CANMORE ALBERTA

I can't believe that it is our last day in Canmore.  Boy have we enjoyed walking all the paths and yesterday we discovered old downtown Canmore.  We had stuck to the main drag and all we had to do was take the paths through the Spring Creek huge complex and we ended up at the Mounted Police Station and a quick right and we were in downtown Canmore.
Yesterday we had breakfast at "The Woods".  I have never had such a good breakfast, the bread was to die for.
Heidi and I were talking yesterday and she was telling me about a diet she and Pat started call "The Diabetes Miracle" by Diane Kress. (simple steps to prevent and control diabetes and regain your health-permanently.)
I really need to look in to that.  I have way too much belly fat and if I don't do something soon, it could be too late and I could get full blown diabeties.  Mine is supposed to be controled by diet and exercise but I feel I am loosing the battle.
I will look in to it and keep you posted.
I am watching a fellow behind us that is traveling with his wife and two little kids in a pop up camper.
Oh the memories.  Sometimes I wonder if the kids ever think about those days.  The work it was I don't even care to think about.  Jim sure didn't like going with us.  This is his kind of camping.  By the way we just spent another $800 on new tires for the camper on Wednesday.  And to top it off he bought me a new chain on Monday and I broke it on Thursday.  Kill me!
I forgot I had it on and took off my turtleneck and it was on the outside.  Well we all know how disastrous that can be, don't we? Or am the the lone ranger here.
How I love being nestled here in the mountains, and there isn't a bad trail anywhere.  How very fortunate we are to see places like this.  Yesterday it was cold and bleek, that was the reason for the turtleneck.  And today what a beautiful day.
Clear blue sky's, bright sunshine and the promise of lovely weather.  We have had quite a bit of rain on our vacation.
Yesterday Jim washed the camper, after the muddy mountains it sure needed it.
Our walks take us along the rivers and creeks most of the time.
We haven't seen much for fish though they talk about them in the brochures.
Later.

LAKE LOUISE

Here we are on our second day of our Canada National Park Pass.  You can pick one up for two days for $20.  
We so enjoyed our drive to Lake Louise and The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. The hotel itself is a wonder.  What a magnificent structure and oh my the size.  It is incredible.  The lake is the prettiest blue green teal color because of being fed by the glacier and there is a milky white substance that is actually ground up rock from the weight of the glacier and oozes in to the lake.  Surreal. 
What wonderful walking we did and of course the dogs were with us.  The people watching is wonderful and the languages you hear.  There are a lot of Chinese tourist too.  You feel so big because they are a much smaller people.  Fun people watching and I have never seen such healthy people.  Not like walking in  a Wal-Mart.  I feel fat and we all know I am just shall we say pleasingly plump.  I am 73 now and I can say that.  I am so excited to be able to travel and see Canada.  What a beautiful place.  So much more to see.
We spent $1400 on the truck hitting town, it needed some work because the engine light went on.  Jim found a ford dealer right within walking distance.
The walking in town is fun because you can walk everywhere.
Oh I must tell  you.  Jim bought us a steak and next door to us is a Rottweiler and Doxie and he brought the bone from the Porterhouse steak over to their dog and the Doxie bit both his big toes.  I had to put 4 bandaids on one big toe he was bleeding so bad.  Good Deeds.  What a joke.
Hey you should see my roses that I got for my birthday. A dozen red ones.  They are just beautiful and of course we just had to go to the Ammonite Factory Store and get me a birthday present.  What a pretty necklace we found.  Looks like a chili pepper.  Skye it turns out has one of the stones.  They are cut from fossils.  Only place on earth you can get them.  Isn't Minnesota the only place on earth you can get lefse.   Hummm.
I have it on a slide chain so I can have it at any length I want.
Too  pretty. 

CANMORE ALBERTA WAS OUR SUNDAY DESTINATION

Here we are in the Canadian Rockies.
It is beautiful and we are going to be here a week.
It's my Birthday today and 73 feels real good.
We will be doing the adventure thing today, part of my adventure is actually doing some laundry and I had best get at it.
Canmore Alberts is our location, you should see our campground.  Nestled in the mountains.  So beautiful.

I got to talk to Dede yesterday, quite a treat, triple by-pass surgery.  She is one lucky girl to have found out about it the way she did. 

FRIDAY AND I NOW SAY ABOOT NOT ABOUT LIKE THE CANADIANS

We left on Tuedsay and here it is Friday and I feel like I have been gone forever.  Funny how that works out.  We stayed on this side of the Canidan border and on Wednesday we were at our Sackatchewan destination between Plenty and Ruthilda.  We are at John & Doryne's and plugged into their shed.  We only have 110 amp service but it work's out just fine, we can get by without air.
It sure is funny because of the storm last night I put the furnace on and had a big comforter on last night.
Thursday morning we took a nice walk but it had rained just a little during the night and the gray clay sticks to your feet like crazy, you should have seen the dogs feet.
Can't stay on long because we are international so I will just sum it up and let you know we are having a good time.
We had a severe storm last night with high wind and hail.
Later.

TUESDAY Day 1

Well here it is the first day of of our trip. We left at 5:10 this morning and we have been in N.D. For quite a few miles now.  We are just driving through Devil's Lake and you should see the size of it.  Huge.  So much water.

We will reach Canada tonight.  We are traveling West to Minot N.D. and then North to 

Estevan SASK.  We are probably driving north tomorrow to a hunting buddy of Jim's, a John Nakanechny, pronounced knock-ka-nech-née.  He is Ukrainian.  I think my friend Sharon Kuubits is also Ukrainian.  I will check.  Jim started hunted up here in 1070.  We will be heading for Plenty SASK tomorrow and will spend 2 or 3 nights there.  Jim is going to show me a Hutterite colony.  Springwater Colony.  When Jim hunted up here they would give them the geese.  They were originally German. 

   I Am Hutterite - News - The Prince Albert Daily 
Herald

www.paherald.sk.ca/Local/News/2012-03-21/article.../I-Am-Hutterite/1

Mar 21, 2012 - She read excerpts from her childhood in Fairholme Hutterite Colony near ....Saskatchewan Green trounces Manitoba 20-2 in Canada Cup  ...

Well this is a link which is pretty interesting.

Well I just talked to my friend Dede who went through open heart surgery last week and is on the road to recovery.  Wow, I can't even imagine what she went through being cut from sternum to throat.  
She sure has been in my prayers.

We just gassed up in Minot and it is 1pm.

Will add more later.

I had a wonderful family reunion with Mark and Jean, it is too fun getting to know her better and more about her girls Natasha and Ashley.  It is so wonderful that she and Mark have found each other.    
I love the connection that her late husband was our Neva's brother.  I love keeping it in the family.

Heidi, Pat and their daughter Erin with her ladorable little boy Jackson were there.

Mac and Laura, Huope and Hudson, Alexis, River and Autumn and of course wonderful Skye.

We all made meals and we played lots of games and drank lots of beer.  Jim and I had a wonderful time and the guys got out fishing thanks to Mac brining his boat.

HAPPY FOURTH

Well another wonderful year of freedom thanks to our military and government.  What a country.  Got up at 4am and I am trying to figure out anything about my new HP touch screen computer.  My goodness the more I try to understand about it the more I am confused.  I am on my old Toshiba and it is comforting because even though it is the slowest computer in the world - I know what to expect.
Been a busy week. I know I worked at the Library on Tuesday and made Chocolate Chip cookies for the seniors there.  There is a clutch of about 8 women that show up on a regular basis.
Jim and I went to stock up on groceries on Wednesday and we walked 2 miles on the Mesabi Trail out of Grand Rapids and it goes all he way to Babbit, the website. is www.mesabitrail.com and it is fun to navigate.  
132 miles long going through 2 couple dozen cities.  Towns really, some very small but some towns are just wonderful.  Face it we all think the town we are in is the best.  I love Remer. I was so excited to tell Sue S. about the trail she wanted to see it, they have just repaved it and it is the width on one lane on the highway.  It's huge.  We went up on Thursday morning, she had some shopping to do.  We walked 2 miles.  I worked the meat raffle last night with Susan.  I will tell you we had lots and lots of people, so many come up to their cabins on the fourth.
We had a good time and there must have been 40-50 people in the bar wanting chances and we had 36 per game.
Let me tell you the regulars get ugly if you don't have enough tickets.  And I was not able to see even one rifle raffle ticket for a 22 that the Lions are selling chances on for $5 bucks each.  
Pam and John got up here about 11:30 last night with Mikey, Rachel and Andrew.  Nice that they don't have to spend the fourth on the road.  There are benefits to night driving.  Far less traffic ect.  Of course there are the deer.  And usually lots of them.
Well I have to round up a can of cream of mushroom soup.  I have an egg bake and you have to top it off with that, we will also make some waffles.  Will be a fun weekend.  I am meeting Sue at 6:30 to walk in town.  I still feel fat as a cow but the walking I know is so good for me.  We will be walking a lot on our trip and I have to get in shape.  Trying for at least 10,000 steps a day.  Helps having my new fitbit.  See www.fitbit.com.