What a wonderful, varied, group we are! It's been fun reading everyone else's post, but I've been dragging my feet with my own. Mostly because I'd like to write a lot but am too lazy to do so :-) I grew up on a farm in Nebraska, and like so many of the folks here, loved and owned horses for much (actually most) of my life. I literally grew up on horseback, taking my mom and dad's cattle back and forth to pasture, riding for fun, and training a couple horses of my own. By the time I got out of high school I had several horses of my own and continued owning, riding, and loving them until my move to Minnesota almost 13 years ago. At that time, we couldn't find a place we could afford that had room for horses, so I gave my last two to my sister in Missouri and that's where they have been ever since. They are old now, one is fully blind (has been since he was young) and the other is nearly blind (old age) but they are loved and well cared for. I loved drawing and painting and might have made a career in art, but got married right out of high school instead. I did a little of this and a little of that, a few years later had two children (a daughter and a son, now adults), then went to work as..... a meat wrapper at a locker plant, then a part time cook at a hospital, then into the hospital's business office, then started taking part time computer classes and got an associate degree in computer programming. I eventually ended up as MIS director at that same hospital where I started as a part time weekend cook. Management changed, I wasn't happy any more and I went job hunting. That's when I came to Minnesota. My ex-husband and kids followed once school was out for the year. I currently work for IBM on the iSeries Support line (techincal support) where I provide usage and defect support for the iSeries computer and (mostly) certain IBM products that connect to the iSeries to access data. I've been doing my current job for almost 13 years, and like it better then I've ever liked any of my past jobs. I spend a great part of my day talking with customers all across the US. Most of the people I work with are very nice, even when under a lot of pressure due to the very problem they called me about. I love my current work schedule, which is 4 10-hour days a week. Although I drive 42 miles each way to work, I get to work at home on Fridays and that is great too. MONDAY, is my very own personal day and when I spend a lot of time in the garden and doing whatever I like. I love gardening, photograph, backyard bird watching, doing things on my (personal not work related) computer. I love and have done many kinds of crafts and other creative things, but photography is the lifelong creative love. I had to restrain myself a little bit with that, for much of my life, but then along came digital and I went nuts! I own two good digital Canon SLR's and take photos literally by the thousands. I've photographed a few weddings, but don't really want to make a career of it. When I retire (in 12-15 years), I'd like to have a part time (at least in the spring and summer) at a garden center or nursery. I'd also love to spend part of my time traveling and taking photographs of beautiful and interesting places and people. My daughter is married and she and my son-in-law live in Tulsa, OK. My son is married (as of last December) and he and my daughter-in-law are here in Minnesota. I can hardly wait until one of them makes me a grandmother :-) My daughter is in no hurry to do that, if ever, but I think chances are pretty good with my son. Cross your fingers for me!

It has been over two years since this post was written. Here is a quick update. We tried two assisted living facilities, we did a nursing home, we did three group homes, and during this time she's had a big hospitalization, so there was the acute care and a rehab hospital. We hired four different in-home aides to help. One ripped us off for about 40 thousand dollars. You read that right. Forty Grand. She'd take my MIL to the hairdressers or out to lunch, only she was stopping at the bank for my MIL and would take a few thousand each trip. She cleaned my MIL out from her savings. And, she took some antique linens, some jewelry from my MIL and me. She took some Polish Pottery from my china cabinet, and basically, had a field day at our expense. (Yes, there are police reports. Only no prosecutions as my MIL is the primary witness and she is useless and the aide swears that it was all given to her as gifts.) One aide was horrible and we canned her after two weeks of paying her to sit and drink coffee and do nothing, the other two were okay, but not worth the money or time. As soon as my MIL would say she didn't want a shower or whatever, they felt compelled to honor her patient rights. The facilities, to a last one all failed. My MIL was a horrible fit for each one and ended up turning me into the state, the county, and to adult protective services for abuse. I have had five intense and complete investigations due to my MIL's claims (proven to be lies after investigations.. oh gee, she'd lie?? I call her "The Patron Saint of All Holy Liars), and all of them proved my MIL has progressive dementia and that not only am I not abusive to her (or anyone), but that I am the standard bearer or the gold standard of in-home care giving and wouldn't it be great if everyone was as good as I am. Yea, why doesn't everyone give up their lives for the demented aims of the demented. So, my MIL is still here. The granddaughter is going to be 4 years old soon. I spend as much time as I can with our granddaughter and make every effort to make the basic care for my MIL but to stay away from her as much as possible. My MIL is worse than she was, but is stable and healthy here. She is quite happy to see her son everyday and she gets on the telephone with her friends and goes on and on about what a horrible woman I am. I don't cry as much, I don't complain as much, and I don't lash out for a life much anymore. I have come to accept that I am worthless and will have to either wait until she finally dies or I get the balls up myself to walk out on my husband and kiss this dream good bye. Because.. this dream is a nightmare. Oh yea, a couple of her friends have come here to rescue her from me. They believed her stories. One even came with her adult daughter my age and a traveling caregiver to help with the transfer to take my MIL with them and out of my evil clutches. When they saw the truth, they were shocked and ashamed. And, they LEFT HER! I would have been thrilled to have had them take her! But, they said they wouldn't be able to give her the care she needs.. BS! They saw what a wicked old crone she was and didn't want her in their lives. We've never heard from them again!! So, two years down the road and my life is as bad, if not worse. She's either not fit or been kicked out of every facility we've tried. I could tell you the graphic accounts, but trust me on this.. you don't want to have to read it. It is hard to find any happiness in life at all. And, I know that she is going to be here until I die. Not her.. me. And, my death is something I look forward to now. Amazing how much life can change in two years..

HEY !! I am here in Banff ! I am at a coffee shop with free wifi...only thing free in this very expensive place. It is gorgeous here. Look for lots of pics in a while to be uploaded . Karl and Pete are OK and so am I . We had no access to computer along the Icefield Jasper road. We camped in Prov. Parks and no hot water either. guess which I would prefer LOL !! I missed you ALL !! Thank you for thinking about me. XXO and I will get back on the computer later. Having bike fixed ..again. c Sunday June 24th 25 miles/10.5 avg/ 2:27 pedal time 30 mph max I forgot something important from yesterday ...don't I always ? So I will cathc up from there. When we arrived at the very first road wash out we met Bryan the Hwy Dept worker. He had another guy there with him who is an AUBURN Graduate ! Wow...how likely is that going to happen ? He was there when Bo Jackson played and Building L was still in existence LOL. He said Wiley Hartzog was one of his profs. That is not someone I know. But we did have a nice few minutes to chat about auburn. He still has friends there. Last night we were both so tired and the rain was coming down so we slept great !! Pete had so much to do with his tires this AM that he was up at 5:30 AM !! aarrggghh. I didn't get up. I put my earplugs back in and rested for another hour. We packed up and I had the rest of my 500 gram cup of Greek yogurt and a banana. We then walked back over the road to the cafe from last night and I had my regulation 2 cups of coffee with 2 creams and sugar and a whole grain bagel toasted with butter and raspberry jam. We checked out of the Yellowhead Motel and rode to the gas station at the corner. Pete looked up and we saw the by now familiar Canadian Road Trucks with flashing yellow lights and men in orange vests...oh no. He went in to get a bottle of water and I was sent to talk to them. It was the idiot from the day before at washout number 2...I hope you are keeping notes as this just gets better and better LOL ! ! So "dumb dumb" says the road is out. I say well yes but that isn't the way we are going...and he says well it is out and you can't go to Jasper. I said but we were told they fixed the road last night. Hmmm...he says that ANOTHER road washed out at 3:20 AM. aaarrggh. He then says we can get as far as Mt Robson. Since the washout is past there and it is the whole road. I say " you are on " ! And I run in the gas station store to get Pete. This would at least put us 25 miles further up the road. He says lets go fast. I need toothpaste and then we are off. We go about 2 miles and guess what we see ??? Oh you are ahead of me on this aren't you ??? We see....drum roll here...a Canadian Road Work Truck and flashing lights !! Yes indeed the creek has stopped running and they won't let us go past it. I ask if that isn't a good thing and of course I know that it isn't but the road is dry after all :) He says NO !! You have to wait till the backhoe gets here. And sure enough we hear one coming fast up the road. The problem of course is that the creek stops running due to debris...like logs and rocks that wash down the mountain. If it is left blocked then it floods up and over the debris and washes out everything below. Scene repeats over and over . They got it cleared in about 30 min. and we were off. Mostly downhill and very relaxing. We headed up past Tete Jeune Cache and on towards Mt Robson. We get to an area where the Fraser River has the highest falls of its course. This is where only the most hardy Chinook salmon get back to. Pete and I hiked down to see. Whew...the Fraser is SO high that it is almost up to the observation area. The wood is wet. I get great picks and then get out of there. It is really amazing and scary. I later reported the deep danger and they said they would go and post a "keep out" sign. Good Idea. They have been so preoccupied with the roads. Anyway back to the salmon. They live 7 years The males and females return to where they were spawned and then they spawn and then they die. The babies go back to the ocean and then in 7 years they make there way back to the exact spot they were spawned. How do they know ???? Pete says they all have an inner GPS...funny guy that Pete. We entered Mt Robson which is a Prov Park. A very very nice park. The day had been sunny and then got more and more cloudy and cool . We were told to go one and get a camping area and get set up and then come back to the cafe and get something to eat. So that is what we did. None too soon as it happens. It started to rain. Sheesh...give me a break will you ??! We hurried and got all done. I got us a site right next to the bath house. My priority every day is a hot shower. No matter what !! I found the "family room" shower and it was huge and had a handicap area with a regular handle and not a push button shower...sorry Pete ( he got the push button shower in the men's room )....it was wonderful. We put on our raincoats and walked back a mile to the cafe/visitor's center. We had a very expensive lunch....a steak/mushroom pot pie...good but small and a very nice fresh salad...10.50 !! We then sat and talked as it was pouring out. This is of course the last thing the Hwy dept needs. After a while the rain stopped and the sky lightened and the SUN came out !! Absolutely gorgeous. The sky is radiant and a lapis lazuli blue. Mt Robson , in all it's glory peaked through the clouds and then it cleared completely. We sat on the deck of the Visitor's center and talked and looked at the map for the Icefield parkway. This is where we will head from here..when they get the road open. Jasper is the start of it and it goes 280 km down to Banff. We will stop at 3 hostels on the way. I decided I was hungry so back to the cafe and I had a large slice of warm mixed berry pie and a large scoop of "hard ice cream" , as they call it here 6.95.... Pete had 2 day old muffins 1.75 a piece. We then walked back to the camp and washed out our clothes and hung them to dry in the SUN and BREEZE ! Lovely. I took my panniers off and rode back with Karl and he got to have his picture taken. He was ecstatic. We chatted with several folks. A couple from Dusseldorf who are biking from Calgary to Vancouver. So they did the Icefields in reverse. They have almost nothing with them. They stay in hostels and buy all their food so they don't cook in camp. They got through the road closing this AM by going through the woods !! When the highway men saw them they yelled at them and told them to get out of there !! No wonder it was very fool hardy. They are young and dumb I guess. I rode back to camp and decided to type this although there is no internet in the area. The VC won't let anyone use it anymore since they had some kind of privacy thing happen. We have purchased some mosquito coils and they are lit and smoking. They work great. Our only mistake so far was not stopping at a liquor store in Valemont on Saturday night ! What were we thinking ??? Oh well...sober is good :) Pete has just left to walk over again to the VC and see if there is any news. Maybe we will get out tomorrow. All highways are currently blocked in all of BC . Even the Trans Canada. Valemont is having to boil their water. So booze is probably being sold. There were some folks going to the grocery store but I was too slow on the uptake and missed the ride. Sigh. We will have to wait and see what happens next. What an adventure. There is a wonderful hike to a lake up 3 miles on Mt Robson. If we are here tomorrow Pete and I are going to do it. So we are good no matter what. Later... As it turned out we made friends with 4 guys that were all going into town. They offered to make a pick up for us. I went along and chatted with the young men . They were all 24-26 and really great kids. Two were civil engineers and one was an apprentice builder in Vancouver and had just completed working on the new sea wall there. The last was in the army reserve in Canada and continuing his studies. We made our purchases and started back to camp. The town was packed with people waiting for the road to open. When we got back to camp Dave ( from England) and Sean and Levi ( from Edmonton ) and Barry from Edmonton , set up their camp by ours . They played frisbee and drank beer and Pete and I had a bottle of wine and dinner and we all had a great time. Monday; 66 miles/10.5 avg Fast forward to the AM. I will never know what happened but Pete and I walked to breakfast and when we got back I noticed my bike computer was gone. Great. The evening before my 2nd kickstand broke and was not fixable. Pete and I set off on our ride. It was a long day to Jasper but a great ride. We were going along just fine and Pete saw a bear right by the road. He yelled at me to stop and I said "no !" . Then I thought better of it and decided I would get a picture. I stopped...Pete was trying to get out his camera with one hand ( like Allen used to do :) ) and he ran full speed into my stopped bike. Oh boy...I went flying as did Pete You can see the pics. My bike rack was broken on the rear and Pete's knee was scraped. We did get pics of the bear...he watched us and probably wondered what the hell was wrong with the stupid humans. We had seen the momma bear and 2 cubs before we saw the male. We didn't stop for her :) We rode on after Pete fixed my rack with 2 spliced spare spokes and electric tape. We got into Jasper and went immediately to the bike shop in town. He said he was there till 10 PM and so we left and went back 3 km to the Whistler c/g and got a site...$21 a night. Very beautiful site. I got my shower and as I was getting dressed I dropped my glass bear amulet and broke the part that holds it on the rops. At that point I lost it...Pete was kind enough to give me hug when I got back to camp. We rode into town and left the bikes. I decided not to get a new computer...mindfulness will have to do . I also decided to leave the rack alone as Pete's fix was perfect. I did have the guy clean the chain and he also sold me what has turned out to be a very good kickstand ( this one is the old fashioned kind like I used to have ..should have stuck with that type i the first place). Pete and I went to the laundromat and we did the laundry and I called Robert on facetime. I told him I am not going to send out anymore emails for awhile. I am worn out with all that keeps happening and want to just get my focus back. We then went to Cassio's and had a marvelous Italian dinner. I had a lovely Ceasar salad with gran padano cheese and then a manicotti stuffed with veal and a lovely sauce. It was a huge dinner !! Pete had an amazing burger and fries. I for got to mention what it was like to ride on the Yellowhead with wide loads coming. In my mirror I would see a truck coming and it would have lights flashing on it...as he would get even with us he would toot his horn...then he would go on...you would then have a minute to GET OFF THE ROAD...as it was a wide load and they take 1/2 of the shoulder !! Chilling experience but you sure get fast at getting off of the road. We forgot to set out clocks forward an hour so we ran to the bike shop and got the bikes. All was good. We rode to the campground. Had some JD and slept well till 6:30 AM. Tuesday 52 miles/9.4 avg/5:30 pedal time Up and ready we rode our unloaded bikes into Jasper..it is 3 k each way and had breakfast at same place. 2 eggs over easy and hashbrowns, 2 slices of toast and jam and 2 strips of bacon and a slice of tomat...2 cups coffee with lots of cream and sugar. All set. We then went to the grocery and I got 2 more canned chicken, one more Knorr dinner, a pint of blueberries, a qt of raspberry full fat yogurt, 3 oranges, 3 apples, 2 bananas and 2 different kinds of cinnamon rolls. All for $20. We went back to camp and loaded up the bikes and headed down the Icefield Prky. Has wide shoulders and all were in very good cond. till near the end of the day. We stopped at the Athabasca Falls and got pics. We had a long day due to LONG climbs and then the Suwapti Pass too. We are now in Jonas Creek c/g and we have a wood cookstove. You can see it in the pic of Karl and the end of the JD. It is amazing and puts out huge heat. It is exactly like what my grandmother used to cook on. I want one now for sure. It is great to use and draws very well and takes very little wood. Such a wonderful day. cap site $15.70 and we are right on the creek. Pics to follow. At one point we stopped by a viewing area to rest and get a drink. There were no bathrooms but there was a huge RV with the 4 popouts. They were asking us about the bike ride. I casually mentioned that it was too bad there weren't any bathrooms at the rest stop. The lady said "come inside and use ours " . Cool. I have never been inside one of these huge RV's. She had everything in there. An oven and washer/dryer and lots of furniture. It was pretty cool. Can only imagine how much gas it takes to run it. Although I bet our food bill would give it a run for it's money LOL. I told Pete we should total up all the cost of food for the trip and see what it is and compare to an RV rental/gas. We are probably more expensice. We stopped at Sunwapati Falls and had lunch. These resturants have you as there is nothing else up here. We each had a bowl of very good beef stew and a roll. 9.75. Lots of hills and more hills...we are in the Rockies so why am I surprised. When we got to Jonas Creek I had a "pan bath" with cold water and even washed my hair. A very chilling experience I can tell you . Wednesday June 27th -40 miles and 10.4 avg So we were riding along and it was 12:51 PM...just past noon. I hit a big bump, something I was trying to avoid due to the mended rear rack which was still holding but just barely. I heard something fall off of the bike and I saw something black bounce. I yelled at Pete that I was stopping and got off the bike and ran back to find....my bike computer on the shoulder . WTF !! How could this be ???? Pete said he had no idea. We finally puzzled it out sort of. When he turned my bike upside down to try and fix the kick stand he knocked the computer off. He didn't realize it. He had checked the ground as did I but it must have lodged somewhere on the bike although we can't figure where. Anyway I am back in business with the data. We saw a group of 4 mt sheep in a parking lot..they look thin and funny as they are losing their winter coats. Stopped at Icefield Center after the 2 mile climb up to it. It was so cold and slow !! We had a bowl of chili and cheese...9.75 !! The rack rebroke and Pete put in the spokes now on both sides. It seems to be more stable now but will have to replace asap. Rampart Creek c/g tonight. Great place. Hot water on our wood stove so my pan bath was more comfortable and I filled my water bottle with hot water and used it to squirt my hair and wash it again :) Luxury !! Saw a bear along side the road. We haven't seen too many though. Hills and wind. Coming down from the Icefields was very frightening . The wind off of the glaciers is so cold and strong. I used my breaks for sure. Thursday. June 28th 41 miles and 8.7 avg ( approx) We are still on the parkway and we now have Bow Pass today..note the lower avg mph . It is 5 miles up. Not bad but slow. I later learned that my cables needed replacement when I got to Lake Louise I had that done at a great bike shop. Took Rob's pic as he did a great job. We climbed and had head winds. It is beautiful but you really have to watch the road. As we were coming down a long descent I was going about 25 mph and saw folks stopped by the roadside . This means that there is some wild life to see. It was a grizzly !! We didn't stop :) We camped at Mosquito creek. A gorgeous c/g . NIce as there are no mossies. Lots of pics and we rested as we got in early due to the downhills. Friday June 29th 53 mi/11.9 avg ! We rock. When we left Mosquito Creek we had almost all downhill. We headed for Lake Louise to get a new rack for me. The bike shop is great !! Will and Rob were wonderful. Got an axiom rear rack put on and new cables . RIdes like new. Also nice to have a shop that isn't trying to soak you for prices and repairs you don't need :( We get plenty of that. We noted the bear fence that surrounds the whole town and has gates to keep out the bears. They also have Texas gates...the wide metal bars set into the road to keep cattle in/out. Very cool. We got on the Bow Parkway as it is scenic and also leads into a paved bike path into Banff. It was wonderful riding. Saw a baby bear running by the roadside. No we didn't stop . But a bunch of tourists did and were taking pictures. They then ran down the middle of the road back to their cars. How stupid...too bad the Momma bear didn't snatch a couple of them LOL. They were idiots ! We had fantastic weather and almost but not quite all downhill. We arrived in Banff. Very pretty bike path into town past a beautiful lake. Very quiet. The town is bustling with tourists as it is Canada Day on Sunday. We finally found out where the c/g is. UP the mountain. Sigh. We took the bus and I managed to mess up my front derailleur on the holder on the front of thebus. Sigh. Will see to it tomorrow. Hit the liquor store and got a large beer. We then went on to the campground on the bus and set up and had showers !! Yea...first one since Jasper :( Feels great. Road the bus back to town as my bike is messed up and talked to the bike shop they will look at in the AM ( We are there now ) . Had Aardvark pizza and a ceasar salad for 2...$29 with tip for us both. So not as bad as it could be. We then walked to the Safeway and Pete got us a 1/2 gal of vanilla icecream. We caught the bus back up..we get seniors rate for $1 a piece. We are the WHOLE thing. So good. Slept well for a while then at 4 AM the idiots aussies in the next camp site had visitors and they all whooped it up. I yelled at them and they finally stopped. They will be reprimanded by the c/g people as it is supposed to be completely quiet all night. They are very strict about that at all the c/g. Saturday June 30th ...off day ! We are at the coffee shop by the bike shop. I think the guy is trying to upsell me on stiuff....sigh. Will see what is what in a minute. Had another shower this AM ...so nice. Slept LATE !! 7:30 AM>.. We rode to the town and got a large coffee and a cranberry/lemon muffin for $5. Nice to not have all things cost so much. Free wifi too !! We are going to do laundry soon and then Pete has to have a nap he says. Karl and I will go explore so expect more pics. XXXO to all. c

My first DH and I starting camping when our son was about four. My husband bought a used van and we remodeled the inside and used it as our camper. Then we had to chance to buy a VW camper that had never been camped in so we bought it and sold the van. We used that for about a year. It had absolutely no power to climb mountains so we ended up selling it and started tent camping. When our son was nine, some friends that moved here from the NW talked us into sewing/building a teepee. That was quite an experience but the end result was some wonderful years of primitive camping, good times and great memories. After DH died, I passed the teepee along to our son and he still alternates between using it and tent camping. It's been 31 years since DH and I made it. I remarried and my current DH had one of the old VW campers when we married and we sold it a few years ago and bought a Class C motorhome with a slide. We've also got a two room tent that we keep on hand in case of family/friends over flow when we're camping. We've camped up to three months at a time. For the most part, I don't mind the cooking or camp clean up. Packing and unpacking is certainly not as tedious with the motorhome but the yearly maintenance & insurance can sure be a budget crunch. We keep threatening to sell it and go back to tent camping or a small travel trailer. I certainly don't see us giving up camping because we enjoy it too much to not do it. We've made a lot of great memories while camping and had some wonderful and awesome experiences that we may never have had otherwise. That's not to say that we don't enjoy trips and nice hotels because we do and most of those trips have been memorable in their own way. Thinking now...we may just be wanderers and adventurers at heart but we're the happiest with mother nature surrounding us.