The Wedding Break

Greetings from Beaverdell,

It's Wednesday, August 15th and I'm a day away from rejoining the trail. I'm camping in Beaverdell tonight at Zach's Campground - the same as when I arrived here. It seems like I was just here. Maybe that's 'cause I was.

I got home in four stages. The first was a bus ride from Beaverdell to Kelowna. I called Rock Creek for the Greyhound on Saturday morning as I had been instructed when I arrived there. The bus was supposed to came at about 12:30pm but didn't show up until 1:10pm. Needless to say, I was getting kind of anxious. I was beginning to wonder if I'd somehow missed it. From there it was easy street to Kelowna.

I made an error in judgement concerning Kelowna. I should have realized that it would be difficult to find someplace on the Saturday of a summer long weekend. The second stage of my trip home was walking toward the airport while looking for a place to stay. I managed to find a dorm room in UBC's Okanagan campus, not far from the airport. After staying the night, it was a brief 30 minute walk to the airport.

The third stage of the journey was depressingly short. After getting through airport security and onto the plane, it was a 52 minute flight to Calgary. How could it be so short? My Dad meet me at the airport and took me to my new brother-in-law's place min Okatoks where my Mom and sister were waiting.

The final stage was the drive home to Camrose. We stopped in Airdrie along the way to visit family and friends at my cousin's gift opening. I repeated my stories many times, but was glad to see familiar faces and have someone to talk with. After leaving, we drove the rest of the way to Camrose while having a nice family chat.

The next days were spent preparing for the wedding and of course, attending the wedding itself. I enjoyed it greatly, but the stress of a wedding causes its own problems. In the end, everything turned out great.

The rest of the time was spent relaxing and preparing to go back. (Dad and Mom drove me back) On the drive here we took highway 3 and I pointed out all the paths I took and the details I could remember. It was quite amazing to see just how far I've walked. It's quite impressive what I've accomplished so far. Unfortunately, I'm also reminded of how much further I have to go. I will make it though.

It will be interesting to see how my body reacts tomorrow and in the next week. I'm looking forward to making more progress and seeing more sights.

See you on the trail,
Joshua Ganes