Surprise, surprise…

Wow, in my 40 years as a female and given my girlie-girl upbringing I did something yesterday that I never thought I’d do, let alone enjoy so much.

The children and I went off-road touring in Chris’ giant jeep. Seriously, it’s HUGE. Actually, it was more like rock climbing with the assistance (for the most part) of a motor, but still… all I’m saying is “Who needs Disneyland and Indiana Jones when you can do this!?”

We set out at about 1pm for the hills above Penticton in search of two old Kettle Valley Railway tunnels that are dug into the side of the hill. The first was very beautiful and the view was breathtaking, and the second… although a little harder to get to was closed off because it is beginning to cave in – well that … and the ghosts.

At the second tunnel, I attempted to get out of the jeep to take a picture of Philip and Chris and was promptly warned by a very mature-sounding rattlesnake to stay put, which I did rather quickly, with very little finesse and several unfeminine guttural sounds. Philip and Chris explored the area a bit, carrying a big stick to ward off the snakes, bears, ghosts, and scorpions. Laurel and I decided to protect the jeep because well, somebody had to.

Our formal sightseeing accomplished, and with an unmarked road (seemed more like a trail to me) in our path, we headed into what can only be described as Never Never Land. Within 3 minutes of bouncing around and giggling we heard Chris say, “Hmmmm… I don’t like the look of this road…” but without anywhere to turn around, we proceeded forward with a wink.. “Well, if we climb long enough, it has to come down sometime”

It was precisely at this point that we heard the first CRACK! of thunder and minutes later, the rain began… Did I mention that this is an open vehicle? Again, much laughter and teasing continued as we became drenched, the temperature cooling dramatically as we climbed over loose stones, potholes and ruts. Laurel and Philip huddled under a tarp in the back seat while I watched Chris’ face for any signs of fear … nope, not even for a second. Okay… here we go!

We climbed through low hanging trees and over large stones, twisting and turning further up the mountain… “See those tracks?” Chris said pointing to old tire tracks in front of us. “If they made it up here, we’ll be fine” … Uh, okay… We were tossed around, giggling for about an hour, while the jeep spun and slid and muscled its way up the rocky slope.

Finally, off in the distance……… civilization! I should mention, as a city girl, that at this point civilization to me was a fence that was actually built by a human… meaning someone up here was at one point at least, alive. Minutes later, we happened upon the Naramata water reservoir, and found the gravel road for its access. Merrily, we continued on, wet and cold, until …

“Oh, look! There’s a mud pit!”

Okay, here’s the thing: to come ALL this way, and forego the mud was just not fair … Plus, Philip was egging us on…

“Mud? No way! …. Cool…. Please Mum?” That, and the mischievous look on Chris’ face… Well, what’s a girl to do? … “Mud it is!”

Who knew dirt could be so fun? And by the time we’d motored through (twice) and started back along the main road to town... Sputter, sputter, sputter… Uh oh…Oops! Too much moisture in some module thingy… But a few minutes of tinkering and concentration later – the timing adjusted (?) .. we were on our way. 40 minutes later nothing could stop our laughing and hooting as we crept, covered from windshield to tires in mud into the hotel parking lot to change for dinner…

It was a fabulous day. Simple. Invigorating. And today I can’t stop smiling…