Thanksgiving is here this coming Monday, and, once again, amongst all the ever increasing madness in the wider world, we’re very aware we’ve so much to be thankful for.
Kananaskis, last weekend
As I’ve written before, thanksgiving weekend more or less marks the anniversary of when we moved to Canada, a move we’ve never once regretted (well, maybe some regret related to my first and probably last slice of pumpkin pie all those years ago, shudder… the horrors of pumpkin pie – apologies to outraged traditionalists – but no, no, never again, I can’t, I just can’t…)
For carving? Yes! For pie? No!
Pumpkin pie aside, each passing year we love where we live more and more. So if you choose to celebrate the coming holiday, happy thanksgiving!
Full foothills fall
Ok, let’s keep it brief this week – there’s an apple pie that needs our attention! The next photograph was also taken last weekend and I think it signals the end of the brief Alberta mountain fall and our current camping season?! More to follow…
No more camping this year?
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Silly? Silly?! Oh no, dull, dull, and dull… What’s going on? Have you had a vocabulary breakdown, OldPlaidCamper? Silly? Ugh… is silly the new dreary? It’s not a word I use very often – most likely because I’m distantly acquainted with one or two people I’m not overly fond of who do use it (they’d probably say I’m silly if they were being kind, although kindness isn’t really one of their strengths…) Anyway, why silly? What prompted this silliness? Why, because I couldn’t resist this beer:
Reappropriating silly. The new sensible.
We’ve certainly found the weather a bit silly throughout September, in that it was way above seasonal almost every day. Trips along the river and to nearby parks have been pleasant enough, and the planted gardens have certainly held on longer – perhaps due to the silly weather?
Very warm days, but fall is here
In just the last few days we’ve seen more of a fall arrival, and most definitely on our quick trip earlier this week to see friends in Canmore. The cool fall temperatures were a relief, and the dashes of colourful larches on the slopes were very pretty. A deciduous conifer? Is that a bit silly? Not at all!
Very sensible (taken a different day, west of Canmore)
We’re off to K country for a few days of quiet camping – no cell coverage or wifi, some beer, some short hikes, a few good books, and maybe spotting a bear or two in the distance. Not too silly…
On watch – beary sensible
Thanks for reading – I’ll aim for a wider vocabulary next time – and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Fall-ty memory? Forget-fall? (This is bad – apologies…) Yes, quite aw-fall. I’d promised to share some more colourful and less misty images from our recent trip to the coast. The main attraction for us was the foggy atmosphere and early hint of autumn, especially as summer here in the city has held on and on, heat wise, even if leaves are finally turning and falling at last. C’mon, summer, you’ve had your go; step aside and let autumn have a turn!
Cool coastal green
Mrs.PC ordered fall in a glass when we visited the Ucluelet brewery. A lovely Berliner Weisse style pepped up with a dash of fruity colouring – it was delicious, tart and refreshing, and a can or two might have made it into the back of the truck and all the way back home for enjoying this coming weekend…
Yum – is it the weekend yet?
We spent many a happy hour at our harbour side campground sitting and staring at the boats and birds, the occasional light breeze prompting some early leaf fall. It was almost autumnal.
Autumnal? Almost
The log provided a great foot (or beer/coffee) rest, and once or twice a day a gang of feathered friends came a-pecking and strutting for tasty insect morsels hiding in the wood. Entertaining companions.
Colourful characters
We caught up with many old friends this trip, and it was hard to tear ourselves away, but we did eventually find ourselves back on the ferry, crossing the Salish Sea and heading to and through the mountains. We stopped a couple of days in Revelstoke, just to soak up the mountain atmosphere and get wet – finally – in a rainstorm or two, rain that had eluded us the entire island trip.
Moments before a mountain deluge
Now we’re back in the hot city, we’re lining up a nearby mountain trip or two to cool off in the next couple of weeks, and perhaps catch the high fall colour there if the leaves have held on…
Back here next year? Why not?!
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
But not too far from home – we’re trusting the medium term forecast is accurate, and by the time this is posted we’ll be somewhere down the cowboy trail SW of Calgary and camping in the foothills.
Let’s hitch up and head out!
We have a new camera – nothing fancy, a replacement for our old not so fancy one that seems to have disappeared – so expect a few out of focus and wonky photographs with odd framing next time we post here…
Level
I keep saying it, but summer is speeding by – so we’d best get out there and make the most of it? Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Let’s get out there, or here, or somewhere like it!
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago how much we enjoyed our stay in Irricana, AB, and that I’d include a bit more, so here it is. I’ll let the pictures do most of the heavy lifting, due to laziness or maybe being too relaxed to scribble very much.
I will say the Irricana campground is a great place to stop a few days. It has a rodeo arena (is that the right term? I’m no cowboy…) and there are a couple of baseball diamonds. Little league baseball on a Thursday night is a big draw locally, and there are often horse boxes turning up with young riders making turns in the arena. One quiet afternoon – no horses – I clambered up above the chutes and snapped a few photos. It’s the closest I’ll get to bronco riding…
Hold on to your hat!
Back to the campground. Clean and tidy, it’s run by Norm, former Stampeder and all round good guy. Zipping about on his ATV in sunglasses and Stetson, he couldn’t have been more friendly or attentive. I saw him help out so many campers, be it assisting with parking a large trailer, lending an axe for firewood, or rooting out a water hose if someone had forgotten it. What a guy!
“Hey, Adam, wanna beer?” “Maybe later, Norm – we just had breakfast!” OK, not strictly true, and I jest time wise (it was always after lunch), but an indication of Norm as a great host!
Eight seconds? How hard can it be?!Horse power
If you’re ever out that way and looking for a quiet (outside of Monster Truck weekend) place to stay, then Irricana might just be for you!
Monster, oops, I mean our modest truck, Irricana, AB
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
No trucks, no monsters, just larks and gophers – a lovely prairie trail to hike or bike Not just for cowboys – and how hard can it be?! Sadly for them, I can think of one or two who struggle with this…
…as anyone who has seen me change a tyre can testify. I can do it, and have had to, but I won’t be finding employment in a Formula One pit lane anytime soon.
Anyway, rather than tinker myself, I took the truck in for a service the other day. We haven’t put many miles on it in recent months due to being mostly city bound, but now we’re making plans for a lengthy trip. Turns out if you don’t drive your car out and about often enough, there are consequences:
Oops…
Oh, ok, not mine. To be fair, I wouldn’t mind a run out in the vehicle above, once a little work has been done. Just a few updates: engine, tyres, windows, all the running gear, the interior… Hmm. Maybe we’ll stick to the Tacoma for now!
No worries – tried, tested, and trusted!
Keeping it brief as we’ve a bit more to do before setting off. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
…and we wouldn’t mind if we were still down by the river, but we came home after the third day of rain, and five nights out overall. It wasn’t the rain, it was the cold – it barely hit 10C for the afternoon high. Ok if you’re hiking, less so for sitting around enjoying the fire in between rain showers…
“Mountain” sector tent site – light that fire!
One afternoon we decided to revisit the microbrewery just outside the nearby village of Frampton. It wasn’t too busy, most likely due to the unseasonably chilly temperatures, but we received the usual warm and friendly welcome from the brewer on for the afternoon. We tasted a light lager, pretending it was late May, not mid-March, and it was pretty good, one for properly warm days ahead. For those, we stocked up on the raspberry sour we’d enjoyed so much last summer. It’s not a style I usually like, but this one is really good.
Last summer – raspberry sour on the left – yum!
I couldn’t resist a new NEIPA and bought a couple to savour later – slightly too strong but very tasty if you like a big hoppy beer. The last one we tried was only currently available on tap, so we’ll hope to return and buy a bottle/can or two – a new nut brown that was, for me, a perfect autumnal sipper. Goodness, I only had one sip but it was absolutely spot on!
Absolutely a good spot to be in
We weren’t only tasting beers or sitting by the fire or snoozing or in between snoozes – we also wandered up and down a couple of nearby trails. The vibrant fresh greens and bright new spruce tips were very welcome sights.
Happy trail
The rain and mist cleared from time to time so we were able to see longish views across the valley. The trail winds past a second section of the campground, a few walk in tent sites in the “mountain” sector. These are lovely secluded spots if you’re happy to hike up a steepish short way with all your gear.
Across the valley
One afternoon, mind and body suitably rested from the hiking, the scenery and the all round pleasantness of the Etchemin valley, I fell asleep and had the strangest dream. There was beer, spruce tipped and resinous, growing on trees. Oh, if only…
Can(ned) dreams come true?
Time to wake up! Well, this has been less sunny but not miserable, like a rested OldPlaidCamper during the second and rainier half of a camping trip. Apologies for the ridiculously long post heading this week, no idea how that happened. Sleepy brain?
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Thunder? Heavy rain showers? Heat? Humidity? One or two bugs? Check, check, check, check and check!
But… almost constant birdsong, a musical river, freshly unfurled spring greenery, a distant farm dog barking, spells of warm sunshine and a remote campsite in the trees above a river? Yup! On balance, let’s just say “when can we go again?”
Hanging out
We had a splendid few days down by (or just above) the Etchemin. Two decent sized bug bites on my ankle (how? I was wearing boots!) had me temporarily renaming it the Itchyman River, but I got over it, and barely mentioned it at all out loud. I didn’t provide any insects a free lunch once I’d applied the bug repellent. Use it, OPC. Happens every start of camping season – when will you ever learn…?
Itchyman – are those clouds bubbling up? Maybe…
The trailer and bug screen performed as hoped for, the wood-store was well stocked and dry – one match got our fire lit every time, maintaining a pretty good run (he says, modestly) – and is there a better outdoor aroma than woodsmoke and coffee? Perhaps my hiking boots left outside and under the trailer? With that aroma, why do the bugs even approach my ankles?
A splendid site
We saw and heard geese, and I startled a pair of ducks as I leant over to snap a shot upriver, at which point a kingfisher scolded me, Scout shook her head, and Mrs. PC seemed happy enough I didn’t fall in.
Several mornings a hummingbird buzzed me as I was making coffee, darting to the side I wasn’t looking as I tried to spot her. I caught a blur of small brown bird as she buzzed into the trees, perhaps disappointed we don’t take nectar with our coffee.
Set up
The Etchemin flows through a lovely little valley of low wooded hills and patches of cleared farmland. Not much more than an hour south of Quebec City, it is a delightful spot to find a change of pace. Breathe in, breathe out, stretch, relax, repeat, and it’ll soon be beer o’ clock.
It’s beer o’clock already? Well alrighty…
A very welcome break from the noise and nonsense that can be hard to avoid in the wider world. Spring this year hasn’t been all that it could have been, but a few more trips like this as we edge towards summer and maybe all will be well, with equilibrium maintained…
Fresh
More about this trip next week – the river, the rain (yup!), the microbrewery and hiking trails nearby.
New
Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Aiming for glass half full in this brief post, but be warned, it might seem like I’m moaning about the weather. If so, it’s because I am.
Right, let’s give half full a go, with something to brighten up our slow start to the season. C’mon, spring, time to show yourself – it’ll soon be summer…
A host? Almost…
We wandered the Plains of Abraham last weekend, taking a picnic with us as we searched for some spring colour. We found one or two bright patches in the not quite planted Joan of Arc gardens, and it was pleasant to find a bench in a sunny spot and turn our happy little faces up to the sun, almost golden and contented. Yes, mother, with suitable hats and sunglasses. We’re hoping to head down there again this coming Sunday, see if any more has been planted.
Spring blues?! Not me…
Prompted by two sunny days in a row for the first time since, well, it’s hard to remember, we uncovered the camping trailer on Monday. Happily, all is well with it, so we’ll be up and out from midweek and through the Victoria Day weekend, camping whatever the (rainy) weather. Optimistic sunblock and bug repellent, as well as a tarp or two if needed. Surely not…
Grand unveiling
Let’s keep it short this week and end here with a spring in our step! Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
Bright, cheery, and hoppy, like a springtime OldPlaidCamper – cheers!
OldPlaidCamper 