Myra Canyon

Yesterday (Sunday) it was too hot to do much of anything except some wine tasting.  The first place we tasted 4 whites and 3 reds, but liked the whites better, so we each got a glass and ordered tacos from the food truck.  While we waited for the food we enjoyed live music from a soloist and her guitar. The next winery was more elegant but we did not care for any of their wines.

Thinking that Mondays are usually quieter days for sightseeing (it wasn’t) we loaded up the bikes and headed to Myra Canyon to ride on the Kettle Valley Railway Trail of Trestles.  This rails-to-trails was originally built in 1912-1914 to carry freight and passengers thru Myra Canyon.  The tracks were removed in 1980. The trail runs around the rim of the canyon so is relatively flat. It contains 18 trestles and 2 tunnels, several rock cuts and a few land bridges. In 2003 wildfires swept thru the canyon and destroyed or badly damaged most of the trestles. They have all been replaced or repaired.  Several are now steel trestles, the rest are all wood.

It was a cool day and even cooler in the canyon but such a pretty ride.  It was a good day until 2 km from the car John got a flat tire on his bike. We stopped 3 times to pump it up enough to ride. At the car John had tools and patches to repair the tube but we couldn’t find the hole.  So he got out the spare tube, punctured it trying to put it in the tire, and could not fix the puncture.  Still couldn’t find the hole in the first tube.  So we put the bike on the rack and hoped it would not fall off on the way back.  When we got into town we drove to Walmart to get a new tube, no luck there.  On the way to a bike shop the Jeep overheated! We found a gas station, got some radiator fluid and that’s when we discovered that the radiator cap was loose likely never installed properly from the transmission service right before we left Sedalia. By the time we got home it was after 6 but that didn’t stop us from have a couple of cocktails to take the edge off the bad day. 

Kelowna on the Okanagan Lake

The drive to Kelowna could have been beautiful except for the hazy, smokey air.  The Karma RV Park is part of a company that makes fruit juices, carbonated fruit drinks and vodka infused ciders from all kinds of locally grown fruits.  I’ve tasted pear, peach and cherry with cherry being my favorite so far.

 John has been having some serious pain down his leg and I suspect it’s a pinched nerve.  It finally got bad enough that he was able to call and get an appointment with a chiropractor on Friday. She tried some minor adjustments, gave him a brace and some exercises.  Until he can get an MRI, that’s about all she can do and in Canada it will be a year before he could get the test.  That’s not a typo - a one year waiting time!  Hope the brace helps!

This whole area is renowned for its fruits, vegetables and grapes.  We had expected flat country but it’s very hilly and mountainous.  The Kelowna Farmer’s Market is every Saturday and Wednesday and is huge.  Cherries are in full season and boy are they sweet!  It’s like eating candy!

I have to tell a funny from Saturday night. We ate at a nice restaurant then walked along the lake shore, watching people enjoying the evening .  Shortly after we sat on the bench a man about our age stops to talk to us - not with us but to us. And we’re not sure what all he is saying,  partly because we couldn’t understand him and partly because he made no sense.  As he walked off after 10 minutes of chatting I burst out giggling!  Oh my, what a character!  Then another man with his small dog sits down with us!  He throws a ball for his dog who immediately runs in the opposite direction. He did have a conversation with us, nice guy.  When he leaves, we get up, I’m still giggling, and John indicates we should leave before any more crazy people sit by us!  Good evening!

Golden Rules

We walked back to the RV in rain on Monday evening after the big Stampede Show and woke to more rain as we traveled across the Rocky Mountains through Banff and Lake Louise.  It was very disappointing not to see those majestic mountains and to get mud all over the RV because of construction on the Trans Canada Highway 1!

We stopped in Golden for two nights before going on to Kelowna.  It rained both nights but not during the day.  Golden is a ski town in the winter and a nice quiet place to visit in the summer.  They have a lot of mountain biking trails but a nice bike path circles the town and follows the Kicking Horse River. The river is a glacial river so it looks very muddy but it is running really fast.

Stampede Showdown

When we were in Fredericksburg Texas last fall we met a nice couple who live a couple of hours north of Calgary.  I reached out to let them know we were near and they very graciously drove down and took us out to lunch.  We spent a delightful several hour with Dave and Marilyn.

The evening show included Chuck wagon races, relay races, and a very elaborate Grand Stand Showdown.

There were nine heats for the chuck wagon races with three wagons in each heat.  These competitors will race three more nights to determine a grand champion and tonight was just the beginning.  It is quite interesting to watch.  Each wagon has four horses followed by two outriders - men on horses who help “load” the wagon before they take off racing. The wagons have to circle a barrel and then race around the oval.  Best time was 1 min 11 sec.  That is fast!

Then the Horse relay race where men and women raced bareback around the track, jumped off and onto a different horse. Once more around the track and then onto a third horse.  And the horses didn’t always want to do what the rider wanted.  Very exciting!

Then just as its getting dark they roll a stage and lighting system to the front and an extravaganza of a show begins.  The stage has a rotating circle, fire, water and elevating platforms on either side.  They feature a live band, singers and at least 150 men and women dancing with a total light show enhancing all that they do.  The very end is a huge fireworks display going off while the music and dancing is in full swing.  So much happening all at once!

Stampede Rodeo

Since Saturday is a free day for us John took advantage of being in the big city to find and buy a new bike rack. The old one is not traveling well and we are worried the bikes are not riding safely.  Turns out the best rack available is made in Springfield, MO!  And it is very nice with a ramp, locking cable, and tail lights.

That afternoon we decided to visit the Stampede.  What a mad house!  We ended up getting fried chicken sandwiches for lunch since that was the shortest line.  The carnival covered every street around and between the buildings making it very difficult to see where we wanted to go and what to see.  We ended up in an air conditioned arena to watch draft horses!  

Canadians are very aware of the Native Americans or First Nations who lived on this land first so a large part of the Stampede grounds houses the natives in their Teepees and a stage for their dances.

When we left the fair grounds, we walked downtown until we came to a very inviting restaurant that was thankfully air conditioned.

Sunday afternoon we watched some very exciting and professional rodeo.  Bareback bronco busting, saddle bronco busting, bull riding, barrel racing and cow roping.  Yaaaa Hooooo!!

Yaaa Hooo!!

Parade Day!  We’re up bright and early to catch the train to the center of Calgary for the opening parade and the first day of the Calgary Stampede.

View from RV. 

The parade may have started at 9am but it did not reach us until almost 10:30. During that time several different cultural groups walked by and performed danced from their home countries.  Almost every other entry in the parade was a marching band from schools, colleges, police, and armed services.  My favorite were the bagpipers.  Of course there were floats and lots and lots of horse entries.  So many, in fact, that street sweepers were part of the parade entries.

An FMCA club has arranged all the things we will do the next five days so that we can find others of our group in the crowd we were all wearing lime green hats or visors.  Since we were sitting together for the parade our hats brought a lot of comments and interest from those folks walking in the parade.

The official yell of the day was “Yaaa Hoooo!!”   On the count of three — One! Two! Three!   Yaaaa HOOooooo!!!

Medicine Hat

We only spent two nights in Medicine Hat but found it to be a nice city to visit, partly because it is covered with biking trails. This city was established on the Alberta River so many of the trails bordered the river.

A very unique feature of Medicine Hat are the sculpted brick murals around town. James Marshall was commissioned by nuns at the Catholic Church to do a series on the Stations of the Cross.  From there he created several more murals for the city and has now done over 300 all over Canada.  One mural depicted the city recovering from a catastrophic flood in 1995.

Regina

We arrived in Regina (rhymes with vagina) on Canada Day so once we had the RV set up we headed to the park called Wascana Center where there was a big celebration. We walked almost 3 miles around the central lake while enjoying people watching, listening to music and taking in the crafts.

The Legislative Building or what we would call the Capital was at one end of the park. The next day we toured the building and learned about their government.The building itself was lovely, having used 7 different types of marble in its construction. Its green marble columns were beautiful.

Regina is also the home of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, their training center, horse brigade and an informative museum. It was a well done museum illustrating the Mounted Police beginnings and it history.

Winnipeg

We are camped a good 20 minutes east of downtown Winnipeg so it’s a bit of a drive into town on roads that are under construction.  But the center of the city is right on the Red River and the Assiniboine River with a community gathering place called “The Forks”. It is filled with shopping, museums, cafes, restaurants and a large park decorated with sculptures.  A converted train station is a shopping and dining mall.  The center of the park is a circular plaza with special arms pointing to the sky and directing the eye to various constellations.

After exploring the business district and looking for a nice restaurant for dinner we settled on an French place that served delicious small plate meals.  

We also toured the Canadian Mint where they make not only Canadian coins but also coins for over 40 other nations around the world. No photographs were allowed.

Bonanzaville

Today we had a history lesson about life in Fargo and North Dakota by visiting a reconstructed village with about 40 buildings filled with artifacts from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. All the original homes had been moved to Bonanzaville and some buildings had been rebuilt on the property.  There were 4 or 5 large shed filled with cars, planes, tractors, trains and farm equipment.

We visited a one room schoolhouse, a Lutheran Church, a fire station and police station.  There were several stores, a phone company building, a barber shop, and of course, a saloon with rooms to rent upstairs.  Every single house, building or shop was filled with artifacts.

Hjemkomst

Fargo ND is across the Red River from Moorhead MN where the Viking ship Hjemkomst (pronounced ‘yam-komst’) is located.  

Here’s the story.  In 1972 a gentleman of Norse ancestry had a dream to build an authentic Norse Viking ship from the 1400’s.  Over the next 10 years he made that dream come true. In 1982 12 men and one woman set sail from Duluth MN through the Great Lakes and down to New York City.  One man decided to go home to his family, the remaining 12 headed out into the Atlantic Ocean headed for Norway.  They made it to Norway in about 3 months and then sailed along the coastline to Oslo where the boat stayed for about 2 years before being shipped back to Fargo.

Included in this museum is an authentic Stave Church.  The foundation of the building is built on pillar like staves pounded into the ground.  Without the stone foundation the staves would eventually rot but the stone carry the water away so they stay solid.  The roof is created with angled slats and the interior has no seating as the people were required to stand for the services.  The small apse has pictures of Christ’s life because most people could not read so a story was told with pictures.

Leading Up to a Summer in Canada

Our annual family camping trip happened two weeks late this year since Erin moved into her new house over Memorial weekend.  We had three beautiful days together in Prairie Creek Campground on Beaver Lake playing in the woods, boating and swimming.  Pam had her science projects, RJ smoked a pork roast, the kids built a “fort” lean-to, explored the woods and had a great time playing together.  

After the two families went home, John and I stayed an extra day so we could visit Crystal Bridges Museum in Rogers, AR. It was an enjoyable day.

The detour to Norman to see Erin’s new house was worth the drive.  They have done a great job planning and designing their country home. Once all the boxes are put away they will have a very comfortable home.

It was a long two day drive to Sioux Falls where we picked up our mail and enjoyed several good meals. This town has a plethora of fine dining establishments. Sioux Falls also has a well developed bikeway that circles the downtown and Falls Park. The ride was over 22 miles but we stopped halfway around to eat at a Chick-fil-A, we being maybe the only 2 people who had never eaten at one.

Synopsis of the Remainder of Our Winter

Forgive me for not keeping up with my blogging.  

When we left Doheny State park we camped on Cachuma Lake near Solvang and did several wine tastings and wine pairings.  Vega, Mirabelle, Sanford, Alma Rose,  Roblar and Rusack Vineyards were just some of the places we visited.  Some good wines, some great foods.  We bought a few bottles to drink later. The weather was cool and rainy most days.

We headed back to the coast in Pismo Beach to do more wine tasting but weather was raining buckets.  It actually flooded out the state park next to our commercial campground.  We sampled at Presqu’ile and Riverbench and drove up to McPrice Meyer’s in Paso Robles for their annual party.  

After that we decided we had had enough rain and headed back to Borrego Springs.  We stayed there 10 days and had to move twice within the park.  If we are going to move sites we might as well head further west so we snagged two weeks at Palm Creek Resort in Casa Grande, AZ.

We hiked, played pickleball, and rode our bikes around the resort. At least it was warm and dry! From there we headed towards home and a visit in Norman with our daughter & family. Arrived home on April Fools Day.

This has not been the best winter weather wise which has made us wish for a Florida winter next year!  

Doheny Beach State Park

It looks like California is experiencing one of its worst winters in over 28 years and this is the year we chose to visit.  I’m not sure why I brought any shorts or tee shirts because all I’ve been wearing are long pants and sweaters!

The first part of the week wasn’t too cold.  We were able to ride our bikes on the adjacent bike trail most days.  We rode to Mission San Juan Capistrano and enjoyed a walk through the old mission, which is quite large and well preserved.

We found some pickleball courts nearby and tried to play but the people were much younger, better players, and not very inviting.  Did not go back. The bike lanes are along most of the roads so we have ridden or walked to grocery stores or other shopping.

Our friends, Jeff and Linda, whom we met many years ago when we had our Born Free RV, live just up the coast a short way so we had a delightful lunch and afternoon visit with them. 

Friday and Saturday this week are totally wasted as a huge winter storm moved through.  Parts of Orange County got snow which they haven’t seen in 28 years.  It was very windy, cold and rainy.  The bad news is that we can look forward to this kind of weather for the next 2-3 weeks where ever we go.  Yuck!!

Palm Springs in the Winter

We parked our RV at Outdoor Resorts in Indio which was only 1.5 miles from our friends Mike and Dianne’s home in La Quinta. Our two weeks here will be the longest we will stay in any one place for the rest of our trip.  We had hoped the weather would be warmer and less windy here but that was not the case.  Our site is one that is owned by someone and they have rented it out for the winter.  They have done a nice job of decorating the site with a covered patio, a built in outdoor kitchen, and comfortable patio furniture.

One reason we chose this park was because it has eight pickleball courts and an 18 hole executive golf course.  Of course the amenities included swimming pools, laundry, a restaurant and many planned activities.  Since we were only going to be here two weeks we did not make use of much except the pickleball courts.

Mike and Dianne kept us busy.  Dianne’s sisters were visiting so the girls took a architectural and historic tour of Old Palm Springs with a nice lunch. We dined with them several times either at their home or a restaurant.  They graciously included us in their family Super Bowl party. Go Chiefs! 

Mike and Dianne were married two weeks before we were and the men were in each other’s ceremonies.  We celebrated our 50th anniversary with them in Switzerland and Italy last August.  While in Italy we stayed in a lovely Villa in Tuscany with them and three other couples from La Quinta so we wanted to get the whole group together while we were here.  It was such a fun evening and yet we never thought to take a single picture!

Luxury Camping in the Desert

From one desert in AZ to another desert in CA, we enjoy this one more. Basically because we stayed in a commercial campground called The Springs in Borrego.  Anza Borrego State Park is California’s largest park and the city of Borrego Springs is right in the middle of it.

The Springs has an 18 hole golf course and the guests have access to the community’s eight pickleball courts. It is also very close to town so we ride our bikes around to view all the metal sculptures in Galleta Meadows and to go shopping.

One of our favorite things to do here is to take our cocktails out to Fonts Point to watch the sunset over the mountains. We never get tired of this view.