1999
January 30, 1999
A Chinook break in the winter weather enticed us to come out for the day. Hiked in from the road.
March 14, 1999
Ethel and Chuck, Len and Ann and Jessica here. Beautiful sunny day going up to 16C. A little muddy walking in – lots of deer. Had to leave the van out by the main gate. Brought a picnic lunch. Jessica loved the cabin – brought back memories of their cottage life.
June 4, 1999
Brent and Amos arrived at 1:00. Lots of bugs but extremely beautiful. It is 21C outside. Finished unpacking and are going to go for a hike. Loud voices and cars from across the river.
June 5, 1999
Heading into Sundre for the day to visit an old friend. Found a six-pack of un-opened beer at the river. Anybody remember leaving it there? Also, there is a strange plant growing on the log jam – looks like whacky tobacky – no buds yet so we didn’t take any. There is a jackrabbit living under the cabin and a big groundhog in the old car.
The day of our departure. We just finished the exit routine. I used the phone a few times so feel free to contact me with the charges. Brent and I really enjoyed our time here and are disappointed to be leaving a day early due to lack of supplies. We saw a white-tailed deer today in the field.
Thank you for sharing the cabin with friends of Amos. I really enjoyed the time on the land. It is so nice to get away from the city and come to such a beautiful place.
Thank you again.
June 6th, 1999
Karin, Michael, his brother David, Judy and Jerry here for the afternoon.
June 18th, 1999
Hi Karin – Big thanks from Mickey and family. We had a great weekend. The boys have never slept so well. We took out all the garbage and mowed some grass.
June 20th, 1999
Karin, Michael and dog here for a perfect afternoon. The wild roses are blooming.
July 4, 1999
Came out for the weekend with a bunch of friends. We’d planned for several weeks and decided not to let the rain keep us away. Yikes! It hasn’t stopped raining since we got here on Friday night. Haven’t seen a single patch of blue sky. Woke up this morning to find the river has grown considerably overnight. It’s probably three times wider than it was when we got here. It’s flooding over all the nearby land. It’s full of debris and is running very fast.
Needless to say, we’ve spent the whole weekend in the cabin. While some sun would have been nice, we’ve still had a really good time. We are going to try to leave today but, just to be on the safe side, have begun making preparations for the construction of an ark.
July 18th, 1999
Jerry and Judy here to ckeck the water level.
August 2nd, 1999
Jerry and Judy out for the day. Brought the garden tractor and mowed the grass. Went down to the river to see what the flood left behind – lots more sand and some new fishing and swimming holes. There are bees in the attic – the entrance they are using is a small hole in the east end wall of the cabin. Saw a litter of coyote pups on our way in – east of the compressor site. Lots of deer tracks in the river valley.
August 6 – 8, 1999
JP up for a weekend of R&R. Saw the coyote pus just south of the compressor site. Spent the first night catching moths to photgraph in daylight – collected other specimens too – bees, wasps, flies and the skeletal remains of a small sparrow. Also saw a large deer on our way back from the river. Timbre chased it off. Hope to be back soon.
August 14, 1999
Arrived in the night – descended to the lodge, prepared my soul for a complete nights rest. Awakened in the midst of the night by a beautiful kiss from the moon. The morning was beautiful, a fire warmed the room for my awakening children. I found this place to be one of total serenity. Thank you for the opportunity to experience it.
I thought it was kewl. It’s a cute little cabin. I liked it, had fun, but I must say I’ve never been in a place quite like this one. My visit was like..the best.
Today I saw a deer and I went to the river and skipped rocks. I also walked in the bushes with my Mom. Her name is Christine and she is part of the Green Fools. That’s my story of the Birds.
August 21-22, 1999
JP us again with friends Todd and Jodie. Came to look at the VW bug and other insects – grasshoppers, bees and such. Made some headway with the VW but will most likely be back again next weekend to work on it some more now that my mechanic (Todd) has seen what it needs. Didn’t see any of the coyotes this time but saw a few colourful birds. Went on an expedition to catch some fish with no success. Took more exposures (80+) and must put some up here for all to see. Did leave one photo from my last journey here – it’s foreman watching fire. So sad to be leaving my second home again.
Hot weather, records, scrabble, grilled cheese, Donna Summer, river, hawks, Cat Stevens, rocks, reading, Neil Diamond, fire. A cool, relaxing time.
Relaxation of the mental over stimulation in the great, green destination!! No fish to be caught and didn’t get the bug going but I couldn’t be move stress free. Great site. Thanks.
September 5-8, 1999
JP here again with friends Paul and Christopher for the long weekend. Got here late on Friday. Saturday we went into Sundre for a thrift shop. I got new reading for the cabin, new over boots and such. Had another big photo shoot too. Spent Sunday logging – removed three poplars in order to improve the view from the deck. The pile of wood down by the firepit won’t be ready to burn until next year. Spent Sunday afternoon at the river. Saw about thirty nudists on the other side.
Chris and Gram came up on Labour Day Monday for a nice picnic lunch and to watch us clean up all the wood from the day before.
September 18-19, 1999
JP up with Todd, Jackie and Christian. Came up with thoughts of firing up the bug and , with Todd’s masterful mechanical abilities, WE DID JUST THAT! $10 Goo to keep the tires inflated, 1 small bottle of brake fluid and $52 for the master cylinder that we will install in Calgary. Took Christian and Jack for a quick run the the James River Bridge Store and found that I could drive the stick shift with relative ease.
Helped Christian with his astronomy homework. Todd and he are taking readings at three hour intervals, observing the movements of the stars, that is, more of a reflection of our own movement on this planet Earth. Will be back soon when I’m ready to ferry the vehicle into town and then maybe I’ll be out here even more often. Hope to get some visits in this winter to do some skiing and sledding.
October 23rd, 1999
Jerry and I here today to drop off EjorII, a Honda Civic that is a gift from Murray Aberdeen. There is no battery in it at the moment. Will take care of that next Spring. Off to Calgary for Karin’s Altius Brass concert.
Sunday, November 14, 1999
Ethel, Chuck and I were here to check on the cairn and to enjoy a walk around the land. Quite warm on the veranda where we had lunch and only a skiff of snow on the ground.
Beautiful day spent here with Bill walking all around the land. The trailer that is parked by the Honda is Leonard Jones, Bill’s nephew. He hopes to spend some time camping in this area.
Wednesday, November 17th, 1999
Came up through the fog and light snow to see the Leonid meteor shower with the hope that it would clear by evening. But, instead, we got 5 cm of snow. It did clear a little around 3 am and I saw one meteor which is a pretty “dry” shower.
Thursday
A mild night – only –2C. It cleared up very nicely and was a warm day. Starting to cloud over again at 8pm – hope I have better luck tonight.
December 6, 1999
Checked on the house after hunting season. The front door was open. Put the picnic table across in case it was opened by the wind.