Travels with Polar Pacer: October 2013

Polar Pacer’s Summer 2013

Once again we are preparing for winter aboard Polar Pacer after living on Canadian dirt since the end of March.

Green Cove Springs Marina on the St. John’s River in Florida was her resting place for the summer storm season while we reacquainted ourselves with the Province of Alberta where we had previously lived for many years.

The snow we encountered in Virginia on the trip north at the end of March should have been fair warning to us of things to come.

We drove our rental car across the parking lot from the hotel to the closest fast food outlet for dinner.

After a short stop in Ontario we headed west for more snowy punishment.

The view of Lake Michigan from the northbound lane of the Mackinac Bridge.

Ice fishing on Lake Superior.

Our summer island in Alberta was a 5^th wheel travel trailer anchored at Hamilton House Bed and Breakfast Inn near the city of Cold Lake. www.hamiltonhouse.com

Not exactly summer when we first came aboard.

Local wildlife stopping by for a treat.

The view from the starboard ports around the third week in April. Too white!

Finally – a sign of spring as April turned into May.

Knot in Vein’s new inflatable kayak gets an inland test run on the flooded Sturgeon River in St. Albert before making its ocean debut.

Urban portage.

What would summer in Alberta be without a rodeo? While presenting no competition for the Calgary Stampede, the Cold Lake rodeo in June attracted a number of out of country spectators who were in the area for Maple Flag military exercises at the nearby air base.

Rodeo clowns in training.

The winning ‘mini chuck’ team.

June also brought heavy rains to much of the province. Two of my aunts were among the thousands of people forced out of their homes.

Wildflowers were abundant.

After celebrating Canada Day in July it was time to prepare the patchwork quilts for the upcoming silent auction at the August family reunion in Rosebud, Alberta.

Patchwork sewing was a popular activity at the Reunion and good training for Polar Pacer’s canvas repairs.

The Fringe Theatre Festival in Edmonton has been a favorite event of ours for many years and the August 2013 version did not disappoint. We saw some really bad theatre (Moscow Stations, a one man play starring Clayton Jevne), some really good street performers and a surprise encounter with an old friend while we hung out in the beer tent until the thunder shower passed by.