Wednesday, July 27, 2011

FAMILY REUNION

It was a weekend to get reacquainted, meet some of the family for the first time, and share memories of the interrelations and events of my clan. 49 of our clan of 79, spanning three generations gathered from Vancouver Island where our roots began, to others from the lower mainland of BC, the Okanagan and as far away as Saskatchewan.


We converged on lovely Gold Mountain RV park on the Similkameen River setting up house in tents, trailers and rustic cabins.


Some were busy creating a family tree


Others quickly bonded over table games with lots of chatter and laughter.





A tailgate party with the youngest cousins.


Panning for gold


Deep thinkers


Rick, our avid fisherman found a mountain lake and his supper.


Some hiked 4 Km to an abandoned gold mine.


Some were more adventurous than others


We all feasted on a fabulous potluck supper


Two nieces deep fried delicious Rollkuchen served with watermelon.
These are traditional family summer treats and they definitely were a hit.


Local cherries and chocolate sweets topped the delicious meal - groan


A family treasure, a pop bottle capper, was the prize of the day. We reminisced on all the root beer our parents had made - Dad would come home from work and sit at the kitchen table with an ice cold glass of this homemade fizzy. Once in a while there would be a bottle that would explode in the basement!


Thirteen of the clan went on a four hour tour of the Mascot mine which produced seven tons of gold extracted about 70 years ago.


These hardy souls climbed down and then back up 587 steps on a wooden staircase clinging to the side of the mountain.





View of the Similkameen River from the old gold mine site


Back at the campground there was lots of time to relax

















Evening firesides brought the gang together for "s'mores", huddles of chattering, a modern minstrel with a guitar and beautiful harmonies floating softly through the night air.


Thanks family for coming and making the weekend a memorable occasion.
I will happily pass the planning of the next reunion to the hands of the younger generation :) May it be BIGGER and BETTER.

3 comments:

heidi said...

I like the last picutre, it's a keeper, looks like you did a great job organizing, now on to the next stress, you're in my prayers

Sandy said...

Thanx for posting these pictures. It was a wonderful time of fun and fellowship. It was so nice to get together for afew days rather that just an evening - we can actually get to know each other abit. Thank you for all the work that you put in to organize the event - it was definitely a success. Blessings as you wait to move into your new home!
love Sandy

Frieda Wedel said...

It was a wonderful weekend, we were so blessed by everyone and had a great time reconnecting with family.