Never a Dull Moment!

Saturday night cont'd . . . Thus the day ended for all . . .  except Lucky Ted.  At 11pm, he heard a scrape outside the hotel window . . .  a car was moving & scraping against our Wingabago trailer!  He jumped to attention, out the doors to see a skinny woman with questionable driving skills still try to park, driving up over the parking block and getting high centered!  The poor flustered lady was soon surrounded by family (wedding guests) who instantly assisted her off the block .  Everyone was profusely apologetic towards Ted.

Now to the damage: the trailer cover sustained a small hole, but the aluminum bike rack did a number on the car’s passenger side and rear fender.  No to mention the antifreeze, etc she lost while high centering! 

Sunday Morning:  Ted & I decided to take the day off.  He was itching to get some serious mountain biking in before leaving Calgary.  I have lots of computer stuff to do, besides keeping Corky company.  The rest opted to going on the rides.

Day 2

The hotel has a wonderful continental breakfast,  We hated to pass that up in favor of a $5 fee for the Stampede breakfast at the Rally – although both were equally superb.

 Opening Ceremonies began at 8am with introduction of the Regional, and District directors, plus the minister of tourism, a Goldwing co-rider!  The Calgary chapter has favored the verterans for their charity work and we were informed what an important work this is, with many young verterans who have great needs in today’s world.

 Several Rides were available, some guided and some not.  Eight bikes headed out for Elbow Falls in the Kananaskis with Graham as our impromptu guide.  First stop was Priddis for gas.  What a quaint little village.  Nice homes here too. 

 We continued to follow along the hwy that leads to Bragg Creek, but we turned off for Elbow Falls instead.

 A beautiful little surprise waited us.  The site is complete with trails, walkways and picnic areas. 

 There were even limited bike trails and Ted got out his mountain bike for a quick spin.  The water tumbling down the elbow Falls is a gorgeous shade of turquoise. The paved trails run along the river and many folks were eating their lunch there today.

 From there, we continued on 762 south and took a detour for Moose Mountain.  Signs were posted to look our for moose, but we didn’t see any today.  We did see three stop lights, due to the road falling away, probably due to the abundance of rain lately.  Beyond those three, were several lesser “bumps” that were starting to crack & shift.  Nice bumps for the co-riders!

One thing that has never happened to any of us, was a shop check by the local RCMP and highway patrol.  We immediately thought we were speeding, but it turned out they were conducting a check for license, registration & insurance today.  We had nice little chats with the offers, (some were taking our picture) and we offered to take them for a spin on the Wings later!

 We carried on, looking for a spot to eat.  Travelling through Turner Valley, we didn’t stop but kept going onto Black Diamond where we found plenty of eateries in a quaint little town, served up for tourists.  Most of us ate in the bakery where we were served deli sandwiches, then a few went next door to the soda shoppe for ice cream or malts.  It was all done up to reflect the fifties.  Candy, costumes and even saddle shoes were available for sale.  Too funny.

 The campers in our Goldwing gang are all staying at the Black Diamond campsite, where Ted & I dropped in to see the tent trailers. Quite a lovely campsite right by the bridge with lots of trees and very observant management!!  The whole group returned to Calgary to the hotel for bike washing, naps, shopping, etc.  Are we having FUN yet????

 

Day One

Ted & I packed the trailer and said goodbye to our 2 kitties, heading to meet John & Marietta just blocks away. 

 Once the four of us left Westlock, we waited for Emile & Lucy at the Picardville corner.  The pair driving the white trike, had a bit of mud to slog through getting to us, but off we went.  Whoohooo!

 We heard on the radio that there had been an accident  on Hwy 44 between Villeneuve and hwy 37, resulting in a slight detour on our way to meet the bigger part of the gang at the White Spot in Leduc. We made it only 5 minutes overtime.

 Wow!  What a group!  Not every one will follow with us on the Top Ten, but we had to divide the 16 Goldwings into three groups!  Al was our illustrious leader and led us on the un-direct way, visiting a vast number of correction lines as we meandered through Calmar, Mulhurst, Pigeon Lake, and eventually stopping in Bentley for a potty break and top up with gasoline, which incidently went up 5 cents a litre for the long weekend!

 

Can you imagine the heart palpatations for the station clerks when 16 Goldwings pulled in to gas up and use the one single bathroom??  We stood in line for quite some time before we resumed our ride to Cochrane.

 

 The day started out beautifully in 14 C weather, clear skies with a few puffy white clouds.  I had never seen some of the odd cloud formations, then later someone mentioned over the CB that there were Severe Thunderstorms expected west of Rocky Mountain House all the way to southern Alberta.  We were heading right into it . . .  Rocky Mountain House was 69 km ahead.  I’m sure many were about to panic when Al announced we were finally heading south and soon the black clouds were in the rear view mirror!  Whew!

 

 But we continued in the zig zag pattern and just outside of Cochrane we could no longer avoid the nasty clouds and ran through about 5 minutes of heavy rain & hail.  How happy we all were to stop at Tim Horton’s in Cochrane to warm up with coffee and dry out with the hand dryers in the washroom!!

It was amazing how fast the storm was moving. The sky was black when we rolled into the Tim’s parking lot, and a few minutes later they were gone. Hopefully that’s the last we see of rain & lightening this whole trip!

On to the Rally! Just outside Calgary we quickly turned into the parking lot, just in time to register and enjoy a roast pork feast on a bun. The hall was decorated country style with antiques, red checks, sunflowers and bluewear!

Back to the hotel for the day.  Tomorrow there are several rides and activities.  We have to decide what we are going to do!

Packing up to GO!

We leave Westlock at 8am sharp Friday morning for our anual Goldwing Fling!  Breakfast in Leduc at the White Spot where we meet the others, then off to Calgary for the Regional Rally for the long weekend.  From there we begin the TOP TEN TRIP!  Whoohoo!  Let's hope the weather in BC improves and they get summer at last!  It won't be quite as much fun riding those Top Ten highways in the RAIN!!

Bison Burgers

Fellow Rotarian Roy, brings Bison steaks & ground bison for us!  We love it!  Just the ticket after a long day inthe shop!

 

Doesn't She Look Wicked?

Karoke at Ferintosh where they had a tickle trunk full of wigs and hats.  Kristin went all out and did Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple, complete with air guitar and head banging moves . . . the bar owner was very impressed . . .  it went over rather well . . . Ferintosh folks don't get out much!

Opening Night!

Off to see the Wizard of Oz!  All I can say is  . . . WOWZA!!!  Right from the downed curtain with the huge dragon hovering atop, to the costumes, lighting, sets and music, it was worth every penny!

 We had seats right center, first balcony which was great to see the whole thing! The only downer was, I couldn't take pictures!  You don't know how many times my fingers itched to slip inside my purse and sneak that little powershot out . . . .

 The sets were so complex and beautiful.  Costumes were outstandingly detailed and colorful. Lighting even mimicked rain falling.  It was stupendous!

The talent was second to none.  Definately a Top Notch Performance. The story was surprisingly wonderful and clever.  Many twists and turns which included the 1939 movie facts we all know so well! Once the reviews come out in the papers, I doubt if there will be even one ticket left for Edmonton!

Wicked!

Kristin & I are off to see "Wicked, the Musical" Wednesday night at the Jubilee Auditorium !

 “Wicked” is the story of Elphaba – better known as the Wicked Witch of the West. This green-skinned anti-hero has been getting somewhat of a bad rap. From the beginning, we learn of the struggles that Elphaba faced growing up as a child who looks different than everyone else. While she is going to school at Chiz University, she meets Galinda – who would later be known as the Good Witch of the North. The two are polar opposites; where Elphaba is kind on the inside yet green on the outside, Galinda is beautiful yet quite shallow and self absorbed inside. Through a series of complications, the two are forced to become roommates and have to learn how to get along.

Really looking forward to it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Harry Potter, BBQ & Baby Shower!

Kristin & I have been busy this past week! We had to be there for the first day of HP and the Deathly Hallows, part 2 . . . it was awesome!  As was the girl dressed up at the ticket counter!  Impressive!  Makes the others look boring . . .

 Then the sun came out strong for our family BBQ on Saturday.

 It was a typical Brooks affair . . . far too much wine and frivoloty, but then what is life if you can't live, laugh and love???

 Sunday afternoon we met Ryan & Monica's new baby, Taylor Jordan Weiss.  She was as cute and cuddly as there possible could be!

I finished up a kitty quilt for Taylor. . . . figured I owed her one after making one for Miekka when she was born.  Miekka liked it!

Birthdays!

Tuesday was Ted & Mum's birthday.  Ted got cake at the Goldwing general meeting, served to everyone after a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday to You!"  He wanted money for our holdiay this summer, so that was easy!    Mum got a pair of opal earrings.  She likes them dainty and I found just the right ones!

 

White Water Rafting

Tyler & Kristin spent the weekend in Jasper.  One of their adventures was rafting on the high water river!  Whoohoo!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Gotta give a prize to anyone who would ride in the downpour we had yesterday!  Even the ones who did ride, got caught with road closures and flooding, so the ride was extra long!

 You know it's cold when you have to eat your pancakes with gloves on!!

 We had fun anyway . . .  Lois wore some of the pancakes!  I guess the first batch was a bit thin!  LOL

The only sun we had was after the whole thing was over on the 19th tee . . . and even then, only 2 minutes at a time!

Westlock Ride for STARS

The monsoons have hit!  We are still hoping for a clearing of the rain, but it may not happen today!  We have plenty of tents and a big urn of coffee!

The Royal Visit to Slave Lake

Yes, we stood, sat and waited in the hot sun for hours to catch a glimpse of the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge.  What better way to spend a summer day than that???

 I've heard of the Men in Black but this was the first time seeing them in action!

 He is tall, blonde and handsome.  Especially tall.  Wow!

 They were two hours behind schedule, so they had to cut the walk-about short.  We were lucky enough to see them!