July - rodeo and rockslides

We have water! 

And it’s clear, sweet, cold and comes out of the tap! If you didn’t read my previous blog you’ll have no idea how wonderful this news is. It squirted out of the pipes just in time: All our visitors showed up just days after the new system was activated. Robin (our friend from Maui) got here on the 10^th and Sherry and Sharon drove in on the 15^th.

            

A day at the Stampede

Robin wanted to see the Calgary Stampede, so Jim and I, with cousins Shane and Myrna, treated her to a full day at “the grounds”, starting with a walk through the midway, a tour of the house being raffled, horse barns, western art gallery and lunch.

Shane, Joy, Robin

At 1 we were in our grandstand seats for the rodeo and enjoyed every minute although it threatened to rain the whole afternoon and, in fact, parts of south Calgary were flooded while we watched the bulls, bucking horses and other rodeo events. We had time for a walkabout and supper before the evening show started with the world-famous chuckwagon races. I can’t think of a more exciting three minutes in all of sportdom. Google Calgary Stampede Chuckwagon Races if you haven’t had the opportunity to see for yourself the heart-stopping action.

Aloha and howdy!  

When the Barnettes arrived they parked their huge motorhome in the usual spot and kicked back with the rest of us. During the past two weeks we’ve had visits from Tony and Debbie from across the creek, my old friend Allen Hembree and his lovely wife Virginia, and Peter and Shane.  It has been a quiet, peaceful time.

Jim and I came down with nasty coughs two weeks ago and although we’re both much better now it took a few days of bed rest to get past the fever and congestion. Just about the time I thought we should check into a hospital the fevers broke and we rejoined the living. Unfortunately, a couple of our friends are now coughing and not feeling great.

Doing the tourist thing     

Looking west from Coutts Center for Western Canadian Heritage

Our day trips have been a hoot. We drove to the Crowsnest Pass area for lunch at a fabulous new down-home restaurant in Bellevue – the Chefs on 213. The owners were previously the chefs at the Bar U and have now set up their own establishment in the little town near the World Heritage Site of Frank Slide. After lunch we visited the interpretive center built on the site of Canada’s worst rock avalanche. Our guests were appropriately enthralled by the historic exhibits and movies of the disaster.

Jim painting at Coutts Center

By chance we heard about a plein aire paint-out happening the next day near the town of Nanton so Jim, Robin and I headed out in the morning and found the delightful Coutts Centre for Western Canadian Heritage. What a gem. The restored buildings of the 112-year-old homestead are surrounded by extensive gardens planted with prairie grasses, native flowers and introduced ornamentals. We spent the entire day in the dappled shade of trees, watching the artists (including Jim) as they recorded the beauty of that place. The day was magnificently clear as only an Alberta summer day can be.

Shane arranged for the three of us (Jim, Robin and me) to tour the Cayley Hutterite Colony last week and it was an eye-opening, very pleasant three hours with Jolene. We toured the kitchen and dining areas, sheep barns, slaughter house, machine shops, leather shop, woodworking shop and community gardens, and then enjoyed fresh saskatoons in her kitchen, surrounded by four of her five girls. What a lovely afternoon spent with a lovely family.

Destiny, Shane, Jim, Robin

Fishing and fauna  

Robin and I fished once only, mainly because the water is so low and so warm that we hesitate to disturb the trout – they would not be good eating. The one time we ventured out, we both caught smaller fish and threw them back; then I caught a nice 13-½ inch cutthroat, which is now in the freezer. I’m hoping the water level will be up and the current colder when Jim and I are back in September. We saw a lot of wildlife action in July, including black and grizzly bear, moose, elk and deer with lots of coyotes, two jackrabbits and a black wolf was seen in the area.

Morning sun on the mountains to the west.

Sherry and Sharon have now hit the road on their slow drift homeward to Arizona, and Robin flies home tomorrow. Jim and I will drop her at the airport and then head north from Calgary on the first day of our road trip, which will take us as far as Churchill, Manitoba where the polar bears and beluga whales are waiting for us. At least that’s the plan right now. I’ll let you know how it works out in my next blog.