Publisher's Note

Publisher’s Note
by CK May is the month of flowers not just in the Philippines but also here in Calgary. A lot of my neighbors have done their spring cleaning and unfortunately I cannot cope up with them. I remember that during this time of the year my husband, Hank gets busier day by day. He takes care [...]
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Page added on June 16, 2016

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The Other Side

Summer has arrived and with it the heat and great weather! If you’re the ones I keep hearing whining about cold or rain, now is the time to get outside and enjoy it. It won’t last long and soon you will be complaining again.

My wife and I treated ourselves to yet another week long vacation – packed with sights and fun, not to mention economical and healthy. A stress free vacation getting away from the phones, texts and crowds will do wonders for your health and blood pressure. If you work weekends – you have my pity. That’s not living life to its fullest. Why do you do it?

With lots of time at my work to research and plan a week-long tour, it makes it easier to get the most out of each day. Vacation days are limited, but they’re yours – don’t waste them sleeping, watching TFC garbage or shopping.

We always get away at a good hour usually about 6 or 7 am and beat the traffic and heat. As soon as you get out of the city you will immediately see so much beauty and can watch the sun rise as you do.

Day 1, a Thursday, our destination was an overnight stop at our friends home in Cranbrook B.C., a short 4 hour drive from Calgary. Of course we took 8 hours to do it, making numerous stops along the way. The road through Crowsnest Pass is as scenic as any in Alberta, including the over used Banff/Lake Louise area, which is all most of our friends see every year anyway – year after year!

Traveling along Hwy. 22 and Hwy 3 you will pass through the quaint, picturesque and oil rich, towns of Black Diamond, Turner Valley and Longview. Huge fields, with the majestic Rockies in the background are filled with thousands of beef and dairy cattle and massive ranches with large numbers of horses.

Anyone who takes this route and doesn’t stop at Lundbreck Falls really should question why they even left Calgary. After stopping for awesome photos we checked out a couple of new sights along the way, that we had not seen before. GOOGLE them for more info – they are Leitch Collieries and The Burmis Tree. Both are FREE! And only take a few minutes to visit. The rest of the trip to Cranbrook was a short relaxing drive, with stops at anything interesting or scenic along the way, such as Fernie B.C. and the World’s Biggest Truck at Sparwood B.C.

The next morning, after an evening of eating and socializing, we were loaded and on the road by 7:00 am. Today’s destination including two night’s accommodations at $50 each night including taxes was Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho. We decided to spend very little time in Bonner’s Ferry today and continued on to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for a scenic lake cruise, only $22.95 each. Again, there is no hurry so don’t be afraid to stop at the many lakes, rivers and parks along the way. The lake cruise was beautiful and we eventually returned to Bonner’s Ferry and our $50 room, complete with Jacuzzi, fridge and microwave. We stopped at a nearby “Super Foods” grocery store to stock up on foods and drinks for a couple days. Restaurant meals are costly, time consuming and a risk of ruining a good vacation with food poisoning.

Day 3, a more relaxing schedule, involved a short hike to some waterfalls and other things in the area, including an opportunity for my wife to pick up a few items. She’s a shopping expert and got me a couple pairs of blue jeans ($20) and whatever for herself(Probably purses and shoes) We finished the night off with a movie in our room.

Again, rising early to get away, even though today’s plan was for another lake cruise on a different lake, we had ample time to get to our destination of Sandpoint, Idaho. It was about 30 minutes away, and our cruise was for noon. That area is beautiful with Lake Pend Oreille, with a lot of marinas and beautiful beach homes for the rich.

This 2nd cruise was on a much smaller ship and had about 30 people on it. We cruised the lake and went up the North Fork of the Clark River Delta. Being 3 hours in duration, it cost us $39 each. Cheap! Hahaha, some of the people on this cruise spent double that on food and drinks. There are suckers born every day! Aside from the cruise we spent the day traveling, seeing deer, great blue herons, turtles and much more, before going to our new Hotel in Coeur d’Alene. This Hotel, with a nice pool also included a computer to check messages and FB, a continental breakfast for the mornings and unlimited ice and coffee/tea.

Speaking of which, we enjoyed the breakfast the next day, which happened to be my Birthday and Memorial Day in the USA. Our plan was to spend a full day in Spokane, Washington. From my research, I had decided there was so much to see and do there that we would return for another 4 or 5 day weekend later and this time we would take in only the Riverfront Park. Arriving at the park at 8 a.m. gave us more than enough time to explore the many ponds, dams, waterfalls and rivers, as well as the many venues left behind from this site of EXPO ’74. When everything opened we rode the Gondaola over the Spokane Falls ($7.50), the Tour Train through the 110 acre park, watched a cool IMAX movie and rode a 1909 Carousel. Keeping cool with drinks from the vendors, I fed the ducks while Ludy checked out the vendors for jewelry to add to her collection.

Meeting many people during our day in Spokane, I love the positive attitudes and no desire to go, go, go that stressed out Calgarians have and really look forward to our return trip. From the hot dog vendor on the street to the staff working the jobs in and around Riverfront Park, these are people who enjoy life.

Sadly, like all days, this one came to an end and we were finally tired out, so we returned to our room in Post Falls, just outside Spokane. By the time we arrived there Ludy was rejuvenated so we took a hike through the woods to view several waterfalls and a couple of power generating dams. Then, a great meal and we slept like babies!

All in all, this latest trip was awesome! Six days, 5 nights – 1900 km., 1300 Facebook pictures (check ‘em out!) – fuel, food, cruises, accommodations and a few knick knacks cost less than $700 CDN. I know people who spent 3 times as much to go to Mexico for 4 days to eat and spent more time dining than they did sightseeing!

Life is good and just gets better and better! GOOGLE the information for your destination and along the way, plan ahead and get the most out of your time and money! Easy answers for a fun life!

Steve Tarzwell

The Other Side

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