Sunday ; Port Alberni to Tofino to Ucluelet to Nanaimo, ferry to Vancouver, to home near Keremeos, British Columbia
Today started out cloudy and mild, becoming sunny and very warm.
Once again I feel as if I have severely undercharged for a trailer towing job. I am typing this at 7:05 PM, at the Nanaimo ferry terminal. We missed the 3:15 ferry that I had a reservation for. When we arrived at the ferry terminal at 5:30 PM, the 5:45 PM ferry was full and just about to depart. At that time, the 8:15 PM ferry was full, and we are in the "standby" wait line for 8:15 PM, definitely on the 10:45 PM ferry. < heavy sigh >
We were up this morning at 7 AM and left the motel in Port Alberni at 9 AM. We continued west on Hwy. 4. The 100 km. stretch of Hwy. 19 from Port Alberni to the Pacific coast / west side of Vancouver Island was brutally difficult with a 38 foot trailer in tow. At the Pacific coast we turned north for the last 35 km. to Tofino.
We arrived at Crystal Cove Resort exactly at 11 AM, as planned, as that is their check out time and we could not check in with the client's trailer before that time. Access to the client's reserved campsite was ... ( what else ? ) ... exceptionally difficult ! < another heavy sigh > Getting the trailer situated in the site, and set up ... slides, electricity, water, sewer, unload bicycles from inside the trailer, etc. took two hours. "Normal" set up time is one hour, so ... we were an hour late by the time we were leaving the campground at 1 PM. We knew by then that we would not be able to get to the ferry terminal for the 3:15 PM ferry. SO ... Joanne wanted to make a short side trip to visit Ucluelet. We drove south to Ucluelet, then through the village to look around. I bought $20 worth of diesel fuel in Ucluelet just to ensure that I had enough fuel to make it back to Port Alberni where I wanted to refuel at Extra Foods Fuel Bar. We returned north to Hwy. 4 and headed east back towards Port Alberni and Nanaimo.
Halfway back to Port Alberni we stopped in a rest area to have a very late picnic lunch. We chatted briefly with a family of four from Germany. At Port Alberni I refilled with diesel fuel. KA-CHING ... another $110 ! At Coombs we turned south on Hwy. 4A and followed it to Parksville where we got onto Hwy. 19 and continued south back to the ferry terminal at Nanaimo, arriving at 5:30 PM. And that was possible only because
I travelled all of Hwy. 4A and Hwy. 19 at 130 km./hr., 40 km./ hr. over the speed limit !
It’s now 7:35 PM. The ferry from Vancouver is arriving, ten minutes early. Joanne is extremely crabby ! What fun we’re having ! ! !
8:10 PM. On the ferry. About to depart. About to eat supper. Wife still crabby ! Will be arriving in Vancouver at 10:15 PM. Five hours to drive home ... in the dark ... should mean we’ll be home at ... about 3:15 AM ! < sigh > Five hours later than planned !
I really got to start charging more money for my trailer towing services ! Especially the long haul jobs that involve ferry crossings.
Off ferry in Vancouver on time at 10:15 PM. With no stops for meals, fuel, or puking puppies ... made it home in four hours, arriving home at 2:15 AM ! Might have exceeded the speed limit a bit ... < cough > !
Monday ; Sunny and warm.
What eclipse ? Must have slept through it !
Actually, I didn't, but Joanne did. I awoke at 9:30 AM and went immediately to get Bo at our friend / neighbour / mail collector / dog sitter Jeanine. After showering, etc. I spent the rest of the morning doing trip accounting, retrieving electronic payments, etc.
This afternoon we visited with Jeanine to find out how her two days of dog sitting Bo went, and to retrieve Bo's leash and food. Back at home we unloaded all the trailer towing equipment and supplies, and returned Lanoire the truck to its parking spot underneath Elsie the camper. We watered our composters and gardens. I tried to glue repair a soapstone brooch that I bought in the Northwest Territories, that broke during travel. < sigh > The glue repair did not work.
Bo survived his two days with Jeanine. He was a bit morose. Emma survived her forty hours alone, quite well, it seems. Joanne survived our two day trip to Vancouver Island and back, but does not want me to accept any more trailer towing jobs over to Vancouver Island. Well ... we have another one in two weeks when we have to bring back the trailer we just delivered.
Tuesday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked a Saskatoon cake and a sweet & sour chicken cutlet, pineapple, and rice dish in the Sun Oven today.
Spent the morning working on "administrative" chores at my desk. In the afternoon I did some preventive maintenance on the truck and minivan, and a small refurbishment project on the camper. Both of us spent time on the computer trying to make a motel reservation more conveniently located to Tofino than the one we already have in Port Alberni, for the return trip in two weeks on the Labour Day weekend. I finally managed to get a reservation at a hostel in Ucluelet. Never been to a hostel before. We have a reservation for a double bed in a room with four beds. In a house with two bathrooms for eighteen guests ! Hope it works out okay. The hostel specializes in surfers and offers surfing lessons. < blink blink >
When we took Bo for a walk around supper time we walked down to our RV park's orchard and Joanne harvested plums and peaches.
Wednesday ; Sunny and hot. Joanne cooked Swiss Steak in the Sun Oven today.
This morning we removed the rear seat from the minivan and loaded our four pieces of artwork in the minivan to take them to Penticton tomorrow. This afternoon while Joanne went into Keremeos to refill our five gallon water jug I went fishing. I fished for about an hour and a half, and caught four, large ... Rocky Mountain Whitefish. HMPH ! Don't want 'em ! Too full of bones ! Released 'em ! BUT ... they're spunky ! Fun to catch !
Last week I kept a large Whitefish. Made ( liquid ) "smoked", ( maple syrup glazed ) "candied" Whitefish in the Sun Oven. Yeah ... tasted fine ... but ... still full of bones !
Thursday ; Penticton
Sunny and very warm during the day, cool and windy during the evening.
This morning at 11 AM we headed for Penticton, for a noon meeting with the owner of a fine art gallery, to discuss the sale of our three Group of Seven limited edition, numbered prints, and our very large Italian tapestry, purchased on Joanne's 40th birthday in January, 1994, in Florence, Italy. We unloaded the four pieces of art from our minivan, took them into her gallery, unpacked them, and left them with her for a few hours to assess them with the assistance of a colleague of hers who was not there yet.
We had lunch at Tim Horton's. We went to Service Canada and submitted our passport renewal applications. We went to my gastroenterologist's office and picked up the colonoscopy pathology report from my colonoscopy in May. We refilled the minivan with fuel. We went to Total Pet and bought some blade wash. We went to PetsMart and bought some dog food. We returned to the art gallery and had a discussion / negotiation with her about selling our four art pieces on a contingency basis. The discussion / negotiation was a bit disappointing, but ... life goes on !
We shopped at Wal-Mart, mostly for groceries. We shopped at Superstore for groceries. We finished and left Penticton about 6:30 PM. We arrived home about an hour later. I barbecued Dan-O-Cheese-Dogs for dinner. We watched Saturday Night Live's summer replacement show, Weekend Update ; Summer Edition, followed by a reality show documenting the emergency department of Vancouver General Hospital.
Friday ; Mostly overcast ... maybe smoke haze ... warm.
This afternoon we reinstalled the rear seat on the minivan, and did some rearranging of emergency equipment and supplies in the rear. I went to the park's burn pile and scavenged a couple of long pieces of 2" x 8" lumber. I took them to the woodworking shop and used a radial arm saw to cut one of them into blocks to be used under the truck's tires when we need to level the camper when we're parked somewhere that is not level, and a four foot section to be used as a levelling board under trailer tires when needed on trailer towing jobs. I disinfected and refilled the camper's freshwater tank.
I replenished toiletries and bathroom supplies in the camper.
Late this afternoon Marcie came over to ask for help. Gord had tumbled backwards off the top / fifth step leading into their house, landing on his head, shoulder and elbow. Joanne and I rushed over, Gord was lying on the pavement at the base of the steps, moaning in pain, bleeding from the elbow. We picked him up, got him into the house and settled into his living room plush chair. Joanne and Marcie tended to his bleeding elbow.
Gord is in the final stages of life. He has been suffering from mesothelioma / asbestos caused lung cancer for about sixteen months, and is expected to live only a few months more. He's very frail.
A couple of hours later Marcie was back to ask for help again. While she was outside for a few minutes, Gord tried, but failed, to make it from the living room to the bathroom. I found him sitting in a kitchen chair, urine all over the kitchen floor. He wanted an ambulance to be called. Good decision ! He used the "Lifeline" emergency call device strapped to his wrist. A Lifeline agent opened communications from a speaker phone on their kitchen counter. I explained the situation, and Lifeline called for an ambulance.
Impatient after a forty-five minute wait, I told Gord to press the Lifeline button again. A Lifeline agent again opened communications through the speaker phone device on the kitchen counter. I expressed my impatience. The Lifeline agent called again for an ambulance, then came back on the line to advise me that their records indicated that they had called an ambulance forty-five minutes earlier, but that BC ambulance dispatch had no record of that. < SPUTTER > I was dumbstruck ! But ... that was not the time for me to throw a hissy fit.
Fifteen minutes later an ambulance arrived. They got Gord assessed, and loaded into the ambulance. HMPH ... easier said than done ! They took him into the Keremeos clinic to have the doctor on emergency call assess Gord further. About half an hour later they phoned me back to advise that Gord was being taken to, and admitted to, Penticton Hospital. Great ! He's much too ill to be taken care of at home by Marcie any longer !
Joanne went next door and arranged to take Marcie to Penticton Hospital tomorrow morning.
Saturday ; Sunny and very warm.
Joanne left at 10 AM this morning to take Marcie to Penticton hospital. I sliced Roma tomatoes thinly and placed three racks of them into the Sun Oven, dehydrating them all day to make sun dried tomatoes. The top rack was finished by the end of the day, but the lower two racks will require more time in the Sun Oven tomorrow.
Around noon I walked Bo, then Ozzie. After walking Ozzie, I examined his ears.
I spent all last summer battling Ozzie's severe ear infections. In May when I examined his ears, they were fine. Today ... YUCK ! One ear was fine, and one ear was more severely infected than I have ever seen. < sigh > Poor Ozzie ! The ear was inflamed, plugged with pus, and extremely smelly. YUCK ! ! ! I cleaned the ear as best as I could without anybody else to help, and I applied antibiotic, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic ear drops. < sigh > Looks like Ozzie and I will be seeing one another every three days or so for the next little while. Poor Ozzie ! It must take a lot of courage for a little dog to trust someone while they are doing something that hurts as much as the ear cleaning obviously did.
I was napping when Joanne came home from Penticton with Marcie around 4:30 PM. She got our dirty laundry ready for laundering, and while it was in the washers and dryers in our park's laundromat, we visited with our neighbour / friend Jeanine whose home is near the park's laundromat. In the evening I downloaded, printed, reconciled, and paid our monthly MasterCard billing. WOW ! Expensive trip to Northwest Territories and Manitoba !
DSK
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Monday, August 21, 2017
August 13 to 19, 2017 ; Lost Creek Rest Area near Salmo to Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos, Britsh Columbia ... then ... home to Kelowna to home to Vancouver Island
Sunday ; Lost Creek Rest Area near Salmo to Riverside RV Park Resort near Keremeos, British Columbia
Cool and raining until early afternoon, then partially sunny and very warm, windy in the evening at home.
When we settled into the rest area to boondock overnight last night we did not know that we were very near the site of the Shambhala Music Festival being held this weekend. Nor did we know that there was a wild fire in the vicinity that forced the cancellation and evacuation of the music festival late last night. Car loads of young people arrived at the rest area in the middle of the night, some sleeping in their cars, some sleeping in tents beside their cars. Shortly after we left the rest area this morning we encountered a law enforcement roadside checkpoint, stopping all eastbound cars heading out of the nearby festival site, creating a huge traffic jam. Fortunately for us ... we were westbound.
At Castlegar we stopped at the Doukhobor Museum to pick wild Porcini mushrooms in their picnic area, as we have done before. HMPH ... no mushrooms today ! We stopped to have lunch at another rest area. We stopped in Grand Forks to shop for groceries at Extra Foods, refill with diesel at Extra Foods Fuel Bar, then shop again for groceries at Overwaitea. At Osoyoos we stopped to give Bo an opportunity to visit his favourite park, located on Lake Osoyoos waterfront. I don't know what its name is, we've always called it Bo's PP Park. We arrived home at Riverside RV Park Resort west of Keremeos around 7 PM.
Six weeks, 9530 km. / 5956 miles. Whew ... I'm tired ! British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia. The four day trip home from Lorette / Winnipeg was 2134 km. / 1334 miles. Most expensive diesel was in Fort Nelson, BC ; $1.289 / litre. Cheapest diesel was in Winnipeg, Manitoba ; $0.929 / litre. Why is diesel fuel in Northern BC more expensive than anywhere in the Northwest Territories ? ! ?
Monday ; Sunny and hot. A busy day of "return home" chores.
Our gardens needed a lot of attention. There was some produce to harvest, but mostly everything was overgrown and / or dried out. I watered our composters and herb garden. I trimmed my beard. We gave Bo a haircut. We gave Bo a bath. We did a lot of unpacking from the camper. I removed the three "Group of Seven" pieces of artwork that we retrieved from Winnipeg / Lorette. I removed the large, crated Italian tapestry that Bud and I had secured to the ceiling of the camper, and lowered it onto the bed. Joanne will help me remove it from the camper tomorrow, I hope.
I bid on a U-Ship job to transport a puppy from Keremeos to the Vancouver area this weekend, in conjunction with the trailer towing job I have to Vancouver Island. The shipper accepted my bid, so ... Bear the Australian Shepherd puppy will be making the trip with me on Saturday.
Tuesday ; Sunny and hot.
This morning we carefully removed the boxed tapestry from the camper and stored it temporarily in our shed. I am very grateful to my brother-in-law Bud for the creative problem solving he used to help me get the tapestry mounted up against the ceiling of the camper for transport from Lorette to here.
After an early lunch we went into Keremeos to run errands. I dropped Joanne off at Sanderson Farms to buy produce while I went to Similkameen Agencies to renew the registration and insurance on the minivan and renew our home insurance. I picked Joanne up at Sanderson Farms and then she went to Valu-Plus to buy some groceries while I went to Valley First Credit Union to make changes to our monthly maintenance fee payment to Riverside RV Park Resort. From there we drove to 3 Winds Farm to make arrangements regarding the puppy delivery we are doing on Saturday.
No one was home at 3 Winds Farm, but ... we did get greeted by a whole lot of "guard" dogs, some Border Collies and some Australian Shepherds. And one curious, sociable horse in a corral. The puppy we will be transporting on Saturday to Vancouver is an Australian Shepherd. We returned to town, to FasGas. We washed the truck and camper, refilled a propane tank, and bought fishing worms.
Back at home I napped briefly before we removed the camper from the truck. Joanne worked on unloading and cleaning the camper. I worked on maintenance on the camper, reinstalling a cupboard door and remounting our TV, both removed for the tapestry transport. Our satellite TV service resumed today after being put on "vacation break", so we watched Amazing Race Canada while eating supper, our first TV viewing in six weeks.
After supper I phoned our puppy delivery client and discussed arrangements.
Wednesday ; Sunny and hot, a bit windy early in the evening while I was fly fishing on the Similkameen River.
I finalized arrangements for the pickup of a large travel trailer in Kelowna on Friday evening. We will deliver it to Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island on Sunday morning. I finalized the arrangements for the pickup of a puppy in Keremeos on Saturday morning. We will deliver him to Vancouver Saturday afternoon. I paid some bills owing to our RV park. I went to our park's woodworking shop, found some scrap plywood, and used a radial arm saw in the woodworking shop to cut it to size for a project.
We visited our neighbour / friend Jeanine to pick our mail that she has been collecting from our mail box for the six weeks that we've been away, and to arrange for her to care for Bo while we are away this weekend on the trailer delivery job. At supper time I went fishing on the Similkameen River for the first time this summer. I fished for an hour and a half. The conditions were not great for fly fishing. It was windy and the water was flowing faster than I expected it would be at this time of the year. I caught two small Rainbow Trout and a large Whitefish. I released the smaller of the two Rainbows.
I cleaned the larger Rainbow and gave it to Jeanine. It was too small for us. It was what I call "widow size". I filleted the Whitefish to try an experiment with it. I am going to "smoke" it in the Sun Oven, like making "smoked, candied" salmon in the Sun Oven.
Thursday ; Sunny and very hot. As planned yesterday, I did make ( liquid ) smoked,
( maple syrup glazed ) candied Whitefish in the Sun Oven today.
I made phone calls this morning ; to the motel I have booked in Port Alberni regarding late arrival check in procedures, to the owner of the art gallery in Penticton that I am hopeful will handle the sale of our artwork, to set up a meeting with her next week, and to a potential purchaser of one of the neighbour's shed items that I have advertised for sale on Kijiji.
This afternoon I prepared the truck for trailer towing, loading all the necessary equipment and supplies. I assembled a pet carrier to use to transport Bear the puppy to Vancouver. I exercised and did annual maintenance on our little generator.
I fertilized our gardens. And most importantly, Joanne and I uncrated and inspected our large tapestry which has been crated and in storage at my sister's for the last thirteen years. It's in perfect condition and as beautiful as ever.
I barbecued chicken to take on our weekend trailer towing and puppy delivery trip. Joanne prepared potato salad to go with the chicken, and she made a large pot of spaghetti and meat sauce for the trip as well. I baked potatoes and barbecued a thick, juicy, marinated steak for supper which we ate while watching Saturday Night Live ; Weekend Update Summer Edition.
This afternoon while working on preparing the truck for trailer towing, loading equipment and supplies, I repeatedly experienced angina while working hard, in the sun, on a very hot day. I kept resting and rehydrating, but eventually it became so severe I had to come indoors, lie down on the bed, and use Nitroglycerin spray, only the second time
I have done so. Yes, yes ... it works ! Quite well, and quite quickly ... leaving a headache afterwards.
Friday ; home to Penticton to Kelowna to home
Sunny and very warm.
We left home at noon and headed to Penticton. First errand was to sell our next door neighbour's baby playpen. KA-CHING ! Mrs. Buyer was pissed off at my delivery charge. HEY ... read the ad more carefully next time ! You don't want to pay my delivery charge to your front door ... drive to my home and buy it !
We shopped at Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree, then left Penticton and headed north on
Hwy. 97 through Summerland and Peachland to Westbank / West Kelowna. Nobody calls Westbank by its "new" name West Kelowna. We had an extremely late lunch or extremely early supper at Swiss Chalet. The service was horrible ! We won't be returning. Swiss Chalet has lost a customer after thirty years, because one bimbo does her job poorly ! AND ... their chickens seem to have shrunk to the size of Cornish game hens ! No problem ... many other establishments will be happy to receive my money.
We refilled with diesel at Superstore Fuel Bar then went into Superstore to complete our weekly grocery shopping ... which had been started at Wal-Mart in Penticton. From there we drove into Kelowna ... ( I hate Kelowna ! ) ... and arrived at our trailer towing client's home half an hour early, at 5:30 PM. Good thing we were a bit early. The trailer pick up was a bit more complicated and took a bit longer than expected. We left the client's home at 7 PM, drove through Kelowna back to Hwy. 97, south through Westbank, Peachland, Summerland, and Penticton, returning to Keremeos on Hwy. 3A, then to Riverside RV Park Resort on Hwy. 3. It was dark before 9 PM. We arrived home around 9:30 PM, had a light, late supper or bedtime snack, then finished preparing for departure tomorrow morning. Joanne prepared meals to go, I packed clothes, medications, and toiletries.
Saturday ; home to Vancouver, ferry to Vancouver Island, Nanaimo to Port Alberni
Sunny and very warm.
This morning as Joanne took Bo over to Jeanine's to be "dog sat" for a few days,
I drove into town ( Keremeos ) in the minivan to pick up Bear the 7½ week old Australian Shepherd puppy. At 10 AM I picked Bear up at the restaurant in town owned by his < cough > breeder, then returned home with him. We loaded him into the truck, with the client's large trailer attached, and off we went, headed west on Hwy. 3 towards Vancouver. We left home at 10:30 AM. Emma will be spending two days in our house by herself, with lots of food and water, and multiple litter boxes. Wish us all luck !
The highway from home to Princeton is difficult, curving and hilly. The road from Princeton to Hope is even more so ! About an hour and half after leaving, Bear became ill and vomited ( a lot ! ) in the pet carrier. HMPH ! Maybe ... just maybe ... he should have had food withheld for twelve or more hours before travelling ? ! ? Especially since this was his first time in a vehicle ? ! ? < fume >
We stopped at Flying J in Hope at about 1 PM. We tried ... unsuccessfully ... to walk Bear. HMPH ! He had never been on a leash before. You'd think that maybe ... just maybe ... oh, never mind ! We had lunch, refilled with diesel, and were back on the road by 2 PM. From Hope we travelled west on Trans-Canada Hwy. 1 to the Lower Mainland / Vancouver area. We got onto the beginning of Hwy. 17 / South Fraser Perimeter Road and followed it to its end at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Just before we reached the shopping mall where we were delivering him, Bear was very ill again.
< sigh >
Just a few miles before reaching the ferry terminal we stopped at Tsawwassen Mills Mall, an extremely large shopping mall, with an extremely large parking lot, to deliver Bear to his new owner / family. The female buyer of Bear, and her teenage daughter were already at the mall, eagerly awaiting our arrival with their new family member. They were thrilled to meet ( and take possession of ) Bear. Thank you very much Rhea, for arranging to meet us at a large shopping mall with a large parking lot, in consideration of the large trailer we were towing. We delivered Bear at 3:45 PM, about fifteen minutes late.
We arrived at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal about 4:30 PM, to wait for our 5:45 PM ferry departure to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. I have written this journal entry so far while on the ferry.
We arrived at the Nanaimo ferry terminal on Vancouver Island on time at 7:45 PM. We drove north on the island's main north / south road, Hwy. 19 to Qualicum, then turned west on Hwy. 4. We arrived at Port Alberni at 9 PM just as it became dark. We checked into the Timberlodge Motel & RV Campground, and ate a very late supper in our room.
WHEW ... tired !
DSK
Cool and raining until early afternoon, then partially sunny and very warm, windy in the evening at home.
When we settled into the rest area to boondock overnight last night we did not know that we were very near the site of the Shambhala Music Festival being held this weekend. Nor did we know that there was a wild fire in the vicinity that forced the cancellation and evacuation of the music festival late last night. Car loads of young people arrived at the rest area in the middle of the night, some sleeping in their cars, some sleeping in tents beside their cars. Shortly after we left the rest area this morning we encountered a law enforcement roadside checkpoint, stopping all eastbound cars heading out of the nearby festival site, creating a huge traffic jam. Fortunately for us ... we were westbound.
At Castlegar we stopped at the Doukhobor Museum to pick wild Porcini mushrooms in their picnic area, as we have done before. HMPH ... no mushrooms today ! We stopped to have lunch at another rest area. We stopped in Grand Forks to shop for groceries at Extra Foods, refill with diesel at Extra Foods Fuel Bar, then shop again for groceries at Overwaitea. At Osoyoos we stopped to give Bo an opportunity to visit his favourite park, located on Lake Osoyoos waterfront. I don't know what its name is, we've always called it Bo's PP Park. We arrived home at Riverside RV Park Resort west of Keremeos around 7 PM.
Six weeks, 9530 km. / 5956 miles. Whew ... I'm tired ! British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia. The four day trip home from Lorette / Winnipeg was 2134 km. / 1334 miles. Most expensive diesel was in Fort Nelson, BC ; $1.289 / litre. Cheapest diesel was in Winnipeg, Manitoba ; $0.929 / litre. Why is diesel fuel in Northern BC more expensive than anywhere in the Northwest Territories ? ! ?
Monday ; Sunny and hot. A busy day of "return home" chores.
Our gardens needed a lot of attention. There was some produce to harvest, but mostly everything was overgrown and / or dried out. I watered our composters and herb garden. I trimmed my beard. We gave Bo a haircut. We gave Bo a bath. We did a lot of unpacking from the camper. I removed the three "Group of Seven" pieces of artwork that we retrieved from Winnipeg / Lorette. I removed the large, crated Italian tapestry that Bud and I had secured to the ceiling of the camper, and lowered it onto the bed. Joanne will help me remove it from the camper tomorrow, I hope.
I bid on a U-Ship job to transport a puppy from Keremeos to the Vancouver area this weekend, in conjunction with the trailer towing job I have to Vancouver Island. The shipper accepted my bid, so ... Bear the Australian Shepherd puppy will be making the trip with me on Saturday.
Tuesday ; Sunny and hot.
This morning we carefully removed the boxed tapestry from the camper and stored it temporarily in our shed. I am very grateful to my brother-in-law Bud for the creative problem solving he used to help me get the tapestry mounted up against the ceiling of the camper for transport from Lorette to here.
After an early lunch we went into Keremeos to run errands. I dropped Joanne off at Sanderson Farms to buy produce while I went to Similkameen Agencies to renew the registration and insurance on the minivan and renew our home insurance. I picked Joanne up at Sanderson Farms and then she went to Valu-Plus to buy some groceries while I went to Valley First Credit Union to make changes to our monthly maintenance fee payment to Riverside RV Park Resort. From there we drove to 3 Winds Farm to make arrangements regarding the puppy delivery we are doing on Saturday.
No one was home at 3 Winds Farm, but ... we did get greeted by a whole lot of "guard" dogs, some Border Collies and some Australian Shepherds. And one curious, sociable horse in a corral. The puppy we will be transporting on Saturday to Vancouver is an Australian Shepherd. We returned to town, to FasGas. We washed the truck and camper, refilled a propane tank, and bought fishing worms.
Back at home I napped briefly before we removed the camper from the truck. Joanne worked on unloading and cleaning the camper. I worked on maintenance on the camper, reinstalling a cupboard door and remounting our TV, both removed for the tapestry transport. Our satellite TV service resumed today after being put on "vacation break", so we watched Amazing Race Canada while eating supper, our first TV viewing in six weeks.
After supper I phoned our puppy delivery client and discussed arrangements.
Wednesday ; Sunny and hot, a bit windy early in the evening while I was fly fishing on the Similkameen River.
I finalized arrangements for the pickup of a large travel trailer in Kelowna on Friday evening. We will deliver it to Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island on Sunday morning. I finalized the arrangements for the pickup of a puppy in Keremeos on Saturday morning. We will deliver him to Vancouver Saturday afternoon. I paid some bills owing to our RV park. I went to our park's woodworking shop, found some scrap plywood, and used a radial arm saw in the woodworking shop to cut it to size for a project.
We visited our neighbour / friend Jeanine to pick our mail that she has been collecting from our mail box for the six weeks that we've been away, and to arrange for her to care for Bo while we are away this weekend on the trailer delivery job. At supper time I went fishing on the Similkameen River for the first time this summer. I fished for an hour and a half. The conditions were not great for fly fishing. It was windy and the water was flowing faster than I expected it would be at this time of the year. I caught two small Rainbow Trout and a large Whitefish. I released the smaller of the two Rainbows.
I cleaned the larger Rainbow and gave it to Jeanine. It was too small for us. It was what I call "widow size". I filleted the Whitefish to try an experiment with it. I am going to "smoke" it in the Sun Oven, like making "smoked, candied" salmon in the Sun Oven.
Thursday ; Sunny and very hot. As planned yesterday, I did make ( liquid ) smoked,
( maple syrup glazed ) candied Whitefish in the Sun Oven today.
I made phone calls this morning ; to the motel I have booked in Port Alberni regarding late arrival check in procedures, to the owner of the art gallery in Penticton that I am hopeful will handle the sale of our artwork, to set up a meeting with her next week, and to a potential purchaser of one of the neighbour's shed items that I have advertised for sale on Kijiji.
This afternoon I prepared the truck for trailer towing, loading all the necessary equipment and supplies. I assembled a pet carrier to use to transport Bear the puppy to Vancouver. I exercised and did annual maintenance on our little generator.
I fertilized our gardens. And most importantly, Joanne and I uncrated and inspected our large tapestry which has been crated and in storage at my sister's for the last thirteen years. It's in perfect condition and as beautiful as ever.
I barbecued chicken to take on our weekend trailer towing and puppy delivery trip. Joanne prepared potato salad to go with the chicken, and she made a large pot of spaghetti and meat sauce for the trip as well. I baked potatoes and barbecued a thick, juicy, marinated steak for supper which we ate while watching Saturday Night Live ; Weekend Update Summer Edition.
This afternoon while working on preparing the truck for trailer towing, loading equipment and supplies, I repeatedly experienced angina while working hard, in the sun, on a very hot day. I kept resting and rehydrating, but eventually it became so severe I had to come indoors, lie down on the bed, and use Nitroglycerin spray, only the second time
I have done so. Yes, yes ... it works ! Quite well, and quite quickly ... leaving a headache afterwards.
Friday ; home to Penticton to Kelowna to home
Sunny and very warm.
We left home at noon and headed to Penticton. First errand was to sell our next door neighbour's baby playpen. KA-CHING ! Mrs. Buyer was pissed off at my delivery charge. HEY ... read the ad more carefully next time ! You don't want to pay my delivery charge to your front door ... drive to my home and buy it !
We shopped at Wal-Mart and Dollar Tree, then left Penticton and headed north on
Hwy. 97 through Summerland and Peachland to Westbank / West Kelowna. Nobody calls Westbank by its "new" name West Kelowna. We had an extremely late lunch or extremely early supper at Swiss Chalet. The service was horrible ! We won't be returning. Swiss Chalet has lost a customer after thirty years, because one bimbo does her job poorly ! AND ... their chickens seem to have shrunk to the size of Cornish game hens ! No problem ... many other establishments will be happy to receive my money.
We refilled with diesel at Superstore Fuel Bar then went into Superstore to complete our weekly grocery shopping ... which had been started at Wal-Mart in Penticton. From there we drove into Kelowna ... ( I hate Kelowna ! ) ... and arrived at our trailer towing client's home half an hour early, at 5:30 PM. Good thing we were a bit early. The trailer pick up was a bit more complicated and took a bit longer than expected. We left the client's home at 7 PM, drove through Kelowna back to Hwy. 97, south through Westbank, Peachland, Summerland, and Penticton, returning to Keremeos on Hwy. 3A, then to Riverside RV Park Resort on Hwy. 3. It was dark before 9 PM. We arrived home around 9:30 PM, had a light, late supper or bedtime snack, then finished preparing for departure tomorrow morning. Joanne prepared meals to go, I packed clothes, medications, and toiletries.
Saturday ; home to Vancouver, ferry to Vancouver Island, Nanaimo to Port Alberni
Sunny and very warm.
This morning as Joanne took Bo over to Jeanine's to be "dog sat" for a few days,
I drove into town ( Keremeos ) in the minivan to pick up Bear the 7½ week old Australian Shepherd puppy. At 10 AM I picked Bear up at the restaurant in town owned by his < cough > breeder, then returned home with him. We loaded him into the truck, with the client's large trailer attached, and off we went, headed west on Hwy. 3 towards Vancouver. We left home at 10:30 AM. Emma will be spending two days in our house by herself, with lots of food and water, and multiple litter boxes. Wish us all luck !
The highway from home to Princeton is difficult, curving and hilly. The road from Princeton to Hope is even more so ! About an hour and half after leaving, Bear became ill and vomited ( a lot ! ) in the pet carrier. HMPH ! Maybe ... just maybe ... he should have had food withheld for twelve or more hours before travelling ? ! ? Especially since this was his first time in a vehicle ? ! ? < fume >
We stopped at Flying J in Hope at about 1 PM. We tried ... unsuccessfully ... to walk Bear. HMPH ! He had never been on a leash before. You'd think that maybe ... just maybe ... oh, never mind ! We had lunch, refilled with diesel, and were back on the road by 2 PM. From Hope we travelled west on Trans-Canada Hwy. 1 to the Lower Mainland / Vancouver area. We got onto the beginning of Hwy. 17 / South Fraser Perimeter Road and followed it to its end at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Just before we reached the shopping mall where we were delivering him, Bear was very ill again.
< sigh >
Just a few miles before reaching the ferry terminal we stopped at Tsawwassen Mills Mall, an extremely large shopping mall, with an extremely large parking lot, to deliver Bear to his new owner / family. The female buyer of Bear, and her teenage daughter were already at the mall, eagerly awaiting our arrival with their new family member. They were thrilled to meet ( and take possession of ) Bear. Thank you very much Rhea, for arranging to meet us at a large shopping mall with a large parking lot, in consideration of the large trailer we were towing. We delivered Bear at 3:45 PM, about fifteen minutes late.
We arrived at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal about 4:30 PM, to wait for our 5:45 PM ferry departure to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. I have written this journal entry so far while on the ferry.
We arrived at the Nanaimo ferry terminal on Vancouver Island on time at 7:45 PM. We drove north on the island's main north / south road, Hwy. 19 to Qualicum, then turned west on Hwy. 4. We arrived at Port Alberni at 9 PM just as it became dark. We checked into the Timberlodge Motel & RV Campground, and ate a very late supper in our room.
WHEW ... tired !
DSK
Sunday, August 13, 2017
August 6 to 12, 2017 ; Winnipeg, Manitoba to Lost Creek Rest Area near Salmo, British Columbia
Sunday ; Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sunny and warm. We're very tired tonight. I "overbooked" us socially today. And we squabbled this morning over that issue. < sigh >
After showering this morning I returned a phone call to our new friend Jackie who is travelling in Alaska with our friends David and Linda. It was 10 AM here, but only 7 AM in Alaska. Good thing Jackie is an early riser. I chatted with her about her transmission woes, giving her advice and moral support that I hope will be helpful.
At 11 AM we went to a local restaurant to meet with Joanne's ex-brother-in-law Doug and his new wife Lisa. I had not met Lisa before. We had brunch and chatted for a couple of hours. Then Joanne and I headed to Southdale ( a suburb of Winnipeg ) to meet with our friends Shirley and Darcy at another restaurant, this time over tea and pie. Shirley has been our faithful friend since high school. We chatted with Shirley and Darcy for an hour and a half, about our travels, and their young adult children, both very accomplished high achievers.
Then we rushed over to St. Boniface to meet Lorraine and her two daughters at 5 PM at the African Folklorama pavilion. Folklorama is Winnipeg's annual festival of
multi-culturalism, now in its forty-eighth year. Joanne and I attended many Folklorama festivals starting in 1972 and every year after that until we moved away from Winnipeg in 1988. Tonight was the first night of the two week long Folklorama festival. And the African pavilion was a good choice. We all enjoyed eating African food for supper as we watched demonstrations of African song and dance, as well as an African fashion show. I was very glad that Joanne's nieces joined us, and enjoyed the evening.
After we left the pavilion Joanne and I drove around the neighbourhood where the pavilion was located, to see our childhood and young adult homes. We returned to Lorraine's home, and while I worked online on the computer Joanne and Lorraine took the three dogs for a long walk. Afterwards Joanne and I, and Lorraine and her two daughters visited in their screened porch.
Monday ; Winnipeg to Lorette, Manitoba
Sunny and very warm. Today we moved from Joanne's sister's home in Winnipeg to my sister's home in Lorette, a small town very near Winnipeg.
This morning Joanne's sister baked muffins for us for brunch, and after visiting a bit too long we said our goodbyes and left to run some errands in Winnipeg before heading to Lorette. We drove to Superstore to buy some cat litter, then PET VALU in Southdale to buy some dog food. They did not have Bo's food in stock. < sigh > We drove out of the city onto the Perimeter Highway to dump our waste holding tanks at Winnipeg's sewage treatment plant on the Perimeter Highway between St. Anne's Road and St. Mary's Road. We drove back into the city on St. Mary's Road looking for a pet supply store to buy Bo's food. We went to three pet supply stores in St. Vital. None had Bo's dog food. < sigh > I was tired of running around from pet supply store to pet supply store looking for Bo's food. I decided that we would get it tomorrow at a PetsMart store.
We pulled into St. Vital Centre, a large shopping mall, and parked in their parking lot to have a late lunch in the camper. Then we drove east out of Winnipeg to Lorette, where my sister lives just outside of the small village. We spent the afternoon visiting outdoors with my sister Sharon and her husband Bud. Bo roamed happily around their very large back yard. Emma spent some time with us in the back yard, attached to a long tie out. At supper time we moved indoors where we continued to visit while Sharon prepared supper, we ate supper, and continued to visit and chat for the rest of the evening.
Tuesday ; Lorette and Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sunny and warm. After having lunch prepared by Sharon I spent the afternoon working on securing our very large framed tapestry to the ceiling of the camper over the bed. We are bringing it back to our summer home after leaving it in storage at Sharon's home for the last thirteen years ! ! ! < sigh > You know ... sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men ...
Bud helped me with the tapestry mounting project. Thank goodness ! He provided tools. He provided hardware. He drove me into town to buy some needed hardware that he did not have. But most importantly ... he provided most of the problem solving creativity ! The project did not go as well as it could have. And it took longer than
I had hoped. But ... the securely packaged ( I hope ) framed tapestry is now mounted to the ceiling of the camper for the long trip back home to BC. Wish us luck ! Thank you for all your help and time and problem solving and hard work, Bud.
Because the tapestry project took longer than planned we did not leave at 4 PM as
I had hoped, to go into Winnipeg to buy dog food and go to a Folklorama pavilion. But ... by 6:30 PM the project was finished, I was cleaned up, and we left Sharon's home in Lorette, in their car. Thank you for the loan of the car, Bud ! We drove to a PetsMart store on the northeast side of Winnipeg and bought two bags of Bo's dog food ... < breathing a sigh of relief > ... then drove to St. Boniface to attend a Folklorama pavilion.
Very near to the home we owned in Winnipeg from 1976 to 1988 we went to the Chile pavilion, arriving about 7:30 PM. We wandered around the cultural displays, then bought supper, comprised of two entrees, a dessert to share, and a drink to share, all traditional Chilean cuisine. It was great ! We quite like Chilean food and used to regularly eat at a Chilean restaurant when we lived in Winnipeg ( until 1988 ). Just as we were finishing dinner, the evening's entertainment began at 8:15 PM. It was a rousing forty-five minutes of very entertaining Chilean music and dance.
When we arrived back home at Sharon's near Lorette around 9:40 PM we visited with Sharon in her home for about an hour before we returned to Elsie the camper to go to sleep. Somewhat squeezed in underneath the large, boxed tapestry hanging just above our bed !
Wednesday ; Lorette
YUCK ! Raining and chilly ! The rain stopped late in the afternoon and it warmed a bit in the evening.
After starting the day with a large brunch prepared by Sharon, she and Bud and Joanne left to go buy fresh cheese curds in New Bothwell, and thrift store shopping in Steinbach. I stayed home to get caught up on some accounting and journal writing chores. They returned home around 2 PM and we had a late lunch. A large late lunch. All my sister's meals for us are large. Her food is irresistible, but ... there's too much of it !
In the afternoon we retrieved and packed in the camper the last article of our possessions that we have left in storage at Sharon's and Bud's ... for the last thirteen years ; Joanne's fox fur jacket. WOW ! It's still beautiful !
While walking Bo around Sharon's and Bud's yard I found an injured little bird flopping around on their lawn. I caught it, and we sheltered it under a laundry hamper on their lawn near their front door. It seems to have a slightly injured wing. I'm very hopeful that after a day of rest it may be able to fly away tomorrow. Using our bird book we identified it as a juvenile Tree Swallow.
Everybody napped briefly this afternoon. Then we visited. And ate. And visited. And ate. HA HA HA ! Daniel and his sister get together. Chat ! Eat ! Chat ! Eat ! Repeat as necessary ! HA HA HA !
FYI ; Lunch was Ukrainian Beet Borscht, served boiling hot, poured over fresh cheese curds, so that the boiling hot soup makes the cheese curds soften and melt !
< salivate > Supper was burgers and poutine, also made with today's fresh cheese curds. For my American friends, poutine is a French Canadian dish ; French Fries mixed with cheese curds, with very hot gravy poured over, making the cheese curds melt. < still salivating >
And you wonder why I have angina ? ? ? HA HA HA HA HA !
Thursday ; Lorette / Winnipeg, Manitoba to Regina, Saskatchewan
Sunny and very warm. WHEW ... drove 630 km . / almost 400 miles today. However ... that was all in a flat, straight line ! HA HA HA !
This morning we got ourselves cleaned up, dealt with the injured bird, which we realized was a fledgling that was not quite able to fly just yet, prepared for departure, and said our goodbyes to Sharon and Bud. We pulled out of their driveway at 10:30 AM, as planned. We drove into Winnipeg and went to Gimli Fish to buy five pounds of Lake Winnipeg Pickerel. AND ... one small, smoked Lake Winnipeg Goldeye. From there we drove to Winnipeg's sewage treatment plant on the Perimeter Highway where we dumped our waste holding tanks. We were finished there and "on the road" at noon.
West and south on Winnipeg's Perimeter Highway to Trans-Canada Highway 1, then west on TCH 1 all the way to Regina. We stopped at a rest area adjacent to a large dog park on Portage La Prairie's "bypass" section of TCH 1 around the small city. While Joanne prepared lunch I took Bo for a brief walk in the dog park, then after lunch we all went for a walk around the perimeter of the large dog park. For lunch I ate the wonderful smoked Goldeye. MMMMM ... it was good ! About an hour later we stopped in a rest area and I had a brief nap. We stopped in Virden and refilled with diesel.
Late in the afternoon we crossed from Manitoba into Saskatchewan. We considered stopping for the night at Broadview, where we have boondocked overnight in a very nice rest area on previous trips, but decided to continue on to Regina, another couple of hours down the road, knowing that supper preparation would be quick and simple. We arrived in Regina shortly after 8 PM, tired and hungry. Joanne heated a pot of Sharon's Ukrainian Beet Borscht for supper. Thank you, Sharon, for all the food you sent with us.
Friday ; Regina, Saskatchewan to Taber, Alberta
Sunny and warm in the morning, cloudy, cool, and raining intermittently in the afternoon, sunny and very warm in the evening. WHEW ... another day of driving in excess of six hundred kilometres.
This morning we drove across the street from the Wal-Mart parking lot where we spent overnight and refilled with diesel at Superstore Fuel Bar. We left Regina continuing west on Trans-Canada Highway 1. We stopped for lunch and a nap in the parking lot of a large shopping mall in Swift Current. We stopped again in Gull Lake to refill our freshwater tank. We knew from previous trips that just as soon as you enter Gull Lake from the highway there is a small park with a water spigot.
When we reached the Alberta border we stopped at the Alberta Visitor Information Centre. We used their sani-dump station to dump our waste holding tanks. We took Bo and Emma for a walk. We went for a longer walk without the animals. We had a snack, then continued westbound on TCH 1. At Medicine Hat we refilled with diesel again at Safeway Fuel Bar. Our initial plan for today was to boondock overnight at Medicine Hat, but after refuelling we decided to continue on for about another hour and a half to Taber. We headed west on Hwy. 3 which starts / ends in Medicine Hat.
We have stayed overnight in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Taber before. Taber is one of those small Alberta towns with way too many young men with way too much testosterone and way too much money to buy large, diesel pickup trucks and modify them to make way too much noise ! And the Wal-Mart is their nightly gathering spot to socialize and make a lot of noise with their trucks ! That has not changed since our last visit !
Saturday ; Taber, Alberta to Lost Creek Rest Area near Salmo, British Columbia
Sunny and hot. Hazy with wild fire smoke in BC.
This morning we refilled an empty propane tank at the Co-op Fuel Bar adjacent to the Wal-Mart parking lot where we spent the night. We left Taber continuing westbound on Hwy. 3. We went into the little town of Coalhurst to refill our freshwater tank at the
sani-dump station in their municipal park. AND ... HA HA HA ... got trapped in town by the annual Miner's Day parade. We had to find a "back way" out of town and back to the highway. We refilled with diesel at the Extra Foods Fuel Bar in Fort Macleod. We stopped in Pincher Creek to buy a loaf of bread at the Co-op Market Place.
We stopped at the Alberta Visitor Information Centre just before reaching the British Columbia border. While Joanne prepared lunch I chatted with an American returning from Alaska about his and my Lance truck campers. After lunch I went into the Visitor Information Centre to use Wi-Fi to check e-mail.
We crossed from Alberta into British Columbia through the Crowsnest Pass into the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Which explains why Hwy. 3 is called Crowsnest Highway, even as far west as where we live, and beyond to its end in Hope. Immediately upon crossing into British Columbia the "easy driving" of the Canadian prairies was over. The Crowsnest Highway 3 twists and turns its way up and down all the way across BC.
Our initial plan was to stop for the night in Cranbrook. But we continued far beyond that. We stopped to make and eat an early supper at Kidd Creek Rest Area near Creston. While Joanne prepared supper I fly fished for fifteen minutes in Kidd Creek.
I caught nothing, but a small fish leaped out of the water lunging at my fly. After Joanne washed dishes we continued driving. We stopped for the night at Lost Creek Rest Area shortly before reaching Salmo. It was already dark at 9 PM.
Should be home by supper time tomorrow !
DSK
Sunny and warm. We're very tired tonight. I "overbooked" us socially today. And we squabbled this morning over that issue. < sigh >
After showering this morning I returned a phone call to our new friend Jackie who is travelling in Alaska with our friends David and Linda. It was 10 AM here, but only 7 AM in Alaska. Good thing Jackie is an early riser. I chatted with her about her transmission woes, giving her advice and moral support that I hope will be helpful.
At 11 AM we went to a local restaurant to meet with Joanne's ex-brother-in-law Doug and his new wife Lisa. I had not met Lisa before. We had brunch and chatted for a couple of hours. Then Joanne and I headed to Southdale ( a suburb of Winnipeg ) to meet with our friends Shirley and Darcy at another restaurant, this time over tea and pie. Shirley has been our faithful friend since high school. We chatted with Shirley and Darcy for an hour and a half, about our travels, and their young adult children, both very accomplished high achievers.
Then we rushed over to St. Boniface to meet Lorraine and her two daughters at 5 PM at the African Folklorama pavilion. Folklorama is Winnipeg's annual festival of
multi-culturalism, now in its forty-eighth year. Joanne and I attended many Folklorama festivals starting in 1972 and every year after that until we moved away from Winnipeg in 1988. Tonight was the first night of the two week long Folklorama festival. And the African pavilion was a good choice. We all enjoyed eating African food for supper as we watched demonstrations of African song and dance, as well as an African fashion show. I was very glad that Joanne's nieces joined us, and enjoyed the evening.
After we left the pavilion Joanne and I drove around the neighbourhood where the pavilion was located, to see our childhood and young adult homes. We returned to Lorraine's home, and while I worked online on the computer Joanne and Lorraine took the three dogs for a long walk. Afterwards Joanne and I, and Lorraine and her two daughters visited in their screened porch.
Monday ; Winnipeg to Lorette, Manitoba
Sunny and very warm. Today we moved from Joanne's sister's home in Winnipeg to my sister's home in Lorette, a small town very near Winnipeg.
This morning Joanne's sister baked muffins for us for brunch, and after visiting a bit too long we said our goodbyes and left to run some errands in Winnipeg before heading to Lorette. We drove to Superstore to buy some cat litter, then PET VALU in Southdale to buy some dog food. They did not have Bo's food in stock. < sigh > We drove out of the city onto the Perimeter Highway to dump our waste holding tanks at Winnipeg's sewage treatment plant on the Perimeter Highway between St. Anne's Road and St. Mary's Road. We drove back into the city on St. Mary's Road looking for a pet supply store to buy Bo's food. We went to three pet supply stores in St. Vital. None had Bo's dog food. < sigh > I was tired of running around from pet supply store to pet supply store looking for Bo's food. I decided that we would get it tomorrow at a PetsMart store.
We pulled into St. Vital Centre, a large shopping mall, and parked in their parking lot to have a late lunch in the camper. Then we drove east out of Winnipeg to Lorette, where my sister lives just outside of the small village. We spent the afternoon visiting outdoors with my sister Sharon and her husband Bud. Bo roamed happily around their very large back yard. Emma spent some time with us in the back yard, attached to a long tie out. At supper time we moved indoors where we continued to visit while Sharon prepared supper, we ate supper, and continued to visit and chat for the rest of the evening.
Tuesday ; Lorette and Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sunny and warm. After having lunch prepared by Sharon I spent the afternoon working on securing our very large framed tapestry to the ceiling of the camper over the bed. We are bringing it back to our summer home after leaving it in storage at Sharon's home for the last thirteen years ! ! ! < sigh > You know ... sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men ...
Bud helped me with the tapestry mounting project. Thank goodness ! He provided tools. He provided hardware. He drove me into town to buy some needed hardware that he did not have. But most importantly ... he provided most of the problem solving creativity ! The project did not go as well as it could have. And it took longer than
I had hoped. But ... the securely packaged ( I hope ) framed tapestry is now mounted to the ceiling of the camper for the long trip back home to BC. Wish us luck ! Thank you for all your help and time and problem solving and hard work, Bud.
Because the tapestry project took longer than planned we did not leave at 4 PM as
I had hoped, to go into Winnipeg to buy dog food and go to a Folklorama pavilion. But ... by 6:30 PM the project was finished, I was cleaned up, and we left Sharon's home in Lorette, in their car. Thank you for the loan of the car, Bud ! We drove to a PetsMart store on the northeast side of Winnipeg and bought two bags of Bo's dog food ... < breathing a sigh of relief > ... then drove to St. Boniface to attend a Folklorama pavilion.
Very near to the home we owned in Winnipeg from 1976 to 1988 we went to the Chile pavilion, arriving about 7:30 PM. We wandered around the cultural displays, then bought supper, comprised of two entrees, a dessert to share, and a drink to share, all traditional Chilean cuisine. It was great ! We quite like Chilean food and used to regularly eat at a Chilean restaurant when we lived in Winnipeg ( until 1988 ). Just as we were finishing dinner, the evening's entertainment began at 8:15 PM. It was a rousing forty-five minutes of very entertaining Chilean music and dance.
When we arrived back home at Sharon's near Lorette around 9:40 PM we visited with Sharon in her home for about an hour before we returned to Elsie the camper to go to sleep. Somewhat squeezed in underneath the large, boxed tapestry hanging just above our bed !
Wednesday ; Lorette
YUCK ! Raining and chilly ! The rain stopped late in the afternoon and it warmed a bit in the evening.
After starting the day with a large brunch prepared by Sharon, she and Bud and Joanne left to go buy fresh cheese curds in New Bothwell, and thrift store shopping in Steinbach. I stayed home to get caught up on some accounting and journal writing chores. They returned home around 2 PM and we had a late lunch. A large late lunch. All my sister's meals for us are large. Her food is irresistible, but ... there's too much of it !
In the afternoon we retrieved and packed in the camper the last article of our possessions that we have left in storage at Sharon's and Bud's ... for the last thirteen years ; Joanne's fox fur jacket. WOW ! It's still beautiful !
While walking Bo around Sharon's and Bud's yard I found an injured little bird flopping around on their lawn. I caught it, and we sheltered it under a laundry hamper on their lawn near their front door. It seems to have a slightly injured wing. I'm very hopeful that after a day of rest it may be able to fly away tomorrow. Using our bird book we identified it as a juvenile Tree Swallow.
Everybody napped briefly this afternoon. Then we visited. And ate. And visited. And ate. HA HA HA ! Daniel and his sister get together. Chat ! Eat ! Chat ! Eat ! Repeat as necessary ! HA HA HA !
FYI ; Lunch was Ukrainian Beet Borscht, served boiling hot, poured over fresh cheese curds, so that the boiling hot soup makes the cheese curds soften and melt !
< salivate > Supper was burgers and poutine, also made with today's fresh cheese curds. For my American friends, poutine is a French Canadian dish ; French Fries mixed with cheese curds, with very hot gravy poured over, making the cheese curds melt. < still salivating >
And you wonder why I have angina ? ? ? HA HA HA HA HA !
Thursday ; Lorette / Winnipeg, Manitoba to Regina, Saskatchewan
Sunny and very warm. WHEW ... drove 630 km . / almost 400 miles today. However ... that was all in a flat, straight line ! HA HA HA !
This morning we got ourselves cleaned up, dealt with the injured bird, which we realized was a fledgling that was not quite able to fly just yet, prepared for departure, and said our goodbyes to Sharon and Bud. We pulled out of their driveway at 10:30 AM, as planned. We drove into Winnipeg and went to Gimli Fish to buy five pounds of Lake Winnipeg Pickerel. AND ... one small, smoked Lake Winnipeg Goldeye. From there we drove to Winnipeg's sewage treatment plant on the Perimeter Highway where we dumped our waste holding tanks. We were finished there and "on the road" at noon.
West and south on Winnipeg's Perimeter Highway to Trans-Canada Highway 1, then west on TCH 1 all the way to Regina. We stopped at a rest area adjacent to a large dog park on Portage La Prairie's "bypass" section of TCH 1 around the small city. While Joanne prepared lunch I took Bo for a brief walk in the dog park, then after lunch we all went for a walk around the perimeter of the large dog park. For lunch I ate the wonderful smoked Goldeye. MMMMM ... it was good ! About an hour later we stopped in a rest area and I had a brief nap. We stopped in Virden and refilled with diesel.
Late in the afternoon we crossed from Manitoba into Saskatchewan. We considered stopping for the night at Broadview, where we have boondocked overnight in a very nice rest area on previous trips, but decided to continue on to Regina, another couple of hours down the road, knowing that supper preparation would be quick and simple. We arrived in Regina shortly after 8 PM, tired and hungry. Joanne heated a pot of Sharon's Ukrainian Beet Borscht for supper. Thank you, Sharon, for all the food you sent with us.
Friday ; Regina, Saskatchewan to Taber, Alberta
Sunny and warm in the morning, cloudy, cool, and raining intermittently in the afternoon, sunny and very warm in the evening. WHEW ... another day of driving in excess of six hundred kilometres.
This morning we drove across the street from the Wal-Mart parking lot where we spent overnight and refilled with diesel at Superstore Fuel Bar. We left Regina continuing west on Trans-Canada Highway 1. We stopped for lunch and a nap in the parking lot of a large shopping mall in Swift Current. We stopped again in Gull Lake to refill our freshwater tank. We knew from previous trips that just as soon as you enter Gull Lake from the highway there is a small park with a water spigot.
When we reached the Alberta border we stopped at the Alberta Visitor Information Centre. We used their sani-dump station to dump our waste holding tanks. We took Bo and Emma for a walk. We went for a longer walk without the animals. We had a snack, then continued westbound on TCH 1. At Medicine Hat we refilled with diesel again at Safeway Fuel Bar. Our initial plan for today was to boondock overnight at Medicine Hat, but after refuelling we decided to continue on for about another hour and a half to Taber. We headed west on Hwy. 3 which starts / ends in Medicine Hat.
We have stayed overnight in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Taber before. Taber is one of those small Alberta towns with way too many young men with way too much testosterone and way too much money to buy large, diesel pickup trucks and modify them to make way too much noise ! And the Wal-Mart is their nightly gathering spot to socialize and make a lot of noise with their trucks ! That has not changed since our last visit !
Saturday ; Taber, Alberta to Lost Creek Rest Area near Salmo, British Columbia
Sunny and hot. Hazy with wild fire smoke in BC.
This morning we refilled an empty propane tank at the Co-op Fuel Bar adjacent to the Wal-Mart parking lot where we spent the night. We left Taber continuing westbound on Hwy. 3. We went into the little town of Coalhurst to refill our freshwater tank at the
sani-dump station in their municipal park. AND ... HA HA HA ... got trapped in town by the annual Miner's Day parade. We had to find a "back way" out of town and back to the highway. We refilled with diesel at the Extra Foods Fuel Bar in Fort Macleod. We stopped in Pincher Creek to buy a loaf of bread at the Co-op Market Place.
We stopped at the Alberta Visitor Information Centre just before reaching the British Columbia border. While Joanne prepared lunch I chatted with an American returning from Alaska about his and my Lance truck campers. After lunch I went into the Visitor Information Centre to use Wi-Fi to check e-mail.
We crossed from Alberta into British Columbia through the Crowsnest Pass into the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Which explains why Hwy. 3 is called Crowsnest Highway, even as far west as where we live, and beyond to its end in Hope. Immediately upon crossing into British Columbia the "easy driving" of the Canadian prairies was over. The Crowsnest Highway 3 twists and turns its way up and down all the way across BC.
Our initial plan was to stop for the night in Cranbrook. But we continued far beyond that. We stopped to make and eat an early supper at Kidd Creek Rest Area near Creston. While Joanne prepared supper I fly fished for fifteen minutes in Kidd Creek.
I caught nothing, but a small fish leaped out of the water lunging at my fly. After Joanne washed dishes we continued driving. We stopped for the night at Lost Creek Rest Area shortly before reaching Salmo. It was already dark at 9 PM.
Should be home by supper time tomorrow !
DSK
Sunday, August 6, 2017
July 30 to August 5, 2017 ; Tisdale, Saskatchewan to Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sunday ; Tisdale, Saskatchewan
Sunny and very hot.
We had a restful and productive day. In the morning I did some maintenance on the truck, including doing a 6000 km. inspection and a muffler repair. We trimmed Bo's and Emma's claws. After lunch I napped then went to the golf clubhouse to use Wi-Fi. Shortly after I arrived a pair of young men ( under thirty years of age ) arrived to play a round of golf starting at 4 PM. Before heading out onto the golf course, they each had a beer in the bar, where I was sitting working on my computer. While they drank their beer, they had the bartender put ice and ten more beer into a soft sided cooler for them to take onto the golf course with them. They returned at 5:15 PM, after playing four holes of golf ... to get ten more beer ! In an hour and a quarter, they had consumed a dozen beer between the two of them. And were obviously going to consume at least ten more ! At $6.60 per beer !
Now I understand why there are radio ads here in Saskatchewan sponsored by SGI
( I think that's Saskatchewan Government Insurance, and I think that is the province's auto insurer ) mentioning that Saskatchewan has the highest rate of impaired driving in Canada !
At 7:15 PM I started a campfire. I baked potatoes in foil, grilled Patty Pan Squash bought in Hay River, NWT, and a thick, juicy steak for supper. EXCELLENT !
As usual ! Well done AGAIN, Daniel ! We all enjoyed the warm evening, the campfire, cooking and eating supper.
AHHHHHH ... after a day of rest and no driving, life seems good !
Monday ; Tisdale, Saskatchewan to Birch River, Manitoba ; Happy 56th Birthday to my brother Russell
Sunny and hot.
This morning we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the sani-dump station in the Tisdale Lions RV Campground then drove into town to replenish groceries at the Co-op store. After grocery shopping we continued heading east on Hwy. 3. We had lunch and I napped briefly at a roadside rest area. When we crossed into Manitoba the highway number changed to Hwy. 77. At Hwy. 10 we turned north, the wrong direction, to travel about 25 km. / 16 miles to a wayside park on Dawson Bay of Lake Winnipegosis. We checked out the little wayside park, but did not like it enough to stay for the night. Bo walked into Dawson Bay on Lake Winnipegosis to have a drink of water. < rolling my eyes >
We drove south on Hwy. 10 from there to the village of Birch River, and stopped at another little wayside park there. We liked Primrose Wayside Park and decided to stay overnight. While I lit a campfire ... ( WOO-HOO ... free firewood ! ) ... Joanne prepared a foil wrapped package of meat loaf containing ground beef, onions, scapes, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, ketchup, and Cajun seasoning. I cooked it on the open fire. EXCELLENT !
After supper we went for a walk with Bo, picked some mushrooms to identify, then spent the rest of the evening relaxing around the campfire.
Tuesday ; Birch River to Dauphin, Manitoba
Sunny and very warm.
This morning we left Primrose Wayside Campground at Birch River and continued southbound on Hwy. 10. At Swan River we refilled our freshwater tank at the Visitor Information Centre then refilled with diesel at the Co-op Fuel Bar. We had lunch at a nice picnic area in town. Hwy. 10 headed east from Swan River and we followed it until it turned south again at Cowan, then we turned east on Hwy. 20. Joanne wanted to take the "scenic route" to see the town of Winnipegosis at the south end of Lake Winnipegosis. Hwy. 20 east from Cowan to Camperville, then south along the shoreline of Sagemace Bay on Lake Winnipegosis was a terrible road ! Obviously that is not the main route to and from Winnipegosis ! When we arrived at the town of Winnipegosis we drove around the town and stopped at a beach access park where Bo and I waded into Lake Winnipegosis. We continued southbound on Hwy. 20 which was a much better road south of Winnipegosis until we reached Dauphin.
At Dauphin we found our way to Market Place Mall which includes Wal-Mart, our boondocking spot tonight. While Joanne went shopping to Wal-Mart and Safeway
I napped briefly then went into the mall to find a Wi-Fi signal to get some online work done. While Joanne prepared supper in the camper I went into the PET VALU store in the mall to see what a PET VALU store of 2017 looks like. Yes, yes ... very different than our four PET VALU stores in Ottawa in the 1990's.
Our initial travel plan brought us to Dauphin three days from now, at the beginning of Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival. BUT ... we “skipped” Meadow Lake Provincial Park and Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan, so we’re a few days ahead of our plan. Oh, well ... onwards to Winnipeg !
Late in the evening I received a phone call from our friend David, still in Alaska with his wife Linda and their friend Jackie. He was calling to discuss their return trip plans to visit us in about a month.
Wednesday ; Dauphin to Eriksdale, Manitoba
Cloudy and mild, sky clearing in the evening.
This morning I returned a phone call to a Similkameen Trailer Towing client, then we left the Wal-Mart parking lot and drove across the street to the Co-op Fuel Bar. We dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at their sani-dump station, then refilled Lanoire with diesel. We headed south out of Dauphin on
Hwy. 5 & 10. A few miles south of Dauphin Hwy. 10 continued south and Hwy. 5 turned east. We followed Hwy. 5 east until it turned south again at Ste. Rose du Lac where we continued east on Hwy. 68. We took this route because Joanne wanted to see Lake Manitoba Narrows, the narrowest part of Lake Manitoba, and the only place to cross Lake Manitoba by bridge.
Well ... Lake Manitoba Narrows is pretty much the same as it was the one and only time I was here before ... about forty to forty-five years ago. I was here for a Walleye fishing derby with my father and my brother-in-law. I won second prize for Perch, a lovely fishing tackle box. Which I had until a couple of months ago, when I "downsized" my fishing tackle box specifically for this trip. At that time, and still today, Lake Manitoba Narrows is comprised of a scruffy fishing lodge / motel / bar / restaurant, a seasonal campground, and a small cottage development. As well as the bridge over the "Narrows". We stopped here to have lunch.
After lunch we continued east and south and east again on Hwy. 68 until it reached Hwy, 6. We drove south on Hwy. 6 a short distance until reaching Eriksdale. We stopped here for the night in McEwen Park, a municipal campground that we have stayed at before, on our trip to Churchill a couple of years ago. Joanne phoned her sister in Winnipeg to tell her that we will be arriving tomorrow. We walked leisurely around the campground with Bo off leash, and Emma on a leash. Bo was able to be off leash because we had the small, ten site campground all to ourselves. Emma had another "au naturel" outdoor pee. HA HA HA ! She's becoming quite a wilderness camping cat ! I lit a campfire, almost certainly our last of this trip, and cooked foil wrapped packages of sausages, onions, carrots, potatoes, scapes, and zucchini. As usual, another excellent campfire meal.
Thursday ; Eriksdale to Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sunny and warm.
This morning we dumped our waste holding tanks at the sani-dump station in Eriksdale's McEwen Park then drove next door to the town's fairgrounds to refill our freshwater tank using a water spigot Joanne found last night beside the bleachers. Then we continued southbound on Hwy. 6 towards Winnipeg. When Hwy. 6 ended at Winnipeg's Perimeter Hwy. 101 we followed the Perimeter Hwy. around Winnipeg's west and south sides. As we passed by the road to LaBarriere Park Joanne suggested we go there to have lunch. Okay !
When we were newlyweds, more than forty-two years ago, we used to go to LaBarriere Park to go canoeing on the LaSalle River. One of our first purchases as newlyweds was a fourteen foot, yellow fiberglass canoe we named "Misty Too". Our dog at that time was named Misty.
We had lunch at LaBarriere Park then returned to the Perimeter Highway to continue around the south side of the city of Winnipeg. At St. Anne's Road we turned into the city and went to Superstore to buy groceries and refill with diesel. From there we drove to Joanne's sister's home, arriving at 4:15 PM. Lorraine arrived home from work about half an hour later. We spent the evening visiting with Lorraine. We took her two dogs and our Bo for a walk on nearby Churchill Drive alongside the Red River. We made and ate supper. I worked online while Joanne and Lorraine visited. Her two
daughters / Joanne's two nieces arrived back home late in the evening and we visited with them briefly before returning to our camper parked on the street in front of their house, our "boondocking" spot for the next few nights.
Friday ; Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sunny and warm.
We spent most of the day inside Lorraine's house, me working on the computer, Joanne working on laundry. I did a lot of online work, including my priority, purchasing travel medical insurance for our winter travel to the south. It was more complicated than it has been in the past. This year I switched to a medical insurance company I have not used before. Their application procedures were more complicated than our previous insurers. And it is likely that this will be the company / medical insurer we will use from this point forward, for a variety of reasons related to age and pre-existing conditions.
In addition to doing laundry, Joanne prepared a picnic dinner for us for tonight. After Lorraine returned home from work she took us in her car to Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg's very large municipal park, where we had a lovely picnic supper of roasted chicken ( which was cooking slowly all day in Lorraine's slow cooker ) and Joanne's wonderful potato salad. After our picnic supper we attended a double feature, free, outdoor movies in the park, held each Friday evening in August in Assiniboine Park. First movie was the animated "SING". It was GREAT ! Second movie was the musical "LA LA LAND". Yeah, well ... not so great. Overall, it was a wonderful summer evening outing, and ... thank you, Lorraine, for planning and treating us to this outing.
Saturday ; Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sunny and warm.
This morning Lorraine prepared omelettes for us for breakfast, then she and Joanne left in Lorraine's car to go to a Farmer's Market in St. Norbert, a northern suburb of Winnipeg. I stayed "home" to do some chores, including tending to Bo's injured toe. Not sure if his injured toe is an insect bite or if his toe got stepped on, but ... he has been giving it so much licking attention that it is now raw and oozing pus. I also had to write yesterday's journal entry. We arrived back home so late that I did not do it last night.
The Canada Summer Games are being held in Winnipeg this week. And every evening there is a Canada Summer Games Music Festival at The Forks. Each evening features musical performers from a different province of Canada. Tonight was British Columbia night. So ... at 4:30 PM we left in Lorraine's car to attend the music festival. First performer we saw was Mariachi Ghost, a very unusual Mexican Canadian group. They were great ! I was disinterested in the next performer so while Joanne and Lorraine watched her I went browsing through the many vendors' and exhibitors' booths and displays.
We had supper at the food truck area. Lorraine had Pickerel Tacos. Joanne had some kind of African stew. I had ... wait for it ... Newfie Poutine. HA HA HA ... I ... AM ... A ... PROUD CANADIAN ! ! !
After supper we returned to the main stage to watch a Cuban Canadian group from Smithers ( BC of course ) called Alex Cuba. Another excellent performer /
performance ! Last group of the evening was Canadian rock icons from the 1980's ... LOVERBOY ! Pretty hard rocking group ... for a bunch of old guys ! After their performance the evening ended with fireworks.
Once again ... thank you, Lorraine ... for another wonderful evening outing !
DSK
Sunny and very hot.
We had a restful and productive day. In the morning I did some maintenance on the truck, including doing a 6000 km. inspection and a muffler repair. We trimmed Bo's and Emma's claws. After lunch I napped then went to the golf clubhouse to use Wi-Fi. Shortly after I arrived a pair of young men ( under thirty years of age ) arrived to play a round of golf starting at 4 PM. Before heading out onto the golf course, they each had a beer in the bar, where I was sitting working on my computer. While they drank their beer, they had the bartender put ice and ten more beer into a soft sided cooler for them to take onto the golf course with them. They returned at 5:15 PM, after playing four holes of golf ... to get ten more beer ! In an hour and a quarter, they had consumed a dozen beer between the two of them. And were obviously going to consume at least ten more ! At $6.60 per beer !
Now I understand why there are radio ads here in Saskatchewan sponsored by SGI
( I think that's Saskatchewan Government Insurance, and I think that is the province's auto insurer ) mentioning that Saskatchewan has the highest rate of impaired driving in Canada !
At 7:15 PM I started a campfire. I baked potatoes in foil, grilled Patty Pan Squash bought in Hay River, NWT, and a thick, juicy steak for supper. EXCELLENT !
As usual ! Well done AGAIN, Daniel ! We all enjoyed the warm evening, the campfire, cooking and eating supper.
AHHHHHH ... after a day of rest and no driving, life seems good !
Monday ; Tisdale, Saskatchewan to Birch River, Manitoba ; Happy 56th Birthday to my brother Russell
Sunny and hot.
This morning we dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at the sani-dump station in the Tisdale Lions RV Campground then drove into town to replenish groceries at the Co-op store. After grocery shopping we continued heading east on Hwy. 3. We had lunch and I napped briefly at a roadside rest area. When we crossed into Manitoba the highway number changed to Hwy. 77. At Hwy. 10 we turned north, the wrong direction, to travel about 25 km. / 16 miles to a wayside park on Dawson Bay of Lake Winnipegosis. We checked out the little wayside park, but did not like it enough to stay for the night. Bo walked into Dawson Bay on Lake Winnipegosis to have a drink of water. < rolling my eyes >
We drove south on Hwy. 10 from there to the village of Birch River, and stopped at another little wayside park there. We liked Primrose Wayside Park and decided to stay overnight. While I lit a campfire ... ( WOO-HOO ... free firewood ! ) ... Joanne prepared a foil wrapped package of meat loaf containing ground beef, onions, scapes, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes, ketchup, and Cajun seasoning. I cooked it on the open fire. EXCELLENT !
After supper we went for a walk with Bo, picked some mushrooms to identify, then spent the rest of the evening relaxing around the campfire.
Tuesday ; Birch River to Dauphin, Manitoba
Sunny and very warm.
This morning we left Primrose Wayside Campground at Birch River and continued southbound on Hwy. 10. At Swan River we refilled our freshwater tank at the Visitor Information Centre then refilled with diesel at the Co-op Fuel Bar. We had lunch at a nice picnic area in town. Hwy. 10 headed east from Swan River and we followed it until it turned south again at Cowan, then we turned east on Hwy. 20. Joanne wanted to take the "scenic route" to see the town of Winnipegosis at the south end of Lake Winnipegosis. Hwy. 20 east from Cowan to Camperville, then south along the shoreline of Sagemace Bay on Lake Winnipegosis was a terrible road ! Obviously that is not the main route to and from Winnipegosis ! When we arrived at the town of Winnipegosis we drove around the town and stopped at a beach access park where Bo and I waded into Lake Winnipegosis. We continued southbound on Hwy. 20 which was a much better road south of Winnipegosis until we reached Dauphin.
At Dauphin we found our way to Market Place Mall which includes Wal-Mart, our boondocking spot tonight. While Joanne went shopping to Wal-Mart and Safeway
I napped briefly then went into the mall to find a Wi-Fi signal to get some online work done. While Joanne prepared supper in the camper I went into the PET VALU store in the mall to see what a PET VALU store of 2017 looks like. Yes, yes ... very different than our four PET VALU stores in Ottawa in the 1990's.
Our initial travel plan brought us to Dauphin three days from now, at the beginning of Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival. BUT ... we “skipped” Meadow Lake Provincial Park and Prince Albert National Park in Saskatchewan, so we’re a few days ahead of our plan. Oh, well ... onwards to Winnipeg !
Late in the evening I received a phone call from our friend David, still in Alaska with his wife Linda and their friend Jackie. He was calling to discuss their return trip plans to visit us in about a month.
Wednesday ; Dauphin to Eriksdale, Manitoba
Cloudy and mild, sky clearing in the evening.
This morning I returned a phone call to a Similkameen Trailer Towing client, then we left the Wal-Mart parking lot and drove across the street to the Co-op Fuel Bar. We dumped our waste holding tanks and refilled our freshwater tank at their sani-dump station, then refilled Lanoire with diesel. We headed south out of Dauphin on
Hwy. 5 & 10. A few miles south of Dauphin Hwy. 10 continued south and Hwy. 5 turned east. We followed Hwy. 5 east until it turned south again at Ste. Rose du Lac where we continued east on Hwy. 68. We took this route because Joanne wanted to see Lake Manitoba Narrows, the narrowest part of Lake Manitoba, and the only place to cross Lake Manitoba by bridge.
Well ... Lake Manitoba Narrows is pretty much the same as it was the one and only time I was here before ... about forty to forty-five years ago. I was here for a Walleye fishing derby with my father and my brother-in-law. I won second prize for Perch, a lovely fishing tackle box. Which I had until a couple of months ago, when I "downsized" my fishing tackle box specifically for this trip. At that time, and still today, Lake Manitoba Narrows is comprised of a scruffy fishing lodge / motel / bar / restaurant, a seasonal campground, and a small cottage development. As well as the bridge over the "Narrows". We stopped here to have lunch.
After lunch we continued east and south and east again on Hwy. 68 until it reached Hwy, 6. We drove south on Hwy. 6 a short distance until reaching Eriksdale. We stopped here for the night in McEwen Park, a municipal campground that we have stayed at before, on our trip to Churchill a couple of years ago. Joanne phoned her sister in Winnipeg to tell her that we will be arriving tomorrow. We walked leisurely around the campground with Bo off leash, and Emma on a leash. Bo was able to be off leash because we had the small, ten site campground all to ourselves. Emma had another "au naturel" outdoor pee. HA HA HA ! She's becoming quite a wilderness camping cat ! I lit a campfire, almost certainly our last of this trip, and cooked foil wrapped packages of sausages, onions, carrots, potatoes, scapes, and zucchini. As usual, another excellent campfire meal.
Thursday ; Eriksdale to Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sunny and warm.
This morning we dumped our waste holding tanks at the sani-dump station in Eriksdale's McEwen Park then drove next door to the town's fairgrounds to refill our freshwater tank using a water spigot Joanne found last night beside the bleachers. Then we continued southbound on Hwy. 6 towards Winnipeg. When Hwy. 6 ended at Winnipeg's Perimeter Hwy. 101 we followed the Perimeter Hwy. around Winnipeg's west and south sides. As we passed by the road to LaBarriere Park Joanne suggested we go there to have lunch. Okay !
When we were newlyweds, more than forty-two years ago, we used to go to LaBarriere Park to go canoeing on the LaSalle River. One of our first purchases as newlyweds was a fourteen foot, yellow fiberglass canoe we named "Misty Too". Our dog at that time was named Misty.
We had lunch at LaBarriere Park then returned to the Perimeter Highway to continue around the south side of the city of Winnipeg. At St. Anne's Road we turned into the city and went to Superstore to buy groceries and refill with diesel. From there we drove to Joanne's sister's home, arriving at 4:15 PM. Lorraine arrived home from work about half an hour later. We spent the evening visiting with Lorraine. We took her two dogs and our Bo for a walk on nearby Churchill Drive alongside the Red River. We made and ate supper. I worked online while Joanne and Lorraine visited. Her two
daughters / Joanne's two nieces arrived back home late in the evening and we visited with them briefly before returning to our camper parked on the street in front of their house, our "boondocking" spot for the next few nights.
Friday ; Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sunny and warm.
We spent most of the day inside Lorraine's house, me working on the computer, Joanne working on laundry. I did a lot of online work, including my priority, purchasing travel medical insurance for our winter travel to the south. It was more complicated than it has been in the past. This year I switched to a medical insurance company I have not used before. Their application procedures were more complicated than our previous insurers. And it is likely that this will be the company / medical insurer we will use from this point forward, for a variety of reasons related to age and pre-existing conditions.
In addition to doing laundry, Joanne prepared a picnic dinner for us for tonight. After Lorraine returned home from work she took us in her car to Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg's very large municipal park, where we had a lovely picnic supper of roasted chicken ( which was cooking slowly all day in Lorraine's slow cooker ) and Joanne's wonderful potato salad. After our picnic supper we attended a double feature, free, outdoor movies in the park, held each Friday evening in August in Assiniboine Park. First movie was the animated "SING". It was GREAT ! Second movie was the musical "LA LA LAND". Yeah, well ... not so great. Overall, it was a wonderful summer evening outing, and ... thank you, Lorraine, for planning and treating us to this outing.
Saturday ; Winnipeg, Manitoba
Sunny and warm.
This morning Lorraine prepared omelettes for us for breakfast, then she and Joanne left in Lorraine's car to go to a Farmer's Market in St. Norbert, a northern suburb of Winnipeg. I stayed "home" to do some chores, including tending to Bo's injured toe. Not sure if his injured toe is an insect bite or if his toe got stepped on, but ... he has been giving it so much licking attention that it is now raw and oozing pus. I also had to write yesterday's journal entry. We arrived back home so late that I did not do it last night.
The Canada Summer Games are being held in Winnipeg this week. And every evening there is a Canada Summer Games Music Festival at The Forks. Each evening features musical performers from a different province of Canada. Tonight was British Columbia night. So ... at 4:30 PM we left in Lorraine's car to attend the music festival. First performer we saw was Mariachi Ghost, a very unusual Mexican Canadian group. They were great ! I was disinterested in the next performer so while Joanne and Lorraine watched her I went browsing through the many vendors' and exhibitors' booths and displays.
We had supper at the food truck area. Lorraine had Pickerel Tacos. Joanne had some kind of African stew. I had ... wait for it ... Newfie Poutine. HA HA HA ... I ... AM ... A ... PROUD CANADIAN ! ! !
After supper we returned to the main stage to watch a Cuban Canadian group from Smithers ( BC of course ) called Alex Cuba. Another excellent performer /
performance ! Last group of the evening was Canadian rock icons from the 1980's ... LOVERBOY ! Pretty hard rocking group ... for a bunch of old guys ! After their performance the evening ended with fireworks.
Once again ... thank you, Lorraine ... for another wonderful evening outing !
DSK
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