The Goods Screening and Apparel Art Show

David had a tough start to December. "Black Friday" he arrived at the store expecting a great day and found a pipe had burst flooding the store. The ceiling had come down in places, the stock and electronics were damaged. The Tortoise was living in a waterfall.

The store was closed almost a week. Friends and family pitched in to clean up, insurance sent in a team to dry the premises out and finally The Goods was back in business.

Just in time for the first annual Art Show!

Chriustmas Tree 2010

After the Christmas Craft fair ends, it is time to get on with family Christmas. Jen, Lexi and I went out to get our Christmas trees.

The night before there was a torrential downpour and we were thinking we might have to cancel. In Richmond, blue skies prevailed. There was lots of standing water to capture Lexi's attention. She stomped in puddles, splashed in a lake and fell face first into the ooze. She enjoyed it all! By the time we had our trees and returned to the truck, Lexi was wet to the waist and her boots were full of muddy water level to the tops!

But she had carefully(?) carried a lady bug on much of the journey. The highlight of the day!

We loaded the trees, put dry clothes on the child and went off for lunch.

The followiung pictures were taken with my new shockproof underwater camera. I forgot it could zoom... That is why Santa let me practise with it early!

Bag Ladies on Holidays

The Bag Ladies attended a big craft fair hosted by the Chilliwack Arts Council. A relaxing weekend but very cold and snowy!

We did get home

The last entry to the Road Trip blog blue screened and never was rewritten!

We had a leisurely start - Delbert made us breakfast at the Oasis and we waved good-bye to everyone as we headed the trailer west. It was a long day of driving so that we could spend the night just before the gates to Jasper National Park. That left us with a pleasant day's drive to Mackenzie where Dan's cousin Gloria lives with her husband Norman.

We had a good visit with them. Gloria walked us around the town on her exercise route! The town has been hit hard by the recession and there are many empty houses offered at fire sale prices. The mill has been bought and is being re-opened. Other industry is planned so a revival is coming. Not everyone could wait.

Norman, Gloria and Tica took us on a ramble along Lake Williston. Tica likes to encounter grizzly bears to earn her keep but no joy on this particular day. I am glad she was there to keep watch and also glad that was all she had to do!

From Mackenzie we were heading south. One more stop in Williams Lake to visit my cousin Margaret. It was a short visit - we were leaving the trailer in her yard. We would be back in a couple of weeks for a Bag Lady on Holidays event - the Williams Lake Fall Fair. We would stay at Marg's then and show Lynne around the area.

The last leg of the journey we made good time without the trailer and by dinner time we were home! March to August - what an adventure!

Moving to the Farm

July 17th;

We moved from Speers to the farm outside of Mayfair. We wanted to spend some time with Victor and Jacquie. Since we were going to a neighbouring farm for a birthday and anniversary party tonight, it seemed like a good move to take our bed with us!

Sharon is celebrating her 60th birthday. Her husband Peter is turning 70 and they have been married 38 years. All good reasons to celebrate! Set up a couple of large tents. Bring on the food and beverages. There is lots of room for parking out here! Family, friends and neighbours are all welcome. It doesn't even seem crowded.

A smaller party the night before was rained out. Rivers flowed through the tent and the downpour blew through cracks in the walls. Today the weather was sunny but the wind was cold. People gathered in sheltered spots to visit, exchanging news with locals, renewing old acquaintances and meeting new. All ages were represented from babies to the elderly. The younger set ran and explored, climbing large round bales of hay, keeping warm with their exuberance. Adults circulated in the tents or around the fire to warm up.

The tables were laden with food - appetizers, main course and many desserts to choose from. The bar table was unlimited as well. Double the number of people and there still would have been plenty to carry home. We did our best to taste everything! The evening ended early. It was just too cold and windy to stay out any longer.

For the next week we parked in the home yard at Victor's farm and just relaxed. If there was something to do, we did it. If not, we visited, walked the dogs, napped or read. Such a hard life - no cell phone or internet. The world seemed far away!

Dan spent a lot of time riding the Kaboda lawn mower. There is a lot of grass to cut; all of the yard, 0.2 km driveway, then up and around the horse corral. He trimmed overhanging trees so they would not wipe him off the mower. I got to drive the farm truck while he loaded the resulting brush. An earlier model Ford F 150 XLT, it had seen better days. The seat did not move forward so I had to stretch my platform thongs to meet the pedals. The windscreen is cracked in many directions. The cab is full of useful bits of chain, cotter pins and tools. Most incongruous is a tiny, perfect, birdís nest in the middle of the dashboard.

Walking the small dogs was a pleasant job. Up the drive to the main road and then right past the fields of green peas covered in white blossom on one side and the fields of canola in bright yellow blossom on the other. Or turn left and walk up the hill past old granaries and used equipment to the horse corrals. The roadside is a colorful mix of wild flowers - purple, blue, yellow and pink. At first, the corral is empty. Somehow the horses know people are coming. It is a small herd but the ground thunders as they gather from distant corners of the pasture. What must have been like to hear the great herds of earlier times! Victor and Jacquie love the horses and their connection to the beginnings of farming in the area. These are the descendents of his father's stock.

Uncle tells us the days were easier then. Unlike tractors, horses had to rest so the farmer got to rest too. Days were shorter and Sunday was a day off for man and beast. Now the farms are enormous, the equipment to run them is huge and complex. The new sprayer seems like some huge transformer folding the spraying arms high against the sky. It is all computerized and controlled by GPS. So sensitive that it knows exactly what has been sprayed and will automatically turn off the nozzles that cover ground for a second time. The new tractor has wheels taller than I and I climbed a ladder into the cab. The red leather armchair is luxurious and well sprung so that the rough ground will not be so noticeable on a day's run. With so much to do, days can get really long when the season demands it.

Jacquie and I spent a day in Saskatoon. On the way we stopped to pick strawberries at a U-Pick. I do the same at home and have to remember the berries are ripe there in early June. I often missed them in Florida where the season is closer to Easter. That is a good indication of the differences south to north! That and the daylight. In Florida, it was getting dark between 8:00 and 9:00 PM. Here the sun is still setting at 10:00 PM and the sky is bright and the birds are singing at 4:00 AM.

The garden is beginning to produce. Jacquie has planted a mixed row of lettuce. What a good idea! If you pick a leaf from this plant and a leaf from that on down the row, you end up with a mixed green salad. Green leaf lettuce, red leaf lettuce, spinach, romaine and curly types fresh as they can be! Add some green onions from another row. Dig some new potatoes. Thin the row of beets for baby beets and greens. What a wonderful treat!

The moon is full this week and the room is bright much of the night. A huge gust of wind buffeted the trailer and woke me. I could see the moon shining brightly to the south. To the north, a line of black clouds seemed to be headed our way. The wind howled. The cloud to cloud lightening put on a spectacular display. Very quickly the clouds covered the moon and I watched as the lightening outlined the darkness. Were we safe in the trailer? Dan had parked so we would be sheltered from the prevailing wind by a huge Quonset hut. The house sits in a clearing on the top of the hill. Perhaps we had the better location. Dan slept on so I decided to stay put and watch. What a show! It was over very quickly - the clouds moved on, the moon came out and all was quiet again.

All too soon it was time to move on again. Now we will be turning west and start heading home.

Settled in Speers

July 4th

We were glad to settle in Speers for a while. We parked on the street outside of Delbert and Sheila's home. In Speers, that is not an issue! It is a very small town, about three blocks square. Everyone knows everyone or soon will.

We arrived on a very pleasant afternoon just as they were trying to construct a new plastic swimming pool for themselves, their children and the grandchildren. The previous pool had collapsed and flooded the back yard. Frequent thunder storms had not helped. It was quite muddy. We joined in and the pool was in place by the end of the day. Unfortunately a connector was cracked right out of the package and would have to be replaced before the pool could be filled. Cool weather continued for the next while so it was not urgent to get it up and running. It was going to need the pool heater before anyone would venture in!

Family members came and went over the next few days and we did a lot of visiting. In this area, most are related on Dan's mother's side. One cousin runs the Post Office in Speers and has a home a few blocks away. We did get to have a short visit while she worked and promised we would stop by the house one evening. We went several times but we think they were peaking through the blinds and would not come to the door as we never actually found them at home! Leroy and Reza crossed our path from time to time. They were staying in nearby Alticane with Aunt and Uncle for the remainder of their time in the area.

Sheila is Dan's cousin. She owns the Oasis Personal Care Home in town and we had the perfect view from the trailer - three blocks straight down the street. It made a very convenient WiFi connection! It soon became apparent it was a convenient hotspot for many people. Cars often came and parked across the railway tracks in front of the care home. It often made Sheila nervous when they stayed late into the evening. Once we explained what all these cars were doing, Delbert decided to add security to the server. The downside was community policing dropped immediately. It appears, the RCMP was also using the hot spot for their laptops and not really patrolling the village as frequently as we thought. Delbert is considering giving them the password, having the RCMP drive through regularly is a good thing!

The Care Home itself is very unusual. It is like an extended family home. We often joined in for meals at the family table, movie or games night in the main dining room, campfire night outdoors in a sheltered treed area or just sat by a guest and had a good visit. There are lots of places to sit indoors or out, in sun or shade. There is a huge vegetable garden, different lawn and flower areas. There is an animal run currently home to donkeys and goats. I was thrilled to see a newborn kid take its first steps while we were there. The varieties of chickens and peacocks fell prey to local red foxes and are no more. One of the guests is a relative from the Dove side. I had more time to get to know Mamie this trip. She was stationed in Ottawa at the end of the war and had some good stories to tell. That is what Sheila enjoys most about her work, the time to listen to her people and hear their stories. Though I have rarely seen her still long enough to get the chance!

I kept Sheila company on trips to the hospital in Hafford and in North Battleford to take care of residents medical issues. Dan and I ran errands to be helpful and got involved in projects where we could. The big one was the children's playground. We managed to turn boxes of wood, plastic, screws and bolts into a really nice "fort" with a climbing wall, slide, swings and a glider! The many children that either belong to employees or visit guests will make good use of it. Sheila's three year old grandson thanked Dan for it on more than one occasion.

Once the playground was complete, Dan and Delbert started to work on an equipment shed. It was about 40 by 60 and 18 feet tall. They were preparing the wall beams to take the rafters. Delbert rode up and down in a "cherry picker" but Dan climbed up and down the framed walls. Good exercise! One day Delbert took Sheila and I up in the basket way above the building and let us take pictures of the home and surrounding area. That was an adventure for two people who are not really fond of heights!

We did some touring as well. One day we found the old New Ottawa town site. Only the old post office building remains - a weathered, wooden ruin in the middle of a Canola field. In contrast, the New Ottawa Cemetery is still beautifully kept and the gates are still in place. It is the cemetery for the Dove side of the family. Grandma and Grandpa Dove are there along with Grandmaís side, the Cox family. Many of the names bring people to my mind and of course many more are real to Dan. Mamie Dove has her place reserved beside her husband who rests there already. It is a small, peaceful place. If the mosquitoes were not so ravenous we would have spent longer tracing the stones back through the years to the beginning of the town. The railway made the big change. The townsite was moved to Speers, buildings and all, when the tracks were laid and Speers was chosen for the station rather than New Ottawa.

Another day we joined Delbert and his granddaughters on a fishing trip to Sandy Lake. They have a trailer and pontoon boat at the lake for the family to use during the summer. Once you leave the Yellowhead highway, most of the roads here are gravel. As we drove north we saw a car sitting in a field and a clear path sideways through the ditch from the road. That must have been a story! We arrived safely at the lake and loaded the day's supplies into the boat. We pulled out of the channel into a surprisingly large lake.

We spent the morning trolling up and down. Dan was the lucky one and pulled in four Northern Pike. Delbert came prepared with a small stove, a frying pan and the appropriate seasonings. He filleted one of the fish and cooked it up right there for our lunch. Now that is fresh!

We picked up Sheila, their daughter and grandson for the afternoon. They drove up to the lake with all the fixings for supper at the campsite. Emily caught a fish too with Grandpa's help. We ended the day with five pike and one pickerel. We were able to add a fish fry to the evening meal! A lovely summer day on the water!

The Crossing

Friday, July 2nd;

We left Billings, Montana still driving north. We were on smaller highways now, heading for the Canadian border. There was very little traffic. The last stop was a fuel stop in Malta on Highway 191.

We thought we would stop for lunch but once we started north on the final leg of the journey, it was only a two lane highway with narrow shoulders. There was nowhere to pull over. We arrived at the border before we knew it!

Canada, we are home! But first customs. This was the smallest border crossing we have used. The Customs officer was more thorough. Where had we been? How long? How much did we spend? What did we buy? Produce the receipts. Ooops! I meant to get them out the night before. I excused myself to get them from the trailer and the officer actually followed me in. Fortunately, I had them all together in a folder so it was no problem to get them. We were allowed to cross - as long as we fit through the door of th customs enclosure Dan had driven us into! Yup - we made it.

Next we had to find the village of Val Marie 20 miles up the road. Let me just say there is a marked difference in quality of the road as soon as you cross the border. Canada's share is not as well maintained. We found Val Marie and made a stop at the information center to find out more about the Grasslands National Park. We did a quick tour of the village and backtracked down the highway to our final destination, the Crossing.

Our host was expecting us but had been surprised by the arrival of Leroy and Reza. They arrived ahead of us and were already comfortably settled in their lovely suite overlooking the park. We drove down the hill to the campground and I was startled to see four large white teepees rising over the brow of the hill. It was not a pow wow but another type of accommodation for tourists visiting the area. We pulled in nearby and set up. We had the area to ourselves with a view of the grassland in all directions.

We prepared a late lunch, then dinner and spent the intervals visiting. We caught up on all the news and made plans for our time in the area. At sunset a storm came in and the sky was spectacular. We retired with the darkness and felt secure indoors while the storm buffeted the trailer. What is that noise? Oh, oh - I left the forward window cover up and it is flapping! We got a little wet as Dan came out to help me get it down.

July 1st was Canada Day. It dawned clear and sunny. The perfect day for small town celebrations. We headed for town to enjoy the pancake breakfast. It may seem a little low key if you compare it to an Orlando Fourth of July but it is just as heart felt. Pancakes were being served at the largest building in Val Marie - the Ice Rink. In front was a large sign declaring Val Marie to be the home of Brian Trottier - 4 time Stanley Cup Champion with the New York Islanders. We joined the townspeople for breakfast and then toured the town waiting for the start of the Canada Day Parade.

We spent time watching a beautiful pair of Belgian horses being prepared for their part in the parade. Then strolled the length of Center Street (2 blocks) to find a seat by the cenotaph. From there we could see the parade twice. Once as it toured streets on the south side of town and then again as it came around from the north. That way you could sit on your front porch to see the parade go by. From our vantage point, I could make sure to get a picture of each participant. If I missed them the first time, I was prepared the second. The people on the floats threw candies as they went by. In this case, all the children were in the parade so the adults got to scramble for the goodies on the street. Then they threw them back as the floats came around again!

Even going around twice, it did not take long for the parade to end. We visited some more with locals in the town and headed back home for lunch and a lazy afternoon. Our plan was to tour the Grasslands park in the late afternoon so we would be able to see the many resident birds and animals.

We followed the tour as described. We saw the Frenchman River valley; we learned what a coulee was; we saw a large prairie dog town; we saw many types of birds. We did not see any of the large animals we had hoped to see including the bison herd. Before we were finished the tour we could see dark grey clouds building once more and decided to race for home.

We were safely settled in with a good dinner on the way before the storm arrived. Our host came down to the trailer to let us know the power was out over much of southern Saskatchewan. In the trailer we had lights, at least those on battery power, and a gas stove so we were not inconvenienced. Once dinner was over, Leroy and Reza went back to their suite while it was still daylight. I read in the quiet of the evening until a sound caught my attention. It was 11:00 PM and the Canada Day dance had ended in Val Marie. Fireworks had begun.

I could see a thin strip of lights on the horizon. Power had been restored to the town. Tiny sparks of colored lights shot over the town as the fireworks display continued. Behind that the dark black clouds soared. Cloud to cloud lightening lit up the sky in a far more spectacular display than man was able to produce. Happy 143rd Birthday Canada!

It was a lovely two days at the Crossing with Leroy and Reza. They left us to go east to Saskatoon. We got ready to head further north. Our goal was Saskatchewan Landing on Diefenbaker Lake.

There is a severe weather warning posted for southern Saskatchewan. How far does it extend? As we pulled out of the Crossing in bright sunshine we could see the dark clouds off to the west. Could we outrun them?

In spite of the interesting sights along the road our attention stayed focused on the clouds to our left. The brilliant yellow of the canola fields stretched right into the dark blue gray of the sky. It was spectacular! Lightening occasionally forked to the ground.

Just as we approached Swift Current, the rain began. We pulled into the Iplex Civic Center parking lot and asked directions to a diesel fuel station. It was a large empty parking lot and other rigs were seeking shelter off of the road. We decided to park. Fuel could wait. The wind rocked the truck and whipped the water to a froth as it flowed through the parking lot. Time for lunch and a rest stop to wait it out. We later learned, not far to the east of us, a First Nations village was being destroyed by a force 3 tornado.

We waited for the calm and carried on safely to Saskatchewan Landing for one last night on the road.

The next afternoon we arrived in Speers, Saskatchewan and parked for an extended stay with family in the area. Blogging will stop for a while as we enjoy life in farm country. The temperature mid-morning is 66 F (18.8 C) I am in my winter clothes and still feeling chilly. The furnace has been in use! Maybe we should head south again!

Turning North

Sunday, June 25th, 2010.

We planned to leave Bear and Trish Sunday morning but we got involved trying to clean the BankerFox.A virus off of my computer. I could not open any programs and that included my maps and GPS. (I am still not using it to access the internet!) Finally by 1:00 PM we were on our way with the computer still being scanned. We had a map printed from Google to guide us out of town. Add to that, the truck appeared to be running in low gear only. Not an auspicious departure!

One more trip around the block and the truck was moving normally. The scan finished and removed affected files from the computer. Before we reached the freeway, we had the map and GPS running again.

Note that we are traveling in an Ford F-350 pulling a 27 foot travel trailer both comfortably air conditioned when required. The road we are traveling cuts, or is part of, most of the great wagon trails of the 1800's. We will drive from Colorado to Saskatchewan in four comfortable days. No one will oppose our path. Contrast that to the families making their way west or north in earlier days walking beside their oxen and cart.

We made Sunday afternoon an easy one. We drove through Denver and out into the less peopled plains. We saw ranches, cattle, horses, prong horn antelope and a variety of birds. Just before the Wyoming border we pulled off onto an access road paralleling the freeway. It was a good gravel road that would take us to our first stop, the Terry Bison Ranch Resort. That was how we discovered a small problem with the GPS. It takes the most direct route - 6 miles of gravel instead of the taking the next exit and backtracking two miles of pavement!

The Terry Bison Ranch is part of an historic ranch originally belonging to Senator F.E. Warren. At the turn of the century it ran cattle and sheep, spreading over fifty miles from Cheyenne in every direction. General "Black Jack" Pershing married Senator Warren's daughter. The rich and famous visited the ranch in itís heyday. Now it is down to 300,000 acres - 2/3 in Colorado and 1/3 in Wyoming. It still runs cattle and sheep but the resort area also raises buffalo, goats and dromedary that we could see. Today the owner's daughter checked us in! She has just graduated from high school and is hoping to study psychology at University.

The current owner is in his mid-seventies now but still loves to tinker with machinery. This past winter he built the new engine for the train that takes tourists on a tour of the ranch culminating in a visit to the buffalo herd. He has also built a small midway for the small visitors including a rustic Ferris wheel.

We had a pleasant wander around the area in the cool of the evening. We decided to have a light dinner in the restaurant and turned in early with the windows open for fresh cool air!

Monday was a short day. We were heading for Fort Casper, Wyoming on the North Platte River. This is the area of the Oregon Trail, The California trail, the Mormon Crossing and a Pony Express station. As we drove we could imagine the travelers working their way through the table lands surrounding the Platte River valley and then seeing the Continental Divide in the distance. Routes were named after the men that discovered them. John Bozeman followed a shorter route through hostile Indian territory, the home of the Arapahoe, Cheyenne and Souix. These tribes were determined not to let the Europeans take their lands. On it, many lives were lost earning it the nickname the "Bloody Bozeman Trail". Jim Bridger found a longer route through the territory of friendly tribes, the Shoshoni and the Crow.

Our drive was mainly through open grasslands. The escarpment and buttes were spectacular rising up from the valleys. Again we saw cattle, horses, prong horn antelope and deer. We arrived early at the Fort Casper RV Park and had a lazy afternoon. We walked toward the river beside us. It is in flood at the moment. The crest should be tomorrow.

We turned down the road to Fort Casper and walked to the museum. It was a hot day, an air conditioned museum seemed like a good idea! It is a small museum with a replica of many of the fort buildings behind it. We were too late for a full tour but I particularly enjoyed the many books in the shop and a horse drawn shepherd's wagon. It was similar to one my father used in the 1920's herding sheep on Alberta's short grass prairie. They are still being used by ranches in this area to follow the flocks of sheep during the summer season.

We walked home to start dinner and it was still very warm. Finally, as the sun set, the evening cooled.

Tuesday we continued north to Billings, Montana. It was another day of wide open spaces. Not quite as rugged as the previous days. We found our way through Billings to the KOA resort. This was the first KOA opened in the USA. It is still a very nice site. It has the usual log "Kabins" for those who do not camp. There is a pleasant green space with a garden gazebo. There was a steak barbeque at dinner time and an ice cream social in the evening. One of the more recent amenities is The Pistol Pete bath house. It holds a number of good sized bathrooms. Each one a full bath suite with toilet, sink and shower. You can close the door and it is your private space. A very nice idea!

The campground is located on the shore of the Yellowstone river. We watched cattle coming down a valley on the far side to drink at the waters edge. Cottonwood trees were in full bloom and the "cotton" was floating heavily in the air. The day was very hot and I was looking forward to a swim in the pool after our exploratory walk. Before I could get ready, a thunder storm rolled in and the pool was closed until the lightening subsided. It thundered and rained and hailed before the storm passed. That cooled the day turning it into a very pleasant evening.

Garden of the Gods

Thursday, June 24;

The rest of the week we toured different areas of Colorado Springs and did errands to prepare for our departure.

We packed a picnic and toured the old mining towns west of Colorado Springs. We drove north to Woodland Park, then west to an area where Bear and Trish once owned land and lived in a teepee for three years - summer and WINTER! That was an adventure! They showed us where they went to do laundry and have a shower in a small mining town. Places where they went for a quick grocery stop have now grown into small villages.

In 1890 Cripple Creek was the starting point of the Colorado Gold Rush. Cripple Creek is now a gambling and tourist town. There are tours of old mines and one of the large gold mines is still in operation. We timed our visit to avoid the crowds of Donkey Derby Days. It looks like YouTube has it covered!

We went through Cripple Creek on down the highway, driving past old mine buildings and huge mountains of tailings. Some are modern and lined to prevent contaminants such as arsenic leaching into the surrounding soil. Some are old and did not take that precaution.

The road entered Pike National forest. It became miles and miles of washboard over scenic mountain roads! We found a nice place on a creek to stop and have a picnic. This is a spot the bike riders have used for a rest stop when they have ridden the many miles of road we just drove. There would still be miles to cover before entering Colorado Springs again.

Friday we went to tour the Garden of the Gods. These spectacular sandstone formations have been known for thousands of years. Carbon dating on charcoal from an old hearth sets the time line for that fire as 3300 years ago. The most recent Native Americans to make use of this area were the Ute Indians who visited the area on a regular basis. This was a place of special significance to them. We were told that Chiefs, nearing their time of death would find a cave here as their final place on earth.

We enjoyed our tour on a hot, blue sky day. Taking pictures of the red rock formations against the sky. We saw an instructor and student sitting high on the rocks preparing to belay down the steep face. What an amazing place to learn rock climbing. Unfortunately many do not heed the warnings to inform the park of their intentions and do not have accomplished guides. Many need to be rescued - these are not beginners slopes.

We stopped by the Trading post. It has any Native American tourist item you might want. In rooms behind the usual tourist ware are some beautiful examples of Native American art. Compare the hand woven baskets at the back of the store to the "Made in Pakistan" replicas at the front.

We finished our tourist exploration in old town Colorado Springs. It is an area of historical buildings, boutiques and coffee houses. Central to that visit is always CS West Bikes. You can buy a new bike, rent one or arrange a cycling tour but you had better be in shape for the Colorado Springs terrain! After a visit to the French Bakery a strenuous bike ride is a good idea!

Colorado Springs Zoo

Tuesday, June 22;

A zoo is not always a number one tourist spot unless you have children with you. This zoo is different! It gives you a real workout if you do it at a good pace. Me - not so much. I kept stopping to take pictures! There is so much to see, the animals, the flowers and the views way down into the valley below. This zoo is built high up on the side of a mountain looking over Colorado Springs. So much so that you can take a chair lift from the bottom to the top. From that vantage point you can see the more reclusive animals that are hidden from the ground view points, like the snow leopard The cat was barely visible behind a log far at the back of it's area.

If you are walking up the paths, you have the choice of stairs or an elevator to the raised boardwalk leading to the grizzly bear enclosure. More exercise options!

Each large area displays birds and animals of a specific region. We entered the park at the giraffe enclosure. Colorado Springs has a large giraffe herd and is well known for its breeding program. There were two new giraffes there at the time, The resulting growth in the herd allows them to ship to other areas where they are also trying to assure the continued success of the species.

One of the large giraffes left what he was doing and ambled right over in my direction. How close do they get? REALLY CLOSE! Do they eat cameras? Do they lick people? I did not stay to find out! There just happened to be some interesting birds nearby! And then a family of Mir cats. And then the lemurs got my attention.

Trish herded us toward the primate house. Her favourite was the baby silverback gorilla. We watched momma, poppa and baby interact. They are fun. The monkey enclosure was keeping a group of children amused as well.

We continued on through the north west area, moose, mountain lion, porcupine and a grizzley bear. From there we traveled through Asia, the snow lepord and other species that seemed to be more difficult to see, on to Australia. The wallabies were hopping along the path we were walking on.

We left the zoo passing the giraffes once more.

We were heading further up the mountain to Helen Hunt Falls with a brief stop in a normal subdivision except one home owner was an artist. He creates large metal wind vanes that decorate his front yard. They are amazing! We parked so I could take some pictures.

Then on to the falls. Bear and Trish stayed behind while Dan and I walked up the many steps to the top of the falls. It was a nice finish to a pleasant day.

Riding the COG to Pike's Peak

Monday, June 21st;

We arrived at the home of Bear and Trish Saturday afternoon. They had reserved a place for our rig in front of their home and we did not even have to unhook for the next week. We moved into their downstairs guestroom and slept in the cool of the high Colorado evenings.

Sunday we had a quiet day just visiting. But starting Monday they had some days planned to show us their lovely city. We went to the Monday morning Farmer's market and wandered the downtown core. We stopped by the old town and met the owners and employees of the CS West bike shop. Bear and Trish have adopted them as their Colorado family. This is a challenging town to ride and both Bear and Trish have taken it up, though Trish is less able now. The city itself stands at over 6000 feet and many of the bike trails run up over 10,000 feet. Going up is difficult, coming down is scary!!!

We decided to see the heights in a somewhat less strenuous way. We took the COG railway for the last run of the day up to Pike's Peak. We boarded the train in Manitou Springs and we looked very out of place in our jeans, long sleeved turtle neck, vest and polar fleece among many in their shorts and Tís. We wandered about the station platform taking pictures and people watching. There were humming birds feeding above the platform. Beware of humming bird fallout! Unfortunately I suffered a direct hit down the side of my nose!

We started up the mountain past rock faces and heavily treed hills. We caught a glimpse of the oldest operating power station west of the Mississippi. A young couple live there during the summer and have a 60 mile driveway out to the main road to get their mail! An even longer drive to get groceries in Colorado Springs. What a place to spend their summers! They are responsible for upkeep of the dams, waterways and equipment that create the power.

There is a halfway house that shelters hikers waiting for the train to take them up or down as the case may be. The Barr trail built in 1917 still carries hikers up the mountain today. There is a cabin for them to overnight on the journey. The other way up is by road. Bear and Trish did that on a motor bike in winter some years ago. The experience has stayed with them. It was a cold and icy ride. With no safety fences on the steep and winding slope it is still a dangerous road today.

We passed the section house where railway gangs lived in the early days. They built the railway and kept it open. Families lived in that house and at least one baby was born there. At this point we are high above the tree line with the tender tundra stretching away from us. You can still see the old wagon trail that predates the railway winding up the hills. Tundra grows so slowly that it has not been covered yet. As we left the tree line behind us we saw one lone bristlecone pine at the edge of the forest. It was over 2000 years old. That means it was growing at the time the pyramids were built!

At last we came up the last steep grade and stopped at the Pike's Peak Station. It was cold and a strong wind was blowing making it feel like freezing temperatures. It was also 1410 ft above sea level. Now we were glad we had dressed for winter! I wandered about on my own taking pictures and marveling at the views around me. I was aware that I was feeling the effects of the altitude. I had been drinking my water faithfully but still felt very dizzy with a slight headache. I stayed carefully away from the really sharp drop offs!

I met up with the others in the station coffee shop and we listened for the warning whistle to board the train for the trip back down the mountain. This was the last train of the day so we did not want to miss it!

The Road West

We have turned the truck west and are beginning the long road home.

We got off to a late start on our first day - not unusual for us. This time we were actually on track until a neighbour came in for a visit and a look at our trailer. Oh well, meeting the people is what RVing is all about!

For our first day we planned to go back on the route we traveled often before - north to I-10 and across the Panhandle. This time we stopped at the Blackwater River State Park. It was a lovely place to spend time at the end of a long day of driving.

We arrived just after the ranger at the gate went on a one hour dinner break. Oh well! We sat in the truck at the gate saving our place in any line that might occur so we would get a spot for the night. As we sat there a local drove by us and called out as she passed. “Thanks for coming. Spend lots, we need it!” I laughed and said we had been here two months and we had tried!

Once we had registered we pulled in to a lovely wooded campsite. Each space was large and made private by a good buffer of trees around it. Our allotment had a pair of cardinals providing music and entertainment. I don’t think they were really happy about our occupation of their home. Our coming and going obviously disturbed them. The male was not impressed by the other cardinal in the large side mirror on the truck. We left them on their own and went for a walk down the boardwalk to the river. It has a lovely wide sandy beach where small children were playing in and out of the water. The water was a deep tea brown. It sure felt good after such a long hot drive. I happily kicked off my thongs and went wading.

We had some leftover Chinese food for dinner and I wanted to try the recipe Evelyn gave us when we visited Merritt Island. Abe had stocked us up with wonderful fresh vegetables so we had fresh Japanese eggplant and jalapeno pepper. I was able to put the stirfry together very quickly to fill out the menu.

3 Japanese or Chinese eggplant chopped into chunks.
1 medium onion, also in chunks
3 large cloves of garlic chopped
1 jalapeno pepper chopped coarsely
4 green onions chopped in medium lengths
2 teaspoon Soya sauce
2 tablespoons Oyster sauce
Heat oil
Sauté garlic lightly.
Add onion and sauté lightly. Add eggplant and pepper.
Add soya sauce.
When just about done add oyster sauce and green onion.
Heat and serve.

It was very good!

A quiet night and then on to Mississippi.

Day 2:

We got up early - the sun was just rising! The usual morning activities; make the bed, pack up the bedroom, clean up the people, breakfast, clean up the kitchen, sweep the floor and bring in the slide out. We were on the road by 7:30 AM and it was hot already!

The GPS reassured us of our position and we found our way out of the park. As we drove toward the highway, Dan pointed out sections of the old brick road that crossed the Panhandle. This was the old Florida Highway Number 1 built as a nine foot wide brick road in 1921. Soon we were out of that rural area of days gone by, back on I-10 heading west to Mobile.

My plan was to head northwest from there to Hattiesburg and then west to Natchez so we could see a portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway. I missed the turn while playing with the computer map! No problem. We continued west to Gulfport and turned north to Hattiesburg. This road was much bouncier. Somehow, working our way through the bypass of Hattiesburg we turned south again by mistake. It was 8 miles south before we could turn again and make our way back. By the time we got to the west turn to Natchez, we had had enough of the bouncing. We decided to scrap Natchez, Vicksburg and the Civil War history and go straight north through Jackson so we could stay on the Interstate highways.

We pulled off the highway to have lunch in the Dry Creek Water Park. We found the park and there was no one there. We know why. The lake is a mess. The washrooms unkept. Toilets and urinals no longer flush. There did not appear to be any staff present. Nothing about it was as pleasant as the D’Lo Water park we stopped at on the way down.

Opening the trailer we saw the result of the rough roads. The mattress was nearly off of the bed. The drawers had bounced out of the bedside tables and the contents were strewn on the floor. The television had been well packed in its original packing but had bounced along the floor and was laying at the opposite end of the bed. I replaced everything and carefully packed the TV tightly into a corner. At this point, was I saving the new television or a box of trash? It was too hot to enjoy the stop. We ate quickly and carried on.

We drove straight through Jackson and stopped at the Movietown RV resort in Canton, Mississippi. Nothing “Movie” about it but it is a nice clean park pleasantly situated in the midst of farmland. I felt a bit down at missing the Natchez Trace Parkway and Vicksburg yet again. We have been this way four times now and have yet to explore this area. Oh well, one day I will make it a major stop on our trip, unhook and tour the area as we did in Tucson.
A spectacular sunset and a good night’s sleep would cheer us up again!

Day 3:

Once more we got up at dawn. Dan was bright eyed but I was a bit slow to surface. Once the morning preparations were done we were on our way. We headed north to Memphis cutting through that corner of Tennessee into Arkansas.

Sometime after noon, we stopped at a rest stop. Dan went right to sleep while I quietly got lunch prepared. It was 94 (34.4 C) inside when I went into the trailer and the thermometer outside quickly rose to 114 (45.6 C) outside in the sun and there was no shade! You can imagine what inside felt like in no time at all. No problem taking butter out of the fridge - it was ready to spread in seconds!!!

We had a flat, or rather shredded, tire on I-40 just before we left Arkansas. It was a hot wait for road service but I must say our insurance company in Canada really delivered! I called a 1-800 number. The young woman took my information, location and cell number. She went and arranged a provider then called me back with an update. Two employees of the "OZARKO Tire Service" arrived as promised, replaced the tire efficiently and we were on our way. The young woman called again to be sure we were safe, that we were back on the road and to let me know where to send the bill.

We ended the day in Sallisaw, Oklahoma. I had a wonderful time in the pool at the KOA RV park. It was wonderful to cool off and to visit with fellow campers. I put a good dinner on the table with a chilled glass of wine as a special treat. After this day, we deserved it!

Day 4;

We left Sallisaw after checking all the tires! Today is a straight run through Oklahoma to Amarillo, Texas.

We stopped at a Texas rest stop for lunch. Once more it was too hot to linger.

We were making more fuel stops than usual. With a stiff head wind, our fuel mileage was dropping steadily, 9 miles/gallon, then 8, then 7!!!!

We arrived at Amarillo much earlier than usual. It was fortunate because the park was very busy and was turning people away by the end of the day.

We had a quiet time. We decided on a light dinner as we were too hot and tired to prepare anything time consuming. The evening was cooler than we have had for a while. We went for a walk.

The sky was spectacular as the sun set. A huge cloud formation got our attention. We continued to watch it as the sun set. Then it broke up, surprisingly quickly, as the evening cooled.

There was a water park on the corner with one long drop designed like a skateboard park. Fall over the edge and then fly up the other side! Up and down, up and down until the energy is dissipated.

A sliver of the moon shone in the darkened sky.

Tomorrow, Colorado Springs!

Day 5;

We did not get on the road until 8:00 AM this morning. Now we are turning north on secondary roads. Here in the panhandle, the countryside is flat and sparse. There are cattle and oil rigs. In Walmart, older men still dress in straight legged jeans over cowboy boots, doffing their Stetson hats as they pass their neighbours.

We were surprised to see pronghorn antelope running across the land. Another unusual sight was a dead cow, swollen in the heat, feet in the air. I would not want to be the clean up crew for that one!

We crossed into Colorado and turned west again. We stopped for lunch at a State Park and actually enjoyed the visit. The day is still hot and sunny but not unreasonable. Yucca were in full bloom at the information center.

Now we were on the last lap. We reached I-25 and turned north to Colorado Springs. The GPS directed us right to Bear and Trish’s front door. We have moved in for a good visit!

Last Days in Florida

After we returned from Charleston, time seemed to speed up. What seemed like a long visit was now quickly coming to an end. There was still so much we wanted to do!

The Governor of Florida declared two free days of fishing for all visitors. We did not need a license. Off we went to Cape Canaveral National Seashore for two days on the beach. Abe showed me how to use a screen in the surf to get sand fleas for bait. I even got a two inch pompano - my contribution to the catch! Dan and Abe were surf fishing and caught whiting and croaker. None met their standards for keepers so after two days of fishing we had nothing to show for it but a good sunburn! I enjoyed being on the seashore. That really seemed like summer to me.

One day we got the call that the night blooming cereus was about to put on the yearly show. Abe and Frances have this unusual plant growing up their pecan tree. It only blooms once a year and it is only for one night. The last time we saw it there were well over a hundred blooms. What a spectacular sight! This time we could not be there for the big bloom but caught the late arrivals the following night.

We were invited out to our friend Dan’s home for a barbeque. Dan and I had worked together while I was in Lake Mary, Florida. It was the first time I had managed to fit in a visit to the Douglas Lake Ranch. Dan and Luke are seasoned hosts. We had a lovely evening touring the property, meeting the four legged residents and visiting good friends. I think Dan had been hiding the fact he was in the food service industry for a number of years. If I had known he was such an accomplished cook, I would have been on his doorstep much more often! We talked long into the evening. (sorry Luke - I know you had an early morning the mext day!) Then we got a little lost driving home. It was the latest night we have had for a while!

The last weekend we went for a drive with Abe and Frances to visit their son Kenny on Merritt Island. He works on a lovely estate growing avocado, mangos and lychee. He must have developed his green thumb alongside Abe! The grounds are beautiful, wonderful gardens looking over the Banana River. We met his employer and were invited in to visit. Evelyn made us very welcome. Looking over her kitchen bookcase, I was delighted to see we had many of the same cookbooks. We pulled them off the shelf and got involved sharing favourite recipes. While we were visiting, her housekeeper was busy in the kitchen, using Chinese eggplant in a stirfry that was delicious. I brought that recipe away with us as well!

We fit in last visits with friends as we could. That is always the hard part about leaving - saying good-bye. We did not get to see everyone we wanted to see but the day had come and it was time to go. We will be back….

Sullivan Island

I have not been blogging for some time. Life got in the way! I will do a quick catch up by continuing with our stay in Charleston. Then I will finish our stay in Florida. So you can join us on the trip home.

Touring Sullivan Island

Wednesday, May 26th;

We had a good night in our lovely accommodation. We decided to make a full breakfast of eggs and liver mush! Over breakfast we planned our day.

The valet brought our car around and we drove over the bridge we could see from the Battery Walk and stopped on Patriot’s Point to see the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV10). Abe and Frances had toured it before so Dan and I went on board alone. We walked down the pier toward the ship and took note of the submarine berthed in front of it. The USS Clamagore was dwarfed by the larger ship. Both ships sit on tidal flats and are not always fully afloat. The action of the sea and the sea life have taken a toll on the Clamagore. In many places her outer layer has been eaten away by rust.

We walked across the gangplank and climbed down the forward hatch into the forward torpedo room. We always hear how tight the quarters are in a submarine but you have to see it to get some understanding. Berths are crammed into spaces you would not think could hold them. And who could sleep there in the midst of all the activity? In the engine room, under and around the torpedo tubes, even being one of the officers does not give you much space. How do five or six men fit in that room at the same time?

The radio/sonar room seemed like a good place to hang out. It appeared to have less people and was comparatively quieter. The galley was impressive. Even with that great Hobart mixer, I don’t think I would want to cook the number of meals that must be required day after day. The officers mess was the nicest space on the ship. The enlisted men had a less formal space with four tables.

I only counted one toilet??? Could that be right? I read the instructions to use it. I suggest you would not want to be in a real hurry when you got there. There were two sinks and one shower. How many people were required to share this space?

We worked our way through two engine rooms. Apparently they were identical setups for redundancy. The differences were the names on the engines - “Speedy Gonzales” and “Mabeline”. Aft of the engine rooms we entered the aft torpedo room. Here the main space was taken up by torpedo tubes. Above and below them there were bunks hidden away like so many trundle beds. Imagine sleeping in such crmped quarters with people working around you, the din, the action, the smell of a bunk used by two other shifts of men besides yourself. “Hot bunking” would never appeal to me. You had to be tired!!!

We climbed out of the rear hatch onto the dock once more and moved on to the aircraft carrier. From a distance it was not as large as I expected. But standing on the flight deck, the size was more obvious. From there we had a view of Charleston and the Battery we had walked the day before.



We did a quick tour not staying to examine all that was on display. I climbed into a fighter to get the feel of the cockpit. A tight fit for anyone who was too much larger than I. With the canopy closed it would have been a little claustrophobic. It would be exciting flying such a small and probably responsive plane - even more so if someone was trying to shoot you!

We walked back to Abe and Frances. It was time for lunch so we drove across to . Frances had been told about a good seafood restaurant overlooking the water. We found the Boathouse and stopped It looked like a place that would be pretty lively on a weekend with many pleasure boats tied up in the marina.

After lunch, we carried on to Fort Moultrie. This fort has been armed from the Revolutionary war until World War II. Fort Moultrie on one side and Fort Sumpter on the other guarded the entrance to Charleston Harbour. Fort Sumpter is gone now, only a marker is left. Fort Moultrie is the remaining sample of history. We found the enlisted men’s quarters or rather the foundation of them. They were torn down by the men living in them so that the more sophisticated firepower of the civil war would not turn the wooden buildings into splinters that would kill and maim men inside the fort.

As we walked, the rain that had been threatening all day began. It was time to return to Charleston and the comfort of the hotel. Our last night here.

In the morning we headed south stopping briefly in Beaufort for breakfast. We drove out past the US Marine base at Parris Island. Abe told us what it was like when he arrived here as a teenager getting ready for World War II. A train brought them in and there was no way out until they finished their training. He made it through, hiking through the heat of a southern summer with heavy packs and no protection from the mosquitoes, deer flies and other voracious insects of such a swampy land. No wonder he became an Entomologist!

Now we were on the road back to Orlando. It was hot and tiring. We were all glad to get to our homes and relax once more.