Eruption - 13. Erupt Ch 13

Having an idea that we would be in the area for some time, I decided to take a look around the area first thing in the morning, before anyone else was up and about, but for now, I had to concentrate on the latest and second earthquake to hit the area in twenty-four hours. This one was even stronger than the first one, at 5.7 on the scale, and with it being 45 kilometres due east of our current location, and being a lot shallower than the first one, we felt it a lot more than the first one.

I didn’t have any more sensors with me, so I would have to rely on the ones a little further away at the first site to get my readings, which were not quite as accurate as if they were a lot closer to the site. I sent a text message to Dr Judith, who I presumed was already in transit, as she had informed me earlier that they would have an overnight stopover in Calgary, before arriving in Anaheim.

I was so busy looking at all the data, that I didn’t even notice Jonas arriving, I just thought it was Emmanuel going outside and coming back inside until Jonas spoke up. “Hey, I hear we have had another quake,” he said, which made me jump in shock and surprise, before standing and shaking his hand.

“Sorry, I was just looking at all the data since it happened just a short while ago. How was your trip over from Williams Lake?” I asked Jonas. “Good, could have done without the delay from the local Mounties, thanks for clearing that up for me,” Jonas replied.

Over the next few hours, Jonas and I went through all of the incoming data, and Emmanuel kept us fed with snacks and drinks until I announced that it was time to get some rest. The lounge opened up to become a double bed, so Jonas made himself comfortable there for the night, and we retired to our upstairs two double-sized beds on the mezzanine level.

When I woke up to the smell of cooking, I quickly had a shower and dressed before heading down for breakfast, where Jonas and Emmanuel were chatting. “Good morning, what are you two plotting? Any more activity while we slept?” I asked.

“Just very small rumbles, nothing over 1.4 on the scale, and we were discussing if we should move a little further away from the two volcanoes or not,” Jonas replied, as I spotted the large map of the area spread out on the dining table.

“Hmm, yes that might be a good idea, but where too? I don’t want to be too far away, in case we need to plant some more sensors, that Dr Judith is bringing with her,” I responded. With the team settled into our temporary base, we got to work to monitor all of the volcanic activity in the area.

A week later I came across a 86 acre holiday resort property just 20 km's south of Anahim, that is for sale which would be an ideal base for future Volcanology research, and after a lengthy discussion with my parents, they agreed to purchase the property.

With it been holiday accommodation, the thirty-acre private property, just outside a wilderness park, has a variety of accommodation options, which includes the main resort lodge, which has two upstairs guest rooms, a 3-bedroom chalet, a 2-bedroom chalet, three 1-bedroom cabins with bathrooms, and eight rustic cabins, with nearby shared bathrooms and laundry.

Also, there is a very large open gazebo with a firepit for, the main lodge which is the heart of the complex, providing fine dining, lounge and recreation space for the guests, plus a large outdoor hot tub, and plenty of space for camper vans and caravans.

For the owners and staff, well away from the guests, there is a large three-bedroom home that includes the office, also there are two 2-bedroom worker’s cottages, sheds, and a workshop, all located on the southern banks of the Nimpo Lake, just 450 metres west of the Bella Coola Highway, 2 kilometres south of Nimpo Lake Community, 21 kilometres south of Anaheim Airport, 53 kilometres north of Chilanko Airport, 298 kilometres west of the nearest main town of Williams Lake and 30 kilometres by road from our current location on the south side of Lake Anahim.

Over the next few weeks, Judith the small team of university students and I were kept very busy with monitoring the sensors, flying, hiking and planting new sensors, and generally doing what was needed to monitor the volcanoes in the western region of Canada. The Canadian Geo Science organisation would call in and spend some time with us, but most of the time they left it up to us to monitor and collect all the data on the volcanoes.

When settlement day finally arrived for our family to take over ownership of the property, Mum and Dad had been over here in BC for a week now, with both of them quitting their jobs to run the accommodation side of the property, and I even had sneak off several times during the week to assist my parents with getting settled in.

No bookings had been made for four weeks including the week before and two weeks of taking over ownership, as agreed in the purchase agreement. Aunty Joselyn and Gillian were due to arrive just a few days after the settlement was done

They will be helping with running the resort, with Aunty Jos’s veterinary experience to become a big help with the horses, and Gillian will take on a part-time job at the local hospital, 16 kilometres away in Bella Coola. They would live in one of the very comfortable worker’s cabins so that they have their own space.

In the main house, Mum and Dad would have the upstairs master suite, and the second bedroom would be for a study, while the guest bed suite on the ground floor would be for visiting friends. In regards to my home and new work office, that would be the larger worker’s cottage where the master bedroom on the ground level would be mine, with a queen bed and the other two bedrooms will have a king single bed each for friends, while the upstairs loft would become a work area.

Its large balcony, overlooking the valley, would be ideal for any outdoor observations that we may need to do. The cottage will also have a dining and lounge area. At the lake side of the property, there are two pontoons, so we are able to secure the plane to it for much easier access.

At the start of the second week of our family owning the new property and with Aunty Jos and Gillian now settled into their new home, I arrived back at Anaheim after three days of being missing, where the team were starting to worry about me, and I just laughed.

“I have a very special announcement to make,” I began as the rest of the team came over to hear what I had to say, and once everyone was present, I continued. “My family and I have purchased a large property not far south of here, where the family will continue to tourism business, while I will be managing the scientific research side of the business,” I announced, and I saw lots of very surprised faces, which made me chuckle.

“So, what exactly does this announcement have to do with us?” Dr Judith asked me, and I saw several students nod in agreement to the question. “It means dear lady, that I will have my very own research facility close to all of the volcanoes in BC,” I replied smiling.

“How much is it going to cost the university?” Judith asked, “A good and fair question. It will cost the university far less than we are spending staying at this current facility, so if you would like to start cutting costs right away, we can start packing up and relocating to the new facility, as soon as you are ready,” I replied.

“This sounds way too good to be true, but I will go along with it for now… So how far away is this new facility of yours?” Dr Judith asked me, “it is on the banks of the Nimpo Lake, approximately 30 kilometres from here,” I replied.

“Right, you lot, we are relocating, so start packing all of your luggage and supplies, and all of the research equipment right away,” Judith announced, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Once everyone had scattered, with just Emmanuel and Hunter remaining, Emmanuel stood in front of me, “Is this why you have been disappearing on and off for the past few weeks?” he asked me, and I nodded my head yes, “And you couldn’t tell your two closest friends what was going on?” Hunter added.

“Well, I wanted it to be a big surprise, and I had to wait until the settlement had taken place, which was yesterday. Mum and Dad have been here for a bit over a week, and my Aunty Joslyn, who is a vet and her partner who is a medical doctor, arrived the other day to join the team.

You will love this new place, it is right on the lake, with two jetties so I can secure my plane easily, there is plenty of guest accommodation for any tourists, as well as a home for me and my two friends, Aunt Jos and her partner have their own cottage, and Mum and Dad will be in the main owner’s house.

I have convinced my parents to allow me to make the largest of the chalets, which has three bedrooms with separate ensuites and a loft, into a bunkhouse for accommodating researchers, and I have just finished transforming that chalet into a bunkhouse before leaving there this morning.

Two bedrooms have two single bunks in each room, to accommodate 4 people in each, while the third bedroom has just two single beds in it, and the loft has a queen size bed in it, which will be Dr Judith’s space, so the chalet can accommodate eleven in total, while you guys will be sharing my sparing my cottage,” I announced to them.

“Wow, I can hardly wait to check it all out,” Hunter responded, and Emmanuel nodded his head in agreement before we headed off to do our own packing up of our camp and supplies. Two hours later we had completed packing everything up and loading it all into the plane, but it would be too heavy with everyone also travelling with all of the supplies and equipment.

It was agreed that Hunter, Emmanuel and two of the male students would travel with me on the first trip, and they would unload and move everything over to the bunkhouse and cottage, while I go back and collect the rest of the team. When I arrived back at Nimpo Lake, after doing a loop around the property so everyone could get an aerial view, Emmanuel and Hunter secured the plane to the jetty, as the rest of the team began to unload their luggage, equipment and supplies.

Once everyone was gathered, I led the way to the largest chalet on the property, which is now known as the Bunkhouse. “Wow, this place is incredible,” one of the female students stated after stepping inside. “Ok, Dr Judith, you are upstairs, ladies you are in the first room, and lads, you have the second room, I suggest that we leave the last room free to make use of it as a workspace,” I announced.

Hunter has elected to remain with the team instead of staying at my cabin, so he and the other three lads headed into their room to get settled in. “I will be back in half an hour to give you all a tour of the property,” I announced before leaving the bunkhouse with Emmanuel following close behind.

“How are they settling in?” Dad asked me, having arrived on one of the ATV bikes, “I have to make two trips, so they are just started, I will give them a tour in about half an hour,” I replied. “Mind if I pinch Emmanuel for a while, I need a bit of help with some chores?” Dad asked.

“I am all yours, to help wherever you wish, sir,” Emmanuel responded as he jumped onto the back of the bike and they soon raced off to another part of the property, and I just smiled as I watched them disappear. After the group tour of the property, I left it to Dr Judith to arrange for the team to start setting up all of the equipment, and I headed back to my cabin for a quick snack and a bit of a rest break.

For the last week of the holidays, the research team settled into their new quarters and got down to working on the projects of gathering data from all of the volcanoes in the region while I was busy writing up reports that are sent to the Canadian Geoscience Centre as well as to the New Brunswick University back in Fredericton.

With this being my final year at university, I was looking into transferring to a university in BC to continue work at my new base, as well as helping the family with running the new tourism business, now that the family had moved to the western side of the country, and Dr Judith was not happy when I informed her of this.

Aunty Jos was already making a big difference in keeping the horses in tip-top condition, along with the three full-time and five part-time staff that we have inherited with the business. They include a chef, a senior stable hand and a head housekeeper, plus two hospitality cleaners, a kitchen hand, and two stable hands. Meanwhile my brother -Kip is now attending boarding school at Brentwood College in Victoria, BC, and he seems to have settled in well according to the reports our parents are getting from him and the school.

Gillian, she was now a part-time doctor at Williams Lake Cariboo Hospital, where she would make the 300 kilometres, four-hour drive to Williams Lake on a Thursday afternoon, and return home on Monday evening, staying at a rented apartment provided by the hospital, working 4 twelve-hour shifts from Thursday evening through to Monday morning, and once home on Monday afternoon, she has 2 ½ days of rest.

At just 210 kilometres by air, I had offered to fly Gillian to and from work once a fortnight, if my university studies and research work allowed me the time to do it. In the end, I was not able to find a suitable university to continue the studies I am doing, so I managed to arrange to do most of my studies online, with just two trips to Fredericton to attend several lectures and complete some exams in my final semester of studies.

In a way I was glad of this, as it meant that I could spend more time at my new home, both to help the family with the business, as well as continuing my research work. When it came time to say goodbye to Dr Judith and my fellow students at the Airport, after flying them to Williams Lake, to catch their flight back to Fredericton, I felt sad that I would not be seeing everyone for some time.

Emmanuel had decided to put his studies on hold, to spend more time with me and my family, and he had his parent's blessings to do that, so one of the spare bedrooms in my cabin was now his semi-permanent home, which I was thrilled with.

With the research team now back east, the bunk beds were put into storage, and the queen-sized beds were brought back in, to make the chalet back into family accommodation, which Mum and Dad preferred, and they asked me to plan an alternative for accommodating any future researchers.

In regards to a proper research facility, they agreed to build a shed, that will have proper walls, windows, with insulation, air conditioning and heating etc, that will be built away from the general guest accommodation. It will include a front reception foyer and office, a staff kitchen and dining area, a set of toilets – male and female, also two meeting rooms, two research laboratories, and at the back a big open multi-purpose research centre, with a total of eight workstations.