I am worried about Pooh's weight and the stress of a fully loaded assault on the long climb to the Coquihalla Connector summit (+5,700 feet) from Okanagan Lake near Kelowna, so we opt to return to Penticton and the Crowsnest Hwy. This also affords some fruit shopping in Keremeos and the always enjoyable passing of the Similkameen River into Princeton. From Princeton, it is only 140 kms. (80 miles) to Hope and another 140 kms. (80 miles) to home. We take the steep Ingerbelle Mine hill in 3rd gear and momentarily pull away from a 190 hp Jeep on the curve, only to be blasted by it's flat out exhaust as it pulls ahead on the straight climb.

Thereafter, the all too familiar scenery floats by too slowly as we pass Manning Park, the Hope Slide, Hope itself and rejoin our outbound route in the upper Fraser River Valley. Thankfully, we exit the Trans Canada Hwy.at Abbotsford, clear Mission, Ruskin and Whonnock, with 12,500 'Expotition' kilometres turning at the former Dave's World in eastern Maple Ridge.

We are home, safe and sound. Pooh settles over the drip tray and the load is quickly lightened. There are gifts and fruit for neighbours and Pooh Central, aka John Goolevitch, who stops with a smile to reclaim the digital camera and disks for this internet journal. John's technical savvy has made this journal of words and photographs possible. Our appreciation is heartfelt. John's plans for a laptop computer next time is...forward thinking.

We have never publicized a holiday, or any day of our lives, before. It took an effort we gladly made to salute the humble Mini and, more importantly, to aid 'Wheels for Wheels' to buy some needed wheelchairs for Ridge Meadows Hospital and Healthcare Centre. We live in Pitt Meadows. John Goolevitch and his family live in Maple Ridge. We hope that the need for wheelchairs can be at least partially met by the commonsense generosity of our neighbours...this summer.

Please, if you are moved by a very real and practical need at our local hospital, act today and in Pooh's words send "a little something" to the Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation c/o the hospital on Laity Street in Maple Ridge. To those who generously pledged before we began, your pledges are called with thanks at just 10,000 kilometres - 1/4 cent equals $25, 1/2 cent equals $50 and 1 cent equals $100. I am doubling the unsolicited donations made by people we met during the trip. Thank you! 

We hope that you have enjoyed the opportunity to travel along with us to Mini Meet East 2000 in Quebec and home again in a tough little spud, we call Pooh. We hope, too, that if you live in Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows that you will have sent “a little something” along to the Hospital Foundation so that new wheel chairs can be purchased. If you haven’t done so yet, please do it.

Elaine and I offer our deeply felt appreciation to John Goolevitch of Maple Ridge, who is the WebMINIster for the Vancouver Mini Club Web-site.  Without John’s help this electronic trip diary would not have been available to those who are helping ‘Wheels for Wheels’. We know that John has been helping his son Adam to finish the rebuild of his Mini, between the tasks of receiving our input for posting. When we return John’s digital camera and custom battery pack, you will be able to see Adam’s fresh Mini in great detail.

Thank you John and thanks to all who have followed and supported us on our trek through the 100 aker wood.

Signing off, Rick and Elaine Higgs.