Homeward Bound

We finish our vacation back in Frankenmuth, Michigan - treating ourselves to a night in a real bed before we head to Burlington. We have a lovely deck overlooking the river again and sleep like logs. There is a large mirror in the room - yikes! My eyebrows are scary, my legs and arms are dotted with the tracks of those nasty mosquitoes, my pedicure polish is chipping off and I am having a hard time finding clean clothes to wear. I guess it is time to go home! The van is still leaking oil, so every so often Rip checks the level and adds more juice. The Westy thinks it is time to go home too! We are grateful for this time to experience so many amazing moments and sights, and God's creation never seemed quite as spectacular. We resound with so many others that it is good to go away, but also very good to go home. We are a couple of days ahead of schedule so I think of the delicious thought of relaxing for a day and just staying home to unpack, do laundry and organize. Yes, indeed, there's no place like home!

Orange Is The New Black

It is chilling in the mornings so I am wearing my warm, orange sweater to prepare to leave at 7 am or earlier. Orange is a good colour for mornings - bright and ready to pop your eyeballs open just a little wider. On the other hand, orange is a sign of warning - pay attention! We are heading across the US on highway 2 - a small mostly 2 land road through some really interesting towns. It is fast through Montana and North Dakota, but when we get to Minnesota and Wisconsin things slow down. There are big orange signs with "Road Work Ahead" or "Right Lane Closed Ahead" or "Detour; Road Closed". In Ironwood, we have to go on a big detour that takes us through town and back to hwy 2 which takes about 25 minutes. You can't be in a hurry when it comes to road work, and I begin to groan when I spot a big orange sign in the distance. Orange is the new black! I am reading the book by this name by Piper Kerman. It is a memoir - the story of the year she spent in a women's prison, in Danbury, Connecticut. With a university degree, a good career, a fiancé and a loving family, Piper is 10 years beyond her experience with a woman who convinced her to smuggle drugs and who when caught years later gave Piper's name as one who was involved as well. She meets women from all walks of life, all dressed in prison orange and her story offers a real and rare look into life in prison. Orange is the new black - it's the orange I look forward to each night before turning out the light.

Stagecoach Stops

We are travelling across the state of Montana on highway 2, a two lane, perfectly paved and flat highway that follows the railroad. We see lots of trains and they are long ones mostly 100 cars or more, mostly hauling oil. Little two bit towns dot the highway; almost all of them have a Stagecoach Gas Station and a Lucky Lil’s Casino attached. The buildings are small and old and there are lots of weathered outhouses with the sliver moons and stars on the door! Most of the motels are closed down; you get the impression these towns were happening places “back in the day” but with all the abandoned farms and houses lots of people have moved into bigger places for more amenities and jobs. The towns feature signs inviting truckers to stop for a rest, a coffee or a shower. These Stagecoach towns are right out of the old western movies complete with the characters that you see ambling down the main street to check out the latest gossip. On to North Dakota – the clock goes forward 1 hour now so we keep motoring until the next Stagecoach Stop that calls our name. The weather is perfect and visibility is remarkable; we get out of the van a couple of times just to take it all in.

Looking For Tuesday On Monday!

We arrive in Minot, North Dakota. It is getting late so we found a campground with a parking spot by the river. Rip checks us in and ask the owners where to eat. They tell him about a place that has “the best chicken in the world”. My mind imagines a tasty Swiss Chalet kind of chicken only better with a nice salad. We have had 5 “van” meals by now; last night it was a take-out salad and some devilled eggs from the Flying J Gas Station. We ate it in the van to the musical buzz of those mosquitoes I chatted about earlier. I am hoping for a different kind of experience tonight. Rip kind of gets the directions and after a couple of twists and turns we find a shopping plaza. I say – “I don’t see a restaurant”. He says, it is called the Market Place. It is a grocery store. He goes in to buy some of the chicken. I am skeptical and suggest that perhaps he can try the chicken and then we go somewhere else. He opens the chicken and pulls out one piece; it looks a bit like Kentucky Fried. Underneath the piece is a pool of greasy oil; even he is not impressed. We ask if there is a Ruby Tuesday in town. There is! We like Ruby Tuesday because they have a delicious salad bar with lots of different greens, veggies, toppings, various other salads, etc. We wind our way in and out of streets; waiting for a train to pass (they are long in these parts!), getting lost then finding the road only to be going the wrong way. Finally we turn around – it just must be really hard to find a Tuesday on a Monday! .

Stagecoach Stops

We are travelling across the state of Montana on highway 2, a two lane, perfectly paved and flat highway that follows the railroad. We see lots of trains and they are long ones mostly 100 cars or more, mostly hauling oil. Little two bit towns dot the highway; almost all of them have a Stagecoach Gas Station and a Lucky Lil’s Casino attached. The buildings are small and old and there are lots of weathered outhouses with the sliver moons and stars on the door! Most of the motels are closed down; you get the impression these towns were happening places “back in the day” but with all the abandoned farms and houses lots of people have moved into bigger places for more amenities and jobs. The towns feature signs inviting truckers to stop for a rest, a coffee or a shower. These Stagecoach towns are right out of the old western movies complete with the characters that you see ambling down the main street to check out the latest gossip. On to North Dakota – the clock goes forward 1 hour now so we keep motoring until the next Stagecoach Stop that calls our name. The weather is perfect and visibility is remarkable; we get out of the van a couple of times just to take it all in.

Dancing Through Montana

We are driving toward Montana from Alberta. The land is flat and the road is straight. We are on cruise control and if there was a “steering control” you could set it and just let it ride. “I can see for miles and miles”; the song comes to mind here. There are a few oil drills and not much else. The tall grasses on the plains are dancing in the wind; it looks like a big green sea with little white caps rippling for miles; it is quite amazing. We stop at a gas station (warning: next gas service 133 km – we have learned!). It is so remote here that big signs say “you must give your driver’s license to the cashier before filling up”!!! That’s a new one! I guess with no one else around some folks have filled up and taken off into the sunset. We are approaching Milk River, Alberta where we will cross into Sweet Grass, Montana. Do you get the picture?? Yes, the river looks like a pale chocolate milk and we cross it several times as we travel. We stop at the Duty Free and the 2 bored-looking clerks are sitting outside at a picnic table putting in time in case they get a customer. We are the only ones around! The line up at the border crossing is unusually hectic – there is 1 car in front of us! Ha! As we approach Shelby, Montana we find a municipal park with camping spaces and washrooms. I get out of the car to pick up the envelope for the whopping $10 charge for the night – and I start dancing. Mosquitoes swarm me from head to toe! I shut the door fast and for the next hour we are on the hunt for the little beggars. We are both dancing the “bug jig” now. During the night the van starts dancing – there is a wild wind storm with rain and you can feel the vehicle rocking. It was quite the production. In the morning I decide to have a shower which was wonderful. Lots of hot water and clean washrooms. But I am in for another dance. As I start brushing my teeth the army of nasties starts again. I do a dance called “kick, kick, brush, brush, kick, kick, brush, brush” as fast as I can and get out of there. We have been dancing since we arrived in Shelby, and our last dance put us back on the road early – I carry the “After Bite” in the glove box now. The Itch Dance is the worst on of all

Give Me Oil In My Lamp!

As we pack up from our hotel after "the kids" go to the airport, I am looking up a church to visit this morning in Calgary. Then Rip tells me that the van is leaking oil and we may not be going anywhere. We find a deserted parking lot; he gets under the van lying on a Thermorest pad. Instead of going to church I sing to myself, "Give Me Oil In My Lamp" - what can you do? We finally leave - there is still a small leak; we find a Canadian Tire to buy some oil. We are off to Black Diamond to visit Corey and Cheyanne and family. Praying for oil in our lamp all the way!

Homeward Bound

As I write this post I am watching the plane take off to take Jen and Przem home; Calgary to Hamilton which is nice. The golfers are strutting their stuff in the foreground; I guess this is what lots of people do on a Sunday morning! Who would know? It is sad to see our young people go - they are full of excitement and ideas and we have had an amazing time with them. We are so lucky to have great family. We will pack up soon and head toward home ourselves; stopping in Turner Valley just south of Calgary to visit the son of Rip's friend Ron Caton and meet their brand new son. Then we will cross the border again and head east - hoping to be home by Friday or Saturday at the latest. Hopefully I will be able to add a blog or two as we go. Today is Christine and Vick's first wedding anniversary and we are thinking of them and missing our wee Anouska whose cheeks are filling out like a chipmunk with all the food it needs for winter!! On our way.....

What Are The Chances?!!

After a very full day at the Stampede and all the action we are ready to find a spot for some dinner. Jen has in mind a place where she has a reservation for 9 pm but we are ready to have a break at 7 pm so head over there. What are the chances? 1. There are hundreds of restaurants near the Stampede - we pick Model Milk. 2. We have a reservation for a table inside, but we are early and can only have a table on the outside patio right by the sidewalk on the street. 3. We are ready to go, but Przem says he would like another beer and we are not in a hurry so we lounge on the patio a little longer in the sunshine, watching the street characters. 4. Along comes a nice looking dude who stands and looks at us - what are the chances? It is Shawn Dailey from Aldershot - he went to school with Christine from kindergarten to grade 13 and he has been like part of our family in that group of friends for over 30 years!!! His sister and Jen were best buddies through high school. We cannot believe it. Shawn is stunned too; he thought he recognized Rip first then saw the rest of us and put it all together. I thought to myself, "this guy looks like Shawn but it can't be". He invites us to his condo nearby and open a bottle of Prosecco to celebrate. Shawn move to Calgary for work 4 years ago. He was back in Burlington in May for his parent's 50th wedding anniversary and we didn't see him then even though his parents live 2 km from us, but here we are in Calgary and our paths connect. What Are The Chances??!!

Yahoo!

The first thing we do at the Calgary Stampede is buy cowboy hats - all of us! It really gets you in a mood and the place is alive with people and music. There are deep fried Oreos and chocolate bars, bison burgers, Cokes with your name on it, huge, wild rides at $40 per person, live music and more. We have tickets for the rodeo which is amazing. The RCMP musical ride involved 33 horses with riders who do amazing moves like Wagon Wheels, Cloverleaf, Carousels, Revolving Doors and more. There is a family with a young son who has a front row seat from the "Make A Wish" project. The whole thing is very moving. Our seats are amazing and the show lasts 3 hours - bucking broncos, lasso contests, drum corps bands, pony races, and so much more. In Canada we learn that the proper response to cheer the contestants on is "Yahoo" not "Yee Ha". Our American friends use the latter and apparently we Canadians like to be different! There are some young folks from Saskatchewan in front of us and they explain some of the rules for the bronco and lasso challenges. It makes you proud to be Canadian at this event and we feel like we are westerners by the end of the day - Przemek was born in Edmonton so he is one already. Yahoo!

Calgary Here We Come!

We are off to Calgary for the Stampede. We leave the mountains and the landscape becomes flat and frankly boring compared to what we have experienced. Three of us snooze in the car but it is only 1.5 hours from Banff. Our hotel room is a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom suite with a kitchen and living area - it is perfect! The hotel clerks all have cowgirl hats on and western music is playing We are in the mood! We take a drive to find the Stampede grounds. We decide to pass on entering for the evening because we are all pooped out. We find out that the grounds do not open until 11 the next morning which is good - no one is in a hurry in Calgary! Our hotel is near the airport and oddly enough our room overlooks a golf course with the planes taking off and landing in the distance. I guess you and "fly and play" in Calgary

Hot!

We have another day in Banff. Our morning visit is to the hot springs - hey, we arranged that for the morning after a campsite; we have hot water and a soak at least! The reviews said to get there early before the buses and yes that was a great idea. There are just a few people there, and the view is beautiful from the hot spring. You can see where the hot water comes tumbling down the mountain, steaming along the way, and registering at about 40 degrees C. Otherwise it is just like an outdoor, public pool, not the natural hot spring that Rip and I found 20 years ago. We had to blaze our way down a logging road that time; the road is now closed which is too bad. After our soak we head over to the gondola the goes up Sulphur Mountain. Jen and Przem brave it up on foot - 1 hour and 15 minutes of hard, steep climbing. You can see the path on the gondola ride and it winds under the lift a few times. We ride up with a couple from San Francisco whose cultural heritage is India. We keep the guy chatting as he is afraid of heights and trying not to look at the view - which is spectacular! We find out about their work and take their email address - new friends! After our ride we sit on the back deck of the Banff Springs Hotel, again with mountains all around us and beautiful flowers. The hotel is like out of a Victorian novel and there is a harpist playing Pachelbel's Canon in the lobby dressed in a long Victorian gown. We notice that there are 3 weddings later in the day and another 3 for the next day. The place is huge and we decide that it is the perfect place for a honeymoon. It is hot on the patio and we have an expensive but delicious lunch - well worth it. The whole day was hot from beginning to end!

Start the car!

We loved our night at the Rim Rock hotel. From there we left to visit Moraine Lake where Jen and Przem rented a canoe for a paddle around the lake, surrounded by beautiful mountains capped in snow. Then we were off to Lake Louise which was as beautiful as it was 20 years ago. On our way back to Banff we took the "scenic drive", and suddenly saw many cars pulled off the road on either side. Oh well, "just another elk or caribou" we thought, but no, there was a mama black bear with her two cute cubs, grazing and oblivious to all the attention they were getting. I crossed the road to get closer to them; Jen yelled out, "Momma, come back!" as she thought I was getting too close. The mother bear gave me a little "get out of here" look and I scurried back to the van saying "start the car" to Rip. A little reminder of that great commercial from Ikea where the Mom picks up so many unbelievable deals she runs to the car and tells her husband "start the car!". We are started the car many times on this trip - with amazing deals and results!

Best Wine Story Ever!

Last night the four of us shared a bottle of wine to remember! Last Christmas I received a beautiful bottle of vintage wine (read "expensive"!). It was from a friend as a thank you. I put it in our wine rack to save for a special occasion. A couple weeks later we were invited to friends for dinner and I was in a hurry to get out the door (what else is new?), and decided to take a bottle of wine. I went to our wine rack and quickly pulled out a bottle of red, never thinking that this was the one!! We took it with us and as our friends opened the bag I suddenly realized my mistake - there was no way I could say "Oh, sorry I wasn't supposed to bring this expensive wine, I mean to bring a cheap one - sigh". We came home and decided to google the wine - it was worth $39.95. I said to Rip that I hope they enjoy this lovely bottle, and I bet they won't even know how exceptional, meaning, expensive it is. Oh well, life is too short to worry about this. Just before we left for our trip, these friends came over to our house for dinner. They handed me a bag with a bottle of wine, saying they don't know what it is like, but hoped we enjoy it. You guessed it! They brought back my gift!! What were the chances of that?Needless to say I did not open it at dinner that night but set aside to share with Jen and Przem on our trip. Boy, did we enjoy every sip - how come it always tastes better when you know it is expensive? I guess because it is truly great wine. But I'll be back soon to my $9.95 specials, but treasure the best wine story ever!

Columbia Icefields

We decide to walk up to the Columbia Icefields after seeing the hoards of people waiting for buses for the tour. Rip decides to putter around the Westy - that's his excuse! I stop at the various spots on the way with posted information - they are so smart - with this steep and long hike that feels almost straight up, I am glad to stop and pretend to be fascinated with the information when in reality I am feeling my age and catching my breath! Part of the challenge is the altitude - 6,228 feet to be exact. I make it with a loud "hurrah!". I am in for a shock. There are markers showing where the Icefield was from 1920 to the present. I stand beside the marker for 1992, 2 years before Rip and I were there last and it is a LONG way to the edge of the icefield now. If this is not a wake up call for all of us I don't know what is. It is predicted that in 10 years the Icefield will disappear and who knows what ramifications this will have. Not good. We travel on to Banff and check into our fancy, shmancy hotel - our treat for the trip, the Rim Rock. The views are spectacular and the king size bed feels like a football field after our van bed. Good night!

Top Chef, Jasper!

Canada Day in Jasper is amazing! After our time at Maligne Lake and Maligne Canyon (where Rip and I had a nap while the ‘young people’ hiked for 2 hours!) we set out to our campsite. We picked up some groceries in town for dinner – our first campfire dinner! As we were getting things ready, several families of caribou came sauntering on the edge of our campsite – little ones following big ones – it was amazing. They were coming to have a drink at the stream that went by on the back Jen and Przem’s tent. They were almost close enough to touch, although we kept quiet – well, almost! Przem put the corn cobs in a bag with some holes in it and set I t in the stream for the Glacial Infused Corn. At one point he called in a loud, commanding whisper, “don’t you go near my corn”!! They sniffed around it but left it for us; not that we would have interrupted them if they decided to nibble on our dinner or inhale all of it! The people next to us had Canada Day lights and flags and got right into the spirit of the day – well, to be honest there was something going on there that wafted over toward us that might not fit the rules of Parks Canada, but we said not a word. Dinner – our Master Chef, Przem, created a masterpiece out of our ingredients – potatoes, corn, steak, shrimp, onions and raw veggies. Here is his creation: Glacial Infused Corn, lightly grilled in foil with garlic butter and salt Idaho (or Washington?) potatoes, foil wrapped and hot coal baked Onions with secret spices sautéed in foil Char Grilled T-bone steak, dusted with Montreal Steak Spice Jasper Mountain Giant Tiger Shrimp toasted with sea salt served with Chili Sauce Yum! He surely won the Master Chef – Jasper award for his ingenuity and delicious results! We go to sleep with the memory of the caribou and the sound of the stream dancing in our dreams.

Insurance Plan

Insurance Plan in Jasper We have spent the night in our KOA campground in Jasper/Hinton – okay, it is 4 km from Hinton and 90 km. from Jasper. How deceiving is that to call it the Jasper/Hinton KOA campground! We are still ticked about the ad in Woodall’s campground book – I feel a Trip Advisor comment coming on and Jen is going to write it. We will be kind – it is a lovely spot BUT it is not near Jasper and there is no camp fire spot in the whole park. When I booked the campground the National Park had no availability for July 1st. So I booked the 2 nights at the KOA and decide it is like insurance – you buy it “just in case”. We come back into Jasper on July 1st wearing our Canada t-shirts and jackets and watch the raising of the flag and join in the singing of O Canada. It was enough to bring a little tear to your eye. I have to admit that there were not many people singing O Canada and I have to rationalize this as we Canadians are very polite and I am wondering if people were just listening to the soloist and letting her have the floor. I sure hope so as our singing was very pathetic. I can’t wait to see the pictures of our grand-daughter, Anouska, with her new Canada onesie! We have breakfast at an Earl’s restaurant in Jasper on the second floor balcony overlooking the town and the snow-capped mountains. It is breath-taking. It is great to travel with 4 people; at least one of us sees something the others do not see. Rip spotted this café balcony. Speaking of seeing – on our way back to Jasper, the 50 minutes ride from Hinton, we see an amazing elk by the side of the road with the biggest rack of antlers you can imagine. We pull over with the other 20 vehicles to get a photo. Then we see cars pulled over again – this time a group of mountain goats – pure white and scurrying up the slopes – amazing. Przem chats up a Parks Canada employee in Jasper and finds out the people in the campsites check out by 11 and we should go to the Whistler campground around 12 noon to see if we can get a campsite there, probably from a cancellation – a few minutes from Jasper. We follow instructions and the campground has lots of space – amazing. We find a campsite on a stream – beautiful with a Fire Pit – yeah! There is lots of room for our tent and van and a scenic picnic table – all for less than the price of our KOA. Alas, I have paid for our KOA for the 2 nights; and the 1 night I consider insurance. At least this time I am able to rationalize this as good insurance. It would cost us money and time and frustration to travel back and forth to Hinton – and the image of a campfire tonight is in all our heads. Some insurance plans are truly worth it!

Give us a Hint!

It will be a full day of driving from Kelowna to Jasper - about 9 hours. Every turn we are gazing out the windows, wow, wow, wow!! Rip and Przem take turns driving; Rip is giving Przem instructions just like he does with me, so I am consoled that he is just a "back seat driver" in the front seat when he is not at the wheel. Give us hint, Alberta! We find that the road signs are few and far between, and we somehow missed the turn to Lake Louise for gas and we go a long, long stretch with no sign of gas coming up. Oh no, not this again!! Finally we get to a place called "The Crossing". The gas here is $1.9299 per litre - can you believe it? But they have a monopoly - Jasper is still a couple of hours away and there has been no gas station for a long time. I have booked a campsite at Jasper/Hinton KOA for 2 nights! Now you would think that this campsite would be reasonably close to Jasper, would you not? And the advertising says that it is 13 km from the East entrance to Jasper National Park! We get to Jasper; it is 9 pm. we find a spot for some dinner - and we ask our waitress how far it is to Hinton. She says 45 minutes to 1 hour!!! Really?? We are ready to quit, but press on. Rip says we will be setting up the tent in the dark; but we are amazed. We arrive at the campsite at 10:45 pm; the sun has not yet set. We sit around our picnic table sharing a nice bottle of wine from Mission Hill with candles glowing (there is no fire pit). We go to "bed" around 12:30 am and there is still a glow in the sky. We think we might pack up camp and look for another spot tomorrow closer to Jasper - we like the KOA campground, but really, give us a hint that it is a long haul from Jasper where we want to be!!

The Mission

It is Sunday so we are off to The Mission. What a beautiful setting for a gathering! Set on a hillside overlooking Lake Okanagan, I thought West Plains was the most amazing setting to worship God but this one is also spectacular. It is starting to rain and people do not seem bothered. Lesley says you can tell who is from British Columbia - they are so used to rain they don't bother with umbrellas!! The tourists have them in their bags, ready to go! There are lots of people chatting up a storm; friendly and welcoming. The speaker is awesome; telling great stories and educating as well. It is time for communion and wow - the elements never tasted so good. They give us a tour of the place and invite us to come back again soon. We have been at Mission Hill winery - a new way of doing church this Sunday!