Life After Travelling

Happy New Year, everyone! We wish you all the best in 2009. We hope you had a very happy Christmas. It's been a while since we blogged so we thought it was time to catch up on what's been happening. It's strange to not be moving from city to city and state to state. We actually miss it, but it's nice to stay in one place for a while, too. Same drill as before - most recent pictures at the top, so if you want to go in order start at the bottom and work your way up. December 31 - It's been a tough few weeks weather-wise - freezing temperatures and lots of snow. Ted has been whining about the cold and snow for 6 weeks now; even the ladies at the Blood Donor Clinic told him to "get over it and suck it up"! I must admit it will be nice to head back to Yuma in January; hopefully the roads will be better than this!

December 25 - We spent Christmas Day at Melanie & Clayton's with Chris and Clayton's parents, Rick & Lynda. It was wonderful to be with family for the holidays and Santa was very good to all of us.

December 13 - We had planned to come home for Christmas this year (no more lonely Christmas dinners for us!), but not until the first week of December so the length of our stay was extended by two weeks. As a result we bounced around between Mel & Clayton's, Chris', Ken & Joyce's, Jon & Connie's and a motel in Lethbridge, trying not to wear out our welcome at any one place. I'm sure we did though!! We had an early Christmas dinner at Ken & Joyce's (after spending the week before making krumkake, lefsa and buns). This time Mel & Clayton couldn't make it, nor could Dayna and Denille who were writing finals at the U of S. We had a "Chinese" gift exchange. Poor Brian - last time he got a pair of big, fluffy slippers and this year he ended up with a candle. Hopefully he'll get to choose last next year and get a gift more to his liking! November 25 - Six days after we moved into our home, we received word that Ted's mom had passed away. It came as a shock as she had been in good health for her age, but it was her time. We made the long trip home in two days. Mom's entire family was in Vulcan for her service (as were some of my family) and although the circumstances were sad, it was wonderful to have the whole family together. Ted's niece, Mariliz (on Chris' left) flew in from Korea and her sister, Dolores (on Chris' right) flew in from Toronto as did their parents, Don & Nancy. Unfortunately, the cousins seldom get a chance to be together. This is Ted's idea of a perfect yard - gravel, cacti, palm trees and bougainvilleas. No grass to mow or water. This is the view of the foothills from our driveway. On November 13, we became the proud owners of a furnished, single-wide mobile home on a large lot in the Foothills area of Yuma. It's nice to have a large kitchen and a spare bedroom and the lot is serviced so the 5th wheel can act as a guest house. Ted and I can actually be in separate rooms now which is something we didn't really appreciate until we shared a 34' trailer for 16 months. We hope to add a deck and carport in the near future. Sunset over Yuma. The Foothills area of Yuma has very few streetlights so the lights in the distance belong to the city of Yuma, San Luis, AZ and San Luis, Mexico. November 13 -We spent nearly a month at Don & Cathy's making use of the RV lot beside their house while we went house-hunting in Yuma. They arrived on the 10th and we celebrated their arrival by going on a weiner roast in the hills. It was a beautiful night with a full moon. They have great neighbours - Jim & Susan and John & Doris - who have introduced us to the ritual of the 4:00 happy hour - not that we needed much introducing! October 16 - We spent the night in a parking lot in Bullhead City, AZ looking at the casinos across the Colorado River in Laughlin, NV. October 15 - The day after the election we headed south to Yuma. We ran into snow in Montana and no matter how beautiful it looks, it was still cold and it was still snow and it is Ted's mission in life to avoid as much cold and snow as possible. October 11 - We spent Thanksgiving with Ken and Joyce and their family in Cabri. Chris couldn't be there because he was at a friend's wedding and Jordan, Brian and Shelly's daughter, went to a friend's after the delicious turkey dinner, but otherwise the gang was all there for the family picture! October 3 - Ted's mom's 89th birthday. We all gathered together to wish her a happy birthday and Melanie and Clayton shared the exciting news that they were expecting a baby in May and Mom was going to have another great-grandchild. She was not surprised - she said to Mel "I knew you were pregnant; I could tell by looking at you. You look tired". How she could tell "pregnant" tired from "regular" tired, I'll never know, but it was a wonderful day for all of us. September 29 - Back at the farm at Vulcan with harvest in full swing. As we watched the combine making its rounds, we were reminded of a trip we made to Lethbridge from Vulcan one day. We came around a curve and there sitting smack dab in the middle of the highway was a John Deere self-propelled combine whose wheel had fallen off. As we drove into the ditch to get around it, Ted sarcastically remarked "Nothing runs like a Deere", referring to the John Deere commercial. I laughed my head off (especially since I was raised on a Case IH farm). Sorry all you JD fans!! September 22 - Back in Alberta, we spent a few days with Chris in Wetaskiwin and went into Edmonton to have lunch with Ted's aunt and uncle, Anne and Rube. We then had supper with his cousin Rick and wife Leslie. Two delicious meals in one day - it's no wonder we gained weight this fall! Our last stop of the day was the Natural Bridge. There is so much to see and do in Yoho National Park - next time we visit we plan to spend a lot more time hiking. We had hoped to camp there, but the campgrounds were already closed for the season. Of course we had to take a drive into Field - so much has changed since we lived there 30 years ago. Most of our friends have moved on, but it is still one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen (on a sunny day, of course!!). We also had a good visit with Carla and John, who worked as a signal maintainer in Field until he retired the same time as Ted. A view of Mount Stephen from Takakkaw Falls. We also drove up to Takakkaw Falls, the second highest waterfall in Canada. Takakkaw means "it is wonderful" in Cree and it truly is! September 8 - After leaving Spruce Meadows, we spent a few days at a campground at Donald, just a few miles west of Golden. We visited our friends, Philip and Patti, while we were there and took the opportunity to hike to Wapta Falls, a hike we had not made since we left Field in 1978. It was just as beautiful as we remembered. The Masters is not just about horse jumping competitions. It also includes the TELUS Battle of the Breeds, the Festival of Nations (entertainment, restaurants and marketplace), the EquiFair and so much more. The grounds are absolutely spectacular and if you ever get a chance to go, we highly recommend it. Of course, the only place you'd see this sign would be at Spruce Meadows. I'm not sure who this competitor is, but the grace and agility of the horses and riders was amazing! Jan and I standing in front of the International Ring. September 3 & 4 - After hearing so much about the Masters at Spruce Meadows from our friend, from Saskatoon, we decided it was time to see it for ourselves. Jan stayed with us at a campground in Okotoks and we attended Thursday and Friday's events. It was awesome and what made it even more special was seeing Eric Lamaze, Ian Millar and Jill Henselwood, 3 members of the Canadian team who had just won silver medals at the Beijing Olympics. Eric Lamaze also won gold in the individual show jumping event at the Olympics. Clayton and Melanie - hard to believe it's been 3 years since their own wedding. Time sure flies by! Chris, Shelly and Shelly's brother, Philip, an RCMP stationed in northern Alberta. The proud parents of the bride with Shelly and Isaac, Shelly's son. August 31 - One of the highlights of the summer was the wedding of Shelly and Scott in Calgary. Shelly is the daughter of our good friends, Kim & Elvin. August 30 - After spending 3 weeks in Lethbridge after our long weekend with the kids at Kikomun Provincial Park, we moved on to the farm at Vulcan where we mowed lawn and cleaned out a few more outbuildings. Melanie, Clayton and Pilot came out for a visit and Clayton introduced Pilot to the neighbour's cow - a true meeting of the minds (or the noses, in this case)!!!

The Long Road Home

August 5 - Back to Lethbridge after our long trek to Alaska and back - 9500 miles, 1 territory, 1 state and 1 more time zone. It was a great journey that we will remember forever. Now it's time to take it easy for awhile so we'll be taking a break from blogging. We hope to head south shortly after Thanksgiving and we'll let you know when we start the blog again. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the summer. Take care and keep in touch!

Clayton's birthday - Rick and Lynda brought out pizza and birthday cake to celebrate his birthday. There was a fire ban on, but we lit all those candles anyway. Fortunately, his volunteer firefighting training kicked in and he managed to blow them all out at once. August 4 - A beautiful, sunny, hot day so we spent the afternoon at Surveyor's Lake. It, too, is part of Kikomun Provincial Park. Mel and Clayton don't look too concerned that Chris is going to try to tip their dinghy.

August 3 - We went into Cranbrook to have a quick visit with Jon and Connie and after supper we enjoyed a game of bocce ball in the field behind our campsites.

Our grand-puppy, Pilot Lynda

Melanie Chris

Ted and Rick August 2 - On July 29 we left Cranbrook and set up camp at Kalispell Campground in Kikomun Provincial Park on Lake Koocanusa. It's a good thing we went there on Tuesday because with the long weekend approaching, it was a very busy place. Chris, Melanie and Clayton arrived on Friday for my favourite weekend of the year - our annual Salken family August long weekend camp-out. Unfortunately Carla had to work and couldn't join us. On Saturday, Clayton's parents, Rick and Lynda, from Cranbrook came out to visit us and we went for a drive up the forestry road along the Bull River where we had a beautiful view of the mountains, the river and the valley.

Wild Horse Creek where gold was first discovered in 1863. Hydraulic water cannons were used to dislodge the gravel and make the gold easier to find. You can still see evidence of the hydraulic mining on the sides of the valley. We then continued on to the ghost town of Fisherville. In 1863 placer gold was found in Wild Horse Creek and thousands of miners, mostly from the northwestern U.S., flocked to the newly-formed town of Fisherville. At its height it consisted of 6 general stores, 4 saloons, several restaurants, a brewery and hundreds of miners' shacks and tents. When it was discovered that gold lay beneath the townsite, Fisherville was dismantled by the miners in order to gain access to the ground underneath. How greedy can you get?? Our first stop was St. Eugene Resort. Built in 1910, the St. Eugene Mission served as an industrial and residential school that instructed 5000 children from the Okanagan, Shuswap and Blackfoot Nations in addition to the area’s Ktunaxa Nation until its closure in 1970. The school is now the main part of the hotel complex of the resort which also includes restaurants, a golf course and the Casino of the Rockies.

July 27 - After enjoying a delicious brunch made by Ted's nephew, Jon and his wife, Connie, we went for a drive. Their dog, Hudson, was happy to go for a ride, too. July 25 - We caught the ferry from Balfour to Crawford Bay. Ferry personnel put us right in the front row in the middle so we had a great view as we crossed the lake and were also lucky to be first off the ferry. We then drove down to Creston where we picked up some delicious cherries and then continued on to Cranbrook. The really neat thing about Ainsworth Hot Springs is the cave. You enter on the right, walk through a steamy hot circular cave and exit on the left. The temperature in the cave is about 40C - only about 3 degrees warmer than the pool - but it feels much hotter due to the humidity. If you're really brave you can step into a small cold pool to the right of the cave entrance. Its temperature is only about 10C. Going from one to the other is like begging for a heart attack if you ask me! We soak in the Hot Springs at Ainsworth every chance we get. Of all the hot springs that we've visited, Ainsworth is definitely our favourite, although Liard Hot Springs is running a close second. July 24 - Yesterday we spent the day with Steve & Cindy Martin and their children, Danielle and Jared, in South Slocan, but unfortunately we didn't get a picture of them. Steve used to work with Ted in Field and still works for CP out of Nelson. Today we drove to Kaslo where we had a delicious bowl of borscht at the Treehouse Restaurant. We then walked down the street to the SS Moyie, "the Sweetheart of the Lake", the world's oldest sternwheeler.

Our next stop was Woodbury Creek Resort 3 kms north of Ainsworth Hot Springs. Don't you love the view of Kootenay Lake from the back window of our trailer? July 22 - We love the area around Osoyoos and you can get a great view from the top of the hill on the east side of town.

We were also lucky to see my nephew, Robert, his wife, Christine and their daughter, Courtney, who were visiting from Golden.

We enjoyed a great visit and a delicious turkey dinner with my brother, Allan and his wife, Anna. July 21 - After spending a couple of days in Chilliwack, we moved on to a campground in Oliver. From there we drove up to Kelowna. Of course, you can't drive that highway without seeing orchards, vineyards and Lake Okanagan.

July 18 - Hard to look anywhere in BC without seeing something advertising the 2010 Winter Olympics - even ferries.

Sunset on the ocean in Nanaimo Harbour On the Dinghy Dock, there is a small tank where you can fish for minnows. Daniel caught two while we waited for the ferry to arrive to take us back to shore. Proud mom, aunt and sis look on as Daniel displays one of his catches. While we were there, Jody's sister-in-law, Elaine and friends rowed their dragon boat over to the Pub after their practice. Caitlyn and Daniel got a chance to sit in a real dragon boat. Lisa and Jody The Dinghy Dock Pub at anchor off Good Point, Protection Island.

That evening Ted, Jody, Caitlyn, Daniel and I picked up Ted's niece, Lisa (who lives in Nanaimo) and took a 10 minute ferry ride to a floating restaurant in the Nanaimo Harbour called the Dinghy Dock Pub.

Dave & Jody own a BMW convertible and were kind enough to let us borrow it and go for a drive into Parksville. Doesn't Ted look right at home in a Beemer?? I've tried asking nicely again, but so far it isn't working! Ted may be agreeable to stopping to see totem poles (as long as they're close to the highway), but buying a convertible is in a whole different league as far as "asking nicely" goes. We also saw lots of deer in the area. As you can see, they were quite comfortable around people. As we walked down to the beach, we saw huge Douglas fir trees - makes Ted look tiny!! July 17 - On the 16th we left our trailer at a campground near Chilliwack and drove over to Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island to visit Ted's niece and family - Jody, Dave, Caitlyn and Daniel. Dave & Jody have bought this beautiful property, have drawn up plans for an incredible new home and are just waiting to break ground. Ted, Jody & I walked the property which, as you can see, has a great view of the ocean.

July 15 - Another beautiful rest area where we spent the night. This is the Lake of the Woods Rest Area just a few miles north of Hope. Hell's Gate - the airtram was closed for the day but we had a great view of the Fraser River. South of Spences Bridge the highway follows the Fraser River as well as two sets of railroad tracks - CP and CN. You can also see the havoc the pine beetle is causing. The "red attack" occurs one year after the beetles have laid their eggs in the healthy trees. The beetles cut off the water and nutrients to the tree causing them to turn red. The following year the needles fall from the trees in what is called the "grey attack". Harvesting the dead trees quickly recovers the value of the timber, removes fuel for wildfires and speeds regeneration, but unfortunately there is not enough money available to keep up with the infestation.

July 14 - From Prince George, we headed south on the Cariboo Highway (Hwy 97). The further south we went, the drier it became. It's no wonder they call Cache Creek the "Arizona of Canada". It is definitely desert-like.

July 14 - Quesnel, BC claims to have the World's Largest Gold Pan, but Burwash Landing, YK makes the same claim. I hate to start Gold Pan Wars, but I do think the one at Burwash Landing is bigger and has a nicer picture in the centre (you can see its picture in the "Seward to Carcross" post). The Quesnel gold pan display is rather boring, but does include a pick and shovel so bonus points for that.

Darren, Eric, Susan, Daniel and me.

July 12 - We spent a few days in Prince George getting new tires for the trailer, washing vehicles and resting up. While there we spent time with Eric & Susan Tallis and their sons, Daniel and Darren. Eric used to work with Ted in Field many years ago. They invited us for a weiner roast at Wilkins Regional Park and we spent a great day with them visiting and enjoying the sunshine as the Nechako River gently flowed behind us. Some of our best camping was at rest areas. This is the Dry William Lake rest area about 90 miles west of Prince George. A great view and we were right beside the lake! The town of Houston is proud to display the World's Largest Fly Fishing Rod. It is 60 feet long and made of anodized aluminum. The 21-inch fly is a fluorescent "Skykomish Sunrise" - hopefully that means something to those of you who fly fish. Smithers had several neat statues (including that of an alpenhorn player) scattered throughout the town, but this is probably its most famous.

The towns of Gitwangak and Gitanyow are noted for their authentic totem poles, however, we would have had to drive off the highway to see them and Ted was on a mission to go as far as possible as fast as possible so we didn't get to see them. However, after I asked nicely, he did agree to stop to see the totem poles in Moricetown, the oldest First Nations settlement in the province.

Lake Eddontenajon - one of many beautiful lakes along the Cassiar Highway.

July 9 - After spending the night at the Rapid Grizzly Rest Area near Dease Lake, BC, we woke up to fresh snow on the mountain across the road. Too close for Ted's comfort! The nice thing about rain - rainbows! This is the Cassiar Highway (Hwy 37) which took us 450 miles from the junction of the Alaska Highway and Hwy 37 to Kitwanga where it meets the Yellowhead - Hwy 16. It, too, was a narrow, hilly, winding road with no passing lanes or centre lines and a few stretches of gravel. This was one of the few straight stretches. July 8 - Watson Lake, the second time around - it looked as if even more signs had been added in the past month.