Way up north!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. Things are not going well there as forest fires rage across the northwest and many are losing homes and businesses. So far, the main damage in Thunder Bay is the smoke, and even though we are far from there, we have great concern for our family and friends back home. Our first night this week was in Manning as we enjoyed the sights around Peace River and, after a short drive, the museum in Manning. It was a voluminous display including the almost mythical 15 30 tractor. 

The 15 30

Then on Monday, we drove up to High Level and checked out the museum there. We stayed on the parking lot of the visitor centre.

Camping on Great Slave!

On Tuesday, we finally reached the Northwest Territories. They offered showers at the information centre and I found the seven minutes for a loonie was lots. We parked for the night in a gravel pit just short of the two waterfalls on the Hay River, that is Alexandra and Louise Falls. The gorge has been eroding around those falls, so most of the walkways were closed. Wednesday featured the short drive into Hay River, I think it was the first trip there for mom, although she remembers going in briefly when we were on our way to Fort Smith one summer. Anyway, we got the full dose of it this time. Mom did laundry, then we toured around looking for a nice spot for the evening/night and we found a beauty right on the big lake, on a nice sandy beach. Some of the sand away from the water gets soft—that’s where I got stuck! Fortunately, I have a small hydraulic jack and I was able to get some relief so we could close the steps, then a generous neighbour came by with his truck and a tow rope and pulled us free—yay! On Thursday, we continued the tour including Lady Evelyn Falls, the crossing of the Mackenzie, and settled for the night on the shore of the river in Providence.

Bison

Friday saw us driving through herds of bison to the newly developed Territorial campgrounds on the North Arm of Great Slave. This was our first time paying for a campsite, but we did enjoy having electricity without running the generator. Saturday, after the usual pancake breakfast, we drove into Yellowknife and enjoyed the reunion with cousin Cindy, who is hosting us to conclude the week—thanks Cindy—great week for sure! Otherwise, the world continues its troubled way; the Orange War continues to rage in the Middle East and the economies of the world continue to suffer as a result. Only the TSX is in the green for the month. MLB was off for the All-Star break; the Blue Jays have now returned to action, but are not playing any better! Riders have the week off, but are in a good position in the Western Conference. 

Erica writes, “Liam arrived back in PA on Sunday night. His plan—work on the upstairs bathroom. We have a number of little projects including repainting. I sent him back for several different sample pots of paint until we found one we all agreed upon. He finished most of the projects and headed back south on Friday. This weekend, he is taking motorcycle lessons. Eric is up north and I joined him on Wednesday. It’s been a busy week.”

Erin has reported of progress in the garden. The tomatoes are developing nicely, 

Looking good!

and onions and chives are growing like weeds. Beans, peas and peppers are developing. Strawberries are a failure so far! Kristian reported finding a dead bird at work. Apparently, it had crashed into the window...

Sigh!

Travis and Joanna are struggling with smoke-filled skies in Thunder Bay. It is a disheartening situation for sure, but the government is spending their energy trying to excuse themselves from blame. They need some substantial rain sans thunder and lighning to douse the fires without starting new ones! Updating the family, Travis notes, "Gemma has completed more than 1/2 of the requirements of being the primary “baby catching” as a midwife. Andrew is just finishing up his 6th straight 12-hour shift as a nurse (so he’s only working 1/2 days)." They are also concerned over their first Pomeranian, Jasmine's health, so we hope they find a solution to that! 

And that's enough for this week. 

Flyin'

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown. We started the week on the shore of Lake Wascana, living at Erin and Kristian’s. They always host us so well, and I continued to suffer with my cough/cold, so, we delayed our departure another day, and finally took off on Tuesday. We drove through our old hometown of Earl Grey after lunching with Garnet & Debbie in Southey—thanks! We planned to spend the night at the Lions Campground in Lanigan. But, it was full, full of water, full of mosquitos, and full of campers—surprising! We drove on to a previous point I had seen near Plunkett to boondock; it was lovely! On Wednesday, we continued up #2 to Prince Albert where we plugged in for the night at Eric & Erica’s place. They were both up at Stony Rapids, so we did not visit much! On Thursday, we continued to Lloydminster where we boondocked at the Gold Horse casino. They were very welcoming, and even let Wendy win some money from the VLTs. We toured the Lloyd Museum, and Wendy delighted to find an important artifact of civilization—she believes it's an early Kirby!

Granny and the Vac!

On Friday, we moved on to Athabasca, and today got as far as Peace River—just flyin’ I tell ya! There was a time when Wendy drove Dauphin-YK in one run—crazier times for sure! Global politics continue to suffer in the Orange chaos. The war has flared up again in the Middle East, and things have returned to the unsettled phase. The world of sports is seeing the finals of the World Cup and of Wimbledon, but we don't get TV coverage here in the RV. The Riders are thriving in football, and the Jays are doing a bit better lately. We hope they come back from the All-Star break in a winning mode!

Eric writes, "Eric and Erica have been back up in Stony this week working up there. Erica had to head home early to deal with things in Prince Albert for a few days so our schedules don’t match, but we will see each other for a few days at a time. While we were away, we had some company pull their RV into our yard. Liam is planning to be back and forth to PA this summer to do some work finishing the bathrooms. We have not heard from Haaken or Greg/Kiersten this week so hopefully all is well."

Erin and Kristian have been relieved of their hosting duties of Grandma and Grandpa, but have taken on the care and feeding of Kali! Is that a good trade?! Erin has been paying attention to the World Cup, but now that Belgium fell in the quarater-finals, she may have to reconsider the Jays—thankfully, they are playing a bit better. Kristian is assisting at a wedding today of his youth leader at church. Nice recognition, buddy! 

Travis and Joanna celebrated their 17th Anniversary this week—congrats! McCains Deep and Delicious for the win! Otherwise, they always have the four dogs looking for attention, and a regular dose of work. 

The four grand-dogs!

And that's enough for this flight! 

Love!

56 years!

Another week has passed on the shore of Lake Superior in my hometown, while we have travelled westward and are found on the shore of Lake Wascana in the middle of the rain-soaked prairies. We are trying to follow the Three Rule—drive no more than 3 hours a day; arrive by 3pm; stay up to 3 days. On Sunday morning, we enjoyed a fine breakfast with the Knutsons and an uplifting assembly with the local congregation. Then, we resumed our journey west. This time, we were trying to drive at 90 km/h, to see how that worked out. We stopped in Brandon for coffee with Charlie and Bonnie, a nice time for sure. Then, we continued to Elkhorn to visit with Bill and Angie, that was also an encouraging time. We accepted their invitation to spend the night, and enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of oatmeal porridge prepared by Bill. They were off early to Brandon to commence the next phase of his treatments. We continued West, driving through my childhood haunts of Fairlight and Wawota and stopping in to see the new camp buildings at Clearview. We found where Bernard and Alicia were camping and enjoyed some wonderful coffee that Alicia had prepared and which matched her description! Then, we drove up to Kennedy where we visited with Ray and Ellen along with Heather and Sydney. And finally, we caught up with Dave and Heather out at their camp and enjoyed a good time of conversation, games, and supper. We retired to the RV for the night and woke in time to have a sumptuous breakfast. Fatefully, that was our last good decision of the day. Wendy was determined that the road to Regina passed through Weyburn. I explained that the path to Weyburn passed through Kisbey. We were both wrong! The road to Kisbey was blocked and led to many kilometres of orienteering, through the back roads, through the MUDDY back roads! Several U-turns later and a many mud holes later, we found another grid road heading down to Forget that allowed us to get to the highway and then onto Weyburn. We enjoyed lunch with Kresten and Star and their kids and a tour of their new house. Then, we were finally able to complete the trip to Regina. we have spent the rest of this week parked in Erin‘s parking lot and enjoying the comfort of her air-conditioned home. Taking into account the muddy roads and driving against prevailing winds, we found no particular difference in fuel usage, but we will keep experimenting! We had a few small projects here, but now we are ready to continue the trip toward Yellowknife. Wendy and I have each picked up a cold, so we were able to bark at each other for our 56th anniversary today! We haven’t decided exactly when we will head north yet, but the plan is for Monday. Otherwise, the world continues its troubled ways, the Orange War flares up from time to time, and the economic situation becomes more dire. The world of sports is profoundly focused on the World Cup, but I still have time to follow the Jays and the Riders both of whom won yesterday, but then the Jays got slaughtered today! 

Erica writes, "Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! We enjoyed a week at the cabin—a place we rented on Emma Lake with our friends, Guido and Tina. It rained for most of the week, but we had some moments to get out on the boat and do some fishing. Of course, the best day was Saturday, our last day! It makes me wonder at the luxury of my youth where we spent most of the summer at a cabin. If we wanted to do that now, we would need another high paying job to pay for it. Economics has definitely changed in the last 35 years. Liam has been with us all week and we have had a few minutes here and there to discuss our house renovations. We had planned to finish up the kitchen this summer, but with Eric's and my new jobs taking us out of town and a few other expenses, we have decided to scale down our plans for this summer, and wait until next summer to finish the kitchen. This summer will be focused on finishing up the two bathrooms and a few other small projects. Eric is preaching this Sunday and all three of us are playing on the worship team. Then, Eric and I return to the north on Monday."

We arrived at Erin and Kristian's place on Tuesday. We all celebrated Canada Day on Wednesday, then they were back to work. I was able to get the downstairs sink working properly—it was plugged with something, but Wendy's Norwex descaler made overnight work of that.

Egg Chair/Trellis Area

Then, I turned to work on the back patio area. I got the flower boxes ready to go, and repaired the trellis. Erin bought new plants, and she planted those, and I laid out the irrigation system. Looks like she is set for another growing/harvesting season. She has already been picking peas, and I see some tomatoes and strawberries ripening. 

Travis and Joanna are managing their own store back in Thunder Bay. They also took care of sending me a package with my compression stockings that I had left behind. Thanks! I did notice leg issues while driving without it, even though we're not putting in long days following the Three Rule! They also take responsibility for tracking us down when we fail to update everyone on our daily activity. Hey, someone has to take responsibility! 

And that's enough for this week.