Tuesday to Thursday, May 29 to 31, 2018 (Cochrane Lake, Cochrane, AB)

Hard to believe but the weather forecast for a big change was correct...after temperatures close to 30C/86F yesterday, it was cold, cloudy and rainy today and 4C/39F for most of the day! Brrr! Back to jeans and coats!

Of course Steve woke up this morning with the trailer jacks on his mind...it was something that had to be resolved before we could really enjoy our visit with Ken and Charlene. After coffee and a bite to eat, he and Ken headed out to see a fellow Ken knows and deals with.
But before leaving and now rested after our long drive yesterday, Steve thought he'd take another look for himself...checking below the drive motor, sure enough his hunch had been correct...the shear bolt had broken off. The one on the other end of the drive shaft had broken off before but never this one. So, having an extra bolt for the slide room drive shaft he was able to fix it himself! But of course it was too long, hitting the motor above so he had to hacksaw the bolt snug with the nut and it was still hitting the motor. Ken got his grinder and Steve managed to grind enough off the nut to clear the motor. After the job was done, they came back into the house happy that it was all fixed..time to play!

By mid morning we were all ready to head out for some sightseeing. Ken and Charlene are taking us for a drive to Kananaskis....Kananaskis Country is a park system situated to the west of Calgary, Alberta, Canada in the foothills and front ranges of the Canadian Rockies.

Our first wildlife sighting...there were many deer feeding as we toured the campground...

After checking out some of the campgrounds in the area, we stopped for a short hike at North Interlakes...

Absolutely beautiful...just too bad it wasn't sunny out. Many of the lakes that feed the Bow River that runs through Calgary have their levels deliberately dropped to prevent another catastrophic flood event that happened in 2013.

The ice hasn't been off the lakes that long and there is still snow around...

There were a few of these little guys running around the rocks...

My fear of heights began to kick in at this point...

Not a big fan of the narrow trail with a steep drop-off....

The lake trail we just hiked is on the left...

Then we took the 64 km gravel road through some beautiful country to Canmore. We spotted this healthy looking coyote...

He ran with us for a few hundred yards then stopped as he spotted a meal below...

We were on the hunt for some more wildlife sightings...and finally, we spotted these Big Horn Sheep relaxing on the cliff ...can you see them?

There they are...they blend very well into their surroundings...

There appears to be a tunnel in the mountain that feeds this canal from the lake...

It continues...

...to this reservoir...

...that continues towards that tower on the right...

...to that white pipe that feeds the canal to Canmore in the distance. There is also a waterfall on the hillside that appeared to be an overflow to the canal...

We stopped at The Drake Pub for a late lunch...it was just so, so. The waitress said to make a funny face, but apparently everyone didn't want to play that game!

We were back home late afternoon...a great day seeing some absolutely beautiful country!

Wednesday morning Ken had a chore to do, (wash the mud off the car from yesterday) so dropped us off at a local coffee house in Cochrane to meet fellow RVillage'ers, Claude and Theresa. They are from Chilliwack, BC and started full timing last year and have been following our blog for 4 years...cool! Claude contacted us as they are also heading east and were staying at the Bows River Edge Campground in Cochrane. We talked for about an hour before Ken joined us.

I'm sure we could have talked for many more hours and hopefully our paths will cross again as we both head east...it was great to meet you both! We headed back home to pick up Charlene...she had a couple of appointments in Cochrane. She dropped us off so we could walk some of the Riverfront Park walkway...along the Bow River...

The Bow Rivers Edge Campground ahead on the left and a new subdivision on the right...

We took a walk through...

A very nice looking campground! Then we continued next door to the huge sports complex...Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, which had recently been expanded. It has everything imaginable inside! That's where Charlene picked us up...and then dropped us off at the Half Hitch Brewing Company for a beer while she went to another appointment. The pub is relatively new to the area and Ken and Charlene had never been. Their brew was great...but expensive at $8.33 plus tax for a pint.

After her appointment, Charlene joined us...

Too funny....Farmer's Daughter is one of their beers...it was very good...

Back home, Ken and Charlene started preparing dinner...

Zoey, their Beagle, is the newest addition to their family...almost a year old and very active. Giving me some loving...

She hast two things on her mind, food and chewing anything left around...

Thursday was another cloudy, drizzly day. Ken, Steve and I took the dogs (Allie and Zoey) out for a walk around the 'Monterra on Cochrane Lakes' development...an area of new, huge homes...

Cochrane Lake in the distance...

Of course, it started raining while we were out...and by the time we got home, we were wet!

After some relaxing time at home, we all headed into Cochrane for a little shopping...I picked up a pair of jeans at Warehouse One...and then we stopped for a beer at the Texas Gate Bar and Grill (what else is there to do on a cool, cloudy, rainy day? LOL)

Back home we relaxed and visited more until it was time to get cleaned up and head back into Cochrane for dinner. Ken and Charlene took us to their favourite Italian restaurant, The Boot...where we enjoyed an absolutely excellent dinner! No pictures, though...oops!

We didn't seem to take many pictures while at Ken and Charlene's house on Cochrane Lake, so here are a couple of pictures from 2016...they have a lovely deck!

That ends a wonderful few days of visiting with some long time friends! Always good seeing you both and spending time with you! Tomorrow, we head north up to Wabamun Lake where we'll get together with more friends, Dave and Leslie at their RV lot...as we make slow progress east visiting friends and family along the way.