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New library/ rec centre and pool

It is late. I should be sleeping, so what else is new. I will try to keep this short. I am in Fort McMurray staying with couchsurfers Barry and Helen. I arrived in town just after lunch yesterday and, well,  Fort McMurray is not exactly what I was expecting. What was I expecting you ask? Well, think of all of the news reports that you have heard and what do you think you might find here. I had really decided to give the place a miss. I was told several times that it would be dangerous to come here alone and so I decided that I would only come if I had a solid couchsurfing connection.  I was also a little concerned that I not fall victim to perceptions that I couldn’t verify so, I took the drive and I am glad it did.

Oil Sands Discovery Centre

I came into town on a highway that reminded me of the 4o1. 4 lanes of steady traffic to and from town. The first thing I passed was the Oil Sands Discovery Centre so I headed in. I spent about 3 hours. The subject and displays are fascinating.  Hey, Gail, I tried to get a picture of myself with one of those big truck tires like you suggested, but my arms are not long enough, so this picture of a big truck tire beside a pick up truck tire will have to do.

Just a note: Helen says they are always looking for truck drivers here…and if I would come and take the course, I could probably drive one of those big trucks for a while. I have always wanted to drive heavy equipment.

Anyway, after that I headed into town looking for a wireless internet connection. What I found was a modern, city (approx 100,000), clean, appealingly set at the confluence of the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers, and very friendly people, most of whom have come from some where else. I was surprised by the diversity of the population, people from all over the world are here. There are many people working in the oil sands but I would say that the average population is very highly educated because so many people are here either to make the oil sands project work , to study how to get the oil out more efficiently or how to make it more environmentally sound.

Home sweet home, one of the worker camps near the mining site. It doesn't look like much from the outside but I am told that there are recreation complexes and everything the workers can want while they live here. The rules for behaviour or very strict though so it might be worse than living with your parents.

Barry and Helen both work for Syncrude, and both had very balanced views on the impact of the place. Barry said two things that really made me think.

1) the coal fired generating station that is on the Don River generates far more emissions that the total tar sands project right now (maybe not so in the past) and that it could be cleaned up massively but….it is really expensive so there is not political will to do that. The fact is that we are not willing to pay the price for clean fuel and

2)  the tar sands people are working hard at finding new technologies to clean up their acts but all of the extracted oil is then shoved into airplanes, cars and what ever. He wondered if that should be taken into the equation when measuring the damage done by the project up here. That made me stop and think. If the tar sands shut down…would there be less fuel for cars, trucks than what we now used? These days, when calculating ‘real’ costs, environmentalists say that the cost of one can of coke is something like $300 dollars because you have to measure all of the water used, the impact of growing the corn for sugar, the power source , the wages paid to workers etc. So I guess we must measure the environmental cost of a litre of tar sands oil by its eventual uses too. Hard to know where to come down on this. As an environmentalist with a long way to go in my learning, I think  my ire is directed at those who want to use up all of the oil,  ignoring the implications, before the newer and cleaner options are truly explored. Not to mention the short sighted politicians who come down…nowhere, as long as they get re-elected. (sorry Barry, I know you said so much more, and so elegantly too…but between muddled thoughts being included, my memory and the need to paraphrase to preserve space, I hope I haven’t mangled your ideas too bad.)

River side. I wanted to see tar sands in their natural element. It does smell like Oil.

So beautiful

Holding a clump of tar filled sand. It made my fingers oily.

I am glad I had an opportunity to visit.  I didn’t find it dangerous and think that if I could have found a camping spot that didn’t have a worker living in it full time, camping in the area would have been great. Again I am grateful to couchsurfing for giving me another opportunity I never would have had. Are you signed up to be couchsurfing hosts yet. Try it. You never know when something new will jump into your life.

Happy 33 Anniversary Fred. Miss you.

Off to bed.

Talk soon.

On the beach at Canyon Creek

Tammy and I sat and looked at maps last night. She told me that I would be passing Alberta’s biggest lake, Lesser Slave Lake, during my drive to Athabasca. I was thrilled at the idea of driving along a lake shore, trying to keep my eyes on the road and the scenery at the same time, but no, Alberta does it’s best to hide this treasure. Only a few times did I actually glimpse the blue water over the tree’s. Most of the time It was hidden from view.

Hiding the lake

I didn’t have far to drive today so I stopped along the road many times and had a great stroll along the water.

Bridge in Athabasca

Athabasca is a pretty little town on the Athabasca and Tawatinaw Rivers. It sits in the river valley and along the side of a hill far enough from the any big centres that it is has everything it needs.

Allendria, my couchsurfing contact,  is a reporter for the Town and Country Newspaper.When I arrived she was on her way out the door to a community pot luck dinner for a couple of crazy guys who are canoeing across the country in a birch bark canoe that they made themselves using traditional methods. She asked me if I wanted to go along. Free food and a chance to meet some REAL adventurers.  Oh yes. I had fun.

The canoe. There are better pictures along with a description of the process on the website

Marc and Dan seemed totally sane but when I heard their story I had to wonder how much adventure two people could really manage. I was glad of Vincent’s dry bed and tendency to stay away from fast flowing rivers. Go to their website at www.paddleforsustainability.org to find out more.

After we ate and talked, we headed back to Allendria’s place where we set up my pull out couch bed and then we headed outside for a fire with a few friends who also work for the paper.  Around 11 we had a real thunderstorm and headed inside to write and go to bed.

Tomorrow Allendria will interview me for the paper. My adventure is feeling a little tame right at this moment but I can’t help myself, I just love to talk about it. Later on I will head to oil sands country and Fort McMurray.

I am looking forward to meeting the people I will be staying with there. I am actually giving myself a couple of days to see everything there is to see before I continue homeward.  Talk soon.

Have you had one of these things yet? It is a cross between and apple and a plum. Can’t remember what it is called. The size of an apple but with the sweet, juiciness of a plum. Ummm. I wish I had bought more than the two that I did. Delish.  It had the feeling of something that could go horribly wrong…you know, the way peaches sometimes do, dry and hard, but these were spectacular. Well worth trying. Sorry for the commercial but I just had to tell someone.

My wake up call

I was awakened first thing this morning by a big purr and enthusiastic bounces on my bed. This is Indy, a 12 week old Manx kitten. She was so happy to have some one awake. She sums up my whole day yesterday, energetic and full of fun and the unexpected. (She is helping me write this, leaning over and watching the letters hit the screen…so she is my excuse for typo’s today) Yesterday I left Charlie Lake and headed into the prairie at wheat harvest time. What a great drive, sky and golden fields.

Combines come in threes out here

I am still amazed by the reaction that I have to the grand fields and skies that they manage out here. It is as overwhelming as the mountains.

They even make the bees bigger out here

I arrived in High Prairie and was greeted by Tammy who is in the middle of organizing the volunteers for a huge demolition derby and music event this weekend. I joined her as she ran around picking up a trailer to use as command central on the weekend and finishing up some details. Then off to pick up some amazing Chinese food and out to the High Prairie Gun Club to try out something really different for me.

Do you think that guy looks scared. Tammy says he is reliving his first shot. I am not so sure.

Tammy took me trap shooting. I thought I was just going to watch, but she put a 20 gauge shot gun in my hands and stepped out of the way. Those clay birds were safe from me though. My biggest fear was that my shoulder would be lopped right out of it’s mooring. It wasn’t so bad. I didn’t even get a bruise. She said that is because the rifle fit me well.  It is true that this trip is fitting me with all kinds of new skills. It is probably also true that the safest place last night was right in front of me. It would take just a wee bit more practice for me to hit anything.

Well, I am off. Tammy has given me a long list of places to visit between here and Athabasca so, it is likely to take me more than the two and a half hours it is supposed to take. I will be careful to watch for the signs though, and help little old bees cross the street.

Take care. Talk soon.

Board walk

I’m back. I just spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday out of radio, internet and cell reach, soaking in the mineral and hot springs of Liard River 3 times a day. I feel relaxed and ready for the rest of the trip. Liard Hot Springs is different that most campgrounds I have ever been in. because it is a tad out of the way. People who stop there are on their way somewhere or back from someplace else. Very few people stay more than one night. Many people who drive the road frequently, truck drivers, construction workers and others, just pull into the day use area, pay the $5 fee and soak for 20 minutes or so before hitting the road again.

Heaven must look like this...and feel like it too. From mildly warm, to skin removing hot, somehow it is better than any bath or hot tub I have ever used. Maybe it is the constant pressence of the bears and moose. Maybe it is the friendly people. Probably it is the hot water though.

I have been testing my Big City Theory here. The theory is that if you are in a city, people are not as friendly as in small towns. When you encounter someone on the street or in an elevator, they don’t meet your eyes. That probably means they don’t want to engage you or, are unfriendly. So, here, in late afternoon all of the newbies pull in. They are just off the road and their licence plates say they are from all over North America. As they pass you, they avert their eyes. What is with that? However, after just one walk down that 700 metre board walk and a 20 minute soak, when you meet them again, they want to tell you their life story, where they come from, what brought them here and anything else that catches their fancy. It is an amazing turn around. Maybe the people on the streets of big cities just need an excuse to come out of their shells. Maybe they need a massive hot spring to ease their days.

Dragon transformations from silver

The water has an interesting smell, there must be sulpher in it, but there are other things too. I feel clean but I think the aura of egg surrounds me. My rings are playing games on my hands. My silver coloured dragon ring has been purple, golden, and blue. I remember from last year that the change does not last but the transformation is fun.It has been chilly here and I head for the pool wearing a coat and a sweat shirt. On the way back I carry the coat and watch my little heat, pinkened toes happily hitting the board walk. The water is hot. Much hotter than the Miette Hot Springs in Jasper, and it heats me through to the core. The only thing missing is a massage therapist to work those hot muscles when they come out of the water. The effect of bathing here is like having two or three glasses of wine. I feel light and floaty as I head back to the site.

Pink toes

This morning I got up and had one more swim. I thought I might not be fit to drive so I headed across the street to the Liard Lodge for an egg breakfast before I left. I am now in Dawson Creek at the visitor centre where I can check my email and send out a blog post. I will be in the Archie Lake campground tonight…again, no internet but I will have a phone. Tomorrow night I will be in High Prairie.

Every one is friends after a nice soak in the pool

The water was making me feel so good that I decided that I could maybe rearrange my life again and reconsider going to the North West Territories. Today I realize that it is just not practical, so I am actually headed home. Oh, not straight home. I have a lot of stops to make and a lot of ground to cover but fall is obviously on it’s way and, my face is turned east.

Talk soon.

View after an evening dip

I am sitting in library in Ft. St. John BC feeling regret. What am I doing in BC you say? Yes, me too.  I am not feeling well enough, I think, to head up that long, highway to the North West Territories. OOO so sad. I was so looking forward to finally getting back to Yellowknife and meeting the couchsurfing hosts who have invited me. Drat my body messages.

So, instead I am on the Alaska Hwy heading to the Liard Hot springs where I intend to camp til Monday and relax in that healing water until I feel like driving again. Lots of sleep, maybe some carving, painting or writing, definately some reading. When I leave it will be too late in the year to head north I think, so I will begin the long and winding road home, through northern Alberta, Saskachewan and Manitoba. I have couches booked for most of it so don’t need to rely on campgrounds.

I admit it, I am disappointed but, I am sure that this course of action opens the door to a different way to see Yellowknife. I am prepared to enjoy my camping experience though.

Update on the camera. Yeeha. It is working. Thank heavens….and you were going to get pictures but I forgot it in the care and am not going out again. It is time to go shopping and get supplies for a 4 night camping experience.

Liard Park is out of the way, no phones or internet. I will be without all of my technology and that is feeling good. I hope to be back online Monday or Tuesday depending on when I run into loose wireless, so have a great weekend. Talk soon.

PS Thanks Celeste for the treatment. I felt like getting in the car this morning.

Augh! Can I do a post without a picture. I am not sure, when people comment, it is the pictures they say they love.

Yesterday I bid a tearful goodbye to the Whitehorse crew. Christopher and Story took me to the airport and waved me off. The plane ride was great and I got lots of spectacular mountain top pictures. When I got into Edmonton, Vincent and Bettyanne greeted me enthusiastically. It was nice to be back to Bettyanne’s down to earth home and great to take her dog for a long walk along the river. Rain was predicted but the sky was blue except for a few clouds.

She lives in a  great area of Edmonton. We walked for an hour before those clouds joined forces to sprinkle on us…and then pour. By the time we got home we were wading  through rivers rushing down the streets at us. I was soaked. It had been fun and warm enough to be pleasant…until I got home and pulled my camera out of my pocket. It was drenched. My first impulse was to turn it on to see if it still worked but some intuition told me not to. I opened it up to pull out the battery and memory card. They were standing in water. I knew that it was done for. I only hoped I could get my pictures of the kids off of the card. I got some advise from friends on facebook (thanks everyone) and ended up drying it thoroughly in rice (unco0ked). I was told to leave it there for a few days before I actually tried it. So, no pictures today. No images of the four RCMP Musical ride trailers parked and open for a break and to let the breezes in to the horses. (OK, it impressed the heck out of me) None of the rolling prairie and the heavy grain almost ready for harvest or the change in the land as I came near Grande Prairie. Sigh. Oh well… at least you know that I am on the road again.

Tonight, I am in Grande Prairie with my brother’s son and his partner. What a great young couple. Funny, I have watched my kids grow to adults (always babies to me) but somehow Zach has stayed the same age that I last really saw him…a moody sixteen or seventeen. Today, he is a funny, ambitious, thoughtful, caring grown up with a really nice life. How does time do that? Honestly, it is disconcerting and wonderful at the same time. We had a great evening and I think I will stay one more night before heading out.

Talk soon.

Blue Blue Blue

Wow, the Yukon has my kind of weather. Since I have been here it has been warm (not too warm) and blue skies. We have been taking walks and playing outside. It has been great.

Cohen enjoying the great outdoors.

Girl in a Barbeque box

I am enjoying my time here and it is going so fast. It is a long weekend here, they don’t get the first weekend in August but Monday is Discovery Day and so everyone is enjoying the weather and the extra time to play. I will be leaving Monday morning and headed back to Vincent in Edmonton.  It has all gone too fast. Talk soon.

Eagles don't say "cheese" for tourists to take pictures. They won't even look.

Bridge over the North Saskatchewan River

Is it me or is it just luck? That is the question today. I had a great drive from Hinton to Edmonton. I stopped in a few small towns and treated Vincent to an oil change and some topped up fluids along the way so he was feeling pretty sleek. Then Karma took us on a tour of the city, unintentional I think, I missed a turn she intended me to take. When we finally arrived at Annie’s place, I was ready to just relax.

I was welcomed like an old friend by cats and dog.

We had tea and muffins and later dinner and a great walk. Annie is a Reiki practitioner and is on an amazing spiritual journey.  Meeting her reminds me that we are all traveling in so many ways.

What a place to walk every day

Annie has offered to babysit Vincent in her beautiful garden while I am in Whitehorse. That is a relief. I was worried about leaving him with strangers, and that means that I will spend another night with her when I get back to Edmonton on the 16th. That won’t be too hard to take. When I look at the people I have met, I feel so blessed…lucky even. It is true I think, that truly special people sign up to be couchsurfing hosts but I have stayed with friends and family of friends and family too. Maybe it just means that there are a heck of a lot of good people out in the wide world and I am being privileged to meet a lot of them.

Thanks to you for all of your support too. Talk soon….or on August 17th. Which ever comes first.

Foot bridge across the river. This is a really long, high, construction. Very cool. Some places take their walking paths very seriously.

In Jasper before the smoke

So what is it about libraries. Most of the systems across Canada have wireless access but they are so different about the way they let you use it. Some places have it broadcast to the town so anyone can take advantage, some give you a password and some don’t let you use it at all. Today I am sitting in a beautiful, new building and they will only let me use it for half an hour. Well, I can understand that if I am taking up space that someone else could use (although the place is empty)

I have my own computer, I say. Oh, she says, with you? Umm Hum says me. Ok, half an hour. She smiles. I smile. It is free, what can I say. So why am I talking about this…when I should be posting. I probably don’t have more than 20 minutes left.

Ice fields. The wind blowing off of the ice reminded me of winter. I really didn't want a lift out onto the glacier where people were wearing jackets and probably freezing.

I left Rocky Mountain House, which surprisingly is not so rocky and headed for Jasper. It is always amazing to me how suddenly you leave fields and farms and hit MOUNTAINS. As I drove, I marvel at the roads going through. When I fly over this area, on clear days I have my nose pressed against the window, trying to make out the roads, the chains of peaks and the valleys. I often wonder how the first map makers and road makers found the best ways to go through. I do try to pay attention to the road when I drive like that, but my mind is often in very different places.

Smoke from the hundreds of fires in BC obscured much of the view as I was passing Jasper and for the rest of the day. As I get closer to Edmonton today I can still see the haze but the acrid smell is all but gone.

I camped in a KOA campground last night. I have never been to one of those before and they sure have lots of services at not a bad price.  It really was like camping in a field though. The smoke hid the view that the proprietors told me was usually pretty amazing and the smell of burnt, was enough to bring tears to your eyes, depending on the wind direction.

Miette Hot Spring

Last year when I visited the Liard Hot Springs in Northern BC, I developed a real love for hot sulphery water.  Miette Hot Spring is almost at the north eastern edge of Jasper park and so I was passing right by it…kind of. I had to take a 18 km windy mountain road in, the speed limit was between 30 and 50km/hour. I was anticipating a remote little hot spring like Liard but that was not to be. It looked like 2 large swimming pools (with 2 hot tub sized pools with cold water in them off to the side). The parking lot was packed but the pools were not too bad. My body loved the heat. I guess I am a hot spring snob, but I would love another trip back to Liard where you really feel like you have stumbled across a secret pool.

On the road to Miette

Back on the road this morning, heading for Edmonton and then to catch a quick flight to see the grand babies in Whitehorse tomorrow, I watched the land go back to agricultural. I listened to CBC and heard again, “Being Jan.” It is a show with Jan Arden. She plays music she loves and talks to great people. She has a quirky sense of humour and if you haven’t heard it, you might like it.

Talk soon…or maybe not so soon. I will be back on the road on Aug 17 when I am heading up to the North West Territories.

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Leaving Calgary

I lost a day. Holly and Caroline went off to work on Tuesday and I stayed home to do some writing and work that needed to be done. When I looked up, Holly was walking through the door. I had spent a day with my nose poked into my papers and didn’t even notice a beautiful Calgary day passing. Even with all of those hours, I didn’t finish a proposal I was supposed to be doing or an article I am writing. Maybe I am just not ready to be thinking of the winter when these things will happen. Holly is great company. We spent the evening eating ice cream covered in cherry sauce and talking about dreams. The time flew. Thanks again for sisters. I enjoy having one and I sure love meeting the sisters of my friends.

The land changes drastically near Drumheller

Wednesday morning I headed off to Drumheller to see the home of the dinosaurs. About 20 minutes into my drive I reached into my purse for my camera and realized that it wasn’t there. I pulled over to the side of the road and dug through my stuff frantically. I really wasn’t feeling like heading back into Calgary. They sure make things small these days. It had fallen to the bottom of the waist pouch. I started breathing again and pulled back onto the road right behind two over sized trucks taking a house somewhere. The darn thing took up both lanes and the traffic moved slow. It didn’t matter, I was enjoying watching the flat land become rolling hills. I really don’t like the 100 and 110 speed limit when I am sight seeing. I would rather go slower. When I am in a hurry it is OK but I am seldom in a hurry these days.

A few of the little bones found in that land.

I did love the Royal Tyrrell Museum with all of it exhibits of the life that came before us. As I watched parents with their children, I had a flash from the past. There was a little girl afraid to walk into the dinosaur gallery where it was dark and there were realistic sound effects. Her brother was rolling his eyes and her mother was pleading with her to reconsider. She just howled louder, stopping the whole line up. I remember trying to get Desiree to go into the Royal Ontario Museum’s dinosaur exhibit, with Christopher eagerly racing ahead. She was convinced that there were girl eating animals in there and she was not going in. I felt that mother’s pain as her son complained bitterly and her daughter screamed in terror although in the end, after the flash of nostalgia, I kept thinking how much fun it would have been to have the kids with me. My favorite part of the visit was the walk around the outside trail, seeing the land formations and where bones had been found. It pulled at the part of me that has always wanted to go on a archeological dig, although I think I may be just a bit too impatient to dig with a paint brush.

Hoo Doo country

After that I headed down the hoo doo trail and marveled ant the other worldly rock formations. Signs everywhere warned us about the fragility of the formations but people were climbing on them anyway, driving the one museum staff on site crazy. I guess that is why Stone Henge has been fenced off and the public has to view it from a distance. It would be a shame for the Canadian Parks to do that to this area because the best viewing is done quite far away from the road. I am afraid my pictures don’t do the whole thing justice.

I'm not getting much better at taking my own picture. Missed the hoo doo completely.

Catherine had mentioned the Rosebud theatre, so in the afternoon, I headed for Rosebud. It is a very pretty town with a theatre school and two theatres, where the students can really shine. I saw a wonderful play called “Woza Albert” , about apartheid South Africa. It was very well done, energetic and emotional. I was glad I had come. There really isn’t anything like live theater. Then I headed to the campground that had been recommended. They were an RV park. The proprietors looked Vincent up and down when I claimed he was my RV. Eventually they let me in and gave me a good price because I wouldn’t be using any of their RV facilities.  Later I found that the park was almost half empty, but they assured me that I would not have been allowed to tent there.

Breakfast visitor. We shared some oats, I ate porridge, s/he ate some dry oats that had spilled.

I left this morning and enjoyed my drive through to Rocky Mountain House. I was here in the 70′s and it has grown substantially but still seems to be a friendly town. The parking meter guy told me that with Ontario plates, none of the parking times applied to me and he gave me a coupon for some free Rocky Mountain House paraphernalia. That is great. So many towns don’t care about tourists and will ticket anyone who is in contravention of their parking bylaws.  He was was a talker and we chatted long enough that I might have saved a few people from tickets.

Talk soon.

Downtown Rocky Mountain House