GrannyRant

Granny Calling……we left Kelowna at 10.30am and drove out of the city and into the countryside. The smell of burning wood is strong and burns your throat. According to this morning’s TV news there are now 370 fires burning and that’s just in British Columbia. As we approached Kamloops, the terrain changes and the fields are dry and yellow. There are burned pine trees dotted about, which look like cocktail sticks poking out of the ground, I would not like to live in such a dry climate and it’s such a contrast to our wet Wales. It actually looks like a scene from a prehistoric film, ‘the land that time forgot’. The river has etched a lifeline which looks like a huge vein down the centre of the valley floor and either side of the river houses have sprung up all over the place.

We stopped for petrol and to use the toilet as it was going to be 8 hours or more before we got to Jasper, our next destination. Kamploops too, is hazy from the smoke and apparently the inhabitants have to keep all windows and doors closed and use the air conditioning to filter the air. I am having problems with my asthma from the air conditioning and it is causing a dry cough, I am so glad we have it though, especially now.

As we hurtled along the highway, we ate crisps and drank water and listened to silly country songs, they are so funny and have such weird lyrics. Like, pound sign, forward slash, tick exclamation mark? Then a song called ticks, where some man is hoping to get his girl naked and check her for ticks! Then there is the one about, ‘if I die before I wake, feed Jake, he’s been a good dog to me’. Country music, you have to love it, it‘s so comically morbid. The landscape further on is still recovering from fires over the last few years and as we passed a sign for Chinook Cove, I can’t help feel sad that these lovely trees are now reduced to charred tooth-picks.

We wound our way for hours, always with the North Thompson River to our right, this river is so long and we have now been following it for over 4 hours. No sign of a service station anywhere. We saw a sign that says Jasper 243 km, it is 2.06 in the afternoon, Adam is driving and Robyn sleeping and then from nowhere there is a 30 second rain shower, there it was and then it’s gone. Like we drove under a hose pipe. Head Waters, Wells Gray country, Vavenby, Mad River, Little Hells Gate, whiz by town after town as we continue on. We pass Mount Robson and at 3954 metres it’s the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, it is enormous and the snow covered top of the mountain is in the clouds and out of sight.

We crossed the border into Alberta at 5.29, we made good time and the whole journey to Jasper took around 7 hours, We checked into our Hotel and made a plan to meet in 30 minutes to walk into Jasper and eat. Jasper is pretty and it’s bear country, although all we saw there was a couple of red squirrels. The town is nestled in the shadow of some really big mountains and the temperature is quite cool as we walk along. We ate at a Greek place and then strolled the four blocks back to our hotel to get a drink at the bar there, we are all tired, but especially our drivers and got our heads down early.

Day 27, started with an enormous breakfast skillet, we were going exploring today and the plan was to work our way back to Calgary via some tourist destinations. I failed to eat all my food, as did Adam and the waiter said, you even beat your Mom (thinking I was Adam’s Mother), Adam said, how does he know I beat my mom? We all laughed for ages, the waiter was a little dense we decided.

We piled into our Van and left Jasper, first stop Athabasca Falls. The falls were amazing and made a great backdrop for pictures, it was really interesting reading about how the power of the water had created potholes and strange lines in the rocks. We decided to video some short films as we didn’t think Pictures would capture the atmosphere. I got my usual bite, but this one was not a mosquito, more like a horse fly and I have now got a hand like a blown up kitchen glove and this is not going to go down any time soon. On we go, to the Columbian Ice fields, a huge glacier, which is receding far too quickly due to global warming, the glacier stands at 2,000 metres and it is cold near the ice. We walked up the hill and a sign said, people with breathing problems should make other arrangements before going up to that altitude, too late we are already up here, and breathless! It was fascinating and well worth the visit.

We came along the road to a beautiful still lake, where you could see the reflections of the mountains and pine trees in the water, this is Bow Lake and you can see the origin of the Bow river on the mountain. There is a traditional lodge there called Num-Ti-Jah and some pretty birds with orange breasts, I must try and find out what they are? We took some lovely pictures and Martin tried to skim stones on the water, unsuccessfully. On the way out, Adam spotted a place called Mosquito Creek and suggested we should go…are you kidding, mozzies find me easily, I don’t want to go looking for them!

Next stop Lake Louise, which was every bit as stunning, there were lots of people about and we fed a young bird as we ate enormous ice cream cones, I asked for one scoop, I swear there were six scoops at least! We wandered back to the van, talking about the day and decided that the falls were the highlight, we piled into the van for the last leg of our journey back to the house in Calgary. We slowly drove out of the grounds surrounding the lake and started to wind our way down the hill towards home. We hadn’t seen a bear, even though we were told we would and despite the fact that we had kept the camera on standby all day, ‘just in case’. Then as we rounded a bend, Adam said “what’s that?” and there she was, a young female grizzly bear, peeping over the wall looking directly at us and we could not get the camera ready before she turned and went back down the slope. She was about 6 foot tall and was tagged as they are disappearing and there is research being done and they are all tagged with a number. Adam spun the van around and we went back to the spot, but it was too late. How lucky are we, we have seen two black bears and a grizzly on this trip.

We got home about half an hour before Uncle arrived with Robyn’s car, we had Chinese and beer and drank every spirit in the house as well as oceans of home made red wine. Robyn and Martin got to bed at about 2.30 am, me at 3.45 and Uncle and Adam at 06.00.…why do we do it to ourselves, we have felt like crap all day, but better then than tomorrow night as we have to fly home the next day……Granny…to be continued…

Good evening…Granny calling…I am going to write two days at once again as it’s sometimes difficult to get time to write when there is so much to do and see. On Friday (day 14), we got up at around 09.30, Robyn and Adam were already at work and we decided to have an easy day after the trip from Edmonton which had worn us all out, especially Uncle who did all the driving. We ate toast and drank tea and Uncle went out to Tim Horton’s for the first fix of the day. We sat around and decided eventually to take a trip to IKEA as Robyn needed some door mats and tugs for her new house. We wandered around there for around 2 hours, ate lunch in the restaurant and when we left the store the day had warmed up to around 26 degrees. Aunty bought minced beef and vegetables to go with spaghetti for supper and got some veggie meatballs for Martin, she also got 2 sauces to mix as there was no garlic in the one jar.
By the time we had got lost again (because there are road works and diversions all over) it was 5.20 pm and we had to get supper soon, we were going to ‘Aussie Rules’ Piano Bar and had to leave by 7.30 to get there for 8pm. We all piled into the van like the ‘AntHill’ mob and off we went. Robyn chose the venue and Boy, were we in for a treat. As we went in we had to get a boomerang stamped on our hands to show that we had paid and we were shown to our table, in front of the bar, not far from the toilets, or ‘Blokes and Sheila’s’ as they were called and just off to the side of the stage where the 2 pianists would be performing. The waitress came and told us how it works, you choose a song/artiste write it down and also whether you were celebrating anything and if you put a tip (few dollars) you have more chance of getting your request played. She said “you can dance anywhere you like, on the floor, on the chairs, but the tables are not safe. It’s intended to be interactive so clap, scream and sing as loud as possible, this sounded like my kind of place!
We wrote down about 6 songs and said we were on holiday from the UK, threw a few dollars on top and Robyn handed them in. As soon as Bob and Keith started singing the place erupted, the singing raised the roof and every now and then they shouted out “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” we shouted “Oy, Oy,Oy” all a bit Welsh if you ask me? Someone asked for Justin Beiber and when Bob went off for his break, he downloaded the tune and tried to learn it, it was hysterical when he kept singing oohh baby, baby and the crowd were in fits of laughter.
We sang old songs, new songs, rock songs, country songs and some very naughty songs including a version of Mony Mony which included more ‘F’ words than you could shake a stick at. When he sang Summer of 69 he read out Mine and Martin’s name and said we were from the UK …well chuffed!! We had a real raucous night; we met Darlene and her husband, had lots to drink and really enjoyed it. Robyn chose well and there was lots of praise for her choice on the way home, especially as she was kind enough to drive!! We carried on talking about the night at home and eventually got to bed at around 2am….Exhausted…..
Saturday morning (day 15) started slowly as we all woke one by one, Martin and I woke at around 8am but the house was quiet so we decided to try and get another hour of sleep. When we finally got up, Robyn was already on the phone trying in vain to find me an appointment to get some in-fills for my acrylic nails, there was nothing available so we concentrated on trying to organise our raft trip down the river. Robyn and uncle went off to hire the raft and Adam went to the store for eggs for breakfast. When they got back Robyn said that they were out of 6 man rafts, (we were going to have a larger one for more space) so we had one of the last two 4 man rafts available. Then we realised that we only had one vehicle and we needed to park one at the end of the journey at ‘the bridge’ while driving another on to the start with the raft. Uncle and Aunty said they would take us on their way back to Saskatoon. Sounds like a plan and we loaded the cool-bag with a few beers, some sandwiches and snacks. We piled everything else into a bag, putting mobile phones and cameras in plastic re-sealable bags to keep them dry, ‘just in case’. We took towels, dry tee shirts and lots of sun-screen; we were going to be on the river for around 4 hours. Martin and I were excited and really looking forward to doing something different.
When we arrived at Cochrane, we pumped up the raft, we said long, emotional ‘goodbyes’ to Uncle and Aunty and thanked them for their hospitality and the lovely trips they took us on and for giving us the opportunity to see some of Canada, especially Saskatchewan which we have heard about over the years but never thought we would see. With a tear in my eye and a lump in my throat, I grabbed one of the handles on the raft and we marched briskly down the steep hill to the river. I hate Goodbyes.
When we got to the river, we pushed the raft in and Adam told me, Martin and Robyn to get in and he would push us out into the water before climbing in. We immediately got stuck on a rock and had to push with the paddle and bounce up and down on the raft until we got going.
After a few minutes, we settled into the raft and moved around a bit to even out the weight, Adam and Roby at either end with a paddle each and us two in the middle, we were going great, it would be a stroll in the park and any worries Martin and I had were quickly dispelled as the sounds of traffic disappeared and all we could hear was the water, the birds and other people in rafts….bliss!
We floated down the river for about 30 minutes, when we came to a small island in the river, we decided to go to the right but we were laughing as Robyn was having trouble paddling and I was saying that it was because of me and Martin being too heavy in the middle. We soon came to a patch of faster water and although it was probably only waist deep, it was quite fast and we were being dragged toward the bank, Robyn and Adam tried in vain to paddle away from the side and then we came around a bend and saw a huge overhanging rock jutting out into the river, we had nowhere to go, Robyn shouted “oh shit, we going to hit it” and we braced ourselves. The raft hit the point of the rock side on and I was sat in the middle straddling the seat so was facing the rock head on, I leaned back, the raft crashed into the rock and a huge surge of water hit me straight in the face as the raft shot out of the water, tipped upside down and we all went into the river.
We tried in vain to save our stuff but it was floating away from us at great speed in the flow of the water, I lost my glasses and couldn’t see, Martin was in over his head and Adam was out of sight, I panicked for a second or two as my life jacket lifted up and covered my face, the water went over my head, I hit my leg and couldn’t get my head out, I think I swallowed a pint of water as I was spluttering and trying to get my head out, then I heard Robyn shout “JULIE!” and the next thing I knew, she had hold of my life jacket and lifted me out of the water. I shot into the air like a dolphin! “I’m ok I said, I can swim across now. Where are Martin and Adam?”
I could see Martin now, even though without my glasses everything was blurred and the glare of the sun on the water didn’t help. God, I felt so helpless as we are both asthma sufferers and immediately hyper-ventilated when we hit the coldness of the water. He was ok though and had made it to the side further upstream. Robyn tried to swim after Adam and some of our belongings, but all we rescued was one paddle, 3 odd sandals a plastic bag with cucumbers for out picnic and 2 hats. Adam caught the raft and the paddle, which incidentally would have cost us $2000 if we had lost it.
When I got my breath I called to the others and although there were some minor injuries and we were all in shock and out of breath, we were ok. I waited for Martin who joined me and we stood for a minute, taking stock, we hugged for almost a minute I reckon and said how lucky we were that no-one was seriously injured or worse. I called to Robyn and asked them if they we ok “not really” said Robyn. Martin and I gingerly walked down the shoreline on the sharp stones, feet bleeding and with no shoes, it took us ages to walk 100 metres or so. We all counted our blessings and then realised that Martin and Adam both had mobile phones in their pockets…no use though they were both waterlogged. We had lost 3 cameras, my purse with $250 dollars in and my debit cards, 2 pairs of my prescription glasses and one pair of Martins and my blackberry phone. Then we realised that the keys to Uncle’s new Dodge Van were in the bag with Robyn’s camera! There were a few choice swear words from us all, until I said, “look, we can replace all these things”…no-one died. I t could have been so much worse.
We sat on the raft, which was now seriously deflated and not safe to float the rest of the way down, we shouted to a few people on the other side of the river to see if they had mobile phones to call for help but they were all too far away and couldn’t hear us. Then a couple in a small dinghy passed by and Robyn asked them if they had a cell phone, they paddled across to us and they very kindly phoned 911 and told the emergency services where we were. They offered to stay with us but we told them we were ok and that we would be fine now that we knew that the fire service would be on their way…there are some wonderful people in this world and today really restored my faith in human nature.
We were getting cold, the river was freezing and we were probably shocked, we kept hearing what we thought were motor boat engines but they were down-river, the after around 45 minutes (seemed like a hell of a lot longer) the Fire and Rescue Service arrived, I have never been so pleased to see someone in my life! They asked what happened, they were really nice and made no fuss, they said they had been called out a few times already, the river is high and fast at the moment because of all the unseasonal rain recently, we shouldn’t worry about it.
They tethered the deflated raft on the back of the boat, sat us all in and tried to pull away, the boat was grounded and difficult to get going. When we spun around in the river and headed down-stream I grabbed Robyn’s hand and we just smiled at each other, what can you say? Suddenly, one of the crew said, is that your paddle? Someone had pulled it out of the river and stood it up on the bank with our empty cool bag. Adam said, “That saved us another $20”. Those Firemen had no need to do that and went out of their way to pick it up, makes you feel humble when people are so helpful.
It took around 20 minutes to get back to ‘The Bridge’ where we were to pick up the Van and when we got there, there was an ambulance, a fire truck and a local news reporter waiting, embarrassing, but we decided, better embarrassed than drowned!
The breakdown truck came to break into the Van (Uncle had left spare keys inside, ours had sunk to the bottom of the river) Robyn and Martin went up to drive it down, we had no shoes, Adam had a broken toe and was having difficulty walking and we all had cuts and bruises and were all shaken by the experience.
I am now writing this at the kitchen table, Robyn just rang to say that she was having X .Rays and Adam was waiting to see a Dr. Martin and I have cuts and bruises and we are aching all over, we can treat those at home though. What a day! Well we did say it would be an adventure, that’s me finished for river rafting, I will stick to walking from now on! I just hope that Robyn and Adam don’t blame themselves, it was no-one’s fault and as I said earlier, all’s well that ends well……glass of red anyone?
To be continued…Granny