DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW - December 20, 2017

Catherine Cummins's photo.

Four ravens - not quite a murder - vie with a magpie for landing rights near a tractor trailer loaded with grain and parked on the main street in Jasper.

Legions of pine and fir trees stand sentry on the lower slopes of Mount Robson, picked out in white like the little trees sold for miniature Christmas villages.

Warm temperatures hold the smoke of Valemont's home heating close to the ground and through it peeps a star-shaped lemon-yellow sun.

Two men garbed in cheery red parkas, stand beside a pickup truck and sling a rope over the Christmas tree that fills the box. There will be tree decorating in their homes tonight.

We are stuck in a major snowstorm in Kamloops with all the roads closed. So we snuggle up to the patio of the Milestones Bar and Grill in the Aberdeen Mall; Carl having asked permission of the manager to stay the night. The view is spectacular from our perch in spite of the snow. We bundle up and hike to Duffy’s Liquor Barn for a bottle of Forty Creek Cream. The snow is deep enough that Manny is up to his belly though that doesn’t deter him from plowing ahead, his sleigh bell jingling as he goes. After a great meal in the pub finished with a serving of gluten-free chocolate ganache , we retire to our home on wheels for an evening of sipping, playing cards and listening to Manny snore!

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