The Clothesline

Reducing the Carbon Footprint

2012-02-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

I know we're not really supposed to fly places if we really want to reduce our carbon footprint so this Friday I'm attempting to reduce my environmental impact by only taking a plane from Trail to Vancouver. From there, I intend to use public transit, taking the Sky Train from YVR to the bus and then carrying on to the ferry terminal to get to the Island. The internet states that this should add about 90 minutes of time to my trip. As well, I'll have a little over 90 minutes on the ferry. This same thing could be accomplished by about a 12 minute flight to the Victoria airport. The option that I am attempting on Friday is certainly cheaper, but will add a lot of travel time to my day. I'm hoping the public transit facilities work well that day. Has anyone had any experience with getting from YVR to the ferry terminal?

More Queens of the Mountain

2012-02-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was Rossland Winter Carnival and while watching the bobsled races, I enjoyed seeing all the kids playing along the Spokane Street route. It was delightful to see these girls setting up their jumps from a garage roof into a big pile of snow! Here are more of our Queens of the Mountain in Rossland. From watching kids along the street, I think many of them get a good hands on education in how snow can avalanche and I hope the lessons remain with them as they grow up and head out into the back country!

Queen of the Mountain

2012-01-30T07:11:00.000-08:00

Don't know if Andrea has had any time to post about her recent Queen of the Mountain victory, but she did win! Here she is, sporting her costume on her way to the race. She needed to get up there for a couple of practice runs and I took the boys in the Chariot, leaving 30 minutes after she did. The way the race is set up, it's a bit hard to tell what is going on and the viewing area where the fans all stood wasn't the best place for a Grandma with a Chariot full of babies! I didn't want to be strolling around on a ski hill with those guys. We did see her after her transitions onto a new set of downhill gear, but it wasn't up close and personal. Congratulations, Queen! The Queen Mother and the little Princes are proud!

Bobsled Race in Rossland

2012-01-28T16:00:00.000-08:00

It's Winter Carnival in Rossland and today was the bobsled race. Some of you might have seen it in action on RMR (Rick Mercer Report) a couple of years ago. The race takes place on Spokane Street and it's a steep hill, but does have a flatish section in the middle. This picture is taken on "the flats". I take the boys up Spokane Street almost every day so it's my workout! Now that they are 13 lbs and 16lbs and I am noticing that is harder to push. I admire the racers: I don't even like walking down this hill and take an alternate route with my precious cargo.

Ski Chariot!

2012-01-21T08:24:00.000-08:00

We went out with the ski chariot on Thursday and Friday this week. It's a bit of an excercise getting everything ready, but Andrea will reduce that time with a bit of practice. It works best with two people involved! I can just keep up with Andrea when she pulls the chariot (my normal speed!) and I pulled it for about 20 minutes each day. The slightest incline really made me sweat! It's great for me on the flat and I wasn't too intimidated by a gentle downhill. We had two lovely skis with our boys and can do the Aquaduct/Gibbards route in about one hour and 20 minutes. Our "transition time" of getting the boys in and out of carseats and into the chariot and us into our skis still needs work but our last transition is getting down already - I load the skis and get the boys ready for their carseats; Andrea folds the chariot and gets the boys locked into their carseats. They don't like transitions so we get to hear some crying - luckily, it's only a 10 minute drive to the local x-country trails.

A Day in Trail

2012-01-15T20:12:00.000-08:00

A beautiful day here in the "boundary" once again, but everyone is crying for snow. I decided to have a hiking day and walked up to Raven's Bluffs behind the Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital. It was an icy walk so I was glad to have my grippers along with me. A nice hike through a mixed forest and small ravine and at the top - the view of industrial Trail. It is what makes Trail, Trail! I'm thankful for the jobs here - I hope they stay because that would mean my grandkids can grow up here away from a big city and be treated to the benefits of a "smallish" place. The Columbia River really does make this place special.

What's Your Sign?

2012-01-07T19:34:00.000-08:00

The boys received a couple of great little bibs and "onesies" from their American aunt and Canadian uncle. This one is my personal favourite. It arrived just in time - the boys have been drooling up a storm, so wearing a bit is so appropos! Miro is definitely showing signs of teething. For the uninitiated reader, the signs have to do with ski trail levels - beginner (green), intermediate (blue) and difficult (black). The boys have only been out in the Chariot on skis once and I have yet to get them to hold a bridge hand, but we'll be working on it soon.

End of the Fourth Trimester

2012-01-05T16:31:00.000-08:00

A milestone has been reached today - the boys have finished the "fourth trimester" as they have now turned 3 months. We took them to their first music lesson - a sort of kindermusic session. It was lots of fun and Atley seemed to enjoy it. Miro slept through the whole thing (he woke up at 4:00 a.m. and it took a car ride to Trail to get him back to sleep.) We had a nice long walk in sunshine and in snow and now we're going to have a bison roast supper - mmm. The music program is called Music Together. Any readers know anything about it? I enjoyed the demo lesson. Congratulations on turning 3 months, Atley and Miro!

December Sunrises

2011-12-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

This lovely sunrise occurred a couple of days before I left my rental home in Rossland - everyone can see why I loved this place! December has been a surprisingly bright month around here and in Rossland we had two weeks of clear skies and beautiful sunrises and sunsets. I'll miss it. I do plan to return to Rossland in January, living right in town, with an easy walk to "my boys". The Rosslanders are crying for snow - they got some last night, but the forecast is for warmer weather with rain beginning later today. Hope the ski resort manages to stay in the snow zone!

The Kindness of Strangers

2011-12-26T20:05:00.000-08:00

Just back from our "family day" in Grand Forks and it really did work perfectly. The weather remained moisture-free and we had good roads for travel. My sister and her son brought my parents to a home in Grand Forks and the ADAM family and Dave and I travelled to Grand Forks to meet them at the same home. Thank you to Terry and Liz for being the "strangers" who provided us with a home. My parents were able to meet their new grandsons so we had some 4 generation pictures, a nice walk on the outskirts of Grand Forks and a chance for a Christmas visit. Terry and Liz don't know us and it was a "chance" conversation at a bridge tournament in Genelle that brought this home into our use. They are "strangers" who have no fear about welcoming anyone and are open-hearted enough to simply offer the best part of themselves. We could all learn something from the Terry and Liz type people of the world.

Misty Mornings

2011-12-05T07:14:00.000-08:00

One advantage of living up high in the snowbelt is that we do get some good sunrises. This is one I saw from my east-facing windows last week. It's interesting to see the mist and fog down in the valley - I see Redstone Creek Valley below me (where all the rich people live adjacent to the golf course) and it's often misty. Even when I go for bridge in Warfield at 11:30, I often drive into the mist - it begins to break up around noon. If one is going to live in Rossland, learning to love shoveling is essential and enjoying walking on icy roads is another plus. Love the skies up high, however!

Roaming Around Rossland

2011-11-28T18:31:00.000-08:00

On my many walks around Rossland, this is one of my favourite winter ornaments. It sure beats elves, dwarves and toadstools, doesn't it? The house is located at the top of a very steep hill and I hope you note the snow ready to crash off the roof. It is wise to be wary when walking in Rossland. There are so many precipitous roofs and I've often been blissfully unaware. Now that I have this big responsiblity in the stroller I am taking much better notice.

Doing Diapers

2011-11-22T19:28:00.000-08:00

There's been a revolution in the world of diapers since I was the parent of a young baby. The ones Atley and Miro are currently wearing are featured at left. They should fit them for quite a few months because there are rows of snaps to adjust to the different sizes. (My arthritic fingers have a bit of a time with the snaps!) There is tons of padding in each diaper and they seem to work pretty well. The most brilliant part of the whole procedure is that we are simply throwing them into a diaper pail "as is" and then we put them through the rinse cycle of the washing machine to get them rinsed prior to washing them. None of this hands in the toilet business. So far it's working really well, but our two little guys are pretty young and their "number twos" are always small and runny enough to get rid of everything with ease. The boys seem to enjoy their diapers and we're not creating a mess to the moon with disposables. However, we do have laundry! Good thing that I'm the Queen of the Clothesline!

First Ski

2011-11-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

I managed to get out cross-country skiing today at the local spot - Black Jack. It's got lots of very fine groomed trails - not everything is open yet, but the loops that I find easy to do were all open. Conditions were excellent for Nov. 20, but still encountered a few rocks here and there on the trail. After my ski, I took over the twins so A & D could get out for a couple of hours. The twins and I had a fine walk around town with light snow falling. A & D enjoyed their hike up Red Mountain and the trip down. Andrea is really excited to be out and about and given the go ahead to exercise once again! Atley was certainly ready for her to get home, however!

First Snowshoe

2011-11-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

Today we had crystal clear skies in Rossland and Andrea and I took the boys out for their first snowshoe. We left from my rental house in Happy Valley and wandered over to the Kootenay-Columbia Trail where we planned to walk the "Back of KC" and back to Andrea's house for feeding time. We had the babes out for 35 minutes when Miro woke up and we didn't know how much further we had to walk. So it was decided to go back to my place in case he wouldn't settle again. We managed a good hour outside with them. I found that my back was a little sore carrying Atley on my chest in this nifty rig. I just need him to be on my back, however! We won't be able to try that out for a couple of months because the babes really should be able to hold up their heads (reliably) before we try it. At this point, we're thinking if we really want to work out with skis or snowshoes it's best to go single while someone stays with the boys at home or takes them out in the stroller. This is the view from my driveway at the rental home above Happy Valley.

We've Got Snow!

2011-11-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

Today was very much like a good old prairie blizzard, but not cold enough to really qualify. Here's my car after two days of accumulation. I had a fun time walking the boys this a.m. as the stroller cover was continually getting covered in snow and I was frequently blasted as we passed many snowblowers in town. The boys would love seeing all the road graders and sanding trucks in town, but I guess that will have to wait until next year for their enjoyment. Happy ski season, all!

Graduation

2011-11-09T20:24:00.000-08:00

Now, don't you think that these carrying bags ressemble something you'd take on a picnic or to the store to put your ice cream into to keep it cold? These are the totes we use to take the babes out in the stroller. When they fall asleep while on our walk, they can simply be brought inside without being disturbed. Brilliant, isn't it? Atley is getting long enough to come to the end of his tote bag, however, so I don't know what we do when he graduates out of it. It is a big day for graduations for these two fellows - they've gained over one kg each so they are in a whole new weight range, they have moved on from "newborn" clothing into 0 - 3 month sizes and today they both wore Bum Genius diapers and we're hoping to forget about disposables! Congratulations on your graduation, grandsons!

Joys of Grandparenting

2011-11-04T19:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Dave and I really got to know all about the joys of grandparenting! We stayed for supper with A & D and for the first time were able to watch bath time! Atley enjoyed it and Miro didn't. When we left their house both boys were crying lustily and we got to walk away! Oh, the joys of grandparenting.

It's Here!

2011-11-03T18:54:00.000-07:00

Got up this a.m. to snow falling and it kept it up all day! This is one thing I have liked about the Kootenays - winter doesn't usually start until the END of November. Not this year, or at least not at 1025m (Rossland's elevation). I didn't get to walk the babes in the stroller so we put them in their Snuglis and took them to town for groceries. I was afraid of falling the entire time! In the p.m. we turned on the kitchen fan to create white noise to put those guys to sleep (it worked!) I missed my walk with the wee ones and it's a bit depressing to think of it being winter, but I will get used to it. Now we just have to hope that it snows TONS and we can get out the skis. This is my view today with snow, cloud and mist.

Unusual Baby Gift

2011-10-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

On Friday a guy with a big digger came over to the house and dug out this stump that was sitting in the front yard of A & D's new house. Dave had cut down a huge tree and dug down to expose the stump. Someone came to the house on Friday to visit the babies and then said he was sending a guy over with his machinery to improve the landscaping! I'd come back from walking the babies and they were sound asleep while all of this digging was going on. I couldn't help but think about how excited they would have been to see this equipment in about 2 years time! Guess we'll be there soon enough.

Heading for Old Glory

2011-10-23T19:44:00.000-07:00

A beautiful day in southern B.C. (at least to start) and of course I forgot my camera!! The views towards Old Glory were good, although somewhat hazy in every other direction. I hiked up to Record Ridge in about an hour over an excellent trail with plenty of frost on it. The ridge walk is gorgeous with Old Glory straight ahead. Views to the south (WA state) are super. By the time I got to the split in the trail I'd pretty much decided I wasn't going to hike Old Glory - snow up top, it was windy and I really didn't bring the best gear for cold and wind. Also, I had no gaiters with me. I chose, instead, to head over to Plewman Peak and then down the Plewman Trail. Lots of variety on that one, but snow-covered for the top third of it. A really nice circuit back to the car and it took me 4 hours! Very pleased to have passed a couple of hikers on the uphill who were at least 20 years younger!! The running and pushing the stroller must be helping my fitness level.

Cinderella Complex

2011-10-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

Friday a.m. I started my "work" by making turkey soup but I had to go outside and clean vegetables that I'd picked out of the garden on Wednesday. I did feel like the scullery maid out there - misty wet weather and scubbing in the garden! The soup turned out okay. I did a few loads of laundry (not a big chore to someone like me with a blog called The Clothesline), cleaned the bathrooms, washed floors and did a wee bit of vacuuming. The best part was taking the boys out for a long a.m. walk along Centennial Trail past the Rossland Reservoir. They slept the true sleep of babes. When I got back an unusual birthing present was given (a planned future post) and I learned that I'm feeling I have a bit of a Cinderella Complex over my new role!

Valley View

2011-10-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

This is the view from my living room and kitchen. It's particularly good in the autumn, I hear. I really love looking out at it although the nights are "drawing in" so there's not much time to sit and ponder. Big excitement this morning as a bunch of fire trucks arrived at about 1 a.m. on the valley road below where I live - don't know any details, but I didn't see flames so figured I was safe enough!

Misty and foggy this a.m. as I head out to the babes. It can really settle into this valley I've noticed. Yesterday, had an a.m. walk with the boys (Miro crying through half of it - even running with the stroller didn't help) in mist and fog, but I'm getting my exercise heading up the steep hills of Rossland with the stroller. Not sure if I'll be able to do this when they both start weighing 10 kg. or so. Had them to see the Kiwi pediatrician and Atley (the big one) has gained half a pound. Miro is just a few ounces more and is a slower eater. He's the family "baby" as we call him. Got to yoga last night - a good work out and the walk home in the dark wasn't totally scary - I blew my whistle and had my headlamp.

Morning Sunrise

2011-10-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

Sunrise at 6:45a.m. today was glorious. The fog that I could see below me did reach Happy Valley by 8 a.m. when I left the house. It took until 11 a.m. to start clearing in "upper" Rossland. It's day 2 of grandmothering/housekeeping and it's been fun. I do feel tired at the end of the day. The babes have enjoyed their time in the big double stroller and today I took them over to the "other" house and harvested carrots, beets and potatoes while they slept. I didn't go running today, but pushing the stroller up some of those steep inclines in Rossland makes up for it! Not sure if I'll be able to do that when they weigh 10 kg each! We've managed to dry laundry a couple of times on the new clothesline and this could be the beginning of "routine" - who knows? I had a couple of cats hanging around the stroller over at the other house and remember all the tales I heard as a child about cats and babies - is any of that true?

More Twins!

2011-10-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

My friend Eva, Kaslo's brilliant librarian, is a fabulous gardener and she thought of Dave and I every time she saw "twins" in her garden. This gift of more twins was given to me last night. Don't you love it? Thanks, Eva and Mike!

They're Home!

2011-10-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

The boys arrived home this afternoon. Their parents looked pretty darn good! I think the grandparents were probably feeling the most worn out. We had moved stuff from the old house to the new house and cleaned up both! What a great way to get out of a move - have twins!!! One thing I did discover is that we moved at least 7 Tickle Trunks worth of dressups so we're ready for that stage. The thumbsucker on the right in this picture is getting himself a serious blister with all the sucking he is doing on his hands. Feeding is going really well and Mum keeps looking better and better! It's a Thanksgiving to remember. Happy Thanksgiving, all!

The Room With the Other View

2011-10-09T17:47:00.000-07:00

The twins get a good view of what keeps Trail alive - Teck! They can see the smelter from their crib, but fortunately, lots of poplar trees block out most of it. I kinda had to lean into the window to get this picture. We get a tiny glimpse of the mighty Columbia where we'll hopefully all get to go canoeing in the years ahead. I think it's good for the twins to get this view of the "real world" and I sure hope we can turn them into raging environmentalists. Let's hear it for Atley and Miro!

Room With A Literacy (?) View

2011-10-08T18:20:00.000-07:00

Here's the view the twins got from Room one. It was really a tiny room and we were hot and somewhat uncomfortable with 2 grandpas, 2 parents, 1 grandma and the TWINS! That was day one. I hope they picked up on all the graffitti out the window because I do want these guys to be readers AND writers. The local high school is located next door to the hospital so you can see how the students spend their free time - at least all of it is "clean"! Mum and Dad got moved to a big room on Friday morning and it is way more comfortable. We now get the view of the Trail Teck smelter!! However, with the leaves on the trees, the changing colours and a peak at the Columbia River, it is actually a really nice view with west exposure. I've been showing the babes the polluted world that they will help to clean up and the river that we'll canoe in a few years.

They're Here!

2011-10-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

Happy to announce that I am now a grandparent. Baby boys born on October 5th (the most common day for birthdays, I understand!) at 5 p.m. Today I spent a good part of the day with them both while Dad went home to sleep for awhile. Lots of fun to hold those babes and watch the differences in their personalities (yes, already!). Nothing better than holding a babe and relaxing!

Summer Screens

2011-09-30T16:15:00.000-07:00

Dave took the screen doors off today and that always makes me feel a bit sad. I love the sound of the door slamming closed - it has such a summer sound to it. I cleaned up the gardens at the hospital grounds and brought home the pots. Today we made a quick trip out to the local nursery and picked up a couple of plants. I closed down one of the water gardens and pulled up a few more plants out of the garden that aren't producing well. We're actually ready for those grandchildren to be born .... now if only they'd get at it!

Signs of Fall

2011-09-29T19:07:00.000-07:00

Summer took a long time to get here, but we've being enjoying summer weather now for two months. The first hints of fall have appeared - we've even had to wait until this week to start picking fruit! Today, we headed off to Monica Meadows and I realized that I hadn't been up here for two years. It's worth a trip EVERY year. Fall is the best time. The larches haven't turned at all in the valley but up here, everything is golden. We travelled over some bits of icy trail and it was coolish, but a perfect day to hike in the alpine. The view here is of the Horseshoe Glacier from the larch laden slopes of Monica Meadows.

It Takes A Village!

2011-09-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

The library has been moving back to our "old" location in the 1898 City Hall building. The renos included the installation of a sprinkler system (won't that be good for a library if it goes off unnecessarily?), a geothermal heating system, new wiring, and a somewhat raised ceiling. We started the work last Friday by having a cleaning crew come in to wash all the shelving, clean the bathroom (a new one), and to start putting things away. Last weekend, volunteer crews came in to pack books at the temporary location. That went so well that Monday we were able to cancel the work party. Tuesday, the grade 7 class helped us move our things from their storage location (this was half of our collection, packed into boxes since January) and they did a superb job. Everything was placed into our permanent location and it was colour-coded for location. Wednesday and Thursday, we had volunteers shelving materials from all the boxes. We all worked like stink. It got done. Saturday we plan to be open! Let's hope that the internet gods and goddesses continue to bless us. Our librarian, Eva, is a master of moves!

Fall Planting

2011-09-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

We had rain in the forecast so yesterday I got busy in the garden and planted the garlic. We doubled the amount we planted this year. Garlic was a super crop for us this year, but I know it won't "see us through" until next season. I also got a few shrubs planted that were generously given to me by my sister in Summerland. Guess what? It didn't rain!

Yahoos and Moonlight

2011-09-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

Monday was the full moon and we had a calm and quiet Kootenay Lake that afternoon. We decided to go "out" for supper and headed across the lake to Powder Falls with all the fixings for a wiener roast and a few beer. Luckily for us, someone just pulled out of the area before we arrived. We had a very nice couple of hours and then headed out at 7 p.m. It's now getting dark at 8 p.m. so we went for a short paddle south on the lake before heading across. It was absolutely magnificent with the reflections. Unfortunately, we had a constant humming in the background as a couple of yahoos followed us and were attempting to come close, but would veer off and head back towards Kaslo. This behaviour was repeated 3 times. As we got close to Garland Bay (directly across from our place), they seem to have given up their hollering and following and we made the sprint for the 30 minute canoe paddle across the lake. The full moon appeared and it was all good! Those moons bring out the madness in all of us.

Go Figure

2011-09-10T17:23:00.001-07:00

We just came back from a short trip Stateside while this gorgeous summer weather continues. We understand that America is broke. The day after Labour Day it appears that camping in the national forests of two states has become free! In Washington, we were able to get free trail guides and maps of Colville National Forest. In Idaho, conditions were much the same, although we didn't obtain free literature. Its should be reassuring to see that things haven't changed a bit - "everything's free in America" - but we all know that it isn't true.

We did enjoy the great weather, some nice biking along Sullivan Lake and a new trail into Copper Falls, ID about 1.6 km south of the border. We also enjoyed cheaper prices on many things. I'll confess that my first items of purchase were beer, taco chips and salsa. We loved going out for lunch for less than $30.00 and that includes beer, tax and tip. On our return into Canada, the customs agent asked us how long we'd been in the U.S., if we had any alcohol or tobacco on board, and then said she had to deal with a wasp and waved us on. Free camping and fearful customs officers - go figure!

Hiking 2011: Healy Creek area

2011-09-06T15:00:00.000-07:00

The "Sunday" hikers were out on Labour Day yesterday in a new area for me. It's located off "highway" 31 (a gravel road) near Gerrard. It took about 2.5 hours to get to the hiking area from Kaslo and we only walked for about 5 hours so it wasn't the most efficient use of our time. However, the views were amazing! We first walked toward a saddle and had really good views out to the Badshot Range. I wasn't willing to walk to the second saddle (too much gray rock and snow in bright sunshine), so some of us headed back to walk the opposite direction where green alpine slopes gave us views of the Healy Creek Valley. We also had a chance to spot a couple of the spires of the Bugaboos way off in the distance. We're still into full on summer here in the Koots so it was a great day for 14 keen hikers. A bonus for us on the way home was a mother grizzly with 2 cubs (her twins!) crossing highway 31 - beautiful silver-hair on all 3 of them. Mum was very relaxed about us and re-crossed the road, watching the truck all the time before disappearing into the brush with the babes. They were probably going to take a dip in the Lardeau River.

Pulling Up Stakes

2011-08-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

I emptied the garden of pea stakes this p.m. and it was with some regret. We had wonderful peas this year and they just kept on producing until about a week ago. However, I have to recognize that we put the stakes up about a day after the snow left the garden and I planted the peas on March 28th, the day before we left to catch our flight to Britain. Five months of support ain't bad! A weird thing that happened this year was that the sweet pea seed that I purchased (mixed variety) came up with only TWO colours - light and dark purple, so I just wasn't getting my usual fix with sweet peas. I do have another small trellis with sweet peas where I can get my daily sniff for the month of September. I always feel that the pea stakes are the beginning and the end of garden season, but we've still got a long way to go before there are ripe tomatoes. The squash are maturing and getting bigger. There are a few ripening tomatoes. Green pepper is doing well and I've tried leeks for the first time this year and it looks like a good year for leek and potato soup.

Summer Bears

2011-08-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

I actually took this picture a month ago but haven't had time to blog much these days. The picture was taken around 7:45 a.m. - I'd come around the corner from doing my usual garden work and saw that we had a bear in the yard. He was right beside our fence (electric wire and all), but scooted up a tree as soon as he saw me. I know that he made his entry over the driveway gate; we have no electric wire there. I left for Kaslo for a couple of hours and when I came back the bear was still in the tree! He(She?) didn't leave until 11:30 when it finally decided to come down. I stood on the deck with my pots and pans to make sure it went down OUTSIDE the fence. He certainly took off quickly. Between my pots and pans and the guys who are house building across the road, I haven't seen much of him since. Because the snow took so long to leave the high alpine most of our valley bears have just stuck around all summer and are hanging about everyone's gardens. Now that the fruit is ripening I'm sure we'll see more of this guy.

Mission Accomplished in 2011

2011-08-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we decided to take a quick trip over to the east side of Earl Grey Pass and actually see the scenery that we missed last fall while doing the trail over 4 rainy days. Here is Mt. Hamill and its glacier, one of the spectacular sights that we missed! Our trip was planned very last minute and we didn't get to the trailhead until nearly 5 p.m. on Sunday. Two hours of rapid hiking brought up to our planned campsite. The next day we were on the trail by 7:30 a.m. and had a hot day with splendid weather for peak viewing. It took us nearly 4 hours to climb to the pass and by the time we got back to "teepee" camp we were pretty much totally wasted. It was well worth the effort, however, and I've now seen the beautiful mountains of the east and west Purcells along Earl Grey Pass.

Games Over!

2011-08-20T17:13:00.001-07:00

Sue and I finished out of the medals in the C section of our competition, but did manage a 4th place (in C section) and ended up as the top finisher from our Zone, which was Zone 6, representing Trail/Nelson/Castlegar area. After the first two rounds we were doing well and held our own through the third session on Friday a.m. Friday p.m. was a very tough round and we dropped rapidly. This morning we had a very competetive game and played quite well. I wore my Queen and Jack of Spades earrings and with Sue staring at those she had great card luck. We bid and made one slam and had a couple of other great bids. It wasn't enough to place us in the medals. I was pleased that the day I got good cards and played as declarer 9 times we had a good score. In the end, we finished 10/29 so we were fairly pleased. It was a fun event and we didn't complain at all about being immersed in cards inside a school on these brilliant sunny days. Next time, I hope the venue is a lakeside open deck!

All the Excitement!

2011-08-18T19:15:00.000-07:00

I know that you're all waiting with bated breath to hear the results from the B.C. Seniors Games! We had our first day of bridge competition and had a rather ho-hum start in the a.m., coming in about 8th out of 13 teams sitting East/West. In the p.m. we managed to get a 2nd place so I think we're doing okay so far. We compete again tomorrow and than on Saturday a.m. Sue and I are enjoying playing teams from different parts of the province and we just LOVE playing this game!

Hiking 2011: Alps Alturas

2011-08-04T17:44:00.000-07:00

This hike is one of my favourites in the Koots and we had perfect weather for it today. Ten hikers left Kaslo at 7:30 a.m. and we were "high" by 9:30. The hike only took us 2 hours; most of us declined to traverse the snow slopes which were on a pretty big incline and we didn't want to face the consequences of a fall. I had a few moments of panic, when one person in our party who did decide to go over the snow, lost his balance and did slide down a slope. Fortunately, he stopped before the rocks below! The alpine flowers were nice, although not spectacular - some lupine, paintbrush, arnica and valerian adorned the slopes to the south, but it is really just the start of the season. The west-facing slopes had plenty of aneome that was just finishing, decorated with buttercup and hellebore. It was perfect hiking weather in the high country and several of the party enjoyed a dip in Slocan Lake before returning home.

Hiking 2011: Finally!!

2011-08-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

We got out for our first "high" hike on Monday, August 1st. All the roads have been so filled with snow (as well as the trails) so it's been a very, very late season. Lots of places are still impassable. However, on provincial day, August 1st, the "Sunday Hikers" left for the small community of Procter, half way between Kaslo and Nelson, and then took a forest service road up to its end. We then hiked to a ridge where we still experienced pretty limited views. The picture here is looking towards Kokanne Glacier. I found the trail to be pretty steep, but manageable. It was a good trail considering it gets pretty limited use. There were over 60 deadfalls, however! Great to finally have hiking weather.

Britain 2011: Scottish Parliament

2011-06-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Scottish Parliament buildings are a lovely sight and it's pretty easy to get in to look around - we did have to pass through security, but after that it was pretty much as welcoming as the New Mexico legislature - in other words there were people around to answer questions and try to explain the voting procedures. I didn't pay too much attention to all the details about the electoral process. The Scottish National Party won the bulk of the seats in the May 5th election and we'll see what that holds for Scotland's future. To me, Scotland looked as if was doing very well economically - like Canada, its a resource-rich nation and the oil drillers were at work in the North Sea. The Kintyre Peninsula looked an awful lot like B.C. - full of cutblocks, only ours offer better skiing. If you go to Edinburgh, visit the Scottish Parliament - it's got a lovely view of Arthur's Seat and is across the street from Holyrood Palace.

Britain 2011: The Election

2011-06-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

While in the UK, there were general elections in both Wales and Scotland and the voters throughout England had a chance to vote on an alternative voting procedure that was, unfortunately, soundly defeated. We saw lots of charming signs everywhere in England and this one was my favourite electoral sign. It says it all, doesn't it?

Britain 2011: The Clotheslines

2011-06-26T07:32:00.000-07:00

When I lived in Britain in 2003, I loved watching all the clotheslines from the top of a double decker bus. On this trip, I got to observe them on oh so many walks and as we drove in our small car. Even though this isn't the greatest picture, it was my favourite "clothesline" picture from our trip - it was taken in Stromness on the Orkney Islands on a very windy day. I'd managed to peg out my own clothes across the way in Thirsk and they dried in an hour. I was doubtful that the clothes pegs would hold the items any longer than that. It was a great way to celebrate a Royal Wedding - doing the laundry and pegging out clothes in a strong Scottish breeze.

Sumer 2011: Myra Canyon

2011-06-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

Last week we went to visit the Myra Canyon, just south of Kelowna, and famed for its old rail line and numerous trestles. This is a picture of the canyon - the burn that hit the area in 2003 has made the views really good, but there are a lot of black trees still standing. A total of 18 (?) trestles create accessibility to the canyon area. The bike/hike is 11 km each way and is level. A lot of the trestles are really high but I didn't find that I got vertigo going over any of them. We were lucky that we didn't get wet - the weather has been distinctly bad in the Southern Interior this month. We did 3 bike rides - this shortish one through the Myra Canyon, 26 km from Kettle River Provincial Park to Midway along the old Kettle Valley Railway, and 30 km from Paulson Bridge to Christina Lake along the old Columbia/Western Railway. Each area had unique qualities - highly recommended!

Britain 2011: Readers

2011-06-23T18:45:00.000-07:00

One thing that I did notice in Britain - there just seemed to be more "traditional" readers than what we see in Canada - by this I mean people who are reading an actual book. I captured this picture of lunch hour readers in Edinburgh. Don't you love the yellow boots? I noticed book readers on the tube, waiting in line ups at stores, walking through busy stations - public reading in the UK still seems to be a bit of the norm and this is becoming a very rare sight over here in North America.

Britain 2011: Royal Wedding Day

2011-06-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

We did hear a fair bit about the royal wedding in the last two weeks leading up to the big day. We happened to be in Edinburgh two days before it was to take place so the news coverage was extensive. On wedding day, I did watch the arrival of the bride and her sister at Westminster Abbey and their march up the aisle. Then I went to hang out the laundry in Thurso, Scotland. At noon, we took the ferry over to Stromness and the kids and teachers there didn't even get a day off school! This was a single "royalist" shot I was able to get on that particular day. Now, when I compare it to what we're hearing about the Canucks EVERY day here in B.C., the royal wedding was a pretty quiet affair. I've stopped listening to the radio (we really only get CBC) this week because I'm so tired of it all. Glad to know there's only one more day of it no matter who wins.

Britain 2011: The James Caird

2011-06-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

On our last day in the UK, Dave and I travelled out to Dulwich College where Ernest Shackleton had been a student. The College now houses a "Shackleton Room" with various bits of history from his remarkable adventures. The boat, James Caird, is located here. I'd always wanted to see it after reading about his voyage on Endeavour and its aftermath. This is the boat that he sailed for 800 miles across the Southern Ocean, from Elephant Island to South Georgia. It wasn't all that small, to my mind, but remembering what the sea was like on the south coast of New Zealand, with waves that came all the way from Antarctica, I can't imagine how these folks survived. Five men were on board and they successfuly navigated themselves by looking at the stars and making mathematical calculations. It is one of the great epic survival stories and anyone with a longing for that kind of reading, I'd highly recommend anything written by Shackleton.

Scotland 2011: The North Coast

2011-06-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

We stopped at Betty Hill for a short walk while we travelled along the north coast of Scotland. You can see why this would be a favoured place. The weather was perfect for travel that day (although pretty windy) and we continued to be amazed at the stunning scenery of northern Scotland. Driving towards the highlands afforded us the opportunity to see one of our favourite things - high hills! Blue skies, highlands, oceans, inlets, lochs, waving grasses, blooming gorse and pretty much empty roads - it can't get much better than that!

Britain 2011: I'm Sorry

2011-06-01T20:27:00.000-07:00

Britain is a busy place and in London it is very crowded. The British are so very polite! Canadians are known for being super apologetic about being an inconvenience to anyone. I found that the British are even more that way! I earned so many apologies absolutely EVERYWHERE if someone didn't hold a door long enough, if we had to dodge around each other in a street, if personal space was too limited in the tube, and so on and so forth. I was a bit surprised at it all, actually. I guess compared to Americans, Canadians are considered to be apologetic and polite, but the British win this round everywhere. Even on the hiking trails, people moved out of the way and apologised for "being in the way". It is lovely to visit such a polite country, I do say! It was also refreshing to see so many people with a book in hand as well.

Britain 2011: The Photos

2011-05-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Finally got my pictures labelled and they are now ready for viewing at:

I'm not the photographer that Dave is but I probably have a few more "human interest" shots. Enjoy!

Britain 2011: The Walks

2011-05-30T06:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Dave and I went across the lake to have our "season opener" which was pretty much a lakeside trail with a bit of distance. I couldn't help comparing it to my walks in Britain. Here, we have endless forest with unusual rock formations, often some pretty little woodland plants, fallen trees and stumps with glimpses out to the mountains. There, we had endless stone walls, fields of sheep, blooming gorse, unlimited views, and lots of manmade structures. This picture was taken on my favourite UK walk when I hiked from Tintagel to Boscastle. It's along the Southwest Coastal Path and you can see that I had a perfect day for it. This hike was probably the most "challenging" as well, because it went up and down a fair bit compared to other hikes that I completed. It's lovely to see how many people are out walking in Britain - we rarely see other hikers here in the Koots. The British are very friendly when walking, too; I felt like I said hello even more than in America! I love how they keep their dogs under such fine control. I feel a bit out of shape from my trip because the walking was easy and mostly flat. I covered good distances, however, and it's always fun to see the castle and abbey ruins as one covers the trails.

Britian 2011: Fresh Flowers

2011-05-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

In the UK this is a common site - fresh flower stalls - and I was delighted to see how many times I noticed someone rushing through the streets with recently purchased fresh flowers in hand. In North America this is a relatively uncommon sight. While travelling the busy roads, I noticed fresh flowers placed in front windows - what a happy thing to see! I love having fresh flowers and usually only treat myself to bouquets during the summer when I can collect them from the garden. I'm always thrilled to have them. The lesson that I can learn from Britain is to purchase fresh flowers during winter - it'll probably make it much more bearable. Many of our campgrounds had flowers in the washrooms, too - not always fresh but the thought was there!

Britain 2011: The Allotments

2011-05-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of the community gardens in Berwick-upon-Tweed, more commonly referred to as an "allotment". Just before leaving the UK I read an article stating that 90,000 people are on waiting lists to get allotments throughout England and the waiters may have to be patient for 40 years before their turn will arrive! I have no idea how much one must pay to "rent" the land in these community gardens. I recognize how lucky I am to live in Canada with vast amounts of empty space and I have had the joy of looking after pretty good-sized gardens for the past 20 years. It was wonderful to see the British dedication to gardening and I hope that people will have shorter "wait times" because everyone deserves the right to grow food.

Scotland 2011

2011-05-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

This was the favourite part of our trip. We liked the fact that it was so much quieter than England, although the north of England was definitely quieter than the South. The skies in this picture stayed with us for most of our 8 days in Scotland. We spent a couple of days in Edinburgh and then decided to travel north along the coast to John O'Groats. From there, we took a very quick trip to the Orkney Islands, spending a couple of hours at Stromness. The very best part of our journey was the drive along the north coast of Scotland and then revisiting the Highlands. It was there that I felt that I could walk forever. I'm perking up whenever I hear anything about Scotland on the news. It's a beautiful country with a long legacy of gifts to humanity. Let's hear it for the Scots!

Britain 2011: Along the Penine Way

2011-05-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

I know that this isn't the greatest picture - we tended to have lots of haze in the distance while in Britain, but considering we are less than an hour from Manchester, this is pretty clear, I think. We spent about 4 hours walking one afternoon along the Penine Way through the Peaks District. We did another similar hike in Yorkshire Dales National Park. This picture is pretty typical of what we saw in the few hours of walking that we did. The weather was lovely, the breeze fine, the birdsong melodious. Neither of us were inspired to ever think we'd like to walk the whole thing at any time in the future. Compared to Canadian mountain hiking it seemed a bit monotonous. Don't get me wrong - we loved our hikes in Britain. But I gotta say, I think I live in the right place for me when I consider long, scenic hikes.

Britain 2011: Camping

2011-05-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

This picture is pretty typical of many of the tents we found in the UK. They are enormous! It also takes the owners several hours to "pitch up". We'd laugh because our tent takes less than 10 minutes to put up and we never had to pay for additional awnings, guy wires, kitchens, etc. I noticed in 2003 - the British bring the entire kit to the campground, including the table. That's because they need to do this. We found a few places that offered tables to every camper, but I noticed that most of the tables seemed to be situated in the vans and caravans area when I feel it's the tenters who really need them.

Campgrounds throughout the UK are privately owned and with one exception, I'd say that they were all in excellent condition. The only luxury that is provided is the toilet block, but these were always clean (with one exception) and well maintained. While we travelled through NZ, we used a camper van and had kitchens, tables, toilets, showers, etc. provided. We didn't HAVE to have them. In Britain, we camped in a small car and could have used tables and kitchens and they were rarely provided. We had 3 camps with microwaves and we went back to one at Berwick-upon-Tweed just because of its excellent kitchen facilities.

Most of the time, we camped in a big farmer's field. I got to be pretty good at identifying campgrounds on the map which were close to major walks. I think I only had two occasions where we camped when I wasn't really handy to a public footpath which could take me all over Britain. I only felt "too close to a road" at one camp and this surprised me. Even in Oxford we could hear the busy highways as a background "hum", but the farmyard we stayed at was relatively quiet. It was great to be camping during most of "low" season because it could get crowded. I heard tents are to be pitched 3 metres away from another - it was only Easter weekend where we felt someone violated this "rule".

We probably averaged 17 GBP/night for camping. It was a little more expensive than B.C., I'd say and although we have the most beautiful parks in the world, it's now about $24/night for a really nice and private site with only a pit toilet, a picnic table and probably a shelter. The British would probably be aghast at our lack of toilet facilities.

Camping in Britain was a good experience. The great weather made the experience very bearable. Our first night out was April 3rd and many campgrounds were still closed but by the next week, most camping spots were on the radar. There are popular places to avoid if you don't like crowds, but overall, I'd recommend it as a way to see Britain. A small complaint would be that the "washing up" area was always adjacent to the caravan area, not the tenting area, and this seemed a bit idiotic to my mind. Overall, a great experience and we had 32 nights out to prove it!

Britain, 2011: Westminster

2011-05-23T10:52:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous trip to Britain this spring. This picture is taken on Day One, one of the very few days we had cloud cover for most of the day. We camped out for 32 nights all over England, Scotland and Wales. The weather was incredibly dry, warm and sunny most of the time. Our major focus was walking, castles, cathedrals and ruins so I didn't spend a lot of time birdwatching or going to museums.

Reflecting back on the trip, a big highlight for me was our tour of Westminster (pictured here), set up by our London host, Julie. It was really interesting to compare this historic building with its newer counterpart in Canada. I loved being inside Westminster - the actual House of Lords and House of Commons seem quite small - but the statues of Prime Ministers, Kings, Queens, and important political figures is special. As we look forward to voting changes in future elections it was grand to see the place where so many of the laws which have improved our lives got their start. I'm really grateful to have had the chance to tour this life-changing building. Thank you, Julie!

Home and Happy

2011-05-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I posted and have to report that seeing my spring bulbs in bloom in the perennial border was a wonderful way to arrive home. We spent 6 weeks in the UK and had wonderful weather the entire time. B.C. didn't fare so well. It sounds as if spring sort of arrived at the beginning of May so we got home just in time to enjoy pretty much all of the spring bulbs. It's probably odd to see the daffs, tulips, lungworts, bergenia, forsythia, etc. all blooming at the same time - we didn't even miss the skunk cabbage along the highway near our neighbourhood road entrance. I'd say that all I missed were the crocus. My impatient waiting for seeds to germinate didn't happen and the germination seemed to be pretty good with all those things that I planted on March 29th. It's taking me longer to get over jet lag than I anticipated and have had a very busy 10 days since our arrival back here. It is good to be home and I plan a series of posts about the trip to Britain. Time to get the rhubarb pie out of the oven!

Snowdonia

2011-04-18T11:02:00.001-07:00

Managed to "bag" Mt. Snowdon yesterday, along with literally hundreds of other people! We didn't get off to an alpine start - had a 90 minute drive to get through first, but got underway about 11 a.m. I couldn't believe the number of people with us! The Welsh are great walkers, I must say. We had good weather, but the distance views were not superb so didn't get to see the Isle of Man from the top of the peak. There were so many people on the peak at any given time, my summit shot will look mighty crowded. We chose the "tourist route" which was extremely busy, but any other routes we observed looked busy as well. It's not quite a highway, but that's pretty much how I'd have to describe that route. No snow, at least, but hordes of people! Now have a triumvirate - Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Snaefell in Isle of Man for "big" peaks in this area.

Cornwall

2011-04-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

Don't know if this is unusual but we've had 4 days of sun in Cornwall! Have seen 3 lovely gardens and today visited Doc Marten's place at Port Issac. Charming town and full of tourists. Loved the sea coast and it only improved as we came to Tintagel. King Arthur legends abound and loved walking the castle ruins on this cloudless day with a gentle wind. The Old Post Office in Tintagel shows a gentler side of life and the samplers made by young girls 200 plus years ago amazed me. How life has changed over the years.

It's Here

2011-03-27T07:50:00.001-07:00

I know that my prairie readers have expressed some dismay at the fact that our snow has pretty much disappeared - at least in our garden. Residents of Upper Kaslo continue to wait patiently for a chance to get into their gardens. Yesterday, I planted peas, sweet peas, spinach and lettuce. I wouldn't normally start things quite this early (the soil is still very cool), but with our departure for Britain not too far away, I needed to get some seeds in the ground.

A garden photo is going too far, but the daffs are up a few cm and the crocus and hellebores have flowers on them - if the sun gets out, they may even open. The pulmonaria are growing and have flower buds and the first tulips are beginning to emerge. Actually, most of my perennials look as if they have survived. This is one thing I do like about gardening here - as soon as the snow has melted, you can pretty much tell what is alive! I've got a couple of doubtful looking shrubs, but the daphne actually has a couple of blooms on it and plum prunings that I brought inside two weeks ago are in flower.

Happy Spring, gardeners! Oh to go to England, now that April is near.

56 Hands

2011-03-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

I spent yesterday in Creston playing 56 hands of bridge and it was a really fine brain exercise! I played with a new partner (to me), Holly, and we had a bit of trouble here and there, but both felt positively about the experience at the end of the day. This was a Swiss Teams event and we sat east/west. Our partners, Betty and Anne, sat north/south. We play the same hands of bridge and see who scores best over 8 hands. Then we switch opponents and the whole process begins again. Eight hands per round x 7 rounds gives us 56 hands of bridge. We had about a 45 minute break in mid-afternoon. I realize that I really must start treating this the same way that one prepares for any athletic endeavour - get lots of sleep, don't have a hangover, and eat protein. For me this a pretty gruelling day, but I love it. Snow came down in Creston all morning so it was good not to be missing a sunny day. We ended up 9th out of 12 teams, so not our best day, but everyone had a great time. As a bonding exercise, it was first rate.

"Doing Sixty"

2011-03-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

All the kurfuffle of turning 60 is now over. I had good cards at bridge and a surprise rendition of "Happy Birthday", all orchestrated by my former partner, Sue. There's been plenty of greetings on FB, email and snail mail. I even received a card today from someone which stated, "Celebrating Your 65th Birthday"! My time flies. It seemed fitting to go to my first official function today at the Senior's Lunch at the hotel. We've been using the local Senior's Hall for bridge lessons on Thursday a.m., so it was time to finally show up at an official event. It was well attended and there was a St Paddy's Day special of corned beef and cabbage. The special was on at a very good price. Alas, no Senior's Discounts for those of us ordering off the regular menu. Some of you will be relieved to know that I didn't sign up for carpet bowling which will be starting soon!

Pacific Coastal

2011-03-08T09:35:00.000-08:00

I just came from visiting Victoria, flying from Trail to Victoria. It was a fun way to fly, not something I usually say about flying! The Trail airport is a small "structure" and a car can be left at the airport for no fee. The interior of the "structure" is retro and it even has free books available to grab for your plane trip (alas, no literature available, but some pulp fiction). Coffee is available on the honour system. When I left on Thursday, the plane was loaded by 3:55 so we left - the ticket said departure time was 4:05. When has that happened in the last decade or two??? There are no security checks and I've always loved walking to the plane and up a stairway. I did have to go through security in Vancouver (South Terminal so only 3 gates and no monitors) to get to Victoria. On the reverse trip, I left Victoria in a very, very small plane that could carry 22 people and had10 of us on board for this trip. Our steward was also greeter and co-pilot. In Vancouver (South Terminal) no security checks were required at gate 3 for the flight to Trail. My backpack had to be "checked" and arrived in both location without difficulty. This trip was a nice step back in time and I actually enjoyed the flight in both directions. Good on ya', Pacific Coastal.

Wimps!

2011-02-26T09:01:00.000-08:00

I'm finding myself huddling next to the fire today when I really could go for a ski. However, it is minus 12 and there's a windchill and I expect that things will improve by tomorrow. Yesterday, I walked downtown with a group of school kids in - 20 degree weather with a very strong wind whipping off the lake. It felt so very cold. I reflected on the fact that we become wimps in very short order. It was less than a decade ago that I'd walk home from school (often an hour long walk) when it was -25 degrees (although usually sunny)! I've hardly taken any exercise this week because it's been so cold and windy - I'm turning into a total wimp about the cold. Brave prairie skiers and hikers - sally forth!

Desert Hiking

2011-02-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

Trail signs at Big Bend were cut into a metal frame which seemed to be a really good way to keep signs visible through hours, days and years of bright sunshine. I've really enjoyed hiking in the desert - much more than I thought that I ever would. A couple of things I think are essential about hiking - bring lots of water because there's rarely water to be found and wear long pants. I'm not the smoothest of walkers and tend to get looking at things, lose my balance readily, and brush up against plants. This is something you never want to do in the desert because almost every plant has thorns or prickly bits. Even with the heat, long sleeves are probably a good idea, too, although in the winter, I was able to roll up my sleeves many times. Don't forget your hat either; I had brought my tuque on our trip and had to purchase something with a big brim while at Big Bend.

Big Skies

2011-02-21T07:38:00.000-08:00

I mentioned in my last post that NM had the best skies we saw while on holiday. At Guadalupe NP in TX we had incredible sunsets and sunrises as well - and it's located on the TX/NM border. As a prairie girl, I love big skies. While camping just south of Alamagordo, the campground host invited us over to look at things through his telescope. The full moon for January was fast approaching so it was a fairly "light" sky, plus we were in the USA which has a lot of "city lights" although we were in a pretty remote area. I did get to see the Orion nebula and three moons of Jupiter. The moon itself looked pretty spectacular. Earlier in the day, we'd seen the Imax film, Hubble, at the Space Center in Alamagordo. I really liked it and found the story of repair to the telescope a fascinating one. Looking at the Orion nebula on that film was strangely reassuring to me. We're all just part of this huge, swirling mass and it's endless and timeless.

New Mexico Sunset

2011-02-20T07:33:00.000-08:00

The best sunsets that we encountered on our recent trip were certainly found in New Mexico. This picture was taken from Oliver Lee State Park just south of Alamagordo, NM. I really liked the campsite and watching the sky in the morning and evening. We were able to get re-acquainted with canyon hiking while walking up Dog Canyon which starts in the park. However, it's really close to the air base and several times some earth-rumbling aircraft would take off or arrive. That's the big drawback so I can't say that I'd highly recommend a visit.

We visisted the Space Museum in Alamagordo which certainly brought back memories of the '60's. The space shuttle actually landed near Alamagordo in the '80's. I've found it interesting that every time I'd refer to the name of this town I'd call it Armaggedon. And as soon as we got into the van following our museum visit I simply had to call up Bruce Cockburn's "If I Had A Rocket Launcher" on the ipod.

White Sands, NM

2011-02-17T09:06:00.000-08:00

We really enjoyed our visited to White Sands NM just outside of Alamagordo, NM.
Perhaps it was because it was our first day of relatively warm weather. The sand dunes are interesting and it's great to see that the park allows visitors to go sledding on the dunes - we saw a few people with "saucers", but didn't actually see anyone using them. I had a good walk for an hour - and walking on sand it such good exercise! - and then we hiked a nature trail which was also really interesting. The big skies and the mountains north of Las Cruces were just what I needed to rid myself of winter blahs. The only drawback to this place is its location next to a huge military base and there is a pretty regular roar from aircraft. We were also fairly close to the Trinity site in this area, where the first nuclear bomb was tested. So let's just call this place a mix of wonderful nature and the worst of humankind.

Chiricahua Revisited

2011-02-16T08:20:00.000-08:00

We made a second trip to Chiricahua NM because we had enjoyed it so much the first time. The park offers a wonderful service. A shuttle bus can take hikers up to the trailhead at the top of the canyons at 8:30 a.m. We'd used the service before and really loved it. This time, we completed the "Heart of the Rocks" tour which meant that we hiked almost every trail from the top of the mountain. The trail was in great shape and we enjoyed visiting the unusual rock features in the "heart of the rocks". This Pinnacle Balanced Rock is an example. This is the park which has some pretty unusual birds and we did see an Arizona woodpecker. Alas, no coatamundi appeared, but they do exist in the park. We also learned that this animal inhabits Big Bend in TX.

Our driver told us an amusing story about Tuscon - apparently they've brought in a "stupid drivers" law which requires the driver to pay for a rescue if they deliberately drive into flood areas and are stranded there. I have yet to see one of the flash floods famous in this region, but she said that people will drive into anything, even with the markers indicating how deep the water is - I do hope I get to see one of these rainstorms from the vantage point of a safe place.

Southwest Caves

2011-02-15T07:21:00.000-08:00

We visited both Carlsbad and Kartchner Caves while in the Southwest. The major difference between them as I understand it is that one is "living" and the other is "dead". Carlsbad was the first one we saw and I really liked the fact that we could walk into the cave and gradually get into its deepest part. It's not really a world that I love, but it is certainly interesting and an incredible amount of work has been done to make it accessible to humans. The descent into the cave was about a mile long and we walked another one to two miles while at the bottom. All of this is wheelchair accessible. I'd love to be able to see the bats fly out of the cave from May through October!

Kartchner, the "living" cave is quite similar, but it is still building deposits and was also a truly unusual world. To visit this one, you must be guided and they have some pretty strict rules. Again, there's been a remarkable amount of work done to make the cave accessible but most of the cave remains "untouched" and continues to grow. The fact that two university students discovered it in the mid 70's and managed to keep it quiet is pretty amazing. They didn't want it to be exploited and neither did the people who owned the property where the caves are located. Even though thousands visit the caves each year, the human damage is actually quite minimal. It was interesting to compare the two caves, but I was probably more awed by Carlsbad. Was that because it was my first cave experience? I also liked being able to see it at my own pace and watch the changes as we made the descent into the earth.

America's Best #5: The National Parks

2011-02-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

I know I've blogged before about the great American parks - something Canada used to have in an earlier time - and this most recent trip hasn't changed my opinion one bit. There wasn't a single national park or national monument or bureau of land management area that wasn't well-maintained and well-staffed. I spoke with one park ranger in Guadalupe who said that the parks had been severely hit with cutbacks. To the casual visitor this is simply not apparent. The trails were all in superb shape and every campground we stayed in was basically spotless when you think of the number of visitors who come to spend time in the south. I think many of the parks make excellent use of volunteers. Hurrah! The fee for a US National park pass is $80US which is cheaper than in Canada. Here, the parks still have pride in what they provide. I can't say enough good about the American national parks!

McKittrick Canyon

2011-02-10T07:20:00.000-08:00

One of my favourite hikes of our entire trip was the one to McKittrick Canyon in Guadalupe NP. It was a fairly warm and windy day so I figured it would be a great day to be out of the wind inside a canyon. That worked fairly well, but the we could certainly feel the wind for the first 30 minutes of the trail until the canyon deepened. Because the trail was so good, we figured it was going to be pretty easy to access the plateau and it was, but the traverses were so long and flat, we actually did decide to give up 3/4 of the way up - we could see how windy it was. Came back to this spot called Grotto for lunch - these picnic tables and benches are made out of slabs of stone. It was a really beautiful spot in the canyon. We only saw 3 other people on the trail and managed to find a few spotted towhees along the route, but nothing really out of the ordinary in the birding department. We startled one smallish mammal who went into a small cavelike shelter and we're pretty darn sure that it was a skunk.

Bagging TX

2011-02-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

Here is Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in TX. We were lucky enough to bag this within 24 hours of our arrival in TX. The hike was in great shape - there were extreme winds in the forecast so we were up early and on the trail by 7:30 a.m. Arriving at the top, there were 4 other hikers up there and another 3 arrived while we stayed on top. Counting hikers on the way down, (practising our numbers in Spanish) we came across 33 more. The winds didn't really materialize and I was pleased to see that everyone made it back down by dark. It's just a nice hike with nothing extreme about it and it's got lots of great views. Highly recommended, as is the park. It's quite a bit off the beaten track, although if you visit Carlsbad Caverns, NM, it's only an hour away. I liked the fact that there are lots of trails and not many people - at least not in January. Many of the hikes are on the top of the mountains and one big issue is water because there isn't much of it around. Doubt if I'll be doing any multi-day hiking here. Great sunsets and sunrises while we were visiting.

Lees Ferry

2011-02-08T07:03:00.000-08:00

This picture shows where Glen Canyon and the Grand Canyon meet - at Lees Ferry, AZ. We simply fell upon this little gem of a spot (although I'd remembered reading about it in our Rough Guide a year or two ago) as dark descended and we needed to find a place to camp. Just after crossing Navajo Bridge there is a sign to Lees Ferry National Recreation Area. Our campground host immediately came over to introduce herself, tell us about the California Condors and to invite us to visit the historical sites. She also told me she thought the place should be called Emma's Ferry. Emma was married to John Lee who has a bit of a notorious background. I'm reading a book about Emma right now, but unfortunately, it's pretty poorly written so I can only take it in small chunks. It doesn't sound as if John Lee (Emma's husband) was around too much and Emma basically ran the ranch and the ferry service for a good bit of her life. As a good Mormon woman, she was probably happy to do that. This picture also shows where everyone crossed the river by ferry from 1873 until 1928 when the first Navajo Bridge was built.

International Troubador

2011-02-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

This canoe is located in Mexico at Bosquillas Canyon and I'm pretty sure that it belongs to Victor, the Singing Mexican, although I didn't ask him. Our very well-used Rough Guide to the Southwest mentions a fellow who used to take people across to Mexico to spend the day (for a price, of course). With increased border patrol that is no longer quite as lucrative as it might have been in happier times. The day we visited, Victor sang to us in Spanish and he has his "busking jar" out on the American side. I just had to give him some money because after I called out "Hola" to him he asked me "Como estas?" and I was actually able to answer him - my first real conversation in Spanish with a true Mexican! Naturally, I left him a twoonie.

Recuerdos a la Venta

2011-02-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

Here's a sample of souvenirs available for sale along the Rio Grande. While visiting Bosquillas Canyon there were several Mexicans on horseback patrolling the donation containers and asking if we'd like to "buy stick". The walking sticks are quite the rage around these parts, I think. I'm not sure how many items they manage to sell, but I know there were some successful sales made the day that we walked to the canyon. Usually, there was a plea to "help children" alongside the donation jar. The park newspaper was pretty adamant about NOT purchasing these items, but I'm sure most ignore it.

The Rio Grande

2011-02-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of the Rio Grande at Big Bend National Park so you really can see that it is simply a small wade across the river to get into Mexico (or into the United States). The Chisos Mountains make the backdrop in this photo. We were certainly surprised to see how small the river is at this point and we observed that it was even smaller as we headed further west in Texas, at least in a few spots. The Mexicans tend their souvenir kiosks on horseback (future post) and border patrol isn't really evident in the park at all. We did get stopped leaving the park, but we were about 100 miles out of the area before we were asked to answer a few questions. We did notice a couple of blimps up in the sky in southern TX and southern NM which we figure must have been border control units. As well, we drove over a nearly deserted road in southern NM and saw 3x more border patrol cars than ordinary users.

CA Condors

2011-02-04T08:25:00.001-08:00

A thrilling moment for us occurred last Saturday when we visited the Lees Ferry area of AZ. The campground host had told us that we should look for the huge California Condors before we left and to look under the bridge at Navajo Bridge. Before leaving the area, we did just that and discovered 3 birds sitting on a rock ledge. They were birds 70, 73 and a juvenile which couldn't be identified but was tagged. The 3 birds were simply enjoying the sun and we'd have been thrilled to see them fly over the Colorado, but they weren't having any of that. I didn't have the heart to throw something at them. It was still a thrill to see this rare bird. The scene at right is the view of the Colorado from the "old" Navajo Bridge which is now a walkway.

Best of America #4: Roads

2011-02-03T08:42:00.000-08:00

I'm always amazed at how much better the US roads are than those we have in Canada. We just spent 1.5 days travelling the I-15 which really ought to be a toll highway so that the Canadians who use it at least pay for some of it! There's construction near Salt Lake City which is a bit of a nightmare - they do ask everyone to slow down to 65 mph through it - but the rest of the road is in great shape. The traffic almost disappears after the junction with the I-84 north of Salt Lake and stays that way until the junction with the I-90 at Butte. Snow and ice did cover one lane of the I-90 on Tuesday so we opted for state highway 200 to get us to Sandpoint. Other than some ice in the shady spots, it was in really good shape. I do think that permitting 70 mph on a two-lane highway with no shoulder is excessive, however. MT was cold with brilliant blue skies as we came north. I'm finding that I can even sleep in the rest areas now on the interstates - had one of my best sleeps "south" just off the I-10 near Las Cruces, NM. All that traffic simply becomes more white noise to lull one to sleep.

America's Best #3: Breakfast

2011-02-02T20:19:00.000-08:00

I love to go out for breakfast, especially in the U.S. It's not something that I treat myself to very often, but I did go on Tuesday in Missoula, MT. I chose the Perkins chain because I'd had a pretty good experience in previous years. For the first time ever (likely because it's been my first opportunity), I ordered off the 55 plus menu. I was delighted to be delivered a small omlette with real spinach and real mushrooms that were very lightly and freshly cooked. I also received two smallish pancakes with it and a selection of 3 delicious syrups. It was served on a small plate and was a perfect amount for my appetite. I love the large coffee cups and the fact that a coffee carafe arrives at the table - and it can fill that coffee cup 4 times! My companion for breakfast was Des Kennedy's The Passionate Gardener which I am thoroughly enjoying. The staff were all friendly and polite and my only small complaint would be the lowering of the blinds to keep out that beautiful MT sunshine! Cost of this experience: $7.50 plus tip. Yankee doodle!

Rio Grande

2011-01-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

Have finally made it to the Big Bend of the Rio Grande - it's such a small river compared to our raging torrent in the Kootenays. It is lovely, though, and the mountains are most impressive. Last night we had a nearly full moon coming up over the Sierra del Carmen while the sun was setting over the Chisos Mountains. Temperatures are mid-70's and ever so comfortable. All you friends suffering in Canada, I need to tell you that there are mosquitoes! Saw a vermilion flycatcher this a.m. on our walk - so startlingly beautiful.

More of America's Best

2011-01-10T11:29:00.000-08:00

Had a lovely walk this a.m. near Moab, UT. We hiked to Corona and Bowtie Arches. The trail was mostly snowfree and the slickrock wasn't in the least bit slick. We had chains to climb up a short steep section and even one ladder. (Sorry, no pictures - Dave forgot the photo cable!) These red rock canyons really are America at its best, in my opinion. The brilliant sun and blue skies are making up for the cold. I also love the fact that I experience about 90 more minutes of daylight than north of 49!

America's Best

2011-01-10T11:25:00.000-08:00

There's something about simply crossing the border that can bring a smile to me and that is the ancient art of rural mail delivery. We came across south of Creston and the first thing I noticed stateside was a fellow driving along delivering the mail - it's so wonderfully quaint! I think Canada has done its citizens a disservice by cutting it out, but in SK it hadn't been happening for decades. The rural mailbox at the end of lane has such charm; a superbox on the side of the road near Kootenay Lake has none of it!

Simplicity

2011-01-03T10:37:00.000-08:00

I've been out on the back country skis a couple of times this season, but most of the time it's a matter of putting on the cross-country gear or wearing snowshoes. I've got to say that I love the simplicity of the "light" skis and the snowshoes. There's a couple of things to load into the car, about 2 minutes of equipment attire to put on, and you're off. On Dec. 29th, we skied with the "heavy" skis and not using the skidoo did make the procedure pretty simple. I was afraid to ski the cutblock because there wasn't a ton of snow on it, but Andrea and Demitri sure make it look easy! I chose to keep walking up the FS road and enjoyed the ski down in deep enough powder to keep easy control. Every time I go out with only a small amount of equipment, I reflect on how much I enjoy the simpler experience without a lot of extra gear. The snow here is pretty good because the colder weather has made it light and fluffy. The walks through the woods are wintery and exquisite.

The Best Gifts

2010-12-28T14:44:00.001-08:00

To my mind, the very best gifts are those that are surprises! I received this tea cosy on Christmas night, but it had been made many weeks prior to "the season" and was acquired by a friend of mine who just thought I "had" to have it - it is "me", isn't it? This wonderful creation was made by Carol Koenig - what a marvelous talent she has for making crafty things. The friend who gave this to me is the same one who purchased the Polish clothespins so I'm very glad she was recognized the theme in my blog and in my life! Thank you, Effie and Carol - this tea cosy makes me smile every time I walk into the kitchen.

Shopping Local

2010-12-26T08:04:00.000-08:00

This year, I decided to "shop local" for everything. It took me about 45 minutes to do my shopping. I know that a couple of the vendors (the guy who owns the rare and second hand bookstore) appreciated my business. And the biggest surprise was that Dave actually liked what I bought him and has asked for more "supplies" of a similar nature. He received a chainsaw carrying case - pretty bad on the environment (using a chainsaw and the case is made from very hard plastic) - but will be good for protecting the chainsaw which we should carry every time we drive up a FS road - there's usually a tree down somewhere along the trail. The goodies in the stocking were as good as you'd get anywhere and I sure wish I could remember where I'd hidden a couple of the bags! I'll report later on what Andrea and Demitri think of "local" gifts. Happy Christmas, everyone!

Walking In Woods On A Snowy Evening

2010-12-22T14:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the day that the Kaslo Trail Blazers "light up" the trail bridge across the Kaslo River. It gets dark early here so at about 4 - 4:30 p.m. we parade along the river trail with a lantern, happily made by a 2008 grade 3 student! At 5 p.m., the Christmas lights which have been strung along the roof of the bridge are put into operation - it is really quite lovely. This year, we'd had a good snowfall with relatively cool temperatures, to make our snow light and fluffy. It was a gorgeous walk through the forest, listening to the Kaslo River, observing the heavily-laden trees covered in snow, and watching flickering lantern lights along the trail. Happy Solstice, Readers!

First AT

2010-12-18T07:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got out for my first day alpine touring - you can see we had a stunning blue sky day. We've waited a couple of weeks for one of these. The snow conditions were excellent, although we could use more of the white stuff. I'm still making my big stem christie turns, but I have managed to get down the slopes and feel more confident with all the lumps and bumps which we know are tree stumps and rocks underneath that snow! I got to do the "ski out" and I wasn't too far from the ski-doo when I saw big, loping animal tracks through the snow - they certainly weren't there on our way up. The tracks stopped abruptly under a tree. I looked up, fully expecting to see a cougar ready to pounce. I didn't! However, something did get killed at the base of that tree and I'm not sure where the predator went. I'm simply glad that I didn't become the prey. Thanks, Dave, for a beautiful day in the mountains.

Going Out to Play

2010-12-09T07:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I heard a fair bit of grumbling from Dave about needing to get the driveway cleared by 9 a.m. - after all, nobody had to get to work. That's true. However, what is more important is that someone had to go out to play!! We had a big dump of very wet, heavy snow on Wednesday morning, but 5 brave women showed up for Wednesday Walkers and we had our skis. Most of us ended up skiing from just above town up to the airport because the roads weren't plowed and we didn't want to get stuck - skis are perfect for those road conditions. Things are melting today and I notice that Dave is leaving the house to go out to play (it's 8 a.m.) in the snow at Idaho Peak. Good thing the driveway is cleared and we got rain last night so lots of the snow is melting! We retired folk are up early and have the chores done - it's time to play once again.

Damage Control

2010-11-28T09:25:00.001-08:00

About a week ago we decided that we'd turn off the electric fence - we pretty much figured that we'd "trained" the animals around here and winter is well underway. If the snow gets hard, the deer can climb over the fence and we've wired some of our shrubs in case they get in. However, last night a bear climbed up a tree and over the fence - this is what is left of the bird feeder hanging above our east deck. It looks as if he/she also had a good time going through the compost piles. I'd heard something in the night and thought to myself that Dave was making a heck of a lot of noise roaming through the house, but I realize that the bear was right up at the window. We've just strung up our lights along the deck - and plugged in the fence again!

First Ski

2010-11-27T07:17:00.000-08:00

We've had our first good dump of snow so yesterday I got out the new (from late last spring) cross country skis and headed off to True Blue Mountain. Most of the trails are pretty narrow and never tracked, so my friend and I simply kept going up the forest service road. We had great conditions for a first ski - the snow improved with every km of gradual elevation gain. I like the FS roads for skiing - they are usually not too steep and there's room enough to snowplow if it does get steep. I liked how the skis performed and I don't think I picked up too many scratches on the lower end of the road. It's winter - gotta go out to shovel - again!

Canada's Second Most Popular Sport?

2010-11-21T07:58:00.000-08:00

After a hiatus of 32 years, I ventured out on a sheet of curling ice on Thursday. This is the "Seniors League" in Kaslo. The teams are made up by drawing a card (and many of you know how much I love cards!) and off we go to one of the two sheets of ice in the Kaslo Curling Club. The ice is extremely good - much better than I ever remember playing on in any rinks in SK. The game was very friendly - I was on a team of 3, playing against another team of 3 - and I got plenty of exercise doing lots of sweeping for my team and the opponents. I realized how much my yoga comes into play in delivering stones and in sweeping. Who'd have thunk it, eh - yoga and curling???? I had to reflect on this being Canada's game, as I remember Jack Farr always declaring in the old days of Saturday radio. I actually had a pretty good time and plan to go back. I have to admit that the walk home looking at the magnificent Purcells was the best part.

In Praise of Scabiosa

2010-11-15T13:40:00.000-08:00

I just darted outside to pick another bouquet of flowers - looks as if we may get some serious winter weather in a couple of more days, but I love collecting flowers from May until November! The lowly scabiosa (awful name) has to be the number one bloomer in my garden this year. I got the plant from a gardener in Balfour who sells out of her yard. It didn't do too much last year, but I felt it needed better sun and improved soil. That proved to be the case! The plant has been blooming since late May and in spite of our dismal level of sunlight right now, it's still sending up new flowers - not a lot, but a few. Today I picked daylilies (two have rebloomed), Rudbeckia 'Goldstrum', scabiosa, clematis and calendula. I also have nasturtium, but they are looking a bit leggy. I figured I wouldn't bore you all with another picture of yet another bouquet, but it sure is fun to be able to garden in mid-November. Happy Winter, everyone.

Sorry, SK

2010-10-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

It's the end of October and for so many years as a prairie gardener I was racing to make sure everything was put away and ready for winter - this had to happen by the Thanksgiving weekend. Today I picked raspberries at my friend Mary's place. They are big and there are still plenty of them. Behind the bowl of raspberries is the bouquet I picked on Thursday. I heard about the prairie blizzard on Monday - sorry, SK, but this extended gardening season is just keeping me pretty much happy. My worry seems to be if those dahlias and glads will dry out enough to keep from rotting over the winter.

The Joy of Singing

2010-10-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of years since I've posted anything about our singalong group here in Kaslo. We get together about once a month and have an old-fashioned sing-song, with a little help from a book entitled Rise Up Singing and from our pianist, Gail. Usually, there's about 30 people who show up at this event and we sit in a very big circle and each pick out a song. Gail plays and we sing. It's a great time. We sing everything from "Home on the Range" to Lennon-McCartney. About the only time we "rise up" is when "El Paso" is selected (a song I don't really enjoy now) and "The Mary Ellen Carter", and it's pretty much impossible to sit down during the singing of that song. The songbook has interesting notes about the origins of song and I'm always pleased to see how many really good songs were written by Canadians. Joni Mitchell stands out as one of them - hurrah, Joni! For a couple of hours, for me, this is JOY!

Last Hike?

2010-10-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today, a friend and I headed up to Fishhook Lake, pictured here. Not a great picture and not a great looking lake. It doesn't even have a mountain behind it to show itself in reflection. However, it's a good workout to get there, the approach is right off the highway, and we can get there and back in under 4 hours. These were all qualities that Bernice and I wanted for our hike today. The sun was glorious, the views of Kootenay Lake were stunning, but I didn't want to bore my readers with another shot of the Purcells above Kootenay Lake. There's some nice old growth forest enroute to Fishhook and the trail is REALLY steep for the first 30 minutes. Hope we'll get out a couple of more times but I know winter is a comin' - happy trails to all hikers out there.