How do we come back?

Well, Albertans.

You raged about being called the "embarrassing cousins" of confederation.

Yet you tore up hundreds of lawn signs. Mowed them down with your pickup trucks.  Sawed them in half with chainsaws. Spray painted them with swastikas and penises and racist remarks.  You scratched curse words into people's vehicles, let air out of their tires and urinated on them. You lit a candidate’s own sign on fire in his own yard. 

And don't give me the bullshit "the other guys are doing it too". Because they are not. 

What is WRONG with you?

Yeah, I get that you are pissed off that you aren't making the same kind of money you used to. Maybe you lost your job. But put the blame where it belongs. 

The global economy doesn't care about you. The "free market" is based on supply and demand and our oil and gas based economy is taking a beating.The US is cranking out shale gas like there is no tomorrow. Global demand is decreasing. The free market got us  where we are today. 

I know you are proud of yourselves. You won the election. You "united the right". You "took Alberta back". 

You have not united Alberta. 

And I would like you to think about this-where do we go from here? 

Pivot

I don't know how to change your mind.
If only I could.
I would.

We're not going back to the way we were
Even if we could, we wouldn't
We shouldn't
The past is just a place in your unreliable memory
There is no route back to it

We can't know what the future will hold
Hard to embrace the unknown
And the unknowable
Especially when it means a redistribution of power
When it means your way of life is over

But it's time
It's past time

Time to pivot

mementos

The box is labelled "Nicola's High School Treasures". It has been in my garage for the last 14 years and before that, in one basement after another. For the last 40 years it's been dutifully moved from apartment to basement suite to house.

Yesterday I tossed it in the recycle bin.

Old school assignments. Figure skating programmes. Old Christmas cards and Valentines and letters from friends and family. Locks of my own hair. Wedding invitations and party favours. Three scrapbooks full of memories. Pictures I drew. A handmade campaign badge for a students' council election. Placemats from restaurants. Tickets from now defunct airlines. As I looked through the box, I smiled at the many memories. A lot of events I had forgotten.  Embarrassing creations of my adolescent self. 

The box tells the story of my idyllic childhood. The story that made me who I am.

What was I saving it for? What possible use do these items have to anyone? I am pretty sure my kids won't want them.  These are my memories. They aren't theirs. Maybe they would look through the scrapbooks once, ponder on what the items represented, give a little smile and then consign them to the dumpster. Why would I torture my kids into trying to decide what to do with these things, as I now struggle to deal with my grandmother's letters, the box of old family photos and slides, my dad's little scraps of paper. Trying to make sense of the whole meaning of their lives through what they left behind. I will save them that.

Readers of my blog know that I'm fascinated with personal histories and the artefacts we save.  i come from a long line of people who have saved so many little things that tell their story. That is probably why I have been designed family archivist. I wonder why we save the things we do and throw others away. How our history shapes us and what it means when memories go. I wonder about those who save nothing and what that says about them.

Will I miss these mementos? These little parts of me that only I know. These little pieces of my past that will now only live inside my head until they disappear. 

I am pretty sure I will.

Minority Report 1

The orange glow after the May 5 election has faded a bit.

May 2016

It's annoying when people complain about where they live. You don't like it? Change it. Or move.

That being said, there are a lot of things about where I live that I dislike.

I sometimes wonder, "What am I doing here?"

I am in the minority in the north. My lifestyle doesn't dovetail with my fellow northerners. I love art and theatre and live music and good coffee. I don't own a truck or a gun or a quad. I don't like chain restaurants. I don't care for hockey. But I have friends that make life livable. We try to, you know, do stuff. We work. We travel and read and watch films and eat good food we cook ourselves. We send our kids away to school. Sometimes they come back. Mostly they don't. Life is tolerable.

But politically? The differences go beyond matters of personal taste.  As a Social Studies teacher, I try to develop critical thinking skills with my students. I encourage them to use evidence to support the positions they take. I encourage them to be active citizens who are engaged and informed and speak out and connect with the people who have the power to make change. Yet some of my neighbours like their half truths and assumptions and they are suspicious of anything they don't understand. They love to spout off on social media instead of communicating with people who actually know the answers to their questions. They would rather bitch about their elected leader than send an email or make a phone call. They still confuse democratic socialism with communism. They demonstrate a kind of ignorance than no amount of education can overcome.

Ask any citizen about the feeling of powerlessness that comes with decades of never having a voice. It is debilitating. It is tempting to stop sending letters and emails. You stop telling people what your ideological beliefs are because you are sick of their judgement. In the lead up to the last provincial election, I told my husband that if the NDP didn't win this time, I wanted to move. Right out of the province. The first chance we got. Because there comes a point where it's no longer tolerable.

And then we won.

Yes, we actually won.

Immediately after the election we were driving through the night after being scrutineers in Wabasca. My husband got phone calls from his sister, his brother and his mom. I received a text from my cousin. "I feel like the world has tilted on its axis." In the days that followed, friends told me they found themselves crying in the middle of the day. Others said they woke up in the middle of the night feeling something was awry. For me it was as if something magical happened. You need to do everything in your power to protect it. An entire year later, only a little bit of that magic has worn off.

Now we are not the minority.

The response from those who now feel disenfranchised is surprising. People who were the majority for over 40 years - now on the other side. People who have never voted in their lives, now all riled up. Their response was immediate and for some, ongoing. People who could not hold back their bitterness. People whose nearly apoplectic fits of anger continue unabated. The gnashing of teeth and rending of garments. The rallies. The Facebook groups. The separatists. The Unite the Right. The superpacs. The damn tiny flags. Now they are the ones without power. Now they have to work with our ideology. Should I gloat? I will not. Because I know what it's like to be on the other side. I know what it's like not to be listened to. I know I might be back on that other side again.

But not being in the minority? 

After 37 years of being an Alberta voter, that is a very weird feeling indeed.

Gary Bailey Syndome

A bunch of years ago, I taught this kid. He talked like he was the official spokesman for the class. He was loud and forceful. The other kids rarely disagreed with him. He would say things like

“Ask anybody..”

“We all think…”

“Everybody knows…”

“Nobody thinks that..”

I was new to the community.  I kind of just assumed Gary knew what he was talking about. I kind of thought he did speak for the class. But after awhile the cracks started showing.

“Why do you keep asking what a glacier is? Nobody knows what that is.”

“You marked my spelling of “vacuum” wrong. Since when does it have two “u”s in it?

“You think we knows what a climate is? We weren’t ever taught that!”

I started questioning Gary’s authority when it came to what he claimed he had been taught and what he had learned. But I reserved my skepticism to content knowledge- for awhile. Until I realized that while he thought his authority applied to everything, he was just plain wrong about a whole bunch of things.

Our grade 7/8 class had had a particularly bad day with a bunch of kids misbehaving. It was pretty ugly and I was angry. To punish the class, I made them copy notes off the board- something I rarely did. Three of the walls of the classroom had sliding blackboards and by the time I was done I had covered seven boards in notes all off the top of my head. They dutifully sat there copying out the notes.  Thinking back, I think they were even a little relieved to complete such a mindless task after the emotional incidents that had occurred in the room.  But as I finished up the last board, Gary had had enough. He started comparing me to a teacher the class had the previous year. “Ask anybody, Mr. Smith was a better teacher than you. Ask anybody. We all want him back.” There was a silence.  A long, weird silence. Gary stood up. “Who’s with me? Who wants Mr. Smith back?”  A quiet voice from the back spoke. “But Gary. Mr. Smith used to HIT us.”

I think back to that incident from time to time. Especially when I hear someone claiming they speak for your entire committee or board or classroom. Or “all Canadians”. When they think they need to “take Alberta back.” When they say it loud and repeat it over and over again. This characteristic of thinking your ideas are shared by everyone and then refusing to entertain any other ideas. It’s a kind of mental weakness to think everyone thinks the way you do-to lack the ability to see things from a different perspective.

I call it Gary Bailey syndrome.

Look for it.

On the Road with Two Terriers

When our two dearly beloved dogs Russell and Anna died a few years ago, we did not hesitate to replace them. Our house was empty without a dog.

Our old friends, Russell and Anna

Pippa came first. We'd been looking at Britannies when suddenly my husband announced he'd seen a Cairn terrier for sale in Sherwood Park. I'd never even heard of a Cairn. She seemed tiny and not what I thought we were looking for, but there she was. She's a cranky, opinionated, energetic dog who makes you work to earn her affection. Like many Cairns,she likes to vocalize with very strange sounds that can be hard to decipher.

Finian and Pippa

Next came Finian, a West Highland terrier who never rests. He is lively, amusing and affectionate. Possibly not all that smart. Lately he's developed a great love for cows and large mammals of all kinds.

Finian and Pippa in Hope, B.C.

So we had the dogs. Our son took care of Pips when we went to India and looked after both of them when we hiked the Camino Portuguese. We left them in a kennel on a few trips and they loved it, but now we're both retired and our son has his own dog. And he works full time. What to do?

The Prolite in Atlin, B.C.

With a little retirement bonus, we bought a teeny trailer. The trailer, a Canadian made ProLite Plus, is ideal for our needs. It is 14 feet long and in that tiny space, there is a heater, a two burner stove, a hot water heater, a toilet and shower, a fridge, and a little slide-out that Finn has claimed for himself.  An unexpected bonus is the outdoor shower which we have used to bathe the dogs when needed. Pro-tip- if you buy a ProLite, ask them to invert the axel as the unit rides very low to the ground which is not ideal.  By having this done, we have an extra 3-4 inches of clearance. The big advantage of the tiny trailer is that it is light to pull with our new-to-us Toyota Hybrid Highlander which means great gas mileage. I also loaded up on superior quality cocktailware for the trailer so we could go in style!

After years of tenting, waking up dry in the rain and making a French press of Kicking Horse 454 Horsepower (roasted in Invermere BC) indoors is nothing short of a miracle. A cocktail with actual ice alongside a northern lake? Unbeatable.

A martini at Whiskers Point Provincial Park.

Our first trip with the dogs was to the Badlands in July. It was a short trip but a lot of fun. 

Finny and Pippa on their own little bed

Camping in style near Dorothy Alberta, with our limited edition Old Prairie Sentinel Gin

Then we went north in August- a bit late in the year for a lot of campers. We did our best to stay at provincial and territorial parks which have the nicest locations, sizable sites and often excellent little walking trails. It was a wonderful trip with so much to see and do. We also tried to hit up local breweries and craft shops along the way with quite a bit of success!

Moonshine Lake, Alberta.  Named after a spill of moonshine decades ago when the road was new, it's a pretty little lake with an algae problem.  We tried taking one of the longer walks in the forest and ended up slogging for about 500 meters through muskeg. Maybe it's just a cross country ski trail? In any event, I would avoid that trail as a place to walk a dog or a human!

Moonshine Lake

Whiskers Point Provincial Park at McLeod Lake, BC. Due to the forest fires, there was not a lot of traffic heading through this area and we were able to get a lovely site right on the lake. This is a fantastic campground with big sites, all very private and fully treed. The smoke was fairly light and we had nice views of the deserted lake. 

Shady Rest, Houston BC  After driving through many kilometres of dense smoke, we reached Houston where we stayed in an excellent commercial campsite with hanging flower baskets and good internet.  Not a lot of people. The owner is very friendly and there are lots of places where you can walk the dogs. There were a bunch of firefighters staying there.  

At the Shady Rest

En route from Houston we stopped at Smithers. There were a couple of great dog friendly spots there, the Bugwood Bean coffee shop that had great coffee and outdoor seating and Smithers Brewing which had some tables outside where we were able to sit and have a drink with the dogs. Smithers is an area I could go back to as it is beautiful country with lots of outdoorsy stuff.

From Smithers we continued on to the small First Nations community of Gitanyow with its outstanding totem bowls and friendly craft shop owners. We chatted a bit about forest fires with our eye on one not too far from town. The locals did not feel enough was being done to fight it. We could not see any attempt to control it.

From there, on to Stewart, passing the spectacular yet receding Bear Glacier in Bear Glacier Provincial Park. There is no campground at Bear Glacier but there are lovely views.

Bear Glacier

Bear River Campground, Stewart BC.   We continued along the fully paved Stewart Cassiar Highway to the charming old town of Stewart, once a bustling small gold rush town, now left to fishermen, tourists and alternative lifestyle folks looking for a more relaxed way of life.  We were inspired to travel to Stewart by our friend Dawn whose mom lives here. Dawn's mom was very hospitable and gave us many suggestions for things to do. We stayed at a commercial campsite here which had laundry, showers and sketchy wifi. It was a bit muddy and there was a lot of coming and going. Not my favourite.

Estuary Boardwalk

Salmon Glacier

In Stewart, we took the dogs for a walk along the estuary boardwalk and then across the Alaska border to the largely deserted town of Hyder-and on to Salmon Glacier- Canada's fifth largest-with panoramic views. 

Then we drove to a deserted mine site beyond where the dogs lost their minds chasing marmots and other creatures. Finn entertained us by leaping up and down like a pouncing coyote in his fruitless pursuit of the little creatures. And then drove us a little nuts as he disappeared for awhile in pursuit.

Another highlight for us (not the dogs as they were not allowed) was the salmon spawning viewing platform just outside Hyder at Fish Creek. We did not see any bears or wolves feasting on the salmon, but watching the beautiful salmon in their death throes was sobering. 

It's worthwhile to wander around Stewart for a bit, just looking at the beautiful old buildings. For more history behind the town, the Stewart Museum is worth a visit. There is a short video that tells about the town and a number of cool exhibits detailing the town's mining past and it's use as a movie set in several films including Insomnia, Iceman, Eight Below and The Thing. According to the locals, Robin Williams was a great guest of the town who was really interested in the goings-on.  He frequented the local shops and cafes and was well-loved.

The Toastworks Cafe, with its eclectic collection of old toasters, its marvellous coffee and buttery pastries should not be missed. There are several other little restaurants but this one is exceptional.  Most of the town shuts down in winter.

Toastworks Cafe.

We took another walk which was kind of straight up a hillside under huge trees. The Ore Mountain Trail had lots of fungi, virtually no signposts and no views. Uncharacteristically we gave up before we reached the top as it was starting to rain and we had no idea how far away the summit was.  Apparently there is a nice little lake up there. There are some other walks around there that we will try in better weather.

Getting Hyderized.

We will be back to Stewart for sure.  It is magnificent.

Meziadin Lake Provincial Campground . Back on the main road again, the first provincial campsite is at Meziadin Lake, a very pretty spot just off the road. The sites are quite close together and arrayed along a terraced hillside. There are just a few lakeside spots and we found ourselves on an upper bench with no trees and it was pretty chilly. there were a few electrified sites but they were all taken. Pit toilets and no wifi. Most of the people there seemed to be fishing.

The dogs went wild at the sight of a few bears along this road.  From that point on, Finn has spent every road trip watching for animals, bears, deer, coyotes, horses and buffalo all get him riled up.

Kinaskan Lake Provincial Campground  Our next stop was the lovely Kinaskan Lake which lies between two mountain ranges with views all around. This place was pretty much deserted although I believe it is busier early in the season.  No hookups but there is is cold running water throughout the park. We had our choice of lakeside sites. It was very quiet and the lake was still.  For those keen on canoeing, this lake would be perfect. There is also a full day hike heading into the mountains where one can see stone sheep if you are so inclined.

A bit smoky at Kinaskan Lake

The drive through this area is spectacular with mountains all around.

There are several little places to stop after Kinaskan Lake. Dease Lake lies along this road but access to it was closed due to fires.  There is also the little town of Jade City where you can visit the jade factory and watch them carve jade. Some interesting jade mining equipment can be seen. There is a picnic area at the pretty little Cottonwood River where we picked some highbush cranberries.

Boya Lake Provincial Campground  More correctly named Tā Ch’ilā Provincial Park, this is another spectacular park with a gorgeous swimable lake with mountain views. The lake is renowned for its clarity and spectacular blueness. Again we had a choice of lakeside sites and after a walk, we sat and ate smoked salmon and watched the light play over the hills. There are short hiking trails on either end of the campsite which took us through boreal foliage just beginning to change colour. We did both hikes. There are also canoes available to rent on the "honour system" but sadly it was raining in the morning we planned to use them.

Leaves already turning, late August

Smoked salmon and a lake view

Whitehorse 

Whitehorse is a pretty cool little northern city.  The campsites are nothing to write home about unless you are in a tent and then you can stay at the municipal Robert Service campground.  Worth seeing in Whitehorse are Winterlong Brewing just out of town, Yukon Brewing and Distillery.  Winterlong had the true craft brewery feel with probably the best $13 charcuterie board I have ever had. Their beers were very tasty. Yukon Brewing had much better beer on tap that they bottle and we really enjoyed their various hard liquors, especially their Two Brewers single malt whiskey and their Concepts First Cut Gin.  

Winterlong

Baked Cafe was a nice surprise, with great cappuccino and wifi. We also tried out Klondike Salmon and Rib for a treat. While waiting for our table to be ready, we went over to the Dirty Northern Bastard.  It was pretty busy and we sat at the bar where some old guy from a tiny town in Saskatchewan regaled us with tales of his road trip that involved a folk fest near Fort St John and other adventures.

at the Dirty Northern Bastard

Whitehorse has a very young outdoorsy vibe with lots of young government workers.  Not uncommon to see a Prius in this town!  With it's sizable population (in Northern terms!) it has decent grocery stores and hardware stores and as a tourist spot, lots of little crafty spots. There are lots of opportunities for dog walks along the impossibly green Yukon River. Also recommended is the Yukon Beringia Museum with some great dioramas, some art and a video presentation.

Atlin

Atlin is about 3 hours from Whitehorse on a good paved road.  A few frost heaves but decent. Near Atlin we stopped to buy smoked salmon from the Tlingit at Taku River. They produce a variety of tasty smoked salmon through their company Taku Wild.  You can order it online, folks!
Norseman Adventure RV Park, Atlin . 

The glacier fed lake is gorgeous and there are mountains all around. We stayed at a commercial site at the end of the lake, again with a lakefront view. There were three other people camped here. Internet is available one hour per evening.  A bald eagle has a perch on a light post at the campsite and sits watch every evening.  Float planes dock nearby and one flew in the second morning we were there to unload a shipment of fish. The owner was a friendly old fellow who started the campsite years ago. 





I cannot say enough good things about Atlin B.C. which lies off the main highway between Watson Lake and Whitehorse on full pavement. It's an old gold mining town which was developed in the early 1900s. It was also used as a resort by the Whitepass Yukon railroad back in the early 20s. The MV Tarahne was built in 1917 to haul tourists around the lake. Its active use was discontinued in the mid 1930s and it sat languishing for decades until a government grant helped to restore it. It now sits on the shore and you can tour it by guided visit in summer or attend the famous "Tarhane Tea"which is run by the Atlin Historical Society. There is a little marina there and lots of boats of various sorts.  You can take a walk by the old Atlin Hospital with is now a Glaciological Institute. Lots of interesting local history including the signposted story of a local spinster teacher who married an old bachelor and lived in a tiny shack on the lakefront.

The town is full of interesting old houses, many of which are owned by artists, artisans and summer people. There are several craft shop/art galleries in town, notably the collective gallery at the old courthouse. The talk of the town when we were there was that bears were coming through, eating berries in preparation for winter. While we walked the dogs we were advised there was one going through the dumpster at a nearby cafe, and sure enough there he was, tossing boxes and enjoying his date to the delight of many camera-toting visitors and locals.

Pippa near the Courthouse Gallery.

You could chill in Atlin for many days.  There are plenty of excursions and boating opportunities. Unfortunately we had a little trailer trouble so we had to cut our time short and head into Whitehorse for some repairs. Long story. Refer to my "inverting the axel" comment above.  I will note that we put an additional 10,000 km since having this done with no incidents.

Watson Lake Territorial Campground

Just outside the town of Watson Lake, down a long gravel road, is this territorial park. The territorial campgrounds in the Yukon are among the best camping deals in the country at $12 a night. Or if you are a yukon resident senior they are free. Or if you live up there you can buy a yearly pass for $50.  That's the same price as ONE NIGHT in a number of commercial sites in the U.S.

It was starting to be a bit chilly at night by this time, with temperatures hovering near zero. There were two or three others in the Watson Lake campground, but one group were in tents.  Very brave!  The sites here were huge and we started a nice fire. Then it started to rain.  

In the morning we found a hiking trail to the lake. It was pretty overgrown and not well signed posted. The lake itself was pretty but a bit weedy.  It presented some good boating opportunities. Next time we will take a boat!

Pips and Finn, Watson Lake

Local salmon and some Prince George Craft Beer at Watson Lake

From Watson Lake, we headed south via the Alaska Highway. We have driven it before and we did not dilly dally this time. Just basically drove and drove with a few stops en route.  

Liard Hotsprings Provincial Park

If you have never been to Liard Hotsprings, you MUST. About three hours south of Watson Lake, it is one of the most magical places on earth in my humble opinon.  Not great for dogs though as you must leave them in your vehicle as you walk the boardwalk to the natural hotsprings which have been created out of the riverbed in a large gravel pond. The hotsprings create their own microclimate with all kinds of ferns and orchids all around. In the super-hot pool, the challenge was to get right up to the edge and place a rock. There is also a colder pool and a stream you can float down, dodging fallen logs and rocks. There are clean change rooms. Take water because the hotsprings can really sap your energy.  There is camping here but it is frequently booked up. In fact, when we arrived just after noon, the provincial site was full.

Muncho Lake Provincial Campground

Muncho Lake

This is a great campground along the lake.  There were quite a few people camped here, mostly local people on their weekend.  We still got a lakefront site (most of the sites here are right on the lake).  The dogs really wanted to swim but they were not allowed.  Not just because it's against regulations but we really did not want wet dogs in the trailer.  Again, it was pretty cold at night.  Here we had a little late night adventure.  I had gone out to use the biffy about 4 am and did not securely latch the door.  The dogs went on a little walkabout and we spent 20 minutes or so searching for them. Of course, they were not far off, just scavenging for food at the next site- but by the time Len found them I had walked clear to the end of the campground. It was a beautiful clear night so I really didn't mind too much.

Alaska Highway
The drive back down the Alaska Highway takes you through some fantastic scenery.  Stone Mountain Provincial Park was a stopover for a picnic lunch. This is a very scenic spot with some good hiking into the subalpine and alpine meadows.  There were people picking berries all along the hillside. It was pretty cold, windy and a bit rainy so we just did a short walk and took a break but it would be worth overnighting.

Buffalo!

There are many abandoned gas stations and motels along the way.  I always wonder what their story is. Someone's dream that died. 

Racing River

The relatively new Northern Rockies Provincial Park, mostly just accessible by air and horseback, can be seen from the road. 

Northern Rockies

Buckinghorse River Provincial Campground

There was quite a bit of road construction and it was raining on and off as we continued south of Fort Nelson, so we just kept driving until we reached the community managed Buckinghorse River site.  It's advertised more as a "wayside campground" than as a full campground. The sites are a bit smaller and it was pretty deserted.  It was adequate for our needs but a bit chilly.  We did a little walk with the dogs but there was not a lot to see other than the small river.

We loved our short trip. 

We followed up with a six week trip to Montana, Utah, New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington and plan to return to the north next summer.