ToA Stage 2 – County of Grande Prairie

Posted on September 3, 2015 by murray

Oh today is cold one. It is like one of those really cold mountain days with condensation on the inside of the fly dripping onto the tent above our heads. Inside the tent is actually quite warm from our body heat all night but I get bundled up knowing outside will be a shock.

Sleeping is good. The place we are staying is close to a secondary highway but a really busy one and the traffic noise is loud and continuous. The fresh air lets us sleep very sound. Regular camping routine. Get ready for breakfast. Stove, dishes, food and water. We are really good with time. Yesterday we scouted out the race route and where we wanted to be and when. We missed one road so we check it out this morning and end up exactly where we want of be. The start area is rather jammed with race equipment. We find a place to park facing our predetermined escape route and chill.

The start was at an exhibition grounds was rather uneventful. It was a small festival and it was Thursday, a work day. Five or ten bus loads of kids showed up for an all day field trip. They had a good look at a rolling neutral start and were going to wait all day for the finish. I’m not sure there was enough there to keep them entertained but it was a good thing to take them to a big community event as a world class bike race.

At the start line

At the start line

From here it was over to the KOM hill and wait. You have to be good at waiting when following a bike race. Things progress slowly over long distances. Today we make lunch and chill for about 2.5 hours. The chopper appears on the horizon. They are coming. The first riders start up the hill and 15 minutes of action ensues. There is a break of 4 riders and they sprint like hell for the top. The few minor KOM points left are picked up by the remained of the peloton. One more half hour and it is all repeated.

Climbing the KOM hill for the first time.

Climbing the KOM hill for the first time.

Climbing the KOM hill for the second time in the rain.

Climbing the KOM hill for the second time in the rain.

From here on we partake in an amazing comedy of errs that sets up for the the biggest coup in some time. We intend to watch the group go by the bottom of the hill we are on and then as they pass head straight to Grande Cache. On the way down I suggest we should drive part way up the final hill and watch from there and then proceed down the road. When we get to the appropriate elevation I make a snap decision to make a u-turn on the highway and park facing in the direction we are to head. One of the other spectators informs us there is a huge line at the top of the hill waiting to get on the highway in the direction we are going. When the bikes pass we jump in the car thinking we need to stay ahead of the line up at the top of the hill. As we pass the broom wagon we see a massive line up following and we realized if we had parked facing up hill we would have had to wait upwards of an hour before we could have got onto the highway. Last we went by the place we first were going to stop and saw that we would of had to make a left hand turn onto the highway we wanted and it would have been hell. We were on the road with clear sailing ahead and it was only serendipity that had us there.

We have never travelled Highway 40. It’s up and down and back and forth with forest as far as one can see. Really interesting and far better than Highway 43. The vegetation is a variety of greens and the terrain is constantly changing. The road surface is everything from horrible crumbling mess to brand new dark black smooth asphalt. Pretty much uneventful trip except a teenage moose standing about 10M from the road quietly munching on grass.

Another night in the tent. Hopefully on the closure side of the Miette road. And they say it’s going to a snow tonight.

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ToA Stage 1 – Grande Prairie

Posted on September 2, 2015 by murray

Start is a long way from where we are. 400km at least. We packed yesterday and just had to get a few things out to the car. 8:55 , 25 minutes late but still should have loads of time.

It’s a long road and I haven’t traveled it is a very long time. It has probably been 35 or 40 years since I have turned north on Hwy. 43 from Hwy. 16. People that drive it regularly think it is boring but today I am a passenger and really the time passes quickly. The scenery doesn’t change too much but there are highlights as we progress. There is a cool little valley with a swoop in the road and a great wood trellis work train bridge. Something much less visually appealing are the sign boards that line the highway in to each of the cities on the way.  The ones into Whitecourt in particular make the city look cheap. If I were the council I would rid the road of such trash. I THINK it is illegal in Alberta to line the highway anyway and don’t really understand how this is happening.

Arriving in Grande Prairie was a bit of a shock. It is a small city much the same as other small cities in Alberta, but traffic, it is two o’clock on a Wednesday and the cars are basically jammed. Lines of cars at every light in every direction. I would hate it here. Edmonton is bad enough and I can drive around mid day without too much hassle.

The city is put together quite well with a huge park running from north to south through most of it. The first two people we have contact with aren’t really the happiest folks but everyone we have met since has been great and really pumped about the race.

First campground we stop at doesn’t accept tents. What kind of campground is that??? A bit snooty I’d say. If I had a campground I wouldn’t accept RV’s, I’d starve but the statement I’d make would echo throughout the world.

After we find a place to pitch our humble abode, we scouted out tomorrows start and hill climb. We still arrive at the start line ‘festival’. We wanted to pick up a tour guide and that was where to do it. There is not a lot of booths but there is a lot of action. One whole  section is dedicated to kids and it is hopping.

Only in Grande Prairie!

Only in Grande Prairie!

6:15 and the race starts. People come out of the woodwork. It is cold here people waited until the last minute to emerge and see what all the hype was about. I think they are enjoying it even though most do not really understand the subtleties of a team time trial.

 

I’m standing on a traffic island in the middle of the road taking photos of the teams starting out on one side and turning around and taking photos of the teams finishing on the otherside of road. In the meantime standing at the curb, Debbie has gathered a small crowd as she passes on knowledge and knowhow on the race. She is telling them about how only 5 riders are needed to count a time and different strategies the teams might employ as they make their way around the race course.

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As the last few teams make their way up the final hill we spot our Tour of Alberta friend, Jo. She is standing on the side of the road cheering just as we are and just as she was when we met her at time trial opener of the first Tour of Alberta. We get reacquainted as we cheer on the last few riders and make plans to meet tomorrow.

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Not so far to the start line tomorrow.

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Two Days Camping at Kootenay Plains, Alberta

Posted on August 18, 2015 by murray

Two days in the mountains. Time for a change of scenery. Haven’t been camping this year so we pack up and head to the mountains. Being able to go mid week is a bonus because the likelihood of finding a spot is greatly increased. We are off to Kootenay Plains. Just west of Rocky Mountain House but not quite in Banff National Park. It is a place where quaders and dirt bikers thrive. Rip it up. Literally. We are headed to Two O’Clock Creek Campground. An area that is more sedate, we hope.

I think highway 11 is the most spectacular way to approach the mountains. Entering on highway 1, into Banff, is entering the wilderness on a freeway and on highway 16, into Jasper. is abrupt, you are not in the mountains and then you are. Highway 11 eases you into leaving Rocky Mountain House, the wilderness becomes quite dense, the mountains appear gradually and you don’t even see the real jagged peaks until you are almost at the park gates.

Abraham Lake

Abraham Lake

One of the sights along the route is the man made Abraham Lake. The Big Horn Dam holds back the North Saskatchewan River and creates the most spectacular blue lake. It is the same colour as water surrounding most Caribbean islands. The same river runs through our city and the folks in town have been bemoaning how low our river is. Well! The water is in Abraham Lake. The lake is higher than I have ever seen it and the river above the lake is flowing fast and furious. I’m not sure if the low river is causing problems but if anyone wants water all they have to do is travel upstream and they will find all the water they need.

The campground is much as we remember, but the price of camping has gone up. $27/night for an unserviced site with outhouses and no showers or anything. The price does however include a wheelbarrow of wood each day. Something absolutely useless to us, we haven’t had a fire in 20 years. We take the wood anyway and give it to our friends who have outdoor fire pits in their back yards.

The two days we choose to spend away from the ‘light dome’ of the city are suppose to be the two best days to view the Perseid Meteor Shower. So, we stay up late. Real late for us. We lay on the bench of the picnic table until midnight staring up. I’m not sure what I expected but the ‘shower’ is more like a drip. There are a ton of satellites moving this way or that to keep me amused but in two hours of darkness I saw maybe 15 meteors streak across the sky. A couple were spectacular, bright streaks with a burst of light as a finale, but most were just a small dot with a tail that zipped from one side of my vision to the other in about two seconds. Blink and I miss it. I guess I’ll never be an astronomy geek but for a short time I view something extraordinary.

Murray on the creekbed

Murray on the creekbed

We want to do a couple of hikes and know of a couple of places we thought we might be able to go. I was talking to the campground host and he had 8 or 10 different locations to walk. The next morning we start out in search of a waterfall on Bridge Creek. We are warned the trail had washed out “during the flood” and most of the walk is on creek bed but it was hard to get lost as long as we stayed on the creek. OMG it was hard walking. It took us 2.5 hours to walk 3.2 Km. Almost as slow as the hardest part of the the West Coast Trail. We cross the creek 5 or 7 times, it is just wide and deep enough we have to find a log or stepping rocks each time we cross.

Bridge Creek Waterfall

Finally we reach the falls. Trouble was the water flow is low at this time of the year and we are not sure we are where we are supposed to be. They are not very awe inspiring. This is not a hike I would recommend to those visiting the area one time only.

Bridge Creek Waterfall

The next day we light out for ‘a meadow’ on the south side of the North Saskatchewan. This time we have bridges to cross the water way. Much more civil. We have specific verbal instructions. “At the end of the boardwalk take the left fork. Walk along the path which is an abandoned road. The next fork take a left and follow what seems to be an animal trail to the meadow.” It is a beautiful place, with very nice views. Yeah. At the first junction the there are three paths not two so the one on the left is a little ambiguous. We notice another group of hikers ahead and we follow them, not always the wisest thing to do. It was the middle of the three arms. When we catch them we find them to have the same destination as us and they have slightly better instructions that specifically said the middle arm. We spend the next couple of hours wandering around the bush trying to interpret the instructions given separately to our groups. Backtracking several times and heading in a different direction. There was not too much danger of getting lost. The mountains around were quite visible and easy to navigate from and we did not wander far from the old cart track that would lead us back to the main trail. Anyway we never do find the meadow. It was rather disappointing for the six of us, but we made four very pleasant but temporary friends. I gave them each a blog card and maybe we will keep in touch. I hope so as I enjoyed chatting with these ladies and sometimes these happenstance meetings can result in a longer friendships.

Debbie skipping stones

Debbie skipping stones

It was supposed to be a relaxing two days but I come home bagged, as on both days the walks were exhausting. The mountains, fresh air and simple living do clear the mind though. We really must do this more often.

small tree

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Flying Ain’t What It Used To Be

Posted on August 7, 2015 by murray

In the 1950’s and 60’s airplane travel for the general public was a novelty. It was a way for the rich to get to exotic destinations for their vacations. I said ‘the rich’, flying was not cheap, but the ones that could afford it were treated like royalty from the time they entered the airport until they deplaned onto the tarmac in some foreign sunny destination. The planes themselves were rather rustic by today’s standards but were by no means shoddy. After all, they had to stay aloft for very long flights.

In those days there were not enough planes in the air, nor passengers on the ground, for there to be massive long lines, so arriving for a flight was a leisurely affair. If you waited until the last minute you would inevitably be stuck standing waiting for your ticket to be issued and bags checked but it was a short wait and the route to the gate was obstruction free and quite direct.

Flying to Hawaii in the early 60's

Flying to Hawaii in the early 60’s

Once boarded you might think you were ensconced in a 5 star hotel. Stewardesses ran up and down the aisle catering to your every whimsy.  You got fed and even had a choice of what you could eat. The food left a little to be desired but those fortunate enough to be there to eat would rave about it to those that remained with their feet on the ground.

Time passed. Airplanes improved. The airlines expanded their fleets and more and more people had access to trips abroad. People had more disposable income and could to afford fly. For awhile the experience was more or less the same, but soon it became standard to put up with crowds from the beginning of the experience to the end. Travel in the air was still an adventure but no longer the playground of the rich and famous.

Then two things happened. The number of people flying exploded and it becomes hard to find seats when you want, to where want. And airlines decided to concentrate on the bottom line rather than customer service.

The first thing allowed the second to happen. It started when the airlines TOLD us we were willing to fly with fewer perks as long as the flight cost less. The airlines have taken this on whole hog and now you can buy a plane ticket and fly as if in a semi loaded with cattle headed to the abattoir. The stewards are now sales people rather than hosts. The food is now purchased if so desired. Liquor is the same. Duty free. Headsets. For now you can still get a pop or juice included in the price, but I’m sure that too is on the cutting block.

Airlines have decided to charge for all checked baggage. In my opinion they looked at this as a cash cow and figured everyone would have to pay an extra $25 when they flew. I think they misjudged this a little but still came out on the better end of the dollar. People started to pack carry on only, so the extra cash was not forthcoming but the result was, less baggage handling , less lost baggage, and less weight on the plane (less fuel), all of which increased the bottom line.

The airline companies have forgotten about the customer and will charge you to scratch your own arse if you are on their flight. I totally disagree with this philosophy and would much rather see them take on the attitude of taking care of the customer. The company I worked for believed in this and the bottom line, the airlines’ main concern, took care of itself. In fact the business grew so fast it was hard to keep up. I don’t hear too many good things about people’s flying experiences and that can only be detrimental in the long run. Unfortunately, the airlines have an excess of customers so they can call any shots they see it. They need to switch their focus,take care of the customer, and the bottom line will grow in response.

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Little Cayman Notes

Posted on July 19, 2015 by debbie

There are only 150 permanent residents on Little Cayman. As E, one of our dive masters, says “Everyone knows everyone”. During the stormy months of mid August to October, many of these residents choose to go off island. The supply barge sometimes can’t make it, so food and essentials start to run low. E will take this time to go to the US and then England to visit family and friends.

There are many condos and houses that are owned by non islanders and these folks come and go throughout the year. We dove with M, who lives 6 months on the island and 6 months in southern California. Not a bad life.

Conch Club Condos

Conch Club Condos

There are a limited numbers of places to stay depending on what type of accommodation and diving is favored. We liked the condo idea and taking care of certain meals ourselves. The resorts on the island all included meals. For the amount that Murray and I eat, I think our method was the less expensive option.

Our dive crew from Conch Club divers will have our business again as they fit our style of diving perfectly, plus we happened to get the whole boat to ourselves that week. The week we were there Reef Divers, out of The Little Cayman Beach Resort, was running 4 full boats every day. Ouch.

View from our dive boat

View from our dive boat

There are a few non dive activities to partake in for a break from diving. Bicycles are easily accessed and the island can be circumnavigated. We rode around one end of the island on our last day and it is easily doable, although rather HOT. The bikes are in questionable condition. There were three mountain bikes in our condo and all had rusty chains, gears that wouldn’t shift and rubbing parts. Functional but I wouldn’t ride the Tour de France on one.

We saw a group of people riding scooters around the island. A good option for the non bike enthusiasts. A couple of hardy types were kite boarding in the protected waters in front of our condo. The waters would be good for wind surfing too, I think. There is fishing, but you have to fish outside the marine park. Bird watching is a big thing on the island, as there are boobies, frigates, ducks and other avian creatures for interested birders.

As Murray mentioned in another post, the food is expensive but we managed to come home under budget on food by eating breakfast in, most lunches on the boat picnic style and having supper at one of the two bars on the island. The lunches we purchased were shared, to keep the quantity of food down to a reasonable level. The bar food was quite tasty with a choice of burgers, quesadillas, salads, ribs and such.

As we were leaving the island, we agreed that this is a destination that we would like to return to.

Fireworks on Murray's Birthday!

Fireworks on Murray’s Birthday!

 

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Food

Posted on July 10, 2015 by murray

We are on an island. One that is not very good for growing things and really not that good for hunting, fishing maybe but the island is surrounded by a marine park and that makes fishing a little difficult. All the food comes in via barge once a week, weather permitting of course.

Thus the story. Food here is expensive. A package of ham costs about $6.00 US, not outrageous, on the other hand apples are about $1.80 US each, somewhat pricy. Junk food is horrendous. How about $10.00 US for a bag of Lay’s potato chips and the same for a bag of cheezies. The water on the island is fine so bottled water is not a necessity but we bought some anyway not knowing the tap water is drinkable and a gallon bottle costs about $10.00 US.

We dove at 7:30am each morning so there is no time for breakfast out. We bought enough food at the store to make breakfast everyday, we ate in one dinner, and 1/2 way through the week the dive crew suggested we stay out on the water for lunch and not use up time running back to the dock and return to the wall for our afternoon dive, so we made lunch each day. This was a tremendous boon to the budget.

At the ‘restaurants’ here, dinner is $55 US plus per person. The food is not particularly fancy or anything, it is just that there are not many eating places and they can get what they ask. You can come to one of the resorts and pay an all inclusive price which is better than the a la cart price but still on the expensive side. Or, you can eat at one of the two bars that serve food and save a tremendous amount of money and still eat reasonably well without having to cook. At the Little Cayman Beach Resort bar a burger, fries and cold slaw is about $20 US. The prices are similar at the Southern Cross bar. Another way to live here on less cash is to rent a condo with a kitchen and cook in sometimes. Even though the grocery store is expensive it is much less than eating out. We did not have a chance to join in on the all inclusive meals but we did use all of the other three methods of obtaining sustenance. I think the best alternative is eating at the bar. No cooking, no clean up and reasonable prices, the only downfall is the limited menu, which because I am a guy is not a big concern.

If you are headed this way keep your head up when doing your budgeting. If you are not on a meal plan and you intend to eat at the local restaurants double your normal food budget.

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How NOT to Dive

Posted on July 9, 2015 by debbie

A couple old days ago we are relaxing on our boat eating lunch when the radio comes to life and we hear strained voices. Our ears perk up and one word we do understand is tourniquet. Oh no. Someone is bleeding badly out on the water.

We get the news from our two dive masters later that day. Here is one side of the story……A fellow on another dive boat reached into a hole to see what he could find and found a green moray eel, who promptly was upset at having his space invaded and chomped down on this guy’s hand. Do you blame the eel?

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Word has it that this guy had been collecting shells and other items all week and had been told by the dive staff to stop. Apparently, he did not understand the word “stop”.

The initial cost of this stupidity is a mere $3,000 for the emergency flight over to Grand Cayman to the hospital there. We hear he did not have dive insurance so that comes straight out of his pocket.

Today he is wandering around the resort he is staying in with a huge bandage on his hand and a $25,000 hole in his bank account. Ouch! He will also need more surgery once he returns to the states.

The marine park here at Little Cayman has a no touch rule which he was obviously breaking and paid the price for it. Do we feel sorry for him and his stupidity? Hell no!

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Favourite Creatures

Posted on July 8, 2015 by debbie

Today has been a day of finding our favourite creatures. T, our dive master, tells us where a sea horse has been spotted on the dive site where we are moored. We all agree that we will spread out and give a real good search for the yellow fellow. We don’t seem to be having any luck and then I look back at Murray and he is waving frantically at me. He signals “picture” and points at B, who is hovering over a spot on the reef. I swim over while he chases down R.

There curled around a sponge is a bright Yellow Sea horse. He is beautiful. I hover around taking four or five shots from different angles. By the time I am done, R and Murray are there. We all make sure we have photos and then realize we are overdue on the boat. What a find!

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Murray’s favourite fish is a juvenile spotted drum fish. We have seen quite a few on this trip but it is always exciting when we find another one. I come across two juveniles playing together.

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On of my favourite fish is the French angelfish. The yellow, black and white colouring gives the fish such a regal look. They are as large as a platter. They are seem mostly in pairs and are constantly on the move.

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It is a grand day on the reef!

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The People of Little Cayman

Posted on July 7, 2015 by murray

We have been here a week and we already have ‘friends’. The bartenders at the Little Cayman Beach Resort know us by name. We aren’t even drinkers, but we had the advantage of staying through change over day and we were the only folks in the bar for about a day and a half. So we have gotten known.

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We meet a fellow that dives here 1/2 the year, easy life from what I can make. On our first few dives we share the boat with a fellow that works for a dive gear firm. From what I can make J and J do one hell of a lot of diving. From the few discussions we had above water I’m not sure there is a corner of the world they have not been underwater. They each have camera housing that would fit about 20 of Debbie’s camera, housing and all.

One of the two dive masters on our boat is E, a 23 year old Brit. She came to Little Cayman Island, I think, she said 5 years ago and is learning her trade on the fly. She’s great to dive with and is extremely enthusiastic. T has made a career in the dive industry. He’s American but hasn’t really lived there much. His family lived around the globe while following his father’s work.

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We met a lady from Texas on the flight over and ran into her again yesterday in the bar at the Southern Cross Resort. She is a science teacher that is volunteering at the ocean research centre for a week. When we met she wasn’t sure what was in store for her but yesterday she informed us she was glueing staghorn coral to spikes in the sand near the existing reef so the folks could study how the coral grew and if it is possible to ‘transplant’ coral pieces in an attempt to reintroduce it to areas where it has disappeared.

All of the seasonal locals seem really nice and all are schooled in customer service skills each making us feel like we are friends from a way back. Drivers wave as they pass us walking on the road. Hotel staff greet us with a Good Morning! And they all feel like friends.

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Change Up

Posted on July 6, 2015 by murray
The Sea-Esta, our dive boat (photo by BH)

The Sea-Esta, our dive boat (photo by BH)

Today we change our normal routine of 2 morning dives, lunch and 1 afternoon dive. Today, we leave in the morning and return to shore after the third dive. This does take some planning on our side (picnic lunch) but the system is excellent. Up till now we came back to the Little Cayman Beach Resort for lunch after the second dive. Back on the boat after lunch, dove once and back to shore. This adds an hour  of travel time and the dive masters are out on the water doing afternoon dives which is not the norm and eats into their non work hours. So by staying out and bringing our lunch we are all back on land chilling an hour earlier each day.

Murray

Murray

Today’s recap. Another day of easy diving. I still am awed at the diving here, little or no current, visablity to Grand Cayman, coral in fantasic shape, freakishly large animals, warm water, colours of the rainbow.

Debbie

Debbie

Angelfish, squid, grouper, stingray, turtle, cowfish. Awesome!

After another great day of diving

After another great day of diving

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