Drumheller, Alberta

Today, we had a leisurely morning since we were staying in town. Yeah, no long drives today! After breaky we went to the Royal Tyrrell Museum. It was very impressive. I was surprised at how much they had there. Unfortunately, it was all centred around evolution and Darwin had his own display section. But, the kids loved seeing the dinosaurs. We hope to stop and see the creation museum in Big Valley on the way back home.

We had lunch at the museum (see pic). We walked the trail through the Badlands. It would have been unbearably hot if it wasn't for the wind. We were hoping the wind would keep the mosquitos away....we were wrong. I have around 25 bites, just me. I'm not sure how many we have altogether.

After the museum, we headed into the town of Drumheller for some supplies. When that was done, we went to Canada's Largest Dinosaur. It is 82 feet tall. We climbed 106 stairs inside of it to get to the top. (see pic for view from its mouth)

We then went back to camp for supper. Tomorrow, we are off to Delburne, AB. We have tickets for a steam train in Stettler, which is nearby. (There was no camping available in Stettler.)

Anyway, we are all off to sleep.

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1

An Exciting Couple of Days!

Ok, where do I begin... It seems like I'm so far behind in sharing with you what we've been up to. Well, let's start with yesterday. We got up all excited about our free pancake breakfast, but believe it or not, the James' were too early for something!!! That's right, breakfast wasn't being served until July. Their specials don't start until July 1. Oh well. Back to the campsite we went for cold cereal. After that we headed out for the Revelstoke Dam. It was VERY impressive. We weren't allowed to take in cameras so we don't have many pics. Afterwards we had lunch in the RV on the Dam.

On our way into Revelstoke to get Timmy's, we spotted the Railway Museum and had to stop. It was very facinating and we spent quite a bit of time there. We then got our Timmy's (thanks Mom and Dad for the Timmy's card!) and went to Golden.

The next morning we travelled through the Rockies. SOOOOOO beautiful! We even saw wildlife. We saw a deer, a bear, mountain goats and two moose. We stopped in Field for lunch and the children played on the sandy beach. After our break we left for Calgary.

This is where it gets exciting. We were in the middle of Calgary, gridlocked in rush hour traffic and the RV spluttered and died! Yep, that's right...my nightmare came true! We managed to restart it and limp it to a side road where it promptly died completely. The gas tank said 1/4 but we decided that gas or the lack thereof must be the problem. Dave walked 7 blocks in the heat while watching for a taxi (there was none) and found a gas station that didn't have a gas can. A kind fellow named Jerry offered to drive Dave to an auto parts store for a can and then a gas station and then to the RV. It worked! Thankfully it was just a faulty gas gauge! We went to get slurpees and parked in the shade and waited for rush hour to subside.

After that excitment we carried on to Drumheller. Travelling through a fierce wind storm and overshooting the campsite by 20 km on the wrong road, we finally pulled in around 10 pm. It is now 12:35 am so we are now going to sleepyland. Thank you all for your prayers. Thank you also for your comments. They are a blessing to us.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

Day 1

Well we left mostly on time this morning. (can you believe it!) We were hoping to leave around 9am and we pulled away from the house at 9:30.

We met Dave's cousin, Terry and his wife Gail in Kamloops for lunch. We had a lovely visit and hope to see them again in August on the way home.

We left Kamloops around 3:30 and drove to Revelstoke. It starting raining around Chase. It rained on and off until we got to our campsite where it really started coming down. We got here around 6:30pm. Here at the KOA we get free pancakes and coffee for breakfast! (I thought if we plug their campsites all the way, we might get a discount! heehee) We made supper soon after we got here and enjoyed a nice walk in the rain. They have a pond with little ducks here that Nathan really liked. We are now just hanging out and getting ready for bed. (We don't want to miss our free pancakes!!!)

Tomorrow we are off to see the Revelstoke Dam and then to Golden. Hope to type at you then.

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1Thessalonians 5:23

Tomorrow's the big day!!!!!

I can't believe we leave in the morning! The day is coming so soon, (this is Zach speaking).
Super exited, once again I can't wait!!!!
We'll keep you all posted. Please remember to pray for us.


"My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up." Psalm 5:3

Dinner at the Neufelds

This afternoon we had a lovely break from the usual running around trip prep. stuff! The Neufeld family invited us over for a visit and dinner. Who could say no to that! It was a beautiful (some might say hot) afternoon and the children had a wonderful time playing outside.

Here's a pic of the whole gang.

Sorry for the short blog today, but back to the trip prep. stuff. Only a few days left now! It is time to do the 'last minute stuff'.

"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" Titus 2:13

6 Days Left Until the Big Trip!!!

Well, things are moving right along. The "to do" list is long, but we are getting things crossed off.

This is a photo of us at Fraser Downs Raceway (where Dave shoots the horseraces) on Saturday night. It was the last night of racing for the season. Yeah! We were a bit of a sight to see for the patrons! You don't often see a woman in her 'homeschool uniform' (hahaha) with 6 children in tow at a raceway/casino! We don't usually go with daddy, but he had forgotten his keys for the club in his car, so we came by to drop them off. Some of the children had not seen the horses race up close, so it was a treat for them. (We didn't go to the casino end, in case you were wondering. heeheeehee!)

Well, have to run for now. I have to book our campsites for Quebec City and Fredericton tonight. Not to mention get the children off to bed!

See some of you soon!

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour." Titus 3:5-6

Our Rolling Home

Here we are with our rolling home for the next 2 months. Only 12 days left to get it all together. Everyone is very excited!

Gotta run for now...Sarah has prepared a romantic dinner for Dave and I in the RV. It was our anniversary on Saturday, but Dave was working and this is the first day he will be home at dinner time since then. The children will eat in the house.


"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in
him." 1John 4:16

Running Out of Time

13 days left!!! This trip has seemed so far away for so long and now I feel like I'm running out of time to get everything done. I have packed all of the children's clothes for the trip (except Nathan needs a couple more summer outfits) and prepared 18 meals (with my neighbour's help - thanks Trina), which are frozen flat so we can stand them up in the RV freezer. We are now booked in campgrounds to Ottawa, so the trip planner so far is: Revelstoke, Drumheller, Stettler, Lake Diefenbaker (did I spell that right?!), Winnipeg, ThunderBay, Sault Ste. Marie, Tobermory, Dyers Bay, Essex, London, Niagara Falls, Peterborough, Ottawa. After that we are on to Quebec City and then to the maritimes (to see the Woods! - see ya soon Roz!)

Not only do we have to prepare the RV and the things we'll need while in the RV, we also need to figure out paying our bills, feeding the pets and countless other things for the house we leave behind. Thankfully, we have a friend staying in the house (thanks Kevin), a neighbour coming by to help pick the fruit and freeze it for us (thanks Trina), a friend who has wonderful hardworking boys who will come by and cut the lawn when needed (thanks Esther, Ben & Matt) and a Papa who will come and do some remodelling in the children's bedrooms (thanks Dad) while we are gone.

I can't wait to see this beautiful country and so many family and friends we haven't seen for so long. (too many to list everyone, but you know who you are!) Everyone says, 'how will you survive 2 months with your family in an RV?' Honestly, I'm not sure because I've never done it before, but I think it will help us all to get closer, HAHAHA! (cramped quarters and all!) We will certainly learn where our weaknesses are! Seriously, it will be nice to spend some uninterrupted time with my husband and children. No work or school or piano or basketball or hockey schedules to keep.

Well keep reading as we travel and you will see how we survive 2 months in an RV!!! It will be better than any reality TV show!!! ("The Lord God will help me" Isaiah 50:7)


"Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest." Joshua 1:7