Day 7-20 People and Places

Sorry for the LONG blog update, but the challenges of Wifi and in certain places no service (and maybe a little bit of being unorganized, NOPE that’s not it) has left us leaving you all a little lost as to where we are and what we are doing. So, here it goes….

If we were not clear enough in our previous blog our mechanical issues were rectified by the Brandon Manitoba posse AND ourselves. It took a little courage on our part to trust the consensus of the group on what to do, but we did and it paid off.  YEAH!!!  So the next morning we walked to McDonalds and grabbed some coffee and to my (Lori) dismay there were no hash-browns.! Yikes, our perfect morning had only lasted about 20 minutes. HOW in heavens name can a McDonald’s have NO hash-browns!

The drive, fortunately, was uneventful and we arrived in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in great time to find our Harvest Host (HH) location owned by the McMojo’s, a great big gated farm field. Met a lovely couple from Calgary who were heading east to Newfoundland and we exchanged ideas about great places to visit and stay.  They were on a 6 month sabbatical from work. Very cool!
Had a super night boondocking and 3 other units arrived.  It was surprising as normally HH locations limit to 1 or 2.  It felt very relaxing other than the mosquitoes who were still very active here so we choose an indoor movie night.

The following morning it was rainy and super foggy.   We waited around for the fog to lift somewhat, and had to wait even longer for our massive windshield (the one some of you have been making fun of, “you know who you are”) to clear up enough to see out of, we finally got that rectified and headed out.  It was supposed to be one of our longer days (about 5 hours of driving) and given the weather (lot’s of rain) we were on the road much longer.  We were thrilled when we finally arrived in Brooks Alberta to find our Harvest Host location The Back Forty, a working farm.   Going up the long driveway we came to a fork in the road, as one does in life, and we had a decision to make.  There was somewhat of a ‘disagreement’ as to which way to go.  When Barb said ‘You always go right….with a great big laugh…unless you are supposed to go left”.  We decided to go right and found the perfect parking spot and settled in. OK so maybe Barb was right….about going right… The rain finally stopped and we met the owners and purchased fresh eggs, sausage and of course BACON!  We went for a walk to visit the chickens and corn fields and once again ran back due to the swarms of Mosquitoes! 

Early to bed as the next morning we had an 8am appointment at Brooks Lube, an AMA approved location, for our pre-booked RV safety.  This of course is a requirement to get our RV licensed in Alberta.  Since the previous owner BW had a safety in Ontario we assumed all would go well and we were not worried, well I was a little worried, Barb was cool as a cucumber.
We popped across the street to the local A&W for breakfast.  NO HASH-BROWNS!!  The hash-brown shortage continues!!!  Clearly this MUST be a nation wide issue!  Oh ya and for the record, we were the youngest people in A&W by far.  Welcome to early retirement!! Well at least we feel it is early seeing as how we are still so young 🙂

It was a ton of fun to watch the mechanics do their very thorough check of our RV from across the road. Two hours later, they called to tell us they were done and we went back for the outcome.  Great news we were certified.  However some new learnings.  The head mechanic shared he had called some government vehicle association to ask whether he could pass us as he is not to pass anyone without working air bags.  Now don’t misunderstand…it’s not that ours don’t work…our RV simply doesn’t have them! We had a holy shit moment until he told us apparently many RV’s don’t have them installed.  Kind of hard to grasp in this day and age.  Anyhow we both acknowledged that our Wills and POAs are up to date so we got back in the RV with certificate in hand.  As we were leaving the mechanic said he was super impressed with “our Rig” and also “highly intimidated” by our massive front window.  We had a huge laugh and Barb told him that was her very first thought when she initially saw the RV.  We now of course love it for the incredible views.  

Once settled into our Calgary West Campground in Alberta for the week we quickly grabbed an Uber to Lori’s house to relieve B&B from their pet sitting duties.  How fun to be ‘at home’ with Lori’s 85’ tv where Barb was introduced to the series Bosch.  OMGosh now Barb is hooked! Good thing there are 7 seasons and a new one called Bosch Legacy, but alas we had real work to do.  I (Lori) sold my home and we had a week to choose and pack everything for the RV and then prep for the movers to come and pack everything else. Sounds simple, right??…..Well day 1 we made some headway and packed up the car and drove to the campsite (leaving the animals behind) only to find that the top lock on our door was jammed! We couldn’t get in, and of course being the diligent people we are we had locked this puppy up tight as a drum so there was no way in.  What does one do now?  Call a locksmith of course.  Sunday morning, 9 am on the Calgary Stampede opening weekend……it took a while but we found a guy who came out and saved the day.  He also had worked until 2AM the night before dealing with Stampede “issues”.  We also got a great discount with our premium AMA RV card. So, into the RV and we continued rearranging and packing for the next couple of days.  Sunday Winston and Safiya entered the fold and settled in for their new life onboard.  
Monday movers showed up to pack, and Tuesday to continue to pack and to move the stuff out.  22 hours later….I hope I am not paying by the hour….the house is empty.  Car got picked up and with an Uber back to the campsite, I (Lori) am officially a Nomad.  (I really need to watch the movie…)

Wednesday we were off in the direction of Creston BC, stopping first at a horse farm in Pincher Creek AB.  A little off the beaten path but well worth the trip!!  Heidi is a wonderful host and clearly LOVES the animals she has on the farm. She has Canadian Horses which is a rare breed and Canada’s official National Breed.  She joined us in the RV for what I will call a Q&A period with Barb asking most of the questions.  (Good ones I might add).  As with all farms, you have livestock & you have deadstock (JL will appreciate that comment) so Barb was quite interested in learning about what happens when you bury a dead horse (obviously, not a live one) on the farm that is deemed “Native Grasslands and I believe conservation land”. Like all good farmers, the shrug of the shoulders from Heidi, and the “no big deal” attitude let us know that the burial of a horse is just the way things are done.

As we travel it is important to us that we give back any way that we can. This time at Heidi’s, it was Winston who did the contributing of giving back. (I have a video I will try and get uploaded and all our awesome pics etc in our gallery here). It just so happened that Heidi wanted a video of her Canadian horses running, which is quite stunning, for her website but she has never been able to capture this yet on film. SO, in comes Winston. The horses were quite interested in him and always seemed to run towards him when he came out of the RV for a walk. So we had Winston run along the gate and the horses ran along side him. (OK for those of you who know Winston, it was more of a jaunt and gallop than a run but it worked none the less) Barb caught this on video and low and behold, we now have Canadian horses running for Heidi. Well done Winston!

Thursday we landed in Creston BC, nice very small campground but with lots of tree shade. Barb drove all day as she wanted the experience of mountain driving. We started anxious about our weight (to be clear not our weight but the RV weight) and how it would perform on the hills. Barb did an awesome job using the ”tow/haul” feature which helped us keep our speed on the down hill portion and our RPMs on the way up. We got to Creston and had a glass of wine to celebrate our successful journey across Crowsnest Pass. What we failed to understand and only found out the following day, that it is in fact Poulsen Pass & Kootney pass are the higher hills, so we really haven’t done the big stuff yet, and it is now my (Lori’s) turn to drive. Good grief. We have however been able to relax and enjoy our quiet time here in Creston, and we were able to take a private tour with a local company, Creston Valley Tour Co. We visited Kootenay Meadows farm/Alpine Cheese, orchards, and of course a winery! Baillie-Grohman Winery. This tour company owned by Gillian Kemle was just OUTSTANDING! They go above and beyond to make you enjoy your day. We were greeted with fresh fruit and water to start, then we moved onto fresh veggies and dip. We decided to go healthy and decline the chips and other treats available for us. If you are ever in Creston BC, reach out to Creston Valley Tour Co. Gillian also owns the Valley View Motel in Creston and it is NOT what you would expect!! It is a cozy gathering of quaint cottages that look over the Creston Valley. Our favorite part of the tour was the Kootenay Meadows farm/Alpine Cheese stop. This farm is state of the art and the dairy cows are looked after with kindness, comfort and all the perks of living a great life in the valley. Each cow wore a collar that told the owners everything, and I mean everything about the cow. When they are eating/sleeping/milking (they do this themselves, the cows I mean) if they are pregnant, sick, giving birth, you name it! I have to expand on the cows milking themselves as I found this fascinating. Apparently you can easily train cows. The collars they wear open up gates for them IF they are allowed in. So when the cow wants to get milked they go up to a gate, the collar signals to the gate to open and the cow goes forward to the milking machine. The back gate closes and the cow is in a small penned area. A laser machine identifies where the cow is, washes the underside of the cow with what frankly looks like a car wash, then the machine finds each teet and milks the cow. While this is happening the cow gets a treat of some sort of grain. Again the collar notifies the owners who has been milked, who hasn’t, and one cow in particular one day tried getting back in line 67 times in one day (she likes the treat of grain apparently) and the machinery and the collar knew that the cow was not to be milked again so the gate didn’t open for her, so back in line to try again. Unbelievable !! The technology that is, the cow story is just damn funny. The cheese and milk production was also state of the art. We purchased cheese and milk/cream from them. Can’t wait to dig in!!

Tomorrow we are off to Trail BC with a detour to a favourite place of mine (Lori) Nelson BC.