Family time at Cochrane and Airdrie
We arrived at the Bow Riversedge Campground in Cochrane on Day 34 of our RV trip – Tuesday, 29th. I had reserved 6 nights there, but things got so busy that I added one more night, then added another two.
After having wonderful weather for almost the entire trip so far, Mother Nature sent cold and wet to southern Alberta. This was the view on Highway 1A as we drove to Airdrie for the first of a series of events related to the high school graduation of my twin granddaughters, Kylie and Kaitlyn.
The formal start of the commencement ceremony (a.k.a. “graduation”) at W.H. Croxford High School in Airdrie.
The presentation/congratulations for Kaitlyn and Kylie. A couple of years ago, I did a tour of the school and talked to some of the girls’ teachers – the quality of the facilities and the teachers at W.H. Croxford High School really is amazing to me (as are the courses offered).
Proud grandparents with the girls.
Driving home that night. The girls had a photo session in a park set for the next day (Friday), and we were praying that this would blow over!
The girls had picked Nose Creek Regional Park for the shoot, and Mother Nature cooperated! The next photo shows Kylie and Kaitlyn with their proud Mom, Andrea. Seeing the girls in those gorgeous dresses was shocking the first time – where has the time gone???
All grown up, but… 🙂
Ever-patient Miss Bella got some love.
I can’t say enough about how wonderful the Cochrane leash-free park adjacent to the RV park is. Bella and Tucker love it, and we go there 3-4 times a day for walks and plays of varying lengths. The next photo was shot after we got back from the photo shoot on Friday.
And the next photo was shot on Saturday morning.
On Saturday morning, Cathy and I went to the Cochrane Farmers’ Market at the beautiful Historic Cochrane Ranche Site on the opposite side of town. With over 50 vendors, it was excellent, and we spent quite a bit of money on jam, jelly, coconut butter tarts (from Pearson’s Berry Farm, the stand in the next photo), liqueur, buffalo sausage, and I don’t know what all else.
My son Steve and grandson Brock brought their trailer to the campground for the weekend, and got the site right in front of us. Their Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Gracie, is getting old (14?) but played hard at the dog park. To help make the weekend perfect, Andrea and the twins came out for a barbecue Saturday evening. RVs and campgrounds are great for making special family memories.
Ball time is Tucker’s favourite. Bella used to enjoy it as well, but Tucker is far too quick now and just leaves her in the dust, so she’s given up on that part of the play.
Tucker is generally my blogging buddy in the mornings, curled up beside me. In recent days, though, Molly has often taken his spot. She loves the RV life as much as the canine members of her family.
I’ve looked at renting a motorcycle in Calgary a few times, and when Steve said that he and a buddy were going to ride to Radium Hot Springs on Tuesday, I asked if I could join them. Getting a positive response, I called All Season Rental Adventures, and on Monday afternoon, picked up this 2015 Triumph Tiger 800. It’s a bit spendy at $195 per day plus 25 cents per kilometer over 400 (and there’s a $4,000 damage deposit), but I had high hopes for a great day. Downtown Calgary at rush hour on a new bike was a bit outside my comfort zone, but by 5:00 pm I was back in Cochrane with it.
Tuesday got off to an early, chilly start. The temperature was -2°C (28°F), and I wiped a thick layer of frost off the bike before taking the kids for a long play in the park.
I met Steve and Larry along the road in Cochrane, but then had to come back to the campground to pick up my Parks Canada pass and my swimsuit. I had been thinking “bike day!!” and not about the big picture stuff like national parks and hot springs. As always, click here to open an interactive version of the map of our route in a new window.
The day was simply incredible. Normally I’d have a hundred photos and could make this a separate post, but the day was about riding, not photography. We had a great lunch in Radium, soaked for a while at spectacular Radium Hot Springs, and put a lot of miles on winding through the Rocky Mountains.
We stopped at the Ghost Lake dam for a break and to say our good-byes, as we’d take different routes a few miles east. I was hugely impressed with the Triumph Tiger 800 I’d rented. It was great power and is very nimble and responsive. I also spent about half an hour on Steve’s Triumph Tiger 1200, and Larry’s BMW 1600 cruiser, and if I was going to buy a second bike it would be the little Tiger – it fit me perfectly. Even the licence plate was perfect (JST42) because that’s how I felt – just42, not almost68 🙂
Today, Wednesday, May 6th, I’m going to go into Airdrie to see Steve and Larry doing some charity work, back to Cochrane for a look around and to have dinner with a couple of former Yukoners. Early tomorrow, I’m moving to Airdrie to get some work down on the Tracker, then we’ll be heading north.
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