Our journey took us from the dinosaurs of Drumheller to the town of Red Deer, north of Calgary. We had a night here before a short drive to Sylvan Lake to meet Diana’s ‘cousin’ Kim and her family, husband Lee and boys Nolan and Jaxson. Kim had visited us back in 2003 when she was backpacking in New Zealand and we enjoyed catching up on the intervening years.

From Sylvan Lake we were headed to Paradise Valley via Stettler where we had booked a prairie train ride to Big Valley. This is a one and a half hour ride south, dinner and return. It was a Saturday we boarded along with 300 others. All went well until about an hour into our journey when a gang of outlaws stopped the train boarded and demanded valuables and money. In a tense hold up that lasted a good 30 minutes we had our wallets lightened while gun shots could be heard throughout. No one was injured but we got some good photographs which the local constabulary were keen to have in the hope of tracking these thugs down. From all accounts it happens too regularly! 

After dinner we roamed through the little town of Big Valley and through a couple of museums. One held the largest collection of tools in North America.

Sunday we headed to Paradise Valley and directly to Maureen and Greg, Kim’s mother and so another cousin of Diana’s. I am using the term cousin quite loosely as the relationship is through Diana’s grandmother, Jessie, being a cousin of Maureen’s grandmother, Emma. Both of these ladies emigrated in the late 1800’s and I think Jessie got the better deal weather-wise but no doubt they both lived through some pretty harsh conditions to establish themselves in their new found homelands.

In the prairie country Emma and her husband were able to purchase a “quarter”, that being 160 acres, for $10. The land had all been surveyed into square miles and then divided into quarters for the new settlers. 178 million acres was surveyed in the 1870’s and this was the largest grid survey in the World. Surveyors worked hard without GPS to divide and map the land although the area was basically all flat. A man told me that if he cursed his dog and it ran off he could watch it for 5 days before he lost sight! Once divided up the Canadian authorities wanted to colonise it as quickly as possible with the “genteel” people from United Kingdom. They were concerned that if they didn’t get the inexperienced but peaceful and orderly society with strong values of civic involvement and leisure activity from the UK they were at threat of getting settlers from northern USA. This might result in tumultuous and possibly violent communities. We visited Emma’s house, still standing but unfortunately beginning a stage of rapid deterioration. The house stands on a “quarter” (65 hectares) and after several years it has had a number of owners but is now back in the family having been recently purchased by Carol, Maureen’s sister.

We had a wonderful stay with Maureen and Greg who like us are still very active. They visited New Zealand and Australia last year and saw to it that we were well entertained and able to meet all of the relatives in Paradise Valley. We had dinner with Carol and Lyall, who along with their son have numerous quarters and numerous different income streams on their quarters. Canola is flowering at present so the fields are all a rich yellow which seems to be an uplifting colour, a warm summer colour.

We also visited a herd of farmed bison which once roamed the prairies in their millions. An estimated 25 million once roamed free from Alaska to the US but through hunting and habitat loss were reduced to 1000 in 1889.  As they are now farmed and used for their low-fat meat there is little chance of extinction. The population now numbers in excess of 500,000 being wild and farmed.

I did learn one thing while driving along with Lyall. I am very pleased to learn this because for my entire life, up to the stage I am at now, I have never known. That is, when rainfall is measured in “points”, what is a point? I can remember asking my Dad, before I was a teenager, “…Dad, what is two points?”

“Two points is two points of rainfall”

“Yes, but if it was 10 points what would it be?”

“That would be 5 times more than two points!”

“But 10 points of what?”

“Rainfall”. I about gave up then.

But Lyall has sorted this out for me and unfortunately I can’t get this back to Dad. And I don’t think I am the only one who didn’t know.

So Lyall clearly explained it is 2 tenths of an inch. 2 points is 2 tenths of an inch. How this ever came to be the measurement of precipitation I don’t know. It seems they have metricized an imperial number at no advantage whatsoever. Mike, Tracy’s husband and I had a good laugh about this. I think the New Zealand meteorologists have got this sorted when they measure rainfall in millimetres

Donna Neil Rob Diana Maureen Carol

We visited Donna, another of Maureen’s sisters, for a Bar-B-Que Canadian style and were able to meet her three daughters. It was especially great to spend an afternoon with Janice Matt and Mya. Janice visited New Zealand several years ago and stayed in The Grapevine picking fruit. She travelled NZ meeting many of her relatives there. Now she has a home, a wonderful husband Sheldon and a couple of potential backpackers in 10 years time. As everyone has been invited to NZ I suggest you prepare yourselves for their impending visits. Not sure what preparation is required though. At Donna’s house we met her brother Neil Brassington once again. When Diana and I travelled in the early 80’s we stayed with Neil at his parents, Art and Joyce’s farm. Sadly they have passed away.

Diana Sheldon Matt Mya Janice Rob

It has been a fantastic week, visiting the “Climb Thru Time” museum in the converted grain elevator, visiting “Lloyd” (local town of 28,000, Lloydminster) with Janice and Maureen and Greg. We picked “saskatoons” with Tracy and her three boys and enjoyed sitting on the elevated deck with a beer and putting the world to rights.

We left PV on Thursday 19^th July heading south toward the township of Brooks. We drove through seriously flat prairie lands where they seem to graze 1 bullock to 50 hectares. Either Angus or Hereford seem to be the beast of choice. There is no irrigation, the pasture appears poor and consequently very little stock was seen. We had a thunderstorm to the south of us, probably 500 kms away, so flat it was quite visible.

We head towards Crows Nest Pass now before crossing the border into USA sometime next week.

Dinosaurs and Broncos

We have had a packed itinerary since driving out of Banff National Park and onto the prairie. With a bit of time to spare before checking into our lodgings in Calgary we decided on a short sharp excursion to Drumheller, about 100kms to the north east of Calgary.

Drumheller is one of the foremost sites for palaeontology in the World……looking for (and finding) dinosaurs. We aimed for their World class museum to get an idea of what had been found recently. Unfortunately so did half the state seeing as it was school holidays. Once inside we saw some seriously spectacular bones of critters that are no longer with us. The oldest known dinosaur isn’t as healthy as he once was but then he is 110 million years old. He was found when prospectors were looking for oil and gas not too many years ago. The museum was well set out and people moved through at a good rate, took us about 2 hours. I was surprised to read that of all the animals to have roamed Earth, 99% are now extinct. Cockroaches are hanging in there from centuries ago and so is the Tuatara but he didn’t get a mention.

Back in Calgary we greeted Meghan’s parents Murray and Lynn, who flew in from Regina, Saskatchewan to join us for the Stampede. 

Our first day saw us jostling with zillions of people, Sunday, school holidays and children’s day. Our main event was the Chuck Wagon racing. We paid a bit to have first class seats, undercover, fully glassed in with full time waitresses bringing beer, food and water. The chuck wagons were most entertaining where four teams, that’s 4 horses and a wagon, a driver and two out-riders, compete against 3 other teams in each race. They have a hell of a fiasco to get started with horses and men moving in all directions like a square dance then they head out for a flat to the boards quarter mile race around a track. Mostly they all got through without mishap, got their placing and then do it all over again for 10 days straight. There were about 36 teams in all and some big prize money at stake.

Attractions at the Stampede like many of our A&P shows including the rides and money reducing stalls and food. We weren’t tempted to ride the Big Dipper or the Zip Line, nor did we put any balls down a clown’s throat at the “everybody wins a prize” stall….. even though there were plenty to tempt us I did think they have upped their game since I was an excited 10-year old.

Most of the food couldn’t tempt us either. In fact thinking back on it most was deep fried apart from the BBQ meat section. However we were tempted by the “Deep Fried Coffee”. Seemed interesting, can’t be too bad. Lined up behind 10 other eager suckers. Deep fried coffee consisted of half a shoe box type arrangement with what looked like the remains of a recently castrated ram lamb. These little beauties were brown in colour, coffee colour perhaps, they appeared to have the consistency of a small chewy meringue but they were “deep fried” so now loaded with oil and smothered in chocolate sauce. I shovelled them down to get the experience however my stomach was not impressed and it was a close run thing to see where they were going to come out. I’m sure this food stall hasn’t got the heart surgeons stamp of approval and I’m quite sure that it was a once in a lifetime experience for me. My stomach went into recovery mode and a glass of beer later in the day ensured all systems were back to normal….phew, a lucky break!

Our second day saw crowds drop off a bit, but we were heading steadfastly for the rodeo. Cracker of a day and we are back in our fully enclosed seats ready for action. I did consider the saddle bronc ride but was turned away due to wearing spectacles. Dodged a bullet I think as some of the riders, who looked pretty serious about the whole thing hit the turf hard.

Later in the day I though a go at the bull riding might be my thing but turned away once again as I didn’t have long sleeves on my shirt. Had an impressive hat but no, not with short sleeves. I was fairly determined to represent New Zealand so asked about the sheep ride, thought I would be quids in there. No, they don’t have a sheep ride anymore. They have a 3 person team affair where each team, aged 8-12, decked out in uniforms and crash helmets is given a 20 foot rope tied to an agitated miniature pony. At the get go the pony seems to head out fast as he can while each team is trying to get one of their party onto it’s back. One little guy held the end of the rope and was dragged across the arena for a good 100metres…mouth full of dust and horse shit I’m sure. Of 8 teams only 2 got a rider up. I wasn’t allowed in that event either but it was the best rodeo I have ever been to. Totally professional and big money involved across all sections. Top riders I understand can make $300k per year. I figure that one young cowboy, who told me a few years ago, that it is the most exciting thing you can do with your pants on was WRONG. I wouldn’t do it for one day if they gave me $300k! What a fantastic day with great weather, a great crowd and special friends to attend with, thanks to you all.

Now we are headed back to Drumheller to look for dinosaurs….bones in the Hoodoos but it’s raining and no good for walking in slippery oil-filled soils for 2-3 days so we will head off somewhere, tomorrow. In the meantime a quick walk about town revealed a dinosaur on almost every corner, I had to help one out.

It has been some time since we last blogged but we had a week in Vancouver just doing mundane things like sight-seeing, drinking, geocaching and eating. Although, we did spend one morning having eye tests with Dr Meghan which diagnosed all good and it was all free. Meghan is Blairs partner.

Last Saturday we began a road trip to the Calgary Stampede. We left Vancouver late afternoon heading for Kamloops, a distance of 350kms. Great roads here, often 2 lanes each side of a serious median, sometimes a green belt 40 metres wide. With Blair driving it was great to be able to relax. Even on a Saturday afternoon in light traffic it took the best part of an hour to clear the city limits.

Our first nights accommodation was difficult to find and ended up in a motel with two double beds in one room. Character building I heard mentioned. All fine for those still wishing to build their characters but for me, and the character already built, I slept like a log.

Out of Kamloops our next destination was Jasper where we had booked 3 nights in a lodge. We signed in and drove a few extra kms to walk near Maligne Canyon. It was a misty evening and an ideal time for spotting wildlife. Not too difficult when they come right up the road edge. Evening twilight lingers here for hours so while at 8.00pm it is starting to get dark, it isn’t completely dark until around 10.30pm.

Our second day in Jasper National Park started with rain and we had to reschedule our schedule. We reconvened at noon while it was still raining and a threat of cabin fever the day turned into a layday. We did manage a quick trip into the metropolis, similar to Hanmer Springs, Woodville type size. Filled our “growler” with a local Fire Engine red which didn’t put out any fires for me but was dispatched in short time anyway.

Fires don’t seem to be the problem around Jasper but the Mountain Pine Beetle certainly must be. He has destroyed approximately 50% of mature lodgepole pine trees in Jasper National Park. Quite a concern really, to see nature doing its work. The beetle also attacks other pines but not so much the valuable species such as Douglas-fir. Temperature is a major factor and it is estimated the beetle has impacted more than a billion cubic metres of merchantable timber in British Columbia. 

Although the following day was heavily overcast we had to get out and about. First the Athabasca Falls right near the highway but then into the woods for the Five Lakes walk. The rain stayed away and we got a lung full of fresh air and saw a large wapiti stag in velvet and two bears foraging for their dinner.

After three nights we left Jasper heading south toward Banff National Park and toward sunshine and clear blue skies. We took another walk in the woods up “Parker Ridge”, a steep elevation in a short distance, to a lookout over the Saskatchewan Glacier. Meghan (whose hometown is Saskatoon) got a bit homesick there I think. 

We were pleased to see that the beetle hadn’t yet begun destroying the forests this far south. It is about 300km between Jasper and Banff so quite close in terms of distance for Canada. 

We took some time to visit the Columbia Icefield which covers an area of 215 sq.kms. We rode in an all-terrain Ice-Explorer vehicle up onto the ice field proper and also did a skywalk which was impressive. A giant walkway that is constructed out over a valley so you look through glass at your feet to the valley floor some 1000 feet down. Diana didn’t spend too long out there.

We managed to get to our apartment in Canmore late in the evening after one last walk to Lake Peyto. Canmore is a small town with a lot of accommodation and services for summer time adventurers and sight seers and in winter the ski bunnies. We see people on the paved walkways skating with two poles, practicing for cross country skiing I suppose.

Our first day we drove back into the park where we had to pass through a toll gate and pay $20 for the experience we hoped to have. New Zealand have to do this somehow. $20 didn’t seem too much for our car and four passengers. We walked to Lake Agnes from Lake Louise, magnificent scenery at every turn. Lake Agnes is a tarn in a hanging basin which reminded me of my days in Fiordland on deer recovery in the 1970’s. Although there were no deer to be seen only enormous numbers of humans, I did scan the sloops for a big horn sheep. None to be seen. We were pretty stiff and sore after the hike up to the lake so pleased to get horizontal in the evening.

But not for long. Blair and Meghan had previously ridden the Goat Creek trail and thought that Mum and Dad would really enjoy that. A 20km taxi ride into the high country and we extract our hired mountain bikes from the back of the V8 Ram ute. (makes my Hilux look like a puppy!) Helmets on we set off tentatively down the trail toward a back road into Banff. Holy bejesus we haven’t done any of this. A 19 km trail where a moments lapse in concentration and you’re on your nose grading gravel. Pleased to say that we didn’t break any bones, or draw blood, but very pleased to be back on tarseal albeit with a numb posterior.

Lunch in beautiful sunshine and 28 degrees in the town of Banff was most appreciated. Then another 20km ride along a cycle expressway from Banff back to Canmore. This is a two-lane route near the highway for cycles only. Diana and I were pleased that we had done some preparatory cycling and walking prior to leaving Blenheim and this I think helped us through some of our adventures. We rolled into Banff at 6.30pm now numb from knees to belly button!

We have had a great look at the two of the major wilderness attractions in Canada and are getting set today to head to Calgary and the Stampede where I’m still tossing up whether I should try the bull ride or the bare back buck jumper.

The drive through to Gold River was quite spectacular. Racing through avenues of 80 metre high Douglas fir trees from the road edge to the mountain top only broken by small interesting lakes, good habitat for bears but we didn’t see any. The temperature was over 30 degrees so we had the windows down and the breeze on our faces. We stayed in Gold River so that we could board the MV Uchuck (locally known as the Upchuck much to Diana’s horror) first thing in the morning for a day out on Nootka Sound, delivering goods and picking up full rubbish bins from resorts and forest camps. We had a great day. The Uchuck is a WWII minesweeper rekitted out to carry up to 100 people for this tour. It was done very well. 

While driving, and from on the water we pass numerous logging sites and sawmills. The locals seem to consider that the heydays of the timber industry are well past but to us there was a lot of logging trucks and numerous clearfell areas on the mountain sides. Where possible they seem to get their logs to the waters edge in as short as distance as possible then use the water to transport them. We were entertained by a wee tug type boat herding logs in Gold River. The operator had it almost tipped over much of the time. The water would be an efficient way of moving huge rafts of logs in one operation but from what we saw a few of these logs get loose. Some beaches have stacks of logs, more than enough to frame 1000 homes in Auckland. The environmental rules don’t seem quite as stringent as ours, yet. 

The Gold River road finishes at the West Coast so the next day we started heading back through Campbell River and to Powell River on the mainland. Problem there is they don’t have any roads in and out, a few local roads but we have to ferry across from Vancouver Island and then take ferries to get back down the coast to the mainland proper where there is a road.

Powell River was once the site of the largest pulp and paper mill in the World but that commodity doesn’t have quite the appeal any more. Their latest claim to fame is that they were contracted to make special paper for the book “50 Shades of Grey” to be printed on. The town has some wonderful buildings built around 1910-1925 but much of it is in decline. We stayed in the old Courthouse, now converted to a lodging arrangement.

We slept in the judges chambers! The hotel was filled with knick knacks from a bygone era in keeping with the building. It was such a lovely change from some of the ‘austere’ characterless places we have stayed.

One interesting thing in Powell River is the breakwater for the mill cargo; logs in and wood products out. There is no natural harbour of any sort, it is just a town and a wharf on the seaside. They have 19 ex WWII concrete hulks lined up 200 metres out to sea, end to end to act as a breakwater. We took some photos and moved south. 

Tomorrow we will be back to our highrise bedroom in downtown Vancouver geared up to watch the All Blacks at half past midnight with Blair. Interesting team for this 3^rd test so we are getting excited about that.

Walking in the woods

We walked almost every track in the Tofino/Ucluelet area of the country, saw some massive trees and rugged coastlines. People come here in winter to watch the storms rolling off the Atlantic and smashing onto the west coast. I think that would be great but we’re not sticking around just to get a wet bum.

Fallen 'Nurse' tree

From Ucluelet we had to go east as the roads north were “forestry roads”, which I thought sounded a challenge but doable. The wee lass in the Information Centre seemed to think I should be assessed if I was to continue with that train of thought… so I shelved it. Smart move I thought to myself. Funnily enough those that matter seemed to think so too.

We found lodgings on the east coast at Qualicum Beach and decided to head out for a walk, in a suburban park, can’t be too difficult. A good walk and we tip toed over a very fragile looking railway bridge 500 feet above a creek only to find ourselves lost. The Westpac Rescue helicopter was mentioned and we did offer a small donation a year ago so we had that up our sleeve. After walking into someones back yard, fortunately they didn’t have a rottweiler, we made a hasty decision to go north and fortunately we found a road with a 5 km walk back to our lodgings. Short walk complete. 

On the move again in Blairs generously lent Mazda 6 and we see a sign to Hornby Island. Diana had never been there and I hadn’t as far as I could remember so why not, we’ll never be closer. Out on the ferry and we’re off, but hey there is another chunk of land in our way (Denman Island) so we drive over that and board another ferry and finally make Hornby Island. The local Hornbyites consider this the Hawaii of Canada. Yea right! We set off on another walk in the woods (on a well defined trail) which had some great ocean views, we took pictures. 

 Walking done and time to find some lodgings. The island is busy and there is no space so out with the tent, brought along for such occasions. It was cold and uncomfortable, we were in bed before the 10 year olds as we didn’t have anything else to do. Very little light and the bugs liked us. It was a long night and we were up and out of there before any of the Canuks had awoken.

Finally we are in Campbell River where we have an AirB&B which is very much appreciated. More walks in the woods, but no bears in the woods, or large animals but I did see a snake on the track this afternoon. When I spotted him he was no more than 50 cms in front of me. I lifted both feet in the air immediately but was surprised at the short time it took them to head back to the earth. Fortunately the 40cm long snake had decided he had seen enough and wriggled his way into the undergrowth. A rush of adrenaline pushed me along the track for the next 15mins so no harm done. Google told me he was a garter snake, very common, not dangerous and make good pets, I could buy one $49.95. Another day perhaps.

So we have had an eventful week, ended by celebrating our 40^th wedding anniversary. Nothing over the top, we had dinner out, no rubies, no fizzy wine, just a couple of crafty beers and dinner at a Greek restaurant. Diana did buy a dozen oysters for $9.00 ... not sure why! On to Gold river in the morning, must pack my pan and my prospectors hat.

12-6-18 When Right is Wrong

Tricky driving conditions in this country, how the hell did Henry Ford get it so wrong, or was it Karl Benz in Germany a few decades previous. Fortunately there isn’t too much traffic on Vancouver Island and by the time we realise that we are on the left side (the wrong side) we can get back into line and haven’t put any dints in Blairs car, to date. The size of the 4x4's is pretty over the top here though. 

We left Victoria a few days ago and headed up the west coast of Vancouver Island mostly along the seaside to Port Renfrew. We stopped so many times between Sooke and Pt Renfrew we only managed 90 kms for the day. So many photos had to be taken. We ventured up a valley to look at some “old crop” trees. Old crop is a term used in New Zealand for the radiata that was first planted back in the Depression, most all cut now but generally the trees would be 60 years – 80 years. Here they are 500-1000 years old! Some are 2 metres in diameter so very impressive but hard to get a photo at 80 metres tall. The scenery along the coast was worthy of any jigsaw or biscuit tin lid but not a road all the way North. We turned inland and went across the island to Nanaimo, a busy little port town. Interesting seeing all the logs rafted together floating on river sides and lined up at mills. They tell us that the boom days of the timber industry are over but that is hard to believe seeing the number of trees and the tonnes of logs floating.

While travelling north along the east coast we came across an interesting little town, a bit smaller than Blenheim. Every blank wall in the town had a giant mural painted on it. We must have seen 20 at least. Mostly scenes from the past depicting early settlers and their industries. Brightened up what would have been just another non-descript little settlement (was going to write Blenheim in there but thought better of it!)

 

Our night in Nanaimo was memorable for the wrong reasons. We stayed at the “Value” motel. I didn’t fully understand what the definition of value was. They gave us the option of a smoke free room…but that was a ruse. It stunk, maybe P, who knows. Rubbish bins not clean, plastic cups for a quick beverage before heading out for dinner, a bed similar to a half full wool pack, we were pleased to move on.

We stopped at Coombs for coffee and discovered that almost all the other travellers on Highway 4 had stopped too. Not because the coffee happened to be better than any on this island (and it wouldn’t have to be very good) but because the coffee shop has goats grazing on their roof! Simple attraction, grow grass on the roof, throw a couple of nannies up there and in come the tourists…think I spotted a billy as well. Further along this highway we came across Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park. Somehow a small grove of trees dodged the axe and the chainsaw. I stood beside an 800 year old, 76m tall D.fir tree. This was a magnificent tree in a very impressive stand of massive trees.

 

Following a showery night at Port Alberni we headed back to the west coast to Ucluelet, pronounced as it looks (U-clue-let), Indian I think, or “First Nations”, as the tribes are known here. Great wee spot we have here, a holiday home on the seaside, like Book-a-Bach at home. Nice to be able to cook our own meals for a change. Ucluelet and Tofino North of here are very popular weekend destinations from Vancouver in the Summer. It was interesting today that we had to buy a $15.00 48 hour pass to park in the National Park. We have been walking and driving, taking a guided walk in the woods, all the touristy stuff but haven’t seen another Kiwi yet – nor a bear wolf or cougar! The rainforest has similar ferns, moss and creeks but the trees are very different.  A couple more nights here, then we will cross the island again and travel North to Campbell River… driving carefully on the wrong side of the road – the right side.