#149 May 2017 A Time to be Together

Our family is scattered and we're often not able to spend special times together. We treasure the opportunities when they happen.

Mother’s Day weekend Dave and I drove to Edam. Danica stayed in Calgary to spend Mother’s Day with her mother, grandmother and great grandmother (who is 101 years old). Definitely a time to celebrate mothers.

Dave had a quick and special visit with Uncle Paul. Saturday evening Paul took us to the local hotel for a fundraising dinner. The steak was perfect and so was the company, which included just a few of Paul’s local friends.

Mother’s Day morning Dave treated us to breakfast at everyone's favorite diner in North Battleford. Dave left for home and we returned to Edam to rest before going out for a Mother’s Day supper. Paul’s friends treated us to a fabulous turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

In post #147 I talked about a lighthouse in Calgary. Well, there is one in Saskatchewan as well!

In 1988 Cochin Lighthouse was erected beside Jackfish Lake. It is operational and is a beacon for the surrounding area. There are no large ships or boats on the lake but the lighthouse is a point of reference for boaters and swimmers.

We continued onto Prince Albert where we visited my cousins Vicki and Murray. We always have a great time sharing our lives interspersed with lots of laughter.

The next day we started homeward. Snow geese were everywhere on the sloughs and in the fields.

We stopped in Wainwright to put flowers on my parent’s graves. This is now our only connection to my hometown.

Obed Summit is the highest point on the Yellowhead Highway. It is near Hinton and not even into the mountains yet.

We spent the night in Jasper and went down memory lane again. We walked past the apartment building that we lived in when we were married in 1972. The town of Jasper has grown in the residential areas but many of the businesses are much the same as when we lived there. It is still a small mountain town and we love it – even in the rain and cloudy skies.

The elk also call Jasper home and freely wander around the town site area.

West of Jasper the Lucerne cemetery can be spotted opposite the eastbound sign for 32km to Jasper. In 1913 the town of Lucerne BC was established as a terminal of the Canadian Northern Railway. The town was abandoned in 1924 but the cemetery can still be seen from Highway 16. We have stopped many times but now there are very few legible grave markers. Many were children who died in the Spanish Flu Epidemic in 1918.

Mt Robson is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies. At 3,954m or 12,972 feet it creates it’s own weather. We have seen the top of the mountain many times but not on this trip.

Our next night was spent at a Surrey hotel as the motorhome was still at BMT on the Island. I dropped Ralph at the ferry terminal to walk onto the 9:00 AM ferry. He picked up the motorhome and caught the noon ferry back to the Mainland. Thanks to great work by BMT our roof is now dry and safe for our future travels.

We set up our home for the summer and were ready to enjoy the sunshine and blue sky.

#148 May 2017 Family and Friends are Special!

From Calgary Ralph drove to Edam SK to spend time with brother Paul as he recovered from quadruple bypass surgery. Paul was already feeling better than he had in many years. However, Paul needed companionship and company to help him resist doing more than the doctor’s orders allowed. He misses Margo very much as she was his constant companion for 21 years of marriage. Other family members try to fill the void.

Ralph and Paul took in the activities and eating opportunities in Edam and spent time with Paul’s friends (most of the people in Edam!). They picked away at small household projects and enjoyed their “brother time”.

I stayed in Calgary with Dave and Danica for an extra ten days. It was a privilege to spend time with Danica almost every day for two weeks. One of the most special words in my world is “Grama!” There can never be enough snuggles and hugs, quiet conversations and craft projects with all of our grandchildren.

We had one day completely to ourselves. Danica escorted me to her favorite neighbourhood restaurant for lunch and told me about her activities and interests as we walked. In the nearby leisure centre there was a “Rock, Gem and Fossil” show. We had a great time looking at rocks and fossils many of which were made into jewelry and ornaments. Danica was very impressed that we didn’t spend any money but brought home lots of goodies! There were grab bags and samples for the kids as well as rock painting activities.

I really enjoyed watching Danica perform with her Rhythmic Gymnastics group during the Alberta Gymnastics Gymfest.

Danica is on the right of the photo. She did very well despite a sore knee for the previous few days. We were proud of her for completing the program.

During my days I met family and friends. My cousin Betty picked me up for lunch and we caught up on each other lives.

My sister Judy and I went for a day trip to Banff. It was a journey down memory lane as Ralph and I lived in Canmore from 1974 to 1978 while Ralph worked in Banff.

We stopped at the Lac des Arcs viewpoint where we were reminded about the history of the “rock industries” across the lake in the Exshaw area.

Over the years, this mountain of limestone has shrunk and then grown into the cement used in buildings, roads, dams, oil wells and countless other structures we seldom think about.

This tiny island in Lac des Arcs usually has a picnic table and flag but we have never seen anyone enjoying the spot.

As we enter the mountains this peak always catches our attention. Currently named Ha Ling Peak it was originally called Chinaman’s Peak. There are two similar stories about the origin of the name.

In 1896 Ha Ling was a cook at a Canadian Pacific Railway camp near the town of Canmore. He was bet that he couldn’t climb the peak and plant a flag on the summit in less than 10 hours. He reportedly started the ascent at 7am and was back down in time for lunch.

No one believed he had managed the climb so he subsequently led a party of “doubters” to the summit where he planted a larger flag which was visible from Canmore. Locals referred to the peak as Chinaman’s Peak in his honour until 1997 when it was renamed Ha Ling Peak.

The steep 3km trail gains 845m of elevation and is one of the most popular hikes in the area.

Cascade Mountain dominates the approach to Banff National Park.

The waterfall on the left always has running water or is a beautiful icefall. In early May it was both. It is also a popular climbing route.

Another side of Cascade Mountain draws your attention from Banff Avenue.

From Banff we drove 5km to Lake Minnewanka. The ice was getting soft and showing the beautiful green glacier fed colour.

On the upper mountain slopes the snow was melting and running down the cliffs.

Returning to Calgary Judy and I reminisced about the Three Sisters Mountain that was the view from our living room window when Ralph and I, Dave and Kari lived in Canmore.

 

Back in Calgary Karen introduced me to Reader Rock Garden, a little known park directly south of Stampede Park. It is tucked into the southeast corner of Union Cemetery.

William Roland Reader was the Superintendent for Calgary Parks from 1913 to 1942. He transformed this bare hillside into an internationally acclaimed garden. Reader used the Garden to educate people about the gardening potential of the prairies/foothills region of Alberta, particularly Calgary.

Reader started his own tree nursery and planted this very exotic, newly introduced, Colorado blue spruce.

A replica of Reader’s original cottage is now the Reader Garden Café. This view is from the verandah.

After a long cold winter, spring was just starting in early May.

A few spring flowers were searching for the sunshine.

I wish I had known about this garden when we lived in Calgary. I love gardening but it is very challenging dealing with the dry air and wind. 

#147 May 2017 The Stars Align!

We love our RV lifestyle and the flexibility of moving our home when we want. The other side is the fact that when our RV home needs time consuming repairs our home goes to the shop and we are “homeless” for a few days.

Owning an RV is like owning a home – there are repairs and maintenance required. Ralph follows some RV blogs and has learned many preventative maintenance tips. One specific tip about the roof suggested that if the roof feels soft and/or crunchy when walking on it there is likely a problem. We had a soft/crunchy problem!

Spring is a very busy time for RV repair shops. Snowbirds are bringing their units home with repairs and summer RVers are getting ready for their trips. Local shops would not be able to look at our roof until mid summer.

Sometimes the stars in our world align just right. When Ralph’s brother Paul had an angiogram in February he learned that he would need quadruple bypass surgery. The surgery was scheduled about the same time as we realized we would be “homeless” for several days.

BMT Group Services Ltd. came to our rescue again. Late April Ralph took the motorhome back to Sydney on Vancouver Island for the needed roof repairs.

At noon the same day he walked onto the ferry and returned to the Lower Mainland where I met him and we headed east. We would spend time with family in Calgary and then Saskatchewan while Paul recovered from surgery.

The roads were clear during our drive through the mountains but the snow was very close to the highway.

The top of the Rogers Pass was snow bound except for the highway.

Evidence of avalanches was very visible.

Notice the railway line in the bottom of the photo. Now look at the snow slide above the rail line. Trains face many challenges and dangers crossing British Columbia.

Near Field, BC a natural slide area was enlarged to facilitate the building of a tunnel to protect the trains.

 

Construction in the mountains is challenging, costly and potentially dangerous. 

We were fortunate to arrive in Calgary in time for Danica’s school play “Robin Hood: Naught in Nottingham”. It was a modern version of the classic story. Danica was a very realistic Merchant’s Wife who was being ignored by her wealthy merchant husband. A great deal of time and effort went into creating a very enjoyable play.

Danica’s loves being on stage and we enjoy watching her.

Ralph and I, Dave, Danica and Joey spent an entertaining afternoon at Telus Spark Science Centre.

This poster about vehicle idling is thought provoking.

Fear vs Risk

You think fear keeps you out of danger;
sometimes it holds you back from taking positive risks.

Danica overcame her fear of the Bed of Nails!

Danica and Joey made a movie together.

All ages must play and experiment.

Dave and Danica live in a condo beside a storm pond. The path around the pond is a very enjoyable one mile walk. I had trouble keeping up a good pace as I stopped each time to enjoy and photograph the red winged blackbirds that appeared to have a nest nearby.

There were geese, ducks, gulls and many other birds feeding in and around the water.

Then there were the pecking birds along the shoreline.

 

There are also goldfish which should not be in this storm pond but they have certainly thrived.

The complex next to Dave and Danica's is called Lighthouse Landing. The lighthouse looks out of place in the middle of the prairies but it is near water.

After a few days Ralph went to Edam to spend time with brother Paul. I stayed with Dave and Danica for a few more days.