July 19, 2011 by Rae

I Have Never Seen So Much Hail In My Life!

We just had what I think was our third hail storm in just a few weeks. It was LOUD.

hail all over my yard

averaged-sized piece of hail in my hand (a nearly perfect sphere)

average-sized piece of hail on a loonie

Don’t let the ice in my yard fool you: it’s about 100 billion degrees here again today.

July 17, 2011 by Rae

Thunder (and Lightning and Hail) In the Valley

Yesterday (Saturday) evening Jody, Gary, and I drove out to the Crowsnest Pass to witness the annual fireworks show known as Thunder in the Valley. What makes the show so special is that the noise from the fireworks echoes in the mountains.

The fireworks are launched from the town of Blairmore, Alberta. There is always a large delay to get back to Lethbridge because of the number of cars so Jody thought it would be best for us to camp in the area. The nearest campground that would allow a single night stay was Mountain Shadows in Sparwood, BC. So we drove there (2.5 hours from Lethbridge) first so I could set up a tent (they sleep in their van) and also meet up with some of Gary’s family (the wonderful one whom we visited in Humboldt) who had gone on ahead.

Tent set up and dinner eaten, we headed back to Blairmore (45 minutes east of Sparwood) and found a spot up a dead end road. We set up chairs and within minutes I felt big, cold drops of rain hit me. Before long, the drops turned to a downpour and we ran back to the truck! The rain came down for a bit then stopped, giving us hope that the show would go on, but then it started up again. What a downpour!!! It was so violent and hail came down in loud plunks. Many people thought the show would not go on, so they left. We stuck it out and at about 11:30 the first fireworks went off.

The echoing effect was spellbounding! It was definitely worth going even if it was cold and wet!

We headed back to Sparwood after the show and I was glad to discover my tent and its contents were still dry. I did a quick toilette, crawled into my PJs, and went to bed.

The ground was hard and the noise from the highway was deafening, but I was warm and snug, so I was quite satisfied that I fell asleep immediately at 1AM and awoke at quarter to six. That’s actually a pretty decent camping night for me. We weren’t meeting up with Gary’s family for brunch until about 11AM, so I knew I had plenty of time to kill. I laid in bed and listened to an audio book for about an hour and then crawled out of my tent to use the most luxurious outhouse in the world: it has a flush toilet! There was no point crawling back into the tent so I literally wandered around the campground for three hours listening to my audio book.

This was such a pleasant morning. It was a trifle damp, but not cool, and the air felt so fresh. I took pictures of flowers and wandered up and down trails for a bit. At about 9, I headed back to our site to start dismantling my tent and packing up my gear, then sat on a dry corner of the picnic table to continue listening to my book. I decided to give Gary and Jody till 10:15, but they got up shortly before that.

We made quick work of packing, then drove out to meet up with Gary’s family. We had a nice ‘brunch’ (from the lunch menu) at the excellent restaurant attached to the hotel in Sparwood, then we headed home.

Like the first time Jody and I were in Sparwood, we stopped at Lundbreck Falls and we made a few other stops. So it was past five when we pulled in to home. My cats were happy to see me but we didn’t hang out for long since I got invited over for another Gary dinner. Yum-yum.

There’s nothing like a sleepless night away from home to recharge my batteries! 🙂

canola (rapeseed) fields

this cloud formation looks like an angry gorilla stomping around!

I love the big open skies of southern Alberta

beautiful valley (between Lethbridge and Fort McLeod)

into the Crowsnest Pass

Blairmore

my ‘one night only’ tent

I saw almost a half-dozen Royal Classics in the last day! This is a 1980s model.

to find our site I had to turn right at the outhouse with the flush toilet 🙂

path leading up behind our site

the strange tree/snare setup in the middle of our site

I bet that’s their bathroom window 🙂

petrified tree

two roads diverged in a yellow wood…

mushroom

antique truck and trailer combo

re-entering Alberta

Lundbreck Falls

bathers at Lundbreck Falls

Lundbreck Falls

wind mill at Lundbreck Falls

Lundbreck Falls

I liked the combination of the class A coming down the highway with the bus conversion in the foreground

crazy guy jumping into Lundbreck Falls!!!

striking image of canola fields!

near Cottonwood campground

May 25, 2011 by Rae

A Saskatchewan Education, Or Not So Humble Humboldt

This past weekend, I joined Gary and Jody on a road trip to visit some members of Gary’s family who live near the small town of Humboldt, SK, which is a little under two hours north-eastish of Saskatoon.

Gary and Jody have done this trip many times and know the Saskatchewan road quality, or lack thereof, very well. So, they decided that the less bumpy way to get there would be going through Swift Current, Moose Jaw, and skirting Regina, and we would come home by way of Saskatoon and Moose Jaw.

Mid-afternoon Friday I loaded my stuff into my car and headed to Jody’s workplace. There, I moved my gear to her car and we took off for Gary’s workplace. There, we loaded up their rig, a 20′ travel trailer and truck, and headed east. We were on the road towards Medicine Hat by about 6PM.

The drive to the Saskatchwan border was pretty uneventful. I looked forward to doing the bit between Medicine Hat and Moose Jaw on the TransCanada since that was the only section of it I haven’t done, except for whatever’s in Newfoundland. I have to say that south-east Alberta looks a lot like southwest Saskatchewan. 🙂

Back to Saskatchewan!

Jody ran the deli Friday night and I was so hungry by that point that I didn’t think to photograph my dinner until I was halfway through:

the remains of my Friday dinner

It was coming onto 9PM when we hit Swift Current, and Gary was beat, so we pulled into the Walmart for the night.

Jody made up for the previous night’s late dinner with this breakfast:

breakfast Saturday!

Complemented by oranges, coffee, and yoghurt. I have been well fed since landing in Lethbridge! 😀

Gary and Jody’s rig; much shorter than mine!

We pushed on eastward through Moose Jaw, the Qu’Appelle valley, and then we skirted around Regina before heading north. The roads were so bad I thought we would be launched into orbit!

I was put on deli duty and discovered that is not easy to make a sandwich in a moving vehicle. Notice how smooshed my lunch is:

lunch Saturday (made by me!)

We passed through the town of Engelfeld, which hosts an annual pig roast to raise money for charity.

the Englefeld pig

I really enjoyed this drive; there is just something about the Prairies that awes me.

We arrived in Humboldt in late afternoon where I was introduced to my hosts and was settled into a guest bedroom. We were served a very yummy dinner and then my hosts took us out to see the sights. I think that might actually have been more for my benefit. I’m very thankful!

The first thing we saw were pelicans! I had no idea you could find pelicans this far north! Unfortunately, they were super off in the distance and even my trusty zoom wasn’t able to get a good shot of one.

pelicans!

We then went to Waldsea Lake. Saskatchewan has been very wet the last few years and there has been a lot of problems with flooding and rising waters. So, this lake, which used to have a nice day use area and lots of cottages around it, was allowed to spill out from its berm. The cottages were all moved to a temporary holding area and will be relocated. The road to the lake just… ends.

Waldsea Lake

cottages pulled from the shores of Waldsea Lake

We then drove around Humboldt a bit so I could get a feel for the layout, seeing some of the major stores, the schools, hospitals, etc. The town is almost full-service and has a population of 6,000.

Before heading back, our hosts pulled into the drive-thru at McDonalds to treat everyone to shakes. This drive-thru has to be unique since it has an alley cutting right through it!

We ended the evening with a dice game that was very quick to learn. Beginner’s luck was not with me!

I was the first one up Sunday morning and I took the time to get some work done. I had internet through my USB modem, but it was a very sloooow connection. It seems like Dawson City has better cell coverage than does rural Saskatchewan!

Once we were all up we had a HUGE brunch. I didn’t even want to think about food until early evening!

The afternoon was a bit lazy and I caught up on my reading.

Late afternoon, friends and family showed up for a bonfire and wiener roast. What a perfect day for that; we’d hit the mid 20s, with sunshine!

Before dinner, I was taught how to play a gruesome Saskatchewanese game of Russian origin called Bunnock, or Bones. Originally played with horse hooves, this cross between bowling and curling is now often played with plastic bone replicas. I was quite good!

After that, a little boy wanted me to go with him to check out the barn cat’s hideout. There, he discovered tiny kittens no more than a couple of weeks old. They were so cute; no bigger than a mouse, with eyes still shut.

For dinner, I learned how to roast hot dogs over an open fire. Or, rather, how not to. The first one was a tad burnt. 😀 I also enjoyed some burnt marshmallows, but that was on purpose. Marshmallows just aren’t worth eating if they haven’t been set on fire first.

We ended the night chatting around a campfire. One person showed up with a mini marshmallow thrower and I got to learn how to use that. I was a natural, hitting my target (Gary) with my one and only attempt.

The evening wound up around 11. Everyone seemed intent on sleeping in Monday, so I stayed up late to finish a book. Of course, everyone else changed their mind and I was the last one up!

Our hosts live on remote lake-side acreage that is partially flooded right now. Access to the house is through a narrow causeway. When Gary awoke to rain, he was worried we’d get flooded out, so that propelled the early start to the day.

my hosts’ causeway

We were fed another ginormous brunch and then it was time to hit the road, sometime in mid-morning. We drove straight through to Gary’s workplace, stopping only to get fuel and use the bathroom. We were all stuffed from breakfast and only lightly snacked all day.

This was an awesome weekend. Thank you!

LOTS more pictures below!

driving over the edge of the world?

Yup, the earth is definitely flat!

Back to Saskatchewan!

the remains of my Friday dinner

Saskatchewan sunset

breakfast Saturday!

Gary and Jody’s rig; much shorter than mine!

weird 5er seen in Swift Current

Jody made me believe that’s snow. It’s actually salt!

more salt

entering Moose Jaw

the Moose Jaw moose

lunch Saturday (made by me!)

Qu’Appelle valley

the Englefeld pig

Englefeld

driving over a causeway; there wasn’t always water on both sides

pelicans!

pelicans! (just squint)

dramatic sky

Waldsea Lake

cottages pulled from the shores of Waldsea Lake

caboose in Humboldt

Humboldt cemetery

Humboldt Elementary School (looks like an insane asylum)

dramatic sky

home of the local plumber, who apparently charges $10,000 for a toilet 🙂

dramatic sky

my hosts’ causeway

geese on the road

fog over water

driving into the mist

in the mist

still in the mist

Saskatoon

Toon Town Tavern

approaching Swift Current

May 8, 2011 by Rae

Dinosaur Country!

Today was another road trip day with Gary and Jody! We headed into dinosaur country!!!!!!!

Before we could do that, though, there were some errands to be run in the Calgary area, including picking up a part for their trailer, and stopping at three RV dealerships to ask if I could leave some promotional cards for Full-Time RVing in Canada (all said yes, certainly).

Jody asked each dealership if they had toy hauler motorhomes and one had a Newmar Canyon Star. The salesman, who just happened to have been a Glendale Royal Classic seller back in the day, was really eager to get me into this rig! It was a nice rig, of course, being a Newmar, but it wouldn’t have worked for me since the garage was too small.

In between the dealerships, the Roving Deli opened for business. Gary had BBQed some really nice chicken breasts (among other things) last night, and they became very delicious sandwiches!

Mid-afternoon, we finally headed out to Drumheller. I’m saying finally only because we had left Lethbridge at 8:30! It ended up taking us about six and a half hours to do a drive that would have only taken an hour and a half or two as the crow flies. We could have gotten to Edmonton in that time! Ah, that’s what happens when RV enthusiasts start looking at rigs.

Shortly before Drumheller Jody turned to Horseshoe Canyon, an amazing place where the prairie literally drops away. It’s like my beloved Chasm, you wonder where the heck this hole comes from!

We arrived in Drumheller in very late afternoon, much too late see any attractions, but I made my list for when we come back later in the summer! The town is surprisingly seedy-looking, very rough and worn down. I imagine it looks better in the height of the tourist season when everything is open. We made a stop at the tourist info centre which is home to the biggest dinosaur in the world. We paid the $3 to climb the one hundred or so stairs to the top so we could see the view from the mouth.

After, I suggested we do the route to Wayne that takes you through eleven bridges in four miles (just over six kilometres). It’s a neat circuit since each bridge is different and the scenery is beautiful. There’s nothing after Wayne, though. This route is suitable for all but the largest RVs since the height clearances on the bridges is at least five metres (16.4 feet) and there is space to turn around tightly after the last one when the road widens and turns to dirt.

Next stop was the Star (coal) Mine Suspension Bridge. It’s not very high up over the river; I’ve actually jumped off of a taller bridge into a river. Needless to say, this one wasn’t hard for me to get across at all.

Following that, Jody took me to see the hoodoos, which are neat sandstone columns with a cap on them, all naturally sculpted of course.

We came back to the van and I put in an order at the deli for sandwich fixings without the bun since I’d overdosed on potato chips and I got a nice plate of chicken, cheese, and crudités. Aren’t I spoiled, what with a driver AND a personal chef? I should also add that in the morning I got a nice container of honeydew melon and my supper dessert was some of the best oranges I’ve had in ages. I only say this because Jody’s invitation to come today was about a paragraph long. They really don’t need to sell me on a road trip! 😀

It was getting really late by this point, with our at home ETA being 9PM, but there was still one more detour to do: Dinosaur Provincial Park so I could see the fabled Badlands! This is an area where more dinosaur remains have been found, and more species, than anywhere else in the world! It’s a World Heritage Site. Between that and Horseshoe Canyon I have to say that I continue to be astounded by the variety of landscapes in my country and how many treasures it holds. RVing is the only way to travel in this country and do it justice.

We descended into the campground and Jody followed a road that does a circuit behind it that really takes you out into the scenery, including a few places where a structure was built around dinosaur remains. What a great way to show off the fossils in situ. The campground is in a fantastic location; I’d love to spend a weekend there.

This was only a taste of dinosaur country and I can’t wait to explore it in greater depth! Thank you once again to my local guide and chef! 🙂

box is nearly her arm-span across

box is taller than her

contents! LOL!

delicious chicken sandwich from the Roving Deli

LOVE the cream cabinets!

looks like the Dempster Highway!

Horseshoe Canyon

entering Drumheller

giant dinosaur in Drumheller

view from the mouth of the dinosaur

inside the dinosaur

Me: “A dinosaur’s trying to eat me! Waah!” Jody: “You don’t look scared.”

Me: “Do I look scared now?”

inside the dinosaur

jailed dinosaur that looks like an alien

grain elevator

bridge no. 1

bridge no. 2

bridge no. 3

bridge no. 4

bridge no. 6

bridge no. 7

bridge no. 8

bridge no. 9

hotel and saloon straight out of the far west

bridge no. 10

bridge no. 11

grain elevator from the rear

bridge no. 1

suspension bridge

Star Mine suspension bridge

other side of the Star Mine suspension bridge

Star Mine suspension bridge

hoodoos

origin of the word hoodoo (it’s West African)

about how the hoodoos are formed

hoodoos

hoodoo country

Star coal mine

more hoodoos

dinner from the Roving Deli (I’d asked for the sandwich contents without bread; nice spread!)

approaching Dinosaur Provincial Park

deer near Dinosaur Provincial Park

dear near Dinosaur Provincial Park

entering Dinosaur Provincial Park

beautiful poem about Dinosaur Provincial Park

Dinosaur Provincial Park holds the world record for the most number of dinosaur remains uncovered

the Badlands

the Badlands as described by French explorers (coureurs de bois (forest runners))

the Badlands

World Heritage Site

the Badlands

descending into the Badlands to the campground, with some serviced RV spots!

the Badlands

deer on the Badlands

fossilized dinosaur remains where they were found

the Badlands

more dinosaur remains

a tiny RV shipped from Germany

April 29, 2011 by Rae

The Potato Chip Experiment

Jody and Gary needed to go to Fruitvale, BC, yesterday and insisted I come along for the ride. It was a fun little overnight trip and we obviously aren’t yet ready to kill each other since we’re road tripping again tomorrow!

The title of this post comes from something Jody likes to do when she drives this route. It takes you to the Salmo Creston Pass, which is a full mile above sea level. The change in air pressure is remarkable and well evidenced by bringing a bag of potato chips, then watching it swell as you climb up to the summit. Potato chip delivery drivers are not allowed to take this route because the bags, being crowded into boxes, often explode!

I would not want to do this route, highway 3, in an RV at any other time but a very dry summer day; not only is it a long, steep climb and descent, but there is no guard rail along a good chunk of it. There was a lot of snow at the pass yesterday.

I got up at oh-dark-thirty to do two flier routes, with the other two to be done tonight. It figured that these were extra-large batches where I would be paid a supplement but which would take longer! We took off around 9 and with a bunch of stops made it to Fruitvale at five MST, four local time.

We pushed on a little past Fruitvale so I could see the former mining town of Rossland, then we had dinner in Trail at the delicious Chinese ‘Double Happiness’ restaurant.

On the way back today we stopped in Creston so I could see the sasquatch at the Kokanee brewery. Pity there were no tours today!

We got in around, oh, nearly fiveish and Jody went out with me so we could do my fliers in record time. Thank you!