I woke up this morning in a large house trailer in the Pemberton Valley about 20km outside of Pemberton. What a surprise. How do these things happen? When I finished posting yesterday I was headed to the Pemberton Museum and then was hoping to find a nice shady campground where I would wait out the heat.
The museum was great. The community volunteers have collected a number of the original buildings that were in and around town when it was first built and they have filled them with artifacts and stories. When I arrived I noticed that tables with pretty table clothes had been set up on the front lawn in the shade so I thought there must be an event and that I wouldn’t even get in. It turned out was Tuesday Twonie Tea, and of course I WAS invited so I stayed to wander around. I love museums and in the heat all of the old buildings smelled like warm wood and past lives. My favorite exhibit was the old trappers cabin. The builting was the size of a two man tent but the trapper would dig down into the ground so that he could stand up it in. In the winter the snow would cover it up and he would be warm and cozy in there. Makes you wonder about the wisdom of building our huge homes exposed to the icy air of winter. Those old trappers had global warming figured out.
Trapping Line Cabin
The admission price to the museum was a donation. I could afford that and after wandering around, I was happy to choose an iced tea over a steaming hot one and take my delicate cup and saucer into the shade where I could drink it with a few home baked goodies. Ummm.
A group of older women asked me to join them. All museum volunteers, they shared stories of the community. One of the women had an old letter with her. Some one had sent it too her after her brother died in WWII talking about her memories of him. The creased and fragile page was handed to me to read. It was so real and brought that moment in history so close that I felt like I knew him and tears welled up in my eyes.
Driving Through Pemberton Valley
They wanted to know my story too and that led to Denize asking me to come home with her. She lives 20km outside of town in a long narrow valley that is surrounded by tall mountains. The drive here was hard because the road has no shoulders for pulling off and each view was more photogenic than the last. When I arrived Denize was not here yet and so I wandered around the yard and gardens of this ex-horse farm. She and her partner came here 40 years ago, bought 60 acres and started raising horses. Now the property has been divided up. She still has 8 acres and a small barn left. The neighbours keep a horse in the field behind the house and it keeps the meadow cropped short.
In the evening we went for a walk to the Lilooet River which is just up the road. On the way back we could hear the neighbour’s dogs setting up a howl and then out of the bush popped a young bear. He looked at us. We looked back. Denize was worried that Mom would arrive any minute so we waited and Denize enthusiastically blew her whistle at him hoping he wouldn’t like the sound. He finally shuffled back into the woods, probably deciding that the dogs were less of a threat than two crazy whistle blowing grey haired ladies were. We never did see Mom. (I was grateful for that)
Our walking buddy
I am heading back into town to post this today and will probably stay here one more night. Denize is good company and a lot of fun. At 85 she is still very much a going concern, volunteering for many things in town and driving people to and from events. A wonderful role model for aging and living life to the fullest.
As I was curled up in bed last night appreciating the cool air beginning to blow through the windows I wondered at the gentle irony of my worries of yesterday. I remember saying that I was going to have to start climbing up on veranda’s like Nan from “The Pull of The Moon,” and here I am. I have to remember to trust the process. It is that way with so many things. When I forget, I get anxious. When I relax, things just work. That is the way it is for everything I think, at least in my life.
Did you feel the pull of the longest total eclipse in 100 years yesterday? Thanks Jan for sending me that information or I would probably not have known what that was all about.
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