We've been busy!

Hence why the three day hiatus from writing blog posts!

Tuesday and Wednesday were Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, so we had a lot of work to do with our facebook group telling them about all the deals. And in between the deals, I was busy trying to install Igor's new furnace!

Weird clouds in the sky!

We stayed in the campground until mid afternoon. I did a couple of minor projects on Igor, while Ruth was labeling some photos. 

It was pretty chilly overnight! We tried out the old electric heater, but while it does work, it's not putting out nearly the amount of heat that a 1500 watt heater should. 

One thing we can say about the Airstream B190... there is lots of interior cupboard space!

We've got a list of minor things we want to get done to Igor this week, as well as the two major items... the new furnace, and the new refrigerator.

Most of the minor things aren't super important and we would normally just putter away at them while on our way south. However friends Bjorn and Freya arrive in Canada on the 18th, and it is them who are taking Igor south. So we would like to get as many of them done as possible before they get here.

Our most expensive campground ever!

We didn't want to overstay our welcome in the overflow parking lot at my mother's building here in Ottawa. And although it wasn't ideal, it was okay for a couple of nights.

So, what were our options? 

In for a penny, in for a pound

This is a phrase used to express someone's intention to see an undertaking through, however much time, effort, or money this entails

And that's the way we're starting to feel about Igor!

We made the decision yesterday to order yet another fancy expensive item to make our lives better.

Another project for Igor

Last night I posted our September expenses report. And I mentioned that didn't include the mechanical repairs we had done to Igor since they will go into our capital expenses which include the cost of the vehicle itself. So I wanted to tell that part of the story.

As well... we just ordered a fancy new furnace for Igor... more money!

September Expenses

We started the month of September in Nova Scotia, and ended up back in Ontario, but we were also in New Brunswick, Quebec, and Alberta! Five of Canada's provinces in one month!

We had a planned total budget of $2,396 CAD ($1.776 USD). 

A beautiful day playing tourist in our hometown

Although we've been back to our hometown area of Canada's capital city of Ottawa many times in the last five years, we can't remember the last time we actually went downtown. So with Igor tied up at the mechanical shop, we decided to head to the center of the city and see the typical tourist sites.

And, the last day of September was a gorgeous fall day.

Arrived back in Ottawa

And today is the last day of the month. October the 1st, tomorrow, was when we were supposed to be starting our one month house sit out in Manotick (a small community just south of Ottawa). Our hosts had to cancel sort of last minute because the husband is having some health problems. 

We understand that kind of thing can happen, and we're flexible. It does present some issues, but nothing we can't deal with.

Last day in Alberta

Sunday morning in Cochrane, Alberta as I write this, and this afternoon we will be flying back to Ottawa to arrive back at Igor where he is waiting at the mechanical shop parking lot.

Unfortunately, he is not quite ready for us!

More views of the Canadian Rocky Mountains

Yes, we were out hiking again yesterday. Besides seeing my sister, this was the main reason for coming. And of course the cheap airfare deal from Ottawa to Calgary return helped as well! We paid only $188 CAD ($139 USD) return per person for the flights.

And that included free beer and wine! Hard to go wrong at that price.

Almost a slot canyon hike... and a cave!

My sister Alison is a zumba instructor, and teaches a class on Thursday before noon. Ruth went with her to the class, so we didn't set off on a hike until after lunch.

Of course there are a ton of different hikes in the mountains near Cochrane, the only drawback is the minimum 45 minute drive to get to them. And of course there are many more (some very spectacular) within a two hour drive.

Gorgeous day hike above Barrier Lake

Wednesday was an absolutely beautiful day here in central Alberta, although they were calling for some strong winds in the mountains. We had been planning a ridge hike, but with the strong winds we changed our plans and instead hiked up the Prairie View Lookoff Trail to Yates Mountain and up to the Barrier Lake Fire Lookout.

We arrived at the trailhead at 10:00am

If I had to do it all over again, I would become a helicopter pilot!

We had decided to put off the more strenuous hikes for a day and so my sister Alison had planned us an easy walking route around the town of Cochrane.

Cochrane is one of the fastest growing towns in Canada with a current population of around 37,000. For perspective, twenty years ago it was only 14,000.

Arrived in Calgary

We dropped off Igor at a mechanic shop yesterday after lunch. He runs well, but idles a little rough on start up. Also, there is an odd chugging sound in between some gear shifts (and it's intermittent, to make diagnosis all the more difficult) but two different mechanics have said they think it's a misfire.

I had a quick look at the spark plugs, and they honestly look like they've never been changed.