Archive for the ‘On the Road’ Category
Humpty Dumpster and Other Tales
Hello dear family, friends, and other followers!
As posted last time, our trip to Ft. McMurray was cancelled due to smoke and fire, but our granddaughter, Rebecca, made the trip down from the Fort to meet with us on Thursday, June 5, in Fort Saskatchewan. We walked with her on some of the Fort Saskatchewan hiking/ biking trails, and then she stayed with us for dinner on the first evening. Later she headed into Sherwood Park to stay with her friend Brittany.
On Friday, at Brittany’s suggestion, we met up with Rebecca at Fort Edmonton Park. When we arrived, I was a bit concerned since several thousand school-aged children were in attendance and loudly expressing their joys and excitement!
What an incredible development this park is! There is steam train that takes folks from the entrance to the other side of the park and then returns them. (A streetcar also runs from the more modern era displays to the entrance area. The park is divided into Edmonton’s “eras” with the earliest being the First Nations and Métis exhibits in a beautifully designed building. A recreation of the original “Fort Edmonton” has amazing displays of living quarters, tools, fur storage, a York Boat and even a bakery where two young men in period costumes turned out bannock bread and jam for the tourists. As you wander from the Fort, you walk through increasingly more modern eras, with store fronts, businesses, homes, etc. For the younger set there is an amusement park! We spent about 4 or 5 hours there and were all impressed!
For dinner we had Italian food in Sherwood Park where Brittany and her daughter Reilly joined us. We said our good-byes and headed back to Fort Saskatchewan to pack up for departure on Saturday.
As most of you are aware in western Canada, the summer weather came – early, and hot! All my thin-skinned whining about cold temps are passé. Temperatures are warming and are expected to hit in the 30’s early in the week. I can put my down jacket away.
On Saturday morning we got underway early for a 4 1/2 hr journey south to Fort Mcleod. Our campsite – “Rivers Edge RV” is a couple of kilometers outside of the Fort. A couple of issues about this drive. First of all, the “ring road” around Edmonton is not in good shape, and the truck and trailer were repeatedly being banged about by potholes and cracks, and pavement heaves. Secondly, as predicted by forecasts, the smoky haze grew thicker as we headed south past Leduc and Red Deer. (The road improved south of Edmonton.)
The rest of the trip south on Saturday was mostly uneventful, but I was glad to get past the Calgary traffic. The Rivers Edge RV is a lovely treed spot on the banks of the Oldman River. We did an exploratory walk around the park and along the river and then called it a day – retiring to anti-gravity chairs and books.
On Sunday we headed for the “Head-Smashed-in Buffalo Jump” – a World Heritage Site about 16 km away. We spent a number of hours there beginning with a long stair climb to the rim of the cliff. This climb is inside the exhibit building, and the option of elevators exists. At the top, on a beautiful sunny and warm (24º) day (albeit somewhat hazy from smoke) we strolled along the path at the top of the cliff admiring the views.
Back inside the exhibit building we worked our way gradually downstairs going through the displays on each floor. It is a fascinating history which goes back thousands of years, culminating in the almost eradication of the buffalo in the late 1800’s. Outside the building once again, we followed the foot path along the base of the cliff to where the actual jump occurred after the buffalo were ingeniously herded into a stampede over the edge by the indigenous people – mostly Blackfoot tribes. The tribes would then salvage meat, skins, and bones, for future food stocks.
On Monday, June 9, we began our westward trip through the Crowsnest Pass. We stopped at the Frank Slide information centre for Sandy to see and learn about the massive Frank Slide which wiped out the coal mining town of Frank early in the 20th century.
Our site for Monday was at Mt. Fernie Provincial Campground but first we stopped for a stroll around downtown Fernie. At the campground the various site loops were unmarked so we had to search a bit before we found our site – #33. Unfortunately, the placement of the table on the site, the angle of the entrance and my lack of developed skill on backing up made it impossible for me to get Truck House into the site. I finally gave up, and we found an unreserved site nearby.
On Tuesday, we had a much longer journey – again about 4 1/2 hr. to Rossland’s Lions Campground. That was quite a slog! We stopped for a stroll in Creston, but otherwise climbed, climbed and climbed some more before descending, descending and descending over the Creston-Salmo Pass, and then from Trail up to Rossland. (In Trail, the temperature showed 35º, so we had no urge to stop!) At the summit of the Rossland climb, by supper time, the temperature had dropped a full 8º and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner and evening with my niece Lea and her husband, Andrew – on their patio. The Lions Campground was beautiful and our site overlooked a lovely green meadow to the forest beyond.
This morning, as usual Sandy was up before the robins, and more reasonably, I arose at the more godly hour of 6:00. As we read and had coffee, I noticed a rather large brown bear foraging in the meadow about 30 m from our site. By the time I had my camera ready and door open, the bear had ambled off into the brush.
We were on our way by 7:45 with the intention of probably staying in Manning Park, or perhaps Hope. Once we had completed our first of several long mountain passes, I decided I was enjoying the driving and we should get as close to Chilliwack as we could – because we have a broken hatch catch that has to be repaired at the Escape factory tomorrow morning.
But first, we had to have a Fruit Stand stop near Osoyoos which was advertising “Cherries”. We were not surprised that they didn’t look as good as the summertime varieties, but in order to wash them for nibbling, I opened up the trailer and discovered that Humpty Dumpty and 10 of his buddies had indeed had a great fall, and almost a dozen extra large eggs were sloshing around on the floor of Truck House! I cautioned Sandy that she might not want to see inside, but that is like flashing a honey jar in front of a bear! However, not Sandy nor all the king’s men could put Humpty back together again, so the slimy mess is now occupying our grey water tank until our next dump out…in which time Humpty and cohort will find the Humpty Dumpster!
Thus, tonight we are at Cultus Lake where every site was marked “Reserved” but less that 20% actually have vehicles in them. The website did not co-operate with getting clear information! And…when we tried to book one “Available” site, the website froze up. When I tried a second time, the site was marked as “Unavailable”. I gave up! We are in a site. And…we have seen no park attendants!
Tomorrow we head for Escape Trailers, in Chilliwack, then to Langley to visit with our daughter, and then off to catch the 5:45pm Duke Pt. Ferry home. It has been a wonderful voyage. We love our Truck House Escape and the Escapades!
And much love and best wishes to all of you! (Until I write again!)
Tony, the Quill, and Sandy, the Quilter.
Tuesday, August 18 – “Baby, the Rain Must Fall, Baby the Wind Must Blow!”
Hello again, dear family and friends!
To your relief, I am sure, there is not too much to report since we left Kenai Peninsula. The title above kept ringing in my brain yesterday and today. (Song by Glenn Yarborough.)
A young man in Soldotna displays his sockeye catch. (3 caught in 10 minutes that we watched.)
The rain that began there has followed us for two days (we stopped one night in Trapper Creek), and though we managed to outrun the edge of the large system by the time we got to the Visitor Center in Denali National Park, still we were in heavy weather prior to that, and hopes for seeing Mt. McKinley died. However, the rain stopped for our drive up to the end of the public access road in Denali, and the park was very beautiful. We also watched the movie in the Visitor Center, and saw most of what we could see yesterday.
Road conditions heading north from Kenai Peninsula
Weather conditions for most of Monday.
Mt. McKinley, as we saw it!
Mt. McKinley, as others see it. (Lifted from a pamphlet.)
Denali Park near the end of the public access road.
In Healy, just north of the Park, I stopped for fuel, and used Roada to locate another quilt shop – Grandma’s Quilt Shop. She (Roada) took us through a dry river bed with huge potholes thinking that it was a road. We finally located the shop only to discover that it was closed on Mondays. Oh well! Later, in Fairbanks, on the internet, I also learned that we were a mile of two from the road where Chris McCandless disappeared “Into the Wild” and later died – possibly after suffering severe nerve damage from eating the seeds of the wild potato plant while in a state of protein deficiency. (The movie is about to be released and the young actor has been sentenced to 2 weeks in jail for assaulting a young woman at the Sundance Film Festival. And that, is the news!) The book by Jon Krakauer, “Into the Wild”, is a very good read.
Anyway, back to the road… We passed up all scenic “photo opportunities” since they were a waste of time until we reached the summit above Fairbanks. The sun came out, and by the time we were settled in to our beautiful site at River’s Edge RV, we were able to get back into shorts and lounge in our anti-gravity chairs beside the lovely Chena River for an hour or two. However, the weather system caught up with us again and the temperature dropped as the clouds moved in. By morning today, steady rain was once again our current and forecasted outlook.
Tuesday morning at our Rivers Edge site.
Since my dashboard indicator was indicating time for oil change, we went into Fairbanks Chevy but because of the camper, we were directed to H&H Auto Service just around the corner. An hour and a half later – with a chatty time in the waiting room with folks from California – all was serviced, oil changed, air filter replaced, and we were once again ready to get on our way. One last stop – the Visitor and Culture Center. This is a magnificent building with tons to see and read. The displays are beautifully done, and there are a number of natural and historical movies that can be seen if you hit the right time of day. (We didn’t!)
The “Antler” Arch beside the Visitor Information and Culture Center in Fairbanks.
Three and a half hours later, much of it in torrential rain, we are now settled at Tundra RV in Tok (“toke” – remember!) Tomorrow we will tackle the “Top of the World” Highway through Chicken to Dawson City. We can expect very muddy conditions! By the way, we read in one of our pamphlets that when the folks of that town were trying to decide a name for their settlement, they wanted to call it “Ptarmigan”, but no one knew how to spell that so instead they called it “Chicken”. I love that story!
North again tomorrow!
Love and best wishes to all…
Tony, the Quill, and Sandy, the Quilter
August 1, 2015: Things are Heating Up
Greetings again! We have survived unexpectedly chilly (and windy) weather in Birch Bay where we visited with cousins Rich and Shirley Henderson, and travelling companions – Mike and Marlene Harris. (Rich, Mike and I did our annual “Village Inn Pub” hamburger” lunch and visit to Yeager’s Sporting Goods while Sandy Shirley and Marlene found other more appealing things to do.) Mike helped me organize my fishing gear for the northern journey, and talked me out of buying a new truck and camper, so I guess I am in Sandy’s “A-list” status. (Might be a good time to purchase some new tools!)
Last Friday, we continued our annual visitations to Penticton’s South Beach Gardens on Skaha Lake. The weather continued unsettled for 2 more days, and we had several chilly and wet days before the sun returned to provide typically blistering hot Penticton summer weather. Our son-in-law, Doug Lindsay and our granddaughter Hannah arrived a bit later on Friday and daughter, Paula joined us the next day after completing a shift with Surrey Library Services.
Hannah converses with South Beach Garden denizens.
By Monday, the weather had improved and Lindsays’ friends from Walnut Grove, Grant and Jane Sauer and two daughters and son (Cassi, Mikayla, and Benjamin) joined us in the neighbouring site. Their third daughter, Gabriela, joined the gathering on Thursday.
From left: Mikayla, Gabriela, Jane, Grant, Benjamin, Cassi
Sandy and I had visits with cousins Jan and Darrell Beebe, and family friend, Carmen Bliss during the week. On Tuesday, we visited our aunt, Gerry Gaplette in her lovely new digs in Summerland with her daughter, Kim. A trip to the local GMC dealership on Wednesday was necessary in order to replace our fuel filter, so we are ready, I think, for our northern run. We actually made it to the beach on 3 occasions, but that pleasure, and sun-soaking activities seems to fade in importance (and increase in dangers!) as years go by.
Our Penticton stay ended on Friday, and we began our trip north with a first stop to visit our cousins in Peachland – Norm and Shirley Caplette. They have rebuilt a damaged fifth wheel which was given to them and the resulting RV is pretty impressive. They should have great times travelling in that vehicle. Our day ended at Knutsford RV just south of Kamloops on Hwy 5A. Our original designated site was in the open, and since the temperature was hovering at about 37C, and wifi wasn’t available at our site, I whined (just a little) at the office. We were immediately given a beautiful site with a very literary “babbling brook” running right behind our campsite – and fully in shade! What a relief! Then, having secured a shady site, we abandoned it to head into Kamloops for an afternoon and evening with our dear friends – the Siggers family.
We will gather our resources here until Monday when we begin the next stage of our northern journey – hopefully for a full Alaska loop as well as explorations of Yukon and northern BC. As always, we keep an open mind about destinations and routes. Meanwhile, we will plan on seeing our Kamloops Thuot family while we are here, and enjoy air conditioning as much as possible as temperatures once again soar.
Sandy has decreed that her visits to quilting shops to pick up free plans (at every quilt shop in North America, I think) don’t count against her, and thus, I cannot balance her visits out with trips to tool shops. Will I ever understand the rules?
Much love and best wishes to all, and I hope that you continue to enjoy your summers – wherever you are!
Sandy, the Quilter, and Tony, the Quill
July 19, 2015 – “Have you bought your maps yet?”
Our summer travelling time has finally arrived, and this time, our anticipation and excitement don’t seem to be as high as we sometimes experience. For one thing, our trip is a very long one, and for another, one of the driest seasons on record has created huge fire danger potential. Also, we are quite enamoured with our homebound hobbies of quilting and woodworking, and my workshop is nearly ready for productivity instead of organizing. These hobbies along with family and friends will give us great incentives to be eventually homeward bound.
A fish-eye view of my new workshop. The “door” wall at my back, is seen on the left and right of the photo.
My new workbench using pipe-clamps instead of traditional vises. (The plan is modified from “Fine Woodworking – A New-Fangled Workbench”.)
In preparation for leaving this week, I sought some electrical wiring assistance from my neighbour – Jim Clark. (I have added an after-market backup camera so that I can judge rear-view distances a little more accurately.) As he quickly resolved my issues, he asked about our itinerary. I explained we would head down into Birch Bay, Washington and then across to the Penticton… “Tony,” he interrupted, “Have you bought your maps yet? Alaska is NORTH!” Yes…we have all our maps, and the 2014 edition of Alaska State’s “Milepost” book. We are on our way with the first stop being in Fort Langley at the new digs of our Lindsay family. We will eventually visit with family and friends in Birch Bay, Penticton, Kamloops, Prince George, and Whitehorse.
Truck House is as crammed as it has ever been, and although I saved a bit of room by downsizing our barbecue, I then added a 5 gallon diesel can for reserve. Although I am not sure that it is needed, our experience in the Springtime of almost running on empty in southern Oregon (“sage rat” episode) has encouraged me to be more cautious. Multiple fish “guns” are stacked in the crew cab, and the kayaks loaded on top. Fishing is a high priority for me on this trip as well as the opportunity to see new vistas and travel down new roads. We are probably carrying way too many books, but many of them are used to it as seasoned veterans of our travels! Perhaps they will get read this time.
We’ll keep you posted and will look forward to your comments – both on the blog, and via emails – whichever you choose.
Much love and best wishes to all, and we hope that you all are enjoying your summer wherever you are – including the snowy regions of Australia!
Sandy, the Quilter and Tony, the Quill
Rules of the Road
Greetings dear family and friends! (This was written last night, but Internet wouldn’t let me send it.)
In a moment, I will tell you about today’s “theme title”, but first a bit of travel update…
This past week has gone by very quickly. After our extremely windy Monday in Show Low, we located a better site out of the wind and deeper into the woods for Monday night. On Tuesday, we awoke to 4 inches of snow and more falling. I was going to title this episode “Show Low Snow” as a sequel to the last blog note, but I figured, Show Low had already had enough “press coverage” for this year. The roads remained fairly clear but the weather deteriorated until after Payson (7700 ft. Elev.) when we began the drop down to Phoenix. (I joked in the last blog about Winslow, AZ, but perhaps I should have waited. The highway there had to be closed because of winds on Monday.)
Phoenix was cooler than normal for the first day, but warmed up for our poolside time on Tuesday at the gated community of Pueblo El Mirage where our cousins have a unit on one of the golf tee-offs. It was great to have our annual family visit in Phoenix with Judds and Hendersons.
On Thursday we departed from “Desert Aire RV”, a gravelly place to park, with a “character” caretaker – “RC”, trucks backing up in the morning (“beep, beep, beep”), and several passing night trains that blow the whistle 5 times – a confirmed count! The advantage is that it is quite close to our cousins’ place. RC wasn’t around when we left, so I hope that my cousins will claim the key deposit.
We headed northwest up the “Joshua Tree Highway” to Kingman, and then on to Boulder City, NV just across the new bridge at the Hoover Dam. We stopped for a short ogle of the dam, and then motored on to Pahrump to the newly named “Golden Pahrump Lakeside RV” (used to be “Terrible’s Lakeside”). ‘Tis a lovely spot, but I guarantee that a gambling addiction for a non-smoker could be cured here, otherwise, you have to hold your breath until the one-armed bandit stops dinging your winnings!
On Friday we did a leisurely loop through Death Valley, while once again being totally amazed at the pioneering types who crossed through here, or worked the mines. The highway through Stovepipe took us over the pass to Panamint Valley, and then another pass led to the beautiful Owens River Valley that has Hwy 395 running through it. We stopped briefly in Bishop, then camped at Brown’s Millpond RV park. It is rustic, with chickens and wild jackrabbits, (no ground squirrels this year), but the sites are decent, and back onto a grassy area with a creek.
Saturday found us climbing past Mono Lake and then down again to Carson City and Reno, which we bypassed, but paused for lunch on the north side of town. In search of a new route, as always, I opted for a continuation of 395 up through Alturas, and Tulelake to Klamath Falls, OR. En route we passed a herd of wild burros, and a white pelican! After a very cold night (-6C) at a KOA we followed 97 out of town. This passes Upper Klamath Lake where we saw hundreds of ground squirrels on the shoulders of the road, and crowds of eagles and hawks! At Chemult, we turned west and crossed on 58 to Eugene. After a stop at Fabric Depot in Portland, we finally parked at Columbia Riverfront RV in Woodlands, WA. Tomorrow, if the weather clears a bit, we may take a run up to see Mt. St. Helen, otherwise, we will head for the Lindsay Hotel in Walnut Grove.
Now, as to “rules”…it seems that rules determine all of our behaviours. I just finished a book called “The God Equation” – about Einstein’s equation that describes the rules of the behaviour of the universe! The math was way over my head, but I got it…there is a rule that describes how we behave molecularly, and gravitationally in the totality of the known universe. Wow! BUT, did you know that there are also rules for behaviour in the Truck House??? Einstein didn’t know this, and I didn’t either, but I have discovered over the years that THERE ARE!!! There is a rule for where and when you can wear shoes, there is one for closing cupboard doors, there is one for turning off the water pump, etc. etc. – all for 12 square feet of living space! And get this…I didn’t make up any of the rules! I asked the Quilter…”Who gets to make up the rules?” (Apparently that was a stupid question! Equally apparent is that I don’t!!!) A follow-up question, also inane, was, “Who gets to change the rules? (Same response + “You’re stupid!”) It is a very good thing that I love the rule maker!
And, much love and best wishes to you all! See you soon!
Tony, the Rule Follower, and Sandy, the Rule Maker.
P.s. I have had some trouble including pictures, so I will add them in from home where the Internet and software are more reliable.
P.p.s. We have successfully navigated Washington State’s I-5 traffic, and are safely “home” with our Walnut Grove family. Back to the Island on Thursday.
roadquill1 