NOVEMBER 8 - She's Back Again and Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

Yes, I'm back, after a whole big two weeks. First of all, this silly computer decided to play a new game, making me believe it had died. I guess what actually happened is the power cord became loose and the battery won't hold a charge any more, which meant I was greeted by a very black silent screen Thursday morning. It wasn't until Sunday night I decided to plug it in again and see what happened - and guess what happened! She's back again!

It was a very busy and joyful period of time, even with no computer. Thursday evening, Howard's dad, sister and fiance came to visit. They left on Sunday, and I'm working on blogs of their visit, sorting through hundreds of pics, and am hoping to start posting these over the next few days. 

However, today came sunny and beautiful - and bloody cold. Now I know a lot of you are used to colder, some are even ankle-deep in snow, but that's not me. There was actually frost on the grass this morning, and the temp was hovering around 0 at 9 AM. So, needless to say, even though I forced myself to drag Breehy out of hibernation, I waited until almost noon to do so. I wasn't planning on a long ride, as I haven't ridden much lately - last Thursday we went as far as Walmart for a bag of raisins - and I can't even remember before that - probably our trip around Bear Creek Park.

I imagine some home owners know exactly why Autumn is called Fall - and I can also imagine some of them really don't like this season very much. Oh well, I guess they don't have to mow the grass as much.

I decided to ride down 134 Street and see where the wheels took me. However, as I crossed over, I saw a treasure of apples, and low and behold, above this patch, a loaded tree.

You know me. Breehy's basket became half full within minutes. I guess they are crab apples. I brought home a whack of them, peeled and sliced them (with great difficulty, I may add, as my right hand fingers can't grip anything, such as a knife) and they have been simmering away in my slow cooker ever since. After about 5 hours the smell is delicious, but a taste test  feels like one is chewing a rubber floor mat.  I won't give up though - and if they turn out edible I'll be gathering more over the next few days. Any volunteers for peeling and chopping?

I decide to turn on 84 Avenue, as I haven't been down that way before. New trails are happy trails. The scenery was wonderful, lots of private acreage but not a lot of housing, which made for a quiet road. A stream up ahead made me wonder if any salmon were flapping their way to their spawning grounds.

Not much of a stream, it turned out. If any salmon were here, they would probably get stuck between a rock and a hard place. Figuratively.

Right after the stream, I saw this sign. It's pretty impressive, I'm just not sure what it represents. A homestead, maybe? The huge rock beside it with the brass plate embedded is a dedication.

I think it would be hard to read even if the sun wasn't shining on it, but I risked getting my knees wet to kneel down so I could decipher the words. They read:

Commemoration

 in honour of pre 1940 Roebuck Road pioneers

families of Campbell, Cepuran, Cindric, Dinka

Iskra, Jackson, Kardos, Kekitch, Kreyavic,

Luzar, Matic, Milne, Overs, Oravec, Petfijevik,

Peterson, Sebuk, Segec, Visnjak, Zaklan

In Recognition of Dan, Martha Zaklan

August, 1983

 Riding along, another sign caught my eye. If one didn't read English, they may think this is a sign saying constipated dogs are not allowed in the area.

And then came the two signs I did not want to see - one saying King George Boulevard, although I should have known I would meet up with it - and one saying No Exit where 84 Avenue would be if 84 Avenue extended beyond King George Boulevard. So once again I travelled uphill on King George, until I came to 81 Avenue and hung a right.

It was nice to see the two VACANCY signs flashing red. From the looks of the motel and trailer park site, there are lots of vacancies, if you don't mind just finding a spot and unrolling your foamie mattress.

Back on 134 Street, with two aching thighs, pushing Breehy even on the flat parts. And 134 is the old Roebuck Road, obviously. I wonder if the pioneers would recognize it now. Probably not.