When I was growing up in Cloverdale in the sixties, the main thoroughfare through town was 176th Street. It was one lane of traffic in each direction, like it is today, except that back then that one lane of travel each way was all the way south to the USA border for the truck crossing and all the way north to Barnston Drive. Or at least I think that’s the name of the street. Turn right to end up at the Barnston Island ferry. Turn left and you end up in Fraser Heights section of Surrey. Back then there was no 176 Street Exit for Highway 1.
So all the traffic trundled along 176th Street through downtown Cloverdale and several blocks of stores and restaurants. We had traffic lights on 60th Avenue and Highway 10. The big semi trucks used this route to get to the border and I remember the concrete streets constantly cracked from the weight of all the traffic.
Back then we had the Thunderbird Drive In on 176th Street a little north of 58th Avenue. One of few choices around for take out burgers and fries and soft serve ice cream. Its last incarnation was Happy Face Burgers, which was closed more often than they were open, and now a pub and cold wine and beer store have been built on the site.
Downtown Cloverdale consisted of the Shop Easy on the corner of 58th Avenue, the five and dime, Duckworth’s, the Clova, Dann’s, Cloverdale Florists, Dr Rife’s dental office, Fraser Printers, Cloverdale Restaurant, the Dale Building, and Ken’s Café, among others. I remember two shoe stores on the main street when I was growing up, but the names have long since escaped me.
But in the early seventies the town merchants and or the City of Surrey decided to build a bypass road around Cloverdale’s downtown core, giving 176th Street a bit of a bend. The Cloverdale Bypass was built starting at the Thunderbird running about half a block parallel to 176th Street. The route crossed Highway 10 and a bridge over the train tracks, and then joined up with 176th Street a couple of blocks later. The real 176th Street ended a block south of Highway 10.
Downtown Cloverdale no longer has big trucks driving along the main street, but sadly no other through traffic either. The five and dime and Duckworth’s closed down by the mid-seventies and countless businesses have opened and closed.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Where to stay in Cloverdale?
A couple of nights ago I was driving home and in front of me was a car advertising a B & B called the Cloverdale Manor. I'd never heard of it before. In fact I'd never heard of any bed and breakfast places in Cloverdale. Near Cloverdale, yes, particularly in White Rock and other parts of Surrey.
So I googled it. http://www3.telus.net/cloverdalemanor/
Its not exactly in Cloverdale, about a mile out. But the house looks nice, its in an easy drive from Highway 10, and is in a quiet location.
Go another mile and one can stay at the Ramada Inn on the corner of Highway 10 and 192 Street. Again, not exactly Cloverdale, more like the Surrey/Langley border but probably the closest decent hotel. http://www.ramadalangleysurrey.com/
And of course in other parts of Surrey and Langley there are many hotels.
So what does that leave in Cloverdale? I mean in the center of town, within walking distance to shopping, the Clova theatre, and to the fairgrounds. In one month's time the Cloverdale Rodeo will be here and there will be plenty of out of town guests looking for a place to stay, but they'll have to look a little farther.
When I was growing up there was a seedy looking motor inn on Highway 10, roughly across from Cloverdale Elementary. It eventually closed down and became 10 or 12 apartments for lower income people. It was still seedy and run down. About 6 or 7 years ago it was bulldozed down and businesses built on the site. Namely Tim Horton's and Lordco.
The Clover Inn on 176th Street has been there since I was a kid. I lived on 182 Street and at night I looked out my living room window and could see the pink glow fluorescent lighting from the Clover Inn's roof. Back then there was a nice restaurant and our family ate out there occasionally. There was also a bar and the entrance on 57 Avenue had two doorways. One said "gentlemen" and the other door said "ladies and escorts". On the second floor were hotel rooms. I've never been inside any of the rooms. By the 80's residents of the Clover Inn were government assisted people, usually handicapped in some manner. Gone was the fancy family restaurant replaced with a restauarant with burger and sandwich fare and oddly enough, a salad bar. Remember those were popular in the 80's?
Today the Clover Inn has become a stripper bar frequented mostly by bikers and racetrack employees. The rooms are still there, and oddly enough I hear they are quite expensive, though one doesn't get what they pay for. For the same money, or less, nicer rooms with better amenities can be found at just about every other hotel in Surrey and Langley.
So scratch the Clover Inn from a place to stay on a family vacation.
The Clydesdale Inn opened around 1980 on Highway 10 near 176 Street. When it opened it was a neat looking Victorian style building. We ate dinner once at the restaurant, which was a fancy high priced affair. I remember the dining room being rather dark, difficult to read the menus. Had to borrow a candle from the adjacent table. They had a few rooms, maybe 6 or 8 hotel rooms.
The fancy high priced restaurant didn't last long and in recent years the Clydesdale Inn has become a pub with typical pub fare food and a cold beer and wine store. The hotel still has rooms to rent but the clientele are of a dubious nature.
So to answer the question about where to stay in Cloverdale, the only good answer is slightly out of town.
So I googled it. http://www3.telus.net/cloverdalemanor/
Its not exactly in Cloverdale, about a mile out. But the house looks nice, its in an easy drive from Highway 10, and is in a quiet location.
Go another mile and one can stay at the Ramada Inn on the corner of Highway 10 and 192 Street. Again, not exactly Cloverdale, more like the Surrey/Langley border but probably the closest decent hotel. http://www.ramadalangleysurrey.com/
And of course in other parts of Surrey and Langley there are many hotels.
So what does that leave in Cloverdale? I mean in the center of town, within walking distance to shopping, the Clova theatre, and to the fairgrounds. In one month's time the Cloverdale Rodeo will be here and there will be plenty of out of town guests looking for a place to stay, but they'll have to look a little farther.
When I was growing up there was a seedy looking motor inn on Highway 10, roughly across from Cloverdale Elementary. It eventually closed down and became 10 or 12 apartments for lower income people. It was still seedy and run down. About 6 or 7 years ago it was bulldozed down and businesses built on the site. Namely Tim Horton's and Lordco.
The Clover Inn on 176th Street has been there since I was a kid. I lived on 182 Street and at night I looked out my living room window and could see the pink glow fluorescent lighting from the Clover Inn's roof. Back then there was a nice restaurant and our family ate out there occasionally. There was also a bar and the entrance on 57 Avenue had two doorways. One said "gentlemen" and the other door said "ladies and escorts". On the second floor were hotel rooms. I've never been inside any of the rooms. By the 80's residents of the Clover Inn were government assisted people, usually handicapped in some manner. Gone was the fancy family restaurant replaced with a restauarant with burger and sandwich fare and oddly enough, a salad bar. Remember those were popular in the 80's?
Today the Clover Inn has become a stripper bar frequented mostly by bikers and racetrack employees. The rooms are still there, and oddly enough I hear they are quite expensive, though one doesn't get what they pay for. For the same money, or less, nicer rooms with better amenities can be found at just about every other hotel in Surrey and Langley.
So scratch the Clover Inn from a place to stay on a family vacation.
The Clydesdale Inn opened around 1980 on Highway 10 near 176 Street. When it opened it was a neat looking Victorian style building. We ate dinner once at the restaurant, which was a fancy high priced affair. I remember the dining room being rather dark, difficult to read the menus. Had to borrow a candle from the adjacent table. They had a few rooms, maybe 6 or 8 hotel rooms.
The fancy high priced restaurant didn't last long and in recent years the Clydesdale Inn has become a pub with typical pub fare food and a cold beer and wine store. The hotel still has rooms to rent but the clientele are of a dubious nature.
So to answer the question about where to stay in Cloverdale, the only good answer is slightly out of town.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Travelling to Spokane
Spokane, Washington is 395 miles from Cloverdale, BC. This is mostly 2 to 4 lane highway driving, including Interstate 5 from the border to about Everett/Redmond, then Interstate 405 for about 20 miles until Interstate 90 and about 300 miles to Spokane. Driving time is around 6 hours.
Our travelling time was about 8 and a half hours. This included an hour and a half in the border line up at the truck crossing. This was at 10 in the morning on a Friday, not a holiday weekend. We hadn't eaten breakfast, planning to grab a bite once we crossed the line which took us a lot longer than expected. At noon we pulled into Shari's near the Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham and enjoyed soup, sandwich, and biscuit. this took about half an hour or so. After investing two and a half hours we'd proceeded about 30 miles south from Cloverdale.
Crazy. And we have the 2010 Winter Olympics coming in less than a year. Border control is going to do some serious reorganizing.
Travelling with two dogs means hitting rest stops every hour and half or so to let them go potty and give them a drink of water. These are quick stops, so don't affect the travelling time too much.
The Snoqualmie Pass still has snow. Fortunately not on the highway, but on the shoulder and on the ground. The outside temperature on my car's guage hovered a couple of degrees above freezing. All that snow keeps the area cold.
Once out of the mountains the scenery changes drastically and instantly to desert country. Bare lands with tumbleweeds. But this is also the home of Washington hay and many areas that can be seen from the highway are lush and green from irrigation.
Moses Lake is a rather interesting community on the drive to Spokane. Yes, there's a lake. And its a rather large town in the middle of nowhere with gas stations, hotels, and restaurants. Kind of makes you wonder what industry around these parts could actually sustain a town of this size. I conclude it is either a retirement community or a summer vacation spot.
We finally arrive in Spokane around 6:30 and check into our hotel. After resting for an hour or so we head out to find Northtown Mall where I know there is a Barnes & Noble so I can buy a recently released book that is still not in Chapters around here. And then its off to Skippers for a fish and chips dinner.
About the only touristy thing we did in Spokane was the Riverfront Park Skyride. Gondolas go over the Spokane River Falls. Takes about 15 minutes and has some good photo opportunities. The park features midway rides, a carousel, lakes, and sculptures. The unfortunate thing is that people have to pay to park their cars around here. We got lucky and found a parking meter, free on Sundays, but those fill up fast on nice days. There is a pay parking lot, not sure what it costs, but around $5 for the day I believe. There is a mall across the street with a large parkade. I spoke to someone who visited there and she said it cost $6 to park for an hour. She was disappointed in the mall. Many shops were closed.
I'd definitely recommend Northtown Mall, a couple of miles away from this mall. It has 175 shops, most of them open, and free parking.
Spokane is not high on the tourist trap list, but its a nice place to hang out for a couple of days while passing through.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Comfort Inn, Spokane, Washington dog friendly accommodations
I made a last minute decision to travel to Spokane with Kerry while he attended a business conference. Literally, an hour before he left due to his travelling buddies making other arrangements, due to safety I didn’t want him to make a 400 drive by himself. But now what do I do with my two dogs. No time to reserve at a kennel, and most aren’t even open at 7:30 in the morning. Kerry had a room reserved at the Comfort Inn Downtown Spokane. I checked the website and it said pet friendly, 2 pets per room. Pet fee $10. Sounded reasonable, but sometimes websites can be out of date so I called the hotel to confirm and yes my two dogs would be fine.
The Comfort Inn is nothing to look at from the outside but inside is clean and warmly decorated. The staff are friendly and checked us in quickly. The nice surprise was the $10 pet fee included both dogs and was just charged once, not per night.
The outside area of the hotel is all pavement, big parking lot. No lawn. No landscaping except around the entrance a little dirt and bulk mulch and some shrubs. Nowhere to walk to the dogs on the property. Across the street was a grass median and a business that was closed for the weekend had a handy dumpster in their parking lot for dropping off the baggies of dog poop.
I was disappointed to see that many lazy dog owners had also walked their dogs over there but had not cleaned up after them. If the Comfort Inn gets enough complaints about irresponsible dog owners they may remove their pet friendly status.
The nice thing about the hotel down on the front desk was a jar full of doggy treats.
And in the evening were fresh baked cookies for their two legged customers.
We’ll definitely stay here again. A great choice for people travelling with their dogs.
The Comfort Inn is nothing to look at from the outside but inside is clean and warmly decorated. The staff are friendly and checked us in quickly. The nice surprise was the $10 pet fee included both dogs and was just charged once, not per night.
The outside area of the hotel is all pavement, big parking lot. No lawn. No landscaping except around the entrance a little dirt and bulk mulch and some shrubs. Nowhere to walk to the dogs on the property. Across the street was a grass median and a business that was closed for the weekend had a handy dumpster in their parking lot for dropping off the baggies of dog poop.
I was disappointed to see that many lazy dog owners had also walked their dogs over there but had not cleaned up after them. If the Comfort Inn gets enough complaints about irresponsible dog owners they may remove their pet friendly status.
The nice thing about the hotel down on the front desk was a jar full of doggy treats.
And in the evening were fresh baked cookies for their two legged customers.
We’ll definitely stay here again. A great choice for people travelling with their dogs.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Frogs!
This afternoon I accompanied Kerry on a quick trip to a new house he's been working on in a new subdivision not too far from our house. As we wandered around outside I was drawn to the sound of frogs croaking in a swampy catchment basin next door and went over for a look. I couldn't get too close due to the large fence surrounding the basin. I saw bullrushes growing in the marsh and a bird flitting from one rush to the other.
Growing up on Thomas Road, which became 182 Street, I heard frogs all the time growing up. I had a favorite swampy area a couple of houses up the street and way in back of their property. It was a prime location to catch frogs. Armed with an empty plastic sherbert container we'd walk through the marshy ground, often in bare feet, sometimes wearing gum boots and catch frogs. We'd hold them for awhile in the container, sometimes bring them home, but they'd usually jump out and hop off.
We also liked collecting eggs or tadpoles with the idea of watching them grow to frogs but I don't think we ever kept them around long enough to see the transformation. I remember one of my city friends Nancy Ann visiting and I took her out to the marsh to catch frogs. She brought some eggs and tadpoles home with her and left them on the back porch. Unfortunately her unsuspecting mother stepped onto the container and knocked them over and that was the end of them.
But as Cloverdale becomes more developed the frogs are silent.
Growing up on Thomas Road, which became 182 Street, I heard frogs all the time growing up. I had a favorite swampy area a couple of houses up the street and way in back of their property. It was a prime location to catch frogs. Armed with an empty plastic sherbert container we'd walk through the marshy ground, often in bare feet, sometimes wearing gum boots and catch frogs. We'd hold them for awhile in the container, sometimes bring them home, but they'd usually jump out and hop off.
We also liked collecting eggs or tadpoles with the idea of watching them grow to frogs but I don't think we ever kept them around long enough to see the transformation. I remember one of my city friends Nancy Ann visiting and I took her out to the marsh to catch frogs. She brought some eggs and tadpoles home with her and left them on the back porch. Unfortunately her unsuspecting mother stepped onto the container and knocked them over and that was the end of them.
But as Cloverdale becomes more developed the frogs are silent.
Aaron's Restaurant
Back in the late 60's Shakey's Pizza was popular. I believe the one we went to most often was in New Westminster and but we also went to one in Bellingham, Washington. I was part of the birthday club and each year I received in the mail a postcard that gave me a free root beer, a small pizza, a prize, and something else I think, though I really don't recall. I loved going there each year with a small group of girlfriends for my birthday party.
Sometime in the early 1970's, Aaron's opened in Cloverdale on 57th Avenue near 176A Street. It was a Shakey's knock off. Inside were picnic tables and the place served pizza. I recall going there in Grade 10 when one of my friends was having a Halloween party and her parents took a small group of girls there for dinner. It was OK, but it was no Shakey's.
Over the years Aaron's evolved into a pizza and steak restaurant and the picnic tables were replaced with normal dining tables. I often walked my dogs past the restaurant in the early evening and watched the diners enjoying the Tuesday night pasta specials. Oddly enough we never went there to dine. One day I noticed their specials were extended and available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. So after all these years we went in for dinner on a fall evening last year. I ordered the cannelloni only to be told they didn't have any. I chose another pasta dish that was suitable for my vegetarian needs. Obviously it was not memorable because I have no idea what I ordered, but the food was OK. Again, it was no Shakey's!
The worst part about the dining experience was a group at another table on the other side of the room who brought in a baby who was being fussy. An older female staffer came over and took the baby, I suppose to give the parents a break. And for all I know the woman was one of the owners of the restaurant, even though she was the person serving us. She sat down at the empty table behind us with the baby and proceeded to be very annoying by talking baby talk very loudly until we had enough and got up to leave.
The food wasn't memorable but the annoying lady with the baby talk sure was.
Ah for the old days. Shakey's is now defunct around BC. I remember the old Shakey's commercials about going there for the pizza. A quick search on You Tube brings back those days.
Sometime in the early 1970's, Aaron's opened in Cloverdale on 57th Avenue near 176A Street. It was a Shakey's knock off. Inside were picnic tables and the place served pizza. I recall going there in Grade 10 when one of my friends was having a Halloween party and her parents took a small group of girls there for dinner. It was OK, but it was no Shakey's.
Over the years Aaron's evolved into a pizza and steak restaurant and the picnic tables were replaced with normal dining tables. I often walked my dogs past the restaurant in the early evening and watched the diners enjoying the Tuesday night pasta specials. Oddly enough we never went there to dine. One day I noticed their specials were extended and available Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. So after all these years we went in for dinner on a fall evening last year. I ordered the cannelloni only to be told they didn't have any. I chose another pasta dish that was suitable for my vegetarian needs. Obviously it was not memorable because I have no idea what I ordered, but the food was OK. Again, it was no Shakey's!
The worst part about the dining experience was a group at another table on the other side of the room who brought in a baby who was being fussy. An older female staffer came over and took the baby, I suppose to give the parents a break. And for all I know the woman was one of the owners of the restaurant, even though she was the person serving us. She sat down at the empty table behind us with the baby and proceeded to be very annoying by talking baby talk very loudly until we had enough and got up to leave.
The food wasn't memorable but the annoying lady with the baby talk sure was.
Ah for the old days. Shakey's is now defunct around BC. I remember the old Shakey's commercials about going there for the pizza. A quick search on You Tube brings back those days.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Review of Montana's Restaurant on Langley Bypass
We've always enjoyed eating at Montana's Restaurant, in particular the one in Coquitlam in the Coquitlam Centre Mall. We've always been happy with the food, the ambience, and the service.
In stark contrast is the Montana's in Langley on the Bypass, in the mall just east of 200th Street. We've always found the service slow and our visits are usually a year or longer inbetween just in case things have changed.
We decided to give it another try on Friday night around 8pm. The restaurant was busy, but there were a few empty tables and we were seated right away. It took nearly 10 minutes for our server, Jenn, to show up with menus and ask what we wanted to drink. Though she returned in a reasonable amount of time with the drinks and to take our orders. We don't usually order an appetizer, though this time we did when I saw a new one on the menu - sweet potato fries. They took about 10 minutes to arrive. The chipotle dipping sauce was nice, but not enough of it. However the fries appeared to have been of the frozen variety and then fried as ordered. I've had better sweet potato fries at just about every restaurant in the Lower Mainland that serves them. Montana's sweet potato fries were limp and crumbled as we picked them up.
By now the time we finished the fries the restaurant was starting to empty. We watched as all the tables around us received their food, including the young couple at the table beside us who were seated about 10 minutes after we arrived. Half an hour after we'd finished our sweet potato fries, dinner arrived. I'd ordered the strawberry citrus salad which came with corn bread. I was really disappointed with the corn bread. Its seriously gone downhill since the last time I'd got it with an order. It was cold and crumbly, fell apart as I ate it. The salad was OK. The problem with the strawberries and they weren't sweet. They were red, but not sweet and ripe.
We finished eating and Jenn returned to ask if we'd like to see a dessert menu and I said yes. She showed up 10 minutes later with the dessert menu and then left. I mean, how long does it take to bring a dessert menu? Especially when it was after 9pm and there weren't that many customers. Although I would have liked the apple cobbler, that I've had many times before, I told Kerry I didn't want to wait half an hour for it. Jenn returned over 5 minutes later and we told her we'd decided not to have dessert, just the bill. It still took us almost 10 minutes to get that, pay, and leave.
Out of 5 stars, I'd give this Montana's Restaurant a one and a half.
And then we went to Dairy Queen for dessert!
Disappointing. This will be our last visit to this particular Montana's. We'd like to try the one in Walnut Grove by the Colossus and we're waiting for the new one in South Surrey on 24th Avenue, across from Wal-Mart to open. No one seems to know when it will open though its been completed for awhile and no tradespeople have been seen recently. There is a banner on the front of the restaurant saying "opening soon" but no further details how soon is soon.
In stark contrast is the Montana's in Langley on the Bypass, in the mall just east of 200th Street. We've always found the service slow and our visits are usually a year or longer inbetween just in case things have changed.
We decided to give it another try on Friday night around 8pm. The restaurant was busy, but there were a few empty tables and we were seated right away. It took nearly 10 minutes for our server, Jenn, to show up with menus and ask what we wanted to drink. Though she returned in a reasonable amount of time with the drinks and to take our orders. We don't usually order an appetizer, though this time we did when I saw a new one on the menu - sweet potato fries. They took about 10 minutes to arrive. The chipotle dipping sauce was nice, but not enough of it. However the fries appeared to have been of the frozen variety and then fried as ordered. I've had better sweet potato fries at just about every restaurant in the Lower Mainland that serves them. Montana's sweet potato fries were limp and crumbled as we picked them up.
By now the time we finished the fries the restaurant was starting to empty. We watched as all the tables around us received their food, including the young couple at the table beside us who were seated about 10 minutes after we arrived. Half an hour after we'd finished our sweet potato fries, dinner arrived. I'd ordered the strawberry citrus salad which came with corn bread. I was really disappointed with the corn bread. Its seriously gone downhill since the last time I'd got it with an order. It was cold and crumbly, fell apart as I ate it. The salad was OK. The problem with the strawberries and they weren't sweet. They were red, but not sweet and ripe.
We finished eating and Jenn returned to ask if we'd like to see a dessert menu and I said yes. She showed up 10 minutes later with the dessert menu and then left. I mean, how long does it take to bring a dessert menu? Especially when it was after 9pm and there weren't that many customers. Although I would have liked the apple cobbler, that I've had many times before, I told Kerry I didn't want to wait half an hour for it. Jenn returned over 5 minutes later and we told her we'd decided not to have dessert, just the bill. It still took us almost 10 minutes to get that, pay, and leave.
Out of 5 stars, I'd give this Montana's Restaurant a one and a half.
And then we went to Dairy Queen for dessert!
Disappointing. This will be our last visit to this particular Montana's. We'd like to try the one in Walnut Grove by the Colossus and we're waiting for the new one in South Surrey on 24th Avenue, across from Wal-Mart to open. No one seems to know when it will open though its been completed for awhile and no tradespeople have been seen recently. There is a banner on the front of the restaurant saying "opening soon" but no further details how soon is soon.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Nighttime screeching noise
Growing up in Cloverdale I saw my share of small wildlife: snakes, frogs, skunks, oppossums, raccoons, coyote, and deer were mainstay around here. But as new houses and developments sprung up the wildlife were pushed away.
Last night I put my dogs out in the backyard for a few minutes around 11pm. I know, I was too lazy to walk them down the street. No, really, I was tired and was lying down and nearly sleeping when I forced myself up to give them one last chance at potty. I came back down a few minutes later and my Dalmatian, Tessa, was waiting at the gate. My other dog, Lacy, I could here in the back of the garden rustling around. I called her and she came over right away, but from the side, not the back. Then I heard this screeching noise from the back garden. Scree, eek, eek, eeeee. Over and over.
I've heard plenty of cat fights, lots of marauding cats wandering around Cloverdale when I was younger, but this was no cat fight. At first I thought it might be a screech owl. Not that I recall ever hearing one, but I had no idea what it could be. Neither of the dogs were at all interested either. The screeching noise and rustling in the trees and shrubs continued and I quickly moved the dogs back into the house just in case they did develop an interest.
I got back to the bedroom and told Kerry there was this weird screeching noise going on. He suggested it was a cat fight, but I said no way and opened the window so he could hear the noise. Now the screeching was coming from across the street and now Lacy was very interested and started barking. I settled her down and watched out the window as a small animal ran down the side of our yard. It was about the size of a cat, but I wasn't sure it was a cat. I thought it might be a raccoon. It jumped up on the fence in front of the window with all the agility of a cat and then turned around and looked at me with its big black shadowed eyes. Raccoon! It sat there for about 30 seconds and then jumped off the fence and ran across the street.
So I wonder if that was 2 raccoons fighting or whether they were travelling together and got separated and were screeching out to each other.
Last night I put my dogs out in the backyard for a few minutes around 11pm. I know, I was too lazy to walk them down the street. No, really, I was tired and was lying down and nearly sleeping when I forced myself up to give them one last chance at potty. I came back down a few minutes later and my Dalmatian, Tessa, was waiting at the gate. My other dog, Lacy, I could here in the back of the garden rustling around. I called her and she came over right away, but from the side, not the back. Then I heard this screeching noise from the back garden. Scree, eek, eek, eeeee. Over and over.
I've heard plenty of cat fights, lots of marauding cats wandering around Cloverdale when I was younger, but this was no cat fight. At first I thought it might be a screech owl. Not that I recall ever hearing one, but I had no idea what it could be. Neither of the dogs were at all interested either. The screeching noise and rustling in the trees and shrubs continued and I quickly moved the dogs back into the house just in case they did develop an interest.
I got back to the bedroom and told Kerry there was this weird screeching noise going on. He suggested it was a cat fight, but I said no way and opened the window so he could hear the noise. Now the screeching was coming from across the street and now Lacy was very interested and started barking. I settled her down and watched out the window as a small animal ran down the side of our yard. It was about the size of a cat, but I wasn't sure it was a cat. I thought it might be a raccoon. It jumped up on the fence in front of the window with all the agility of a cat and then turned around and looked at me with its big black shadowed eyes. Raccoon! It sat there for about 30 seconds and then jumped off the fence and ran across the street.
So I wonder if that was 2 raccoons fighting or whether they were travelling together and got separated and were screeching out to each other.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Midway rides and concessions this weekend
Last night when I drove past the fairgrounds on the 176th Street side I noticed 3 carnival type trucks & trailers in the parking lot off 62nd Avenue. One was a trailer with the tilt a whirl ride. I remember thinking when I was a kid they resembled half an apple. The ones I saw looked like half a strawberry. I didn't think anything of the vehicles. Carnival folk and other truckers occasionally overnight and park in this lot.
This morning a truck pulled out in front of me pulling a food trailer that announced chicken fingers, french fries, and fries with gravy. Unfortunately he turned up 64th Avenue, the direction I was going and was unable to maintain the speed limit up the hill. Neither along the flat section once we crossed 184th Street.
I turned down 188th Street and that was the last I saw of him.
When I returned mid-afternoon I saw the preparations of a fair of some sort underway. Now lots of rides and food concessions are setting up. It appears Cloverdale is getting ready for a small fair this long weekend.
This web page announces events in Cloverdale, but there is no mention of a fair being held in the parking lot north of the curling rink.
http://www.cloverdale.bc.ca/events.php
This morning a truck pulled out in front of me pulling a food trailer that announced chicken fingers, french fries, and fries with gravy. Unfortunately he turned up 64th Avenue, the direction I was going and was unable to maintain the speed limit up the hill. Neither along the flat section once we crossed 184th Street.
I turned down 188th Street and that was the last I saw of him.
When I returned mid-afternoon I saw the preparations of a fair of some sort underway. Now lots of rides and food concessions are setting up. It appears Cloverdale is getting ready for a small fair this long weekend.
This web page announces events in Cloverdale, but there is no mention of a fair being held in the parking lot north of the curling rink.
http://www.cloverdale.bc.ca/events.php
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band performs at Fraser Downs
Last night the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band performed at Fraser Downs in Cloverdale. Tickets were $43. I live a few blocks away from the fairgrounds and I heard them loud and clear at my house. Saved myself some money. Heard the music but didn't get the visual. Nice evening, nice concert.
We'll do this all over again when the rodeo comes to town next month. Not the Nitty Gritty band, but the music and rodeo announcers can be heard for a good mile around.
Looking forward to the one weekend of the year that transforms Cloverdale from being a sleepy little town to welcoming crowds of rodeo, parade, and fair goers.
Looking forward to it.
We'll do this all over again when the rodeo comes to town next month. Not the Nitty Gritty band, but the music and rodeo announcers can be heard for a good mile around.
Looking forward to the one weekend of the year that transforms Cloverdale from being a sleepy little town to welcoming crowds of rodeo, parade, and fair goers.
Looking forward to it.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Snow Days around Cloverdale
When I was growing up in Cloverdale there was a lot more snow around in the winter. I lived on Thomas Road which became 182 Street and the grader would go down the road and the next thing there'd be 3 foot high snow banks lining each side of the street. Unfortunately that also meant blocking the driveway so there'd be some major snow shovelling to get the cars in and out. Of course those banks were great for snow forts and to hide behind for snowball fights.
We'd build snowmen in the front yard and lie down in the snow and make snow angels. The best part was taking the sled and tobagan over to Broadway, now 58th Avenue, and slide down the big hill between 182 and 180th Streets. There'd be sno much snow the grader wouldn't dare bring his equipment on that hill. Either that or the 40 to 50 kids and teenagers on the hill scared him off. I remember flying down the hill on my sled and a car turned off 180th and up the hill. The driver either took one look at the hill or all the kids sledding towards him and changed his mind, backed out, and continued up 180th. I don't know how a car could even drive up that unplowed hill back in the 60's. Though back then chains were popular and a sure way to get around Cloverdale and the surrounding areas.
Nope, just don't get snow like that around here anymore.
We'd build snowmen in the front yard and lie down in the snow and make snow angels. The best part was taking the sled and tobagan over to Broadway, now 58th Avenue, and slide down the big hill between 182 and 180th Streets. There'd be sno much snow the grader wouldn't dare bring his equipment on that hill. Either that or the 40 to 50 kids and teenagers on the hill scared him off. I remember flying down the hill on my sled and a car turned off 180th and up the hill. The driver either took one look at the hill or all the kids sledding towards him and changed his mind, backed out, and continued up 180th. I don't know how a car could even drive up that unplowed hill back in the 60's. Though back then chains were popular and a sure way to get around Cloverdale and the surrounding areas.
Nope, just don't get snow like that around here anymore.
Colder weather than normal
Its been cold this year. And wet too far the most part. With temperatures hovering around freezing and the dampness in the air, its either raining or snowing. Or both.
This morning, April Fool's Day a little snow fell. A wet snow. Didn't stick to the ground around here but other areas around the Vancouver area had people out brushing snow off their cars and shovelling snow from their sidewalks.
Its been at least 3 weeks since I've had to do that.
The pasture where I keep my horses is normally sufficient for grazing by now. The horses can graze but the grass isn't growing very fast. I'm still out every evening feeding them.
Bring on some sun and warmer days!
This morning, April Fool's Day a little snow fell. A wet snow. Didn't stick to the ground around here but other areas around the Vancouver area had people out brushing snow off their cars and shovelling snow from their sidewalks.
Its been at least 3 weeks since I've had to do that.
The pasture where I keep my horses is normally sufficient for grazing by now. The horses can graze but the grass isn't growing very fast. I'm still out every evening feeding them.
Bring on some sun and warmer days!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)