Tuesday 30 April 2019

Alighting Experience

Now with a title like that, you just had to peek to see what this post was going to be about right?  Well when you write blogs lots, sometimes you just have to have a different sense of humour.  Our kids normally give me the "Oh Dad" when I come up with a super silly saying.  This would be one of those times that they should say it.  Anyway we were in Red Deer today and stopped at Marks Work Wearhouse.  Gord and I were just fooling around and we got to trying on hats.  This one was rather neat with some LED lights under the brim.  Great  for working in those tight spots.  Thus the lighting experience!!  I know, I can hear the boo's.....

Monday 29 April 2019

Girls go shopping, I Work

A really boring Blog day today.  The girls all headed to Red Deer to shop and I stayed home at the Ponderosa to work.  We are trying to get all our safety stuff in place before the busy gravel crushing season begins.  Although all the paper work involved in the safety program is a royal pain,  it has to be done for a couple reasons.  First is so that the guys work safe and go home to their families every night, and secondly so that the company shows its due diligence in training the guys to work safely so that they will not be subject to costly legal proceedings if they are deemed negligent in an incident.  Tanis and I have been working at this for a long time now and we can now see a small light at the end of the tunnel.  Good work Tanis.

Sunday 28 April 2019

Keto, Ketones, Ketosis

WHERE ARE WE?           Bentley Alberta, CANADA eh!     

NEXT DESTINATION?    Rivers Provincial Park, Rivers Manitoba in a few days

For quite a while now Sue has been following the Keto program, not so much to lose weight, but rather to get her blood sugars in line.   The program or diet has been good for her and at one point she didn't need her medication.  It's always tough to do these diets because there is always something that you have to sacrifice to make it work.  Sugar is the one that seems to hold our family hostage.  So before we came to Alberta, we decided to do some restrictions on sugar.  We have been successful so far and I am even starting to like my coffee without sugar.   Our daughter Sheri has been dabbling in the Keto thing for a while and now she has joined up to sell the Ketone stuff online.  They have lots of stuff to help with the program and Sheri would be more than happy to explain it all to you.  She will give you the information with no obligation to buy anything.  Check her out on Facebook or go to her Web Site. The Ketone drinks are quite good!  It doesn't matter what part of the world you live in, she can set you up with whatever you need.

Saturday 27 April 2019

Winter!! Yuck!!

WHERE ARE WE?           Bentley Alberta, CANADA eh!     
NEXT DESTINATION?    Rivers Provincial Park, Rivers Manitoba in a few days

Every year the same thing seems to happen to us.  We come to Alberta to visit each spring and the weather is almost summer like for a long time before we get here, but after we arrive there is always a dramatic change!   We are getting to the point where we are not even welcome back in Canada because it seems we have some influence on the weather.   Our Alberta friends are begging us to head to Manitoba, and our Manitoba friends are urging us to stay away!!  Such love!. We headed over to Rick and Leanne's for coffee this morning and this was what met us outside the door.

Friday 26 April 2019

Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits!

WHERE ARE WE?           Bentley Alberta, CANADA eh!     


NEXT DESTINATION?    Rivers Provincial Park, Rivers Manitoba in a few days.

Today was crazy hair day for the kids at school.  There were lots of great ideas what to do for hair styles last night but in the morning when the alarm goes an hour early, those super doooo's don't seem that appealing any more.   These guys however did a great job and every one of them headed to school with some strange hair do.  Donovan who is in grade 9 told me later that he was the only one in his class that did anything with his hair.  I think it is sad that most of the others didn't want to participate in a school function.  It sure takes the fun out of life.

Thursday 25 April 2019

Family is Worth the Drive



WHERE ARE WE?           Bentley Alberta, CANADA eh!     

NEXT DESTINATION?    Rivers Provincial Park, Rivers Manitoba in 10 days or so.

Back when we were in Florida in February and March, we were planning our trip home in April.  The original plan involved going to Magnolia Beach and then heading straight north like our friends Pat and Harold did which would have been 2600 kilometers.  Well there are a few things in life that will change those plans, and this face can make us travel 4800 kilometers instead to enjoy a visit with our daughter Sheri and Gord and the grandkids, as well as our daughter Karalee here in Alberta.  There is a lot of power in those eyes!!

Wednesday 24 April 2019

A Little Bit of Christmas


WHERE ARE WE?           Bentley Alberta, CANADA eh!     


NEXT DESTINATION?    Rivers Provincial Park, Rivers Manitoba in 10 days or so.

Today we saw a little taste of Winter for a few minutes.  It was not that cold but it did snow for a while.  All of our friends have been texting us to try to convince us to stay away, because everywhere we go it seems to snow.  We assure you that we do not want to see snow any more than you do.


Tuesday 23 April 2019

We are at the Kids in Alberta

WHERE ARE WE?           Bentley Alberta, CANADA eh!     

NEXT DESTINATION?    Rivers Provincial Park, Rivers Manitoba in 10 days or so.

This morning we were up early and on the road because today is the day that we consider ourselves home.  Home is where you are with family and on familiar ground and although Manitoba is our summer destination, we still consider being in Alberta with Gord and Sheri and all the kids, HOME!  We had no problems at the border and again we were only there for about 3 minutes.  Most of the questions were the standard ones like how long we have been in the states and where is our home, but he did ask a weird question today that made me think for a minute.  He asked me "Have you ever had problems with immigration?"  Now if you were asked that, what would you think before you answered?  Well I paused for a second and then answered "Not that I am aware of!"  He immediately asked me "Are you sure?"  Well now I am wondering what I may have missed but I had to answer, "Yes I am sure".   He handed me our passports and with a little grin said "Have a nice day".  The questions they ask are for a reason, and are asked just to see your reaction.   I think they can tell from your reaction to those questions whether you are trying to cover up anything.  Anyhow we made it back into Canada and were glad to see the Alberta sign.

Monday 22 April 2019

A Longer Day than Planned

WHERE ARE WE?           Great Falls, Montana      
NEXT DESTINATION?    Bentley Alberta

Originally we had planned on travelling about 400 or so km's today from Casper WY to Billings MT.  Things went good today and we were in Billings by about 3pm so we decided to push on. Great Falls MT. was doable so off we went.  It was a big day but the closer we get to our destination, the more the adrenalin pushes us on.  799 kilometers today by the time we pulled into the Walmart.
'

Sunday 21 April 2019

Time to Move On

WHERE ARE WE?           Casper Wyoming      
NEXT DESTINATION?    Billings Montana

After an awesome breakfast with the Darby's we headed out on a little walk to check out the owls nest that Sue and Emily found.  It seems there are at least two baby owls in the nest and we confirmed that it is a Great Horned Owl!   It is neat to see them so close to their house.

Saturday 20 April 2019

A Fun Day with Darby's

WHERE ARE WE?           Fort Collins, Colorado      

NEXT DESTINATION?    Casper Wyoming

We are spending the day with our friends the Darby's.  Their daughter Nicole is playing in a tennis tournament in Windsor and today she is playing in the final.  Unfortunately they lost but we did enjoy watching them.  Neither Sue or I know anything about tennis, so it took a while for us to figure out how the scoring worked.   We enjoyed watching the girls put their all into the game.

Friday 19 April 2019

Visiting the Darby's

WHERE ARE WE?           Fort Collins, Colorado      


NEXT DESTINATION?    Casper Wyoming

One of the things that we have enjoyed about our Nomadic lifestyle, is the people we have met along the way, and how they have touched our lives in many different ways.  Today we are going to stop and visit with a family who have become near and dear to us after meeting them a few years ago.  The Darby's spent a year on the road in an RV with their 5 kids and we met them on BLM land near Cottonwood AZ back in 2016.   We will never forget that meeting and we have made a point of stopping to visit them here in Colorado whenever we can.  They have sold the RV and now live on a lovely acreage at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

Now we love to do crazy things and today was no exception.  Most Rv'ers will go out of their way to avoid heavy traffic and we do that sometimes too.   But today was one of the days when we thought we would hit is head on.  Lets head right through the heart of Denver on a Friday, oh yes Good Friday, and lets throw in a little rush hour as well!!!  It will be fun they said!!!   Well needless to say it took us about 2 hours to get through Denver in stop and go traffic.  We had fun watching all the cars around us, the impatient ones, the ones on the cell phones, the ones moving to the music, and the odd one with a book.  It is really interesting if you take the time to study people in these situations.

Thursday 18 April 2019

Illegal Aliens?

WHERE ARE WE?            Las Vegas, New Mexico     

NEXT DESTINATION?     Fort Collins, Colorado

Today we knock another one off the bucket list.  We stayed in Carlsbad last night at the Walmart and decided that we would leave the Caverns until another trip.  I know the saying says "Don't put off until tomorrow, what you can do today!"  But we may need something to do another time if we ever come this way again.  Now Roswell has never been high on our bucket list, but you do have to see it sometime in your life.  It is one of those soul searching places where you have to really question whether you wish to entertain the information provided, or just use it for entertainment.  I smiled a lot the whole day.  This is where we travelled today which included the stop in Roswell..

Wednesday 17 April 2019

A Windy Day on the Road



WHERE ARE WE?            Carlsbad, New Mexico     
NEXT DESTINATION?    Las Vegas NM

Last night was a night that was hard to sleep because of the heat.  It only got down to 27C last night and was still quite humid.  It was a toss and turn night.  We started out the day by taking Charlie for a walk.  The Casino has a large fence around it with barbed wire on the top and I'm not sure if its to keep people in or people out!!  The Rio Grand river is right there and Mexico is on the far bank.  Anyhow there is an opening in the fence with no gate so you can walk in and out at will so thats what Charlie and I did.  Walked in and out at will.  There was some grass for him to do his business on the other side.

Tuesday 16 April 2019

The Long Road Home Continues



WHERE ARE WE?            Kickapoo Casino, Eagle Pass, Texas     

NEXT DESTINATION?     Carlsbad, New Mexico

We got up and got all the chores done around the Ponderosa in anticipation of leaving Magnolia Beach.  We have made some good friends here and look forward to stopping here every chance we get.   I stopped by the food truck and grabbed a breakfast burrito for $2.50 and we chatted for a while with the owner Trey and his wife Shannon.  They are good people and we wish them well in their business on the beach.  Sue made a wider area up front for Charlie to lay on and he seems to like it.  We left Magnolia in the dust and after dumping and taking on water in Port Lavaca, we headed west!

Monday 15 April 2019

And Then There Were None

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas till tomorrow      
NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas maybe

Today was Micheal and Sandra's day to leave.  We have enjoyed their company for the last few days and had some nice bonfires with them.   They have done a lot of things in their lives and we love hearing all about them.  They love the nomadic lifestyle and just keep on having adventures.  We wish them safe travels and good scenery.  They are heading east and want to keep camping on the beach as much as possible.

Sunday 14 April 2019

A Mexican Squealer

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another day          


NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas maybe

Remember we did the beach clean up yesterday!  Well you kinda wonder why you even bother.  The county cleans the bathrooms every second day and this was not the day but look at the mess some one had made in the bathroom.   Obviously some alcohol and maybe some tacos with really hot sauce caught up to some partier.  They cleaned out the toilet paper and then left their pants hanging over the garbage can.   They must have been really ticked about it because they smashed beer bottles all over the cement outside the door.   We just marvel at some of the inconsiderate behaviours that prevail here.  The county is trying to fix some of the problem by putting maximum stay lengths on camping, but I think they would be better served getting more patrols to check on the rif raf doing these sorts of things.


Saturday 13 April 2019

Beach Clean Up!

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another 2 days            

NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas maybe

Today was beach clean day at Magnolia Beach.  There were a lot of people showed up to help keep the beach clean.  I must admit that the winter Texans do a great job of cleaning up here while they walk the beach every day.  We have noticed that a lot of day users are the ones that leave the small garbage behind.  Beer bottles, cans and even diapers are common after a weekend.  Anyway we all met and were given bags and Sandra and I teamed up to do our part.

Friday 12 April 2019

Another One Bites the Dust

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another 4 days           


NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas maybe

Deb and Jerry are leaving this morning to head back east and north.  Debs father needs her to be with him so they will be heading north to somewhere around Delaware.  We hope they have safe travels and that the winds will be behind them.

Thursday 11 April 2019

Lets Try that Again

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another 4 days           


NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas

We were all up early again to say goodbye to the first of our group who are heading back to Canada.  We all met for coffee again about 8:30 and this time they confirmed that today was the day to move out.  Ed and Lessie will be leaving soon after because they are heading up to Sugarland near Houston to spend some time with his brother.  It was another gorgeous morning.

Wednesday 10 April 2019

Sitting on the Beach

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another few days           


NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas

We were all up early this morning to say goodbye to a couple of our clan.  John and Val and Pat and Harold were to head out on their migration north today so we all gathered for coffee about 8:30.  After looking at the weather carefully, they had determined that the big storm that is hitting the Dakotas will not be finished by the time they get there, if they leave today.  So they informed us at coffee that they will be staying one more day.  So we just sat and chatted and enjoyed the lovely sunshine.

Tuesday 9 April 2019

People are So Nice to Us!!

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another week or so            

NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas

Our friends Sandra and Micheal remembered us talking about how we make one cup of coffee at a time and I guess they felt sorry for us because Sandra brought over a neat coffee press for us to try and keep if we like it.  It holds a couple cups of coffee at a time and is so simple to use.  You just spoon coffee ground in, add boiling water and put this plunger in and press it down.  It takes all the grounds to the bottom and traps them and makes nice tasting coffee as it does it.  I think we will like this rig.   Thanks so much for giving it to us.

Monday 8 April 2019

Reunion with Old Friends

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another week or so            

NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas

Gerry and I started out the morning with a quiet coffee on the beach.  A couple ships and barges floated by us as we sat there chatting.  We are loving our time at the beach.

Sunday 7 April 2019

The Beach Greeter!

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another week or so            

NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas

They told us that we were going to have a quick storm this morning and I think they were right.  The big storm front appeared in the west and we watched it closely.  They have had a few tornados just north of us lately, so you never know what might develop.

Saturday 6 April 2019

What is That? Yuck!!

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another week or so            

NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas

Charlie and I were out on the beach for a walk this morning and there was a bunch of things on the beach that looked like dog poop at first glance.  Upon further inspection it was clear it was not anything like that but rather a bunch of water filled pods all stuck together.  After putting it out there on Facebook the general consensus is that it is Sea Grapes or Sea Squirt.  If you poke it with a knife it does squirt water out.  Some smart ass even suggested that it is Canuck scat!!  Not everyone here likes us snowbirds.

Friday 5 April 2019

Maognolia Beach Friends

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another week or so            

NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas

We are getting used to hanging out on the beach with all our friends.  Some of our friends live in Magnolia Beach and we have got to know them over the past 3 years we have been here.  One set of friends are Randy and Susan and of course their dog Champ.  Today we were invited to their house to enjoy some southern Texas seafood caught fresh by Randy.  When we arrived, he was in the garage with his big wok full of oil and some funny looking things in it.  They were trout cheeks, and he makes them so that both of the side fins are still attached which work like handles for eating them.  Boy were they ever good!!

Thursday 4 April 2019

We Found Edgar!!

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another week or so            
NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas

One of the fun things that happen around Magnolia Beach is that they have a  mannequin that stands by a pole in town and people dress him up in line with whatever is the occasion of the day.  He is on a back street in town and sometimes hard to find, so I challenged the group to find Edgar Magnolia.  I didn't tell them that he was a mannequin or anything about him.  I challenged them to be the first person to deliver a picture of them with Edgar.  They all did some research and we have a winner!!  Debbie and Jerry found it first and here is Debbie pictured with Edgar!!

Wednesday 3 April 2019

Calhoun County Museum

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for another week or so            

NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas

Morning Happy Hour was under the awning at P & H's and we all made a plan for the day. Pat and Sue headed out shopping like they have been planning for a while.  They do this just before we go home to stock up on cloths for the grandkids.

Tuesday 2 April 2019

John and Val Arrive

WHERE ARE WE?           Magnolia Beach, Texas for a couple weeks              

NEXT DESTINATION?     Kickapoo Casino, North Falcon Heights, Texas

Last evening we were happy to see John and Val pull in to join us on the beach.  We are now 5 strong here and have circled the wagons in a nice straight line.  If you remember we left John and Val stranded on the highway back near Beaumont TX the other day with some brake problems.  They found a shop to fix them up and so they made it here today.  Its always nice when the caravan is complete.