July 29, 2013 by Rae

Visiting the Assiniboia and District Museum

I took the bulk of the day off from work. After breakfast, L and I headed into town for some supplies and to visit the Assiniboia and District Museum.

It’s quite small, but the exhibits are interesting, especially if you have a farm boy like L on hand who can further explain the farm equipment to you. I enjoyed the small exhibits showing early 20th century scenes like a barbershop, general store, and dentist’s office, but my favourite bit was the classic car display. For $5, the Assiniboia museum is a great way to kill an hour or two.

: The entrance to the Assiniboia museum.

: Notice the telephone poles in this scene of covered wagons and teepees?

: Box for carrying 120 eggs.

: The collection plate in the church exhibit had a collection in it.

: L and I both had the same thought: this churn looks like my washing machine!

: Cute stove.

: Amphibious car.

: You can see the prop for the car. Notice that the tailpipe is high up.

: Flotation devices in the back seat.

: This reminded me of Donna and Ken’s truck Pepe.

: Model T Ford with a camper conversion!

: All there is inside is the popup bunk.

: Letter dated June of 1980 giving the museum permission to display a still.

: Lots of wonderful old cars.

: My Barbies had a trunk like this. 🙂

: Prince Charles visited Assiniboia in 2001.

: Old rusted oil puller.

: Old maintained oil puller.

: Homemade lawn mower with a wooden steering wheel.

: Sometime later, at the Fields store, I come across these very Canadian faux-fur lined Crocs.

After the museum, we headed out to lunch. Caroline had warned us against going to 121 Steakhouse, but L wanted to form his own opinion so we went there. Service wasn’t great, but the food was good! L started with a French onion soup that was a 9/10, followed by fish ‘n chips. My chicken and bacon club with yam fries really hit the spot. I’d go there again.

We also did some window shopping at The Bargain Shop!, Fields, and the Sally Ann.

Not a very exciting day by big city standards, but it was plenty of fun for simple folks like us. 😀

June 20, 2013 by Rae

Stettler to Kelowna

Tar Sands and Fort Mac
Redwood Strands and Kitimatt
(This is our home) and down in the Shuswaps too
I’ve seen many nights feel like high noon from the Dome to Saskatoon
There’s confederation bridge and butterfly ridge and Sudbury and the Sault
I’ve been snowed in for days on the Trans Canada Highway
And that was in the month of June and this is our home

(Mike Plume Band, This is Our Home)

Bitch as I do about the Canadian government and the cost of living here, the variety of landscapes and climates of this vast country will never cease to amaze me. There hasn’t been a moment since I left my property that I didn’t look up and marvel at the beauty of the scenery, from the Prairies through the Badlands, into the foothills, and across the Rockie Mountains. That I have done this trip for the second and a half time, doesn’t make it stale at all.

I left Stettler at about 9:30 on Wednesday morning and drove straight through to Olds, where I conceded I wasn’t going to reach cheaper gas on the outskirts of Calgary. From Olds, I continued southwestward, passing Spring Hill RV Park north of Cochrane, where I stayed in late September of 2008.

(Spring Hill RV Park)

I didn’t go through the pretty town of Cochrane, instead veering west on highway 1A just before town, until I reached the junction for the Transcanada Highway.

(very low sky entering the Rockies)

From there, it was a short drive to Canmore where I got some groceries, using my Safeway card for the first time in a year. I bought $30 worth of food, all on sale, and paid only $20 with my Safeway discount!

The entrance to Banff National Park is right after Canmore. I elected to pay the $9.80 for a day pass so that I could stop if I wanted to without risking a fine. Having been to Banff and Lake Louise, I had no intention of detouring, but I still wanted to be able to pull over for a leg stretch, a view, or to use the bathroom.

That said, this was my third time driving across the Rockies and I didn’t have much better luck than the previous two trips since the weather was crappy; very cold and rainy. 🙁

(Not quite cold enough for snow, but it almost felt like it!)

Still, the drive was effortless. I don’t know what it is about this stretch, but it always makes for really good gas mileage. I’ve never done better than 500KM on a tank with my truck, but I ended up getting about 600KM on the tank I got in Olds. A good part of it is that you just drive straight through, so you don’t waste gas stopping at street lights and such, plus the stretch is mostly downhill. Several times, I put Moya in second gear and took my feet off the pedals, saving both fuel and wear and tear on the brakes.

I stopped at the Spiral tunnels and the entrance to Glacier Provincial Park, where the air smelled like evergreens and snow. I wish I could convey that smell through pixels; it will be a highlight of this summer.

(Lots of snow on the mountains, even though it’s late June.)

(This cut in the rock shows how much work it was to carve a road into these mountains.)

This trip, I was finally about to stop at the Rogers Pass discovery centre! It’s a small museum that makes a good leg stretch break.

(This is the first time I’ve noticed that the GPS screen more or less matches the terrain.)

I forgot that I was going into the Pacific time zone, so I hit Revelstoke much earlier than I would have planned. It felt too early to stop for the night, but I decided to find the 2008 turnout and see if I had internet there. If so, I would check if the Vernon Walmart was RV friendly, otherwise I would spend the night.

From Revelstoke I quickly found my first landmark, but drove further past it than I remembered doing in 2008, so I began to think that the turnout was gone. But nope! When I came to it, I recognized it instantly and pulled around to the far side. I had internet and the Vernon Walmart is NOT RV friendly, so I decided to stay put.

A Gregory Peck movie on Netflix occupied most of the evening (my favourite actor of all time), at the end of which I discovered that I had apparently left my iPad charging cord in Stettler! Oh NO. I left myself just enough juice to check emails in the morning and went to bed around 9:00 (10:00 my time).

Even though it was pouring rain, the truck bed felt cozy and warm. I would have slept soundly if trains hadn’t passed by about once every hour.

This morning, around 5:30, it was very damp out, but not raining, so that made it easier to repack for the day’s drive since I could leave the doors open. I had gained two neighbours, an RV and a semi.

I did the math and even with the gas prices averaging $1.35 per litre ($5.31 per gallon), taking my truck and sleeping in it is cheaper than it would have been to go with a subcompact and take a hotel. I’m going to spend about two weeks camping in the truck this summer (at least) and that will help me figure out what I need to make camping in it more comfortable and easier. A taller and non-leaky canopy is definitely in order! But it’s reassuring to know that I was dry even during last night’s downpour.

I pulled out and drove to Sicamous where I got gas and coffee. It began to pour again as I pulled onto highway 97 and it was a wet, miserable, couldn’t see anything drive into Kelowna. Sunny Okanagan my ass. This is my least favourite part of Canada. 🙁

My first stop was Walmart to see if I could find a cheap iPad charging cord, but nope. I tagged in with my friend Amber, changing our plans from dinner to lunch, and then I headed to a CIBC because I had left my ATM card in the reader at the Canmore Safeway. I HATE those friggin’ chip readers!!!

Getting the new card was painless and it’s one I can now use in the U.S. as it’s part of the Visa as well as Interac networks. I was warned that there are big fees, so I’m better off using my Visa or cash, but it’s nice to have a third option just in case.

Then, I went to Best Buy, which only opened at 10:00. Instead of waiting 15 minutes for them to open, I decided to go to a dollar store and see if I could find a super cheap iPad cord. It’s been my experience that using non-Apple cords is hit or miss and has absolutely nothing to do with price or brand, so it seemed like a worthwhile experiment.

My GPS directed me to a dollar store that had a cord for $12, cheaper than anything else I knew I’d find, but it wasn’t refundable if it didn’t work. Hmm. I knew that I had to get something marked iPad, not just iPhone or iPod Touch as the the iPad chargers offer more juice. I have a little Belkin cradle for my iPod Touch that I had hoped would tide me over until Donna can get my cord back to me, but I got the dreaded ‘charging is not supported with this accessory message.’ Anyway, I decided to take a gamble on the $12 cord, accepting that I’d be stuck using the iPod all weekend if the cord didn’t work. Yes, I am spoiled. 🙂

Well, the cord WORKS. YAY!!! It is charging veeeeeeeery slowly, but I don’t care. I’m just grateful I didn’t break the bank and have my iPad again.

I then headed out to Westbank to meet Amber at a Thai restaurant when I saw a sign that made me do a double take:

OMG Dollar Tree has come to Canada!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😀

I found Thai Fusion Restaurant without any trouble and Amber was right on time. We both had the chicken pad thai. It was fine, but not that flavourful beyond a little heat. I wasn’t surprised or disappointed since I know food tends to be bland out west. It was a nice portion and the prices were very reasonable.

Amber and I gabbed for almost two hours. It was so good to catch up!

I’m now at a library, catching up on some things and finishing up my slideshow. This branch closes at 6:00pm, so I’ll go find a parking lot to hang out in for a few hours before moving to my overnight spot, which I am not going to divulge for matters of safety, obviously.

The first event doesn’t start till 5:30 tomorrow, so I’ll likely spend a good chunk of time tomorrow at a different library.

April 29, 2013 by Rae

Well Fed In Wichita

Normally when I do driveway camping, I’m on my own for meals. Oh, I of course have a few with my hosts, but we pretty much stick to our own routines. L informed me upon arrival that he had stocked up on extra groceries for my visit. He made a nice breakfast my first two mornings and a really yummy saukerkraut and pork chop crock pot dinner last night.

His daughter and I got talking about food and when it came out that I love Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food, she suggested we have lunch yesterday at Le Monde cafe and deli, a cozy restaurant with a mostly Mediterranean menu. What a joy it was to share an entrée of hummus and pita with someone!

This morning, L and I went next door to B&S’ for brunch (a couple I had met on the beach). I had breakfast burritos for the first time! I don’t eat eggs, so I’ve always stayed cleared of those, but S’ mix was much heavier on the sausage and veggies than the eggs, so they went down just fine.

After gabbing and about a gallon of coffee each, L and I headed out for an afternoon of sightseeing.

We started off by taking in the Keeper of the Plains, a monument that stands at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers (Ar-kan-zes, not Ar-ken-sa!).

This monument represents the local indigenous peoples and marks their sacred ground. There are some informational panels near the monument.

Next, I asked that we go downtown so I could photograph the statues along main street. We had a lot of fun getting photographs with those, but I’ll go easy on L and not publish the rather saucy ones. 🙂

Next, we headed over to the River City Brewery for something cold (and non-alcoholic) to drink where L left me in charge of his valuables.

We then went across the street to the Museum of World Treasures, one of the most amazing museums I have ever been to. It is an eclectic personal collection of everything from dinosaur bones to Egyptian mummies, WWII memorabilia, and autographs. We could only take pictures on the third and first stories, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that the war and royalty exhibits were impressive!

We then headed back to the River City Brewery for a late lunch/early dinner. The Brewery makes a variety of beers and only serves its own brews. We put in an order for the pulled pork special and L asked me if I wanted a beer because he wanted one. I took a glance at the menu and suggested we order the sampler, which got us NINE small glasses of beer (it came out to about two beers per person).

We were a little surprised to discover that our BBQ pulled pork sandwiches came topped with creamy coleslaw, but it wound up being really yummy!

The beers were mostly great! There were a few that neither one of us liked and a few that one of us disliked, but we mostly agreed. I really liked their fruity Maibock as well as their Old Town Brown. L like the brown one too as well as the Emerald City Stout, while I found that latter one lacking in mouthfeel and preferred, to my surprise, the milk stout that had a maple syrupy finish.

We had our stouts with a stout and pretzel brownie, not that we were able to finish it. 🙂

It was a really fun day. Thanks, L!

April 9, 2013 by Rae

Dealey Plaza and the Sixth Floor Museum, Dallas

Visiting the site of a tragedy always makes it feel more real. I felt so closely connected to Jackie Kennedy’s day of horror while I toured the site of JFK’s assassination yesterday.

The Dealey Plaza site is very small and the grassy knoll absolutely unremarkable. I wouldn’t have given it a second glance while driving past had Ms. Cinnamon not pointed it out to me.

I’ve had for the longest time my own theories about the events of November 22nd, 1963 and thought that a visit to the site would answer many questions. In actual fact, I am left with more. The most important one is why? If we can answer that, then the who becomes self-evident.

The only thing that I am certain of now that I have stood on the infamous sixth floor and looked down is that a military sniper could have easily taken that first shot. Therefore, I believe I am correct that there was someone besides Oswald up there. One of the fingerprints up there has been tied to Marshall Wallace, who could have made that shot. This supports the LBJ had it done theory.

Another point raised by Ms. Cinnamon is that Jackie was heard yelling, “Oh my God, they shot Jack.” Not, “Jack’s been shot” or something along those lines, but they. There had been some open hostility about JFK’s visit to Dallas, so she might have been using ‘they’ to represent those groups. But there is material to be declassified in 2017 that purportedly proves that Jackie thought LJB was in on the assassination. Hmm.

The second shot couldn’t have come from the sixth floor, but would have been easy to make from the fence on the grassy knoll. Never mind how quickly the Warren Commission went with the idiotic lone gunman whacko with a magic military grade bullet theory. I believe in the two trained military snipers in two different locations to make sure they got him theory.

The efforts to resuscitate JFK by expanding the throat wound into a tracheotomy make it difficult to know for sure if that wound was caused by a bullet exiting (ie. came from the book depository) or by the bullet entering (ie. came from the grassy knoll). More recent analysis makes a case for it being an entry wound, but we likely will never know for sure.

The Sixth Floor Museum, which does not allow photography, is quite good as long as you take everything with a grain of salt. It is very sanitized and the audio guide format does not encourage any form of discussion. There is a movement to boycott the Sixth Floor Museum, but a visit is useful and the information is well presented. There is some acknowledgement of various conspiracy theories, but we always get back to the lone gunman Oswald in his sniper’s nest theory.

The motorcade route must be looked at with suspicion. It is a very tight and awkward turn from Houston onto Elm, so the motorcade slowed to a crawl, which awarded a perfect opportunity to shoot from the sixth floor. Why wasn’t the shot made while the motorcade was coming down Houston, which would have afforded a straight, can’t possibly miss him, shot? Well, there was that other sniper on the grassy knoll. They had to work practically in tandem. Had the shot been taken on Houston, the motorcade would have likely continued down Houston rather than turning onto Elm into the path of the grassy knoll shooter and the assassination could have failed. Croft got a picture of the view down Houston from the seventh floor but there was no such access yesterday.

Finally, the big questions, why Oswald and what was Jack Ruby’s real role in all of this?

As I said, more questions than answers were provided to me yesterday. But seeing the site really made the sequence of events clear in my mind. Sniper one on the sixth floor took the first shot, which was the cue for sniper two on the grassy knoll to take the second shot. Who hired the snipers is less certain. Certainly, the Warren Commission is a joke and an insult.

: Looking down Elm Street at the grassy knoll.

: The Texas Schoolbook Depository.

: Entrance to the Sixth Floor Museum.

: I was there!

: This picture of Jackie is made with…

: hundreds of little pictures of JFK.

: This picture of JFK is made with…

: hundreds of pictures of Jackie.

: Up on the 7th floor where photos are allowed. Not much to see. :-S

: The building is made of sturdy brick. The floors in the ’60s were badly scuffed bare wood planks.

: Looking down Houston Street at the corner of Elm.

: These cars are doing a good imitation of the motorcade.

: Looking down the length of the grassy knoll.

: I can imagine the crowds lined up here cheering.

: Looking up to the sixth floor. Even with the trees, there is a good shot of Elm. The museum claims the trees would have had less foliage then. A conspiracy theory we met by the grassy knoll says that’s bunk and there would have been as many leaves…

: I’m standing roughly between the first and second shots looking back to the Depository.

: The building is now the Dallas County Administration building.

: Last window on the right, second from the top.

March 25, 2013 by Rae

Downtown San Antonio, Including the Alamo, Riverwalk, and Mercado

The day was very slow to warm and I didn’t think I was going to end up going into San Antonio. We final hit double digits Celsius near noon and I decided to head out, wearing sandals, but also long thick leggings under my skirt and a long-sleeved top, and I stuffed my heaviest wool pashmina into my purse at the last minute. I wound up being very grateful for that shawl as I wore it all afternoon. It was warm in the sun, but absolutely freezing in shaded areas.

Teri, my host here at Hidden Valley had given me a detailed map with how to get to $5 a day parking downtown. I gave the map a glance before leaving and only noted the exit name… not that I had to get off I-35 and take I-10 to I-37, from which I would take said exit. So I wound up driving straight through town and had to double back! But once I was downtown, the parking lot was easy to find. It is at the corner of Bowie and Crockett, kitty corner from the giant mall.

First stop of the day was the Alamo! WOW! I can’t believe I’ve finally been to the Alamo!!! Wow! 😀

A number of people told me that I would be disappointed, but disappointment is all about expectations. No expectations, no disappointment. From a purely pragmatic point of view, I could understand how someone who is only moderately interested in the Alamo might not get much out of the site. There is a very long line to get into the shrine, an even longer line in the shrine snaking through the sparse exhibits, and there is no photography permitted.

But if you know the history, you can close your eyes and hear the rifles and cannons and death gurgles of men drowning in their own blood. In the room where women and children sought refuge, you can hear their muffled cries of terror. Standing within the halls of this former mission, I could understand how it has become a symbol of Texan independence.

The exhibits are wonderful for a history buff; lots of old documents and maps with a few artifacts, like a book belonging to Bowie and a rifle belonging to Crockett.

Attached to the Alamo shrine, there is a museum (again, no pictures). You can also see a movie, but the line for that was really, really long and I was ready for lunch.

The Alamo (which means cottonwood) is free to visit. You can pay $6 for an audio tour, but I opted out.

My thirst for living history slaked, it was time to find some lunch. I had done my research and headed to Sushi Zushi on the corner of St Mary’s and Commerce. Don’t give me that look! I haven’t had sushi since the beginning of January!!!!!!

From the restaurant, I was able to head down into the famous Riverwalk, where it was really cold along the water. What a beautiful area! I did the entire main loop and a little of the newer branch that heads north.

After, I headed across town to the marketplace to see the Mercado, colloquially known as ‘the Mexican flea market.’ If you want to get a sense of what it’s like to shop in a Mexican border town without having a bunch of shopkeepers hassle you, you have to check out this place. I was underwhelmed by the same tchotchkes that I saw in Nuevo Progreso and Tijuana.

That was the end of my day. Public transportation is super cheap in San Antonio, but the city is very walkable and compact, so I ended up hoofing my way back to the truck, enjoying the exercise and sunshine.

Gotta remember where I’m parked. 😉 There’s a giant mall right downtown and I was across from it.

Looking down Crockett.

Lots of lampposts right in the middle of the sidewalk. Odd.

Made it to Alamo Plaza

This is the iconic façade of the church that is now the Alamo shrine.

A very long line, but it moved quickly enough.

Lots of rules in the shrine. Men have to take off their hats, no pictures, no talking loudly, etc.

Gardens outside the shrine.

Exquisite sculpting on the shrine doors.

Closeup of the sculpting details.

Rear exit.

Entrance to the gift shop.

Wall, still in the Alamo Plaza.

Exit of the museum in the long barracks.

I just came around the shrine.

This is a post office and something else, probably a courthouse. I had to go through a metal detector and put my purse through an X-ray machine to get in.