Rupert

We spent a couple of days with our friends RT & Rhoda, Tommy and Molly in Prince Rupert. Prince Rupert ( called Rupert by the Ruperites) is a seven hour drive along highway 16 to the Pacific ocean to the West. We went from +2500 feet and -7c late fall conditions to sea level where the trees were hardly changing colour. And no bug kill. The coniferous forests are all Spruce, Hemlock, and Ceder and delightfully vibrantly green. We had a clear sunny day until we passed through Terrace when we made a change to grey overcast and rainy coastal weather.

'Rupert is a very funky town. Smaller houses from the War years and earlier. When a family of four lived in under a thousand square feet. Many of them lovingly restored. Some melting away in moss covered disrepair. We want to spend some time doing a photo shoot of the place.

RT, Molly and the indifatigable Tommy showed us all the great trails. Some spectacular runs through West Coast rain forest, Ghosts of the old giant ceder and hemlock by the wayside. One so large RT could stand up in its hollow core. Good dark mud to roll in and salt water to wash it all off with. Doggie heaven. They just ignored the skin soaking rain, which pointed out the not-so-waterproof, failings of a shell jacket I had brought with us.

RT is a gourmet cook and treated us to some amazing repasts, one of them a Thanksgiving dinner of brine marinated turkey - melt in the mouth tender. He even loaded us up with sandwiches for the trip home and enough left-over Turk that we had an after Thanksgiving dinner, dinner, last night.

A whole lot to be thankful for. I hope your Thanksgiving filled your heart as well.