December 1, 2014

Today Michel went on a nice hike with Henry Rempel. We met Henry and his wife Evelyn (from Chilliwack, BC) in this park a couple of weeks ago. 


This morning Henry and Michel hiked up a hill that is over 2,000 ft above sea level,  








There is a monument built at the top of this hill. It was erected by a Croatian man as a thank you to Pres. Bill Clinton. 

Michel at the monument

Michel enjoyed the hike, and the company.



A couple of hours later he was back home again and we got ready for our little road to trip to see RIch and Tina.

 
Rich and Tina are staying in Thermal, which is about an hours drive from Sky Valley. 

So we enjoyed their company, a little happy hour, and dinner before we began our trek back home.  

November 30, 2014

Darlene, Jacquie and Ginette

Grey Cup Sunday!

The party was at Darlene and Harveys. There were 18 of us including two couples who are not even Canadian! 

Lana, Myself, Lorraine

The ladies sat outside so the guys could watch the game inside where the TV was (Calgary vs Hamilton). It was pretty cool once the sun went down - thus the blankets!

Jacquie, Ginette, Marilyn, Marie

Everyone brought appies - there were so many both tables (inside and outside) were covered with goodies!


And the hostess (Darlene) made a huge batch of chilli. So we all got enough to eat that is for sure!

Marcel, Michel, Bob, Harvey

The guys made a 'pool' for the game and Michel won 1/4 of the pool money. 

Bob, Harvey, Merv, Wink, Pat, Brian

It was a good day. Everyone enjoyed themselves, though I'm not entirely sure they were all happy about the outcome of the game - Calgary won. 

November 24, 2014

We thought Doug and Ginette might be getting tired of left-over turkey from Thanksgiving, so we had Mexican dinner at our house -
black bean enchiladas, spanish rice and re-fried beans.
It was pretty good, if I do say so myself - lol!

November 23, 2014

L to R: Darlene, Lana, Ginette, Jacquie, Marie, Nancy

L to R: Bob, Harvey, Marcel, Pat, Michel, Brian, Doug

Happy American Thanksgiving!! 

We had our big Thankgsiving dinner early. Yesterday we gathered at Doug and Ginettes' - all 14 of us! 

Ginette cooked a delicious turkey and everyone brought the rest of the fixins. What a great meal - with new friends. 






The guys gathered outside on the deck for happy hour - the gals did the same indoors.

We had a lot of laughs and good conversation. Thank you Ginette and Doug for inviting us to join your group and partake in such warm friendship.

Doug and Ginette (Kamloops, BC)

Nancy and Marcel (Spruce Grove, Alberta)

Darlene and Harvey (Edmonton, Alberta)

Pat and Jacquie (Sky Valley Resort)

Marie and Brian (100 Mile House, BC)

Lana and Bob  (Sky Valley Resort)
Bob wasn;t around for pictures

Thanksgiving Toast given by Marie - CHEERS!!

After dinner out came the karaoke. Everyone enjoys that. Some sang with the mic, and we all sang along. 

Ginette got the karaoke going

Nancy singing her number - we all joined in!!

October 30, 2014

Well, here's what we've been up to for the last 10 days, since we left home. 

We did our usual route again this year, spending our first night along the Salmon River in Idaho, and meeting up with good friends Rich and Tina in Jackpot, NV. for our second night on the road. 

And speaking of road - this is what you see all through Nevada.... just a long straight highway. 

Night #3 at Pahranagat Wildlife Reserve just north of Vegas. This is becoming an annual stop. It is 2 miles in on gravel so it is dusty, but we figure it's worth it.

Day #4 and 5 we spent in Laughlin, NV, arriving early and parking at the Casino. Here we took in a movie and tried our luck on the casino floor.  I played Bingo and won $100.00 so I was excited!!!



On Day #6 (Friday) we got to Yuma. But not without a stop for lunch at Silly Al's in Quartzite, AZ.   They make the absolute BEST pizza we have ever eaten, so we have to make the stop at least once a year!











Other Pizza joints could take lessons from these guys on how to make pizza. It is so loaded with 'stuff' and the crust is just so nice and crunchy..... I'm hungry just talking about it....







So we dry camped at the Q Casino outside of Yuma until Tuesday, the 10th day of our journey south. In that time Michel got new glasses - and I had all kinds of dental work done....Ouch, ouch and more ouch! But now I'm done, so that is a good feeling. Still a little sore from having a wisdom tooth extracted, but nonetheless a good feeling to be finished at the dentist. 

We met up with old friends Russ and Mary Thomas, whom we met way back in 2005 in San Felipe (they now live in Yuma) and their friends Wayne and Cheryl (Yakima, WA).  We had lunch in Algodones, MX then just hung out with them for awhile, enjoying our visit. 



That brings us up to today - we arrived here in Sky Valley on Tuesday, put our motorhome into the park storage and settled into Steve and Doreen's park model. 

We said hello to Doug and Ginette and later we enjoyed happy hour with them on their deck (they live two doors down)





We'll be here for two months and we are both looking forward to it. 

Our deck looks onto the horseshoe pit, so Michel wandered over this morning and joined the men in a game or two.  Then coffee afterwards.  I think we will enjoy our stay here. 

October 7, 2014

We spent a relaxing week at my daughter Tammy's new place just south of Ponoka. Her fiance Rob bought a beautiful house on the Wolf Creek Golf Course where they are making a home for their family. Pictured on the right is  my daughter and her fiance Rob, my grandson Tristan, and their dogs, Tejah and Cooper. The cat (Ashes) wouldn't sit for a photo.  

My son Farren came down from Grimshaw for the weekend and we picked up his daughter Melody from her place in Red Deer, so I got to enjoy the company of all my kids and grands for the weekend. 

This was the first time in four years that we've all been together, so we took advantage of it for an updated photo shoot.
Me and my kids and grands - sure was nice to wrap my arms them. 

Then we travelled north a bit more - to Edmonton - where we visited with my cousin Norman and his wife Alice. It's always great to spend some time with them. 

This year we also got in a visit with Norman's older brother Larry and his wife Norma. Last year they were still in Casa Grand, Arizona when we came through so we never got the chance to see them. It was nice to see them again after many years. (stolen picture from fb - Norma and Larry)

Last but certainly not least we spent the weekend with my girlfriend Deb and her husband Len. (another stolen picture - Len, Deb and two of their grands) We had a great weekend of visiting.

We left on Sunday morning, stayed with Dennis and Nola again in Spillamasheen then carried on home on Monday morning. 

Had a wonderful couple of weeks, but are happy to be home. Now we have to get ready to drive south. 

September 24, 2014

Michel and Dennis in front of their house in Spillamasheen

We usually make our annual visit to Alberta in the spring but because of my hand surgery in April, we are making the trip this fall. First stop Radium Hot Springs. Well in reality we were in Spillamasheen, which is about 20 minutes north of Radium. 

Here we visited for the evening and enjoyed the hospitality of friends Dennis and Nola Alt.  

This picture of us is in front of the cute little cabin where we slept.








And Nola cooked for us. Yummmy!! Cedar Plank Salmon on the BBQ.












We really enjoyed our visit. We are very blessed to have good people like these in our lives and look forward to the next time we get together.