Back again to finish the holiday epilogue! From Radium, we headed out in the morning towards Cranbrook, through Creston and onto Christina Lake. We weren't able to stop in and visit family in the Slocan Valley on this trip - so apologies til next time! We had a tight schedule to get back for a wedding on Friday. We arrived in Okanagan Falls on Wednesday night to spend the last days with Sue and Rob. Ralf's mom, sister and her kids were there as well as Bobby. We spent the evening watching the kids swim and the next day we hiked up to an old abandoned mine. We headed out at 3:00 in the afternoon on Thursday with temperatures in the high 30's.
We made it home in 6 hours with plenty of stops for coffee. The holiday had officially ended!

When we came home we were faced with a very ill cat. The next day we took Shadow up to the vet after the wedding service. He just lay on my lap on the drive up there; it was the only time we didn't have to crate him for a trip to the vet. When Shadow was little he and his brother had survived being thrown into a construction site and over the next 16 years with us he survived many misadventures. He thumped around in a cast after suffering a broken toe, 4 weeks of antibiotics and a plastic head cone when a coyote took a bite out of him, a torn ear, etc, but finally he was worn out. Ralf and I said our goodbyes and I stayed in the room with him until he was gone. We were both at peace because he wasn't in pain any longer, but there was a definite sorrow. Shadow had been there when the kids were little and Rachel had brought him home. He was there when mom was alive and whenever we came home Shadow always knew the sound of our car, or our voices and came running to greet us in the driveway. He submitted to a head rub and invariably took a swipe at you with his paw as you passed him. So our goodbye to Shadow was a goodbye to a part of our past as well. Ralf and I are earning our gray hairs this year.

Back home and the routine of running; still working through some problems with my hip muscle but getting excited/worried about the race. Ralf, Annie and I have been dropping off dinner tickets for the past week and getting some wonderful gifts for the silent auction. Sandra has been sending out media packages during her lunch hour, so thanks to them all for all their help and hard work. I will end here for the night but will keep everyone updated on ticket sales and prizes!
Jan