Kettle River Float – August 7, 2012
Rails to Trails Bicycle Ride – July 15, 2012
Calgary Stampede – July 6 – 7, 2012
It was a stand out event, especially if you are passionate about horses. The grounds are well spaced out and you can choose from up to eight venues, each with some event occurring simultaneously. Chuck wagon races with mini horses, surrey carts which judges the prancing horses, the history of the large draft horses and their help to settle the west. That doesn’t count a rodeo with the bucking broncs, and calf roping. Nor the extravagant night time show, with fireworks starting at 11:15 because that is when it is finally dark enough to show off the wonderful display.
Icefields Parkway – July 4, 2012
At one point we visited the Columbia Ice field, and the Athabasca Glacier. We took the buses with those large tundra tires and drove to the brink of the land that time forgot. Glaciers that were hundreds of years old — thousands of years in the many kilometers of ice that are found compressed thickly, beneath the surface. They didn’t let you wander too far, there are crevasse that you could fall into, and we left our crampons at home, but it was enough to see the power of mother nature. This huge glacier will be gone in 80 years based on the current rate of melting.
We hiked up to Peyto Lake, Peyto was an early mountain guide, who, after he got all the “tourists” settled down, would move himself over to this lake, since the campsite he set up was too crowded. This is a great place to call your own, the color of the lake really is turquoise green. It is caused by glacial flour, a fine-grained, silt-sized particles of rock, generated by mechanical grinding of bedrock by glacial erosion. Because the material is very small, it becomes suspended in river water making the water appear cloudy, which is sometimes known as glacial. If the river flows into a glacial lake, the lake appears turquoise.
Banff and Surrounding Area – June 15 – July 9, 2012
It has one of the grand hotels built by the Canadian Pacific railway where we enjoyed lunch one rainy day. The town gondola takes you up the mountain so you can appreciate the the unending chain of snow topped peaks and the large number of glacial lakes carved out out of the countryside. We took a boat tour on Lake Minnewanka, it is 22 miles long and very cold and deep. The boat trip was was really cool. The lake with the green tint is Moraine lake another glacial lake that we thought was particularly beautiful, with the mountains hanging so present.
Kootenay, Kananaskis, Yoho and Canadian Glacier Narional Parks – June 23 – 26, 2012
Lake Louise, Canadian Rockies – June 22, 2012
Waterton Lakes National Park, Canada – June 13 – 15, 2012
Dreams come true. our first stop, was Waterton Lakes National Park, the Canadian side of Glacier National Park. In Canada, the national parks are the best place to stay because the township is completely encompassed by the park, so it is a double header, you get both the town and the park. What you don’t get is wi-fi, and that’s a large part of our story. We could rarely find the bandwidth to upload pictures and so the blog got more and more behind . . . . Sorry.
It’s been raining, the pictures certainly show cloudy skies, but animals need to eat no matter the weather, and since we are early in the season, the wildlife are plentiful. The big horn sheep were just wandering down the road. It was too wet to hike, so we decided to let the horses do the walking . . . We enjoyed a three hour meander through prairie and mountains.
Another component of Canadian parks is their grand lodge system, so in nearly every major park, there is a grand lodge, (this was the Prince of Whales) a picture perfect place for lunch. Note to self: Repeat this process every single place we go.
Home on Cathay Closes – June 15, 2012
Glacier National Park, Montana – June 7 – 13, 2012
Polson Montana – June 2 – 6, 2012
Capitol Reef National Park, Utah – May 29, 2012
The Great Transition – May 22 – 28, 2012
Highway I-15 is a long road, it stretches from San Diego, California to someplace in Montana. Thank goodness it also has excellent cell service. During our 3,000 miles of driving we discovered the house sold, on the first day – in a bidding war, and subsequently passed inspection. Luckily, I-15 also intersects with I-70. We parked the 5th wheel and went back to Denver, deliver the remaining furniture and clean our way out of a empty house. We originally left home on May 3 and by May 23 we headed “home” for the last time. What a roller coaster.
So we are on the road again, I-15 to Montana, Glacier National Park, then on to Canada. The uncertainty and the work already behind us, literally. Glowing and completely jazzed about our new lifestyle we can write, take pictures and enjoy this wonderful world.
San Diego – May 15 – 22, 2012
We completed moving into Camp Casa filling all nooks and crannies and hit the road ending up in San Diego at Chula Vista RV Resort right on the San Diego Bay.
Stay tuned for updates and photos.
Onwards – Our new lifestyle – May 3, 2012
Plans are to stop at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs for two days and one in Las Vegas enroute to Bakersfield.
Arrived Bakersfield on Monday, May 7. Taking this week to move in and getting Camp Casa ready for the journey.
Arrived Home, March 5, 2012
Singapore, March 1 – 5, 2012
Great Singapore slings and chilli crabs.
Phuket – Bangkok, February 28 – 29, 2012
One last beach stop in Phuket, then off to Bangkok for one night. Departing Thailand on March 1 for Singapore.
Khao Sok National Park, February 26 – 28, 2012
Coming from the west, there is a natural love for the words “national park” so we look for them everywhere. They never disappoint. This land has been set aside as a large rain-forest area (now in dry season) for wild elephants and tigers to roam. . . We saw lizards and monkeys and heard lots of bird calls during our visit to the lake. And, of course, more chances to kayak.
We decided on the lake tour because it got us deep into the park’s heart. The karst stones here remind people of the Halong Bay in Vietnam. Our last stop on this trip is so similar to our first stop. We have come full circle. Though far from seeing it all, we certainly have covered most of the highlights of Thailand and SE Asia for that matter.
Koh Lipe, A Sun-Drenched Jewel, February 22 – 25, 2012
This island is on National Geographic Best of the World 2012! The water is so clear you can snorkel right off the beach, and we certainly did. The island contains zero cars. There are some dirt paths for scooters, and if you order a taxi, you are transported stylishly in a golf cart or a long boat.
We spent one day snorkeling some of the smaller islands nearby. It was the best snorkeling in Thailand, and that is saying something wonderful. The following days we moved blissfully from beach to beach, once we tired of one, we caught the long tail taxi around the next corner.
Sun, sand, fish, wonderful relaxing shaded beach chairs or mats. One day runs into the next, and we learn the beauty of island time. We will be back.
Koh Lanta, February 18 – 22, 2012
For a change from Thai food, we found an authentic Greek Restaurant where we enjoyed Moussaka and Tzatziki with Pita Bread. We also found a seafood place where you pick the fish and they cook it to your specifications . . . Sea bass filleted in garlic and pepper and the best part: baked potatoes and corn on the cob. I thought I had died and gone to heaven to have such a normal meal.
We rented motor bikes ($8/per day) and checked out the entire island. Instead riding horses bare back on the beach you can opt for an elephant. We visited Mu Ko Lanta National Park with white sand beaches. The monkeys wait for you to turn your back only to steal your snacks or whatever else you may have. We stopped several times just to check out new beaches, the pictures attest to the fact that each beach was nicer than the one before. We met another American couple who are renting a house here for a month; it was great to run into other people who are living overseas for extended periods of time. We compared notes, picked up a couple of new hints.
We were day trippers via speed boat to Koh Rok, where there was great snorkeling in a national park and saw amazing sea life. The best snorkeling yet, the pictures speak for themselves. OK, I’ll tell the truth, we stuck a couple of Oreo cookies in our pockets, who knew the fish liked double stuffed.
Sailing the Andaman Sea, February 14 – 18, 2012
Magic Amadeus is a 38 foot sailing catamaran, with four cabins and a husband and wife crew. It turned out there were only 3 guests for our slot, David and Karen and Richard from Manitoba. We had all the room you could hope for, effectively a private yacht for our bidding and a captain keen on showing us all his hidden places and Em who prepared 3 great meals each day. We did everything . . . We went fishing off the back of the boat, caught tuna, and enjoyed sushi and hour later. We slept one night in the Maya Bay, used in the filming of “The Beach” with Leonardo DeCaprio. Along the way, we swam or snorkeled right off the back of the boat. Or kayaked, we circumnavigated an island, one afternoon. Or go ashore to buy ice cream, (some parts of our sailors life resemble our normal life).
We could go on and on and probably will if you give us half a chance. One night, we had dinner out and another, a pub night, the dingy would take us ashore or back to the boat for a quick 5 minute ride. Upon returning to the boat, we tucked in for the night.
It was magical, and peaceful, and filled with something to do all at the same time. Dave and I keep thinking, can we find three other couples and we just charter our own boat next time . . . Let us know if you are up for it.
Paradise Found, Phuket Island. February 9 – 13, 2012
This some kind of incredible, and we are just getting started. Our next window of travel (3 weeks) takes us thru Thailand’s southern islands. Moving from one sandy beach and gorgeous sunset to another. The water is bathtub warm, the sand is like baby powder, the food is even better after a long day of swimming and goofing around.
I have a new appreciation for my eyes. A camera just cannot capture this place in its color, contour, and the interaction of sun and reflection. We will try, but remember to put a wow after some of these pictures, we certainly did.
Leaving Northern Thailand, February 9, 2012
