May 19, 2013 - We saw our first bear today

9-17-2013 Crooked River (Bear lake) provincial park to Dawson Creek. This morning it was a chilly 40 degrees, I guess this is why they still have snow on the ground here at Bear Lake. While we were traveling today we saw our first animals which was exciting! We first saw a large red fox w/ a huge white tail, about 1 hour into the trip. And then we saw our first grizzly bear by the side of the road! To be honest, He looked like he just woke up and was a bit dazed. He looked kinda skinny too. Then on the other side of the pass we saw a large...

May 19, 2013 - Thinking about the guest house

As I sit in the dining room at the hostel I notice that Christen, the Australian who lives and works here at the hostel has become the main attraction. She is special in that she gives off an energy that makes you want to sit next to her close your eyes and hope some of it flows your way. I don't usually come to the dining room as after being at site, I spend as much time as possible outside when I am here. But I am seeing today what I have been missing. This is not the hostel of yesteryears when everyone is chatting and sharing the 3...

May 18, 2013 - Bear lake is Awesome!

9-16-2013 Lac La hache Campground to Crooked River (Bear lake) provincial park/ just north of Prince George. Another day of beautiful scenery. Lots of cattle ranches and rolling hills. We saw baby cows galore, so cute and little, prancing all around their Mamas. Lots of neat old ranches with old barns made out of logs. That is the first time I have ever seen a barn made out of logs before. About an hour into our trip we stopped off at the Caribou Wood shop on the west side of the road. They advertise 20 flavors of fudge to choose from....

May 18, 2013 - Camping in the rain

9-15-2013 Rosedale-to Lac La Hache Provincial Park We drove up the Frasier river Canyon today. The weather was partly sunny as we drove through 7 different tunnels, one after another. That was fun and different. I can’t say that I have ever been through 7 tunnels in a row. When leaving the Frasier river canyon, the terrain totally changed from a heavily wooded wilderness to an arid terrain like eastern Washington. This happened about Lytton and the Thompson river canyon area. Then about milepost 100 it changed again to rolling grasslands...

May 17, 2013 - the east cape

We walked to the most eastern point of New Zealand today,lat s37, long 178, what a remote and beautiful part of the country. After riding a great dune trail yesterday at Opotiki, having said farewell to our friends, we had a lovely drive along the coast and camped completely alone at a wee bay called Maraehako. Sunsets and open fires, stuff we love. I got another swim in this morning. The East Cape is quite different from the remainder of the country, mostly maori inhabitants, and seemingly wild horses. And lots of lots of rugged coastline...

May 16, 2013 - Last week here

Only 6 more days to get the rest of our belongings to storage and put the camper back on. Got our Trip Tik from BCAA this morning and new tires on the truck. Getting to the bottom of the deep freeze and trying not to buy any more groceries. Thank goodness there are a lot of hockey games for Frank. I am busy cleaning. Hopefully when we buy a new home it will be as clean as we are leaving this one.

May 16, 2013 - can you say scared???

Well When I came to Fort Mac in September I was going to stay for 6 months. 9 months later it about to be over. I got an email this week saying that Shell is not renewing the contract for the company I work for and that we will leave Fort Mac May 31 and then spend 2 weeks in Calgary handing over the project. At first I was actually scared and upset my bosses at Shell and Fransen talked to me about staying until September and when I got the email all I could think about was the money. But a talk to with a very smart lady made me realize that...

May 15, 2013 - heading south

Oops, maori not moari... bad spelling in the last entry, shame on me ! We left the wedding festivities and headed a short distance south to Mt Maunganui to spend another happy catch up evening with my other nephew, his girlfriend, his mother and his step father. It has been three years, so plenty to talk about. The next morning another small hop south, with some quiet time beside the sea and another swim, along the way. Two nights with my longest standing ( fifty years ) and dear friend Andree and her husband in their pretty little town of...

May 14, 2013 - Niagara falls

We were picked up at 8.15 am for our Niagara tour. We stopped at a couple of different picturesque spots on the way, and the first thing we did on arrival at the falls was the iconic Maid Of The Mist boat trip. We were given stylish blue ponchos to protect us somewhat from the mist, and it was amusing to put these on with the breeze blowing them everywhere. I was soon grateful for the poncho as the boat took us quite close to the falls. The falls are stunning, and the sheer volume of water is just incomprehensible, especially to us Aussies....

May 14, 2013 - Recovery day

Today was our day of recovery and rest after the 2 week push to pack the RV to go. We had to run into Chilliwack to purchase the things we couldn't take across the border. Which are pitted fruit, potatoes, and bear spray. We had to go to a fishing tackle place to get the bear spray. We learned that Canadians drive quiet fast here and are a bit impatient with us foreigners, who don't know our way around town. Camperland RV Resort is a really nice place but a bit expensive. (Probably because it has a waterpark attached to it). Cable TV and...

May 13, 2013 - The Adventure begins!

This morning we left our home in Belfair, to begin our great adventure trip to Alaska!This trip has been a long time in the planning stages, so we are glad to finally be on the road. I am happy to report we had a trouble free day, no sticky jacks or stuck slide outs like our trip to Arizona in January. Thank you God for your constant care. We entered Canada this afternoon at Sumas, after a 40 minute wait at the border crossing. We are currently staying just outside of Chilliwack, @ Camperland RV resort for two nights. Tomorrow we will stock...

May 12, 2013 - Happy Mother's Day

Hi Friends Hope all the Mom's had a wonderfu Mother's Day today. Peter is doing much better each and every day. We have been reading about the cornea transplant on the internet - fine time to do this after the operation! LOL. But, sometimes you just don't know what to expect or you wonder how others have felt throughout this same procedure. Just good to hear from others who have been there, done that! The redness around his eye is going away. We still have to make sure he takes the drops every 2 hours - for a total of 3 weeks...then 4x a...