Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Wordless Wednesday

 

Boom Shaka-laka-laka

Saturday we were up and out the door to a well-recommended hiking trail - Boom Lake. It was our longest hike as a family - over 10km. Terry feared Zoltan's sluggishness would keep us from ever cresting that hill, but with the incentives we'd put into place the weekend before he was more than happy to keep trekking ahead. There also were no really huge climbs, so that helped too. We didn't want to throw too much into one experience!

At one point the trail narrows with snow-dusted evergreens on either side, which Alex called the enchanted forest. She's so grouchy and teenagery, and then comes out with things like this! Also, a lot of the snow was more like crystallized flakes. Neither Terry nor I had ever seen anything like it and we've certainly been around plenty of snow. 

When we got to the lake, it was time for lunch. A gray jay thought so as well, and we had to defend Alex's sandwich from it several times (the rest of us kept the sandwich in the bag in between bites). We had done a great job keeping Zoltan's blood sugar up and although it was the longest hike, it was also the least fraught. It felt weird telling my kid "you may not feel hungry, you may feel anxious or angry or grumpy. Just eat." when of course mostly we're supposed to be telling our kids to notice actual feelings of hunger before chowing down. But I digress.

After eating we wandered down towards the far end of the lake, where we could see waterfalls high up in the mountains. We knew that parts of the lake were avalanche territory so we didn't stray too far. The return was pretty uneventful except the trail was definitely getting busier and the parking lot was packed when we left (plenty of spots when we arrived). The one regret of not doing the hike later was that the sun started to peek out and the skies got a bit bluer, which is always nicer for the photos. But avoiding crowds is a worth goal.

After all that exertion, we had a few quiet hours at the hotel and off to our favorite Banff restaurant, Park Distillery. It was as delicious as always, and one funny note is that the table next to us turned while we were there. The first couple had been speaking French and when the second pair started talking, I understood them so my mind said "French." Until Terry leaned over and said "Hey, they're speaking Russian." Oh yeah, they are.

Wintery Banff

November and December being on different calendar pages, it didn't occur to me I was booking two weekends in a row when I looked at the kids' day off from school on December 4 (they have a Friday off every month, and half day Fridays the rest of the month). So the week after we went to Jasper, we went to Banff.

Last year for the holidays, my father bought us a gift certificate for afternoon tea at the Fairmont hotel - we could choose Banff or Lake Louise. We hadn't made it before everything shut down in March and we finally took this opportunity to go. So it was a nice lazy morning, the a drive straight to the hotel. Everything was very beautiful and fancy, the treats were delicious and the kids were finally introduced to scones with clotted cream and jam (a housemade strawberry and rose variety). The kids were delighted by the tea timers - three connected hourglasses, one set to run out after 3 minutes, one at 4 minutes and one at 5, so we could determine how steeped we wanted the tea. The hotel was being extraordinarily careful about spacing - the room has a series of picture windows overlooking the mountains with a table set at the center of each. There was one dining unit at each table by the window, and that was it. 

Sated and warmed, we head to our hotel for an early check in. As most of our stays since the pandemic, we opted for a condo style, with kitchenette and entrance from outside. One treat was the woodburning fireplace, which we employed each evening. We had a starter pile (and matches!) stacked beside the grate, woodsheds throughout the grounds, and kindling available at the front desk whenever we needed more. The kids had their own queen sized beds in the loft, and they delighted in dangling things off the balcony into the living room area. They were oddly uninterested in the outdoor hot tubs or even the heated/hot pool. The hotel was situated by Tunnel Mountain and had trails that ran right from the grounds. It was also near a campsite we were considering for the summer.

After a quick change into hiking gear, we took a short walk/hike to a trail we'd been meaning to check out. We were losing the light so didn't go as far we wanted, but the good news is that trails have not yet been closed generally so we can easily go back.

First snowy hike of the season

It was meant to be the first snowshoe of the season, but there wasn't enough snow and what was there was pretty packed down. Because we meant to snowshoe we picked a pretty short trail to get the kids used to their new, larger snowshoes. Johnson Lake was beautiful, as pretty much everything in Banff is, with picture perfect photo ops right off the parking lot - things we keep in mind in case people are able to travel in the next 2 years and either or both of our mothers visit.

The trail is flat, just circling the lake. The ice was tempting to the kids, although it was clearly not strong enough and the entire center was still liquid. There were minor snowbanking moments, really just getting used to the way we hike in the winter. Some complaining of course, but even that felt perfunctory and not really heartfelt. It was a perfect day, blue skied and crisp - a perfect antidote to the gray relentless snowing of the last week.

The exciting wildlife sighting today was a fox!

After the loop, we popped over to Two Jack Lake where the kids hung out in the car, eating their lunch and trying not to bug each other too much, while Terry and I wandered a bit along its shores. 

Snow!

 We've had snow on the ground for a solid week now. Alex's days of riding her bike to school are probably over until May (assuming kids can actually continue in-person education until then). I just read this quotation and had to laugh, as we certainly embrace the snow in this family!

If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life 

but still the same amount of snow.

Dinosaur Provincial Park

In every adventure we have had since arriving in Calgary, we've left the city and headed west - to the mountains, towards British Columbia. For the first time ever, we went east. For two and a half hours it was a flat and boring as Kansas (not my observation, but the observation of colleagues from Kansas). But then, as we drove to the park's parking lot, the terrain opened up to a surreal, Martian-like landscape. Hoodoos!

I knew the park was large and that we were allowed to climb the hoodoos, unlike in Drumheller, home of the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Fun fact - so many people don't look at maps before heading out that scores of tourists find themselves at Dinosaur Park, thinking they can just pop down the road to Drumheller and are very sad to learn they are more than 2 hours away from each other, that the Provincial Park home page for Dinosaur has a huge notice explaining this fact. 

As the name of the park suggests, many dinosaur fossils have been found and continue to be found on the grounds. Protocol for finding fossils is to leave them alone and absolutely no removing them from the park. We did not find any. There are two fossil displays: in one, the bones, mud and other artifacts of nature are preserved exactly as the first explorer found the skeleton and the second is a replica of a dig site, with the tools, bones, and detritus of human presence (mostly old water bottles). We climbed and descended, lost a member of the party and found him again, and finished the day with ice cream, about an hour later than we had expected to be at the park.

As we drove in, we grumbled that we would never return. An hour into the day, we resigned ourselves to definitely coming back at least once.

Chasing the aurora

When we lived in St Petersburg, we took an Arctic vacation in Lapland to cross off the one item on Terry's bucket list. We saw an aurora borealis. Turns out, that only whet our appetites for more.

Within the first month of our arrival in Calgary, we were directed to a Facebook page (yes, that is still around) for folks who check out scientific data, make guesses about where good viewing might be, and head out in the middle of the night in hopes of catching a view. People even do this on a work night! We were super stoked, pumped up to be just like these dedicated individuals whose stunning photography we would marvel over the next day.

But there were always hesitations. It is the middle of the night, usually, and we had work the next day. Plenty of times folks would post about going out and never finding her (Aurora). What would we do with the kids? If no sleep on a work night was a dicey proposition, no sleep on a school night is a hard "No." So we spent our first few months just watching and reading. We learned a few things, like Bz going South is good but if it goes North you may as well go back to bed (except that it can suddenly plummet South at any moment, you never know, Aurora is a fickle one). After October there really weren't any more auroras near Calgary, although to the way north it was still a nearly nightly occurrence. We learned about solar flares and solar minimums and lots of reasons why the aurora was probably going into hibernation. 

We got sad and worried we had totally missed our opportunity. 

Turns out 2019 was a solar minimum, which means we are now on a 5 or 6-ish year cycle toward the solar maximum. So things can only get better!

Back to Friday night. In the evening there was chatter that conditions looked good for an aurora, so after the kids went to bed I was back on Facebook seeing what people had to say. Some were already posting photos of the aurora from locations within 30-45 minutes of our very house! We got excited. I installed Facebook on my phone so I could track where people said they saw stuff while en route. We took the general advice that is given every time a newbie asks "Where to go?" - which is "head north to get out of the city, then go east or west." Folks were posting photos from due west and from due north, so we started off with a goal in the northwesterly direction. 

We did pull over on the side of the road once because there was something hazy and we weren't sure it was anything. Nothing green was visible to the naked eye but when we looked at the photos later it was unmistakable.  But that's nothing to stay up all night over, so we kept hunting.  At a crossroad where we were about to turn, we decide to pull over and check out the sky. And there she was.

Last camping trip 2020: Jasper (part 3)

 

On our last morning I woke earlier than anyone else and couldn't sleep. But it was of course in the 40s and that doesn't work for me. So I did something for the very first time - built the campfire! I don't care that the kids learned how to build a fire during their survival camp and the oldest is 12. I had never built the fire myself before and I am super proud of how it turned out. Another fancy thing we tried this time was making pancakes. We had the wets mixed in a jar in the cooler, and the dries in a larger jar with the other nonperishables. We figured we could just pour the one into the other, shake it up, and voila! It actually did turn out pretty much like that. Our homemade blueberry syrup on top and hot beverages for everyone ... it was a great start to the day.

For our return trip we planned to take a number of short stops - essentially just stepping away from the car park, snap some photos and get back in the car.

Stop 1: Athabasca Falls. There is a relatively short hike into a canyon and by "potholes" created by the rushing water. We did not take the hike. We mostly wandered from viewpoint to viewpoint, and were rewarded with a rainbow produced from the mist of the falls. The falls are reported to freeze in the winter, so I see a second visit in our future!

Stop 2: Sunwapta Falls. I can't remember what made these falls seem particularly spectacular in my research. They were nice but when you're made checking out all the local waterfalls a priority, you start to get a bit jaded. I believe these were the falls where people made their way to the rocky edge just by the waterfalls for their photo ops, and I did mutter to Terry "And this is when we get to see someone go over the falls. I can't watch."

Stop 3: Athabasca Glacier. There was a lot of uncertainty, given the information we could find online, about whether we could actually get anywhere near the glacier without buying the Columbia Icefields package where they bus you over and you walk on the glacier. (when driving away, we saw the private drive for the tour). It was a bit of a hike to get to the point where the path to the glacier is roped off - and between the rope and the glacier was a summertime river so really we were never getting anywhere near the thing. We could still photograph it of course, and make plans to allow time for the tour next trip. The other interesting although disheartening thing is that starting from where you'd turn off the road (2.2 km from the parking lot) and the entire drive-then-walk to the general glacier vicinity, are signs proclaiming where the glacier was in the past. It would have met the turnoff in 1935, and the ropes are where it was in 2014. That's a lot of melt for one (admittedly long) lifetime!

 

Last camping trip 2020: Jasper (part 2)

 

The next morning was not as chilly as I'd expected, or perhaps I am getting used to nearly-freezing sleeping temps.  We had decided on a lazy morning, and Terry put the new dual-burner camp stove to good use with eggs and bacon sandwiches on bagels, as well as coffee, tea and hot cocoa. We prepped sandwiches, apples and granola bars (homemade - Zoltan got the recipe from the kayak guide featured in our last vacation) for the bike ride. Wapiti campground has a bike path leading directly out of the site and up to town or to a series of lakes. As none of us are particularly energetic or skilled bicyclists we really had no particular idea of how far we would get. It also turned out my new bike has a different valve than the other bikes so Terry was not able to add air to my tires. I really felt it on the ride. 

The path winds through woods and spends part of its time just off the road. Alex noticed an elk in the woods down a bit of a ravine from the bike path, so we stopped to gawk at that. Right around the time we needed to stop for lunch we stumbled onto a rocky riverfront, so we took a break and broke our bread. Terry and I also had a discussion about whether to head toward the lakes - the original, optimistic plan - or just go to town. Town won out.

This is where I sing the praises of Vicious Cycle in downtown Jasper. They loaned me their bike pump and showed me what I was doing wrong with my valve and pumping.  What a difference a tire full of air makes!

I then met up at Terry and the kids hanging out under a tree by the information center. Very cozy. We hit the candy store and the grocery store before starting the ride back to the campsite. Other than lagging way behind because I don't like to go fast on the downhill, there were no incidents or mishaps (yay!). 

Dinner was baked potato, steak, and some raw veggies. My brilliant move of the day: the apples we'd brought for snacks were mealy and not tasty. So we cut them up, I sacrificed some of the sugar I brought for my tea, and we threw them over the fire when we pulled dinner off. Just in time for dessert we had yummy baked apples.

 

Last camping trip 2020: Jasper (part 1)

Every experience is an opportunity to learn new things. On this last trip we made sure to have extra blankets, our camp chairs, a proper spatula and a whole list of things we have learned we do actually need. We also realized some things we didn't need and could leave at home (if we brush teeth and wash our hands it is a good day, no need for shampoo, lotion, or a host of other toiletries!)

We missed our first chance at Jasper last winter when the year's only massive storm that closed the Icefields came on the day we were to drive it, which was also the day after Terry nearly cut his finger off and needed semi-emergency surgery.

Needless to say, we were super excited for this trip. Not even trying to fit all our gear in just the back of the car, we hoisted the car carrier onto the roof and filled it to brimming. Then largely filled the back of the car. Then got the chance to take our new-to-us bike rack out for a spin. The last minute re-reading of our camping permit information educated us that we were in fact not permitted to bring our own wood for the fire and instead would have to purchase a fire permit for a price way lower than the normal price for buying wood. That did cut down on some of the load (three bags of firewood we planned to take!)  But honestly, having to bring so much extra keep-us-warm gear means we'll never truly go bare bones.

Friday our plan was for one big stop on our way to the campground, and a big stop it was. Bow Glacier Falls was another spectacular Rocky Mountain experience. We finally broke our 8km barrier on hikes (10km round trip!), and got to spend some time goofing off around the waterfall. Apparently, the Bow River  - the very same one running through Calgary - begins here. The first part of the hike skirts the shore of Bow Lake, more glacial surreal turquoise water. It then cuts away through rock and a more seeping water, so those of us without waterproof shoes had to pay a bit more attention where we stepped. The waterfall itself isn't particularly roaring, so we were able to climb right up. And play a bit of peekaboo with ground squirrels.

By the time we reached Wapiti campground it was very close to dinner. We got the tents set up, shed the bikes, and headed into town for dinner.  On our way back into the campground we stopped by the firewood heap and picked out a bunch of wood then got right to work on the fire.

Not long after the campfire was started, we heard some really weird loud sounds that Terry identified as a bull elk bugling to the lady (cow) elk. Love was certainly in the air, and in the woods about 10 meters from our campsite. We saw the cow walk by, then the bull a short while later. When we had entered the park we were told by the staff it was rut season for the elk and to be cautious and give them space.  It is very important not to get between a bull and a cow.  Happily, they continued on their way and did not linger by us. It was hard to get a good view because of all the trees, but these are large animals so we were at least very certain what they were.  We are also happy to report no bear sightings. The longer I hike and camp the more I realize I don't feel any need to view a bear up close and personal.

Frank Slide, Lundbreck Falls, and Beauvais Lake

We had an adventurous weekend planned, and it ended up being almost idyllic.

First up: packing the car. We realized packing for just an overnight camping is a whole lot like packing for 2-3 nights, perhaps even more. Tents, sleeping bags, a cooler for food, etc etc are all necessary no matter how long you're gone. We did avoid using the roof rack, largely because the roof was already in use with our new (to us) canoe!

First stop: Frank Slide. Back in 1903 Turtle Mountain basically broke off a huge chunk and in 90 seconds it slid down, burying everything and everyone in its path. Luckily it was on the outskirts of town, so fewer than 100 people were killed vice closer to a thousand if it had been through the center. There is still debate today on the role the mining operation going on under Turtle Mountain played in creating the elements that led to the Slide. Hm, sounds familiar.

These days there is a very informative interpretive center with lots of information about the town, the geology, and the event. There is also a vast expanse of rocks to climb. It is as close to the Felsenmeer I think we will ever get without going back to Germany.

From the Slide we ventured to Lundbreck Falls. What started as wading around no farther than the knees became full-on dunkings by the kids. The whole waterway around, under, and by the falls is relatively shallow, with varying heights that include some rocks sticking entirely out of the water and with a current that can be some work but not dangerous. In sum, a great time was had by all, although it would have been better if the kids were in their bathing suits. Alex actually got within a couple of feet of being right under the falls.

Knowing that setting up camp takes time and that Terry wanted to try some fishing in the afternoon, we aimed to get to our site as close to checkin time as possible. Thus, my drenched and dripping children, and I, walked the 7 minutes to the campground while Terry drove the car.  When we saw our site we were delighted. Our spot was just steps away from the Crowsnest River, and the back end of the site opened onto a riverbank path. We watched a hawk across the river. In the getting settled stage, we had ample opportunity to try out our new, stronger tent stakes that supposedly work well even with gravel pads. And they did, superbly. 

The campground isn't even in a particularly "dark sky" area, but as the sun now sets at a reasonably hour we watched stars appearing, and then flooding, the sky. We could see the Milky Way with our naked eyes. Terry tried a second round of night photography by the water and then from a field in the campground.

As we fell asleep, I thought to myself "This was practically perfect. We need to come here for a longer stretch next year." 

Then the first nighttime train came whistling and roaring through at 11-something-ish. I thought "we are never coming back here." The next train was what felt like 3am, but I didn't open my eyes so who really knows. At the 5:30am train I got up to use the bathroom and also to curse my life. Probably fell asleep a bit before 8am, to get about half an hour of sleep.

Sleep deprived tempers were not on best behavior that morning. We changed plans and instead of a lazy morning we headed out to take our inaugural canoe paddle.  We had been deciding between two places, and ended up settling on Beauvais Lake - which has horsepower restrictions and I don't think any motorized vehicles was there while we were.  The kids were very disappointed when we told them they could not jump from the boat and swim around, but we promised to find a spot where we could dock the canoe and get out. We found a peninsula (weren't actually sure at the time, could have been an island) and Alex hopped up and ran into the woods. Because, of course, hiking is the worst torture on earth but exploring is fun! I did not share with the children the fact that the very fresh looking pile of dung on the path looked exactly what bear scat is supposed to look like, but I did make sure to chatter nonstop as we followed the route. Happily we never saw the source of the scat.

While paddling around, in addition to the ubiquitous Canadian geese, we also saw and heard a loon with a couple babies, sea gulls, and enormous bright blue dragonflies. The kids swam until they got cold or tired. Terry and I enjoyed the paddling. Had the trains not run through the night, we would have called it a most perfect weekend.

Summer Vacation Part 2: Lake Louise

The day was absolutely not over yet! Due to our several stops, we managed to get to the hotel just a bit over check-in time, which meant we could go straight to our room. The hotel is old and kind of dumpy, but the room was BIG and the hotel was basically right on Lake Louise (we did feel a bit smug as we drove right into the hotel parking lot while others on the same road were turned back due to the full public parking lot).  The Fairmont hotel next door has a couple of somewhat more casual dining options, so we put on nicer clothes and wandered over in the blazing (80 degree) sun. Things feel a lot hotter here, I am going to blame altitude.

I bear a massive grudge right now against the Fairmont, because when I called to see about reservations the automated line said they only took walk-ins for those who weren't hotel guests. But at every possible entrance to the Fairmont grounds, there was a sign saying only hotel guests were permitted. By the time we got back to our hotel we were very hot, very hungry, and very grumpy. At check-in we had been told the hotel restaurant was booked but we could try walking in. The server who waited on us was very surprised when we told her that. There was no problem with the seating. The dinner was surprisingly delicious.

Feeling much better, we decided to see if Moraine Lake was less hectic in the evening. It was around 8pm or so, still an hour before sunset, when we headed out.  It was an awful attractive nuisance, all those fun-to-climb looking rocks and all the signs saying please don't climb on the rocks because of the fragile plant ecosystems living on and among them. We hung out for a bit, hoping for sunset colors that never materialized. By the time we got back to the hotel it was way past the kids' bedtime, but Terry was feeling fired up and after the kids got to bed he went outside for his first taste of nighttime photography. 

We had planned some hiking for the next morning but hadn't decided what. I really wanted to try the Lake Agnes or Plains of Six Glaciers tea house hikes, but after our Emerald Lake experience we realized we did not want to venture towards touristy places in high season. We instead chose a short hike that roughly paralleled the lake to a beautiful viewpoint. It was a nice little walk in the woods. But it was the return trip that really sparked the joy. Rather than return down the trail we took up, we made it a loop by taking a different path down to the lakeshore. On the way down we hit a rockpile the kids could climb on - which was the highlight. Although Alex wants to be very clear that she did not enjoy any minute of the hike. 

After a return to the hotel and packing up, it was time to head home.