5C's Que Pasa

From Rocky Mountain House we traveled to Banff this past Monday. It was mostly smoky but we did get a few  clearer glimpses of the mountains. My post today was to be full of photos and so it will be but not tonight. Of course I also have yesterdays’ adventures to write about. The posts will have to wait.

There are so many fires burning in British Columbia that many are fearful. And so they should be. New fires are cropping up daily. Now there are three or four highways that have been shut down.  We have spent the last two days online following the news.

Tomorrow, Thursday, we leave for home. It is a long drive, longer with two puppies.  We know that we need to do a detour as one of our highways is closed. Another has a fire burning next to the highway but it is still open. Who knows if it will be still be open when we get there.

So I have not had time today to write those posts. Instead we are packed, the car is hooked up and we plan to leave around 7:30AM. We even made a trip to Banff town to fill the Jeep as it only had 1/4 of a tank left. Expensive at 1.429 per litre. Don’t know why we never filled up in Edmonton.  Too busy I guess. We don’t want to travel with an empty tank just in case we have to abandon the RV and drive on. We also have filled the water tank and emptied the back & grey tanks so that if we are forced to stop we will be able to and stay put as long as needed. Best to be prepared.

One community is totally surrounded by fire with no way in and no way out.  They are running out of food for themselves as well as their livestock. Other areas are evacuated or on evacuation alert and need to find places for their animals. Ash and debris are falling and of course the skies are full of smoke. We are told to expect these conditions to last for several more weeks, even months.

We did ask if we could stay here for another few days but there is no space at all.  So we are off in the morning. We think that we will be fine but one never knows with nature, especially fire and wind.

Sunday, July 18th was our 34th wedding anniversary. We were checking out and heading south but first we enjoyed two hours with friends Jan & Paul and their pup Jazz. They were to spend a month visiting us at Holiday Park but cancelled because of the fires. Colin had hooked up the Jeep the night before. We packed up in the morning and then enjoyed our anniversary breakfast thanks to our friends but we kept the tiramisu cake for later in the day. Again I took few photos but Paul who is also a professional photographer took some.

Paul and Ciela. This photo was taken by Colin, the rest by Paul.

Jazz had an accident seven weeks ago that hurt her front leg. She is doing really well and should have her cast off in a few weeks.

Our girls hung out with Jan and cuddled her during the entire visit. They were not interested in playing with Jazz. I think they were dog and peopled out.

Our official anniversary portrait.

Great photo of Ciela.

Adios, we will see you again, hopefully sooner than later. The cake was delicious, thank you again. As you can see we did have some showers.

We were heading south to Rocky Mountain House and the smoke stayed with us. Being a Sunday we saw many many RV’s returning home. So many great places to camp in Alberta.

We stopped for diesel just past Warburg. Great price at 1.19 per litre. In Alberta you can tow two things on wheels behind you.

Our sleeping beauties.

It was a 124 mile/ 200 km drive. Our destination was the Riverview RV Park just outside of Rocky Mountain House, located on the North Saskatchewan River. Carlie missed her Dad when he went inside to check in and was so happy to see him.

The sites are huge as you can see. So much space per rv site. It really is an interesting park.

We saw a few carvings in the trees. Likely more but did not have time to check out the entire campground.

There are some trails but not really along the river.

We let the girls run with their leashes attached in this area. It was easy to contain them. They did need to do some running. It is not easy being on a leash or in a pen all day not to mention for almost two weeks.  The girls miss having our yard to run around in.

Of course they played in the river mud and got dirty as well as the harnesses and leashes. But they had fun, that was most important.

We both thought that we would be happy coming here for at least a week. Lovely place to walk and relax plus explore the area.

We ended the day with a nice dinner and special bottle of Pinot Gris and then the anniversary cake. It was a good day.

It was a very cool morning this past Saturday the 17th. I actually wore capris and long sleeves and a sweater. It had rained a bit overnight and was a cool 56F/13C. Of course it was still smoky with a pure white sky. We had noticed that the previous evening many of the campers were actually having camp fires. Not propane fires but actual wood burning fires in a round metal container. So they were sitting in the smoke making more smoke. The City of Edmonton currently has no camp fire ban 😥

Colin took the Jeep in to the nearby Canadian Tire to get the repaired front driver tire re torqued.  While there he asked them to check the front passenger tire and sure enough the valve stem was leaking and the air was low. So the stem was replaced and now we need to get that tire re torqued as well. The also told Colin that the Jeep was out of alignment that needs to be done when we get back home. We have also decided to get a full set of new Jeep tires before we travel to Mazatlan in the fall ( if we can ).  He also did some grocery shopping and refilled our five gallon water jug.

Meanwhile I did a bit of this and that and once he got back I went to the park laundry area and did one load.

Our long time friends, Jannose & Colin and their only granddaughter, Roslin,  arrived for happy hour around 2:30PM.

Roslin was unsure of the dogs, she has not been around too many. They barked loundly when she arrived so that did not help matters and frightened her a bit. It took a while before she would even touch them. Jannose took this photo.

It wasn’t long before we moved inside because of the cold. I can’t believe that I hardly took any photos. I think that we were so involved in our various conversations that I just sat and enjoyed the moment and the wine!

She was still not too sure about them but did pet one as it napped.

Much happier here. Jannose also took this photo. By the time they all left, after a long health happy hour, Roslin was reluctant to leave. Nice that she is more confident with puppies.

Colin enjoying a much needed nap. It was a long day.

Friday the 16th, Colin thought that he should get all the bugs off the windshield.

The girls thought it was a new game.

We then had a mobile RV tech stop by. Before we left Mazatlan in March of 2020 we had some work done on the toilet.  We had a leaky pedal valve. Turns out the replacement was faulty. Because we had to leave ASAP re Covid we did not get it re repaired. It has become much worse with a constant drip. It was time to spend $356.78 to get a new assembly. We just could not wait to get to the Isla and only pay $70.00 for the repair. The part here was $100.00 plus a huge call out fee of $150.00 plus labour.

Next stop was to see my chiropractor who did checks and some more adjustments. I had for the most part held the Thursday adjustments. This guy is so good for me. I wish we lived in the same city.  I have been to umpteen chiropractors but none can do what he does. I am so thankful that he came into my life – from my masseuse in Mazatlan who used to live in Edmonton. Small world.

Our last stop for the day was a major event. I get tears in my eyes thinking about it. You might recall that when we went to pick up the girls at the end of February, that there were three in the litter. The third pup kept following me around and I began to vacillate if we should take her instead of Carlie. I fell in love with her and Cindy the breeder suggested take three 8-O.  It was a very difficult decision. It has haunted me as to what happened to the third sister. I felt that the triplets should have been together. Eventually I found out that the sister had gone to someone in Edmonton. I reached out to the breeder to get contact information about who had taken the other sister. As we were traveling to Edmonton I had hoped to have a quick meet up. Pauline the mom responded to my email and so began a plan. Carlie and Ciela’s sister was named Sequoia.  I began to tell the girls that they were going to see their sister Sequoia soon.

Sequoia and I on February 23rd.

Friday was the day. Meet the triplets.

We think Sequoia is on the right. I could not tell who was who. I already have trouble with our two, never mind three. Pauline was much better than I at figuring it out – but she is much younger than I am.

Pauline has three young sons. We also had the triplets as well as Sequoia’s older sister, Opal who is 2.5 years of age. Opal also came from the same breeder. Lots of dogs and people.

Born just few hours

Just one day old.

I have no idea who is who.

When we first arrived there was a good deal of barking but that soon subsided and the fun began.  I believe that Sequoia is on top.

This lovely doxie is Opal. She will be three in October. She is a chocolate and tan dapple and so very beautiful.

Holding Ciela and trying to get to get some cuddles with Sequoia.

Sorry Pauline, I never got your permission to put you in the blog.

We both love our girls so very much.

Dinner is served.

Definitely long dogs. They are six months here.

When they first started eating on February 4th, exactly one month old. Look at how much their ears have grown since day one and now at six months, so much longer.

A family affair.

I have had so very much fun writing this blog post.

I want to thank Pauline, her husband and three boys for inviting us into their home. They were so generous with their time. Pauline made us the most delicious dinner ( to die for ) and even made us a homemade rhubarb pie from their own home grown fruit. It was the most perfect evening. My heart was so full to have the three girls together. So happy to know that all three will have wonderful futures. We hope to be able to meet up with Sequoia perhaps once a year, if not more.

News from home. As you can see our garden is almost out of control. As much as we are living this trip, we will be happy to return home and enjoy our garden. The some not so much.

PS **** This is my THIRD post with the past 24 hours.  So if you missed the first two, please go back.

SECOND POST TODAY. Click here for the first.

We were driving by 9AM Thursday, the 15th.  No matter how hard we try we are usually thirty minutes late.

I had been looking for elk for three days and here as were driving away there was an elk at the side of the road. We barely caught a glimpse. It is between the mirror and the steering wheel. Zip, gone, dang!!

Nothing but smoke as we drove east.

The kids were very happy just napping.

We stopped in Edson for diesel fuel which we got at $1.20 per litre at Petro Canada.  Basically that means all the driving we have done since we left Kelowna only cost us $200.00CAD.

Carlie had not completed her business before we left so we stopped and setup the pen for her but she refused to do anything.

They were back asleep about 15 minutes after we left Edson.

Oh so relaxed. Living the good life.

Look at their heads.

We finally got to Spruce Grove, Alberta which is right next to Edmonton, give or take a few miles.

Again the site was not what I had booked on April 2nd but was all could get.  Strange set up with the sewer way at the back of the site.  We had to unhook and back up the RV to dump and then pull forward and set up with electricity. Meanwhile I was doing as best I could setting up the inside. Our drive from Jasper was 216.4 miles. But we were on a tight schedule. We both had a chiropractic appointment at 5:30PM.  I was all prepared with maps as to how to get to that appointment. However there was a long line due to construction and so headed out in the opposite direction and ended up on a gravel country road.  Long story short we ended up in the Nisku area having missed our on ramp to Whitemud Drive. We ended up in the Nisku area. Time to stop and turn around. Not so fun in rush hour traffic.  Fortunately my iPhone has Google Maps ( thanks to my computer guru ) and we only arrived 10 minutes late. I did call to alert them to us being late. I did figure out what had gone wrong and it turned out that we should have gone straight after the country road but there are no signs so I went right as per my printed map.  Anyway we got there and best of all found parking right in front of the office.

Long time readers will remember that I travel to Edmonton once, sometimes twice per year to see my chiropractor. This guy understands the body and has never failed to sort out what ails me.  I usually can go a full year without seeing him.  Colin and I were rear ended back in November 2019 while in the Jeep in Las Vegas. We were of course headed out to Mazatlan. All pre Covid.  There was was no one in Mazatlan that could help me. Then as most of you know I ended up having knee surgery in January for two torn minuscus. Once back in Canada because of Covid I could not seek treatment until mid July of 2020. So I did the chiropractor and massage and medial doctor route. Nothing helped. Finally we were allowed to travel within Canada effective July 1, 2021. Our plan was to see our chiropractor here in Edmonton during this lovely trip we are on. To be honest this trip was planned around seeing Dr. McKenna.

It was so special to see Dr. McKenna again. I had an appointment for May of 2020 but because of Covid I could not fly. Within ten minutes  on Thursday I was feeling much better. One of the major things was that my C2 was catching on my C3 which was causing all my neck issues. He found many other areas which should correct all my issues.  Why oh why did I have to wait so long to get help? I had been seeing both a chiropractor and a masseuse in Kelowna but their treatments only kept me moving but did not address the cause of the problem.

After our treatments we stopped to pick up take out from a favourite restaurant, Chianti on Whyte Avenue.  On the way home we stopped at the off leash dog park attached to our RV park, Diamond Grove RV Park in Spruce Grove, Cpl. Jim Galloway Memorial Off Leash Area, a ten acre area.

After being cooped up for a week the girls loved it. They are used to running around our yard at home and so here they could really run full out and off leash.

Ciela’s way of coping with other dogs is to be totally submissive.

Once back in the RV the girls had their dinner. Carlie was so worn out that she layed down as she ate.

A very long day indeed.  But that was when I discovered my iPhone was missing. I posted about that incident here.

All ended well but so much stress. Just another long day on the road.

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