Our Travel Blog

My photo
Driving Miss Donna - what does this mean? Whenever I want to go somewhere, if Don is home he will usually drive. He always says he is driving miss Donna! This blog is for our travels, usually with our truck and fifth wheel trailer, but sometimes in our other wheels. When we are not vacationing check in for updates, although less frequent, about our life at home and our wonderful family:)

Friday, July 26, 2019

The Great Beer Tour

or camping with men?

We have recently re-connected with an old friend - Larry Sigfusson. Don and Larry were school buddies and of course partiers in the "old days". We decided it was high time to get together and do some camping.

We picked an area around Cranbrook for the meet up with Ivan and Larry. Our first night with Ivan was at a gorgeous riverside site. The beauty was somewhat diminished by frequent trains running through with no concern about blowing the whistle at essentially any time of day. I had scoped out another boondocking spot so the next morning after coffee we went to discover it and see if it was accessible.

Horseshoe Lake was one of our best finds. It was a somewhat developed campground, no services, but FREE.

The week was spent reminiscing, drinking as demonstrated in the photos, and fantastic scenery. The weather was well deserved sunshine after the rainy and dreary weather we've had at home.

Hopefully this is the beginning of new camping adventures with the guys...

Monday, July 15, 2019

The Great Campbell Reunion

Today we set out for Rocky Mountain House and a Campbell Family Reunion. I have no idea why I didn't take more photos but that seems to be my thing.

Here is the one photo I have.


It was such a great weekend. The Campbells are Don's mom's family. It is great to see everyone who comes to these gatherings, but also sad that the older generation is not able to always attend. Uncle Ern and Aunt Meryl and their families are great hosts, and all stops are pulled for everyone's enjoyment, including an amazing live band.

Sunday, July 14, 2019

Local Tourists

Years ago we lived in St Paul and hung out a lot with the Connolloy’s from Glendon. We fist met Jim and Janice in Fort McMurray when Don was lead surveyor and Jim was road foreman. When our kids were growing up we camped a lot together. This camping thing was long overdue, so we planned a trip somewhere at sometime. Well this week was that time.
We met at Abraham Lake so they could try out boondocking. Well that and when we decided to go camping I couldn’t find a campground. Abraham Lake is a beautiful spot, and close to lots of places and things to do.
Ivan joined us as well, and we spent 6 days filled with food, beverage, sightseeing and hiking.
Jim and Janice had not been to Banff so I saw that as a necessity. Although we made it there and had a great lunch and some beers, but it took 45 minutes to find a parking spot. Our lovely Banff is getting a tad too busy for me.
Other highlights of the trip were a couple of stops at the Miners Cafe for pie (highly recommended) and a tour of the Brazeau Collieries Mine Site which is a historic Heritage Site. I can’t believe we haven't taken this tour before, it is one of the most interesting and complete tours I have been on.
It was a great time away with everyone and a fabulous start to the summer!












Monday, July 1, 2019

Duck Duck Goose

Or in Alberta lately Fire Fire Rain

First we dealt with the smoke from massive fires across northern Alberta. Then we dealt with rain, which the fire areas did not get enough of. And we never really had to deal with heat.

We had a fishing trip planned to Calling Lake, but cancelled it due to weather.

We still seemed to fill the month with some other sunshine. We watched more lacrosse, one day at sport ball which was soccer, had a great dinner out with Clifford and Cheryl, took an anniversary trip to Jasper for lunch (a few days late - remember that weather), and hung out with friends.

I didn't mention at the end of the last post that we celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary. It does seem like yesterday!





But we also said goodbye to some people. Our good friend Darrell passed away. This is a photo of us from Las Vegas in 2009. We didn't have any fun.


Also Don's cousin Doug passed away. Both men were too young, and we only hope they have found comfort. We attended Doug's memorial in Rocky Mountain House and although a sad occasion, also as always at these events, a chance to visit with family.

The July weekend is approaching and we have a few ideas of what we might do, so stay tuned.