After two weeks of rumbling up and down sun-baked asphalt, we donned our jackets as a cool wind wafted us home. Still, fourteen days without raingear is divine, and all those opportunities to connect with family and friends—priceless.

Here’s an account.

After visiting my dad’s sister and cousin in Medicine Hat, our first stop was Writing on Stone Provincial Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site on the Milk River. Randy and I checked out the interpretive centre then ventured into the hoodoos—instead of taking the walking trail that sensible people use. Our marriage nearly expired one day short of forty years when I found myself spread-eagled on a hoodoo while Randy assured me that I could indeed travers the narrow shelf. “Just take my hand,” he urged. When I fall, I’m taking you with me, I thought. The 5 km Matapiiksi hike seemed tame by comparison, although sturdy footwear and a trail guide are essential. The sandstone petroglyphs are faint and few in number, but I’m glad I saw them before erosion erases them.

We spent our 40^th anniversary at the Bomber Command Museum in Nanton. Since 2019, I’ve been working on a play about Canadian ATA pilot Violet Milstead, and I’ve longed to see full-sized replicas of the planes she ferried from factories to airfields. Richard de Boer, long-time museum volunteer and WWII plane expert, gave us a tour, then set us loose to crawl through an Avro Lancaster and poke around the wooden fuselage of a de Havilland Mosquito. The latter, which Violet avowed to be her favourite, was one of the most successful multipurpose (fighter and bomber) planes ever built. The restoration of this plane, which played an integral role in the mapping of Canada in the 50’s, is at the halfway point of a 22-year trajectory. The BCM is also coordinating the salvage of a Halifax bomber off the coast of Sweden. Nearly all of these planes were turned into scrap after the war, but because it was the bomber most used by RCAF squadrons, the BCM is determined to add one to the collection. It’s worth noting that this Halifax’s seven-man crew did not perish when the plane lost altitude and ditched in the Atlantic. 

I can’t get enough of these planes and the brave individuals who flew them. Moreover, I stole the title of this blog post from a BCM annual event. The highlight is taxiing the Lancaster out of the hanger and firing up its four Rolls Royce engines. Definitely worth seeing for myself next summer.

The Nanton tour led to two side trips to aviation museums. In Calgary, the highlight was the Hawker Hurricane, now featured on the loonie with engineer Elsie MacGill. In Edmonton, the fully restored Mosquito, modeled on Russ Bannock’s “Hairless Joe,” is staged in a detailed diorama. 

The stopover in Calgary was an excuse to visit St. Andrew’s United (now Springs Church) where Randy and I were married. We also checked out 1211-73^rd Ave SW, Chinook Park Elementary, Henry Wise Wood Senior High, Canyon Meadows Golf Course (the location of our wedding reception) and the Carriage House. I couldn’t bring myself to see what’s happened to Milton Williams. All my junior highs eventually seem to have dates with wrecking balls.

From Calgary, we headed west to Banff. After a day trip to Radium, we slipped up to Lake Louise late in the afternoon, thinking we might score a parking spot. We were right! I have never seen the lake this busy—so many families enjoying one of the most beautiful locations in our country—if not the world. 

The Bow Pass from Banff to Jasper was breathtaking. My only regret is that we didn’t stop to take more pictures. The Columbia Icefields are not to be missed. 

Side Note: I never booked rooms in Banff and Jasper until June, so we shelled out over $400/night for “meh.” Still, we didn’t see any bears in Jasper, and that’s a plus.

We drove from Jasper to Edmonton on my 65^th birthday. It was a beautiful, uneventful ride, the best kind. 

I spent the first six years of my life in this city and going anywhere near the North Saskatchewan was forbidden. However, our two-hour “float” on the river was a great way to hang out with Randy’s cousin Marci and her family. Sometimes the depth was no more than a few feet.

Our next stop was Saskatoon. Robyn Jensen, who interviewed me about Lords of Sceptre and Diamond Girls, did a stellar job of organizing a baseball reunion for players from the 50’s and 60s. Loads of stories and laughs. Our flights in a Tiger Moth (courtesy of the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum) were postponed due to the unstable weather, but we’ll try for “wheels up” on September 2^nd. You can bet I’ll post a picture or two.

Did we encounter much smoke on this trip? See any fires? Not much, but at our hotel in St. Albert, we met folks who were evacuated from Hay River. While we were at the BCM, I was barraged with texts about the wildfire devastating Lahaina. Our condo in Kihei wasn’t affected, but I am heartbroken for the people who lost homes, livelihoods, and family members. Mauians will be forever scarred by this tragedy. “Getting away from it all” might just be extinct as our world is getting smaller all the time.

If you have a comment or question, please post one below. Thank you for reading!