Week ending May 31, 2012

We rethreaded a blind on Friday morning. Joan had found some instructions on how to do this on the internet. It worked out pretty well.

On Saturday, we met John's brother George at Gold Bar Park. We walked along the river valley, and across the North Saskatachewan to Rundle Park. We stopped at a table along the pathway and enjoyed a lunch of roast beef sandwiches and vegetables with a cheese sauce for dipping. On the way back to the parking lot, in Gold Bar Park, we saw a mother duck with a group of really small ducklings One of the ducklings was more adventurous than his siblings, wandering further away from Mom, and diving under the water every once in a while. A bit later, in another pond, we noticed some goslings. Then George treated us to some triple thick milkshakes at the McD's in Walmart at Capalino Mall.

We had lunch of John's sister, Ann, and her husband Daniel at Cora's in Edmonton Sunday morning. Then we drove to their place, and went in their car out to Elk Island NP. We walked along the Shoreline trail, taking pictures of the pelicans, and a various other birds in the lake. We were surprised to see so many pelicans on the lake. We also got a distant shot of a bison along the highway. 

We left the trail to go around a little peninsula at Beaver Bay, which Ann believes was the old site of Camp Agape, a United Church camp where we spent a few summers when we were children. After getting back to pick up our truck at their house, Daniel gave us a bit of double-sided tape to reattach one of the deer whistles, which had come loose shortly after we installed them last summer. That may come in useful driving through northern BC and the Yukon this summer.

Monday morning, we packed up the trailer and headed west from Edmonton, and then northwest through Whitecourt, Fox Creek, and stopped in Sherk RV Park in Valleyview. We had looked up friends from university Gary and Janice, that we hadn't seen forever. After university, they had come up to the Peace country and have been farming here ever since. We had lost touch with them a while ago, but were able to find a phone number for them on the internet, so were able to spend a good evening with them.

When we tried to run the living room slider in on Tuesday morning, only the back end of the slider was moving in. As a result we had to stay an extra night in Sherk RV park. It was a very nice park with lovely clean facilities, wi-fi and our neighbours were very friendly. We checked underneath the trailer, and found that the shaft connecting the two rails for the slider wasn't turning. After the park maintenance fellow and John had no luck identifying the problem, and while waiting for one of the mechanics in the shop next door to get a chance to take a look, we phoned Woody's in Grande Prairie. They did not have an answer as to what we could do to get the slider in, and if we drove into Grande Prairie with the slider out (fortunately on the side next to the ditch), they could look at it on June 20. They recommended we check with Happy Trails, who have 17 service bays instead of only 3. The desk person at Happy Trails was able to get some advice from the foreman about what to look for, and sure enough, the problem was that a sheer bolt, connected the shaft between the two rails, had broken. The head end of the bolt was on the ground under the trailer. We were able to line the bolt holes on the shaft up with the driver, and slip the bolt in enough to run the slider back in. Spending the evening with the living room slider pulled in gave us a good idea what it would be like to have only the one slider in the main area. We are glad we have two, making it much more comfortable a living area.

Wednesday morning, we successfully got everything ready to go, and headed into Grande Prairie to get a replacement bolt (or 4). On the way to Grande Prairie we encountered numerous animals, deer, elk, coyotes, and a moose. As we were traveling on a 4 lane divided highway with loads of traffic, stopping for pictures was not possible. Once we got to Grande Prairie we discovered that the RV dealer doesn't carry the required bolts, so sent us to Fastenal, down the road. They were very helpful, even though we were only buying $2.00 worth of bolts. The fellow even came out to see where the bolt went, since he also has a trailer with slide-outs. After successfully installing one of the replacement bolts, we carried on to Dawson Creek to the Northern Lights RV park. We got setup, had a quick sandwich, then went into town to pick up some supplies, and get some information from the visitor information center on the self-guided historic walking tour in town, and took some pictures of the Alaska Highway Mile 0 marker. It was very windy, so we had some problems getting a stable satellite signal. The wind was gusting from 30 to 50 kph, which was moving the signal from around 60, which we find satisfactory, all the way down to zero, and back again. It makes it an interesting discussion during setup when the signal varies that much while trying to tighten up the dish. Fortunately, they had a cable connection, with only about 10 channels, so we hooked that up as well as back-up to the satellite until the wind dies down (we hope).

We decided to do the trip to Tumbler Ridge and on to Kinuseo Falls in Monkman Provincial Park on Thursday. We took a quick look at the Dinosaur Gallery in Tumbler Ridge, but decided that $8 each was too much for a smallish looking museum. After programming our GPS to go to Monkman Park, and seeing that it was heading us the wrong way, we made a U-turn and followed the highway signs back the other way, and found the sign telling us where to turn off the highway. Unfortunately, it only had the 2k notice sign, not the 'turn here' sign, but we noticed on the other side of the highway, so did another u-turn. Once past the coal mining operations, the road turned to gravel, with fairly heavy washboard in many places. We stopped at a gravelled area just past the Murray River, whose valley the road travels along, and had lunch. At one point further along, there was a little lake a few hundred feet below the road, at which John commented that it didn't look like moose country. Ironically, just a bit down the road, we saw a moose standing at the edge of the road. We stopped to get a photo, and allowed the moose to take a good look at us before it carried on across the road and up the hill on the other side. 

We managed to make between 30 and 60 kph for the 50 km to the falls. However, it was worth the trip, with a very nice waterfall, with a couple of viewpoints.

Week ending May 24, 2012

We started packing up to get ready to move to the overflow area of the campground Friday morning. However, when we dropped into the office to arrange for paying for it, we found out they had called us the day before to let us know they had a cancellation, and we could stay in our site over the weekend. We were amazed that we could even stay in the same site, because in most parks, we would have had to move to the site that had been reserved by the people who cancelled.

We got some information on walks around town from the visitors' info center and then had lunch at Cora's. We had tried once before to get into Cora's in Okotoks, but the line-up was too long to wait. Plentiful food with lots of fresh fruit.

On Saturday, we drove toward Sylvan Lake to Sylvan Cheese Market, which had been advertised in an area guide. We picked up some garlic gouda, and some maple cheddar. They also carried some blueberry breakfast sausages from Big Bend Market in Red Deer, so we found out where it was (turned out it was in a shopping center on the corner within walking distance of the campground. It was a bit ironic that Big Bend also carried the Sylvan cheese, but did not have the flavours we picked out, so it wasn't a wasted trip to to the Cheese Market. After our shopping, we walked across the street from the campground to a walking trail that connects to the network of trails through the creek valleys leading into the Red Deer River valley. It was a pleasant walk, partially along a boulevard across from houses, but mostly through the trees along Piper Creek.

We drove to Mom and Dad's on Sunday morning. We went in their car to the Markerville Creamery, and looked at some of the signs in the neighbourhood, but the Creamery wasn't open until noon. 

We got a picture of the cows behind the creamery. 

 We carried on to Dickson and to the Danish Canadian National Museum and Gardens. After fighting off a cloud of mosquitoes in the parking lot, we had a nice lunch in the Dormitory Cafe. Then we wandered along the paths in the gardens.  There were a variety of sights including the boat below and a small church. 

On the way back to Bowden, we stopped at Glennifer Resort to find out if it was possible to overnight there. The lots are all sold, not rented. However, some of the owners rent their lots through a local realtor when not in use. We will check that option out the next time we are in the area. Then we checked out a mineral shop called Vitality Crystals and Fountains. They had a very wide selection of minerals from raw chunks of quartz to polished jewelry. One of the more interesting type of item was balls of a mineral set on a mineral base with water running under the ball making it roll on the base. 

Cleaning and supplies was the focus for Monday. We drained the tanks, vacuumed, shook things out, cleaned more duct tape off from our sealing over the winter, and picked up a variety of items, particularly twine and a crochet needle to repair a blind that had a string break.

As is too often the case, it was drizzling a bit when we started getting the trailer ready to hit the road. After getting the axles packed last week, we had stopped to torque them by Crossfield. John figured that they weren't tight enough so torqued them a bit more before leaving. However, one of the lug nuts got loose tightening it. We headed over to the Canadian Tire near the campground, and found out that the nut was stripped, and that John hadn't been using the torque wrench correctly. He was turning the nuts past the click on the torque wrench (which was happening right away, because they were still tight). There was also a spring that came off with the lug nut. CT didn't have a trailer lug nut (they were longer than any they had), so we headed over to Woody's RV. They did have the correct lug nut, and we checked with the service department to find out out about the spring. They told us that probably the stud had been stripped previously and a healy(?) spring put over the stud to give the nut more grip. We put the the new lug nut on, and it tightened up to the 100 ft lbs just fine, so we think when the axles were done, the lug nut stripped, so they added the spring instead of replacing the lug nut (which cost us all of $1.53). We checked the lug nut when we got to Glowing Embers in Acheson, just west of Edmonton, and it was fine. So it looks like, even though we were over-tightening the lug nuts, that the problem with the stripped one was preexisting. Since we were late leaving Red Deer, we stopped for a nice lunch of burgers and onion rings at Fay's Diner, on the highway west of Wetaskawin. 

We went into Edmonton on Wednesday to visit with friends Fern and George. We admired the tall spruce tree in the yard next to theirs, which we had planted in the mid 70's when we lived there. We spent a nice afternoon catching up on our families and then showed them our pictures from our trip across Canada last summer.

Thursday was spent doing domestic tasks like laundry and recaulking one edge of the shower.

Week ending May 17, 2012

We spent the day doing laundry and washing the roof of the RV in preparation for rubber coating on Friday.  The rubber roof coating from the RV dealer cost $85 per gallon, more than twice what the fellow who recommended it, paid for it in the states.

We got a call about 9:15 from Trev on Saturday morning, saying that Taylor's soccer game was starting (we missed the text from Sue at 8:30). Taylor played goal until half time. In the afternoon, Joan prepared the dinner for Sunday, marinating it. John put on the rubber roof coating. In the evening, we watched the Nascar race from Darlington.

On Sunday, we bought some desert for Mother's day dinner with the kids. They came over in the evening, and everyone enjoyed the ginger chicken that Joan made. After dinner we played a variety of WII Fit Plus games.

Joan drove into Calgary to drop off a void cheque with our financial team on Monday. John touched up the edges of the rubber roof. The grandkids dropped in after school for the last time on this visit.

Tuesday morning, our last day in High River, we packed up the trailer and took it to the Autoplex in High River to get its bearings packed. That turned out to be a $600 job, taking about 4 hours because we have hydraulic breaks instead of electric brakes on the axles. We finally headed north about 3:00 and headed to the Westerner Campground in Red Deer. After a bit of fun getting the trailer in the right place (every once in a while we get reminded not to park the slider too close to the utilities), and setting up the satellite, we were able to settle down to supper and a quiet evening.

On Wednesday, we went to visit John's Mom and Dad.

John didn't sleep much on Wednesday night, but we needed to pick up some plywood and 2x4's with the truck so Dad could make his entrance level for Mom's wheel chair. We headed back to the campground after lunch and a bit of a visit. John had a good sleep to make up for the night before.

Week ending May 10, 2012

On Friday, the grandkids dropped in for lunch which was a surprise. They had a day off while their teachers were on professional developement. Later we picked up an HD essential receiver, and got it all set up, to the point where it said we weren't authorized for the channels. Called Shaw Direct and left a call-back for 30 to 50 minutes later. They called just as we were leaving to go to the library, to talk to John's dad on Skype, so we ignored the callback. After chatting with Mom and Dad we called Shaw Direct back and this time waited in line. They authorized the receiver, and everything was working fine for a few channels. Then we lost the satellite signal, even though the one in the living room was still okay, although a bit low.

On Saturday, we got up early to attend a 10:00 lacrosse game for James, our youngest grandchild. His team won the game quite handily.

On Sunday, we drove into Okotoks to Canadian Tire to pick up a better compass to help align the satellite dish (after only a year of practice). After watching the end of the Nascar race, we moved the dish to an area that had a slightly better signal, but it still didn't fix the problem with the HD receiver. Then we went to the kids place to have a rib dinner with them. Sue had been called in to work, so was leaving shortly after we arrived. Anthony cooked the ribs. Fortunately Trever finished installing some cabinets earlier than he had expected so he was able to join us.

Monday, we took the HD receiver back. They told us that there were SD receivers still available in a shop in Bragg Creek. In the afternoon, John set up the hammock for the first time since last September, and spent about an hour enjoying the sun and reading the Count of Monte Cristo on the e-reader, which is quite handy for outdoor reading, since there is no glare on it.

Tuesday, we met with our financial advisor and made a few adjustments. Afterwards, he took us for a nice lunch. Later, Joan had her appointment with her uncologist. No problems. We finished early enough that we were able to head to Bragg Creek and pick up the SD receiver. We were able to get it hooked up with a signal, and Shaw Direct activated it for us with no problem.

On Wednesday, John got his molar fixed. Fortunately, it didn't need a root canal, but was still a good hit on our finances.

On Thursday, we woke to a light cover of snow. For the first few hours in the morning, we were regaled by pieces of ice falling from the trees as the sun started melting the snow. Later in the morning, we went with Sue to Costco in Okotoks to pick up some bulk stuff, something we don't do much, due to lack of space. Mostly vitamins, and other health or cosmetic related stuff. We stopped at Scotia Bank to open an account. This was recommended to us by our friends Brian and Kris, since there are no charges for using Bank of America ATMs when in the States.

Week ending May 3, 2012

On Wednesday evening, driving back to Cochrane from High River through Bragg Creek, we had to slow down for a deer that was starting to run across the highway. Wisely, it changed its mind on the edge of the road and headed back through the ditch to the woods. We saw several other groups of deer along the way, but they were all well off the road.

On Thursday, Joan had another doctor's appointment.

On Friday, we cooked a stew to take out to Mom and Dad's on Saturday. Went to Mom and Dads, had stew and 321 cake that Dad made in the microwave, did George's taxes. George had to head home for a retirement party.

On Sunday, we took it easy.

On Monday, we went into Calgary. John stopped at Shaw and chatted with a bunch of the IT people in the main office. We had dentist appointments in the afternoon. About a week ago, John had a chip come off a back molar under a crown, so has to go back on May 9 to see what can be done.

On Tuesday, we had light rain all day while we got everything inside, moved the 5^th wheel from Cochrane to High River, and got setup again in High River. The campground operator kindly lent us a 30 amp extension cord so we could plug the power from the back of the trailer into the receptacle at the very front of the site. Didn't spend much time trying to get a satellite signal in the rain. Hopefully it will stop raining soon (3:00pm) so I can try again, but it still looks pretty socked-in with no breaks in sight. No luck. Got a 25 signal but couldn't keep it trying to improve on it. Probably through a tree. Joan made chocolate waffle cookies, but the grandchildren didn't drop in because, we found out later, Anthony had a lacrosse game.

On Wednesday morning, we finished setting up by releveling the trailer (we hadn't done that too well on Tuesday), finding a satellite signal, setting up the stairs, removing the winter insulation from the water hose, and defrosting the freezer and fridge. The folks at George Lane Park were kind enough to turn on the freezer in the office so we could store our food for a few hours while defrosting.

On Thursday, we bought a couple of replacement light bulbs for the outside of the trailer, borrowed Trever's ladder, and installed the lights. One of them was a bit more work because the light cover had been slightly broken, so the top half of the cover had been caulked, or maybe glued down. In the evening, we attended Anthony's next lacrosse match. It was a very close game with the teams only a couple of goals apart. Late in the game, it was tied until the other team got a break-away to score.