More Adventures

We split up today. Lee went on a hike with Ed and Marlyn, while Ken joined Wes and Jenske, Tom and Nanci, and Mike and Judy for an excursion.

Ed and Marlyn picked Lee up shortly after 8 a.m. to drive to Moraine Lake, just east of the Valley of the Ten Peaks. The lake was a lovely turquoise, and the day promised to be a great adventure, except that, oops, lee forgot her hiking stick. Fortunately she was able to find a nice branch that served her well, after she broke off a bit at the bottom to make it a good length and rubbed the bark off the handle end. It had just enough spring to be like her shock-absorbing hiking stick.

Lake Moraine

Ed and Marlyn ready to hit the trail (and no, that's not a light saber, but a weird reflection...)

They set off through the evergreens and proceeded through a series of switchbacks. Along the first part of the trail, frequent small streams run alongside and under the trail, providing the pleasant tones of running water over rocks. Most of the 370 meters of elevation gain is accomplished in this first section of the hike, and they saw lots of fellow hikers.

After reaching a bench positioned at the junction of the trail to Eiffel Lake with that up to Larch Meadow and Sentinel Pass, they traveled a relatively level but winding trail along the ridge, with spectacular views along the way of Moraine Lake, the Ten Peaks, Wenkchemma Glacier, the glacial moraine, and finally Eiffel Lake. We ate lunch sitting on rocks above the lake, listening to the cracking and thundering sounds of the glacier across the valley, as the ice is constantly re-forming itself. Ed and Marlyn saw falling ice, but Lee never managed to spot it before the fall was over.

The prize: a view of Eiffel Lake

Marlyn looking around the bend . . .

On the return hike they were rewarded with afternoon views of the sunlight on Moraine Lake, even more spectacularly turquoise than it had been in the morning. The water seemed almost an opaque blue green, because of the glacial silt suspended in the lake.

Lake Moraine in the afternoon sun

Lee’s trusty walking stick

Ken's group headed to Yoho National Park to visit Takakkaw Falls and Emerald Lake. On the way to the falls they stopped to check out the Spiral Tunnels and the meeting of the Waters. The innovative tunnels were built to reduce the grade that trains had to traverse to get over the mountains. The higher tunnel runs for about a thousand yards through Cathedral Mountain. The track makes a three-quarter circle turn inside the mountain and comes out below itself. The Meeting of the Waters is a spot at which the milky-looking Yoho River joins the clearer water of the Kicking Horse River. The Yoho River water is colored by silt from Glaciers. Lakes upstream on the Kicking Horse give silt a chance to settle out, so the water is clearer.

Emerald Lake

Takakkaw Falls

The Takakkaw Falls is one of Canada's highest. The water hits a shelf just below the top and bounds up and over into the main part of the falls. That makes the shape of the falls change a lot from moment to moment. A short trail leads to the bottom of the falls. Along the way you get great views of the stream formed by the falling water. Wes spoke to a young mother they passed on the trail. Her husband was climbing up the rocks near the falls, headed for the top. She said it takes him 6 to 7 hours to make the trip up and down.

The next stop was a Natural Bridge formed by the Kicking Horse River. The river has worked its way through a hole in a wall of rock that runs from one bank of the river to the other. They took pictures of Mike standing on the bridge with the river gushing through the rock below him.

Their last stop was Emerald Lake. It's a beautiful spot. They tried to get pictures that showed the color that the lake is named for; but the cloud cover was thick, so the lighting wasn't too good. It started raining shortly after they arrived, so they got back into their vehicles and headed back to the campground and their nice dry rigs.

When Lee returned to camp, she found Ken bubbling over with enthusiasm about the fabulous waterfall his group had seen. We shared the photos we had taken during the day.

5.6 km one way, elevation gain 370 m, 5 hours round trip

In the evening the group gathered for happy hour and then we all took our suppers over to Ed and Marlyn's to eat together and share stories of our adventures during the day.

Afterwards we went to the amphitheater program on high elevation wildlife, but it was disappointing. It was aimed almost entirely at the kids.
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Calgary to Banff National Park

We left Calgary this morning, caravanning with Tom and Nanci and Dennis and Cheryl. The drive was long, partly because of construction along the Transcanada Highway 1, which left us in bumper to bumper traffic for many miles. Fortunately an earlier caravan arrived at Lake Louise Campground and made reservations for the whole group (Thanks, Wes!).

At 8 p.m. we went to the amphitheater to see a ranger presentation titled "To the Top" about early mountaineering in Banff National Park. It was one of the most entertaining programs we've seen and included lots of information about the Swiss mountain guides who kept early mountaineers safe as they summitted the many peaks. We also saw a brief film made by Georgia Engelhard, who bagged 32 first ascents, titled "She Climbs to Conquer." Here's a quotation about her from a website:

Georgia grew to love the Canadian Rockies. After reaching the summit of Mount St. Piran in 1929 at the age of 23, she wrote: "The lake and valley were still in deep shadow, but the surrounding peaks, all I had climbed, were bathed in golden rosy light. I was seized by an indescribable ecstasy, filled with the joy of conquest. They were all mine -my beautiful, private, world of mountains. Yet, at the same time, I felt how infinitesimal I was. It was an unforgettable experience."

This ranger really gets into her presentation!

Audience participation

The campground is wooded, with sites well spaced, and runs along the Bow River. Unfortunately it also runs along the railroad. The trains are the loudest and most annoying of any we have encountered, but the overall camping experience is still wonderful.


The campsites have no hookups, so we had to fill our freshwater tank. With our inverter, we hardly miss shore power. Ken even set up the internet dish. Luckily we were able to point it down the road at the back of our campsite and get a clear view of the satellite.
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Preparation Day

We spent today getting ready for our move tomorrow, doing laundry, cleaning up, and shopping. Nanci and I went to Safeway, Walmart, Staples, a dollar store, and a few others just for good measure. We plan to pull out around 9:30 in the morning, with Tom and Nanci and Dennis and Cheryl. A group of eight rigs is too many to travel together, so we're breaking up into three smaller groups.

Chris got our forwarded mail and scanned it for us, so I spent some time dealing with that. As usual, there was a health insurance snafu (the lab sent the claim to our old insurer), and it took an inordinate amount of time to try to get that straightened out (we hope).
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Galileo Live!

Some of our group headed downtown to the Telus Museum of Science to see a planetarium show about Galileo in honor of the 400th anniversary of his first use of his telescope. The show featured a live performance and audience interaction. The dome was used basically as a giant screen. Well worth seeing.

Then we took the LRT to the Calgary Tower, and Nanci, Dennis, and I went to the top, where you can see 360 degree views of Calgary. One exciting, albeit somewhat vertigo inducing feature, is a section that juts out with a glass floor. Stepping out on it for the first time took some doing, but I got more used to it and even took a photo of my feet looking down at the base of the tower.

The base of Calgary tower

Lee looks down through the glass floor

Dennis at a tower window

Nanci enjoying the view of Calgary

During the evening, the Rowes, Johnsons, and Simingtons came over and we did some research and talked about options for camping in Banff and Jasper National Parks.
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Chuckwagon Races and the Big Show

We headed to the Crowfoot Station to take the LRT back to the Stampede around 3 p.m. This time we went to the south entrance to the park and walked through the Indian Village. Only one tipi was open, and it was occupied by a woman who barely looked up at visitors. We soon decided to move on and walked along the midway. Dennis wanted to find the big Lammle's store so he could peruse more caps before deciding on a souvenir.

When we got out of the store, the storm broke. It poured, and for a few minutes, it hailed. We ran across the street to take refuge on a porch, and finally decided that going in to see the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame exhibit might be more entertaining than watching the rain. Since we weren't familiar with the stars, much of the display was lost on us, but there was one really unusual player piano that included miniature percussion instruments in the base.

Tipis of Canada's first nations.

Some folks took shelter from the rain on the porch of the Stampede store.

At 8:00 p.m. we were in our seats in the grandstand, ready for the chuckwagon races. The races involved teams of four horses pulling a wagon, with four outriders on horses supposedly loading the wagons, then leaping on their horses and following the wagons around the track. Although it seemed chaotic and I didn't really understand the finer points, the races were certainly exciting. However, we heard that two horses had died this year in the event, one from an apparent cardiac event and another euthanized after a broken leg.

The start of a chuckwagon race.

The Big Show stage being put together for the show.

During the intermission, the arena was transformed. A giant tractor pulled a fantastically complex stage into place, and the stage was set for the "Big Show," an extravaganza involving singers, dancers, acrobats, musicians, motocross riders, and lots of extras, dramatic lighting, and a fireworks finale. The acrobats on the "Wheel of Death" gave a heart-stopping performance, especially since it rained during the entire show. The motocross had to be cut and the wheel of death act curtailed because of the weather, but the show was still a real spectacle. Cables suspended from the top of the stage to the grandstand allowed performers to fly around above the audience's heads.

For dinner, many in the group went to the buffet in the Pengrove Saddledome, but Ken and I decided to go to Mavericks, where we had a really excellent herb crusted roast chicken.
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The Calgary Stampede

We took the LRT CTrain from nearby Crowfoot Station to the Stampede just after 10 a.m., along with Dennis and Cheryl and Mike and Judy. At first sight the Stampede grounds looked like a big state fair, with a colorful midway dominated by thrill rides. We decided to go first to the Western Art display in the BMO building, but we had to thread our way through the giant vendor area first ("Official Calgary Stampede Souvenirs Here!).

The art exhibit included all you would expect, plus some unexpected items. For example, an entry in the "Sugar Icing and Cake" category looked like a stack of Stampede food, including a burger and hot dog. One wall of the giant exhibit hall was dominated by an assemblage of squares forming a large mosaic type picture of a horse. Each of the individual tiles was created by a different artist, with the theme of honoring the horse.

Unusual art.

Over 100 artists contributed to the mosaic.

We had lunch at "The Range" (basically a food court) with Dennis and Cheryl, and then went to the grandstands for the rodeo. Everyone in our group had seats in the same area (Gold Section, Level 5, right in the center (thanks, Wes!), so we saw all of the group there, including John and Margie. Fortunately our seats were under cover, since it was raining on and off all day.

The rodeo was colorful and featured the usual events, including bull riding, bronc riding, barrel racing, and calf roping (now called "tie-down roping" to avoid offending the sensibilities of the audience). One unusual event involved teams of three kids trying to catch and ride little wild ponies (mostly unsuccessfully). The spectacle was entertaining, and we were really surprised by the amount of money at stake in the various events.

One of the successful bronc riders.

One of the barrel racers who didn't fall.

Rodeo really isn't mostly to my taste. Although frequent references were made to "animal athletes," it seemed to me that most of the animals were frightened or in pain at least part of the time. The barrel racing involved actual horsemanship and graceful horses and riders, but even that event led to two horses and riders falling because of the wet condition of the arena.

After the rodeo we tried to watch a cutting horse demo, but all the seats were full, so we went on to look at animals in the ag building. The miniature horses were quite a contrast with the Budweiser Clydesdales and the Percherons.
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Calgary!

This morning we got up a bit late, but still were ready to go before the agreed upon time, so I set out with Sweetie to take a walk. Sweetie didn't last long (she gets tuckered out easily), but I walked a short loop trail with interpretive signs put in by the Nature Conservancy. I saw many varied wildflowers and learned that Mountain Rough Fescue is the official grass of Alberta.

We set out around 9:45, with Frank and Valerie leading the way, followed by the Rowes, and then us. The trip to Calgary seemed long, partly because it was overcast and kept threatening to rain, and most of the way was across broad prairies. Like Montana, this is "Big Sky" country. The golden fields of canola did brighten the scene. They looked almost sunny, even with clouds overhead.

We finally made it to Calgary, after many months of planning and looking forward to seeing many of our friends from Southern California here. When we pulled into Calgary West Campground, it was raining steadily and had clearly rained heavily for some time. The rig rocked back and forth as we tried to navigate the gravel streets that had large gullies from the rainwater runoff. When we got set up, it felt really good to be warm and dry and at home again.

The campground is on a hillside, so we have a view of Calgary's northwest sector. We enjoy the city lights at night.

We learned this morning that Wes and Jenske were having a serious problem with their motorhome. The emergency brake was stuck in the "on" position, so they had put in a call to Good Sam Emergency Road Service. Since they were camped in the national park at St. Mary, we weren't sure where the nearest service would be available, and it seemed that they would probably miss the rodeo tomorrow. It turned out that they were able to have the emergency brake bypassed, so they continued on towards Calgary, but it was late and they had to stop short. They'll finish the journey in the morning, hopefully arriving in time to make the rodeo for which the group has tickets at 1:30 tomorrow afternoon.

The rest of the group that had been traveling with Wes and Jenske decided to come on to Calgary, and they pulled in a few hours after we did. We had a great reunion, with lots of hugging, out in the road behind our rig, and we got to meet some new friends. Ed and Marlyn introduced us to their friends Walt and Sheila and Walt Sr., Lou and Judy and Natalie, and Ron and Linda. Dennis and Cheryl and Mike and Judy came in together. John and Margie came by to visit (they're staying at the Holiday Inn). We're excited to see everyone, but at the same time, it seems like we're just picking up without missing a beat.

Calgary West is a very large campground. It's on a hill overlooking the city, so the views are great. One problem is that the promised wi-fi works only in sections A and B, and our group is in C. Ken went ahead and put up the Hughes Net dish, so we're on our own network. He got it up and running without a single hitch, but the DirecTV is giving more problems. We'll try it again tomorrow.
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Waterton National Park

We left Glacier Campground at 10 a.m., along with Tom and Nanci. Valerie and Frank stayed to do laundry (their dog had thrown up in bed the night before), and Don and Cassie stayed to travel with them. The drive around the southern tip of Glacier National Park and up the west side was very scenic.

Typical view on the drive around to the east side of Glacier National Park

We stopped at St. Mary Visitor Center and watched an interesting film about Glacier Park produced by the Discovery Channel. Native Americans have lived in this area for 10,000 years. The Blackfeet reservation is adjacent to the park, and a Blackfoot elder was shown telling the next generation about the sacred places in the park, especially Chief Mountain. After lunch we drove on north on Hwy 17 and found a place to pull off to view that mountain—a very imposing presence, clearly formed by glaciers.

Our rig and Tom & Nanci's at the St. Mary Visitor Center.

Lee with Chief Mountain

When we came to the US-Canadian border, we stopped at Canadian Customs, where we showed our passport and were asked only a few routine questions. The only surprise was that after we said we had no firearms, the officer inquired, “When was the last time you traveled with firearms?” Tom and Nanci had left their passports in their rig, so they were delayed a bit by the irate customs officer. As we pulled over to wait for them, Frank and Val and Don and Cassie crossed the border, so our group was all together again.

Just inside the Canadian border is the signboard for Waterton Glacier International Peace Park.

The Lovelace, Marks, Rowe and Erdmann rigs at Waterton Springs.

We stayed at Waterton Springs Campground, just outside the Canadian national park. After we set up, everyone except Tom and Ken went to the Waterton Village—ostensibly to do some shopping. Actually we ended up doing some sightseeing too, including my first view of a bear foraging by the roadside.

Alas, our US Senior Passes didn’t get us into the Canadian park, so we ended up paying about $5 each to go into the Village. We saw lots of deer, including one fawn. There were signs warning that the deer could be unpredictably dangerous towards dogs. We wandered around some of the shops, including one chocolate shop that smelled like heaven. Frank remembered a waterfall from their previous trip, so we went to see Cameron Falls. The rushing waters followed the inclined sediment layers in an unusual pattern. A sign indicated that the rocks exposed by erosion were the oldest in the province.

On the way back to the campground, Frank followed a sign to the Bison Paddock, where we saw a massive bull bison sitting calmly only 10 feet from the road. Later we saw a small herd, including some calves.

We invited everyone over for a few minutes in the evening so that Don and Cassie could see Venture. They travel in a motorhome, have a fifth wheel at a resort in Palm Springs, and own a home in North Carolina near their kids.

We are going through "internet withdrawal" since we can't use our Verizon modem in Canada without paying exorbitant roaming fees. It is so convenient to be able to get online while we're on the road or in places where we're not staying long enough to warrant putting up the dish. Ken did put the Qube out so he could watch TV.
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Independence Day

There was lots of red, white, and blue in the clothing and decor today, reminding us of the 4th of July celebration. We "celebrated" by going into West Glacier with Nanci to do laundry. The washers cost $2.50--ouch!

Nanci provided the special crowns

This evening after happy hour, we had a potluck barbecue. Everyone brought their own meat to throw on the barbecues plus a dish to share. It was all delicious, and topped off by Nanci's brownies and Trader Joe's chocolate star cookies. Afterwards we played a couple of games. Valerie and Nanci won the two rounds of CLR, and Don won at Farkel, snatching victory from Nanci, who was the first to top 5000.

We did what we could this evening to get ready to roll out again tomorrow morning. I washed the front of the rig and the truck (or at least gave them a swish and a promise).
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Going to the Sun Road via the Red Bus

We left just after 9:00 a.m. for our tour scheduled to leave Apgar Village at 9:30. When we got there we found Jon Hart, our tour guide, and Red Jammer #102 waiting for us. In addition to the 8 in our party, there was a couple from Georgia and a couple with a young daughter who looked to be around 10. It turned out to be Jon's first season working as a Jammer driver and tour guide, but he had experience before at Yellowstone Park and seemed eager to tell us what he knew about Glacier National Park and to learn more.

Tom & Lee getting on the red bus.

Tom got to ride shotgun and be a consultant to the driver.

Since the high today was to be 86 degrees, many in our group dressed in shorts, though we all brought light jackets. We would have been more comfortable if we'd worn jeans and taken heavier jackets, since we had the canvas top of the tour bus rolled back so we could see out more easily. As Frank said, the whole point of taking the Red Bus tour is to look up, since most of the grandeur of the park is overhead. We were able to stand up to take photos, but had to sit down when the bus was moving.

We learned a lot about the Red Jammers--for example, that they have been in service since the 1930s and were recently renovated by Ford. The views of Lake McDonald and of the mountains surrounding the glacial valleys were spectacular. Unfortunately, when we got to Logan Pass, at the Continental Divide, it was still socked in by the morning fog, so we didn't get to see the great views from the Visitor Center there. We were also disappointed that they didn't sell hot drinks, since some coffee or hot chocolate would have really hit the spot!

We got one impressive view of the mountains after another.

Fog covered Logan Pass.

We got only a glimpse of one glacier on our tour, Sperry Glacier. Our guide urged us to consider hiking the park, since some of the best access to the glaciers is not from the roadway. We will see some more glaciers when we drive around the east side of the park on Sunday on our way to Waterton.

When we returned from the tour, it was after 1:00 p.m. We ate lunch, and then Frank, Tom, and I set off on a hike to Avalanche Lake. The round trip was about 5 miles, with 500 feet of elevation gain, so it was a relatively easy hike, but from the time we left camp until the time we returned was four hours. An hour of that was driving to the trailhead and back to camp, so we spent about three hours on the trail, but much of that time was spent taking photos and just being awed by the views. The rushing waters of the creek are fed by glacial melt. The forest is littered with fallen trees, most of which have apparently been knocked down by the wind. The views of Avalanche Gorge and then of the lake and the waterfalls cascading down into it are magnificent.

Since we got back from the hike so late, the group decided to postpone the planned potluck until tomorrow evening.
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West Glacier, MT

We headed out of Kalispell around 10, after Tom and Nanci's rig was repaired. The drive to West Glacier was short and scenic, and the campground where we are staying is pleasant. The sites are all wooded, and it's far enough off the highway that we won't hear any road noise (but there is an occasional train whistle). After lunch we went over towards Glacier National Park, stopping first at the Alberta, Canada, visitor information center. A full-size dinosaur skeleton dominated the center, and the friendly Canadians were eager to help us.

We enjoy campsites that get us close to forests.

We and the Rowes got adjacent campsites.

Then we went to Apgar Village to the park visitor center and checked on where our Red Bus tour will depart from tomorrow morning. We enjoyed an ice cream cone after browsing through the shops. Ken and I shared a huckleberry cone--huckleberries are a local specialty, and I hope that I'll be able to find some to pick.

Tom & Nanci at shopping area just outside the west entrance to the park.

Across Lake McDonald we could see the mountains we'll ride through tomorrow on our tour.

Frank and Val and Don and Cassie had arrived by the time we returned to camp. We rested while they went over to the park. After happy hour, we all brought our dinners out to eat together and then sat around a campfire. Nanci brought out a surprise grab bag for the ladies, and we each got to choose a pair of red white and blue beaded earrings to wear for Independence Day. Thanks, Nanci!

Julie called to say that she is feeling better. She's taking an anti-nausea medication that is prescribed for chemo patients, and she says it's working very well. At her appointment today the baby's heartbeat was strong and the due date of February 11 was confirmed.
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Montana

Last night was our first official boondocking experience since we got our solar system installed. This morning we were showing our batteries charged 76%, so we’re happy with our system, especially since today was sunny all day. When we arrived at the Elks Lodge in Kalispell, our batteries were showing 100% charged. We're boondocking again tonight, since the Elks sites were full when we arrived.

I got up too late this morning to see the geese, but still had a pleasant walk. I spotted an osprey in the distance, diving for breakfast in the Pend Oreille

We crossed into Montana today. It’s the first time I’ve been in the state, but Ken flew into Great Falls for a business trip years ago. The drive across US 2 with the Rowes to Kalispell was long but very scenic, with views of snow-capped mountains, broad sunny valleys, and peaceful rivers, including the Pend Oreille and the Kootenai. We passed through one small town named Ponderay—evidently the residents have simplified the spelling.

Lunch was at a rest stop with a good view of the beautiful mountains we were driving through.

Chris called from the folk music jam at Ladd's Circle to say that they will sign the final papers tomorrow on the duplex they are purchasing, with closing set for July 31. The sellers agreed to do most of the repairs they asked for and will provide a credit to cover the electrical work.

During our drive, Tom discovered a minor problem on his trailer that he'll get repaired before we leave Kalispell in the morning.

Tonight we played a couple of hands of Rummikub with Tom and Nanci before heading for bed.
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On to Idaho

We were in no big hurry to set out this morning, so we slept in until 8 a.m. Our group has split up for a day or two, and today we traveled with Tom and Nanci east on US Hwy 2. We left the mighty Columbia River behind and headed across central and eastern Washington, passing miles and miles of cropland. Nanci says a lot of it is planted in a special variety of short wheat which is shipped to Japan.

Rowes are staying near Newport, WA, to visit an old fraternity brother of Tom’s, and we went a few miles farther and to a Corps of Engineers campground on the Priest River in Idaho. It's at the confluence of the Priest and Pend Oreille Rivers, and the campground has lots of evergreens. The camp hosts were very helpful in getting us situated, and they say that early in the morning, the geese will appear along the beach. There are three or four successive nestings, so the population is doing quite well. Unfortunately that means that the area around the beach is littered with goose droppings, which we originally thought were from dogs, so you can imagine they're not small. I hope to see some of the local fauna on my morning walk.

Our Priest River campsite.

The Priest River meets the Pend Oreille.

This is our first time in Idaho, so we’ll add it to our list of states visited, but we’re passing through only a narrow portion of the northern tip of the state and will be in Montana tomorrow.

We passed up the chance to visit the Albeni Cove Dam--the Corps project of which this recreation area is a part--so I couldn't title today's entry "Another Dam Day."

Tonight we played Rummikub. As usual, Ken let me win one round, but he got two out of three. Then we had mulberries and yogurt over shortcake for desert.
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Two Dam Day

After breakfast I picked some more mulberries from the trees along the river, only this time I wore latex gloves so my hands wouldn't get so stained. Some of us drove up the Columbia River to the Rocky Reach Dam to see the salmon going up the fish ladder. First we had to pass through security, including a metal detector. It was like airport security except that we didn't have to take off our shoes. At an underground viewing window, we could see fish of various sizes, some really quite large, swimming up the river.

The visitor center included an excellent museum the Museum of the Columbia which we had only enough time to look through quickly. We didn't know this gem was there and so had not allowed time to see it.

We drove north and east on US Hwy 2 on our way to Grand Coulee Dam, passing through some really impressive topography called the Channeled Scablands, formed by the catastrophic Missoula floods. We checked in to Coulee Playland Resort in Electric city and then went on a tour of the big dam. It was disappointing because the big inclined elevator that takes visitors down into the dam is out of service, so we only got to walk out over the penstocks of the third power station. Judy Simington called to say that they are in Helena, Montana, and to ask where our group was. We'll meet up with them in Calgary if not before. It was good to hear her voice.

After dinner we went back to the Visitor Center to watch a one-hour movie about the geology of the region before going to the laser light show which is beamed on the face of the dam. Ordinarily no water flows over the top of the dam, but for the light show a thin layer of about six inches is allowed to spill over, creating a giant white screen for the story of the mighty River Columbia.

Ken has been having quite a bit of trouble with his back. Hopefully it will feel better after a night's rest.

Sweetie ate a fair amount for supper tonight, but it looks like she is continuing to lose weight.
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Wenatchee, WA

We headed out this morning before 8 a.m. to dump at a free dump station provided by the city and then went on to meet Tom and Nanci and Frank and Val in a casino parking lot along our route. We headed east toward Wenathchee, planning to go to Leavenworth, a small German town, on the way, but by the time we got near that town, it was afternoon, traffic was bumper to bumper, and we decided to go to Springdale Orchard Store in Peshastin instead. Everyone browsed through the thousands of canned and packaged goodies. We got some Walla Walla onions (enthusiastically endorsed by Tom)and some Ranier cherries.

We checked in at the Wenatchee Confluence State Park campground, where Nanci had made reservations for us, and set up in three adjacent arc-shaped pull throughs. They're near the confluence of the Wenatchee River and the Columbia, but you have to walk over to a viewing deck to see the rivers.

I went to Costco with Tom, who was looking for sandals. He didn't find any, but I got some Costco whole grain bread and wine. We had French lentil soup (from Soup Cycle) with bread and salad for dinner. Afterwards we walked over to the viewing decks with Sweetie and unexpectedly found some huckleberry trees, so I picked some of those. We watched in interesting Nova episode called Ape Genius about experiments showing the surprising abilities of chimpanzees--and their limitations.
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Getting Ready to Roll

Everyone spent the day today doing laundry and packing up for our trip. Frank and Val went out exploring and offered to bring back supplies from Wal-mart. They went to the Mushroom Festival and to a quilt shop.

We saw lots of loads being carried from the Rowes' house to the Rowes' rig (good thing they have a big rig!). For dinner we had "refrigerator potluck"--a little of this and a little of that to clear out the fridges. Nanci's meatloaf was even better the second time around, and we finished off with local strawberries over vanilla ice cream.

We've really enjoyed Tom and Nanci's hospitality, but it's time to hit the road for Calgary. We're sure the house will feel a bit lonely when all three rigs pull out in the morning: Frank and Val in their Fleetwood motorhome, us in Venture, and Rowes in their Sea Breeze fifth wheel towed by an even more ginormous white truck than ours.

In the morning we'll have to get up early to go dump and get fuel, so we tried to get as much done as possible and get to bed at a reasonable hour.
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Judy's Garden

Tom and Nanci took Frank and Valerie and Ken and me over to Tom's sister's house to see the handiwork of the master gardener. We were definitely in for a treat. Mike and Judy graciously invited us into their home of 35 years and gave us a tour of their yard. We couldn't begin to take it all in--something new awaited at every step of the way. Judy has planted things that grow and bloom at different seasons, so there is always color. In addition, she has tucked in a variety of fruits and vegetables, so they have fresh produce all summer long.

On our way home we stopped at Spooner Farms where I picked some really flavorful local strawberries. Nothing like fresh from the field (or even fresh in the field 8-)

On my morning walk I headed north of the Chehalis Western Trail. When it intersected Ranier Rd., I decided to take Ranier to Fir Tree, which I remembered from the Olympia map should take me home. I was right about that, but unclear about the distance. After walking 3 miles, I called Ken to come pick me up. It turned out that I was still a mile from home. That experience prompted me to install the City Navigator maps for North America on my laptop and transfer Canada and the northern US to my GPS unit. Now I'll have at least an inkling of what the roads look like when I set out to walk, plus we'll be able to use the Canadian portion when we're driving in Canada, since Rosie has only US maps.

Ken called Verizon to get some information on adding Canadian service for our cellphones during our trip. We'll have to call just before we leave the country to activate it.
Tonight we watched a new episode of Masterpiece Mystery, an Agatha Christie story, Cat Among the Pigeons, starring David Suchet as Poirot. It's a rather far-fetched tale, but entertaining.
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Wolf Haven

Our little "campground" saw some action today, as Don and Cassie pulled out and Frank and Valerie moved in, so we have new neighbors. Tom and Nanci are staying busy greeting guests and getting ready for the trip. They had new carpet installed in their rig and now have to move the furniture and everything back in and pack food and clothing.

We visiting Wolf Haven International in Tenino today. It's only a short drive away. A naturalist led our small group of six on a one hour tour, during which we had the chance to see 14 of the 54 animals in the sanctuary. Actually some of them were hiding or sleeping, but we still got to view some beautiful animals. The tour included gray wolves, red wolves, and two coyotes. Most of the animals in the sanctuary have been previously domesticated and come to the sanctuary from situations in which they can no longer be cared for, including zoos and private individuals. The males have a vasectomy and the females undergo a partial hysterectomy so that they will not have pups in captivity.

The exception is a group of Mexican gray wolves which are part of a species recovery program, and these are kept away from humans so they can later be released to the wild.

Some of the wolves were out where we could see them, although it was always through a fence.

We very much enjoyed the tour and learned a lot about wolf conservation and the negative consequences of attempts to keep wolves or wolf hybrids as pets.

Tom worked his magic, and the television has now been framed with trim. We love the way it came out. Thanks, Tom!

We joined Tom and Nanci and Frank and Val for a shrimp dinner and good conversation.
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More Friends

We got up bright and early to get ready to go shopping with Tom. He needed a new tire for his truck to prepare for the trip, and we needed some trim from Home Depot to finish out our TV installation. Tom had to order a tire, which will be in tomorrow. We found some trim that looked like it would match perfectly. Unfortunately we hadn't exactly measured what we needed, so Ken ended up going back out for another piece.

Tom demonstrated some of his marvelous tools (like a power saw with a laser light beam that inscribes the exact line the saw will cut). The mitered corners were glued and clamped, so we should be able to put the trim up tomorrow. We're sure it will be beautiful.

Don and Cassie Lovelace arrived during the afternoon and parked their motorhome next to Venture. They're spending the night and will join us again later on the trip to Calgary. Tom's sister Judy and her husband Mike came over for dinner, bringing lovely flower arrangements and delicious fresh strawberries grown at the farm down the road from their house. Nanci fixed an unusual cottage cheese meatloaf, and we had salad, green beans, corn on the cob, and bread and butter for dinner. Tom and the guys were in charge of clearing the table. The magnificent strawberries appeared over vanilla ice cream to top off a great meal.

Mike and Judy invited us over to tour their yard, which Tom and Nanci assure us is well worth seeing (remember that Judy is a Master Gardener). We'll miss the peonies, which have just finished blooming, but there will be lots more to see--if we can find the time to visit. They live near the Chehalis Western Trail and only 3-4 miles bike ride away (more by car).
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Chehalis Western Trail

This morning we joined a group of Tom and Nanci's neighbors for a ride along the Chehalis Western Trail, which runs very close to their house. We rode 11 miles to the small town of Ranier, where we stopped for coffee before returning. We left shortly after 9 a.m. and returned around noon.

We enjoyed meeting Sandy, Dan and his son Steve, Karen, and Cheryl and sharing this lovely trail. It runs along a former railway right of way, so it's fairly level (which is good, because we are a bit out of shape), but the topography is varied. Along the way we saw lots of trees and wildflowers, which formed lovely vistas, and we crossed the Deschutes River.

Lee, Steve, Dan and Sandy at the coffee stop.

Beside the Deschutes River.

We spent some more time adjusting our TV installation, with advice and assistance from Tom. The TV looks much better raised up a bit. Tomorrow we'll go to Home Depot and try to find some trim to finish off the edges of the cabinet.

Nanci had an appointment this morning to get an injection in her back, which we are hoping will help her feel better during our upcoming trip. Read more!