HUMMERS & CRUISERS

The Cross-Canada drive concluded by spanning the Fraser River into Vancouver. But the next day Pat got a Shop-Girl makeover and flew back to Toronto! What was the once-in-a-lifetime event that split us apart?? See next week...

So I've been batching it, staying with our dear Oz friend A. Her 17th floor balcony gives awesome views over Stanley Park, Lion's Gate Bridge,the railyards, and the harbour. In the neighbourhood are great parks, First Nations, and lots of retail. But most interesting are the hummingbirds that hang around the balcony (maybe it's the thriving Australian gum tree?) like pets.

Vancouver is a major cruise ship destination, with big beauties arriving almost every day. Tourists love the city and it's photo-ops in every direction. But even this late in the season there are multiples --- how many cruise ships can you count in this picture?

The rituals and logistics at a cruise terminal are amazing. In about 10 hours each ship is docked, cleared of passengers by the thousands, luggaged (?), restocked, hosed down, reboarded by new thousands, and casts off.

I never get tired of watching them leave, either. So big but so graceful. The departure is always timed to sail into the sunset: sometimes cloudy grey, sometimes blood red.  The hummers dart around the sugar-water all day, but even they seem to pause to salute Bon Voyage!

The good news? Pat is returning to Vancouver tonight! Guess who's humming now...

GO WEST YOUNG MAN: TERRY & THE TREE

After that emotional tsunami family heritage tour in Saskatchewan, we decompressed by taking a long drive west into Alberta. It's a road we've taken many times, so no stops at the Biggest Ukrainian Easter Egg, or at The World's Biggest Indoor Mall, etc. Quite a relief to see some angry clouds and eventually some rain after days of dry dry dry air. The Rockies came into view as majestic as ever. We expected to see regal elk grazing at roadside, and did. What we didn't expect were the huge crowds in Jasper this late in the season. No hotels under $300, so on we went to Valemont --- a pretty alpine town. Will it be overrun and over-retailed like formerly pretty Canmore was?? The mountain air was bracingly chill, and in the morning there was frost on the pumpkin.

Through postcard beautiful Rocky roads to Okanagan Lake, thin as a pine pole but over 700 feet deep. Kelowna abounds in green spaces but also claims to be the home of Ogopogo, the mythical serpent that has been sighted since the late 1800's. It's also a major mural town alongside extensive demonstration gardens. That's Ogopogo again, with an admirer. The harbour is busy on land, sea, and air. Pat tickled the ivories with "The Ogopogo Polka"! I tickled the car with it's first wash since we left home.

Down at the bottom of Okanagan is pretty Penticton. One of the market vendors explained the advantages of maple syrup in a pouch. Kite surfers showed the advantages of a really windy day. Lots of cheap motels, this one with gardens still bloomin'.

Today is the annual Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research. The Registration Desk was impressed at how far we had come for their walk! (We join in every year to honour our sisters, all 3 of whom have battled this scourge...) But in a fitting coincidence, it was also the national TD Tree Day. At 150 locales in Canada trees are being planted for many good reasons. Before you could  say"Saskatoonberry", Pat had a shovel in her hand,  joined the volunteers, and voila! Another one bites the dirt.

The Sunday drive continued westward through bountiful fruit farms and more rain. The Terry & The Tree Day ends at the Abbotsford Inn, close to our final stop tomorrow...

FAMILY HERITAGE SASKATCHEWAN TOUR DAY 1 (First of 3 Posts Today)

Apologies in advance for the quantity and often poor quality of the pictures in these 3 posts. The experiences and the emotions, though, were real and better than words can describe...

After months of research, dead ends, doubts, and then help from so many people in Saskatchewan --- the dream of a family reunion where our ancestors arrived in Canada was coming true. Ten descendants, spanning 7 decades in age and 4 generations in time, came together to honour and celebrate where we came from. You'll see Tracy, Rick, Pat M., Pat W., Karen, Jan, Christina, Matt, and Gavin on a pilgrimage to ourselves...

The big white Chevy van took us from Saskatoon airport to North Battleford and The Western Development Museum. The awesome indoor displays and outdoor village showed Saskatchewan in the 1920's, when our first family members arrived. Each of us had favourite or most moving spots. A row of rusting tractors and implements lined up like a used car lot --- what would you offer for a 1925 Massey, complete with PTO? Lifelike Ukrainians beckon in the kitchen aromatic with steaming cabbage rolls. Hold me back!

We amazed at the details and history of the church, the school, and the firehall. Here's a telephone switchboard, the lifeline of the community. My fave?---a B-A gas station with a 1922 Model T in the mechanic's bay. (I offered to do an oil change!) Pat found a link to old-tyme curlers, both for her hair and on the ice. An interesting diorama/video dramatically told the story of conflict between Metis natives and the waves of new settlers. But by 1929 Saskatchewan began to be consumed with 10 years of the Great Depression. The worst time to arrive, but our family somehow survived.

To see where, and some of how, they survived, have a look at Day 2....