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An early winter hike

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The last time I went hiking on Remembrance Day was 12 years ago while visiting Las Vegas with three of my girlfriends. We rented a vehicle and drove out to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area to hike and explore.

Today’s hike was very different from that one! Here in Alberta, we usually have snow by Halloween that stays on the ground until spring, but this year the weather has been unseasonably warm. Today we decided to go for a hike just because we could!

Because it’s hunting season and today was a holiday for many, we decided to choose a provincial park where there would be no chance of being mistaken for game by an unwary hunter. We chose Miquelon Lake Provincial Park, where we often enjoy camping and hiking in the fall, because we hadn’t made it there this year.

According to the weather forecast, it was supposed to be 7ºC (45ºF) when we arrived at the trailhead around noon, but it was not. It was only 4ºC (39ºF). A mid afternoon high of 14ºC (57ºF), much warmer than the average high for this day, was predicted. In reality, it didn’t get anywhere near that warm, but we had come prepared and were dressed for the cold. I was thankful that I’d brought a toque along and we were both glad to have gloves to keep our hands warm. While we were sitting on a fallen log beside the trail eating our lunch, the sun tried to break through, but most of the day was overcast.

In spite of how late in the season it is, most of the trail was in excellent condition. There were, however, some snowy and icy patches where we had to watch our footing.

Although the trail was one we’re very familiar with, the surroundings were very different from what we’re accustomed to. The many small water bodies were largely covered by ice and without leaves on the trees and bushes, we could see through them to what lay beyond more easily than usual.

Bright red rose hips and a few coloured leaves clinging to otherwise bare stems were the only tiny splashes of colour in an otherwise monochromatic landscape.

After hiking 9.1 km (5.7 miles), we arrived back at the trailhead and were surprised to see how many vehicles were in the parking lot. Apparently we weren’t the only ones crazy enough to tackle an early winter hike on a chilly day!

Camping with caterpillars

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Hubby and I spent the past four days camping at Cross Lake Provincial Park about three and a half hours northwest of here. Amazingly, in spite of the fact that Alberta has been experiencing near-historic rainfall over the past month, we enjoyed four days of beautiful sunshine and it wasn’t until we were tucked into bed in the trailer last night that the rain began to fall again.

In addition to all the rain, Alberta has also been experiencing a massive infestation of tent caterpillars, a natural phenomenon that peaks every 10 to 12 years. Located in the boreal forest that encompasses almost the entire northern half of the province, the campground was overrun with these hairy little critters.

Although we love to spend most of our time outdoors when we’re camping, we ate our first supper in the trailer to avoid the caterpillars and when we were outside that evening, we literally had to tuck our pants into our socks to keep them from crawling up the inside of our pant legs!

One place where there were no caterpillars was out on the water. The main Cross Lake Provincial Park campground offers 130 lovely powered sites, but across a wide bay and accessible only by foot or by boat, is rustic George’s Point campground with seven tent only sites. For the first of our two kayaking excursions, we packed a lunch and paddled over to George’s Point for a picnic. We were the only ones there and this is the view that we enjoyed.

While kayaking, we saw families of ducks and loons as well as gulls and other water birds, but we were especially delighted to spot a bald eagle. There’s no way to keep a kayak perfectly still on the water, so taking good photos, especially those that require zooming in, is extremely challenging. Needless to say, I’m pretty happy with this one…

When we got back to our campsite later that day, it was lierally like walking into a horror movie! Every surface was crawling with caterpillars… thousands and thousands of caterpillars! Thankfully, we’d heard from another camper that there weren’t many of them on the far side of the campground where there were more evergreen trees and less of the deciduous ones that the caterpillars feed on. The campground was far from full, so we asked and were given permission to move. It was a lot of extra work, especially for hubby, but it was definitely worth it. Although there were still a few creepy crawlies, we were able to enjoy the remainder of our stay.

We weren’t able to do as much hiking as we might have as many of the trails looked like this…

Thankfully though, although we had to carefully skirt around a couple of huge puddles, the trail from the campground to French Creek, which flows out of the lake, was passable and we even found the only geocache located in the park while we were on that hike.

Now we’re home and it’s raining again, but at least there are no caterpillars here!

Saipan: from tranquility to typhoon devastation

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This is the message that I’ve been receiving from WordPress for the past few days.

By far the most popular post, the one that has been drawing lots of readers to my blog, is this one that was published more 15 years ago. Entitled Where in the World is Saipan, it was written when hubby and I learned that we would be spending the summer of 2011 serving as short term missionaries on the tiny Pacific island of Saipan.

Saipan is the largest and the most densely populated of the 14 tiny islands that make up the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands which stretches 400 miles along the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean. Just 15 degrees north of the equator, the island is only 12.5 miles (20 km) long & 5.5 miles (8 km) wide, but it has a population of almost 47 000 people.

A tropical island with a warm humid climate, Saipan holds the Guinness World Record for having the most consistent temperature in the world. The average temperature year-round is 27C (81 F) with very little fluctuation between day and night. It is, however, in a very high-risk area for tropical storms or typhoon with several passing near or directly over the island annually and I’m sure that this is what has drawn so many people to my blog post this week.

On Tuesday night and throughout the day on Wednesday, Super Typhoon Sinlaku hammered the island with sustained winds of up to 150 mph (240 km/h) flipping cars, uprooting trees, toppling utility poles, and ripping off tin roofs. The only hospital on the island sustained severe flooding as did many homes and other buildings. Power and water were out and many of the roads were left impassable. The images and videos that have been filling my Facebook feed are heartbreaking. Here are a several from the Marianas Press.

What a sharp and horrifying contrast from the tranquil beauty that I remember.

As gorgeous as Saipan was, however, and in spite of the fact that there were beautiful beach resorts along the west side of the island, we also knew that many of the people that we were ministering to lived in houses like these ones. I can only imagine what’s left of them after Sinlaku ravaged the island this week.

I’m not happy about the fact that there’s still snow in our forecast for the coming week, a time of year when we’re often on the golf course, but seeing what the people of Saipan have been dealing with certainly puts things into perspective in a hurry!

How far would you go for a party?

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This weekend I did something I never imagined that I would do. I flew all the way to Vancouver for a party! I left Friday morning and was back home again by supper time on Sunday! It was a whirlwind trip, but I’m so glad I went.

It was over ten years ago that I wrote this post about my older brother. More than a decade before the measles vaccine became available, Donald, an infant at the time, suffered irreversible brain damage due to encephalitis, a severe, often fatal, complication of measles. Although my parents were told that they should put him in an institution, they refused and we grew up together. He has, however, been in care all of his adult life. Since 1981, before the Community Living Society that now provides residential and personalized community-based support to individuals throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland of BC, came into existence, Trudy M has been one of Donald’s primary caregivers. After 43 years with CLS and even longer with Donald, Saturday’s party was a well-earned celebration of Trudy’s retirement. How could I not be there?

Over the years, Trudy has become family. Mom and Dad adored her and as I said when asked to say a few words on behalf of our family at the party, four of us became siblings by birth, she became our sibling through hard work and dedication.

The only reason that I had considered not going to the party and the reason that my stay in Vancouver was so short was the fact that this is the beginning of what we in my community theatre group call “hell week”. This Friday is opening night of our latest play and it’s all hands on deck to ensure that we’re ready to entertain our audiences. Thankfully, our director is also a close personal friend who knew how important it was to me to be able to slip away for Trudy’s party.

Although I was in Vancouver for less than 48 hours and in spite of the fact that it was a damp, drizzly weekend, I arrived in the city on Friday in time to watch one of my grandsons play a game of rugby. That was particularly meaningful to me because he attends and was playing for the same high school that I attended 60 years ago!

My sister and I also fit in a long walk on Saturday morning. Coming from Alberta where we still have sub zero temperatures and lots of snow, we enjoyed the humidity and the signs of spring that we won’t see here for awhile yet.

Book of the month – February 2026

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Finding Flora

Elinor Florence

When a friend recommended this historical novel I was immediately intrigued because the setting is a very familiar one. The story takes place near the location of present-day Clive, Alberta, about an hour and a half by car from where I live! The action begins in 1905 with Scottish newcomer, Flora Craigie, jumping from a moving train to escape a disastrous marriage. Depending on where you live, 1905 might seem like fairly recent history, but this was brand new country at that time. The town where I live was established as a Canadian Pacific Railway townsite in 1906 and incorporated as a village in March 1907.

In the early 1900s, the Canadian government granted 160 acres of free land to any man who met three stringent conditions: he had to live on the property for three years, build a habitable dwelling, and cultivate a required number of acres each year. That opportunity wasn’t open to single women, however. Not surprising, I suppose, if you consider the fact that women in Canada weren’t even legally declared persons until October 18, 1929!

The heroine of our very well-researched story finds a legal loophole, however. Canadian veterans of the Boer War in South Africa were granted homesteads by the federal government in appreciation for their service and there was no law against them selling these claims. Flora purchases her claim from one of the twelve Canadian nurses who served in the Boer War and who were therefore considered veterans. She is astonished to find that her nearest neighbours are also female: a Welsh widow with three children, two American women raising chickens, and a Métis woman who trains wild horses.

With strength, determination, and endless courage Flora and her neighbours battle the harsh environment as well as those who were opposed to women owning land. They endure backbreaking labour and many hardships that were common to early Canadian settlers. Hardships like the winter storm that kept us housebound one day last week. Imagine surviving a prairie blizzard in a one room cabin without insulation, indoor plumbing, electricity, and central heating! To complicate matters for Flora, there were indications that her violent husband hadn’t given up looking for her.

The kindness of strangers and the importance of community are themes that weave their way through this heartwarming story.  There’s also an element of romance and although the ending is quite predictable, I can’t help but love a story about resilient boundary-breaking women!

Thinking about boots

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Winter’s arrival is later than usual this year. We haven’t seen a snowflake yet which is highly unusual, but the weather forecast tells us they’re coming soon. I’m definitely not a fan of the season as it’s always way too long and too cold here on the Canadian prairie, but one thing that I do look forward to every year is wearing boots. 

This week, I decided that I’d put off bringing my winter boots out of storage for as long as I could. It was time to get them ready for the season. That involved cleaning and polishing the ones that needed it, then waterproofing all of them with a protective spray. 

Getting ready for winter also involved saying a sad goodbye to two pairs of boots. The tall brown ones that I bought second hand back in 2019 were too worn out to continue wearing and a cute pair of ankle boots, also brown and also thrifted, were donated again. As much as I loved them, they hurt my feet, so I decided to take my own advice from last week’s post and not sacrifice comfort for style.

That leaves me without any brown boots. I have one pair of tall black boots and four pairs of ankle boots in various colours and styles, so I don’t really need more, but since I love brown and it’s very much on trend this year, I might keep my eye out for a pair or two. After all, can you really have too many pairs of boots? 

Image: ChatGPT

Lessons from my fall wardrobe transition

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As much as I hate to see summer come to an end, I have to quit denying reality and accept the fact that fall is here! The days are getting shorter, the furnace is coming on in the morning, coloured leaves are falling, and the farmers around us are finishing harvest. I actually love autumn, but it’s a bittersweet season because it means that our long, cold winter is just around the corner.

Another sign that fall is here is the fact that I recently found myself reaching for the warmer items in my closet. As a result, I finally made the switch from my summer wardrobe to my fall/winter one this week. As I moved my summer clothes into storage and brought out warmer ones, I tried to do a better job of purging than I’ve done in recent years. So, what went into the donate pile and what, if any, lessons can be learned?

  • Items that I bought because someone else said they looked good on me, but that I didn’t wear very often because they never really felt like me. Lesson: Don’t dress to please others. I need to consider my 5 style adjectives (classy, casual, comfortable, confident, and authentic) when I’m deciding whether or not to buy something.
  • Thrifted items that were too good to pass up, but that I’ve seldom worn.  Lesson: A bargain is only a bargain if you’re actually going to wear it.
  • Garments that no longer fit the way they should. Lesson: Dress for the body that I have today, not the one I used to have or wish I still had. My aging body is changing; there’s more around the middle than there used to be and that’s okay.
  • Items that I have too many of.  Lesson: A woman who hardly ever wears leggings doesn’t need 7 pairs!
  • Pieces that I’ve hung onto for sentimental reasons.  Lesson: I don’t need a closet full of nostalgia for my kids to clean out someday.

Now that I’ve finished sorting clothes, I need to do the same with footwear. Once that’s done, it will be time to take a close look at my wardrobe and decide whether or not there are any gaps that need to be filled before the really cold weather arrives. In the meantime, I’m hoping that our beautiful fall weather lasts for awhile longer!

How can it be fall already?

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Do you remember when you were a kid and summer seemed to go on forever? Me too, but now it seems to fly by in a flash. I have a love/hate relationship with fall. I love the crisp autumn air and the changing colours, but fall means winter is just around the corner and I’m never ready for that!

I try to hold onto summer for as long as I can, but the signs are all around me. Days are getting shorter and leaves are beginning to change colour. Teachers and students are back in school and soon our regular fall/winter activities will be in full swing again. Still, I have a hard time accepting the changing season. Reality definitely hit this morning though. When I first looked out it was -1ºC (30.2ºF) and there was frost on the roofs across the street! Frost in the first week of September!

For me, summer seemed to go by faster than ever this year. Perhaps that’s because with all the traveling we did to far flung places like Armenia, Germany, and Alaska, we didn’t spend as much time doing the things we usually do during the summer months. We did manage to fit in a fair amount of golf and we hope to do more of that in the few weeks before the course closes, but we’ve only spent 11 nights in our trailer, less than half our usual 25 or more. We are planning to get out for one more short trip, but after that it will be time for hubby to winterize the trailer. We’ve only had the kayak on the water four times, so I sure hope we can do that again too.

As a retired teacher, the beginning of September always feels like the start of a new year to me. As such, it’s a good time to set some goals or make some “new years” resolutions. Sharing them with you will make me more accountable and help me actually accomplish them, so thank you for that!

When I think about this summer’s golf and kayaking season, one thing that stood out to me was the fact that over the past few years, I’ve lost strength in my shoulders and upper arms. No surprise, as I used to lift weights all winter. Doing that is more than I can handle now, but I need to do something, so I’ve decided to add some work with dumbbells to the morning exercises that are already an established part of my year round routine. This website has some good information and exercises for seniors, so I’m going to do a set of the 5 upper body weight training exercises every morning Monday to Friday.

It’s been ages since I last published a Fashion Friday post, so that’s also something that I plan to resume doing on a semi regular basis. I haven’t shopped for clothes in quite awhile, but I have been paying attention to what’s on trend for fall and here are a few things that I’ve been noticing…

  • chocolate brown, lots of chocolate brown
  • off-white and neutral tones
  • blazers with jeans
  • bulky, oversized sweaters
  • capes
  • dark wash jeans in almost any style, but not torn or distressed
  • suede boots, shoes and handbags
  • loafers and mary janes
  • statement belts
  • statement necklaces
  • scarves, both silk and knit

While lots of these are very wearable and make me want to rush out and start shopping, my first step will be my semi annual closet changeover (but not until after that last camping trip!) At that point, I’ll take a close look at what I already have, then figure out what, if anything, I actually need. Then I might look for a few pieces that fit with my existing wardrobe and that I’m likely to wear for more than one season, pieces that fit my style adjectives… classy, comfortable, casual, confident, and authentic.

What about you? Are you happy or sad that summer is over? Do you have any goals or plans for the new season? Will you be wearing any of this season’s trends?

North to Alaska!

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I love trip planning and we tend to be independent travellers, so we don’t have much experience with organized tours and luxury cruises. In fact, with the exception of a three day river cruise in China in 2013, our recent Alaska cruise was our first.

I grew up on the BC coast and the ocean has always been my happy place, so in spite of the fact that it was very different from our usual kind of travel, this trip was something that had been on my unwritten bucket list for a long time. We chose Princess Cruises for two reasons. First, it’s reputed to be one of the more relaxed, laid-back cruise lines and secondly, they offered exactly what we wanted, a 7 day Inside Passage cruise departing from Vancouver on August 12, fitting perfectly with our other reasons for being in Vancouver. 

With 3500+ people on board (passengers and crew), swimming pools, theatres, multiple restaurants and bars, a spa, and a casino, the Grand Princess was really a floating resort.

We sailed under the Lions Gate Bridge and out of the Vancouver harbour on a stunningly beautiful afternoon.

Mount Baker, approximately 140 km (87 miles) to the south in the state of Washington, was clearly visible looming over the city skyline.

It was the beautiful coastal views, enjoyed from the solitude of our stateroom balcony, that thrilled my heart the most though.

There’s a vast array of activities to take part in on board a cruise ship. We enjoyed attending sessions with award-winning author and photographer, Nick Jans, and retired Alaska forest ranger, Pete Griffin. Although we tried our luck at the cheapest slot machines in the casino, we didn’t spend much time there and didn’t come away any wealthier! The evening shows in the Princess Theatre were superb and rather than spending time in the bars, we chose to sip wine on our balcony while enjoying the scenery.

The food was excellent and, of course, I loved the fact that I didn’t have to cook for the whole week! We chose to eat breakfast and lunch at the ship’s buffet and dinner in the dining rooms where we ordered from excellent and varied menus. While there were many other options, I love seafood and what better place to enjoy it than on the ocean? I even tried a couple of kinds of fish that I hadn’t tasted before. As a diabetic, my favourite part was the fact that there were sugar-free desserts available at every meal! I definitely indulged and the bathroom scale tells me that I gained five pounds. I’m hoping that all the walking that I’m doing as part of my Hoofing It fundraiser for neuroendocrine cancer research will wear it off.

Typically, a 7 day cruise includes two formal nights when passengers are encouraged to dress up. I wasn’t sure how we’d deal with those. I’d seen packing lists that included tuxedos and evening gowns, but we don’t own such things and considering how challenging it was to pack for this three part trip, I had no intention of hauling hubby’s suit along with us. I did pack a couple of simple dresses for myself and dress pants, a dress shirt, and a tie for him. As it turns out, we had nothing to worry about. While a few people did dress more formally, even in the dining rooms most weren’t dressed any fancier than we were.

August is one of Alaska’s rainiest months and the weather can be quite chilly, so packing lists also included warm sweaters, insulated jackets, and rain gear. While we were happy to have warm clothing to bundle up in while viewing a tidewater glacier and looking for whales (we only caught glimpses at a distance) and we did have rain at one of our ports of call, we mostly enjoyed good weather.

Our cruise included stops at Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan, and a side trip up Endicott Arm to see Dawes Glacier, but I’ll write about those in a separate post.

What I wear during a heat wave

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logo-by-samHere in Alberta, we’re enjoying (enduring?) a stretch of unusually hot weather. Midday temperatures are hitting the low to mid 30s C (mid 80s to mid 90s F). I know that this might not seem overly hot to many of you, but for those of us who live in an area that is described as having a cool, continental climate, this is hot! The heat warning issued by Environment Canada calls this a “prolonged heat event” and suggests that “very high temperature conditions are expected to pose an elevated risk of heat illnesses, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion.”

Personally, you won’t hear me complaining about the heat. I often feel cold when everyone around me is warm, so I don’t mind a bit of heat for a change. Golfing this afternoon with barely a breeze moving the flags on the course was just about enough for me though! So how do I dress during a heat wave?

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A lot of women my age (I’m 71) aren’t comfortable wearing shorts and/or sleeveless tops, but when it’s hot, you’ll find me wearing both. Light colours reflect the heat and loose fitting tops are more comfortable than something form-fitting or clingy. Although the top I’m wearing in the photos is a made of a polyester blend, a breathable, lightweight fabric such as linen or cotton would be an even better choice.

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A wide-brimmed hat and sandals complete my outdoor wear. I exchange the hat for a ball cap when I’m golfing, hiking, or kayaking.

You’ll notice that, except for a simple pair of earrings, I’m not wearing any accessories. When it’s really hot, I don’t want anything extra against my skin. If you looked really close, you’d also see that I’m makeup free. When it comes to cosmetics, I’m a minimalist at the best of times, but when it’s hot, I prefer not to wear any at all. Of course, If I was going to an event, especially an indoor event that required a higher level of dress, I would probably add a necklace and/or bracelet and some makeup.

Finally, for outdoor wear, regardless of the event or activity, there’s one item that is absolutely essential… sunscreen! The dermatologist I saw recently recommends a minimum of SPF 30, but I always wear one with SPF 50+.