician, I thought that proposal was fantastic.

Damn the ones who vetoed it.

On the way home I spotted some Seagulls that were laying claim to parking spots in a mall.

They saw a wide open space, it was a reasonably warm day, in south west B.C. and they settled in for a respite. Smart.

I drove home, loved on my dogs, and opened the door to the yard to let them out and my home breathe.

Made a tea, and looked at my emails.

A friend of 20+ years had sent me a message along with this video. Thank you. I needed that. And you know I am diggin’ on Zig, just like his Dad.

side note; A little message to those blog “professionals” who sent me notes…and who I have tried to make understand….I don’t fucking care who I might slight. I began this blog for me. To write. A journal unto myself. I am not trying to be anyone. Just little ‘ol me. My experiences, my life. If you find my writing offensive, fuck off.