Saturday - July 30th

I've spent the last three days unpacking boxes, still not done, and doing laundry. Tonight the last hour or so has been getting the posting done from before. I leave tomorrow to meet up with Joseph and Salvador. Of course, Jacquelynn and Victoria will be there to share the laughs and good times. Vikki has been exercising to get ready for Hawaii; I have been eating. I think I have gained back at least the 10 pounds I lost before I left. Oh well, exercise when I come back, just a bit more tanned.

Good night.

Tuesday- July 26th Home

This is the original message I wrote for Tuesday, but was unable to post. 

This morning is Tuesday, and the clouds have cleared here in Orem, Utah. I have to say the hotel stay went from bad to worse, just my luck. I opted to skip the hotel breakfast and cross the parking lot to eat at IHop. Entering began simply enough, but once I was ready to be seated, I turned and ran into a former colleague - Celleste Tally, from Helmers. Wow! Small world! Pancakes and updating emails then on the road. It was a LONG day of driving!!!! I had rain storms most of the way, so the top was up most of the day. Just outside of Las Vegas, the sun came out and the temperature was near 100, so the convertible went down! It was a relatively quick drive - texting before crossing into Victorville assured me we were all in town for tacos - 6:30 PM La Cabana. It's good to be home. :-)

Vegas from the freeway, as I was driving - not so good, one handed. 

Monday - July 25th Montana - Wyoming - then Utah

This was the original message I wrote Monday evening when trying to update. 

NO PICTURES - I'M TIRED!!!    It's Monday, and I'm heading south. I was in Great Falls, Montana this morning. After sleeping in until 7:30 AM, I was up and out to get coffee. No Tim Hortons in the area, butI did find a Starbucks. With great gas mileage on my Mini i had enough fuel to make it all the way down just south of Butte. Montana. I did make a bit stop in Helena, To visit the bakery that I found on my way up. It was great, almond biscotti - yummy. I couldn't resist the fresh bread, so I bought bouelle? I'm taking it home, so I hope Joseph and Vikki  will be there to help eat it. Once I navigated out of Helena, it was easier than I had thought; I was back on the 15 heading south. 

   Just outside of Twin Falls, along the Missouri Rover, in Dearborn, Montana, there were dream houses! I couldn' believe the views of the river and the surrounding mountains. While there weren't large evergreens or pines, there were shrubs, and it wasn't completely brown - like home. As much as I like the ranch houses, I couldn't  help but admire the log cabins, quaint and homey. It looked like these people get regular visits from not only the bunnies butte deer as well. There was fencing, maybe 5' high surrounding the gardens. These were gardens that were as big as a garage, bet Donna would love them!

      I stopped just as I was dropping into Butte., Montana to see the scenic views - wow! I can only imagine the settlers coming into this valley and thinking God had sent them specifically to it. The view is breathtaking! interesting fact that Butte began as a gold mining town, but is kown for the million sof dollars worth of copper coming out of the area. After strip mining and big hole? mining became the method of choice, BUtte struggled to compete. It is however a national landmark and is a small town area. 

Navigating from the gas stations back on to the freeway can be a bear with all of the construction! Wow! Dump trucks everywhere!!! I guess this confirms the thought that the work force is based on construction- public roads. Sadly, I saw a beautiful doe foraging for food in the broad daylight, way too close to the freeway. :-( I haven't seen any deer today, other than the 1 I saw this morning. Strange - 

    Once I left Butte,it's been drive- drive- drive. I has stopped in Idaho Falls, Idaho for a real meal. Since I have left Barb and her family in Canada,  I have had coffee and junk food- Dad's Cookies. Maybe the starvation ride back will help me shed the excessive pounds I am sure too have put back on this trip?And I still have another 2 days here and 8 in Hawaii -eek!!!  The road is long and borin, even worse going it solo. Luckily, periodic reception permits me to check email and text messages from friends at home. Lun-Din as Samantha called it, is nearly doner here at Olive Garden, another favorite of hers. I'll have spaghetti for dinner once I settle tonight. 

   I wish the rest of the evening would have gone as well as the rest of the trip. I managed to request a room this morning, at the Hampton Inn, so I thought. Using their book, and contacting their number in Ogden, Utah, my reservation was sent to some town further south. Well, I have finally arrived after rain delay and more road work. I'm waiting for a microwave to be brought up, so I can heat my dinner. Yuck! 

   Well, like my boys say, after some sleep, tomorrow will be better. 

Sunday - July 24th

I didn't get up as early as I had hoped; Barb beat me up. Add to that, she had to drive along side of me down to the main road beside her aunt and uncle's house or I was sure to be delayed by another hour or so.

I said my good-byes and headed south, towards home. 

Barb's dad, George gave me detailed directions and she colored the map for me, so I was to reach Great Falls by evening. I did really well with time, until I had to navigate through both Edmonton and then Calgary. Both times I had to stop for a cup of coffee and a look at the  map, oh - and a few inquiries with the work crews who were great at redirecting me the correct detours.

Saturday - July 23rd Last day in Goodsoil

The rest of the blog will have to be updated tomorrow. I'm home and was lucky enough to meet with friends tonight for tacos. It's good to be back in Acton. :-)

I'm finally getting these last few entires done, as I am leaving tomorrow to meet up with my boys in Hawaii. Its good to be home in Acton!!!

Barb was hosting a large grasshopper that seemed to think this was a good place to rest. Eeekkkk

I was busy TRYING to catch a fish. I hate fish, so luckily, I just threw the line and lure, but caught nothing. I did get a few large jerks, which I recall meant there was fish watching the line. 

Friday - July 22nd in Goodsoil

Today's Friday and it's raining. While it's been raining off and on for a few days, we've been able to get out and do things when it's stopped. Today we worked on the garage  flooring before it began to rain. We've been shoveling dirt put to level the floor and then Barb's dad, George, is going to have sand delivered and spread. I'm not sure when the walls go up, but it should look great. I asked for a picture of the finished project - maybe Spring? 

Once we were done with the work for the day, we showered and headed out to Cold Lake. I believe the lake is north east of the town, Goodsoil. We stopped for hot chocolate at Tim Horton's and then the few things we needed to get the picture hung and more yarn to start another project. Barb wants to learn to crochet, so we're getting her yarn and a hook, too. 

After passing through the town, we headed out to the lake for our lunch. We found a cute eatery, right at the dock. It was designed with retro things, great things we laughed about and remembered with smiles

After passing through the town, we headed out to the lake for our lunch. We found a cute eatery, right at the dock. It was designed with retro things, great things we laughed about and remembered with smiles. Part of the lunch was Poutine, a traditional snack. It was yummy!!!! calories for sure. It included french friers covered with a thin layer of brown gravy and cheddar cheese.

 Because it was so cold, we went for the soup, and that was great, too. A short walk along the dock to check out the teperature of the water was next and ultimately, a stop into a gift shop there that was beautiful. The houses along the shore front were adorable cottages that served as bed and breakfast businesses, and  looked out on to the lake. We learned that the lake does actually freeze during the winter, closest to March, when it hits negative 40 degrees. I've decided this is NOT a place for me to live during the winter. 

Back to Goodsoil and some down time there at  George's house before the call came to remind us about  "steak Night," in town. At the restaurant/ bar where Drew works, they have steaks for dinner  on Friday night. We hadn't arrived back early enough to beat the oil guys in, but we managed to  get a table and space to cook our steaks, too. It seems you order steaks and Drew gives you your raw, Alberta beef steaks and garlic bread. You take it back to the grill and cook it how you like. While you wait, you can help yourself to salads and bake potato with the toppings. Dinner was great. 

Just before we left, Drew showed up with his computer,so I borrowed it for  a few mintues to check email. Then we were off to George's place by the lake. 

I'm getting a bit better with directions, but I am still not sure I'm going to make it out of here and not get lost! There are very few signs. Luckily, Barb says all I need to do is knock on the closest farm house, and they'll help me. Just as we were turning into the area, we saw a doe and her 2 fawns. The babies had little white spots, just like Bambi. 

With the rain still coming down, Barb and I decided to pack it in for the night. A short crocheting lesson was all Barb coulde handle. She was off to read and get some sleep. 

Thursday - July 21st in Goodsoil

Today's Thursday. the house was quiet until nearly 10:30 am, so I took advantage of the clear weather and went on the balcony to enjoy the views and knit. I was up until after 2 am again, crocheting something new I learned from Carrie. It was so peaceful with the trees lightly blowing in the breeze,  and the magnificent  view of the lake, I could see why Barb says this is her little piece of heaven on Earth.

Once everybody was up, we spent a bit of the morning working on the list of jobs Barb's dad left for us. Yesterday's work was easy! We speckled, sanded and wiped up the dust. Today, on the other hand, required some muscles, which I have very little! We  were to remove the soil that filled the inner section of the garage foundation, so there was a 2" clearance. It was a slow start, as grass had started growing in the area since there has been so much rain. We worked for a bit, then we had to take a break and spray bug spray to keep those darn blood sucking bugs away!!!! After Drew paced out the half- way measurement, we decided that was adequate digging for the day. 

Inside to clean up and make quick sandwiches, then we were off to the dock. With Barb's help, Drew got us launched and moving, fast! We tooled around the very large lake, discovered a new cove,and even tried our hand at lure fishing. We all had some tugging on the lines, but no fish. Barb assures me that the fish from this lake, Lac  des Isles, are great, and don't taste fishy. Drew says some of them are oilier than others. Regardless, I am not eating fish. but I didn't have to worry about anything, no catch. 

Once we returned and docked the boat, Barb returned to digging, Drew made dinner, and I knitted. We were  honored with dinner Drew had made, which was yummy!!! I learned a new way to make potatoes. Inside a ziplock bag, add cubed potatoes, olive oil generously and then Hidden Ranch dressing powder. Marinade for some time and place in the oven to toast for about 35 minutes. Yummy!!!!

Barb's Aunt Diane hosted Bingo at the community venter, so we went in to play. As I walked in, I  decided I would donate anything Might win to Samantha's Memorial Scholarship Fund. I did win and Barb did too. We have another donation to deposit into the scholarship fund. On our way home, we stopped to say hello to Drew, at the restaurant/bar where he works. Barb and I ended the evening with another game of Cribbitch. She won! Off to bed tonight. 

                      

Tuesday July 19th In Edmonton, Alberta

Today was a great day! I managed to reach the airport without to much confusion and on time. Of course, Barb was calling me from outside, and I was answering while standing inside at the gate, where she was suppose to be. How she managed to get past me, with that heavy luggage, I am not sure. Once we got to the car and figured out how we were going to get everything inside safely, we headed out to Goodsoil, with nonstop talking!!! Of course, we had to give updates on our kids and our particular school sites, and luckily, that was sprinkled with history of Canada. With such a wonderful guide, it's no wonder I'm already loving it here. Of course, with the local in the car, I know what the Canadian specialties are - Tim Horton specializes in coffee, Crunchies - chocolate candy bars, Aero Bars - mint/ chocolate covered bars, and finally, ketchup potato chips.

We made a couple of turns here and there, ending up on some dirt roads because of construction - major road construction!!!! Eventually, we reached Barb's Aunt Diane and Uncle Ken in Goodsoil. I don't think I made a very good first impression; I knocked over my cup of coffee, spilling it to the floor and making a large mess on my clothes and the floor. 

Our next stop was the family cabin, right on the lake, Lac des iiles. After unloading groceries, and giving Drew, my former student, time to finish his rib dinner, we were off to the dock for an evening boat ride. 

 

 It was beautiful! The sun was just starting to set, and it was after 9:30 PM.

You can see George's house, Barb's dad, from the lake.

Drew made sure we had plenty of fuel, so we didn't run out. 

We went around the lake and saw the camp that is on the island. I guess this pulley is used to pull food up to the camp on the island. It's pretty primitive. 

I was exhausted after a long day and lots of laughs! Off to bed.

Calgary and Banff

This morning I yet again slept in. I'm not getting to bed until nearly 2am. It doesn't get dark here Calgary until after 9:00 PM.

Once I got going, I needed to gas up the car for the treck south again. While I was at the gas station, the lady used a new word- chip.  Let's see if you can figure out the definition with the context? She told me to insert the chip, so I could pay.  Have you fugured out that it means credit card?

I seem to be hitting all of the weather. There's a warning for thunderstorms this afternoon, in all the areas  I'm at, Calgary and Red Deer. I've managed to figure out how to get driving directions, so I can get from one place to another. I use the hotel Internet and retrieve email directions on my iPad.Then I use the ipad to navigate. I've managed to figure out PDF files and cut/paged text, but not screen images. 

Once back to Calgary, I saw the Olympic Park where the winter games took place. You can see the runs here, but they are far from as beautiful as they were when covered in snow.

On the road to Banff, I came across the Bow River. It's beautiful as well, but man, the wind was blowing furiously! 

 Once I got into Banff National Park, and navigated through the many, many people in the little town, I headed away from the crowd, towards Lake Vermillion.

 I managed to ride 6 short miles there, around the 2nd Vermillion Lake. At various  spots there were people hanging their feet off the dock, into the lake; others were fishing, and one lady was asleep on the dock, her bike beside her. 






Because I'm still pretty out of shape, I sweat big time!! Sadly, then I'm a perfect target for those darn blood sucking mosquitoes. Ugh!!! Now I'm covered with bites and  benedryl. 

On my way back into town, I met deer #14, who was standing in the road watching me. Once I packed my bike, I headed back into town to stop at the Cascade Garden with breathtaking flowers! 

The weather was on its way, dark clouds coming in, so I headed out! I couldn't resist a couple of pictures of these horses, empty saddles, but being guided into the center of town and Mt. Rundle with 3 levels of rock formations.

Looks like the perfect job for the horse lover. It's beautiful up here and life seems calm, too. 

This is in the Cascade Garden. It was too funny- when I was leaving the garden gates, a man asked me if I managed to get in the last picture? I didn't get his question right away, but I figured out that he saw me trying to get that darn timer to work, and then he was probably laughing as I ran within 10 seconds to get to the spot. The picture doesn't look too bad, and I provided him with a laugh for the day. :-) 

                      Well, back at the hotel for the night. Ugh.. those darn mosquitoes bit up my legs and feet as I tried to get things out of the trunk. Tomorrow I'll pick up Barb and head over to her family's place in Goodsoil. I'm not sure about internet, so postings ,ight be fewer. I'll cross back into the states on Saturday, 7/23 and hope to be home mid-week to prepare for my trip to see my boys in Hawaii.