Soldier of the Horse Across the Great Divide

On the road, the grand spring book tour is off to a rousing start. After negotiating the Coquihalla Highway to Kamloops ("Caution: Winter Driving Conditions"), with a 45 minute stop while a disabled semi was hauled off the highway to let us pass, I descended from the 0 degree Celsius plateau to the 13 degree Thompson Valley. There, in the very warm and pleasant Kamloops Library, was a group of keen readers anxious to hear more about Tom Macrae and Lord Strathcona's Horse. Our wonderful host was Andree Beauchemin, Readers' Advisor. Andree introduced me and provided tea and coffee and a projector, not to mention many insightful questions. A highlight of the evening, for me, was that the first attendees I met were Cliff and Barb. Barb and I graduated from high school together, and I later met her husband Cliff when taking my education training at the University of Victoria.
Here is what the sky over Kamloops looked like when I left there this morning:

Heading east from Kamloops was a real pleasure, bringing back memories of travelling the ranchlands years ago with my father, and more recently, with my family when we were all pursuing the dream, travelling from hockey rink to hockey rink! Reality intruded on the trek east along Highway #1, deeper and deeper into the Rocky Mountain trench: Revelstoke, Golden--and an abrupt detour due to a landslide/avalanche and a stern warning from a mustachioed RCMP officer. That meant a long swing south to Radium, then a turn north to Banff. Along the way was every kind of winter driving imaginable, rivalling even that of the Coquihalla: rain, sleet, hail, snow, jackknifing semis, and speeding Albertans! When I could pry one hand off the wheel to take a picture, here's what it looked like:

All is well now, as I look forward to attending the Banff Public Library at 2 pm tomorrow--luckily I have remembered to set my watch ahead.