#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.