Fall is such a nice time of year...

Jewels and I went for a short hike on the weekend in Chester Bowl which follows Chester Creek down the hillside towards the lake. There was a lot of water flowing and so beautiful. It's hard to believe that when you are hiking in that area that you are in the middle of a city of 85000 people. It feels like you are the only people on earth .. such a pretty spot.

The leaves are changing big time right now. It's different for me as I'm more used to fall colors being predominantly gold but it's such an assortment of colors here with the many varities of trees. I took a couple of photos just above Julie's new home on Fern Street as the colors there were just outstanding.

I have also been working at re-connecting with mother nature by taking long hikes, armed with a bag of ...uhhh .. "walking sticks" that can be used to whack little white dimpled balls around whilst taking in the colors and the local scenery..

So far, I have hiked Ender Park on a couple of occasions, Lester Park - today, and Nemadji over in Superior Wisconsin.

Ahhhh.. Life is Good!

House hunting in Duluth

I've been down in Duluth for about 10 days now Julie and I spent several days checking out open houses and an assortment of listed homes in different parts of the city. Her agent just happened to know of a home that was across the back lane from her house that was being re-furbished and thought it mite appeal to Jewels. Well, my girl fell in love with the house and has drawn up an offer which will be presented later this week to the owner. The house is small - just the right size for an "older" couple with no full time kid boarders. It has been totally gutted and re constructed using high end windows, water heaters, insulation, appliances, a huge deck and whatever else you can think of. We both really love the house and are anticipating that the offer will be accepted... maybe with a few minor changes but we are anticipating moving her into the new home for November 15.

The view of Lake Superior is.. well, downright SUPERIOR, to say the least. It's located on Fern street which is high up on the hill above the Skyline parkway and pretty well straight north of Canal Park. Jewels is so very happy with her almost new home and we can't wait to move her stuff into the house and of course, buy a whole bunch of new furniture!!!!

The photos showing the view from the deck do not do justice to the actual view of the Lake which, on a sunny clear day is outstanding and will always be one of the highlights of this home.

Life is Good!

a little catch up... Jill and Wayne's Wedding.

Well, Jill and Wayne's wedding was a week ago yesterday. I've covered a lot of ground since and most of it in the rain.

The wedding went very well and although Jill was somewhat disappointed that more people could not have been there, it was so very nice that her uncles and aunts from sunny MB as well as mom and sis from Inuvik could attend. Jill asked me to say a few words about her but I couldn't .. I just get too emotional - especially when I try to convey my feelings about someone that I love so much. I'm so happy for her and in discussions with Wayne, I know he loves her and would do anything for her. Diane gave a heartfelt little speech at the wedding .. I have never really told her how much I have been affected by her giving up her baby to Benj and I... it has impacted my life in such a positive way and I so greatly appreciate her for letting us be part of her and Jill's lives. It was a lucky day when I made my decision to go north - a step that brought two loving children into our lives - and yes.. now two lovely young ladies - my grandkids Shaya and Rylie... I love you all!

And speaking of my babies, I got to sit with my two grand daughters the nite of the wedding and must admit that I was quite apprehensive about looking after baby Rylie as I haven't sat with a baby overnite for about 20+ years. Although she woke me three times for nutrition breaks, it went rather well and I delivered the little darlings to mom around 8am the next morning.

I'll post a few pics here later of the wedding ceremony once I receive copies from Jillie.

Since the wedding, I drove back to Edmonton and visited for two nights with Bill and Pat and then hit the trail for Duluth to check out some houses with my Jewels. It feels like I live in that old truck of mine at times. (only because I live in that old truck at times)!!! It will be nice to sit back for a while and relax in Duluth for a few days. No plans right now... Life is Good!

ya know....

So, I'm driving out of Chetwynd after visiting Larry and Val and of course, driving alone gives one lots of time to contemplate life and all... and I was thinking that I was probably crazy not to just drive back to Edmonton, spend a couple of days with Bill and Pat and Jesse and Nikki, and then fly off to Courtenay for the wedding.. but..

Driving along I felt so relaxed as the terrain most of the way to the Clinton area is fertile farm land and not really mountainous at all... and this is good cause I'm really actually tired of mountains. Or so I thought... then, after Cach Creek the terrain quickly changes to mountains again.. and its like a desert.. brown but so rugged and beautiful like Montana and N.Dakota.. and I'm in the Fraser Canyon following the white waters of the Fraser River.. rafting companies everywhere.. and its absolutely gorgeous.

The Fraser then changes with the landscape and everything becomes green and the mountains get bigger and it's so huge and overwhelming that photos don't do it justice. The Fraser is the river that the huge numbers of salmon are swimming up to spawn.. I stopped at a little store and they were selling Coho Salmon (about 4-6 pounders) for $10 each.. wish I had a cooler but it was hot hot hot and no way could I buy any.

I'm glad I drove cause if I didn't, I would have missed visiting my old pal as well as having another gorgeous wonderful day.. Life is Good!

On the road again...

So, after travelling some 5000 kms this summer, I'm on the road again. I went up to High Level Alberta to help out with a production of EZ Street from our paving partner in that location. We built 1000 tonnes of product over a couple of days and now I'm going to make my way over to Vancouver Island to attend Jillie's wedding on the 9th.

Stayed in Fairview and decided to head into BC from there rather than further south. Looking at the map I decided that I would go through Dawson Creek (Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway) and then to Chetwynd where I dropped in on some old friends.. well, not that old.. actually the same age as moi.. My old pal Larry Nichol and his lovely wife Val have lived in Chetwynd for about 35 years. I last saw them about 13 years ago and it was great to see them again. Larry was one of my groomsmen when I first got married to Benj a thousand years ago. He has been a friend from the time we were about 8 years old.

Had to throw in a couple of pics just to verify that I'm in the damn mountains again... Life is Good!!!