Craziness On Our Trip that We Did Not Expect

Well, life has been interesting for us. We have encountered some hazards in our fly fishing journey. So beware, fellow travellers, all is not as smooth and peaceful as it might seem.

1. Beware of being crop dusted. We have been crop dusted on two different rivers. Once by a small plane and once by a helicopter. This included many flights over us to deposit something that I am sure was not really meant for human consumption.

2. Beware of the sandflies. They have no sound, they are little and they are ferocious. You bleed as they rip skin. They make mosquitoes look benign.

3. Beware the poison. Yes, poison - 1080. Over this great land they poison for possums which have been declared a pest by the Department of Conservation. The poison is baited and of course, a lot dies, not just possums. Signs are posted everywhere and locals also have signs of protest out. A couple of quotes would be " Our poison paradise" and "If you drink the water, you are crazy! 1080 kills everything." This is just a small sample of the many signs. Thank goodness our pups are not with us here.

4.Beware of farmers with their own backhoes who decide to repair their private roads and bridges anytime they like, leaving a crystal clear stream looking like a brown mud stream.

5. Beware the broome with yellow flowers that cover the land. This is another pest brought from Scotland. Apparantly these two Canadians are quite allergic to this stuff.

5. Beware of losing your waders. Yes, we did. They fell off our van as we trundled down this little road ( I know they should not have been there to start with) and in less than 10 minutes and three cars that had passed us - they were gone. Our waders had been picked up by someone and taken away. We asked, we looked, we searched walking the ditches just in case! Yeah, right.

These are just some of the hazards encountered. We know it is cold right now in Alberta but just enjoy what you don't have to encounter.