I always hate to have appointments in Prince George during the winter. The two and a half hour drive there is long and dangerous enough during the long days of summer, but it always scares me more during the winter. When an appointment is made, we never know what the winter driving conditions will be when we have to go: Icy highway? Big trucks causing whiteouts in front of you during snow? Rocks thrown up by passing cars from the “sand” on the highways? and of course, there is always the danger of wild animals darting out in front of you.
I started yesterday’s trip, leaving the house in the dark, at 7:00. As I was going down our road headed for the highway, I was delighted to see the moon, just a narrow crescent, rising over the Cariboo Mountains. (photo above).
On Highway 16 just west of McBride, I saw, in the distance, the lights of several vehicles parked along the highway. I slowed, and when I got closer, saw that there had been an accident. There was a car completely turned upside down in the snow-filled ditch beside the highway. The accident must have just happened, because there were no first responders, just people who had stopped to help. Beyond the turned over car, I noticed fresh blood on the highway. I assume a deer or moose was hit causing the driver to loose control. I don’t know anything about the condition of the driver.
Yesterday fortunately, the highway to Prince George was clear of snow and ice, so I was happy that I didn’t have to deal with that along the way.
When I approached the Slim Creek Rest Area, I notice that the rising sun, just coming up behind me, was illuminating the mountain slope to the west of me, while still leaving the lower trees in the valley shaded. It was really interesting light, with the orangish light on the treed slope and gray-green trees in the foreground. I had taken a photo of the same color phenomenon years ago, but couldn’t help but take another shot yesterday:
Upon arriving in Prince George, I scrambled around doing shopping, eating lunch, then going to the periodontist. it was 2:00 when that appointment was over, so I immediately started my drive back to McBride. About an hour outside of McBride, I noticed some nice light hitting a snow-covered peak in the Park Range of the Canadian Rockies, so I pulled over and took the photo below through my windshield.
Upon finally getting back to our house at 4:30, I unloaded the car, wondered where to put all of the foodstuffs I had purchased, then had a bite to eat, and tried to relax for 30 minutes, before putting on my western shirt and going to square dancing.
It had been a long and exhausting day with all of the driving and activities, and I really hadn’t been able to unwind, so I was happy when I was finally be able to crawl into bed.
View my paintings at: davidmarchant2.ca
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