How many days til Christmas?

Friday, October 13, 2017

We woke up to snow, which always makes me think of Christmas!   Thank goodness it wasn’t a heavy snow, and driving wasn’t too treacherous, although we definitely needed to watch the roads.   Despite the snow, we stopped at Pisew Falls, Manitoba’s second largest falls, where the Grass River cascades over the rocks.  It was beautiful, especially with the snow as a backdrop. We arrived before anyone else, and the snow covered walkway provided a beautiful aisle along the trail to the falls.   We could hear the water before we saw it, and then the falls appeared in an opening of the trees!  It was like the excited feeling Christmas morning looking at the gifts under the tree.  What a sight!   Another trail took us to a suspension bridge across the river providing a breathtaking view.  Spot watched over the motorhome and was waiting for us when we returned from our hike.

We stopped in Fairford Manitoba, a very small town with a very small campground along the river where we dry camped again (no power or water).  Our wagonmaster and tailgunner treated us to a delicious dinner of hobo stew (everybody contributes a can of veggies, etc.)  which hit the spot on a chilly evening.

It has been my mission to see the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) since going to Alaska and staying up all night watching the skies, but never seeing the lights. We were hoping to see the lights in Manitoba, as the prediction for the week was for good activity. But darn, it has been cloudy, rainy and overcast all week.  Tonight the sky was clear when we went to bed, and I thought “this might be the night”.  I kept waking up to check, but saw the clouds had drifted in.  Then, about 1:30 am, I peeked out the window and there were vertical lines in the sky!  I jumped out of bed and scared Jim to death whispering loudly “The lights are out…the lights are out!” We went outside and finally saw the Northern Lights across the sky.  I had promised to wake up our buddies Diane and Clayton, so knocked on their rig.  Soon they were out too, and Spot came to join us as we watched the lights streak and pulsate across the sky for about 30 minutes until the clouds moved in once again.  We oohed and aaahed as we watched the lights form and disappear.  This night unwrapped the biggest gift of all…seeing the Northern Lights!!  No pictures to share, but it will always be in my memory.

PS.  72 days til Christmas!