Tuesday, May 10, 2011

A Day in Lethbridge

We were credited by our Canadian neighbors in the RV park with bringing nice weather with us. It was simply beautiful today, in the mid-60’s, sunny and no wind.

Don and I took a drive, first to get US cash changed into Canadian and to wash the car. Then we picked up a few groceries at Safeway. We were immediately challenged by something we’ve never encountered before. The shopping carts were all locked together.

IMAG0198

IMAG0199

We tried putting a quarter in the slot above the chain, but it didn’t work. How does this work? I guess you have to be Canadian…We used a couple of hand-held baskets instead, and then forgot to ask anyone how to get a cart next time. So maybe some of my Canadian blog readers can advise?

It was enjoyable to do the Scenic Drive, stopping at a few places. The dog park is a huge part of Botterill Bottom Park. I barely caught some dogs and owners on a path in the distance with a zoom on my camera. If we took Shadow here, I doubt that he’d know what to do, since he’s so rarely off leash, and even then he stays near us.

DSCN5628

This interesting building is part of the University of Lethbridge, on the other side of the Oldman River.

DSCN5621

Here’s part of the High Level Bridge, visible from our Bridgeview RV Park. It was built in 1907-1909 and cost over $1.3 million (Canadian dollars). It greatly reduced the steep grades of original railroad tracks in the area and saved over 5 miles of track.

DSCN5617-1

The following pics are from Henderson Lake.

DSCN5631

DSCN5633

DSCN5638

DSCN5632

DSCN5634

The Nikka Yuko Centennial Garden is called “one of the most outstanding Japanese-style gardens outside of Japan.”

DSCN5640

After returning to the RV park, Dennis climbed on our roof to examine the CB antenna. When transmitting, Larry was having trouble hearing us. It turned out the problem was a spring relief on the antenna. Removing it eliminated the problem. We’ll try to find a replacement soon, but we can still use the antenna as long as we don’t drive under any low-hanging branches.

IMAG0200

Another problem, not so easy to resolve, is that Don’s computer failed to recognize the hard drive and wouldn’t boot up. Larry helped him open the back to remove and re-install the hard drive, but it still didn’t work. Meanwhile, he’s using the small Acer notepad computer, but it’s very slow online and limited in capabilities.

We enjoyed the beautiful weather sitting outside Dennis & Carol’s motorhome for happy hour. Shadow watched while Don went back to our rig for a few things. Notice Dennis’ little green man standing as a reminder to go Slow!

IMAG0202

For dinner, we visited Mojo’s Pub & Grill. You can probably tell we all enjoyed the food.

IMAG0206

Tomorrow, we have about 350 miles to drive to Alberta Beach Golf Resort near Edmonton. We decided to pass through Calgary this time; maybe we’ll stop there on the way back.

5 comments:

  1. Not sure why a quarter wouldn't have worked in one of those shopping carts. Just keep trying different coins. Most likely you need a One Dollar coin (a Loonie) Not sure.
    Having shopping carts chained together is pretty much the only way you'll see them here in Europe. It's not as common in Canada, but some stores do use this system. It's an incentive for folks to return their flippin' carts. Keeps them out of the way, and there's never any need for an employee to go out and round up all the shopping carts.
    I keep a separate €,50 piece in one pocket all by its lonesome, just so I have it.
    I kind of like the idea that an errant shopping cart isn't going to bump into the side of my car! So as annoying as it can be at first, there are most definitely benefits.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sharon...to use the shopping cart, you need to insert a loonie ($1 coin), then push it in with the key. When you're done shopping, insert the key from the cart in front of yours to get your coin returned. You'll find that here in Whitehorse, too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maybe you were using an American Quarter? That won't work, has to be a Canadian quarter. We found that out at Von's in Desert Hot Springs. They use locking carts and Canadian quarters didn't work, only US.

    Nice tour and pics of Lethbridge. You seem to be getting nice weather too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for your comments, Bob, IdahoRV and Rick & Paulette. We did us a Canadian quarter, but maybe it requires a loonie. We'll try harder next time.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for the info on the carts! I don't think I would have figured that out. You may have saved us from buying only as much as we could carry at one time!

    ReplyDelete

Please tell me what you think, either here, on Facebook, or by email. I *love* comments!