The Greenwater Report for February 23, 2001

Greenwater Provincial Park - February 23, 2001 - By: Gerald Crawford

 

(This report was a victim of FTLComm's e-mail crisis and had been lost Sunday night when we were forced to dump all mail due to the spam overload, sorry we are late getting this report to you.)
     

below
normal

February 18th, 2001: It‚s a beautiful day out there - bright and sunny and just a bit of south-west wind. I understand the temperature is still below normal for this time of year - yesterday was -26 in the morning - but it just doesn't matter when the sun shines and the wind isn't too strong. Snowmobiles are out in force, of course.

 

   

gums
get sore

Both Mel Tkachuk and Vaughn Binkley have said fishing is pretty slow. Mel has one of those underwater video cameras, and he said the fish will come right up to the bait, sniff at it, and swim away. Maybe this is the time of year when their teeth drop out and their gums get sore.

 

   

the Cove

We were surprised to come back from our trip and find the Moores still at the Cove. I gather there was a little glitch in getting the money in place. That is over now, and the Cove has been under new management since last Tuesday. We tried out the dining room on Valentine's Day and were very pleased with our meal. Self-serve coffee is a thing of the past. First thing the new management did was to put cups, spoons and napkins all around the round table. The regulars came in, took a look at it, and sat at one of the other tables. They just aren‚t used to being treated so nice!

 

   

Friday

A Tri-Line semi hauling a load of peat moss came south on Highway #38, in the wee hours of Friday. He made the curve just south of the Park gate, but then drifted off to the right. As soon as his wheels came off the shoulder, of course, it pulled him in, then the whole rig turned on its side, right at the edge of the bush. The driver was unharmed, and was able to phone for help with his cell phone. Bridge City Towing was there by noon, with two big wreckers and an air bag unit. They got Elwood Prybylski to bring his big skidder over to clear the snow away and plow them a road to get out. Apparently, when they tried to inflate the air bags, the trailer just crumpled, so they had to quit. Between Elwood's skidder and Bridge City's big winch truck, they managed to separate the tractor from the trailer, then the other winch truck pulled it back onto its wheels. By then I was half frozen, and they didn't appear to need my advice, so I left. The trailer is still on its side, and surrounded by police tape, but everything else is gone. I expect they will have to unload the trailer (36 bales, each weighing 800 pounds) before they can put it back on its wheels.

no head
covering

The man who seemed to be in charge for Bridge City had less thatch than I have - in fact, one could call him bald except for a fringe above each ear - and he was working away with no head covering at all, and only ordinary work gloves. Susan said she didn't see him warm up at all, all afternoon. It may not have been as windy down there in the ditch (about fifteen feet deep) but it was still pretty cold.

cocktail
girls

Some thoughts on casinos: We must have been in twenty or more on our recent trip, each with its own theme, and very fancy exterior. Inside, there's no difference - same slot machine music, ding, ding, ding, to convince the unwary that they pay out more than they take in. One casino may have more table games, another almost none. Each has its cocktail girls, spilling out of the top (and sometimes the bottom) of a tiny black uniform, but all with lovely legs. In many places the cocktails are free, but one is expected to tip the server. Each also seems to have its cleanup crew, usually old people looking well over seventy, going around with a little broom and duster.

 

   

Las Vegas

In Las Vegas, we saw people sweeping up the streets at all hours of the day and night; these people seemed a bit younger, but quite possibly disadvantaged in some way. The streets were very clean wherever we went - so why is it I feel somewhat soiled in Las Vegas?

 

   

quadruple
trails

Jets up here seem to leave a single vapor trail; on the desert, they leave double and sometimes quadruple trails. I don‚t know if it‚s because the air is clearer down there, or if the air is so thin the trails from the individual engines are thinner, so more distinct. (Click here for the answer to Gerald's question)

 

   

bit of
iron

I have gone through my entire life thinking that coins were made of something other than iron, and could not be picked up with a magnet. The other day, I threw my loose change on my dresser beside my pen, which has a magnetic tip (for fishing paper clips out of the computer keyboard). To my surprise, the coins stuck to the magnet. I tried them all - toony, loony, quarter, dime , and nickel. Everything but the pennies. They snapped to the magnet with enough enthusiasm to indicate there is quite a bit of iron in their make-up. Remember in the late 70s when our quarters were a hot item in the US? They melted them down for the silver!
     
 

Gerald B. Crawford
Box 100, Chelan, SK S0E 0N0 (306) 278-3423
Check out my Webpage: http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/crawg