Oct 1: Santa Barbara CA

Last night when it got dark I decided to watch some YouTube on my phone and spent an enjoyable couple of hours watching some British game shows and my favorite comedian,  Dave Allen.

Woke up this morning to rain in Sacramento but I'll bet there's NO rain anywhere near home!

Little excitement.   We were stopped 3 miles outside of Salinas until the bomb squad could clear a suspicious package on the platform.  We were held up about an hour and never heard the resolution. 

And, home sweet home. 🎈🎈

Just south of Davis CA, through the window, at 80 mph

Jack London Square in Oakland.  

Heading toward Watsonville 

Elkhorn Slough Preserve

Sept 30: Klamath Falls OR

I woke up this morning to the Columbia River right beside me.   So nice to just look out the window at the beautiful scenery.

The train was two hours late leaving Shelby and got to Portland about an hour and a half late.   So I still had about 3 hours in Portland to kill.   It's a beautiful day but somewhat cooler than yesterday.

There were 4 policemen and a dog walking around the Portland station,  sometimes separately and sometimes in twos.   Seemed to be looking for somebody but I never saw any resolution.

The Coast Starlight was on time.   If all goes as planned should be in Santa Barbara at 6 pm tomorrow.

The Columbia River just after sunrise

Love this building in Portland

The Columbia River as we're leaving Portland

Somewhere in Oregon

Sept 29: Shelby MT

We were off this morning to see Fort Whoop-Up even though we knew it wouldn't be open today.   We still got to see a bit of it as well as Indian Battle Park and a close up view of the trestle bridge.

Lovely and warm again today,  in the low 70's.  Just waiting now for the train to arrive from Chicago.  Tomorrow morning it's Portland Oregon. 

Nestled inside Indian Battle Park where it feels very far away from civilization. 

Part of the wall which surrounds Fort Whoop-Up.

Couldn't resist another stop at Milk River after checking out the Duty Free Shop.

Sept 28: Lethbridge

Up at 5:30 this morning to go with John into Calgary for some eye tests.  Pretty cool outside, the car was covered with frost.  The tests only took 45 minutes but we then walked for 4 hours for the eye drops to wear off!

Unfortunately the clouds came in last night so didn't get to see any of the eclipse.  Still,  got to see many photos online and on TV so that had to do.

Then we were off to Lethbridge for the night.  The weather changed drastically and by 10am coats came off and stayed off all day.   Beautiful day! 

The Chinook Centre, a massive indoor shopping mall which takes up about 3 city blocks. 

One of the many interesting products sold at The Spy Store.

How cool is this?   Up to six people can have their phones charging.   Your credit card locks and unlocks the drawer your phone is in, but it's FREE!

A pub across the street with an excellent menu and where we had dinner. 

Sept 27: High River

First thing this morning we had a lovely visit with my niece Jennifer,  her husband Tony and their children,  Jordan, Haley and Kayla.

We had a lovely drive back, taking a different route.

Club house at Northern Bear Golf Course

Northern Bear Golf Course, a course designed by Jack Nicklaus. 

A great spot for lunch

You bet!

Sept 26: Fort Saskatchewan

Today was a traveling day and we spent most of the day on the road.  We made several stops along the way and we chose the road less traveled so it was a lovely drive through miles of farmland; most of the time with blue skies and sunshine. 

Taken from the back seat of the car at 100 kmh, you can see part of a rainbow way off in the distance. 

We were headed directly for the rain ahead,  went through it for several minutes, then blue skies and sunshine once again.  

Sept 25: High River

John had to work this morning from 5 am to 1:30 so I was supposed to sleep in but,  of course, that didn't happen.   Still I had a lazy morning until 9 when I went for breakfast.

The weather was perfect,  warm with a slight breeze.  I went for a nice long walk and did my step count proud. 

We decided to veg out this afternoon and just take it easy;  laundry and TV.

Tonight they had Night Glow with the balloons in the field lighting up intermittently.   Beautiful.

Tomorrow morning we head north toward Edmonton.

Yah, I  found the Legion!  Brings back many memories. 

One of the trucks in the parking lot belonging to a balloon team.

I also found the RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police Headquarters.

Couldn't resist this photo of a veterinary clinic when I saw the staff working with a horse out back.