Kevin's Ramblings…

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.

I wrote yesterday a fairly negative rambling about Blondie and her health. After her vet appointment, I’m very relieved that she has arthritis in her hips, very common for a dog her age and anti inflammatory and pain meds will take care of that, more or less and she’ll get back most of her mobility. That was the best news I could have gotten. She also has a touch of dog dementia, that’s causing some disorientation, but again, she’s 12, definitely my senior girl.

I went to my backup vet in Pincher Creek as my regular vet in Calgary is off for the month of July, I say good for him, he’s an excellent vet and deserves some time off. The vet we saw yesterday was very good. She’s relatively young but I liked her, almost immediately. We were in there for well over and hour and a half, and including a month of medication, my bill was only just over $200, very reasonable. Blondie has all of her shots now and is all up to date. When we go to our regular vet in September for yearly checkups, Blondie can just come along for the ride.

I’m a pessimist by nature and I guess I was preparing myself for the worst. I’m very happy that Blondie’s prognosis is positive and I’m hoping she’ll be with us for many years to come. All in all, it was an excellent day.

It’s been a busy few weeks at work. I’ve been working a lot of OT and haven’t had a full day off since early June, but I’m really enjoying it. I’m busy every day, the days absolutely zoom by. I’ve been started early since I’m waking up around 4am, so I typically get in around 6am, an hour early. Then, at the end of the day, I’m working late. The pay cheques are nice, although it’s disheartening to see the amount of tax that comes off.

Today I have an appointment all day and then next week some time off, so I’m not back until Thursday morning. It’ll be a busy few days with lots planned including some day road trips, otherwise it’s more or less a staycation.

Blondie has a vet appointment to get her checked out. She’s 12 now and really showing her age. She’s slowed down quite a lot, can’t jump into or out of the truck, mind you, I’d lift her in and out forever with no complaints. Based on what I saw with Zeus, I think she’s got the starting symptoms of Cushing’s Disease. She’ll get a blood test and we’ll find out in a week or so. I don’t think she’s in any pain, but I’m watching her pretty closely. She’s still a pretty happy girl, so that’s good, but she’s not enjoying her normal activities. We went out to Emerald Lake on Wednesday and she refused to get out of the truck. She’s becoming more stubborn by the day, Twix is no longer my stubborn dog…

I’m not sure how much time she has left, but I’m going to ensure she enjoys whatever time she has. She’s been with me over 12 years now and hasad been Hera’s best friend for almost 8 years. In fact, Hera’s adoption anniversary is coming up pretty soon.

Tomorrow I’ll go and tackle cleaning my trailer for the season, I haven’t been in it yet this year, so I hope the mice didn’t get in. Heading out kayaking on Sunday and then off to Calgary on Tuesday. It’ll be a bit busy, but a nice change from work, to be sure, a chance to reenergize.

Enjoy your weekend, hopefully there will be some great summer weather, wherever you’re reading from.

Lately, I’m sort of tired of the condition of the inside of my truck due, for the most part, to my 3 awesome dogs, Blondie, Hera and Twix.

Now, don’t get me wrong, they are my 3 favourite creatures on the planet and really are my family. The issue is, they are all covered in fur and Hera (my Shepherd) drools when her head is out the window as if she’s a Saint Bernard. So, the back seat area of the truck is a mess of fur and dried drool.

To combat this, I decided to look for a cap for my truck and the dogs would occupy the back and I would get the truck detailed. I found a cap and went to pick it up in Pincher Creek on Friday. It’s in good shape and was a decent price, the only downside is that it’s red and my truck is blue. I can’t have a red cap on a blue truck, it won’t work for me. Now, two of my dogs would have an issue jumping into the back of the truck, so I looked in Facebook Marketplace and found a ramp for a good price. On Sunday, I decided to go pick it up.

The town I had to go to was south of Lethbridge and I could incorporate a trip to Costco into the day. I figured I’d bring the dogs and go to one of many excellent dog parks in Lethbridge on the way home.

Blondie is getting up there in ages, she turned 12 back in March. One of the issues she’s having as she gets older is with pooping. I make sure that when she goes out, that she poops. There’s been a few times where she goes outside, is out for 10 minutes and then when she comes in, she poops on the kitchen floor, not an ideal situation. I’m unsure if she’s losing it or what. I combat this with ensuring she does her business outside and the inside poops have stopped.

Before we left for Lethbridge, Blondie pooped so I figured all was well. We drove to McGrath to pick up the dog ramp. When I arrived, there was no answer at the door, that was the start to a bad day. We continued to Lethbridge and Costco and got there about 30 minutes later. At this point, the dogs have been in the truck for about 2.5 hours.

I left the truck running with the AC on high. I was in Costco and Costco liquor for no more than 30 minutes at the absolute longest and probably closer to 25. I got back to the truck and Hera and Twix were in the back seat with their heads out the back drivers side window, not unusual. Blondie though was in the driver’s seat, something she never does, so I was surprised.

When I got to the truck and went around to the passenger back door, I saw why. Blondie had pooped all over the floor and someone had also stepped in it and ground poop into the carpet. How wonderful.

Now, remember, I’m in Lethbridge and have nothing with me in the way of cleaning supplies. I do have poop bags and Kleenex at least. I pick up the poop and scrape as much as I can from the carpets, what a wonderful experience.

I go around to the driver’s door to get Blondie to go back to the passenger seats. She won’t get up… Sigh… One of the other things she’s doing as she gets older is she’s becoming rather stubborn, taking after me, I’d suppose. I need to get her out of the driver’s seat though so I figure I’ll have to pick her up and put her in the ground. Picking up a 70lb dog from a laying position isn’t the easiest task, although it’s easier than it would have been if she was in the ground.

I pick her up and put her down and now discover why she didn’t move. She’s tracked shit from her paws and my driver’s seat is covered in poop, so is the back of my hand since I had to pick her up .

I’m not mad at Blondie during this, I’m disgusted by the situation, but I think I’m justified in that. I’m wondering what am I going to clean this up with? Well, I have Kleenex and water for the dogs to drink. I do my best and get the shit off of the back of my hand, the hand, as you can probably imagine, smells absolutely horrible. I also have another issue, there’s poop all over the seat.

Being in the Costco parking lot, I looked and there was a box in the area where people put their carts back. I break it down and use it on the seat so I’m not sitting in poop. We drive to a pet store near Costco where I buy some pet stain and odour remover. They don’t have paper towels of course, so that’s another stop. Luckily, they let me use their bathroom and I scrub my hand with the hottest water I can stand and more soap that I normally use in a week. After 4 turns, my hand no longer stinks…

We drive to a Dollar Store, with the windows rolled down, of course, and the AC blasting as it’s 31 Celsius in Lethbridge. I decided that although Blondie is probably empty, the other dogs probably need a bathroom break and we head to a great dog park in Lethbridge on Scenic Drive. Good thing I stopped there as well because as soon as Hera got out and ran a bit, she had one of the biggest poops of her life. That would have destroyed the truck.

During the walk, the dogs made 2 dog friends which is rare for Hera as she’s normally very picky about her dog friends but that was a highlight to an otherwise shitty day. After the walk, I spent 20 minutes cleaning up the remaining poop. The spray I bought was worth the $35 I spent on it. Now the seat was just wet with the spray. We drive home, 150km with the windows down, it wasn’t too bad, all in all…

So, that was my shitty Sunday. Quite the ending to an otherwise good weekend. I’m getting the truck detailed, this was decided before this incident and I’m glad I had already arranged it. I think the dogs will be much happier in the back, the truck will be hair and, hopefully, poop free.

I got back from my trip to the US in Tuesday by around 11am. It was clear sailing until we got to about Sparwood. British Columbia, just 15km west of the Alberta border. That’s where it started getting smokey.

As Tuesday rolled on, it got worse and worse. There are dozens of wildfires burning out of control in northern Alberta and a thick blanket of smoke covered the province. It’s much better today, the smoke is almost clear for us, but it’s undoubtedly moved elsewhere. Fire season typically doesn’t start until late July or August, so we are months early this year, could be a bad forest fire season.

I was back to work for 3 days, and now it’s a 3-day weekend – not a bad deal. No plans for the long weekend really, taking it easy.

I purchased a new phone, Google Pixel 7a, it’ll arrive on Tuesday. I didn’t really need it, my current phone the Pixel 5a is still in perfect condition, but I guess I figured it was time for an upgrade. The Pixel 5a will become my backup phone, with all the multi factor authentication, I can’t be without a phone if something happened to my primary phone.

No other vacation time until July when I have a few days off. My aunt and cousin are remotely thinking of visiting Alberta, so that would be cool. I’ll be heading to Ontario in October, so I’m looking forward to that.

Enjoy your weekend and if you’re Canadian, enjoy Victoria Day.