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2025 Avant Retirees Canada

July – August 2025
  • JudyfromMoody
Current
A 20-day adventure by JudyfromMoody Read more
  • JudyfromMoody
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  • Canada Canada
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Camping, Couple, Vacation
  • 6.0kmiles traveled
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  • 15footprints
  • 17days
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  • JudyfromMoodyTraveler2025 Avant Retirees Canada

    Bike riding Vail Pass

    Yesterday in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 50 °F

    Glenn put the 2 bicycles in David Craycraft’s pick-up truck and we headed up to the pass. There was new construction of the Rest area there.

    I thoroughly loved riding my bike downhill. Glenn said later “do you think we are getting too old for this?” My reply, absolutely Not!

    After bicycling down to the Lazy Bear Lodge, we got in the RV and drove back up to the pass to get David’s truck. We put the gear away and loaded up the RV.

    We pulled into the Walmart parking lot so Glenn could take a zoom call with Bob and Q about the upcoming trip to Guatemala.

    We continued west towards Hesston Ks. We spent the night at Virginia’s. And we got to see Evie!

    On our way out, connected ever so briefly with Ruth snd Bob Nash and their grandchildren in Wichita Kansas.    Read more

  • JudyfromMoodyTraveler2025 Avant Retirees Canada
    1

    Mount Rushmore

    July 29 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Breathtaking. Check this off my bucket list!

    Drive thru 3 narrow tunnels on Needles hiway. Clouds rolled in.

    Picnic inside the RV with Mark and Carol.

    We made a quick last minute decision to drive directly to Frisco, Colorado and spend Wednesday riding down Vail pass on our bicycles and then continue on to Kansas and Oklahoma. And TEXAS

    As we were driving south on I 25, we called up Joseph and Patrice to meet us at Cracker Barrel for coffee. We’ve known the Villegas since our days at GPBC in the 80’s.

    Next stop Lazy Bear Lodge in Frisco, Colorado. We have several bicycles in David and Jan’s garage that we like to ride down the mountain!    Read more

  • JudyfromMoodyTraveler2025 Avant Retirees Canada

    Prairie and Teddy Roosevelt Park

    July 28 in the United States ⋅ 🌧 64 °F

    Sunday morning we woke up and started our long long road trip home. We stopped in Davidson for a coffee break at Tim Hortons. This town had a huge coffee mug and cup.

    We continued on to Regina to visit Shirley B. however she wasn’t home. We did leave a note on her apartment door. Then one last stop at DollarRama. It’s the Canadian version of DollarTree.

    It was just straight two lane road to the Canadian/USA border. Then straight to Williston. We stayed at A Candle in the window folks in Williston, ND

    North Dakota is under-rated. It was beautiful.

    Monday, we left in pouring rain. We drove thru the Teddy Roosevelt national park. We saw bison, buffaloes and wild turkeys.

    Again, driving dew south on 2 lane roads. We stopped at a small town for a picnic in the park. We watched the machine work in the fields to make bales of hay.

    Then a very scenic ride through Spearfish, Deadwood, Leads and Sturgis South Dakota.

    Mark and Carol Kohl were our host in Box Elder. I’ve known Carol since Moody days.

    We found 2 letterboxes on our drive on Monday.    Read more

  • JudyfromMoodyTraveler2025 Avant Retirees Canada

    Happy 70 bday Glenn

    July 26 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 73 °F

    Glenn turns 70. He went to a men’s breakfast at a local church with Jake. Then Jake drove thru the back country roads. I slept in and then caught up on some computer work.

    Dorothy served us a delicious Canadian ham sandwich for lunch. We all took a nap. That’s 3 days in a
    Row. Naps.

    Dorothy and Jake treated Glenn for his birthday at The Berry Farm. Beautiful flowers. Restaurant and plant stores full of hanging baskets of fern and flowers. We had purogy for supper. It was like a gloried dumpling with cottage cheese filling and top with gravy.

    We stopped by Karla’s place and visited with her and the children. Karla is about 5 years older than Ellen. It was great to see Karla and hear about her journey.

    Our stop at the Fehr’s place was relaxing and rejuvenating. So glad we came all the way here and to see the Avant folks especially meeting Betty who just turned 101.

    Happy birthday Glenn. 70 years old    Read more

  • JudyfromMoodyTraveler2025 Avant Retirees Canada

    Meeting Betty 101 years

    July 25 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Dorothy and I woke up early to do our normal Friday morning Bolivian ladies Zoom call. Only Virginia shied up. Linda was at Jenise’s place and Beverly was working.

    After our zoom call, we headed to A&W to meet up with Jean Barsness who served with GMU back in the day, was a GMU board member and taught many years at Briarcrest. She’s a legend in the missionary community. She spoke of revising a book she write many years ago. You can just feel the passion she has for the lost. Jean’s son and daughter-in-law from Frontier, SK were in town and joined us for the coffee time.

    The conversation around the cup of coffee was uplifting and encouraging. Jake and Dorothy reconnected and loved sharing the moment with her.

    We then drove through town, stopping for popcorn and icecream near the fancy hotel.

    Afternoon was filled with a nap then back out again, this time to visit with Betty Friesen. The oldest living avant missionary. 101 years old. Betty and her family served in Mali for around 50 years. She looked great. Spoke slowly and had a sense of humor.

    Her daughter and Son-in law in law lives a few blocks away and enjoyed our visit. After a sunny 1/2 hour afternoon visit outside, Harv and Karon Matias guided us through the unique senior citizen home where Betty lives. I handed Betty a gift bag and sent greetings from the home office and expressed our appreciation for the many years of service.

    After singing the benediction together

    Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
    Praise Him, all creatures Here below;
    Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
    Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
    Amen

    Betty belted out a wonderful prayer for us all. I am blessed to have met Betty. She is a senior Saint and loved child of God. Thank you Betty for your years of serving overseas and being a light in the darkness.

    For dinner, we celebrated at Olive Garden. Soup and salad. Glenn was given a complimentary cheese cake for his birthday. Then we stopped at Twin Peaks Creamery for some homemade ice cream and a game of corn hole. Such fun. Weather was nice.    Read more

  • JudyfromMoodyTraveler2025 Avant Retirees Canada

    Visiting the Jake & Dorothy

    July 24 in Canada ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    We got a little more organized and then headed to Jake and Dorothy’s place just north of Saskatoon Saskatchewan. But first we needed to get the RV WASHED.

    We pulled into an automatic location, but the employee said we needed to go 10 blocks down the road to a hand held wash location. 12.00 dollars later, the RV was sparkling clean -at least on the outside.

    We were warmly greeted by Jake and Dorothy. They gave a cute 2 bedroom townhouse with nice sunroom and garden. We showed them our house (RV) first then they showed us their home. Dorothy made a nice lunch. We all took a good afternoon nap, then headed to Kelly’s grave site.

    We have known the Fehr’s since our first term in Bolivia in 1986. Karen and Kelly were class mates. Their 2 older girls, Karla and Kendra were several years older than Ellen.

    Jake drove us through the old country roads explaining where aunts, uncles, cousins and other family members lived and worked on the farm. Next stop Bergthal Mennonite cemetery.

    We spent some time at Kelly’s grave site. Kelly was electrocuted back in 2002 when he was only 18 and fixing to graduate from High school. Karen had just arrived from Texas to visit with her classmates from HS when the tragic event happened.

    We prayed. We cried. We remembered Kelly. Still in our hearts and minds as an 18 year old although he would have been 41 today.

    We continued through the county side - stopping for delicious homemade cinnamon rolls. We returned to have Jake cook out on his bar-b-que pit.

    Nice day to be with my friend Dorothy.    Read more

  • JudyfromMoodyTraveler2025 Avant Retirees Canada

    Largest Mall & Egg

    July 23 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Today we left our Candle in the Window place by 7am. Filled up at Flying J.

    And literally as we were driving we made an impulse decision to explore the West Edmonton Mall, one of the largest mall in North America complete with indoor amusement park, theatres, ice rink, indoor swim park and hundreds of stores. We roamed.

    We arrived before the stores opened and watch hockey practice while having coffee and donuts from Tim Hortons of course.

    We leisurely walked the entire mall, only one level switching levels occasionally. We walked through the food court, watched children play and listened to multiple languages.

    Fun place to explore. Yes, I got my steps in.

    Edmonton would be our farthest point on our travels. Now to head east towards Saskatoon Saskatchewan. We’ve driven over 5,000 miles.

    We stopped in Vergeville, Alberta to have a picnic lunch and view the large Ukrainian egg. It is approximately 25 feet by 18 feet. Beautiful design. We even fit d a letterbox behind the CN train. This was a great road stop for sure.

    As we drove towards Saskatoon we made several phone calls to pass the time away. Kathy orcutt and also David and Jan Craycraft who were also on the road heading to KC and Ohio. The road was straight and long.    Read more

  • JudyfromMoodyTraveler2025 Avant Retirees Canada

    RV there yet?

    July 21 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Monday, we left our Candle in the Window location and headed to a Dodge dealership. To have the breaks checked on. We were directed to another dealership who was able to help us.

    So I sat in waiting room, got caught up on my emails and texts messages. We then took a courtesy ride to a local mall. Nice place. We got our steps in. I found a bath and Body Works store that still had the 75% off. And with the exchange rate, I hit the jackpot.

    We had pizza at Boston Pizza and we watched an episode of Ryan’s 50 states in 50 days. We got back to the dealership and continued on our journey to Okotoks where the Clements live.

    It was raining most of the day. Cold and chilly! We decided to eat dinner (cabbage roll) and then take Don and Jan out for breakfast the next morning. We enjoyed our talk around the table and reconnected on mutual friends. We slept in the basement room. Nice and excellent.

    Tuesday morning we headed to Saskatoon Farms for breakfast, nice omelette that we shared.

    Then a drive to Three Hills, famous for Prairie Bible Institute where Virginia Swartzendruber attended. We called and talked to her while sitting in the parking lot.

    The yellow fields are Canola. It will be harvested in several weeks to make canola oil.

    We had a picnic lunch inside of the RV (cause it was raining). Then to Red Deer- another Candle in the Window place. Nice family. We had cabbage roll {Again}.

    After supper we joined the family in dining through a chorus book. The BMA (Bible Memory Association-Making Melodies songbook. I shared about my camping experience in Louisiana. Small world Big family!

    We stayed in the private basement room. The only drawback, the bathroom was upstairs. So at 10pm, midnight and 7am Glenn walked me upstairs to potty. No complaints. Glad for a nice bed and new friends.    Read more

  • JudyfromMoodyTraveler2025 Avant Retirees Canada
    1

    Waterfalls, Biker, Lake Louise & Banff

    July 20 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    We slept in the RV snd didn’t even use the showers or toilet at the camp because we didn’t want to have the army of mesquites inside the van if we got out to use the facilities.

    It was overcast when we drove back into Golden. Next stop Tim Hortons for coffee (clink) and to refresh.

    We pulled off the side of the road and watched 50 states in 50 Days video series and to see if the weather would clear up. Kinda.

    It kinda cleared up, then we continued on. We drove off the road and started on a long muddy hike path to some waterfalls. Only made it 1/2 way until we realized the path was getting worse so decided to scrub that adventure. We continued down to Field to Emerald lake. Beautiful.

    As we drove along Trans-Canada Hiway 1, we noticed a cyclist that we had seen at Tim Hortons earlier in the morning. We drove up the mountain then pulled off the side of the road to wait for the cyclist to catch up to us. We gave Tom, from Australia a water bottle and a plastic sandwich bags of the fresh blueberries we had picked with Laurie and Sheldon. He appreciated the water and fresh blueberries. We learned that Tom was cycling across Canada and had left Vancouver just 7 days earlier.

    Glenn share with Tom about the 2019 Neil Tomba ride we were apart of, the YouTube Listening Road series and then Glenn’s 1976 bicyclist to South America .

    Next stop was another huge roaring waterfalls. The road had 3 sharp hair pin turns. Glenn loved it. We wanted to have a picnic here but it started to rain. So we had our picnic inside the RV.

    We also stopped where there was a spiral train tunnel. Quite unique and interesting. We stopped where 3 rivers come to a roaring junction. Beautiful. Again it was raining and overcast.

    As we continued, we crossed over into Alberta, the next state (province over). I know the Canadian Rockies are majestic and breathtaking. However it was overcast and raining hard mist of the day. So I bought some postcards and will take those memories with me.

    We stopped briefly at Lake Louise and then drove by the famous Banff Springs Hotel. We refueled in Canmore, then drove down the Main Street to get 2 waffle ice cream cone.

    We are staying just north of Calgary with A candle in the Window folks. We went to bed at 11pm. Monday we plan to get to a Dodge dealership snd have the back breaks checked out.    Read more

  • JudyfromMoodyTraveler2025 Avant Retirees Canada

    Railway, letterbox, Skybridge

    July 19 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Most of the morning was overcast and raining. The drive was gorgeous. Tall majestic mountains. By noon the sky had cleared up. We stopped at “the last Spike” where the Canadian pacific railroad line was completed.

    We had lunch at the “Tall cedar boardwalk”. It was like walking through a rain forest. Green. Lush . Also we did a letterbox here

    We pulled into our camp site. Around 5pm Ok. But noticed millions of mosquitoes everywhere. So we decided to drive on to Golden and explore that little town.

    There is a wooden pedestrian bridge we discovered. Then drove over to the Skybridge.

    Thanks to Frank who gave me a 100 Canadian bill - we used it to purchase our ticket. Nice park. Clean. Live music. Reminded me of Frisco Colorado. We walked on a suspension bridge across the steep gorge. I did it! 2 long wooden suspension bridges.

    We returned back to our campsite and Glenn inverted the 12volt to 110, so we never had to open the door and get attack by mosquitoes. You do what you have to do. We watched an episode of 50 states in 50 days.    Read more

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