It turns out the bus passed me at the 4 kilometer marker. Oh well. I at least had the satisfaction of knowing I had walked 22 kilometers on my birthday. I had driven through a forest-fire, smoke-filled interior, that was so thick that Lake Okanagan was not even visible. I followed the smoke through the Rockies to busy Banff and joined my family at Lake Minnewanka. Blowing bubbles with my grandson and later bubbly of a different sort was a perfect way to celebrate. My route home brought me through a windswept and sparkling clean interior to Vancouver after the worst storm of 10 years was starting to subside. Traffic was halted as lights were knocked out by power failures as I gritted my teeth through a branch strewn city. It does not take much to bring us to our knees. I was soooo happy to catch a direct sailing home. I want to tell you next what made me afraid of bears.