Monday, Sept. 23 - Another week has gone by. So quickly! Now we're in Great Falls, Montana, on the last leg of this crazy journey. Summary: starting last November, 4 months on the road across the southern U.S. and up the West Coast to Pender Island; fly home; stay there for 4 months; train back to Vancouver; three days on Pender; r.v to Whitehorse and back to Edmonton; drive with the Marshalls back to Vancouver; cruise to Alaska; back to Vancouver; two days there, then drive back to Edmonton with the Marshalls; impose on them for 4 more days, then a day with friends the Dunns in Strathmore; and now on the road, heading for Utah, Colorado, and across the central U.S to home. Target: be back by October 15th.

We have to note a big thank you to Ken and Connie Marshall, who are a large part of why this venture is working. They couldn't have been more hospitable and kind while we were together, on the road, on the ship and at their home. They were no doubt glad to see the end of us; but will hopefully get even by returning to Ontario for an extended stay with us in future. We were also very happy to get to spend time with Kiera, their grand-daughter, and her parents Ashlea and Colin.

While in Vancouver, we also had another nice visit with Gail's sister Diane and her husband Dan, who always look after us so well. It was also great to have another visit with their daughter Shannon and her partner Stephen, who are expecting a child in January. They are quite excited about this change their life is about to take, which was great to see.

In Edmonton, we had a chance to visit with my cousins again, enjoying a breakfast with Terry and Mo, Wendy and Jo. It's always good to see them, to get updated on the various members of this large extended family, and especially to see Terry in such great health, not looking anything like the age she claims to be. We also had a nice dinner with old high school friends at the Jobson's, and again now feel up to date after all of the conversation of the evening. And finally, we had a lovely time visiting Rick and Diane Dunn at their home in Strathmore, just outside of Calgary. Rick and I solved many of the worlds' problems by agreeing on one thing: you can't believe anything you hear anymore, so let the chips fall where they may.

I mention these visits as a way of expressing thanks to all, and to also note how lucky Gail and I feel to have friends and family across Canada. We are truly fortunate, and treasure these relationships above any material possessions we have or could think of having.

For the past two days we have been driving across the prairies of Alberta and Montana. Having grown up in Alberta, we both have a deep-seated love of the wide open spaces out here, of the often rolling landscape (not nearly so flat as easterners visualize the prairies to be), the mountains that border Alberta, the golden and green fields, especially at this harvest time; the coulees that dip down to the stream beds that created them; the big sky with fascinating cloud formations when not totally a clear blue; the occasional old traditional grain elevators that still exist in some of the small towns that are linked along the rail lines; the farm homes and outbuildings protected by a surround of trees and hedges, wide open fields all around them; the small towns that are fighting to stay alive, populated now by retirees and the faithful few who don't want to leave; the bustling larger centers that have taken over from the small towns responsibility for supplies, equipment, medical care, personal services and entertainment.

Alberta has a proud history, but it is clearly hurting these days. The slump in the oil industry (barrel prices and pipelines) have put a dent in the economy that we Easterners really don't appreciate. We tend to think it's just spoiled Albertans crying the blues because things are a little tougher than usual. They still have no sales tax, after all, so how can it be so bad? But there are businesses struggling to keep afloat, and people looking for work who are having trouble keeping their homes afloat. No answers offered from this quarter...just a soft appeal to be aware that things are difficult here. Jason Kenney isn't the answer, although he thinks he is. Who knows where all of this will go? But the locals claim to a strong degree that the pipeline is badly needed to move the product to market, and until that happens, times will be tough. Enough said about that!

We have confirmed our plan to head for Utah, with hopes that we can visit some of the great scenic areas in the central and eastern parts of the state, particularly Arches National Park. We'll then head into Colorado for our first visit there

, to do some exploring before heading towards Kansas City, where we have also never been. Then on to St. Louis and beyond to finally get home by mid-October. A lot of country to cover in three weeks. We'll see how it goes.

That's enough for now. Will try to be more regular now that we're back on the road. Stay tuned. More later.