At last,,,,,

 Thunder Bay to Wawa

     The KOA in Thunder Bay is just east of the city and is a typical KOA campground.  Nice flat sites with all the amenities, including a swimming pool.  Too many people in the pool for our comfort level, so rather than go swimming we headed back in a westerly direction to go to see the Terry Fox National memorial.  As everyone in Canada over the age of 10 knows who Terry Fox is and what he has, in his death contributed in the search for a cure for cancer.  Every year there are hundreds of “Terry Fox” runs across the country.  Terry’s personal run across Canada ended after 5342 kms almost at the exact spot of the memorial.  The city of Thunder Bay erected a 9 foot high bronze statue of Terry overlooking the most amazing view of Lake Superior off in the distance.  The statue is set on a 45 ton granite base with a foundation of amethyst, which was mined locally.  The below photos do not do justice to either the monument nor the spectacular view. 

Not a great photo but it is the view from the monument.

     Approximately 60 kms east of Thunder Bay is the Amethyst Mine Panorama where you can tour the mine and even dig for your own amethyst.  Many gift shops in the area (including the KOA) sell pieces of amethyst in raw form or set in silver jewelry.  Amethyst is the most popular quartz crystal and considered the most powerful and protective stone.  It is said to relieve the wearer from “stress and strain, it soothes irritability, balances mood swings, dispels anger, rage, fear and anxiety. This precious stone has outstanding healing and cleansing powers”.  For those who follow the chakras, wearing an amethyst is “one of the best ways to ensure the crown chakra and third eye chakra are always inflow”. We of course didn’t visit the mine and is something that I would not want to do as I can’t breathe in enclosed spaces, so it would be a waste of time and money.

     The next morning we left Thunder Bay behind and followed the big lake the Ojibwe named “gichifami”, which means “great sea”.  And it really does look like a sea, because you cannot see to the other side.  You can see islands (like the sleeping Giant) but not to the other side of the lake.  Lake Superior is the largest of the great lakes and is in fact the largest fresh water lake, by surface area (82,000 kms), in the world.  It is 560 km long and 260 kms wide.  The lake spans from Ontario to the north, into Minnesota on the west, and Wisconsin the the upper Michigan on the south.  In 1975 the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sand during a storm on the lake.  Gordon Lightfoot wrote a song about the storm, ship sinking and loss of the 29 souls on board.  

    After about a 5 & 1/2 hour drive we arrived in Wawa, which was an hour short of where we thought we would stop for the night, but Ray was tired and we needed some fuel.  Both for the truck and our own fuel.  We got a campsite on the west side of town and after setting up, drove in to town get fuel and find a grocery store.  After feeling up we drove down the dreary little town to see where we could buy some fresh fruit.  We spotted the grocery store on the opposite side of the street, so driving past it Ray said that he could pull up and park on the side street.  He turned the truck around in a wide circle and driving slowly up to the store, I pointed out there were lots of spots to park in front so no need to go onto the side street.  He said, “how do you think we can park in front with the trailer”.  He had forgotten that we had already dropped the trailer at the campground.  Yes he was very tired indeed!!  And then to top it off, there was no fruit to be had in the store!!

Manitolin Island to Kitchener/Waterloo

     Next morning, after a good nights rest, we were up and out of the campground by 8:30.  We wanted to make it onto Manitoulin Island so we could catch the morning ferry.  After a very long 6 & 1/2 hour drive we arrived at Batman’s Campground on Manitoulin Island.  It is about an hour in from the Trans Canada on the Island and about a 45 minute ride to the ferry.  As you know, we do not prebook anything.  In the campground office we were told that they only had one small site that electric only.  It was $43 or we could take a site in a field with no services at all which would be $40.  We opted for the $43.  The young lady walks us out to where we were going to be camped, we would have to unhook and plug into a building.  I said that our electric cord may not reach, to which she said that we could purchase an extension cord in the office.  Ray said, no we will take a spot in the field.  After “setting up” in the field, I called the Manitoulin ferry to book our passage over to Tobermorey.  They were sold out until the Sunday 7 pm ferry.  This was Friday and I wanted to be at Riki’s on Saturday not late Sunday night or early Monday morning.  Basically we had had enough, Ray said that we were going to leave and head back towards Sudbury.  Of course we could not get our money back!!!  We drove another 2 hours to a campsite in Sudbury.  Once we settled for the night I called a couple of campgrounds in the Waterloo/Kitchener area and found a site for us.  The next morning we drove from Sudbury to Waterloo, another long drive.  Finally we were able to stay parked for the next week and head down to see Riki and the girls.!!!!

We are here until Sunday, when we will head back up to visit with the Mayhew family in Newmarket and then head up to Oro Medonte to visit with Nancy.  

Lori and Ray

 Before we get two far away, I need to tell you a few things about the part of Saskatchewan we were in.  While driving along highway 16 we noticed many fields had these large bright blue domes evenly scattered around.  They looked like what I have seen the “veal” calves live in for their poor little life, before going to market.  But these domes were taller and narrower and all seemed to face the same direction.  I couldn’t get a photo of them, but did find one on the internet when I goggled what they were for.  Well they are plastic shelters for alfalfa “leaf-cutter” bees. They are “needed for their warming abilities and a place for the bees to build their nests out of the alfalfa leaves.  One shelter for every 4 to 5 acres contains about a dozen nests”.  Well now you know!

Blue Domes

     Our last night in Saskatchewan was spent in Yorkton.  It is the 6th largest “city” in Saskatchewan and has a population of about 17,000 people, quite large for the area for sure.  It can have extreme temperatures.  Cold winters and warm summers.  “Highest recorded temperature was on July 19, 1941 and was a hot 40.6 Celsius.  The coldest ever recorded was January 20, 1943  and was a bitter -46.1 celsius”.  There are many heritage buildings in Yorkton one of which is the Hudson’s Bay Company Store.  As I said in the last blog, we were quite glad to leave Saskatchewan behind.  The highways were the worst we have seen yet.  Ray says it was the worst day he has ever driven with the trailer.  Of course that didn’t count the running out of diesel because, that was kind of funny!. 

Portage La Prairie

     We stayed at the Miller Family Campground, which we have previously stayed at.  It is about 13 kms east of Portage.  It is a cute campground, complete with little cowboy gnomes scattered here and there.  The operators are very friendly and the place is very quiet.  It was Ray's birthday, so we had some wine and cheese before dinner!! LOL

Wine and Cheese for two

Vermillion Bay Ontario

     Leaving Portage La Prairie behind we headed towards Winnipeg and took the route around the city.  Last time we were there, we ended up downtown.  That happens to us a lot!  San Fransisco and Montreal.  This time we made sure to follow the GPS to avoid the city.  The drive from Portage to Ontario was pretty good with the exception of a few good rain showers.  Crossing into Ontario the roads improved immensely.  We did however, run into a lot of roadwork.  But no major stops.  And no rain!  For anyone who has not been to Ontario, you may not have heard of the “chip trucks”.  If you are travelling in this Province and see a chip truck, stop and have some chips.  Or Poutine.  The “chips” are fresh cut and are delicious! 

Chip Truck

     When I was planning this trip, I had looked into campsites that were all about 4-5 hours apart.  Everything was up for a change if need be.  Vermillion Bay is at the tail end of the Lake of the Woods area.  Ontario is so full of lakes, small ones and large ones.  What I really like is that each lake we passed, there would be a sign post indicating what the name of the lake is.  Often when we are travelling we pass a lake and wonder what the name of it is.   The campground that I had thought we might stay in was called Jerlin RV Campsite.  They were family friendly and their web page said there was lots of dinosaurs for kids to enjoy.  There was even a photo of one on the web.  So we pull in to the campground office.  No dinosaurs to be seen.  There was a note on the door that said “B.R.B.,, I am out back”.  We had a look at the campsites, that appeared not to have been camped in for 5 years or more.  Weeds all over place!  The sites were very narrow with trees and bushes almost where you would park.  So we decided to pass on this one and go a bit farther down the highway.  

     We found one called “Blue Bird Trailer and Campsite”.  We were met by “Henry”, who had the worst BO that I have ever had to be near!  Stained T-shirt and missing teeth.  The sites were huge with some smaller ones were right on the lake. Grass was neatly trimmed.  There was laundry facilities, which I really wanted after 7 days on the road.  So we ask old Henry, how much.  $55 was the nightly rate, which is the most we had paid to date!  But Ray was tired, and I wanted to do laundry, so we said sure and forked out the cash!  THEN….. Henry tells us…. that you can’t drink the water without boiling it first and run the water for a few minutes before attaching your hose!!  OMG for $55……He already had our cash in his grubby little hand.  We do carry our own water, just for reasons like this.  Our site was very nice,,,,,with the exception of the train that roared through blasting his horn!  There was also a huge ant hill about three feet from the back of the trailer.  But we did have our Comet and sprinkled that around all the tires which kept the little buggers away! .  As it turned out, it was a nice place on a beautiful lake, and with the exception of the two trains in the middle of the night and the thunder storm, we both slept well! 

We are in Thunder Bay tonight at a KOA.  The wifi is lousy and I have been using my phone as hotspot, but even it is slow and I am trying to load photos.  It is giving me a headache!!  I will sign off for tonight and get this uploaded to Facebook and try again tomorrow to add more photos!!

Lori and Ray

And then "It" happened......

 Kindersley Saskatchewan

     We had a beautiful drive from Sylvan Lake to Kindersley Saskatchewan.  We stayed totally off the main highway, so had a relaxing drive with little traffic.  This part of Alberta has a combination of rolling hills covered in poplar trees, and fields of hay. It really was a beautiful drive!  Our plan had been to head to Kindersley Saskatchewan.  It was only about a 4 hour drive, so was keeping with what we had in mind.  It was very windy, with the wind pushing us from the east.  Thankfully not raining, just very very windy.

     Anyone who has followed my previous blogs know that the subject of fuel, or lack of same, is always a good topic with us.  Many times over the years Ray has pushed the limit on how far he can drive while the gauge is showing “E”.  He has done this when we are puling the fifth wheel, or even trips in the car.  I am sure there have been a couple times we have glided into a service station on fumes.  Soooo,,,,,about 20kms west of Kindersley, Ray happened to mention that we needed to look for a service station.  I asked how low we were, and he said on E.  Knowing Ray that probably meant below "E", because he would never want to scare me into thinking that we were running out of gas.  Well about 15 minutes later he pulled off the side of the highway,,,well we coasted off the highway.  We were stone cold out of diesel!!!  Nada. Nothing. Empty. Kaput.  I can hear you laughing Jim!  Because you knew that it was going to happen sooner or later!!! We were literally 4 kms out of Kindersley.  We googled a service station and made a phone call.  They sent out a young Saskatchewan big blonde buck,,,,who was about 20 years old.  Ladies he was not bad to look at!!!  Sorry no photos of him.

Yup outta diesel

Guess what he is going?

Wondering what Ray is doing?

Poor Mr Sponge Bob hanging on the telephone pole

     While we waited for Mr Saskatchewan to arrive with some diesel,  I called the municipal campground to see if they had any available sites for the night.  I am not even sure why I called ahead, because we just usually "show up",,,but I did, which maybe was a good thing.  At least I knew that we would have somewhere to park for the night.  After dropping the trailer, we took the truck to have a wash, because it was very dirty.

    Our drive from Kindersley was the worst drive!  As Ray wanted to stay off the main highway I selected Highway 15 from Rosetown.  He wanted to avoid going through Saskatoon.  The road was not bad, not great either. Secondary highways are always a bit of an "iffy" situation.  Especially in Saskatchewan.  We crossed highway 11 which runs from Saskatoon to Regina.  Within minutes this road turned into a two lane gravel and dirt road!  And then the rain started!  Nowhere to turn around we continued using the GPS and Google Maps (good thing we increased our Giga Bytes on our phones).  We needed to get back to Highway 16, which took about an hour and a half.  Once on 16 we decided to get to Yorkton rather then Foam Lake (see that is why we don't make reservations ahead of time).  It was a hellish long days drive, in the end it was about a 7 hour drive which is not want we had planned.  When we arrived in Yorktown we pulled into the first campsite we saw.  It was a mud pit with all the rain.  Ray parked as far from any puddle that he could and plugged into electric.  Didn't bother with the water as we always carry some water in our tank.

Beautiful drive today as we left Saskatchewan behind (thank gawd).  Tonight we are in Portage la Prairie in a campsite we have previously stayed in (Miller's Campground).  It is the same one we camped in a few years ago.  Lots of trees.  Last time one of the trees "jumped" onto the roof of our 5th wheel as we were pulling out and ripped the ladder right off our roof.  That won't happen this time.  Will it?  Stay tuned....

Lori and Ray

PS:  it is Ray's 73rd birthday today.  

    

Golden to Sylvan Lake

     When we arrived in Golden there were signs saying that Hwy 1. Was closed eastbound, and to take the route through Radium Hot Springs.  But then there were “flashing” signs saying Hwy 1 was open.  Very confusing.  A check with Drive BC said that due to construction to widen the highway at Kicking Horse River, Hwy 1 would be closed to all traffic in both directions until September.  This was posted on July 29th, so obviously not updated at all.  So in the morning we decided to take our chances and head back up towards Hwy 1 and see what was happening.  Going through Radium would have added an hour to our drive if we were still heading to Rocky Mountain House.  As luck would have it, the flashing sign said the highway was open and we could see the traffic climbing the hill up out of town.  They were definitely working on widening the highway, with machinery all over the cliff side of the highway.  It is straight down into the Kicking Horse River from the highway that follows the river as it snakes through the canyon, so this is a major project that highways is taking on and won’t be finished anytime soon.  Like, not even this year!  It was slow going with only one, 10 minute total closure.  The road work was really only about 5 kms, so really not bad.

     Once we got through the roadwork, we had a beautiful drive through the Rockies..  It was cloudy so most of the peaks were in the clouds, but we did get a “peek at the occasional peak”.  There are so many beautiful glacier green lakes alongside the highway.  Lots of signs to watch out for wildlife on the roads. I was really hoping to see a moose, bear or an elk through the Rockies, but unfortunately the only wildlife was saw was a grizzly bear lying on the side of the road with a group of people standing around it.  It looked like he had just been hit.  Poor guy. We took a detour off the highway into Lake Louise.  I thought it would be nice to go up and see the lake and maybe tour the village.  We went first up to the beautiful lake.  Nothing is more beautiful then seeing Lake Louise with the mountains in the background, seeming to slide right into the green green lake.  Today though the mountains were shrouded with clouds.  Even in the overcast weather the lake is that striking colour of green.  Not emerald, but not aqua either.  We were happy that we had arrived early in the day, because of the amount of people wanting to also take photos of the lake.  Once again, not one person had a mask on nor was there social distancing.  We took a couple of photos and then went back to the truck  Too many people and too cold!

.  Lake Louise

     Leaving Lake Louise, we continued on Hwy 93 and then Hwy 11 which took us into Rocky Mountain House.  I am not really sure why I wanted go spend some time here, but I have heard the name so many times over the years, so was hoping I would not be disappointed.  There are only three campground in the immediate vicinity.  We pulled into the first one, only to be told that they were full for the weekend due to the Chuck Wagon races.  Chuck Wagon races!! Yea Haw!!!  We were going so see some real cowboys racing their wagons!  Not that it had ever entered my mind to watch this,,,,but what the heck,,,something different to do for sure.  We checked the other two campgrounds, but all were full!  Darn it,,,,Sylvan Lake was only 40 minutes down the road.  We could always drive back to watch the races.  Did we do that?  No we did not because when we got into Sylvan Lake, there was a beautiful lake with an inviting looking marina.  We found the Sylvan Lake Campground (which on the map looked like it was right on the lake).  It actually was a crappy little site, but as we were in one of the very end sites we didn’t really mind.  The lady who was running the campground was from Stave Falls!  Had a great chat with her (Bonnie).  She had lived up by Rolley Lake and she still has family there.  Small world for sure!

     Sylvan Lake is a small town with a population of around 15,000 during the summer months it increases considerably with many tourists enjoying the lake.  Besides farming, tourism is very important to the town.  Sylvan Lake was originally called “Snake Lake”  due to the large number of garter snakes in the area!!!  OMG, I may not have wanted to stay there at all had I known that.  Now, just typing this is giving me the willies!  In 2014 I recall hearing of a house in the prairies that was overcome by garter snakes.  So of course when I read that Sylvan had been called Snake Lake, I immediately thought this was that town, but I looked it yup and that town was near Regina.   Now I am sure to have nightmares of snakes!  We wandered around the main part of town and down to the Marina where there was a big Farmers Market happening.  We thought we would take a walk through the market to see what they had there for sale and also to check out the food trucks.  But when we went to go into the market, it was packed with people!  No social distancing nor any masks.  We thought be of it and turned around walking in the opposite direction.  We found a quiet bar & grill, with outdoor seating so went and had a bite to eat before heading back to our campsite.  With the exception of some noisy neighbours, it was an uneventful night.

Lighthouse at the entrance to the Marina

Kamloops to Golden

 Our drive from Mission to Kamloops was better then we thought it would be.  After much thought and discussion we decided to leave home at 11:15 planning on taking Highway 3 to Princeton and then 5A to Merritt and 5 to Kamloops.  According to Facebook it seemed to be the best route for us to take.  I have to say that I am thoroughly disappointed with "Drive BC" as their site had not been updated since the day before.  Even Global and CTV news was not up to date.  Why keep reporting the same conditions if they are a day old?  People posting on the Facebook Coquihalla Highway group had up to date posts and which seemed to be very accurate.  So off we headed.  We were in, by no means, a rush, so we were prepared for any changes to take the safest routes.  As Ray drove I kept checking the Coquihalla Group.  About 10 minutes before we arrived in Hope, there were a couple of posts that the Coquihalla was opening up at noon.  So we stopped at Starbucks to grab a coffee, and decided that if the Coquihalla really was not open, then the traffic would definitely be routed through to Princeton.  But it was open, so away we went.  The drive was very smokey for sure, with both of us wearing N95 masks.  Between the Britton Rest area and Larson Hill, you could definitely see where the fire had jumped the road burning trees on both sides.  There were many small fires still smouldering but no flames could be seen.  I have never seen a fire truck on the Coquihalla, but this drive I saw three of them.  Just patrolling and watching for any of these smouldering piles to flame up and start burning.  We felt very safe,,,,other then the terrible smoke which could be even tasted inside the truck.  I thought about taking photos but there have been so many already on the news and social media, I didn't want to seem repetitive so early in my blog! lol

     Arriving in Kamloops around 2:30 we made our way to the Silver Sage RV park.  It is not the prettiest campsite, but is on the Thompson River and only about 10 minutes from Tanya's.  The was literally no smoke in Kamloops.  Beautiful sunny skies but as luck would have it, Tanya wasn't feeling very well so we decided to wait and see how she felt in the morning to make a decision if we spent another night.  If she was still unwell, then we would just head east.  Wednesday morning we woke to smokey skies once again.  Tanya was much better so we decided to go with our original plan and spend the extra day, but spend it doing something indoors.  Ray chose to do some manly stuff.  Like going to Rona and getting some towel racks for the trailer and installing same items.  Boooooring!!!  Doing indoor things during Covid times, doesn't leave a lot of options.  We decided on bowling,,,,even though Keaton told me he had " gone bowling 3 times already".  I did tell him that it had been along time since I had been bowling and he might have to teach me, because I am old and may have forgotten how to bowl.  We did go and had a blast!  He did give me some pointers, like how to through the bowling ball because he thought I didn't throw it the right way!

"This way Nana"

Keaton and Mama

Then of course there was some video shooting

We had a great day and then had dinner with the Clooten's (including smudge and Cooper).  Smudge was not being very cooperative when it came time for a family photo.  I think he is camera shy!!

Golden BC

    We left the Clooten's behind in Kamloops and headed east in the morning (Thursday) bound for Golden.  The traffic was excellent even though there was quite a bit of road work being done.  It took us about 4 hours to get into Golden.  We have been to Golden many times, but usually after a 7 or 8 hour drive.  But this trip Ray has said that he doesn't want to do the long drives that he has always done in the past!  Yay, I say!  My hips can't take sitting in the truck for that long anymore either.  Not that they ever could!  But I am a senior now and have to take care of this old rickety body as it is the only one I get.  We have previously stayed in the Municipal Campground in downtown Golden.  It is clean and within walking distance to a number of pubs, grocery stores and whatever else you need for a one night stay.  So we stayed there again.  There are many things to do in Golden like skiing, biking, hiking, river rafting, heli tours up to the Bugaboos and surrounding glaciers   As we had a time share in Radium many years ago we have already done a glacier heli tour and have driven up to the Bugaboos.  We have also done a couple of white water raft trips.  One on the Kooteny River (which was a lazy trip with #2 - 3 rapids),  The other one was the Kicking Horse River trip (which was a hellish #3-4 rapids).  And that particular trip finished me for ever wanting to do another white water rafter trip.  Janet Chalmers, you remember those rapids!!  I thought my life was over!

    One thing of interest about Golden (there are many, but this is just one).  They have the longest freestanding timber frame pedestrian bridge in Canada. It is 150 feet long and has a 210,000 lb arch structure over the bridge.  We didn't walk to it this trip, but we waked across it a few years back.  Here is a photo of it that I found on the internet.

Kicking Horse Bridge

     What we did do was go for a walk around town and then had a bite to eat at what we thought was a pub.  It looked like a pub both inside and outside.  It had a great looking bar were they were serving up drinks.  It was called the Wolf Den.  There were little kids all over the place!   Thought we were in McDonald's!  Not that we oppose kids, it was just a bit weird!  Anyway....you had to wear a face mask to enter the "pub", but once inside there was no masks, no social distancing.  Tables crammed about a foot apart.  Except the one we sat at.  It was relatively by itself!  It felt very odd to see so many people inside and so close together.  We did have a decent dinner at the non-pub and then walked back to the campground.  Ray kicked my butt in two games of crib before we hit the sack.

The "non-pub"

Check out the sign above Ray

    Stay turned for tomorrow's trip to the beautiful Lake Louise and points east.  Goodbye BC, until we see you again!

Lori and Ray

  

The Beginning

 Ahh, the beginning.  The start of the blog.  It brings the thought into my mind, what to name my blog this time?  Something boring?  Which might make you not really want to open the first pages, never mind the future ones.  Or something catchy, to feed and hold your interest.  To want to follow along on yet another of our adventures.  Not that our adventures are really all that exciting, but sometimes shit happens and I get to poke some fun at Ray or even at myself.  Which does bring a chuckle or in the least, a smile to your face.  I really do love writing the blogs and I have referred back to previous blogs many times over the years.  Mostly to win an argument!  For now, I have titled this "Ontario 2021", simply because I have to start somewhere.  I will likely change the title before I actually post it for all to see.

     We are currently preparing for our trip.  We have this new much smaller (24') travel trailer to call home for the next 6 plus weeks.  We sold our 30' fifth wheel and the difference is amazing.  Wayyy less room.  Way less storage.  No privacy to speak of, unless of course you lock yourself into the bathroom!  I know we will miss the space we had, but seriously how much time do we actually spend inside.  It is "camping" after all, with maybe a little "glamping".  Ray is not crazy how the trailer feels in comparison to the fifth wheel, for towing.  But he will get used to it and as it is a lot smaller, I will take my turn at driving it.  Sometimes, somewhere. 

    We will be travelling from our home to Ontario.  No further this year.  As everyone on the planet knows, we have not been anywhere in over two years.  We have not seen Riki and her girls, or my sister and her family, or my niece Amanda and her family, or my friend Nancy (who is like family to us) since 2019. So this trip is simply to see our family,  hug everyone and maybe shed a tear or two.  We won't be travelling south of the border this trip to see Cia and her family this trip for obvious reasons.  But hopefully before years end we can fly down to see them as well.  We are both fully vaccinated and are armed with plenty of masks and sanitizer in all forms.  We have filled all of our needed prescriptions so we don't run out.  Trailer is almost packed.  Once I figure out exactly how many pairs of shoes that I will need, the packing will be complete.😁

    I started typing this out a couple of days ago and have now come up with, what I think is an appropriate title for this blog."Escaping the Inferno".  Right?!  That is exactly what we will certainly be doing, if and when we can actually get outta here!  With the Coquihalla Highway closed between Hope and Merritt right now, we may have to take a longer route to get to the "Loops" when conditions are safe to do so.   It is apocalyptic here in BC right now, with fires surrounding our towns and cities in the southern interior and the Okanagan.  It is terrifying to watch on the news, and can only imagine what the residents of those towns feel.  Tanya is feeling the stress of dealing with the thick yellow hot smoke, as the fires are moving closer and closer to Kamloops.  Our first stop will be Kamloops, but that may now mean it is only to drop off our house keys for Tanya and Dean in the event they have to evacuate to our place.  I have always tried to remain positive, but this is really stressful time we are in between the fires and Covid! Oy vey..

     Hopefully my next post will have us safely out of this wretched inferno and on the road to see our Ontario family and friends.  Don't worry, we won't pull out of the yard if we cannot do it safely! May have to postpone a few days.

Lori and Ray