Our wonderful week at The Lodge

Hey everyone,

One week ago, we moved into Donna Mae and Jack's house.

It was a little brutal to leave Barbara, Werner and Rahel at the farmers market and it was not a proper goodbye... But luckily, we will stop by at the end of our second trip in the Rockies.

So, we arrived here at The Lodge and it was completely different from the ranch. There were a BBQ and a pool party with part of the South Sudanese community of Edmonton because Donna Mae works with members of that community. We met a lot of people, Andrew a very nice young sudanese, we played cards with him and also with Doreen and Reeta, the two grand-mothers (95 and 96 years old but totally aware and so young in their heads). That afternoon was a lot to take in, but it showed us who Donna Mae and Jack really are : open, friendly and truly sincere.

At the lodge, we lived in the "greenhouse" (for the administration, it's a greenhouse; in reality it's a small and lovely guest house). Thanks to the huge windows, it's bright and open towards the outside and the yard. We had a roommate while we were here : a cuddly cat named Miko.

In exchange for this luxury, our work was to replace a part of the roof. We spent every morning working on the roof (shingling, going to the dump, cleaning up...)

And the afternoons were quieter : we went to see the grandmas and played cards with them, discovered the family's cabin, explored a huge farm, went to Edmonton, spent 3 hours in the huge big oversized Edmonton mall (previously on of the biggest in the world, with a water park, roller coasters, marine life, ice skating ring...), stayed at home and did nothing (we both needed that), ...

Our time here is coming to an end but we leave with many memories of the beautiful big family, its friends and wonderful home. Having lived all over the world, Jack and Dona Mae are two very interesting, curious and respectful people and we hoped we could have stayed longer. (and beat them again at Quiddler!)

We wish them good luck in their next travel adventures and hope to keep in touch as it was so rewarding to get to know them all !

Today, we begin our second roadtrip. We're heading out to the most famous and popular part of the Rockies... The main goal : see some bears !!! Cheers !