Kevin's Ramblings…

I’ve decided to try something new in mid-late August. I have a 20 foot 1983 trailer and I’m planning on exploring different parks and campsites in Alberta in August and September. I’ve ordered StarLink internet and the dogs and I are going to try a home away from home.

It’s not a ton of space, but I think I can make it work, I’m going to give it a try anyway. I’m going to have the trailer serviced next week to ensure that the battery, heater, AC and fridge are all in good working order and that all the windows open properly. I also need to ensure that I can have hot water for dishes. I can shower and use the restroom facilities at the campgrounds, that’ll save me having to deal with black water. I think it’ll be a great adventure and my 3 favourite creatures will be with me as well.

I have a portable BBQ to do a majority of my cooking on, I will have coffee to keep me happy and my laptop and portable monitor will allow me to work. I think it might be a great way to explore as well.

I’m aiming for about a month from now, I’ll see how it pans out. Wish me luck on this adventure.

I slept in until 5am on Saturday, not really sleeping in for most people, but it is for me. I got takeout from McDonald’s for everyone, it was quite good. Breakfast is typically the only meal I’ll eat there.

We headed to the airport at 10, early considering their flight wasn’t until 115pm but they didn’t want any delays. I dropped them off and headed to Costco, life continues and so does shopping.

I headed for home and let me tell you, after being on the road for 6 days, it was good to be home. I’m looking forward to returning to work on Monday, I’ll be able to relax a bit.

I’ll next see Bernie and Kim in October when I visit Ontario for a week. I’m looking forward to that trip…

Today was a pretty easy going day. I woke up at stupid o’clock, 1:55am or so and got up. I made copious amounts of coffee and drank quite a bit. I did an early Porch Coffee with my neighbour, at about 430. I made Bernie and Kim homemade egg McMuffins and they were much better than McDonald’s.

We had naps in the morning and didn’t really get going until almost 2pm. We didn’t do any touring around today. We drove to Lethbridge so I could pick up my repaired TV, the led backlight was out so they replaced that. We headed to Calgary and checked into the hotel for the night and made our way to Cross Iron Mills and the nearby Costco for gas. I have a 118L tank and I put in 115L, so I was pretty dry.

We toured around Cross Iron Mills, Sketchers was one stop, we all bought shoes, I bought 2 pairs of jeans at the Levi outlet and a couple of hats at Lids. We both got screen protectors put on our cell phones by Ghost Armor.

It was close to 9pm when the mall closed so the food court was closed, we ate at an amazing Irish Pub, Fionn MacCools, great food and atmosphere.

It’s after 11 and we are back at the hotel. I need to have them at the airport for 1045 tomorrow and their flight leaves at 1. It’s been a great week, but a very tiring week. I’ll be glad to return to work on Monday, I’ll be able to relax a bit.

Yesterday was a travel day. It was a day that we didn’t have a set schedule, but we did have to pick up the dogs by 5pm just East of Cranbrook British Columbia. I had set a target of having breakfast at 630 and knew this was a lofty goal.

My Aunt, being blind has a watch that reads the time to her. My cousin offered to change the time on it so it was in Mountain Time but Bernie said not to bother, that she liked taking two hours off of it. I’m also going to mention that the clock in the hotel room, for some odd reason, was set to Eastern Time as well, I have no idea why.

The events unfolded something like this. My Aunt woke up and pressed her watch to get the time, it says it was 555am. She knew this was late for us to be ready for breakfast at 630, so she woke Kim up in a semi panic. Kim checked the clock in the room and indeed, it concurred that the time was 555… This caused Kim to mini panic as I had stressed that on this particular day, we were on a very tight schedule. Kim then woke me up in a panic with arms flailing that it was 555 in the morning.

I’m one of those annoying people that wakes up at 💯, unsure why, but I am. I am also one of those people who’s internal clock is bang on and rarely, if ever, fails me. I knew that it couldn’t possibly be 555…

I grabbed my cell phone and confirmed that it was 355 in the morning, a full 1 to 1.5 hours before I needed to wake up. I stopped the panic in the room after revealing this information… In hindsight, it was sort of funny although at the time, who wants to be waken so early. Bernie thought she was trying to save the day. Kim was full of adrenaline and was up and about and I was awake and unlikely to get back to sleep.

We did make it to breakfast at 630, as scheduled. We sort of thought it would be a quiet breakfast with just us in the restaurant but that’s not how it played out. There were several tour groups that apparently had early starts to their days and the restaurant was full, so it was a busy breakfast. We ate and then packed up the room and were off, on schedule, almost unbelievable.

Our first destination on the road was a very quick stop at Moraine Lake (right near Lake Louise) to get a picture of Bernie and Kim in front of a bear, we also used this time as a bathroom break although I could not bear to use the washrooms, Parks Canada really needs to hire people to keep the washrooms clean, wow… We continued our Southern journey towards Fort Steele, BC to get me dogs and only arrived a few minutes behind schedule. We all got home shortly after 5pm. Dinner was supposed to be BBQ steak and roasted potatoes, but I was no longer in the cooking mood, so we ordered pizza from Crowsnest Pass Pizza, everyone enjoyed it.

We had a quiet evening watching the first half of Crocodile Dundee and having some alcoholic milkshakes. We all hit bed early, around 930, hence why I’m awake and writing a blog post at 230 in the morning.

The plans for today have changed somewhat… We were going to go to Drumheller and tour about, but it’s supposed to be very hot (for Alberta anyway) with a high of 33C. So instead, I think we are touring the Frank Slide exhibit in Frank Alberta then heading to Calgary and going to Cross Iron Mills, they want to visit the Sketchers outlet. We are staying in Calgary tonight followed by breakfast tomorrow at Denny’s then a drop-off at the airport for 11am for their 1pm flight.

It’s been a great week, but a tiring week, to be sure. I’ll have Sunday to recover before returning to work on Monday. I’m looking forward to getting back to a normal routine and I’m sure that the dogs will say the same. I’ve gotten to know Bernie and Kim a lot better and I’m looking forward to them hosting me in October and November when I visit Ontario. I hope they’ve enjoyed themselves here, I know I have, it was a great week.

Yesterday was a much bigger leisurely day. We didn’t have any set agenda and we were able to relax quite a bit. We went for breakfast in the hotel, it was a breakfast buffet.

We got going around 1 in the afternoon and headed out towards Jasper SkyTrain. This is a ride up the mountain, 1.4km to the top of one of the local mountains.

We talked my Aunt into going, sure figured her fear of heights could be overcome. You needed to purchase tickets and the soonest they had were 350pm, about 2.5 hours away. The pace of the trip allowed us to sit and have a coffee, although I think that the original plan was to go back into town, that didn’t materialize. We visited the gift shop and made some purchases. I got my third hoodie of the trip, I have a bit of a fetish for hoodies, I’ll probably get one more, tomorrow in Drumheller.

At any rate, we sat, had coffee, I had an ice cream and we didn’t end up making it back into town. The ride up the mountain was great, it took about 7 minutes. The views were spectacular.

We were at the top for about an hour in total. There was a summit that we could have hiked to, but given the time constraints and the fact that I’m out of shape, I decided against it. The ride down the mountain was uneventful, no cables snapped and there was no plummeting to the ground below.

We got back to the hotel and moved rooms and headed for dinner. We were back to Evil Dave’s and bison meatloaf was on the menu for dinner. It was quite good, I’m glad that I tried it. My cousin and I talked until about 1130 before going to sleep and I’m up bright and early. Today we are picking up my dogs just east of Cranbrook British Columbia and then heading home to Coleman. I’m hoping to get home around 4pm and I’m cooking dinner tonight.

Tomorrow, we’ll head to Drumheller and spend the night in Calgary, my Aunt and cousin are returning to Toronto on Saturday afternoon. I’ll have one day to recover from my week off before returning to work on Monday. It’s been a great week off, but, I always enjoy returning to my regular routine.

We started the day in Calgary yesterday, it was a leisurely day, we didn’t leave the hotel room until after 9am, we headed to Denny’s for breakfast. I had one of theirhere sizzling skillets, it was quite good.

We headed out towards Lake Louise at around 1030. The drive to Lake Louise was nice. There was a definite lack of parking and not a lack of people. Because my aunt is in a wheelchair, we were able to get a handicap sticker which allowed us access to both Lake Louise access and Moraine Lake access as well. The water colour was beautiful, pictures didn’t do it justice.

The drive up to Moraine Lake took a good 10 minutes, almost all uphill

Both were beautiful, I didn’t stick a hand or foot in, but I’m guessing that the water was pretty cold.

We heading North along Highway 93 towards Jasper mid afternoon. We stopped at the Icefield along the way, as well as several different lookout points.

There are spectacular views everywhere, this was definitely the most beautiful and scenic drive I’ve ever been on.

We didn’t get to Jasper until after 8 last night, so it was a long day. We ate a late dinner at a place called Evil Dave’s, amazing food. We talked about the itinerary for today, but didn’t make any definite plans. We are here again tonight, heading back towards Crowsnest Pass tomorrow via BC to retrieve my dogs. We’ll be back in The Pass by dinner time and I plan on making steak for dinner.

More to come today, I hope you’re enjoying the ride.

We had a relatively early start yesterday, although not as early as I had hoped. We left my place an hour late to bring the dogs to boarding. We packed into the truck, literally, my cousin was in the back seat with 3 large dogs. The kennel where I board them is 1.5 hours to the West, just this side of Cranbrook, British Columbia.

We dropped them off and headed North towards Banff Alberta. I guess I’m not used to travelling with a senior citizen, we made stops often and because my aunt requires a walker and assistance getting out of the truck, it slows us down. A slower pace is good though, sometimes a slower pace is a good thing.

We stopped for lunch at a smokehouse on highway 93, excellent food and I was very hungry. I posted that we were making awful time, but really, we aren’t on a schedule. We got into Banff and parked illegally in residential parking. We toured the downtown area and did some shopping. Banff is a beautiful little town, a little too touristy for my tastes. The mountain views are beautiful, as nice, or nicer than where I live (Coleman Alberta) but a lot of people.

We headed to Calgary for the night and had a nice dinner at Denny’s. We were all exhausted, both from a long day of travel and from a lack of sleep. My cousin is rather jealous that I fall asleep so quickly, and last night insomnia left me, I slept nearly 7 hours. I feel quite refreshed this morning.

We changed plans for today. We were going to use Calgary as a base of operations since hotels were so much less expensive. Notes we’ll spend an extra night in Jasper to cut down on driving. We’ll head there via Lake Louise. Thursday will be a travel day as we return to pick up the dogs. On Friday, we’ll tour the Frank Slide Interpretive Center and learn about the deadliest rock slide in Canadian history.

Despite any challenges we are having, it’s fun spending time with family. I think though that I may need a vacation from my vacation.

Yesterday started at about 230am, an early start to be sure. I had plenty to do before heading out and my cleaning lady was scheduled to come at 9am.

The dogs were outside and I noticed that Hera was on the sidewalk, oops, the gate was left open. Hera wasn’t a problem, but Twix was nowhere to be found. We were about to go looking for her when she reappeared. I guess she needed some adventure. Blondie, being the ever good girl, was standing inside the open gate, as she was supposed to do since I hadn’t given permission to venture into the open world. Well, at least Twix was ok.

I did a quick clean of the inside of the truck to remove dog hair, that’s pretty well the only downside of having dogs, their fur doesn’t stick to them. I brought Hera with me for the weekend, she was excited to go somewhere with just me, Blondie and Twix weren’t happy that I was leaving without them.

We ventured to Calgary, I was meeting with a friend that I’ve had since grade 2, a long time to be sure. He and his family were staying right near the Stampede, I was stopped by Calgary Police for a roadside breath test. At 130 in the afternoon, I blew a 0, probably a good thing. We ventured out to a casino so I could make a sale of my Nespresso that I did not like at all. We went to Peter’s Drive In and had milkshakes and Hera had a small ice cream. We also did a short walk at Nose Hill Park.

Off to the airport to pick up my Aunt and Cousin, we wandered around while waiting for the flight to arrive, Hera made some friends and some people asked if they could pat her. We heading to Edmonton for the night, and stopped in Olds, Alberta for dinner at Mr Mikes. Excellent food and we started on the patio where Hera was welcome, but it started to rain so we had to go inside. Dessert was sticky toffee pudding, absolutely amazing. We got to the hotel around 1030 and headed to bed around 1130.

My Aunt and Cousin were rather jealous that I fell asleep instantly. I slept well, considering I’m not currently sleeping much, but I got a solid 4.5 hours. I did a bit of work this morning and had really good coffee for a hotel. We are heading out for brunch with my brother and his family at 1030 and then spending some time at the West Edmonton Mall.

We are returning to Crowsnest Pass this afternoon/evening, so that’ll be a 5 hour drive. They’ll meet my other 2 dogs and tomorrow morning, well drop the dogs off at boarding until Thursday and we’ll head to Banff.

It’ll be a busy week, but I’m sure a lot of fun.

Yesterday, I started rather early at work. I have had periods of insomnia for years now, I’d guess at least 25, probably more. For a stint of about 6 months, I tend to sleep only about 4 hours a night, then I’ll sleep properly for up to 18 months… It’s annoying, but I’m used to it now.

Anyway, on Thursday night I went to bed shortly after 9pm and I woke up 4 hours later at 123am… Yeah, great nights sleep. I tended to the dogs, made coffee and what not and at 225am I decided that I might as well work. I got more done in 4 hours (before people came in) than I normally do in an 8 hour day. Don’t get me wrong, I love the people who report to me, but they do ask me a lot of questions, I guess it’s good that I can answer most of them. I digress.

I worked until 330pm and didn’t take a lunch, had 1:1 meetings with me staff all day, got a fair amount done before my holidays started. My Aunt and cousin will be on a fight this afternoon and I’ll pick them up shortly before 5pm. We are heading to Edmonton tonight and will hit up the West Edmonton Mall tomorrow. My cousin has arranged to have brunch with my brother and possibly other members of his family. I haven’t seen them since my sister passed 4 years ago.

We’ll return to the Pass on Sunday evening and will continue the Tour of Alberta Monday morning. I’m looking forward to the week, it should be fantastic.

I was supposed to be on vacation for most of this week. On Monday afternoon, I received a call from my cousin asking if I could take next week off to host her and my aunt for a week.

My aunt is 93 and has always been one of my favourite relatives. She broke her hip when she was 91, something that often spells the beginning of the end for older people. My aunt powered though it and is walking again. I will add that my aunt also had limited vision, she sees shapes but nothing clearly any longer. She is also deaf, but hearing aids allow her to hear and have conversations.

These issues would sideline most people, or at the very least slow them down. My aunt powers through and rarely, if ever, complains. She’s quite the inspiration.

We had a scare over her health lately, doctors found a lump in her lung. She went for many biopsies and the results were inconclusive. She recently went to Princess Margaret Hospital, Canada’s leading cancer center.

On Monday, they confirmed what we had hoped wouldn’t be confirmed, cancer. They are hopeful that radiation will be successful and if anyone can beat this, it’s my aunt.

Back to the phone call on Monday from my cousin. She acts as the primary care giver for my aunt, helping her through the day to day stresses of life. I explained that I was already off and that I couldn’t possibly be off next week as well.

Bernie, my aunt, wants to see certain sites in Alberta before her vision is completely impaired. She’s never been to Alberta but has always wanted to see Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and the West Edmonton Mall. As I’ve said, Bernie has been my favorite relative for ages and I’ll literally do anything for her, go to the ends of the earth, or at least the ends of Alberta. I contacted my boss and decided that I’d return to work on Tuesday and take next week off instead.

Kim (my cousin) arranged a flight to Calgary from Toronto. I arranged to be off, I had to juggle some additional days. Basically, I’ll have to work on a few stat holidays and bank my time as opposed to being paid out. I arranged for my dogs to go into boarding Monday through Thursday (that’s an they were available for) and for my cleaning lady to look after them the other days. I’ll be picking up my aunt and cousin on Saturday afternoon from the Calgary airport and we’ll start our Tour of Alberta in Edmonton and the West Edmonton Mall. From there, we’ll head south and spend a night at my house in Crowsnest Pass.

Monday morning, we’ll head out, bright and early (my aunt is definitely NOT an early riser) and drop the dogs off at boarding and continue north to Banff Alberta.

It’s high tourist season and Banff is incredibly expensive, so we are staying in Calgary instead. Tuesday, we’ll tour Lake Louise and Wednesday, we’ll head to Jasper overnight. Back to Crowsnest Pass for Thursday evening and then Vulcan and Drumheller on Friday, returning to Calgary Friday night for one more night. I’ll return them to the airport on Saturday afternoon and then head back home to recover on Sunday before going back to work on Monday morning.

All in all, I’m expecting to drive about 4000km in the week and see many sites that I haven’t experienced in the 11 years that I’ve been in Alberta. I’ll be happy to be their guide and personal driver. I hope that Bernie has the time of her life. I’m sure that Kim and I will add well.

I do plan on blogging about our adventures here and I’ll also post many pictures. Be sure to follow along.