Day 9 - Monday... I slept pretty well even though it has been a new bed each night! It was nice to sleep in a bit.  I am getting spoiled with having breakfast provided and no dishes to wash.  I made the bed once in 9 days!  I might think I am a queen or something and expect this lifestyle all the time!

So we left Merritt and drove the lovely highway to Salmon Arm.  We still had a couple of connections to make at Sunnybrae campus of Millar College of the Bible and we happened to show up again just at lunch time. It was hot dog day!  Our visit with the director of the college went very well, plus a couple of students sat at our table, too.  The director of Ethnos Canada was speaking at their chapel that day.  NCEM has some partnerships happening in First Nations ministry with Ethnos and it was timely to make that connection.  God seemed to make these "coincidental connections" all along our journey.  

Our next stop was Radium, BC.  That was our plan on the return trip and as it turns out, the construction between Golden and Calgary is or soon will mean road closure. So it was perfect that we take the route through Radium to get to Calgary.  The road was quiet, little traffic, and the mountain views gorgeous.  We saw a few deer in the meadows.  I saw a sign for mountain sheep and wished to see some. But I have no idea what the habits of sheep in April might be so it was just a passing whim of a thought.  As we drove into Radium, we saw the hotel we had booked but missed the turn. As we pulled ahead to find a turnabout, we came upon three sheep munching grass on the boulevard.  Then up further, we saw a dozen or more lounging or grazing.  God gives such good gifts and fulfills even the silliest desires of our hearts sometimes!

Walter was completely zoned once we got into our room so I ordered take out.  We enjoyed wings, sweet potato fries and salads.  The time change meant it was 10 o'clock somewhere and we crawled into bed early. And no alarms needed to wake us up the next morning!

Day 10 - I slept until almost 9 am and boy, did that feel great.  The hotel restaurant offered tasty breakfast options and we both ordered the no-carb special: two eggs, ham, bacon or sausage, tomato slices and avocado.  Delicious!  

Being on the road doesn't mean we are off duty from our other roles with NCEM.  We needed to do some emails, make some phone calls and take care of a few administrative details.  I was processing another Bible college intern.  Walter had an article to write for the next Northern Lights issue.  But we finished our work by noon and then we could enjoy our free time.

We packed our bathing suits and headed to the hot springs.  There were very few vehicles in the parking lot so we knew it would be nice and quiet in the pool.  Soaking away our road stiffness was heavenly!  The wind was cool and seemed to pick up speed as we sat in the canyon.  We found a warm and protected corner in the pool and stayed there for a good two hours.  So wonderful!

By mid-afternoon our breakfast had worn off.  We had overheard the lifeguard talking to other bathers and she recommended some restaurants up the road at Invermere.  We hopped in the truck - although I wasn't really excited to drive too far on this day off!  But a short drive brought us to Invermere.  We cruised around the community and checked out some sights.  The place we decided on for an early supper was "Smokehouse 93" and we were the only patrons there.  "Tacos" were the special of the day; we ordered beef brisket & chicken tacos with a side of dill potato salad.  Again, delicious!  It made me homesick for our own smoked meat treats!

Feeling relaxed from the pool and full from our meal, we collapsed in our hotel room and watched a movie.  A very lovely day.