July 23, 2011 by Rae

Off to the Movies

Whew, my brutal week came to an end at 3AM today! I wasn’t as diligent in keeping note of my working hours this week as I normally am, but the low estimate is that I put in 80 billable hours between all my various projects. It’s no wonder I’m wiped!

I have to say that the fliers have been a welcome break since my mother came since she loaded one of my external hard drives with audio books. She’s a big fan of them but I’d never tried them out before. I put one on my iPod and have been listening to a half dozen chapters or so in the three hours it takes to do one day’s worth of fliers. The time, well, flies by!

So the fliers have become a true escape from the daily grind and a treat rather than just one more thing I need to slog through after an exhausting day. Being outside and getting exercise just hasn’t been enough anymore to get me through them. I am absolutely in love with audio books, if not Parisian French, and even ordered myself an iPod case for strapping it to my arm for walking and running.

I’m now off to have a sushi breakfast, then catch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two. I was starting to despair that I was never going to get a chance to see it!

Then it’s off to Donna and Ken’s for some much needed socializing. This will be my first time traveling to Mossleigh on my own. I look forward to the nice long drive through the southern Alberta landscapes. This is quite possibly the most beautiful place I have ever lived.

April 30, 2011 by Rae

The Roving Delicatessen

Fraserway RV in Airdrie, just north of Calgary, was having an open house today with good sales, including 25% off all parts under $300! Gary and Jody go every year and invited me along. I’ve been desperately needing a new pigtail for my propane system (ie. a hose that goes from my auxiliary tank to the Extend-a-Stay tee), but have been procrastinating since the one I bought in Osoyoos in the fall of ’08 was so expensive. I decided that this was the day to pick one up, so that gave me an excuse to go. 🙂

We started our day at Willow Creek municipal campground because Jody wanted to see if the prairie crocuses (Anemone patens) were in bloom, which they were:

prairie crocus (actually not a crocus but rather a member of the buttercup family)

We headed out after towards Calgary and Gary started to rustle around in the back seat. I turned to discover that a delicatessen had sprung up back there!

Gary’s Roving Delicatessen

This is how they travel; Jody drives, Gary makes sandwiches! And delicious ones at that!

We got to Airdrie and stopped at another RV place so we’d be able to compare prices at Fraserway, then headed for the open house. Turns out Fraserway had better prices, even without the 25% discount!

Between both dealerships, we must have toured close to a hundred rigs. I discovered another type of fiver that I really like. It has a proper bedroom at the front, a bunk room at the back, and a loft above the bunk room. I could see going with something similar in a toyhauler motorhome, with the bunk room of course being a garage and the bedroom being my office.

den and loft with ladder (Starcraft Lexion)

I found the pigtail I needed in the parts department (with no help from the very rude salesgal) and it came to only $13 after my discount and tax!

Having had our fill of RVs for the day, I was then whisked away to Bass Pro Shops, which is more of a museum than a store! They allow photographs, so I tried to capture the feel of the place.

front end of the cariboo herd

We ended the day by making a very quick stop in Mossleigh to visit with Ken and Donna.

Another awesome day with my local guides! Thank you!

More pictures below.

prairie crocus (actually not a crocus but rather a member of the buttercup family)

that prairie azure and gold I love so much…

entrance to Willow Creek municipal campground

the grass looked like hair or fur!

campground with river

river that winds around the campground

campground

prairie crocus (actually not a crocus but rather a member of the buttercup family)

a crow or raven met its end here

these guys posed for pictures

Gary’s Roving Delicatessen

gorgeous lake (manmade, I think)

I asked Gary for an additional half sandwich. He thought this open faced version would be funny.

that organizer is a better use for the space in a class C loft than is a leaky window!

den and loft with ladder (Starcraft Lexion)

first rig I saw with a loft and a den below it (see previous picture)

LOVE the Harry Potteresque cubby hole under the stairs!

nice little den below the loft

proper stairs up to a loft!

Jody climbing proper stairs to a loft

I laughed at the awkward placement of the toilet paper roll holder!

exterior of Bass Pro Shops

entrance to the store

amazing light fixture

first floor of the store

all the murals are hand painted

antlers

I want a rocker like this!

sea plane

front end of the cariboo herd

there’s a guy in a duck blind in the tree

back end of the cariboo herd

‘general store’ at Bass Pro Shops

driving into a storm

April 20, 2011 by Rae

Friends and RVs

Jody needed to run an errand in Calgary today so I came along for the ride. We stopped in Mossleigh to visit Donna. She is working at Aspen Crossing this summer and gave us a tour of the place. It combines a campground, a superb gift shop, a restaurant (great Sunday brunch apparently), cabins, and more. I was particularly impressed by the tour of the caboose that was converted into a luxury cabin that would be a great motorhome layout! Donna is very enthusiastic about camphosting in the nearly new campground (this year will be the second in operation). It was so, so, so good to see her and Ken, but I didn’t get to visit with Midnight.

Our visit done, Jody and I pushed on to the town of High River where we spent hours climbing into and out of travel trailers, fifth wheels, and a few motorhomes. I’d never spent so much time in a bumper pull trailer before and was astounded by some of the layouts!

Before I get into my discovery of the day, I have to say that I have finally decided on what my next rig is going to be. I’ve vacillated between getting excited about fifth wheels and considering a B+, but I finally came down to earth and made a decision. I want to downsize and I can do that two ways: going smaller or going bigger. So, my next rig would be one of two choices.

The first choice, going smaller would mean going down to a B and seriously reducing my cargo. I’d have to be in the mode that this is my only vehicle and that everything has to be prepped for travel.

The second choice, going bigger would actually be going smaller in terms of over-all rig length without sacrificing my current lifestyle of having an apartment with a car: a toy hauler super C motorhome, such as those made by Haulmark, with a Smart Car in the garage.

So, all that to say that if I’m going down to a B, then I’ve found it. It’s a Libero by Leisure Travel. It has a bed in the back, full bath and kitchen, and the dinette in the front is definitely usable as a desk, plus it has the solid construction of a high-end unit.

One thing I find neat when I look at RVs is that I see ways in which I could improve Miranda but I don’t get a burning desire to replace her yet. What can I say, the old gal is home!

inside of the dining car, which was PM Diefenbaker’s ‘western car’!

Vote for John G. Diefenbaker

letter from Diefenbaker (about a week after my birth!) about the state of the Canadian economy and how disgraceful Parliament was (nothing changes in this country!)