Thanks!

Another week has passed. We have begun the trip home. Our main thoughts are of thankfulness to the friends in Yellowknife who have made the central aspect of our trip so memorable. In the final analysis, there are other important aspects of this first RV trip, but the central theme remains a trip to YK to celebrate friendships and experience the nature of the area that was our home for eighteen years! It has been 31 years since we left, and ten since our last visit. You cannot know when a trip will be the last, but you have to recognize as you celebrate a 76th birthday, that such opportunities are becoming rare.

Cindy & Sage

The central person in the comfortable operation and success of the trip is our cousin, Cindy. She took us in, housed, showered and fed us as needed throughout our time in the north. Thank you, Cindy, we owe you, we love you! Then, there are Simon & Lenore, a lifelong friendship formed during our time living there, and especially over our collaboration in developing, building and enjoying the cabin at River Lake. This summer, we refreshed all of those in an active week out at the cabin with them. We are so thankful for the relationship, and for sharing the cabin and River Lake experiences with us once again. And finally, last week there were Dave & Tram who opened new venues for us on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake. We enjoyed a great week on your boat, exploring new vistas, fishing and eating, sightseeing the beauty of another part of the North. Tram is another daughter for us, and we delighted to see her thriving in her home life. We are thankful to Dave and for Dave as he contributes to her happiness. 

We left on Tuesday morning with a plan to stop the first night at Dory Point just across the McKenzie, but the signs there said No Overnight Camping, so we carried on to Lady Evelyn Falls, and got a site for the night. Then, we completed our exit from the Northwest Territories, stopping for fuel at Meander River and planning to spend the night there. Once again, my plans proved unsatisfactory to the management—too muddy, poor cell signal... so we continued down the road to High Level where we spent the night. On Thursday continued south stopping for the night just past Peace River. My plans, continuing to work perfectly on Friday, saw us stop just north of Fox Creek. A lack of cellular coverage, and a plethora of mosquitoes caused this site to be rejected. We checked out another site near Fox Creek, but this was also rejected due to bugs. So we drove down to White Court where Wendy picked a spot at Walmart. This time it was I who found the better site at the Flying J truck stop. Finally, today, after our traditional pancake breakfast, we packed up to head down to Sherwood Park AB to stay with Scott & Margaret. But first, we dropped by Canadian Tire to pick up some supplies and to dump our tanks. After arriving here, Scott, very generously changed the oil in the RV—thank you! Our hoped for train trip to BC has been put off for another time, so we’ll spend a few days here (thank you) before heading to Prince Albert. The Riders won their game last night over Ottawa and combined with Edmonton‘s loss today, they are alone in first place. The Blue Jays traded away three of their starters, but their gameplay has not changed, although they did win today! 

Erica writes, "We are back up north in Stony Rapids/Black Lake. I’m getting ready for the auditors, so I’ve been working on the evenings. Interesting being back on this side of the audit. Liam is back in PA working on the house. He pulled up the layers of old flooring in the bathroom and found some good hardwood. Our plan is to salvage as much as we can as we expect it might be needed for patching when we get to the living room. Then, we will put down plywood in the bathroom and some other flooring yet to be determined. Liam has also been enjoying our new Yamaha 250 motorcycle. We picked it up last weekend. He recently got his license and the Vulcan’s are a bit too big for him to learn on. We still have our Honda 250 Rebel, but it’s going to need some work as it has been sitting idle for a decade." Liam has been working on renovations to the main floor bathroom in PA. He has removed fixtures, lino and salvaged some good hardwood. 

Salvage!

Erin writes, "I’m just so tired: extra long days, month end and short staffed! One of my tomato plants is dying, and I'm not 100% sure why.

Sick Tomato

One of the tomatoes on the other plant had blossom-end rot like we had before, so I added calcium. I decided to add calcium to the other plant, too, even though it didn’t have the problem. Now that’s the one that’s dying—is too much calcium a thing?! Could be the change in weather, as a couple nights got pretty chilly. It’s the plant at the end of the fence, so it doesn’t have as much protection." Kristian added, "I now have a personal trainer. We’ll be starting on the 17th." Erin has scheduled Kali for a haircut on the 25th. 

Joanna has returned from Burlington. Her mom seems to be well accommodated, and now has an ejection chair to help her get up and about. Travis took Marigold to visit a vet in Duluth who specialized in dermatology of dogs! No fresh results there yet. Rosie is off on her visit home to Vietnam. 

And that's enough for this week.