#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.