After doing a fair bit of prep on the driveway with Bob in April and June, we were ready for the pros. They spent two days grading, wetting and packing gravel then came back in a week to pave the entire drive in one day – 16,000 sq ft. Should eliminate the dust and make it much easier to plow in the winter. Now shopping for a longboard. In addition, Upper Booth now extends up to Farmers and is now paved.

After the paving, Coop and I did a 5 day motorbike trip through Creston, Waterton and Glacier National Parks, Montana and back through New Denver and Sandon in the Kootenays. 2,000kms, some rain, hail and sunny weather, snow beside the road in the passes, and an emergency tire replacement in Kalispell. Great trip.

Lots of rain in June and milder temperatures so everything is green and no forest fires. Am building an equipment/wood shelter and will be working on the rafters and roof this month. Posts rest on saddles in concrete with one side bolted to the container. Will be home for the trailers, Bob, the plow, the ATV and other odds and sods and will replace the “tent garage” that I have given to Klaus, a neighbor. Also spending quality time with Bob, a wheelbarrow, a shovel and a rake placing gravel beside the new pavement to avoid any erosion.

Not much to report on the house front this month as we spent 3 weeks in France – a few days in Paris, a few in St Jean de Luz and Toulouse, and 10 days piloting a boat with another couple down the Canal du Midi.

We slipped very quickly into the cadence of Paris and enjoyed an Impressionist exhibition (real and VR), restaurants, cafes, cheese shops and strolling about, and a 4 hour dinner with our Parisian friends we had not seen in a long time. St Jean was a peaceful Basque town on the Atlantic while Toulouse was aerospace and machine museums and more restaurants.

Boating was delightful, and something I had wanted to do for a very long time. Great weather, foods, vistas, crew and adventures.

Late May saw us weeding, gardening, planting and doing the final prep for the driveway paving and a busy June.