Travel posts – Page 7 – OsteoPraxis on the road

On the Road again…..2024 travels kick off.

First stop, a quick farewell trip to the neighbours…..

……..off we go again……

After receiving an invitation from friends which inspired a three day ‘shake-down’ trip to Aspen Crossing 45 minutes south east of Calgary, the 2024 travels adventures were underway.

It turned out to be a good move, as we awoke the first morning to find the bathroom floor swimming in water and an enormous puddle under the trailer. 😮

At first it was a bit of a horror………but turned out to be three different ironically simultaneous issues. The inlet valve for the toilet ( now 11 years old) had cracked and leaked water onto the bathroom floor (CLEAN water..!!!)….the water heater that we had just de-winterised and cleaned needed another couple of turns of plumbers tape on the valve……and the third one………we remembered a ‘BANG’ in Lethbridge…….something had kicked up off the road and hit the underbelly of the trailer leaving a dent right beside the edge of one of the inspection hatches on the black tank (the water in there was also clean from drawing water through the system to de-winterise)

All three issues solved relatively easily (said the person who didn’t have to crawl around under the trailer in the muck…..!!!)

While in Aspen Crossing we also managed to do a side trip to Vulcan (really…who could resist.) The town had the name before Star Trek became a ‘thing’……but the town has embraced the connection quite tastefully !!!

I especially loved the little Enterprises on all of the lamp posts in town….

Scott found some aesthetically broken down barns on the way home….( 😂 )

After saying our goodbyes to some old friends and some new ones (Hi Mike and Leslie…!!) off we set for next stop…a Harvest Host at Cypress Hills Winery just off the Trans Canada in Sasketchewan

Cypress Hills make a variety of fruit wines and as overnight guests (in the windswept and completely exposed parking lot) we were obliged to taste test their product. The rhubarb honey wine was quite acceptable…!! 😋

Next stop, after crossing possibly the smallest Canada/US border port (it was a bit like going through a Tim Hortons drive thru to be honest..LOL)…..was another Harvest Host ...The Teachers Lounge in Fortuna, North Dakota (we have since discovered that even people elsewhere in North Dakota don’t know where Fortuna is…LOL….Their loss….. it was a tiny town (popn 30) but the Teachers Lounge bar was one of the most interesting and ‘atmospheric’ bars we have been in. Super friendly……. a little gem that is totally worth the stop…even if it is a little out of your (really anyone’s) way.

The bar….

The town…..

Fortuna is a surprisingly well-put-together little town for its small size….but it is on the edge of the oil fields.

It was a delightful stop and gave us great hope for the entertainment which awaits us down the road.

A legend in the making……The Pit.

We have been based here in Southern Alberta for 18 months now…… (wow is it that long..!!). When we bought this property, one of its ……’quirks’……. was the monster woodpile project acquired along with the land.

Recap. Milk River used to have three grain elevators. In 2019 Parrish and Heimbecker demolished them. The owner of our place prior to us (the people we bought from) had done a deal with P&H to take the debris from this demolition. We think he had the idea there was a fortune to be made from reclaiming the lumber……and although there is some usable timber in the pile…

We have had some fun foraging for chunks to burn in our fireplace, and interesting pieces for some woodworking projects.

…..but mostly this lovely old wood had been shattered to chips by the demolition……… and was then transported to the southern portion of our property (the neighbours tell us the dump trucks were running through town constantly for weeks!!!)

Originally the deal was the wood was not to be burned but salvaged, hence the process has been mostly obtaining permissions…from the county, and from the fire chief…(Thanks Mark…!!)….to start the work in earnest by having a burn pit dug out and filled (for the first of many, many fills)

Fall 2023 we got the go ahead to begin.

Big excitement on the day the county guys hauled in the big CAT machine to dig ‘the hole’

It arrived over the hill on a big truck

….and the digging commenced……

It took 8 and a half hours for him to complete the 15ft deep, 12ft wide, 83 ft long pit. 😁😁

My blogtographer wanted me in there ……’for scale’……. 🤣.

It was quite the thing…..LOL….

Then filling it.

Clearing the big poles with the tractor resulted in someone (!!) finding one of those huge badger holes (North American badgers are seriously scary beasts and they dig huge holes hidden mostly by the grasses)

….but he bravely carries on….back on the tractor he goes….!!!

The weather miraculously held for us through November and December, so we managed to get it about a third full (and cleared about 1% of the pile)

Now we were ready to apply for the first burn permit, which required enough moisture/snow coverage to keep the thing safe and prevent the embers spreading fire to neighboring properties.

A little bit of diesel fuel to get the fire started in subzero temps (one of the many things we never could have foreseen us doing)

Lighting the torch, which was really only a piece of 2×4 from the pile wrapped in fabric, soaked in diesel then lit.

and now we had to watch to see if it would actually take hold…. there was a fair bit of snow in there, so I was not convinced.

…but it did indeed….

…and before too long it was a-blazin’…….

….and then very quickly too hot to be anywhere close.

…with a plume of dark smoke……

Later …after dark we went down to see how cool the whole thing looked in the dark, it did not disappoint

Then waiting for it to be done.

Despite the snow and the cold…..it continued to smoke for a full 14 days……gives you pause re the zombie fires in BC and Northen Alberta.

Now we just have to fill it and do it all over again……!!!!

Two weeks later it finally stopped smoking.

Daytrip to Dinosaur Provincial Park

Having had the opportunity this year (2023 ) to expand our involvement in the Patricia Rodeo by making a small contribution to one of the purses, we were invited to a supporters’ appreciation event in Patricia. We were delighted to attend to gain a little different perspective on some of the faces behind the scenes, and say hi to the public faces we already knew.

It’s a 2 plus hour drive up there so we left home early to combine the day with a side trip to Dinosaur PP….a place that never disappoints.

That breathtaking view from the parking lot by the entrance……a must stop before descending into the park itself.

It was very cold that day with a bitter wind that could cut you in half, and still a little October snow on the ground. Rather than hike we opted to take the scenic drive around the loop.

Just after passing the visitor centre, we had to stop to watch some of the locals going about their business (mule deer)

It was so quiet in the park. Very few people crazy enough to be here in this weather….

My intrepid blogtographer was braver than me and headed out to find some vistas to photograph.

Unbeknownst to the warm person in the car (me) he stumbled across a lone coyote and the two of them had a little staring match, so I am told….!!!

He didn’t last long out there |LOL)…Did I mention it was cold…..

But we did one last stop down by the river before heading back to Patricia.

It was lovely to see this place in a different season and with different light (last time we were here was in sweltering summer heat) and a great experience to lift the curtain on the administration of our favourite rodeo.

Now that we are not only diehard fans but newbie supporters…. 😁

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Spectating at Writing on Stone

With one of our host of visitors still with us (good friend Bev as part of her Solo at 70 tour) and looking around for an event to visit, we spotted a small rodeo event at Writing-on-Stone advertised on their Facebook page. The weather was making promises of being warm and sunny, so we took advantage and headed down there with cameras at the ready.

As we pulled down into the valley where the rodeo grounds are located, we were approached by a lady coming to inquire if we were lost (LOL). Turns out that it was a very small event, mostly a practice run for some of the smaller kids barrel racing, and some team ropers trying out technique and horses who had not run with live calves before.

We three were the only spectators…!!!

We gladly made some donations adding to the prize pot for the kids barrel racing and sat ourselves on the bleachers for some entertainment. …and we were duly entertained.

We were told that the kids riding today had not had great results at the official WOS rodeo as nerves got the better of them with a full crowd. So just the three of us were considerably less intimidating.

It was an informal but still highly competitive little gathering.

The riders ranged from seriously skilled (and fast)

To determined and learning the skill.

To little tiny people being introduced to something I am sure they will come to love……

After the morning session of barrel racing, the team ropers showed up. These guys were mostly adults, from young to….well….experienced….!!!

…and I have to say…this whole idea of team roping…….it looks completely impossible…….

…but every so often……there is a team that cracks it….

Amazing stuff……..

The photographers were both doing their bit, laying in the dirt mostly…taking the action shots. I stayed mostly in the bleachers watching the trainers work with riders on skills. (mostly fine communication with some incredibly talented horses…….subtle body hand and foot movements to ask these big four-legged critters to do the dance). I do love watching skill happen….. 😁

What an entirely unexpected day out, terrific people and animals and all so handily close to home.

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Goodbye 2023 Hello 2024

As we make our way out of 2023 and race headlong into 2024….

I could do a review of the year…..but…..we are not quite finished with the 2023 stuff (still a couple of posts to go…….)

So instead, I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support. Your kind comments and emails keep me encouraged to continue producing these little vignettes of our life and adventures.

Our love affair with our little slice of paradise here in Southern Alberta continues, even more so now we have had the opportunity to share it with friends and family….and there are some more ridiculous shenanigans to fill some posts for your entertainment still to come……

but for now….from our house……

to yours…….

we wish you all a (belated) Merry Christmas……and for all…..good health and happiness for the coming year….

Thank you all again for joining our journey.

Mho and Scott….xx

Visitors visiting Writing-on-Stone

After another stellar Patricia Rodeo, we hot-footed it home for a month of old friends visiting…… and added bonus of having the eldest home for her first viewing of our new home.

It was busy but great fun and wonderful to spend a little time with some of our favourite people in our new location.

A return to Writing -on-Stone for yet another seasons view of this spectacular park

Before we set out…we had another visitor …viewed from the kitchen window, we think likely one of the last sightings of the hawk for this year before they migrate to warmer climes.

Writing-on-Stone is an other-worldly landscape. Even compared to other badlands areas…this one is one of the weirdest.

It’s a lovely walk with an interpretive ‘storybook’ that gives some insight into the history and geography from each viewpoint.

I picked up the guidebook at the visitor center (which has great little museum) to narrate our journey and entertain the company… 😁

It was a perfectly clear, crisp day……

If you look closely at the next four pictures you will find a small group of mule deer who wandered out from behind the rock as we stopped at this lookout point and one wading across the Milk River.

…and the sky….in true Alberta fashion gave the perfect backdrop to the landscape.

It’s such a mesmerizing place…..

The artist was understandably inspired…..

It doesn’t take much persuasion to have us visit this park, it’s just up the road from us…….perfect for anyone else who might like to visit……. 😁

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Patricia Rodeo part 3. Little Britches

Arguably, the very best thing about rodeo is the little people. These are some of the most amazing kids you could ever hope to see. They make ’em tough out here in Alberta for sure.

I HAVE to kick this off with the mutton busting…and all the dads lined up and ready.

….and here they come….

These little guys hang on like you would not believe….

……..even when they are sliding off…they are still hanging on…..

Then we have some barrel racing,. This class ranges from tiny little people with a bit of additional parental support…….to tiny little people on huge horses just givin’er…!!!!

I offer no apologies for the number of pictures I am posting cos these guys just impress me soooo much….!!!

These kids are totally focused as they steer some pretty big horses around….

I never get tired of watching them……they are all great hope for the future of our communities.

…….and then we get the junior version of the wild horse race….the wild pony race. For this one they don’t have to saddle the horse or ride it anywhere….just get somebody on it….briefly. These kids are fearless…….!!!

…and unlike the big guys….they only have one team out at a time to further reduce the likelihood of injury for the people as well as the ponies….!!!

..I know I have said it before….but these kids have grit…. (as well as the stuff now in their boots…LOL)

This next sequence was Scott’s favourite of the whole weekend…… 😁

(Editor. Oh to have such a rubbery spine, which recovered almost instantly)

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Patricia Rodeo part 2. The wild horses.

Patricia rodeo is such an overload of exciting events (and I mean real, edge-of-your-seat, adrenaline pumping exciting) that I decided to split this three-day experience into more manageable chunks….just so that my poor little brain can process it all.

Even though this is our third year at this event, I continue to be awestruck by the skill and care taken handling all of the stock at this particular rodeo. As always, my absolute favourite part is watching the pick-up guys work with such incredible respect for the animals they are managing, as well as the magnificent horses they are riding. Granted my rodeo experience is limited but this place has taken something (rodeo) I never expected to be interested in and made me a diehard fan.

Here we go again….6 teams line up waiting for the steed they have drawn at random to be released from the chute.

….and out they come…..these beautiful ….big powerhouses of wild horses.

These teams of three, using only the short rope on the halter, then have to approach this beast….

….put a saddle on him…….

….get a rider on that saddle…..

….then ride that horse once around the track……

without falling off……….Yup…that simple…….!!!!!

….and that is just heat one of four over the weekend.

Rinse and repeat…….these brave souls tackle it again…

There is a fair bit of dragging around in the dirt….

…..some scary moments as some of the horses run straight at the fence to unseat their rider….

….and some amazing tenacity as those guys grip on and stay on….

….and sometimes they don’t……

Here is another shout out to those pick-up guys doing their thing with amazing calmness.

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Patricia Rodeo 2023 (part 1)

After the serene, silent beauty of the balloon festival, we had a three-day window to haul our backsides and the trailer back up to Patricia, Alberta for our most favourite event of the year….the Patricia Rodeo. (Woohoo…!!)

(This one has a lot of pictures…..if you want to be able to see the pictures better, by clicking on and enlarging them, first go to the main page at osteopraxis.com and open the post there)

A few changes this year as the rodeo has partnered with a professional rodeo organisation due to the dearth of volunteers stepping up to take over from the old timers….it’s getting harder to encourage people to turn out and give their time…….and with a skill set as specific as the rodeo…..inexperienced people like us who would happily give time……just don’t have the skills to help out safely.

The partnership has seen some improvements to the grounds. The arena now has a permanent light array which allows events to run later in the evening (previously the lights for evening events were generator run portables.)

We were thrilled to be here again and got ourselves set up in our regular camping spot.😁. This year we were joined by some airstreaming friends we met in a campground a while back who decided to take the plunge and accept our invitation to the rodeo.

…and so …the rodeo kicks off with a bit of bronc riding….

There were steers and bulls also….not sure if the photographer skipped out for a beer…!!! (Editor. It’s thirsty work)

…and the girls have to get in there too…!!

There are so many great pictures from this years’ gathering I have decided to make you wait…..

The Wild Horse Race craziness and the kids’ events have been separated into different posts …….. so….next we have a bit of highly skilled team roping. We had seen team roping for the first time at Writing on Stone……lots of practice required. Very few teams manage to get both the head and the feet.

Calf roping just one competitor trying to rope the calfs’ head.

…a then change of pace with some heavy horse events…

Barrel racing is mostly girls ….and they are fast…!!!

In between sections…..the draught horses come and harrow the arena. Those big beautiful horses, amazing to watch them work.

…and then it’s time for the chariot racing. The speed those teams take off at is breathtaking…

(Editor. For the photo above and the couple below I was trying out a new vantage point, when this guy went by, I could swear the sleeve of his jacket just grazed me….it seems it is possible to be too up close and personal)

…and the big broncs under the lights. You have to hand it to these guys……the horses in their determination to buck their passenger off……and the sheer grit of the guy hanging on……

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Lovers Leap Trail. Custer State Park.

Having ticked all the boxes for this particular trip we still had a balance of days on our Custer State Park 7-day pass. After a browse through Alltrails for local trails we had not tried, we plumped for Lovers Leap Trail.

The trail starts at a community gathering place which, very handily, has lovely clean flush washrooms…!! The trail starts going steeply up immediately…(groan)

It was another very hot day, with some thunderstorms forecast for the afternoon. We had picked this trail as a relatively short one we reckoned should be completed before the storm moved in.

The trail description had us climb up onto the ridge and then follow a fairly level trail to the lookout. The return half of the loop was dropping back down to the valley floor then following that back to the truck.

I’m pretty sure the fire damage was from a massive wildfire in 2018. Every time we encounter these landscapes it makes for a sobering walk through the blackened areas, always hard to believe how many years have passed when you walk through those charred stumps.

The trail along the ridge was not as level as promised……or maybe it was just because it was hot, and with the fire damage, the trail left us mostly exposed.

But with a few pauses for water (and breath catching..!!) we made it to the lookout.

….and then there is a short scramble up the rocks to get to that viewpoint (isn’t there always…!!!)

It is most certainly as spectacular as promised. By this time there was some significant thundery growling happening around us, it was not the time to be lingering….so off we went back down the hill….

The last thing we needed was to be up on those rocks when the rain started. I felt better about the way we came up as we wound around steep switchbacks through the trees on the way back down.

The rain was starting and the thunder closing in. We started to see some flashes…well before the thunder Gaye…!!! It was still a long way off…..!!!

As we hit the valley floor the raindrops got bigger and a bit more frequent….still not enough to actually get us wet…..but enough to remind us not to dally.

The trail along the valley weaves back and forward across a creek. There are about a dozen little bridges to keep hiking feet out of the mud. Much appreciated..!!!

It was a lovely walk…..and would have been even better with a little bit of sunshine…LOL.

The rain started a little more earnestly at this point and we were definitely getting wet. We realised that in two years of hiking……this was the first time we had actually been caught in the rain.

Good thing we are not soluble……..and the rain was warm making it very pleasant (though the thunder gaining on us was a bit disconcerting….LOL)

Back to the truck just in time for the real rain to start…..and my ever prepared blogtographer had the coffee thermoses wrapped up and ready for us. Love this life…… 😁.

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