VE1BC Spud Roscoe


The 2011 Trip
*Part 42 New Catches*

Monday, January 10th, 2011 We made it to the Monday morning meeting with free coffee and doughnuts. The place is filling up. There are still a few empty spaces but they said this morning they are taken and there is a waiting list of 26 wanting a site in here. There are 637 sites so one can imagine the number at the meeting. We should have taken the camera and taken a photo to include here. The lineup for doughnuts was so big we did not bother. This is a retirement park for those 55 years old and older and we are a poor one to be describing it. There is little we attend or do at home and the same applies here. Some are so busy one gets tired watching them come and go. Then others are like Joan and I. We sit around and enjoy the sun and peace and quiet. There is a dance on tonight at $3.00 per person. There is a price on most everything one does around here. My knees are such that we cannot participate in something like that. There are a lot of cards played. A lot of poker that we have never played. Cribbage and Bridge. Apparently they are fairly serious from the way they spoke this morning. They want to test the Bridge players and see if they can come up with a serious team to enter in various contests. We do not remember ever trying to play Bridge so we would be no good at that. They have a number of dance classes during the week. They have a number of bible classes and prayer meetings during the week. The old southern preacher is quite a comedian. Joan said he had a good service Sunday. There is the exercise room with 230 members to date. There is baseball, tennis and of course golf. The baseball coach or manager is from Boston and talks like President Kennedy did. One of the other guys from Alaska was making fun of his parking places. One can imagine what it sounded like. There is a fee for all of it as near as we can tell. If one enjoys these things this is the place to be. We enjoy just sitting around talking with those we meet. After the meeting we went to Wal-Mart for another three gallons of drinking water and of course we picked up a few more things. One thing we purchased was an outdoor thermometer that we have tied to the bicycle rack on the back of the trailer out of the sun. At noon it read 66F or 16C but the sun made it feel much higher. We had to get another seven gallons of propane this morning. We ran out of heat as we were having our morning shower. That always puts one in a good mood. There was an old Swiss army truck in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The cab had been painted blue but the rest was still khaki and canvas. The truck was towing an old khaki army wagon. It had a sign on the back stating Switzerland to Alaska via Arizona. They had a Canadian flag on the left side of the wagon and an Alaska motor vehicle license plate on the right side of the wagon. They apparently knew what they were doing or at least think they do. Again, one can only wish they had the camera in order to get a photograph. It was home in the trailer of course. When we see things like this old truck, and we have seen several over the years, we think of the guys who were going down the Nahanni River in the sixties. The Nahanni River runs from Northern British Columbia down into the North West Territories and flows into the MacKenzie River. If we remember correctly these guys were German and they were well equipped. They were all wearing buckskins like those worn in the old horse dung gun smoke movies of the 1940's and 1950's. In the end they found some of their gear and we believe one body. It was a tragedy that should have been avoided or never happened with more common sense. The Alaska Highway today is a better road than most roads and taking an old wreck up it or down it makes no sense. We have been carrying a broken catch piece from one of the trailer closet doors in both trucks for five years hoping to find the real McCoy. We looked in Ace Hardware this morning and there were three packages containing two complete sets in each package. We grabbed all three packages and fixed all the broken catches right after lunch. It certainly feels good to have these doors back in top shape. We are right proud of ourselves. When we arrived home from the shopping this morning here is Jerry and Linda hitching on to their 44 foot fifth wheel across the street. Jerry came right over and explained it. We are convinced they are trying hard to fill this place with seasonal park model homes. In other words if a park model wants my site I have to move. Because of this they bounce the non park models around. The ones who had paid for Vic and Shirley's site got bumped down the line and did not like the spot. Jerry has been here four years and got bumped out of his spot farther over next to his friends. These two went to the office and got it sorted out. The spot Jerry wanted was empty so they let them switch. We met the new ones across the street who moved into Jerry and Linda's site a few minutes after Jerry pulled out. They are Bill and Donna from Wisconsin and it is their fourth year here in this park. There are quite a few that keep coming back. Bill has a nice fifth wheel with slides and a Dodge/Cummins three quarter ton to match. He has air bags on the trucks suspension to help the stability with the trailer. It is a nice looking outfit and they look a lot better when the colour of the truck more or less matches the trailer. Bill and Donna have their dog with them. A beautiful spaniel. The white one with the brown or maroon spots. We forget the exact name or breed. Bill said they came down from Wisconsin and spent Christmas at St. Petersburg, Florida, and then across the same route we came. He has been retired five years already. This was another beautiful sunny day with little cloud cover. Joan spent a good portion sitting out in the sun reading. We made our nightly run to the dumpster and Bob and Karen came along. We checked on the jig saw puzzle and it had been completed and was laying there minus one piece of the white sky. It was quite a puzzle. Karen went and got another puzzle and she and Joan gave it a start. They put the one of the lobster wharf away. We came back and visited with Karen and Bob for awhile. They had a book on hurricane Igor hitting Newfoundland in September 2010 that was most interesting. That was the day and another excellent day it was.

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Monday, January 10th, 2011

We made it to the Monday morning meeting with free coffee and doughnuts. The place is filling up. There are still a few empty spaces but they said this morning they are taken and there is a waiting list of 26 wanting a site in here. There are 637 sites so one can imagine the number at the meeting. We should have taken the camera and taken a photo to include here. The lineup for doughnuts was so big we did not bother.

This is a retirement park for those 55 years old and older and we are a poor one to be describing it. There is little we attend or do at home and the same applies here. Some are so busy one gets tired watching them come and go. Then others are like Joan and I. We sit around and enjoy the sun and peace and quiet.

There is a dance on tonight at $3.00 per person. There is a price on most everything one does around here. My knees are such that we cannot participate in something like that. There are a lot of cards played. A lot of poker that we have never played. Cribbage and Bridge. Apparently they are fairly serious from the way they spoke this morning. They want to test the Bridge players and see if they can come up with a serious team to enter in various contests. We do not remember ever trying to play Bridge so we would be no good at that.

They have a number of dance classes during the week. They have a number of bible classes and prayer meetings during the week. The old southern preacher is quite a comedian. Joan said he had a good service Sunday. There is the exercise room with 230 members to date. There is baseball, tennis and of course golf. The baseball coach or manager is from Boston and talks like President Kennedy did. One of the other guys from Alaska was making fun of his parking places. One can imagine what it sounded like. There is a fee for all of it as near as we can tell. If one enjoys these things this is the place to be. We enjoy just sitting around talking with those we meet.

After the meeting we went to Wal-Mart for another three gallons of drinking water and of course we picked up a few more things. One thing we purchased was an outdoor thermometer that we have tied to the bicycle rack on the back of the trailer out of the sun. At noon it read 66F or 16C but the sun made it feel much higher. We had to get another seven gallons of propane this morning. We ran out of heat as we were having our morning shower. That always puts one in a good mood.

There was an old Swiss army truck in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The cab had been painted blue but the rest was still khaki and canvas. The truck was towing an old khaki army wagon. It had a sign on the back stating Switzerland to Alaska via Arizona. They had a Canadian flag on the left side of the wagon and an Alaska motor vehicle license plate on the right side of the wagon. They apparently knew what they were doing or at least think they do. Again, one can only wish they had the camera in order to get a photograph. It was home in the trailer of course.

When we see things like this old truck, and we have seen several over the years, we think of the guys who were going down the Nahanni River in the sixties. The Nahanni River runs from Northern British Columbia down into the North West Territories and flows into the MacKenzie River. If we remember correctly these guys were German and they were well equipped. They were all wearing buckskins like those worn in the old horse dung gun smoke movies of the 1940's and 1950's. In the end they found some of their gear and we believe one body. It was a tragedy that should have been avoided or never happened with more common sense. The Alaska Highway today is a better road than most roads and taking an old wreck up it or down it makes no sense.

We have been carrying a broken catch piece from one of the trailer closet doors in both trucks for five years hoping to find the real McCoy. We looked in Ace Hardware this morning and there were three packages containing two complete sets in each package. We grabbed all three packages and fixed all the broken catches right after lunch. It certainly feels good to have these doors back in top shape. We are right proud of ourselves.

When we arrived home from the shopping this morning here is Jerry and Linda hitching on to their 44 foot fifth wheel across the street. Jerry came right over and explained it. We are convinced they are trying hard to fill this place with seasonal park model homes. In other words if a park model wants my site I have to move. Because of this they bounce the non park models around. The ones who had paid for Vic and Shirley's site got bumped down the line and did not like the spot. Jerry has been here four years and got bumped out of his spot farther over next to his friends. These two went to the office and got it sorted out. The spot Jerry wanted was empty so they let them switch.

We met the new ones across the street who moved into Jerry and Linda's site a few minutes after Jerry pulled out. They are Bill and Donna from Wisconsin and it is their fourth year here in this park. There are quite a few that keep coming back. Bill has a nice fifth wheel with slides and a Dodge/Cummins three quarter ton to match. He has air bags on the trucks suspension to help the stability with the trailer. It is a nice looking outfit and they look a lot better when the colour of the truck more or less matches the trailer.

Bill and Donna have their dog with them. A beautiful spaniel. The white one with the brown or maroon spots. We forget the exact name or breed. Bill said they came down from Wisconsin and spent Christmas at St. Petersburg, Florida, and then across the same route we came. He has been retired five years already.

This was another beautiful sunny day with little cloud cover. Joan spent a good portion sitting out in the sun reading.

We made our nightly run to the dumpster and Bob and Karen came along. We checked on the jig saw puzzle and it had been completed and was laying there minus one piece of the white sky. It was quite a puzzle. Karen went and got another puzzle and she and Joan gave it a start. They put the one of the lobster wharf away.

We came back and visited with Karen and Bob for awhile. They had a book on hurricane Igor hitting Newfoundland in September 2010 that was most interesting.

That was the day and another excellent day it was.