Quilt Shop Travel

As a quilter, my eye is always open for quilts - there’s nothing more exciting than finding ‘new’ quilt shops when we’re on the road.  This trip did not disappoint.

In Sedr0-Wooley, WA, we found a quilt show our first weekend – posted here. 

I had taken this panel along on the trip, in case I found fabrics to coordinate:

I didn’t run across a lot of quilt shops (and didn’t drag Grizz and our friends out of the way to find any), but the two that I visited were enough to keep me satisfied.

In Hill City, SD:

And at Custer, SD:

This little shop was so full, that they used the ceiling to display some of their wares:

Purchases?  Well, a few pieces to use with the panel:

Some spray glue (a great price, especially considering the value of the dollar):

This table-topper pattern:

And at Yellowstone, a wall-hanging pattern – to forever remind me of our trip:

 

And then there were the quilts hanging around that inspired me to keep on quilting.

First in a bookstore in Fairhaven, WA:

And this one at the Lewis and Clark museum in Great Falls, MT:

And the scenery, everywhere we went, made me want to capture the memories in fabric, as well as in photos!

Happy inspiration!         Blessings, Peg

The Final Fling

We’re actually at home, and have been for two days – busy, busy days getting things cleaned up from our trip, and caught up with our world at home, and surprise repairs done on our van…..  But we’re back in routine again.

Now time to share with you our last weekend of vacation.  After three weeks of travel through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, and southern BC – we spent our last weekend away in Osoyoos BC with family.

We’ve had an annual weekend with Grizz’s brother and sister for a few years now – close to home in the Fraser Valley – but this year we went a little farther in hopes that our kids who live in Alberta would be able to join us as well.  DS1 and his lady joined us – as well as our DS2 and DDIL and one nephew.  It was a relaxing time, just sitting around eating and talking and laughing.

We visited a few wineries – taking time out to ‘picnic’ at one of them:

The views across Osoyoos Lake were fabulous day and night:

And we arrived home rested and refreshed!

Happy camping!             Blessings, Peg

A little more walk through history

Here’s some more pics of our stroll through the 1890’s at Fort Steele.
School bus:

House used also as the local post office:

Livery stable – was it really white in 1887?:

Opera house:

Sadie wasn’t sure she wanted to be friends with this calf:

The aroma of fresh-baked Johnny cake wafted from this kitchen:

Wagons rolled through the streets

A typical parlor:

A dining room:

And outside a NWMP officer put the ‘troops’ through their paces:

It was a wonderful day, and we learned more about the beginnings of the wonderful country in which we live.
Happy history lessons!    This morning we're headed west - by Friday we plan to be in Osoyoos for a family weekend.                        Blessings, Peg

Canadian History

After a relatively short drive, and reporting duly to the customs officer at the border, we arrived in the Cranbrook area of south-eastern BC.  We got settled in, ran into Cranbrook to do some errands, popped into the local Alliance church to look up an old friend and then drove up to Kimberley.  Grizz and I have been here a few times, but our friends hadn’t so we wanted to show them this lovely little mountain town.  Unfortunately I didn’t think to take the camera along, but it is thoroughly charming.
Today, we got a little later start and spent a leisurely time at Fort Steele – home of the North West Mounted Police in the late 1880’s, and just chock full of history.
 
From a plaque in the gallery:
In 1886 a Kootenay Indian name Kapula and a partner were jailed at Wild Horse on suspicion of murdering two white miners almost two years before.  Believing them innocent, Chief Isadore forcibly released the men from jail, ordering the local authorities to leave the district and not to return.  Chief Isadore was also hostile to settlers of lands in the area, which had long been used by the Indians.  Prospectors and settlers were disturbed that the Indians were taking the law into their own hands, so requested governmental assistance to stave off potential trouble.

Superintendent ‘Sam’ Steele with 75 non-commisioned officers and men of ‘D’ division arrived at Galbraith’s Ferry to establish on August 1, 1887, the first NorthWest Mounted Police post west of the Rockies.  Upon careful investigation, Steele could find no evidence to hold Kapula and partner, so dismissed the charges.  Moreover, with tact and fairness,   he was able to satisfy the Indians concerning their land problems.  Friendly relations were restored, enabling the force to return to Fort Macleod in August 1888.

I hope you enjoy these pics of our stroll through this wonderful national historic site.
Officer’s quarters:

In contrast with constables’ quarters:

The Clydesdale’s were friendly:

Courthouse:

Stage office:

Blacksmith at work:

Drygoods store:

Bolts of fabric – surely a quilter’s dream:

Dress-making:

Pharmacy:

Print shop:

Bakery:

Schoolhouse:

One of three churches:

More pics in my next post.

Montana

Montana – Big Sky Country – and the birth-place of my grandmother.
First discovery – there are sapphires here:
We could see for miles:

Lewis and Clark searched for the Northwest Passage – we stopped at the museum at Great Falls:

They forded falls like this – over and over again and again:
But were disappointed to discover the Missouri River did NOT flow beyond the 49th parallel, as they had hoped:
We arrived in Kalispell the next day – school records here were used to prove my grandmother’s birthdate as she reached her 65th birthday.  It was great to imagine the family homesteading here.  The plains stretched out before us, but we were in the mountains and there are many reminders of the difficulties they must have encountered in clearing land to be able to farm.  This small herd of mules caught our eye:

and we also imagined animals like this being used to travel and clear land in the early days of this century.
After another relaxing evening and night in a nearby campground, we were headed for Canada.
Happy discoveries!        Blessings, Peg

Starting Homeward

Leaving South Dakota, our plan was to try to see more of Montana on our way homeward.  But we had a ways to go, and things to see in between.
First stop – Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming:
Legend has it that the striations in the rock were made by a giant bear chasing Indian maidens.
Then we headed for Cody – home of Buffalo Bill.  First we had to get over a mountain pass – roads not as steep as those we drove on our trip to Bella Coola a couple of years ago, but slow-going none-the-less.  And the snow – as high as our trailer in some spots:
Hard to believe it’s June.
Grizz and I had been to Cody a number of years ago, and were completely charmed, so looking forward to another old western town.  We were disappointed to find it highly commercialized now.
Many of the old buildings are still there, but not the walk back in history that we were anticipating.  We did stop at the Irma (Buffalo Bill’s hotel) for a coffee – and admired the Cherrywood bar, original to the site:

With enough day left on our hands, we decided to look for a campground a little further on the road – and discovered Red Lodge:
Where even the garbage cans reflect the flavor of the area:
And the Sundance Kid tried to rob this bank in 1897:
Happy Wild, Wild West!       Blessings, Peg