Calgary Friday

We woke to cold and pouring rain. But set out for Drumheller nonetheless. This is the Royal Tyrell Museum, lots of dinosaur stuff!
It is a fantastic museum located in the badlands of Alberta, unfortunately it was too rainy for nice scenery shots.

All the kids in a giant dinosaur's mouth, the wind was blowing and that dinosaur felt like it would capsize at any moment!

After a challenging drive back (lost, road repairs, diversions, lunatic drivers, torrential rain) we had a great dinner and back to the hockey game.

I seem to have a history of returning rental cars in less than pristine condition! We leave tomorrow night and should be home by 4 on Sunday.

Calgary Thursday

We left Rocky Mountain House for the 3 hour drive to Calgary. A nice drive until we got to the city. We stopped at the War Museums and it was pouring rain and cold so a nice break from driving around in an unfamiliar city. We found the house with only a few wrong turns and some unorthodox city driving.
We had a great dinner and then played basketball and hockey. City skyline in the background.

Valemount to Rocky Mountain House

We left Valemount on the Yellowhead Highway and started the morning with a short hike when we got to Rearguard Falls.
It was difficult to believe that people actually raft from here.

Yes, the water was cold!

Nice uphill climb back to the car.

Soon Mt. Robson came into view, all 3954 meters of it.

We spent some time in beautiful Jasper, had some coffee, did some souvenier shopping, just forgot to take pictures! Sumwapta Falls was next.

Beautiful falls into a narrow gorge.

Still in short sleaves...

We slowly climbed up in elevation eventually reaching the Sunwapta Pass (2035 meters), the scenery was breathtaking. Suddenly we arrived at Athabasca Glacier.

After an uphill climb we ignored the warning signs and barracades and walked out on to the glacier.

Note the stream of people in the background and also that the temperature had suddenly become much colder!

Hunter with a piece of the ice as Grandma takes pictures. Safely down in the rubble at the tongue of the glacier visible just behind us. Truly an amazing experience.

The scenery on the icefields parkway was just amazing, no wonder it is one of the top 10 drives in the world. But this is Abraham Lake on the David Thompson highway from Saskatchewan River crossing to Rocky Mountain House!

Our only disappointment was seeing no wildlife all day, but then, having left the national parks behind we were surprised by a large black bear who climbed under the guardrail and passed just behind the car. Then a few deer of all descriptions just before we arrived at our destination right at 7pm. What a day.

Vernon to Valemount

Twas a chilly rainy morning that we set out from Vernon... got everything in the car but thought we would scrape bottom once we filled it up with gas!
But after a beautiful drive down the Yellowhead Highway we arrived in Valemount at about 4:30 and immediately went for a hike to stretch our legs. Note the snow on the mountains. The drive was about 5 and a half hours including a stop for lunch in Barriere and a potty stop in Clearwater. Got caught speeding but they let me off. Think it was the Alberta plates.

Very nice observation deck. On the hike we saw baby beavers, muskrats, ducks and a noisy flock of geese.

We then went to the salmon spawning at Swift Creek and listened as a guide explained the life cycle of the salmon. This spot is the end of the line 1500km's from where they entered the Fraser River in Vancouver. Awesome.

Late dinner at the Caribou Grill, now we are all exhausted and ready for bed! Jasper, Icefields Parkway and Rocky Mountain House tomorrow.

Last Day in Kelowna

Despite the cool temperatures, Hayley, Hunter and Tia had a blast in Grandpa's pool!
Then we said our goodbyes and headed off to the mall, Walmart and A&W before going home to Vernon. We had a nice dinner with Leigh and Gracie, started packing and then off to a very cool sleep.

Visiting

Saturday was a cloudy day and we got off to a late start. We visited Grandpa and family in Kelowna, dropped Hunter off at Braeden's and then went to Gayle's surprise birthday party at the Country Club. Her birthday is not until November but it was a rare event to have her three babies all together at once; Leigh, Trish and Jill.
We overslept again Sunday morning but finally got off to visit Aunt Audrey and Uncle George.

Always a beautiful yard and we also had a beautiful brunch!

Said good bye and headed down the winding westside road to Kelowna and then back home on the highway. Lots of signs warning us of Bighorn sheep but we saw none.

Hunter fixed a scrumptious dinner of mac and cheese with toast. Now for dessert Grandma is fixing crepes. Back to Kelowna for the last time tomorrow morning and then we are off to Valemount Tuesday morning.

Waterslides again

With only a few days left I asked the kids what they wanted most to do: Waterslides! So we went. Hunter and I took the long slide down, we went early so the lines were not too bad. Note the smoke-shrouded Swan lake below.
Hayley loves the tube ride and yes, that is Grandma right behind her!

Hayley and Grandma yet again.

Hunter with Braeden and the twins.

Best picture of the day! Now off to buy school supplies.

Country Club

Hayley and I went to the Farmer's market early and then we all headed down to the Country Club to see the Williamsons. That is Hunter venturing in to the frigid waters of Kal Lake and only he made it into the water.
This is Clara, Trish's littlest one after having some bubble gum ice cream! Think she is in love with Hunter. Doesn't say much though. :-)

The snuggler took over babysitting duties from Aunty Leigh, but as the clouds rolled in we decided to head down to Kelowna to shop. Hayley did well with her shopping and then we all had dinner at Milestones. Got home late after a pretty full day.

Dinner with the girls

I worked all day while the children and Norma did some shopping and running around. Then they were off to the movies and I went to dinner with the girls then drinks at the pub. Didn't make it to the club....Work again tomorrow, smoke has cleared off so probably a nice day at the lake for the children.

Tuesday

Another smokey day, with over 400 fires now in the province it is not surprising. Went to Jenn's house to swim in the pool and barbecue. What a beautiful view down Kal lake.
Trish's two kept us all entertained. Aunty Leigh was caretaker as Trish went off to play soccer.

Even after hamburgers, peaches and ice cream it was back home for peaches, raspberries, blueberries and cream! Agriculture in BC will have a good year.

Monday

Finally caught the scoundrel eating Grandma's petunias! Hayley and Hunter scared her away.
There was a family of Quail on the badminton court this morning, the babies are quite curious, the parents are smarter.

Alpacas? at the farmers market.

Then we ran into almost the entire Williamson clan.

Peaches, nectarines, plums, apricots. Also bought raspberries, blueberries and corn, Grandma wouldn't let me buy anything else. Jenn visited in the afternoon then had dinner and fondue at Randy's.

Kelowna with Little Sis!

We were back in Kelowna to see little sis Nicole, spent a lot of time in the pool under the haze of forestfire smoke then spent some quality time playing Apples to Apples. She was just in town for the day, sorry we didn't get to spend some more time with her.
Then the rain and thunderstorms arrived so had a sluggish commute back to Vernon. Hayley spotted a bunch of deers right by Grandma's house including a few babies. They are not real popular with Grandma right now having eaten nearly all her petunias!
It got super windy creating lots of excitement with the boaters, kite surfers, windsurfers and paddle boarders on the lake. Then we had a Cayman-style downpour, I have never seen it rain like this here before. Welcome rain though; with over 200 fires burning around BC they need all the rain they can get.