roadquill1

Hallooo! Is anybody still out there in my blogland?

Hmmm. While I wait for answers, or a distant echo, I will try to explain my lengthy absence…in brief…no road trips of note since the Spring of 2013. That’s it!

“Why not?” you ask. Well, new year, new projects, and…time and financial budget priority changes. What does all that vagueness really describe? Why, a NEW WOODWORK SHOP, of course. And that is why we will turn around from our current travels and hasten home in a couple of weeks.

Back to road-tripping…

After a Saltspring Island rendezvous with Dave Roland and family on the first weekend in August, our annual one week beach trip to Skaha Lake followed with Doug, Paula and Hannah Lindsay joining us directly, and a whole host of my own family joining us independently at nearby sites. The week passed quickly and we only had one day of rain on the second last day. This was a timely occurrence to cool the local fire hazards!

A turn-around trip home to Nanaimo had us arriving in time to welcome our wonderful friends from Germany – Alex, Judi, Alyssa and Amanda Benz – and to celebrate Amanda’s birthday with her at Parksville’s mini-golf. After 3 days or so with them, we departed once again for an extended travel trip – this time for quick overnight visits with the Lindsay family in Walnut Grove, friends in Kamloops, an old University chum in Calgary, and on towards Whitefish, Montana after passing through Waterton Lakes and skirting the eastern edge of Glacier National Park. (At first we were dismayed that the rules for vehicle heights had changed, and since we now exceed 10 feet with kayaks on top, we were not allowed to go over Logan Pass. However, although I could have stuffed them inside the camper, we decided that we had seen the pass before, and that we should try the road around the east – a “new” one to me – in keeping with my usual travel planning. This resulted in us visiting the spectacular site of Two Medicine for one night.)

On to Whitefish, where we thoroughly enjoyed a 5 day visit with Bob and Alice, (and Alice’s sister Sue) Padgham (and Springer Spaniel, Ike) in their new home. Whitefish is one of those communities that, in my mind, has ‘done it right’ in planning recreational activities complete with an amazing network of hiking trails, a vital downtown, and facilities for the arts and fitness.

Today, we parted company, and headed south through Kalispell, and Helena to our current campsite just north of Butte. It’s a tad RUSTic, but has services. (The ‘rust’ part occurred when I attached the hose to our camper and turned on the pump for our water. Deep red-brown silt poured through our system! Luckily, it immediately drained out, but I am relieved that it never got into our hot water tank!)

Tomorrow we head east to Lewis & Clark Caverns, and then on to Yellowstone and Grand Teton, before we begin the trek west. We hope to have about a week more in this neck of the woods before thinking of returning.

Montana is a beautiful state, with friendly folks everywhere – except in downtown Helena where there were NO folks today as they were apparently out gallivanting for the Labour Day (or should I say “Labor Day”) weekend. However, just as a personal observation of many references around…”Lewis and Clark” have been given way too much prominence since they did little more than I am doing – passed through the State sight-seeing! Just a thought!

Greetings, love and best wishes to all who continue to subscribe to this blog – despite my long silence!

Tony

Road count:
Quilt shops – 3
Tool stores – 1