.......pretty simple (as roots go)............I have roots; I must be a tree.
Starting out Tuesday after work (Jul. 9th) we ate on the go (pizza which George had picked up for the trip), drove to Kelowna and spent the night there. It was off in the morning for Grande Prairie where we spent the next night.
On the way to Watino on the 11th, we stopped in Spirit River, drove past the hospital where I was born (it has changed considerably from what I remember), took a fews photos then made our way onward. Stopping in at Eaglesham we found the school pretty much as it always has been (no changes there except for enrollment which I am told is way down); again took a few pictures. I tried to locate the convent where I used to take piano lessons but it seems to have been taken down; the catholic church still stood but no convent..........more pictures and on to explore the little village. We found a few landmarks; the butcher shop (which of course is no longer a butcher shop); the general store (still a business of some kind); an old family house - Blomert's (still standing but seemed empty and abandoned); the community hall (pretty much the same); the sports grounds and ball diamond (seemed much smaller than I remember it). After exploring for a short while and seeing no one walking down the street with whom we could converse, we headed on to Watino. The little store on Eaglesham corner was still there though changed somewhat.
Passing our old farm along the highway (on Tangent corner) I found that all buildings were gone; even the trees I remember on the property had been removed. It was strictly a field of grain.
Coming down the hill and into the little valley where Watino sits was familiar and brought back some memories. We visited the mainstreet where it seems the sidewalk that used to be there had disappeared; mainstreet was just a dirt road running past the houses; there were several holiday trailers parked along the river bank and we were later told that many people parked and lived there for the summer months. The property where I had lived after we moved to town was grown up to trees and bush; the house had been burned down some years previous. There was a new bridge across the river which we got a good view of when we walked a while by the river; let Mocha our for a run.
Stopping in at the cemetary we became aware of some deaths I hadn't heard about. We paid respects to my brother who is buried there and quickly left because the mosquitos were big enough to carry us away.........they almost did get away with Mocha...:):)
Luckily the Bolsters still lived in the same place which we found eventually as we drove out into the country away from the town. We had a great visit with Don and Donna, Ernie and Cres and Jim who filled in a lot of missing pieces about people and the area. We had lunch with them, saw Cres's beautiful flowers then headed out for Edmonton.
Apparently Watino is soon to celebrate their 100th birthday. Hopefully they will have a celebration which we can take part in and perhaps get to see a few more people. That would be good.
Arriving in the Edmonton area (and again getting lost following directions to the farm) we got to Tammy and Bob's in time to go to bed which we did; tired and ready for a rest. Friday (12th) we went into the city; got in a visit with Carl and Shirley and then a wee visit also with Joan. Following behind Aaron and Diane we arrived back at the farm in time for dinner (yummy burgers) with Tam, Bob, Benji(e), Shelby, and Brodie, a short visit then off to bed again. Saturday (13th) we took care of burying Carla's ashes, visited, played a few games, had yummy seafood lasagne for dinner, more games, then off to bed once more. Sunday (14th) while Tam, Bob and Benji(e) went to a birthday party the rest of us drove in to Edmonton and had a fun game of mini golf with Aaron coming out on top this time (way to go Aaron). Following our game we went to Boston Pizza for dinner which was very good. After dinner we said goodbye to Aaron and Diane and Shelby and Brodie then headed back to the farm for the night to pack and get ready to leave in the morning.
Our trip home was more-or-less uneventful. We saw a bear near Jasper (have always wanted to see a bear through the park) but it was so far away. We got some pics but couldn't pull him in close enough to get a real good shot. There were also some goats on the side of the mountain, a few deer by the road; other than that we saw beautiful scenery as always and the highway speeding under us. We arrived home, unpacked, hit the sack and slept. Mocha was very happy to be back home.
This tree was happy to have been able to inspect its roots again.
This tree was happy to have been able to inspect its roots again.
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