(no subject)
We woke up this morning to a fresh coat of snow on the mountains above us! It was very exciting but I will tell you about that later.
First.
When I last wrote we were in Macleod Alberta. We traveled from there to Rockyford, Alberta to stay with my mom's cousin (2nd or 3rd, I don't know -) Her name is Twena and her husband is Fred. We had dinner with them and their son Chris that evening and then the next morning, Friday, we drove to Rumsey. It had rained about 2 inches in the days before we got there so when we went to park at the old rodeo grounds in Rumsey it was pretty messy and mosquito infested. Jeff thought we would never get out and was a little concerned about parking but he did anyway. (We didn't get stuck either.) The rodeo arena is no longer in use, but there is a curling rink and a community center on the site which was the hub for most of the activity for the weekend.
We were in Rumsey for a 50th wedding celebration. My mom's dad's cousin was celebrating her anniversary - happy anniversary Ernie and Jacqui. These cousins usually get together every 2 years for a cousins reunion but this year was to celebrate the Goddard's. Most of the people there were old, but there were a few youngsters and Jorie made friends with her cousin (5th or 6th or 7th?) Anyway, they are related. Her name is Gillian and they had a great time playing together.
On Friday night we had a weiner roast outside with all the other people who were there. They were mostly old people, but they were a lot of fun. There were so many mosquitos, but we were nearly drowned in Deep Woods Off so they pretty much stayed away from us. Jayna Ruth doesn't like spray because it gets on her thumb and then she can't suck it!
Saturday morning Jenna worked on riding her bike without training wheels. She is doing it by herself now but still needs a little help getting started and though she fell several times, she only had one run-in with the side of a pick up. Niether were hurt very badly. After the bike riding we warmed up for a softball game played by young and old. Jenna was the youngest and the oldest was older than 70, by how far, I don't know. Each of the girls got hits, though Jenna only got one before she was stung by a bee (the worst pest second only to the mosquitoes) and had to sit out the rest of the game. Jayna Ruth stayed with Gra'nor and Papa Jim to keep them company.
After lunch there was an anniversary tea which was a reception to honor the bride and groom. Many people were there, including many of their long-time friends as they have lived in that community all their lives. For their anniversary their children had all of their 8mm film put on VHS video for them. We watched some of that and I saw video of my great grandmother, my grandparents, my mother, aunts and uncles. We even saw video of a rodeo that was held at the very grounds where we were staying. I loved seeing my relatives and my grandpa. He was a very handsome man.
That evening, after dinner there was a dance at the community center. The girls DANCED all over the floor with each other. They were having a great time. They tried to get some young lads to dance with them but they wouldn’t do it so they got an old lad to dance with Jenna and then Jorie wouldn’t dance. Jayna Ruth was happy to dance with her ‘nankie and her thumb in her mouth. They even got Jeff out there on the dance floor with them and I was sure to get video of that because it doesn’t happen very often.
On Sunday morning we woke up and went to church. Church was a traveling evangelist who is friends with the bride and groom. He does more comedy than anything but at the end of his time he did present the gospel. Then we had breakfast. !!! Pancakes, eggs, bacon and ham. I contributed homemade blackberry syrup from berries we picked while we were in Oregon at the beginning of the month.
After the breakfast we cleaned up our camp and went back to Rockyford, which was about 1 ½ hours away. Twena allowed us to catch up our laundry and baths while we were there. Their son had friends there and he allowed the girls to ride his horse which was the hi light of Jorie’s week!
Then we were on the road again! Tuesday morning we drove through Calgary and into Banff park. That was beautiful! We didn’t get to see the town of Banff because we had plans to get to the hot springs, but we saw a lot of the park. The Canadian Rockies are majestic. We pulled into Radium Hot springs in the late afternoon and ate dinner. The road in about gave my mom a heart attack. The road was very narrow and wound down through a canyon, past the hot springs. I thought it was great but then I wasn’t driving. The last straw was the road to the campground. It was very narrow and had an 8% down grade. She was worried that she wouldn’t get out! She did fine, though.
Yesterday we woke up to COLD weather and RAIN. We drove to the hot springs to check it out and decided that we would swim after lunch. Then we drove to Invermere to check out the shopping. We walked some and shopped some and then decided that it was too much rain so we headed back to camp. We ate lunch, picked up the grands and headed to the swim pool.
Ah, the pool was WARM and even though it was raining it was still fun. The kids had fun swimming and Mom and Jim enjoyed the hot water on their aching bodies.
Dinner was t-bone steak and potatoes and while I was cooking mom said she heard on the news that it was snowing in Banff and at Lake Louise. We were glad that we were south of there because we had considered going to and staying at Lake Louise. Then we woke up this morning and there was quite a bit of snow on the mountains all around us. The kids were fascinated and Jorie wanted to go to the snow.
We got on the road again and stopped for lunch at Fort Steele which is an 1898 town. We got to see a man making leather goods, Jayna and Jenna checked out a jail cell and we even saw a horse drawn school bus. Oh, and the guy making metal hot dog sticks was quite a hit with the kids too.
And now we are back in Idaho, sweet Idaho. WE are at a campground south of Sandpoint Idaho. We are still in the mountains and it’s supposed to be cold here again tonight - in the 40’s or lower. BRRRRRRR.
Tomorrow we are going back to Cottonwood for a night or two and then to Marsing by Friday or Saturday.
The adventure continues and I will keep you posted.
Jennifer
First.
When I last wrote we were in Macleod Alberta. We traveled from there to Rockyford, Alberta to stay with my mom's cousin (2nd or 3rd, I don't know -) Her name is Twena and her husband is Fred. We had dinner with them and their son Chris that evening and then the next morning, Friday, we drove to Rumsey. It had rained about 2 inches in the days before we got there so when we went to park at the old rodeo grounds in Rumsey it was pretty messy and mosquito infested. Jeff thought we would never get out and was a little concerned about parking but he did anyway. (We didn't get stuck either.) The rodeo arena is no longer in use, but there is a curling rink and a community center on the site which was the hub for most of the activity for the weekend.
We were in Rumsey for a 50th wedding celebration. My mom's dad's cousin was celebrating her anniversary - happy anniversary Ernie and Jacqui. These cousins usually get together every 2 years for a cousins reunion but this year was to celebrate the Goddard's. Most of the people there were old, but there were a few youngsters and Jorie made friends with her cousin (5th or 6th or 7th?) Anyway, they are related. Her name is Gillian and they had a great time playing together.
On Friday night we had a weiner roast outside with all the other people who were there. They were mostly old people, but they were a lot of fun. There were so many mosquitos, but we were nearly drowned in Deep Woods Off so they pretty much stayed away from us. Jayna Ruth doesn't like spray because it gets on her thumb and then she can't suck it!
Saturday morning Jenna worked on riding her bike without training wheels. She is doing it by herself now but still needs a little help getting started and though she fell several times, she only had one run-in with the side of a pick up. Niether were hurt very badly. After the bike riding we warmed up for a softball game played by young and old. Jenna was the youngest and the oldest was older than 70, by how far, I don't know. Each of the girls got hits, though Jenna only got one before she was stung by a bee (the worst pest second only to the mosquitoes) and had to sit out the rest of the game. Jayna Ruth stayed with Gra'nor and Papa Jim to keep them company.
After lunch there was an anniversary tea which was a reception to honor the bride and groom. Many people were there, including many of their long-time friends as they have lived in that community all their lives. For their anniversary their children had all of their 8mm film put on VHS video for them. We watched some of that and I saw video of my great grandmother, my grandparents, my mother, aunts and uncles. We even saw video of a rodeo that was held at the very grounds where we were staying. I loved seeing my relatives and my grandpa. He was a very handsome man.
That evening, after dinner there was a dance at the community center. The girls DANCED all over the floor with each other. They were having a great time. They tried to get some young lads to dance with them but they wouldn’t do it so they got an old lad to dance with Jenna and then Jorie wouldn’t dance. Jayna Ruth was happy to dance with her ‘nankie and her thumb in her mouth. They even got Jeff out there on the dance floor with them and I was sure to get video of that because it doesn’t happen very often.
On Sunday morning we woke up and went to church. Church was a traveling evangelist who is friends with the bride and groom. He does more comedy than anything but at the end of his time he did present the gospel. Then we had breakfast. !!! Pancakes, eggs, bacon and ham. I contributed homemade blackberry syrup from berries we picked while we were in Oregon at the beginning of the month.
After the breakfast we cleaned up our camp and went back to Rockyford, which was about 1 ½ hours away. Twena allowed us to catch up our laundry and baths while we were there. Their son had friends there and he allowed the girls to ride his horse which was the hi light of Jorie’s week!
Then we were on the road again! Tuesday morning we drove through Calgary and into Banff park. That was beautiful! We didn’t get to see the town of Banff because we had plans to get to the hot springs, but we saw a lot of the park. The Canadian Rockies are majestic. We pulled into Radium Hot springs in the late afternoon and ate dinner. The road in about gave my mom a heart attack. The road was very narrow and wound down through a canyon, past the hot springs. I thought it was great but then I wasn’t driving. The last straw was the road to the campground. It was very narrow and had an 8% down grade. She was worried that she wouldn’t get out! She did fine, though.
Yesterday we woke up to COLD weather and RAIN. We drove to the hot springs to check it out and decided that we would swim after lunch. Then we drove to Invermere to check out the shopping. We walked some and shopped some and then decided that it was too much rain so we headed back to camp. We ate lunch, picked up the grands and headed to the swim pool.
Ah, the pool was WARM and even though it was raining it was still fun. The kids had fun swimming and Mom and Jim enjoyed the hot water on their aching bodies.
Dinner was t-bone steak and potatoes and while I was cooking mom said she heard on the news that it was snowing in Banff and at Lake Louise. We were glad that we were south of there because we had considered going to and staying at Lake Louise. Then we woke up this morning and there was quite a bit of snow on the mountains all around us. The kids were fascinated and Jorie wanted to go to the snow.
We got on the road again and stopped for lunch at Fort Steele which is an 1898 town. We got to see a man making leather goods, Jayna and Jenna checked out a jail cell and we even saw a horse drawn school bus. Oh, and the guy making metal hot dog sticks was quite a hit with the kids too.
And now we are back in Idaho, sweet Idaho. WE are at a campground south of Sandpoint Idaho. We are still in the mountains and it’s supposed to be cold here again tonight - in the 40’s or lower. BRRRRRRR.
Tomorrow we are going back to Cottonwood for a night or two and then to Marsing by Friday or Saturday.
The adventure continues and I will keep you posted.
Jennifer