... try and find us

On our way to Eiffel Lake Ahh, the mountains.  Autumn is one of the best times to go for a hike in the Rockies - for a number of reasons. The snow has had a chance to completely melt from the trails and wooded areas.  As the heat of summer has already begun to fade, there will likely be a dusting of snow on peaks to emphasize their majesty. The leaves (and needles, in some cases) have begun to transition from green to yellow, orange or red and are, arguably, at the height of their beauty. Water in the streams and rivers is down to a trickle, making it very easy to cross them. The likelihood of rain is much lower. The tourists have come, taken their selfies, been herded back onto their tour buses and returned to their respective homelands, leaving the trails much less crowded. Being here is good for our souls.  This will be our last Canadian hike of the year ... and we couldn't have picked a better day for it. Departing from Calgary at a sensible 9 am, we met Gord Gil

"Sean? Dad passed away last night." I was on Popeye, anchored in Donald Duck Bay in the Similan Islands of Thailand when I got this call.  It was sunny and mild in January in the tropics, but in the dead of winter in Calgary. Dad had been in the grip of Frontal Temporal Dementia for at least four years.  His cantankerous ways had made the disease hard to diagnose.  He had moved from the home he shared with Mom (she just couldn't cope or compensate for him any more without exhausting herself) to an Elderly Care facility to a Memory Care facility.  Before I left on my epic sailing adventure, I had gone to say farewell to Harry, as it was possible that I wouldn't see him again. Sure enough, the call came.  Jeff had been called by the nursing staff and was there when Dad let go of his body and his failing, disease-ravaged mind. What to do?  Fly home from Thailand?  No, I had planned for this by having careful chats with my brother, mom and Dad's remaining rela