That’s the Summer that Was

Reflecting on summer and prepping for winter seems to be the main activities of us prairie folk once the fall equinox passes. So here are our reflections on the last few weeks of summer which saw us on more outings with Boxy, the RV. 

A highlight of our RV season had to be our visit to the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre at Innisfail, Alberta. This centre hosts the breeding programme as well as training of the service dogs and their RCMP handlers. We were treated to a demonstration of some of the teams’ skills at this last show of the summer and at the conclusion of the participating teams' training programme. 

 Sandy back in uniform

This facility trains police dogs for general duty or special skills.  “The responsibilities of police services dogs include locating lost persons; tracking criminals; searching for narcotics, explosives, illicit alcohol and stills, crime scene evidence and lost property; VIP protection; crowd control, in conjunction with tactical troop; hostage situations; avalanche search and rescue; and police/community relations.”

The graduating teams show off their skills at 
taking down some bad guys

The training field is being relocated on the site’s grounds in 2018, so the weekly demos may not be held next year.  We recommend you put this on your things to see and do in Alberta list, however, when the demos are again being offered (normally Wednesday afternoons in the summer).

Starting their training young, these puppies are chasing after this intruder 
on the property (the summer student)

Our final trip with Boxy was a circle tour north east of Edmonton taking in a number of the “world’s biggest” or unique things some of the smaller communities have created to encourage people to visit their areas. This was during the first week of September, through beautiful, rich farming country with stunning vistas of mature crops waving in the breeze as the season’s harvest was just beginning.  Even without the “attractions” to take in, the drive through these gorgeous prairie scenes was well worth the trip.

The first stop we made on this tour was Mundare, Alberta, home of Stawnichy's Meat Processing, makers of the best Ukrainian garlic ham sausage, hands down. After going to the store at their plant to purchase a couple of rings of sausage, we headed to Mundare's attraction, a giant replica of the famous product. 

I will leave the interpretation of this sculpture to you …

but it is big.  Mundare, AB

Next up, we were off to Andrew, AB to track down the world's largest mallard duck. Alberta sits in the Central North American Flyway.  There are many lakes and ponds forming a nice north-south link through the province that make excellent stop-overs during the seasonal migrations. Just east of Andrew is a lake that plays host to many mallards during their journeys, hence this tribute.

Good thing I took that birding course last winter, 
I just might spot this guy! Andrew, AB

As we made our way to our next destination, Sandy pointed out this collection along a farmer's field. Sure beats the oh too common nailing of one's ball cap collection to fence post after fence post, or worse yet, "posting" of their old boot collection.

A rainbow of old combines along the highway

Our next stop was Smokey Lake, where they hold an annual Pumpkin Festival and Weigh-Off every October. So, what do you think their giant sculpture was?

 Kate in the giant pumpkin patch, Smokey Lake

From Smokey Lake, we made our way to Vilna, a teeny tiny old town that has done a pretty good job of preserving its old buildings and heritage. We spent a considerable amount of time exploring every aisle and shelf in the old hardware store that had something of everything, including a store cat that kept watching our every move.  After the hardware store, we were off to see the world's largest mushrooms. According to the Vilna website, a salute to this wild mushroom acknowledges its use in many traditional dishes of the local, mainly Ukrainian, cuisine. Mushroom hunting has been a tradition in the Vilna area since the first Ukrainian settlers' arrival in the early 1900s.

Sandy finds shelter under the World's Largest Mushrooms, Vilna

Winnipeg, Manitoba, where Sandy hails from, also has a substantial Ukrainian population, and she has long been a fan of Ukrainian food. Her pyrogies are a favourite contribution to the monthly Canada party pot luck dinners held in our community in La Quinta, California during the winter. We had to go on a far jaunt during this tour to make our way to Glendon, Alberta to find this salute to one of her favourite foods.

The World’s Largest Pyrogy, Glendon, AB. 

Not sure how the fork ranks in the world order.

Not claiming to have something that is the world's largest, St. Paul, Alberta has chosen to go with something "other worldly."  Built during the celebrations for Canada's centennial year, 1967, the St. Paul UFO Landing Pad promotes not only world peace but intergalactic harmony as well. Unfortunately, it is too big, with too many elements to include in one photo. As this is the year of Canada's 150th birthday, that means this installation is celebrating its 50th. 

Kate and Sandy waiting for a UFO. 

No landings, as of yet. 

Our final stop on this loop was the World's Largest Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) in Vegreville.  As you have no doubt figured out by know, the area of this tour was substantially settled by Ukrainians, many of whose families continue to farm, work, and live in the region. This Easter Egg is spectacular, slowly oscillates back and forth, and has an intriguing pattern.  Each design element in a pysanka has a special meaning, so when one is created, it tells a story or pays tribute to something.

 World's Largest Pysanka,Vegerville

So, there, that wraps up our last adventures of the summer. With our medical adventures, we didn't get out exploring by bike, or RV, that much, which means next summer can only be better! 😊😊 

Here is a clipping I have had in my desk for many years. I think it accurately sums up what we thought about summer. 

Even if you think your summer was too short, we hope it was a good one!

You Know You Are Retired When ...

It’s been almost a year since I ended my medical career and embraced retirement.  Here are a few things that I have observed that are sure to indicate one is retired.

Become a Snowbird.   No, not a pilot with the Canadian Forces’ aerobatic team, but one who spends the winter months migrating from the northern cold to warmer southern climes.   Our home in La Quinta, California provided lots of opportunity to ride our bikes, not indoors on their trainers, but outdoors on the roads throughout the winter.

Heading out for a ride Christmas Morning 

Enjoy alternatives to driving in traffic.  Not working means not having to participate in the frustrations of rush hour traffic. Ah, the freedom.  Now mornings are relaxed and there is more time for other important things. 

Time for a morning snuggle with Rockie and Benny

Partake in daytime outings.  When people found out I was retiring, the most common question I was asked was, “What are you going to do with all the time?” Wow, there are so many things to fill the day, only limited by one’s imagination. Time to finally enjoy all those hobbies, activities, and adventures that one puts off when work occupies so much of one’s time.  When we are healthy, of course there will be lots more cycling to do (hopefully that will pick up soon), books to read, courses to take, new skills to learn, and as far as the dogs are concerned, more time at the dog park. 

Meeting lots of new friends

Try new things.  My sister gave me a family favourite bun recipe my mom used to make. Having never made bread from scratch before (if we don’t count the one whole wheat loaf I made in about 1983 that is probably still serving as a corner stone for someone’s house), I decided to try my hand at baking buns.  One of the people I met at the dog park is a retired baker. He examined the buns for appearance, texture, rise, colour, fragrance, and taste. His conclusion? “Not bad for a first effort.” The good news is, he is a willing teacher and has offered to give me a seminar on the art of bread making. Who knows what this might lead to! 

First go at baking buns

Attend afternoon matinees.  No problem finding a good seat at the theatre when going to a movie in the afternoon.  No more having to look around the person seated in front. No more standing in long concession lines.

No line ups at the West Edmonton Mall cinema concessions

Join the RV crowd. What? What was that? An RV?!! Didn’t we just buy a nice new big tent last year? How did this happen? Let’s see. First, it started with Sandy tuning into TV shows all winter about buying RVs, which got us looking at a few when we got home.  Then my accountant said I could start spending some of the money I had been squirreling away for forever.  I figured I was safe though, as my money guy never likes to see my spend any. When my sister was babysitting me during Sandy’s Rocky Mountain ride, we accidentally found the perfect unit, and Sandy agreed. For some reason, my money guy thought it was a good idea, too.  The next thing I knew, the money was in my bank account, the deal was signed, and the money flew right out of my account faster than it went in!  Introducing Boxy (her license plate starts with BXY), the little van conversion RV that came into our corral last month.  We think she is just right!  We have had her out for a few adventures, already, likely the topic of future blog posts.

                          Introducing "Boxy" the RV

Boxy is a 22 foot Coachmen Crossfit van conversion RV on a Ford Transit frame. 

Boxy with her swing-out bike rack, of course.

Sandy demonstrates some of Boxy's interior features.

The living room space, by day.

Having two single beds makes it easier for our old bones

to get up and down. Off course, we close the back doors at bedtime.

Our own bathroom ... need we say more?! 

Sandy toasts Boxy on her maiden voyage to 

Miquelon Lake Provincial Park, just east of Edmonton.

Playing cards with the dining table set up when it was too smoky to be outside

at Jasper National Park.

Two happy campers, very happy with the new addition to our corral.

Summer of Medical Adventures

You may well be wondering why two old retired girls, with nothing but time on their hands, haven't been getting their blog updated. Well, we have had some unexpected adventures, so let's get you caught up. 

As you know from a previous blog update, I had surgery on my knee in early June that took me off the bike. While I was busy doing my knee rehab, Sandy was busy getting herself fit for a one week ride she had booked in the mountains of southern Alberta and British Columbia, starting in mid July. The week before she left, and five weeks after my knee procedure, I was under the knife, once again, getting some of the hard ware that had become bothersome removed from my spine.  

Some screws removed at the top, and the rods shortened.
(sorry,  no post op X-rays at this time)

Two surgeries that close together took a lot more out of me than I anticipated, so my sister, Patti, came up from Calgary to babysit me while Sandy went on her trip.

Sandy isn't too crazy about riding uphill, so it remains a mystery to me why she took on a ride in the Rockies. Having said that, it wasn't all the hill climbing that got to her, but rather the sustained high winds (“horrible,” she reminds me) and the smoke from the BC forest fires.  

Sandy watching out for a Big Horn Mountain Sheep during her ride

Combine all that physical exertion with a number of nights of poor sleep, and by the time she got home, she was prime bait for a nasty ‘flu bug. I can honestly say I have never seen her so walloped by a virus as she just put herself straight to bed the day after she got home.

After two days of being sicker than sick, she started to get electric jolts up the side of her head. As these seemed to be getting more frequent and severe, the morning of the third day of jolts, I asked if I needed to take her to emergency.  I knew she was in a pretty bad way when she said, “yes.”

Timing is everything. We got to our local ER just after four ambulances arrived and as a cardiac arrest occurred.  As we waited, Sandy, who is not known for her patience, said, “They better be looking after someone worse off than me!” The old emerge doc in me assured her that they were.  After getting some high powered pain killers in her, the jolts finally abated, and off home we went. 

As Sandy wouldn't allow me to take any photos of her in the ER,
this is my artist's impression of her in agony.

Unfortunately, the blasted jolts came back two days later, so we went back to emerge. This time, a hallway consultation with a neurologist lead to a different treatment concoction and I am happy to report that the jolts seem to be gone.

If you want my medical opinion (but then, again, I am retired so what do I know?) I believe the fatigue from her days riding in the mountains caused her to be quite run down. This let the virus she contracted really beat her up. While it was at it, just for fun it caused some inflammation in a nerve which then kept firing off for no reason other than to cause major discomfort and havoc.

The consequence of all this medical excitement is that I have been of the bike for over two months and Sandy for over one. We are now just getting back onto our two wheeled friends. We are both feeling the loss of fitness, nonetheless, any bike ride is sure to bring a smile to our faces!  

I have decided that my racing days are over and we are decreasing the size of our bicycle herd. From a high of 13 bikes in our corral, we are now down to 10 with my track bike and cyclocross bike the next scheduled to leave home. I may be in need of more medical attention as I deal with the departure of these trusty steeds!!

So, That Was Canada Day!

Now that almost a week has passed, you should have recovered from your Canada Day celebrations. We hope you had  lots of fun, good food, and friendship as you celebrated our nation's 150th birthday.

Canada 150

Here in Alberta, we had spectacular weather for the big milestone birthday bash; it was hot with beautiful sunny blue skies all day.

In preparation for the big day, I saved this photo of a couple of Mounties on horseback from the Sundre rodeo parade.

Doesn't get much more Canadian than that!!

As I am still recuperating from my knee surgery, we haven't been going very far from home, lately.  Sandy, however, decided that we needed to have a Canada 150 project.  I am still off the bike, so I had to dream up something I could do with my bum knee. About all I can handle are my rehab exercises and walking. The dogs joined me on my project, which was to walk them for 150 minutes. It took us 3 sessions through the course of the day, but we got it done.

Our neighbor, Ed, decided his Canada Day project would be to have 150 beer on his driveway so he could offer a brew or two to any neighbor who happened to come by.  That went over well, and I decided a nice cool Molson Canadian, in a retro stubby bottle, was a good reward for my travels all around the neighbourhood. (I managed over 19,000 steps for the day.)

Sandy's project, of course, involved doing something on the bike. Let's see, what could that be? It didn't take long for her to decide that she would ride her bike 150km.  In preparation, she made sure to get lots of long rides done in the weeks leading up to Canada Day, and spent hours on her computer mapping out a variety of routes she could chose from depending on the weather conditions for the day.  Her plan was to be on the bike at 07:00 and I offered to make her breakfast while she completed her pre-ride preparations.  Unfortunately, she woke up at 04:45, which meant I had to haul my bones out of bed before 5 to get her fed and watered, as promised. She was on her bike and heading off our driveway at exactly 06:00, an hour ahead of schedule.  As mentioned, earlier, the weather was beautiful and she had a great day for this long ride. Oh, in case you are wondering, yes, she rode the entire route on her own and had a fabulous time.

At about 2:30 in the afternoon, she rode up to Ed's driveway to get her reward... again, a nice cold Molson Canadian. That Ed, what a thoughtful guy!

Sandy's bike computer confirms her project was successful:

150.64km!!

And a reward for a job well done.

Here's a photo of a painting we saw at West Edmonton Mall, last week. A collection of iconic Canadian images in a simple, but well put together image.

To our American friends and relatives, we trust you also had a great time celebrating your nation's birthday on July 4.