Sunday, July 9/2017 - Saturday, July 15/2017

Sitting in a offchute of the Elk River

On Sunday, our day started with a meeting at the River.  We were going to be celebrating Lorne's birthday today as most of the kids would be arriving to participate.  It was going to be another busy day but there is nothing like sitting in the cool water of the Elk River and planning our day!!
The kids arrived before too long and soon we were enjoying the antics of all the young ones and their parents.  Man, the children have enough energy for all of us!!

Momma duck and her ducklings

The sun was shining and soon the umbrellas came out to provide a bit of shade.  Good grief, it was not like we couldn't get up onto the shore and snuggle in by the trees but both Marilyn and I could sit for hours with out feet in the water and enjoying the sunshine.   Life is Good!!

Lily and Scarlett

Sherry and Kelsey

Jordan, Sherry and family (Brodie missing)

Kelsey, Amanda and Marilyn

Kelsey's friend Amanda

Loading up for the trip home on Monday

All too soon, we headed up to the house where Marilyn had things ready for Lorne's Birthday Party.  the kids were already here and Wayne and Teresa soon arrived so the festivities began.  The kids are always hungry and it wasn't long before we broke out the food and enjoyed the fruits of Marilyn's labour.    The food was delicious and the birthday cake was awesome.  It was served to us by both Scarlett and Lily and of course Grandpa got the first piece!!

Sherry, Theresa and Wayne

As with everything, it was soon time for the kids to head off home and the party wound down to just the adults.  Wayne and Teresa headed home soon after the kids left.  Lorne was scheduled for work in the morning so he headed off to bed and that left Marilyn, John and I to put the finishing touches onto the evening.  We all grabbed something to eat and then John and I headed back to the end of the airstrip and into our bed!!  It had been a very busy day and I was glad to finally lay down and close my eyes.  Tomorrow, we were starting our journey back to Saskatchewan.

Lorne's birthday party

Marie and Miss Riley Belle Earl

Jordan and Riley

A very young Lorne and Marilyn

Heading out on Monday

It was a good day to travel.  The sun was shining but there was rain ahead of us so it would be a good day to travel.  Hopefully we will make good time and be in our usual spot tonight.

HWY 3 east 

Roadside creek

Out of BC and into Alberta

Trying to get the reflection of our truck in the window
of the RV

Heading into some rain

We did hit a very good rain storm as we got closer to Calgary.  The lightening was incredible and the clouds were looking rather fearsome.  We did drive through it and out of it and we had clear skies again.  We even had a bald Eagle land on the highway in front of us and it was pretty neat to see him take off again!!  Landing on the highway was probably not the smartest thing for him to do though - rather risky to say the least!!

Our spot for the night just outside of Drumheller

We arrived at our spot for the night in the valley near Drumheller.  It is an easy place to get into and out of and is usually fairly quiet during the night.  It was good to be stopped for the night as it had been a long day of travel.

The hoodoos around Drumheller, AB

Another nice evening

John got the campfire in a can out and we sat around it for a bit while he cooked supper.  Even Booko seemed to like the area although he did have a bit of an incident where he kind of fell into the adjacent ravine and had a bit of a hard time getting out of it.  John to the rescue and he was soon back on solid ground although he was quite muddy!!  Once Booko recovered from this incident he was quite content to just hang with John and I for the rest of the night!!
Once again, the bed felt mighty good and it wasn't too long before all three of us were snoring!!

Back in SK

Tuesday found us back in Saskatchewan.  We would be arriving home tonight and that is always a good thing.  We have had a very busy few weeks and I was looking forward to a few days of rest before getting back to work.
We made a quick stop at Walmart in North Battleford then continued on to Leoville.   We did get to see two sets of Canada Geese and their babies on the highway.  The parents were walking across the highway to get to the other ponds.  Again, not a real good idea but both families made it safe and sound!!
Back in Leoville, John quickly cut the grass where the RV would sit and then parked it, set up the satellite dish and was surprised when the dish actually found internet again.  Woo Hoo!!  It seems it only wants to find it here in the yard so that means it needs a bit of "tweeking" somewhere in the system.  An issue we can address this fall as apparently there is a dealer for it in Montana so I am thinking we will be headed that way in the Fall.
Wednesday found me in the garden trying to actually find "the garden".  The weeds have had a bloody field day while we were away and now stand 175 feet tall!!  Holy Buckets, it is a disaster!!  I weeded until I was tired, quit and went to sit in the mancave to cool off.  It was starting to get hot and I was in dire need of some rest and a bottle or two or water.   The weeding was over for today and my recliner was calling to me so I heeded the call and stayed there for the remainder of the day!!
Thursday, I was too sore and stiff to even think about getting back into the garden and again spent a quiet day in the recliner.  Life is good from the recliner, that is for sure!!
On Friday, Megan and Casey stopped by for the night.  They were headed up to Meadow Lake Provincial Park to spend Saturday with Megan's family so we were able to have a little visit with them before It was time for me to head to bed as I was scheduled for work Saturday.
Work was great and I came home to find that Kelly had arrived for the start of her 2 week vacation.  She has decided to hang with us here in Leoville instead of over at Clearwater Lake with the kids.  It should be a fun filled two weeks with Kelly here but I am scheduled to work a few shifts while she is here so that leaves John to be the host.   Casey and Megan had left earlier in the day and  Booko was busy bugging Mason (Kelly's Yorkshire Terrier)   We end this busy week and prepare for another one as there is definitely NO REST FOR THE WICKED!!     Life is good.