Category Archives: family

On our way home from Mexico we stopped in Winnipeg to see Kyle, Ashley and Elias and in Ottawa to see Michelle, Tim, Wyatt, Jackson, Nathan and Jordan.  It was a direct flight from PV to Winnipeg and the same from Winnipeg to Ottawa.  Too easy!

Elias, now 6 months old,  seemed very happy to see us.  He is very calm and accommodating letting us pick him up and hug him without a fuss.  He is eating some solid food now and growing quickly.  We think that he will be a tall guy like his Papa Dave.

Kyle and Ashley live in Woolsley, a great area of town not far from Polo Park.  So we walked over there with Ashley and Elias on a warm and dry Winnipeg day.

On the way back we snapped a few pics in and around the beautiful Assiniboine River just a block or two from their home.

On Good Friday Marie and Dave walked to Kateri Tekawitha Parish to attend their cross veneration service.  We always try to visit this Oblate parish when we are in town.  It was great to see some old friends there.

The night before we all relaxed after going out for some great Italian food for Dave’s upcoming birthday.  Ashley surprised Dave with an absolutely delicious chocolate fudge cheesecake she made from scratch.  Boy was it good – all 3 pieces!  Thanks again Ashley!

It was soon time to head to Ottawa but not before a few more hugs with Elias.

We flew to Ottawa without a problem and it was time to continue the family party on Easter Sunday.

We finally made it home to Arnprior on Easter Sunday afternoon after these great family visits.  Of course the party continued when Dave had his official birthday celebration at home.  Thanks Marie!

We received a couple of georgeous follow-up photos of Elias and Ashley on their Easter family getaway.

It was a a very enjoyable end to our 2019 snow bird get away.  Thank you Kyle and Ashley and Michelle and Tim for your hospitality and warm welcome home.  Now if it would ever warm up here…

Dave

We finished out our Great Plains tour with a return stop in Winnipeg. We played a great scrabble like card game called Quiddler with Ashley’s family, with son Kyle nudging out Ashley`s dad Rick to win. It was great family fun. Thank you Kyle and Ashley for hosting us at this joyous time. We look forward to meeting Baby Morgan soon. All our love!

By the numbers our Great Plains tour:

• 21 days, 10 in the U.S, 11 in Canada
• Ottawa to Winnipeg return by air
• 6025 kms of driving in a rental car
• 5 states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana
• 3 provinces: Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta
• 18 sunny days, 2 rain and 1 dusting of snow
• stayed in 5 Best Westerns, 1 park lodge, 2 other motels, 1 prayer house
• 3 family stays, 2 friend stays/visits
• best attraction Old Faithful
• best wildlife – buffalo in Yellowstone Park
• weight gain – won’t say
• best little town – Cody, WY
• best Canadian experience – Saskatoon
• best all round place – Winnipeg
• most peaceful stay – Qu’Appelle River Valley, SK

A few highlight pics follow.

Why did we call this the Great Plains tour rather than the Prairies tour?  Because of a remarkable little book by Walter Prescott Webb.  Written in 1931, it tells the interaction of people with the vast central plains of America and into Canada, starting with the Plains Indians, then the Spanish/Mexicans and finally the Americans.  Overcoming relentless geography, the lack of water and very little wood took much technological ingenuity and trial and error in order for colonization to proceed.   The horse was indeed the sacred animal of the west that enabled the progress to happen.  Highly recommend this book to educate about this fascinating piece of our history.

Thanks again for travelling with us.  It`s good to be home again!

Dave and Marie

Only a few more‎ days to go on this pilgrimage you will be happy to know…

We drive from Lethbridge to Saskatoon. It is raining for the first time on the trip but the sun comes out after Swift Current. There are more and more wheat farms, elevators and terminals as we go. We descend a hill and as we cross a small lake we notice thousands of white dots floating on the lake. There must have been 5000 of them. ‎ These are snow geese on there way south we learn.

Arriving at Marie’s brother Rick’s in Saskatoon is most enjoyable. He and wife Gaylene roll out the red carpet for us. Over a great dinner we catch up and reminisce. Their daughter Angela drops over with her family. We have a great time seeing them again.

The next day we visit Queens House an Oblate Retreat Centre. We tour the facility and marvel at the beautiful chapel and prayer room. We chat with Brendan the Director and then walk down to the S. Saskatchewan. It’s cold but sunny. We have time to visit the Sask Berry Farm and pick up some jam. Then it’s off to tour the Canadian Light Source. It is one of the largest research centres in Canada. The light produced is fast moving electrons that are used in applied health, agriculture, environmental and materials research. E,g, they have found a way of converting A and B blood types to O here.

We finish our great day with Rick and Gaylene at a Greek restaurant.‎ The trees are in their prime colour, there is a snap in the air. This is Saskatchewan in the Fall. We love it.

Dave and Marie

We leave Boise today for Lethbridge, AB. We drive out through a desolate region of Idaho and stop at the ‎Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. It is a vast lava field that is black. Some vegetation has crept back. It’s spooky.

We make good time along the deserted highway and arrive in Butte, MT. It is a small city nestled between steep colourful hills. All the buildings are one story and visible as there is only a tree here and there. We are up and at it first thing in the morning after the best Best Western breakfast yet.

We continue north and cross the Missouri River again in the most beautiful of canyons. The golden hills are dotted with green trees and the majestic Missouri wanders calmly through them lined with trees and green vegetation. Glacier National Park mountains can be seen on our left. Huzzah!!

We cross into Alberta at Sweet Grass. We get pulled in for a random inspection at Canadian Customs. Oh, oh, we are slightly over on our declared wine import allotment…After a few minutes of tense waiting they hand us back our keys and passport‎s and say you are free to go. It pays to be low risk seniors we figure. Phew!

We arrive at Marie’s brother George’s in Lethbridge. Linda cooks us a wonderful meal as we catch up. It is good to be back in Canada. Their lovely condo is situated at the east end of the Lethbridge Viaduct – the largest train bridge structure in the world – over 1.5 km long and 100 m high over the Oldman River. This place used to be called Fort Whoop-Up for the contraband liquor sales to the Blackfoot nation in the 19th century. We whoop it up a bit over a bit of wine and turn in early.

The next day we visit their son Michael for lunch and Brian for dinner. We visit Henderson Lake Park and hike through the “buttefull” Old Man River basin park. Lot’s of laughs and hugs are in order. The it’s on the road again after a great family visit. Thank you George and Linda!

We have embarked on another adventure – this time to the great plains out west starting and ending in Winnipeg. Our first day we visited Assiniboine Park and enjoyed seeing some lovely English gardens and walking through a sculpture garden. The sculptures in stone or bronze were by the very talented Leo Mull. Many were of animals and some of people. He was German I believe who settled in Winnipeg to escape Nazi persecution. I have lots of photos but on another camera.

We finally saw Kyle and Ashley when they got home from work. Everything is well with them and baby Morgan is due soon. On Day 2, I picked about 50 lbs of apples from their backyard tree – McIntosh bumper crop – yum!! It was Kyle’s birthday so we celebrated at a Japanese steak house. Food and service were superb. Thank you Ichiban. Sake bomb!

Day 3 we walked from St Boniface around to the Forks. There was an outdoor press conference about‎ the Metis-Fairfax partnership investment to restore the rail line to Churchill. This project represents real tangible reconciliation. A big step forward since the the Metis Nation will control their own future in northern Manitoba.

Marie made some apple sauce. Ashley prepared one of her family’s‎ traditional perogie dinners and Kyle cooked some sausage and played the piano for us after dinner. It was another superb evening in Winnipeg. Tomorrow we hit the road.

Dave and Marie