June 26th - Moms perspective

Monday, June 26

I knew I was enjoying being an “arm-chair” parent since May 4th, 2017 when Katie and Jewel started on their journey across Canada, but I didn’t realize exactly how enjoyable it was until John and I spent a week with the girls and Joseph!

We are not seasoned campers, and John has never slept in a tent in his 56 years. So I was excited to share this event with him and 3 of our kids. We also had our 2 foster dogs with us just to add to the chaos and hairiness and stinkyness of the usual camping experience.

All went well that first night, and in the morning as well, too well haha! Everyone received a smoothie upon waking (I travel with my Vitamix whenever and wherever possible) and of course we all enjoyed our coffee with Silk (non dairy creamer). Not too sure how the other campers liked hearing a blender run in the morning, but everyone around us was in trailers so the noise was buffered.

I was excited to walk with the girls and their horses, as well I would walk with Kazi and Dori, at least part of the way as 30km is too far for a 5 month old pup. John and Joseph would pack up the campsite then meet with us around lunch time, Jewel would text him our location so he could find us.

The walk was breathtaking! It was a perfect summer day, the roads were rural and quiet and the horses in pastures were excited to see us and pranced gracefully at our passing. We had an opportunity to catch up on Grimsby gossip and the challenges and rewards of the last few months travelling. I can’t describe how happy a day it was, I knew it would be fleeting, as everything in life is, I just wanted to take in every moment, and even still the moments flew by…time has no respect for wishing it to slow down…

We needed to stop somewhere for lunch and found this spot where the horses could eat grass, we could sit in some shade and John and Joseph could find us (hopefully)…

They DID find us and delivered the most delicious subs! Apparently John was “lost” didn’t know where he was etc. but how can you be lost when you are with your family…and have a GPS?

We still had a long way to go, so the dogs went to the new campsite with the guys. My feet were sore so after a little encouragement Jewel helped me up on Ora…whew, what a relief to my feet, but quickly I could feel my legs and butt getting sore! Jewel uses a bareback saddle so there are no stirrups to “rest” your feet, and when we trotted your leg muscles get a workout! Thank goodness for my yoga practice which definitely saved me from falling off! It was a totally different sensation and perspective being on Ora…but it was as demanding as walking. Still, I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire day! We continued to Fleur @ Miel, a farm where I bought some honey and beeswax candles. Sandra also had Llamas which she sold their wool for income during the winter months.

I was exhausted after the long day, and basically sat and watched the girls as they tended to Lux and Ora…taking care of all their gear, their feet, making sure they had water and food and were safe for the night. John met us to take us to the campsite where Joseph was making dinner! It was an early night, and we slept with one daughter and dog all together while the other daughter and dog were in a small tent and Joseph had his own sleeping tent.

Then the rain came…and barely stopped for the next 5 days….