#237 Nomad Diary. 3-9 May 2025. Grandkid Calls. Edson, Alberta. St. Albert (Edmonton) for Church. Move from Edson, Alberta to Valemount, BC Airbnb. Scenery: Jasper, Mt Robson, Valemount, Cranberry Marsh, Rearguard Falls, Overlander Falls, Lake Kinney Hike.

 

Shared Affection: Nana and Quinn (age 4 years 8 mos) Call to Brasillia

Cam and Sproket. Hosting in Edson, Alberta Airbnb.

Old Church Building in Edson, Alberta

Saturday. 3. Massage trade with a local therapist today. I had a massage with local therapist Jacqueline a couple days ago. It had been a few months since my last massage. During my massage, I was impressed with Jacqueline’s work. I told Jacqueline that her massage was doing me good, and asked if she would want to trade with me? This is a common practice among massage therapists, to trade one massage for one massage. She agreed to do a trade and here we are. I got my second fabulous massage this week, then I gave her a massage. We were both well satisfied and happy with our trade. Our hosts invited us to an early evening campfire beside their house in a wooded area. They brought hot dogs, home-done deer sausages and fixin’s for dinner. I brought our black bean chili that went well with the hot dogs. We enjoyed talking around the fire. They have some interesting stories of travels and adventures. Cam’s dad and mom took him at age 14 along with his next older sister on a small boat across the Pacific! His Dad learned navigation during the trip! I can’t imagine all of his stories and memories from that experience! It’s a book that I’d enjoy. Cam and Di raised two children in Edson. They have built this net-zero energy house and love being outdoors. They are getting ready to sell this house, downsize and go traveling in Europe on a motorcycle. Wow! It’s their game as Darrell and I have learned. Each couple or person constructs their game with their opportunities and outlooks. Darrell has the financial know-how to discuss questions about retirement cost of living and how-to’s. He was able to answer some of their questions regarding finances and how to speculate on the future costs of living without working.

Joyce and Mom Carlene in St. Albert church of Christ Members.

In the West Edmonton Mall. One of the Largest Malls in North America.

Phone Call to Alabama Grandkids. Our Oldest Son Eric.
Grands: Owen (3 years 8 mos.) and Esther (1year 7mos)

Sunday. 4. Drive to Edmonton for worship. We went northeast to St. Albert to meet with a church of Christ we found online. It was a nice group and they were just getting into a new location in a store front. We had a good service and were invited to have dinner out with a Mother, Carlene and her daughter Joyce. We met up at a restaurant and had an enjoyable visit over lunch. 

Monday. 5. Call my friend Laura. Darrell has a chiropractic appointment.

Picture Stop on Our Drive Edson to Jasper to Valemount.

Lunch Stop in Jasper

In Jasper with an Adopted Town Mascot Cartoon Character from the 1940's

Darrell's Picture of Canadian Flag in Jasper.

Road Trip Edson to Valemount, BC.

Mt Robson Visitor Center Photo Stop

Scenic Drive to Valemount, BC From Mt Robson.

Walking in Picturesque Valemount, BC

Mural in Valemount, BC.

Moving into Valemount Our Airbnb

Tuesday. 6. Pack up. Check out and drive to Valemount, British Columbia. Today is sunny and warm. We drove to Jasper and stopped for lunch. We also walked around town. The drive through Jasper and then by Mt. Robson was stunning and beautiful! It was snow capped mountains, lakes and streams. There were 3 places we wanted to stop, but were closed with renovations as we were too early in the season. Along this route is Miette Hot Springs and two waterfalls. We arrived to our airbnb in Valemount before dinner time. We met our host Bruce as we were moving into the nice apartment in the walk-in basement.Through Friday night.

Host Bruce Walking with Darrell on a Valemount Trail

Host Wendy Walking with Me on a Valemount Trail

A Trail Summit with a View Above Valemount, BC

Valemount Coffee Roasters Shop.

An Old Home (Tiny!) in Valemount, BC

This A-frame Building in Valemount, BC is an Anglican Church

Cranberry Marsh View from a Tower in Valemount, BC

Cranberry Marsh Trail with Beautiful Birch Trees

View of Mountain From Cranberry Marsh Trail in Valemount.

Wednesday. 7. Our first wake-up in Valemount. We are spending time between breakfast and lunch discussing our calendar. Particularly how much time to spend in Alabama once we arrive back. We got through some intense ideas about our Alabama time. We made our decision on when to arrive and to stay for 56 nights in an airbnb house in Madison that ticked all of our boxes! Why 56 nights? Answers in the Nomad Notes below. Our hosts Bruce and Wendy invited us for an after lunch hike. We accepted and thoroughly enjoyed their company and information about this area. We rode in Bruce’s truck about a mile across this small town to a trail head. Bruce asked how far we normally walk. I said 15 minutes to 5 hours. We start the trail that is beautiful and follows beside a rocky mountain stream. Valemount is in a valley surrounded by snowy mountain peaks. As we ascend the mountain trail, Bruce and Darrell are talking and walking together. Wendy and I are talking and walking together. They moved here early in their marriage. They raised two daughters here. They owned their own businesses. Wendy had earned her CPA and Bruce began an outdoor guide business for hiking, canoeing and more. They know all the trails and details for this area. Since retiring, they have traveled many places in the world. They traded houses with a couple in Croatia. They also enjoyed Costa Rica and more. They are quite adventurous and enjoyable to talk with. After climbing up to a viewing point, we circled back down the trail to the truck. Bruce drove us around to various points in town showing us the Cranberry bog close to their house, and describing the trails and viewing towers for us to enjoy later. We finished up our visit and walked a couple of blocks to the grocery. We came back and made chili with our home-cooked black beans and lean beef. We are two hours earlier than Central Alabama time. We turned on the livestream for our Wednesday night Bible study on Revelation by Darren. I enjoy keeping up with this study. Having electronic connections with familiar people and places makes for some consistency in our inconsistent living and moving. 

Thursday. 8. The day began overcast and chilly. We stayed inside our apartment doing our morning exercise routines and having breakfast. Darrell has gotten very good at making apple, oat and barley pancakes. The pancakes fit our current higher protein and fiber diet. They are delicious! This morning we cooked some thin sliced pork tenderloin to cook and serve with our pancakes. We also measure out a side dish of greek yogurt or skyr, cottage cheese, berries and toasted nuts. We are quite satisfied until lunchtime. Around mid-morning we went to the one coffee shop in town: Vale Coffee. We enjoyed large Americanos that were served in glasses! Lol. That’s a first for me. They were good and we bought a bag of their dark roast to take with us. We walked back to our house by way of the grocery to get a couple of items. We had some great sandwiches for lunch. We called Darrell’s Mom. After lunch the sun came out and we walked to the Cranberry Marsh down the road for the loop trail and lookout towers. The loop trail was flooded on one end and we did the half loop to the flooded part and then returned. It was about 6-8 kilometers all together. We decided to go out for dinner, and had a nice dinner at Caribou Grill.

Info About Salmon that Come Here in August.

Rearguard Falls Near Mt Robson. In August, Salmon are Here.

Overlander Falls Near Mt Robson.

I Like This Tree Living on a Rock! On the Way to Overlander Falls.

Trail Recommended by Hosts Wendy and Bruce

Trail to Kinney Lake on a Cloudy Day

Lots of Forest with Trees Down from Past Avalanches.

Trail to Kinney Lake Has Benches and Beautiful Mountains and a River with Rushing Water Sounds.

Beside the River on the Way to Kinney Lake

Another Beautiful View. Trail Feels All Uphill.

The Grey Sky Masks Much of the Mountain

We Are Almost to Kinney Lake. That Strip of Blue in the Distance is the Lake We Are Seeking!

Darrell on a Beach at Kinney Lake. The Blue Color is a Definite Line Farther from This Shore.

Info on Lake

Kinney Lake with that Gorgeous Blue!

It's a Long Walk and Worth It!

Farther Around Kinney Lake. The Blue Water Color is Closer to Shore Here.

Heading Back to Our Truck from Kinney Lake. Lots of Downhills.

The Sun is Peaking Through this Old Forest.

Huge Old Growth Cedars.

Yay! Here Comes the Sun!

Back to Valemount, BC.

Friday. 9. Today is our daughter-in-law Andrea’s birthday. We have an electronic messenger to send her greetings and also electronic means to send her a gift. We had rewarmed pancakes for breakfast today. When Darrell makes pancakes, there are 3 days worth of breakfasts for us to enjoy. We have shifted to eating more pancakes than egg breakfasts. We eat eggs in between our pancake days! Lol! I don’t think I would ever have predicted this kind of turn around in our diet. But here we are for now eating apple oat-barley pancakes every day that we can. They give us the satisfaction to stay away from desserts. With pancakes we also load up on protein by way of low fat yogurt, a variety of nuts, and sometimes cottage cheese and pork tenderloin. 

Our plan today is to drive back about 25 minutes to Mt. Robson visitor center, which is closed, and find a trailhead close to there called Kinney Lake. It was recommended by our hosts Wendy and Bruce who owned a trekking business here for decades. It’s cold this morning and we will have to wear some wool! There is a cafe there for coffee and sandwiches, but google says it’s closed and at the same time there are menu photos posted 2 days ago as well as an active web site. I put food into our picnic bag to have it either way. We have chili in the fridge for dinner. 

Nomad Notes. Today is Thursday, May 8th. We are in Valemount, British Columbia. On my mind is my hair! Lol. I have been in need of a haircut for quite some time. Being a traveler makes this a difficult accomplishment at times. And this is one of those times where I’m getting tired of my look and I want at least a trim. This is a town of about 1000 residents. The schedules of the businesses vary according to one person showing up. I have today and tomorrow here. Saturday is a moving day to the larger town of Vernon. There are things that I want to do here and everywhere I am that makes it hard for me to sit still and get my haircut! Lol. 

Why stay 28 nights or 28x2= 56 nights? On airbnb many US properties give a sizable discount for an exact 28 night stay. Not one day more or less. It is this odd bargain that can dictate our decision for the length of our stay. We have had a time or two that paying for 28 nights and leaving a day early for our calendar was way less costly than booking 26 days, etc. We have airbnbs in England to give discounts for a weeklong stay. 

Other details we have going this week: Darrell has been constantly lightening our loads by getting rid of the heavier items out of our crates and trunks. A couple of years ago he off-loaded our last two iron skillets. Now he says that our old bathroom scale is too heavy to carry and we can shop for a new, sleeker, lighter weighing one. Also this past couple of weeks we ran out of barley flour and haven’t found it with all of our shopping. I have a small 2 cup smoothie blender and decided to grind whole barley (which we bought at the Asian grocery in Edmonton) into flour. I did this two days ago and it only half-worked. I got a rough ground flour, and at the same time I damaged my small blender. I’m not surprised because I know grinding grains and coffee beans need a heavy duty machine, So, even though my small blender is still working, it isn’t suitable for grinding grains into flour. We will be shopping for a small coffee grinder. We used to have one, actually several when we had our own home, but it eventually was broken beyond repair and was tossed.

This scripture came to my mind after a conversation. There was a friend of a friend who got sick in a foreign country and felt like he could die. He didn’t want to die there. This experience includes both our human fear of death and a comforting expectation to control my life and my death. Being out of control and not knowing are the two most stressful human experiences. We each face these states of conscious and unconscious being in difficult life experiences. Sometimes to deal with stress or trauma, we look away from it. Once we are able to get through the stress and look back on our frozen response we can look again from our current perspective and learn and grow from it. With this in my mind, I thought of a Bible scripture with a truth I can know and I can learn and grow more to accept all of my life now eagerly waiting for him and eternity. 

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Hebrews 9: 27-28