So, I'm going to start this post now and finish it as my flight day continues given the opportunities, considering how my day has already started.
First off, I woke up at 4:28 am ON MY OWN - seriously, 2 minutes before the wake up call. You better bet that I snoozed for those two minutes. But seriously, how did I wake up that early on my own. Very bizarre.
I hustled to get ready and got down to the lobby after hugging Uncle Lenox's neck has he leaned out his door in his Gator pjs, at 5:01 am and saw the tail lights of the shuttle start to pull away. Aunt Dottie helped get my suitcase down so we ran out side to catch them. The hotel radioed for them to stop and I managed to jump on board after a quick hug and thank you.
I got to the airport a little more than 2 hours before my flight, and it was a good thing. When I got to the check-in counter, they informed me that my name was similar enough to a name on the Wanted/Black List and they had to take my passport for approval. Kind of freaked out about handing my passport to an agent to take it to another part of the airport, I stood in a foreign country (yes, Canada counts for foreign) for a good 20 minutes. She came back and finished my processing and put me on my way, but that was the longest 20 minutes ever!
I moved along to a long customs line, but got a much nicer agent then when I arrived - friendly even. The line moved slow and I saw it grow and grow behind me. I was glad I made it on the 5am shuttle and beat the rush. After customs, I had to go through security, where they took the small lotion bottle Aunt Dottie gave me and sent me on my way.
I picked up Tim Hortons (of course) and called my family to warn them about the long customs line and to let my Aunt Edwina know about the name issue. Her full name is Sarah Edwina Kelley, so I thought she should know about the whole Wanted/BlackList thing.
I am preparing to board my flight, so I better take my tranquillizers as Paul calls them!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Day 8 - Columbian Icefields
We had such a fun-filled and packed day, I was on the move all the way until I went to bed, so I'm writing this post at 6AM from the Calgary Airport. Day 9 is going to be interesting as a result of being at an airport, but we'll get to that later. Back to day 8 - the glacier day.
After I ate a delicious breakfast of homemade oatmeal with brown sugar, we departed Jasper and headed in the direction of Calgary seeing glaciers, bears and elk along the way.
Our first stop was a photo stop at Stetfield Glacier - one of the glaciers along the Columbia Icefield we were eventually going to walk out on. We snapped a few quick photos of the rocky ice and jumped back on the bus. A quick trip down the Icefields Parkway and we were parking at the Athabascea Glacier and prepared to take very large trucks up to a summit to get out and take in first hand. These glaciers are part of the Columbia Icefield that has a main plateau of glacier and then six glacier shoots that stick out like fingers between the peaks. The water the flows from this icefield eventually makes it's way to the Artic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. This is a uniuqe element to this icefield since it's odd to have a tri-watershed.
We hopped into our giant buses that drove down a 18% grade hill and up into the glacier dropping us off at a safe level. We were encouraged to bring water bottles to take a taste of the glacier water when we got off to walk around for 20 minutes. I must say the glacier water was rather refeshing and tastey. I brought it back with me in my toiletry bag, so let's hope it survives the handling of the Calgary, Chicago and Cincinnati airports - otherwise my toothbrush will be doused in glacier water.
We took some fun photos while on the glacier and enjoyed the scenery. I must say, for being in the 60s it was certainly chilly on top of the glacier. I was glad I dress appropriately, but I would have liked to have gloves. My cousin Dana tried to drink directly from the glacier stream for a photo, but was unable to get close enough. A pair of gloves would have helped lower her to the ice a bit better.
We rode back down the glacier and had lunch at the bottom. By far the most un-healty meal I ate on the trip because I was in the mood from some junk food. Grilled cheese, split fries with Uncle Lenox and Aunt Dottie and then a piece of blueberry pie (good, but if you are keeping track - the piece at the Bar U Ranch was better).
After a short journey we made our last stop before arriving in Calgary, which was totally worth it, a great way to end the week and so unbelieveable that pictures barely do it justice - Peyto Lake. The amazing part of this lake was the shade of blue the rock flour projected. it was a small lake situated between mountain peaks and shined like a bright swimming pool. It was the brightest blue we have seen yet and even our tour guide said he hasn't seen it that blue in years. The rock flour produced from glacier movements determine the color, it's sometimes a bit more green.
We took a long sleepy ride into Calgary. Yes, Uncle Lenox did capture a shot of me sleeping on the bus with my mouth open, but I got him back when he fell asleep too. They said I'm officially initiated into family traveling when your photo gets taken asleep! We also saw two black bears at two different points of the driving bringing our bear total to 5 - 4 black bears and 1 grizzly. Beautiful animals.
We checked back into our first hotel in Calgary and had a bit of free time before dinner. I got in a nice phone call with Paul and enjoyed some leisure time with my family. Aunt Dottie found Monopoly at the Hotel, which was the downfall to my hours of sleep. We enjoyed a nice farewell dinner together, where we reminisced about our favorite sites and tales from our trip.
June 15th is Aunt Edwina's birthday, so we had the hotel bring cake complete with a sparkler and presented her with the gift we picked out for her on the trip - Canada, Eh pajamas that we suggested she model for all of us. She enjoyed the pjs and smiled cheerfully as we sang and embaressed her. We were heading back upstairs to get our Monopoly on and one of the gentlemen from our trip joked with Aunt Edwina that he did want to see her model those pjs and to come by his room. Upon realizing what he was saying he started laughing and saying "Ohh geeze- that sounded bad, don't worry my wife's there, my wife's there!!" We just hit the floor laughing, their faces were priceless - both Aunt Edwina's and our fellow traveler.
My family also presented me with an adorable pair of moose socks that features the moose in a pink robe and sunglasses and the feet say "I don't do mornings." After spending 8 days with me, they picked up on my distaste for waking up, but did say I did great getting up everyday at 6:30, even though I opted out of the early morning trips for pie and coffee in Waterton. The socks are great and I really appreciated the thoughtfulness of my family. It was great to spend 8 days with them in Canada.
After dinner, Aunt Dottie, Uncle Lenox, Zeke and myself sat down to play a friendly (aka HIGHLY competitive) game of Monopoly with Aunt Edwina regulating and ensuring fair play. The Kelley's tend to be a little (a lot) competitive as previously displayed every time we play a game whether it be a sport of board game. We were in for a doozie. After Zeke took an early lead picking up the light blue properties and putting down some real estate and Aunt Dottie spent three trips in jail, the tables turned and Zeke was about bankrupt before the game ended. Uncle Lenox was the first out and then Zeke was right behind him. I gave Aunt Dottie a run for her money doing quite alright myself, but she put out some hotels and put me in the dust. We're sorry to anyone we woke up with our howls of laughter everytime Aunt Dottie missed an opportunity to collect because she wasn't paying attentiong to the game and was busy counting her money. Not to mention the big howl she let out the first time someone landed on her red hotel properties. Zeke holds strong that he won a game of Scrabble and then we reminded him the three of us also beat him hands down at canoeing.
We crawled sleepily into bed mere hours before I had to wake up and jump on the 5am shuttle to the airport. It was a great week and a fanstastic time with a great group of travelers. Uncle Lenox is already plotting out three options for next year and I am going to start saving now!
After I ate a delicious breakfast of homemade oatmeal with brown sugar, we departed Jasper and headed in the direction of Calgary seeing glaciers, bears and elk along the way.
Our first stop was a photo stop at Stetfield Glacier - one of the glaciers along the Columbia Icefield we were eventually going to walk out on. We snapped a few quick photos of the rocky ice and jumped back on the bus. A quick trip down the Icefields Parkway and we were parking at the Athabascea Glacier and prepared to take very large trucks up to a summit to get out and take in first hand. These glaciers are part of the Columbia Icefield that has a main plateau of glacier and then six glacier shoots that stick out like fingers between the peaks. The water the flows from this icefield eventually makes it's way to the Artic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. This is a uniuqe element to this icefield since it's odd to have a tri-watershed.
We hopped into our giant buses that drove down a 18% grade hill and up into the glacier dropping us off at a safe level. We were encouraged to bring water bottles to take a taste of the glacier water when we got off to walk around for 20 minutes. I must say the glacier water was rather refeshing and tastey. I brought it back with me in my toiletry bag, so let's hope it survives the handling of the Calgary, Chicago and Cincinnati airports - otherwise my toothbrush will be doused in glacier water.
We took some fun photos while on the glacier and enjoyed the scenery. I must say, for being in the 60s it was certainly chilly on top of the glacier. I was glad I dress appropriately, but I would have liked to have gloves. My cousin Dana tried to drink directly from the glacier stream for a photo, but was unable to get close enough. A pair of gloves would have helped lower her to the ice a bit better.
We rode back down the glacier and had lunch at the bottom. By far the most un-healty meal I ate on the trip because I was in the mood from some junk food. Grilled cheese, split fries with Uncle Lenox and Aunt Dottie and then a piece of blueberry pie (good, but if you are keeping track - the piece at the Bar U Ranch was better).
After a short journey we made our last stop before arriving in Calgary, which was totally worth it, a great way to end the week and so unbelieveable that pictures barely do it justice - Peyto Lake. The amazing part of this lake was the shade of blue the rock flour projected. it was a small lake situated between mountain peaks and shined like a bright swimming pool. It was the brightest blue we have seen yet and even our tour guide said he hasn't seen it that blue in years. The rock flour produced from glacier movements determine the color, it's sometimes a bit more green.
We took a long sleepy ride into Calgary. Yes, Uncle Lenox did capture a shot of me sleeping on the bus with my mouth open, but I got him back when he fell asleep too. They said I'm officially initiated into family traveling when your photo gets taken asleep! We also saw two black bears at two different points of the driving bringing our bear total to 5 - 4 black bears and 1 grizzly. Beautiful animals.
We checked back into our first hotel in Calgary and had a bit of free time before dinner. I got in a nice phone call with Paul and enjoyed some leisure time with my family. Aunt Dottie found Monopoly at the Hotel, which was the downfall to my hours of sleep. We enjoyed a nice farewell dinner together, where we reminisced about our favorite sites and tales from our trip.
June 15th is Aunt Edwina's birthday, so we had the hotel bring cake complete with a sparkler and presented her with the gift we picked out for her on the trip - Canada, Eh pajamas that we suggested she model for all of us. She enjoyed the pjs and smiled cheerfully as we sang and embaressed her. We were heading back upstairs to get our Monopoly on and one of the gentlemen from our trip joked with Aunt Edwina that he did want to see her model those pjs and to come by his room. Upon realizing what he was saying he started laughing and saying "Ohh geeze- that sounded bad, don't worry my wife's there, my wife's there!!" We just hit the floor laughing, their faces were priceless - both Aunt Edwina's and our fellow traveler.
My family also presented me with an adorable pair of moose socks that features the moose in a pink robe and sunglasses and the feet say "I don't do mornings." After spending 8 days with me, they picked up on my distaste for waking up, but did say I did great getting up everyday at 6:30, even though I opted out of the early morning trips for pie and coffee in Waterton. The socks are great and I really appreciated the thoughtfulness of my family. It was great to spend 8 days with them in Canada.
After dinner, Aunt Dottie, Uncle Lenox, Zeke and myself sat down to play a friendly (aka HIGHLY competitive) game of Monopoly with Aunt Edwina regulating and ensuring fair play. The Kelley's tend to be a little (a lot) competitive as previously displayed every time we play a game whether it be a sport of board game. We were in for a doozie. After Zeke took an early lead picking up the light blue properties and putting down some real estate and Aunt Dottie spent three trips in jail, the tables turned and Zeke was about bankrupt before the game ended. Uncle Lenox was the first out and then Zeke was right behind him. I gave Aunt Dottie a run for her money doing quite alright myself, but she put out some hotels and put me in the dust. We're sorry to anyone we woke up with our howls of laughter everytime Aunt Dottie missed an opportunity to collect because she wasn't paying attentiong to the game and was busy counting her money. Not to mention the big howl she let out the first time someone landed on her red hotel properties. Zeke holds strong that he won a game of Scrabble and then we reminded him the three of us also beat him hands down at canoeing.
We crawled sleepily into bed mere hours before I had to wake up and jump on the 5am shuttle to the airport. It was a great week and a fanstastic time with a great group of travelers. Uncle Lenox is already plotting out three options for next year and I am going to start saving now!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Day 7 - Jasper & the Wicked Lake
Breakfast today was by far the best we had the whole trip - I had grapes, pancakes, and crispy bacon. The oatmeal with brown sugar was temping, but I already had a plateful. After breakfast, we loaded the coaches for a half day of touring and and an afternoon off in Jasper.
The first stop brought a new look to the Rockies - a canyon with a beautiful river cutting across river rock, tall pines concealing much of the sun but allowing individual beams to shoot down. We walked along the trail of Maligne Canyon and caught new sights along every turn. This was the highlight viewpoint of the day for me.
The second stop was a quick photo opportunity at Medicine Lake. This is an odd lake that drains into underwater caves and drains underground. The glaciers melt and pour into this bowl in the spring and by fall the lake is down to small braided river channels. The First Nations were baffled by this and assumed it was something to do with bad medicine, which is how they originally earned its name that was later shortened to Medicine Lake. The sun was real bright this morning and the mountains almost fad into the distance, but the water was a nice shade of green and smooth as glass.
The last stop earned it's name - the Wicked Lake. Well, it's actually the Maligne Lake, but Malign means Wicked and it sure was. While it was pretty and I'm sure enjoyable for other visitors - I was miserable. The entire North American population of mosquitos was on vacation at Maligne lake and swarming around us. I swatted back and forth trying to take in the lake, but finally gave up and went inside and had ice cream. The ice cream was fantastic - a Rolo, carmel ice cream with a carmel center dipped in chocolate, but the mosquitos were miserable. Then to top it off, somewhere at this lake my sunglasses disappeared. I don't remember taking them off or putting them down, but some how I made it back to the bus without them. I'll be fine if I don't ever make it back to Wicked Lake.
The coach dropped us off in the downtown area of Jasper for some lunch and shopping of course! Uncle Lenox, John and Ginger all found our way to North Face Pizza for a delicious lunch. Uncle Lenox and I split a medium pizza and it had a great crispy crust with gooey cheese. After lunch we hit the shops where I found my purchase of the trip - new coasters. I know, it doesn't sound that thrilling, but they are beautiful dark slate pieces that will look soo pretty on my table. I going to add a little mountain look to my house - a crisp pine green, dark slate, pebble grey and my dark wood. The coasters are the first step! I also finished off my gift-shopping as well. I hope everyone likes what I picked out!
We made our way back to our bungalow at 4pm and had some time before dinner to relax and read in nature. I had a nice 30-minute nap as well after I read outside for an hour. We went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner and then spent the evening outside as a family. We watched Cailyn and the boys play horseshoes, I'm blogging outside with my power cord coming out of the bathroom window to my chair outside and I'm about to stop for a roasted marshmallow - one of my favorites! It's a wonderful evening and I have a feeling we'll be having a scrabble re-match this evening. We all had to hear Zeke gloat all day about using all 7 of his tiles on quarries last night and winning the game. He's going down.
Editors Note: Zeke did have a good game of scrabble - he played words such as movie, gazebo, infinite and his game winning quarries. He would like this added to today's post and he does another victory song and dance. Uncle Lenox would like me to add that we had to tell Zeke how to spell each of his words.
The first stop brought a new look to the Rockies - a canyon with a beautiful river cutting across river rock, tall pines concealing much of the sun but allowing individual beams to shoot down. We walked along the trail of Maligne Canyon and caught new sights along every turn. This was the highlight viewpoint of the day for me.
The second stop was a quick photo opportunity at Medicine Lake. This is an odd lake that drains into underwater caves and drains underground. The glaciers melt and pour into this bowl in the spring and by fall the lake is down to small braided river channels. The First Nations were baffled by this and assumed it was something to do with bad medicine, which is how they originally earned its name that was later shortened to Medicine Lake. The sun was real bright this morning and the mountains almost fad into the distance, but the water was a nice shade of green and smooth as glass.
The last stop earned it's name - the Wicked Lake. Well, it's actually the Maligne Lake, but Malign means Wicked and it sure was. While it was pretty and I'm sure enjoyable for other visitors - I was miserable. The entire North American population of mosquitos was on vacation at Maligne lake and swarming around us. I swatted back and forth trying to take in the lake, but finally gave up and went inside and had ice cream. The ice cream was fantastic - a Rolo, carmel ice cream with a carmel center dipped in chocolate, but the mosquitos were miserable. Then to top it off, somewhere at this lake my sunglasses disappeared. I don't remember taking them off or putting them down, but some how I made it back to the bus without them. I'll be fine if I don't ever make it back to Wicked Lake.
The coach dropped us off in the downtown area of Jasper for some lunch and shopping of course! Uncle Lenox, John and Ginger all found our way to North Face Pizza for a delicious lunch. Uncle Lenox and I split a medium pizza and it had a great crispy crust with gooey cheese. After lunch we hit the shops where I found my purchase of the trip - new coasters. I know, it doesn't sound that thrilling, but they are beautiful dark slate pieces that will look soo pretty on my table. I going to add a little mountain look to my house - a crisp pine green, dark slate, pebble grey and my dark wood. The coasters are the first step! I also finished off my gift-shopping as well. I hope everyone likes what I picked out!
We made our way back to our bungalow at 4pm and had some time before dinner to relax and read in nature. I had a nice 30-minute nap as well after I read outside for an hour. We went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner and then spent the evening outside as a family. We watched Cailyn and the boys play horseshoes, I'm blogging outside with my power cord coming out of the bathroom window to my chair outside and I'm about to stop for a roasted marshmallow - one of my favorites! It's a wonderful evening and I have a feeling we'll be having a scrabble re-match this evening. We all had to hear Zeke gloat all day about using all 7 of his tiles on quarries last night and winning the game. He's going down.
Editors Note: Zeke did have a good game of scrabble - he played words such as movie, gazebo, infinite and his game winning quarries. He would like this added to today's post and he does another victory song and dance. Uncle Lenox would like me to add that we had to tell Zeke how to spell each of his words.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Day 6 - Banff to Jasper
Another fun - filled day of travel from Banff to Jasper with picturesque mountains, lakes and even a canoe trip through glacier waters.
We started our morning with our usual breakfast at 7am for an 8am departure from Banff to Jasper. We loaded the coach and started out of town and got a great treat early in the morning - a grizzly bear munching on some dandelions on the side of the road. Our first stops were at Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. Both amazing lakes with pure water as crystal as ice and rich jewel-tone colors. We stopped for a short photo and washroom visit at Moraine Lake. We had great light and the photos turned out great.
We had a bit more time at Lake Louise - enough to take out a canoe and travel the length of the lake circle back and head back to the dock. This was by far the best way to view this lake. Once you got about 40 yards off of the waters' edge, the water was the most amazing and unrealistic color of blue - just like a swimming pool. Uncle Lenox, Aunt Dottie and I were in one canoe and Zeke, Cailyn and Jeremy were in the other. We completely smoked them to the other end of the lake and then again going back. They even admitted that they couldn't quite figure out how to catch us. We managed to have better paddling skills which gave us the edge of their strength advantage. If they could figure out how to not be zig zagging all over the lake they might have had a shot. I sat in the middle of the canoe and got splashed from either side so that when I got out of the canoe I was sitting in a puddle of glacier water. I can fully attest to how cold the water is coming off the glaciers! We had the best views and took in the unique experience of floating out in the glass waters surrounded by mountains, tall pines and glaciers.
After canoeing, we stopped for lunch at the Chateau of Lake Louise and I had a nice meat lasagna and delicious sweet pepper and sour cream chips. Delicious.
We boarded the coach and headed up the Icefields Parkway that connects Lake Louise and Jasper. This stretch of road is known for wildlife and amazing sites along the way and we took in both. Our first stop was at Crowfoot Mountain and Crowfoot Glacier and then over to the Bow Lake and Bow River. Just stopped for some photos, but again, great scenery. We continued north on the Icefields Parkway and took in the Weeping Wall, Big Hill, Bridal Falls and even some Rocky Mountain Goats.
After making a few quick photo stops, we make a long stop with the Athabasca Falls that tumble down the Athabasca River from the Athabasca Glacier. The most amazing mist blows off of the Falls and a bridge stands right over the falls so I could stand right in front of the falls and feel the power and wind off the glacier water. We took a few trails around the area and enjoyed the trails and rocks cut into the land.
We rolled into Jasper after the falls and checked into our hotel - the Jasper Springs Bungalows, which are adorable wood cabins with a fantastic view of the river. The area is tremendous and the wood cabins fit perfectly in the pines. I must admit though, the bathroom doors are tricky and I managed to lock myself in and thought for a while I was going to be in there through dinner. Luckily my aunts managed to free me, but it was still amusing.
We had dinner as a group at the hotel restaurant, where we learned all sorts of fun family stories. Dana told the story of Zeke, Christopher, Jeremy and Joe's firework battle, where as you image, the teamed up and shot fireworks at each other. Zeke and Jeremy were putting bottle rockets in pipes and shooting them at Christopher and Joe from a tree house, so they retaliated by lighting the trees under the tree house on fire to smoke them out. They attempted to put the fire out by peeing on the fire, but they just made it bigger, so they had to leap out of the treehouse and tuck and roll. Zeke says this was the best time they'd ever had. This story triggered Uncle Lenox's memory when he and some of my other uncles held a bee-bee gun fight where they had a similar battle, but with bee-bee guns. He also reminisced about how they used to put cherry bombs down in the pipes and put C-batteries in and shoot them off like canons. I'm glad I'm not a boy.
After dinner we played a few rounds of Scrabble from the hotel and I caught the end of the Stanley Cup Finals - yay Pens!
We started our morning with our usual breakfast at 7am for an 8am departure from Banff to Jasper. We loaded the coach and started out of town and got a great treat early in the morning - a grizzly bear munching on some dandelions on the side of the road. Our first stops were at Moraine Lake and Lake Louise. Both amazing lakes with pure water as crystal as ice and rich jewel-tone colors. We stopped for a short photo and washroom visit at Moraine Lake. We had great light and the photos turned out great.
We had a bit more time at Lake Louise - enough to take out a canoe and travel the length of the lake circle back and head back to the dock. This was by far the best way to view this lake. Once you got about 40 yards off of the waters' edge, the water was the most amazing and unrealistic color of blue - just like a swimming pool. Uncle Lenox, Aunt Dottie and I were in one canoe and Zeke, Cailyn and Jeremy were in the other. We completely smoked them to the other end of the lake and then again going back. They even admitted that they couldn't quite figure out how to catch us. We managed to have better paddling skills which gave us the edge of their strength advantage. If they could figure out how to not be zig zagging all over the lake they might have had a shot. I sat in the middle of the canoe and got splashed from either side so that when I got out of the canoe I was sitting in a puddle of glacier water. I can fully attest to how cold the water is coming off the glaciers! We had the best views and took in the unique experience of floating out in the glass waters surrounded by mountains, tall pines and glaciers.
After canoeing, we stopped for lunch at the Chateau of Lake Louise and I had a nice meat lasagna and delicious sweet pepper and sour cream chips. Delicious.
We boarded the coach and headed up the Icefields Parkway that connects Lake Louise and Jasper. This stretch of road is known for wildlife and amazing sites along the way and we took in both. Our first stop was at Crowfoot Mountain and Crowfoot Glacier and then over to the Bow Lake and Bow River. Just stopped for some photos, but again, great scenery. We continued north on the Icefields Parkway and took in the Weeping Wall, Big Hill, Bridal Falls and even some Rocky Mountain Goats.
After making a few quick photo stops, we make a long stop with the Athabasca Falls that tumble down the Athabasca River from the Athabasca Glacier. The most amazing mist blows off of the Falls and a bridge stands right over the falls so I could stand right in front of the falls and feel the power and wind off the glacier water. We took a few trails around the area and enjoyed the trails and rocks cut into the land.
We rolled into Jasper after the falls and checked into our hotel - the Jasper Springs Bungalows, which are adorable wood cabins with a fantastic view of the river. The area is tremendous and the wood cabins fit perfectly in the pines. I must admit though, the bathroom doors are tricky and I managed to lock myself in and thought for a while I was going to be in there through dinner. Luckily my aunts managed to free me, but it was still amusing.
We had dinner as a group at the hotel restaurant, where we learned all sorts of fun family stories. Dana told the story of Zeke, Christopher, Jeremy and Joe's firework battle, where as you image, the teamed up and shot fireworks at each other. Zeke and Jeremy were putting bottle rockets in pipes and shooting them at Christopher and Joe from a tree house, so they retaliated by lighting the trees under the tree house on fire to smoke them out. They attempted to put the fire out by peeing on the fire, but they just made it bigger, so they had to leap out of the treehouse and tuck and roll. Zeke says this was the best time they'd ever had. This story triggered Uncle Lenox's memory when he and some of my other uncles held a bee-bee gun fight where they had a similar battle, but with bee-bee guns. He also reminisced about how they used to put cherry bombs down in the pipes and put C-batteries in and shoot them off like canons. I'm glad I'm not a boy.
After dinner we played a few rounds of Scrabble from the hotel and I caught the end of the Stanley Cup Finals - yay Pens!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Day 5 - Banff
Day 5, code name Awesome!
Day 5 started with one of my favorite things - sleeping in! We got an extra hour to sleep this morning and started at 9am instead of the usual 8am. We had breakfast at Tony Romas and boarded the coach for a tour of Banff and a raft ride down the Bow River.
We quickly passed over Lake Minnewauka (not sure about the spelling), and just checked it out from the coach on our way to Two Jack Lake. We saw some young elk just sprouting their antlers and some mountain goats with the big horns curling around. We stopped for a picture opportunity at Two Jack Lake and I climbed down the hill to base of the lake for a few shots. Uncle Lenox climbed down on the ground and layed out for some pictures and Zeke caught some nice shots of him laying in the grass on his stomach.
On our way to our raft float ride, we stopped to learn about the Hoodoos - deposits from the glacier movements that are essentially concrete. They leave funny little shapes like when you hold really wet sand at the beach and drip it back onto the beach. They First Nations believed these statue like columns had spiritual basis and were to blame when things went wrong - the Hoodoos are messing everything up! We also made a quick stop at the Celestial Gardens that stand at the end of Banff Avenue that look down to the whole town. They are just starting to plant the flowers, but there were a few blooms that I was able to take a few photos.
After Two Jack Lake we headed to Bow River Falls and the Bow River for a raft right down the glacier water. Our whole group managed to all get into one boat with a few extra passengers and enjoyed the 8-mile journey down the river, searching for animals, taking in the sights and learning the history of how this river has carved a mountain into two. Our tour guide showed us where trees along the river are falling in as the river continues to cut and push east. The river is fed by the Bow Glacier and the water is just slightly above freezing - I checked. We had a nice relaxing trip down the river, that is only a few feet deep in places and crystal clear. Since it's formed from a glacier it has a nice aqua-green sheen.
We continued our tour of Banff by riding back around past the Banff Springs Hotel - the first hotel built in Banff as a result of the Canadian-Pacific railway. This is a huge facility with rather pricey rooms. We didn't stop, but we got to take a peek at what they call the Castle in the Rockies.
When we got back into Banff, we had the afternoon to ourselves, so we all split up. Uncle Lenox and I had by far the best time (even though I'm sure Aunt Dottie will say she had a better time collecting her bargins) - but then again I'm partial. We stopped in Brunos for a nice $5 burger and some sodas and had a great lunch before we took off on our excursion. We rented bikes and rode out of town and along a nice freshly paved path to Vermillion Lake #1, 2 & 3. We had a few short hills (one that worse than others that I am remembering in my legs as I type), but it was otherwise flat. The perfect vacation ride. We figured it out to be about 11 kilometers. Nice bit of sun too, so the weather couldn't have been better for a nice ride.
After our ride, we popped into a few shops. My big bargain for the day is a hat and glove set - wool, lined with fleece for $8. I'm not set for next winter, for sure! Aunt Dottie did a little better, but come on, she's a professional for goodness sake :) We also grabbed some ice cream from Cows on our way back to our hotel. All (most) of the flavors have cow related names. I had Moople Walnut and Uncle Lenox had Wowie Cowie - so basically I had maple walnut and he had a toffee/pecan/chocolate type thing. I also scored some nice hockey pucks with some vintage logos - only in Canada! I also popped in a grocery store to buy maple syrup (big surprise) and i saw where all their tabloids were the same mostly - all Jon & Kate! I found that very interesting - there is a lot of American entertainment in Canada. Although, we did get You Can't Do That On Television from Canada, so I guess it can go either way.
We grabbed dinner at you guessed it, Brunos - my new favorite little place. I think all the employees know me know. I just met the manager, Gary - who place music and I have a new sticker to add to my water bottle from him. Everyone has been super nice and the food is great. I think my family enjoyed their dinners too. They have trivia cards on each table so we had a good time asking qustions and then before leaving my family jumped on the band set up by the door and we have some great shots of them playing various instruments. Uncle Lenox and I split the wings and they were amazing, much better than last night's wings. It seems I'm having my own little wing-off taste testing the wings of Banff. Brunos gets my vote.
Day 5 started with one of my favorite things - sleeping in! We got an extra hour to sleep this morning and started at 9am instead of the usual 8am. We had breakfast at Tony Romas and boarded the coach for a tour of Banff and a raft ride down the Bow River.
We quickly passed over Lake Minnewauka (not sure about the spelling), and just checked it out from the coach on our way to Two Jack Lake. We saw some young elk just sprouting their antlers and some mountain goats with the big horns curling around. We stopped for a picture opportunity at Two Jack Lake and I climbed down the hill to base of the lake for a few shots. Uncle Lenox climbed down on the ground and layed out for some pictures and Zeke caught some nice shots of him laying in the grass on his stomach.
On our way to our raft float ride, we stopped to learn about the Hoodoos - deposits from the glacier movements that are essentially concrete. They leave funny little shapes like when you hold really wet sand at the beach and drip it back onto the beach. They First Nations believed these statue like columns had spiritual basis and were to blame when things went wrong - the Hoodoos are messing everything up! We also made a quick stop at the Celestial Gardens that stand at the end of Banff Avenue that look down to the whole town. They are just starting to plant the flowers, but there were a few blooms that I was able to take a few photos.
After Two Jack Lake we headed to Bow River Falls and the Bow River for a raft right down the glacier water. Our whole group managed to all get into one boat with a few extra passengers and enjoyed the 8-mile journey down the river, searching for animals, taking in the sights and learning the history of how this river has carved a mountain into two. Our tour guide showed us where trees along the river are falling in as the river continues to cut and push east. The river is fed by the Bow Glacier and the water is just slightly above freezing - I checked. We had a nice relaxing trip down the river, that is only a few feet deep in places and crystal clear. Since it's formed from a glacier it has a nice aqua-green sheen.
We continued our tour of Banff by riding back around past the Banff Springs Hotel - the first hotel built in Banff as a result of the Canadian-Pacific railway. This is a huge facility with rather pricey rooms. We didn't stop, but we got to take a peek at what they call the Castle in the Rockies.
When we got back into Banff, we had the afternoon to ourselves, so we all split up. Uncle Lenox and I had by far the best time (even though I'm sure Aunt Dottie will say she had a better time collecting her bargins) - but then again I'm partial. We stopped in Brunos for a nice $5 burger and some sodas and had a great lunch before we took off on our excursion. We rented bikes and rode out of town and along a nice freshly paved path to Vermillion Lake #1, 2 & 3. We had a few short hills (one that worse than others that I am remembering in my legs as I type), but it was otherwise flat. The perfect vacation ride. We figured it out to be about 11 kilometers. Nice bit of sun too, so the weather couldn't have been better for a nice ride.
After our ride, we popped into a few shops. My big bargain for the day is a hat and glove set - wool, lined with fleece for $8. I'm not set for next winter, for sure! Aunt Dottie did a little better, but come on, she's a professional for goodness sake :) We also grabbed some ice cream from Cows on our way back to our hotel. All (most) of the flavors have cow related names. I had Moople Walnut and Uncle Lenox had Wowie Cowie - so basically I had maple walnut and he had a toffee/pecan/chocolate type thing. I also scored some nice hockey pucks with some vintage logos - only in Canada! I also popped in a grocery store to buy maple syrup (big surprise) and i saw where all their tabloids were the same mostly - all Jon & Kate! I found that very interesting - there is a lot of American entertainment in Canada. Although, we did get You Can't Do That On Television from Canada, so I guess it can go either way.
We grabbed dinner at you guessed it, Brunos - my new favorite little place. I think all the employees know me know. I just met the manager, Gary - who place music and I have a new sticker to add to my water bottle from him. Everyone has been super nice and the food is great. I think my family enjoyed their dinners too. They have trivia cards on each table so we had a good time asking qustions and then before leaving my family jumped on the band set up by the door and we have some great shots of them playing various instruments. Uncle Lenox and I split the wings and they were amazing, much better than last night's wings. It seems I'm having my own little wing-off taste testing the wings of Banff. Brunos gets my vote.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Day 4 - Banff & Canmore
I'm starting this post from a little bar in Banff, Alberta named Brunos where I am the only person in the place that doesn't work here. This will be my last stop for the day before I retire to my hotel next door, the Mount Royal Hotel. So, how did I arrive at Brunos? Well, the Mount Royal charges $11 a day for Internet access and Brunos is free -- well, I did purchase a glass of red wine, but that's a nominal fee compared to being ripped off by my hotel.
So, since I'm starting at the end of my day, I'm going to keep this going and write through my day in reverse.
Prior to coming into Brunos, I hit up the dozens of shops that line the main drag of Banff on Banff Avenue. Alot of touristy souvenir items, but I still haven't found my Mom a maganet for her collection. I was strong and didn't make any purchases even though I found a couple of cute items, but nothing I couldn't live without. Even though the Roots store did tempt me - but dropping that kind of cash on clothes didn't seem all that fiscally responsible.
A 2nd patron (but I think he might be an off duty employee) has entered Brunos and is also enjoying the live music by the rest of the employees. This must be a fun place to work if you are a talented musician, as they all seem to be rather skilled.
Before shopping, we had dinner at the St. James Irish Pub. I had a whole pound of BBQ chicken wings - in fact my fingers still smell like BBQ sauce. Somehow, most of our group managed to stay together for dinner yet again - which is kind of surpising given our size. Aunt Dottie almost opted to shop rather than eat, but we convinced her to have a bite.
We ducked in a few shops on our pursuit to find something to eat, but I restrained making any purchases. Shortly before dinner we arrived at our hotel, the forementioned Mount Royal Hotel and checked out our rooms. Very nice, a little small, but it's a cute and very conveniently placed along the main stretch of Banff. Banff is one of those amazing mountain towns that is big enough for all the amentities - like a mall and great eateries. This town comes alive in the summer, but our tour guide lived here for quite a few number of years (his daughters graduated from Banff High School). The sites our beautiful and I'm looking forward to renting a bike tomorrow and hitting the trails, but that's for a post tomorrow. Banff is also the 3rd National Park in the world - first was Yellowstone, second in Austrailia.
Prior to checking into our hotel, we had the highlight of the day - a Gondola ride to the top of Mt. Sulpher. I rode with Uncle Lenox, Aunt Dottie and Aunt Edwina. Poor Christopher was not so much a fan of the heights and threathened his fellow passengers anytime they made any kind of movements. It was a bit scary going up - I must say. I kept looking down and thinking, well we aren't that far from the mountain as compared to the bottom. Getting to the top was worth it - amazing view of the Rockie Mountains. I also was able to purchase and send some postcards from the top that receive a special stamp. I hope they make it to Cincinnati and Columbus!
Before arriving in Banff, we stopped for lunch and shopping in Canmore. It's like a little Banff, just as cute and delicious food. We all ate outside at the Wood and enjoyed the weather. We got to see a lot of dogs, including a huskey and for some reason babies were everywhere. I picked up some bath salts and sample pack of soaps at the Rockie Mountain Soap shop.
Before arriving in Canmore we had a long journey with a stop at the Bar U Ranch on the way. I wish I could remember more, but I just had a piece of blueberry pie there rather than looking through the historic ranch. Pie sounded soo good, I couldn't help it. Plus I feel asleep on the bus ride up there and missed the educational DVD explaining where we were going. I did learn about the branding and how to read a brand (left to right, top to bottom, inside out). I took a few pictures and felt it was appropriate stop for our drive through Cowboy Country.
The morning started out with a nap - and it was wonderful. I slept pretty much the entire way from Waterton National Park to the Bar U Ranch - a good 2 hours. Before we departed Waterton, we did stop at the Prince of Wales hotel for some photos. Really beautiful morning and the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect photo opportunity to catch Waterton National Park in it's glory.
Waterton National Park was beautiful, but there wasn't much going on in the town as compared to Banff, so I can't say I was sad to leave, but I think I might be when we head to Jasper in two days.
Brunos is starting to get hoppin. I'm the only nerd on a computer, but I refuse to be ripped off by my hotel and I'm enjoying chatting with Paul on gmail chat. It's open mic night, so this could be interesting!
So, since I'm starting at the end of my day, I'm going to keep this going and write through my day in reverse.
Prior to coming into Brunos, I hit up the dozens of shops that line the main drag of Banff on Banff Avenue. Alot of touristy souvenir items, but I still haven't found my Mom a maganet for her collection. I was strong and didn't make any purchases even though I found a couple of cute items, but nothing I couldn't live without. Even though the Roots store did tempt me - but dropping that kind of cash on clothes didn't seem all that fiscally responsible.
A 2nd patron (but I think he might be an off duty employee) has entered Brunos and is also enjoying the live music by the rest of the employees. This must be a fun place to work if you are a talented musician, as they all seem to be rather skilled.
Before shopping, we had dinner at the St. James Irish Pub. I had a whole pound of BBQ chicken wings - in fact my fingers still smell like BBQ sauce. Somehow, most of our group managed to stay together for dinner yet again - which is kind of surpising given our size. Aunt Dottie almost opted to shop rather than eat, but we convinced her to have a bite.
We ducked in a few shops on our pursuit to find something to eat, but I restrained making any purchases. Shortly before dinner we arrived at our hotel, the forementioned Mount Royal Hotel and checked out our rooms. Very nice, a little small, but it's a cute and very conveniently placed along the main stretch of Banff. Banff is one of those amazing mountain towns that is big enough for all the amentities - like a mall and great eateries. This town comes alive in the summer, but our tour guide lived here for quite a few number of years (his daughters graduated from Banff High School). The sites our beautiful and I'm looking forward to renting a bike tomorrow and hitting the trails, but that's for a post tomorrow. Banff is also the 3rd National Park in the world - first was Yellowstone, second in Austrailia.
Prior to checking into our hotel, we had the highlight of the day - a Gondola ride to the top of Mt. Sulpher. I rode with Uncle Lenox, Aunt Dottie and Aunt Edwina. Poor Christopher was not so much a fan of the heights and threathened his fellow passengers anytime they made any kind of movements. It was a bit scary going up - I must say. I kept looking down and thinking, well we aren't that far from the mountain as compared to the bottom. Getting to the top was worth it - amazing view of the Rockie Mountains. I also was able to purchase and send some postcards from the top that receive a special stamp. I hope they make it to Cincinnati and Columbus!
Before arriving in Banff, we stopped for lunch and shopping in Canmore. It's like a little Banff, just as cute and delicious food. We all ate outside at the Wood and enjoyed the weather. We got to see a lot of dogs, including a huskey and for some reason babies were everywhere. I picked up some bath salts and sample pack of soaps at the Rockie Mountain Soap shop.
Before arriving in Canmore we had a long journey with a stop at the Bar U Ranch on the way. I wish I could remember more, but I just had a piece of blueberry pie there rather than looking through the historic ranch. Pie sounded soo good, I couldn't help it. Plus I feel asleep on the bus ride up there and missed the educational DVD explaining where we were going. I did learn about the branding and how to read a brand (left to right, top to bottom, inside out). I took a few pictures and felt it was appropriate stop for our drive through Cowboy Country.
The morning started out with a nap - and it was wonderful. I slept pretty much the entire way from Waterton National Park to the Bar U Ranch - a good 2 hours. Before we departed Waterton, we did stop at the Prince of Wales hotel for some photos. Really beautiful morning and the sun was out and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Perfect photo opportunity to catch Waterton National Park in it's glory.
Waterton National Park was beautiful, but there wasn't much going on in the town as compared to Banff, so I can't say I was sad to leave, but I think I might be when we head to Jasper in two days.
Brunos is starting to get hoppin. I'm the only nerd on a computer, but I refuse to be ripped off by my hotel and I'm enjoying chatting with Paul on gmail chat. It's open mic night, so this could be interesting!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Day 3 - Montana
Lions and Tigers and Bears -- Ohh...okay, just one bear...
Day three started out rather warm - but just in our hotel room. I woke up burning up and was fortunate enough to open our patio door while I got ready and welcomed in some mountain air. While my family woke up extra early to make a visit to the pie shop, I chose to sleep an extra half hour and just enjoy the complementary breakfast.
It was an absolute beautiful morning in Waterton National Park - even though we had some crisp temperatures, the sun was shinning brightly through the peaks, onto the lake and warming our faces. We boarded the coach and headed for the border for a day trip to Montana.
We were warned that the border crossing folks can be a bit on the tough side and to play it straight, no misbehaving. Fortunately, Stg Denis was in a peachy mood. He came down the isle collecting passports, but not saying much. We all kept quiet until he reached my Aunt Dottie, who asked him if he minded his photograph taken. He chuckled in suprise that someone wanted to take his photo and said "Well, sure!" She snapped a few and he exited the coach to scan our passports. He came back to distribute them and was again cheery. He started passing them out and said loudly from the front of the bus, "Where's Sarah Kelley?" I waved, my Aunt waved and I thought to myself, ohh no, what have I done?! He said, "Ohh in the back - you're last!" Sure enough, I was one of the last to receive my passport back and had to double check which Sarah Kelley belonged to the passport, comparing the photo to myself and my Aunt. He had some fun and we all got a good laugh. He stamped our passports and we were off back to the United States.
We stopped shortly into Montana for a photo opportunity - Mountain Chief Peak. The peak is sacred to Native Americans and is stunning in the landscape. We took some great photos and I of course managed to get mud on my shoe and spent a good bit of time trying to wipe it off. I also had a grand total of a minute of phone service and hoped I would get to use my phone in Montana, but no such luck, that was last bit of service I had the whole day.
We traveled on into Glacier National Park to jump on the Red Jammer tour buses to take the Going to the Sun Road from Saint Mary to where the road was blocked from snow at Jackson Glacier Overlook. Logan's pass isn't open yet as they are still shoveling snow (eww yuck). The Red Jammer held all fourteen of us and our tour guide, Darryl and the top canvas rolled back to reveal open air and beautiful sunshine. We stopped along the way to take in the various peaks and views along the Saint Mary Lake. I took the very front seat in the Red Bus (the Jammer is the driver since he traditionally had to jam the clutch to double shift in the previous versions of the bus) and had a tremendous view. Our guide shared with us that there are about 22 glaciers in the park and when he started working there, they had more than 30. He said scientist suspect that there will be no glaciers left by 2020. The highlight of the this journey came right at the end when we came face to face with a black bear grazing on their candy (as our guide put it) - dandillions that were growing along the road.
Right as we returned back to our coach, it began to rain, so we just made it before the weather turned. We headed over to Many Glacier for some lunch and shopping at their hotel. My Aunt Edwina and Aunt Dottie and I headed into the dinning room for lunch while everyone else hit the snack bar. We later joined them when we waited a good 20 minutes and our waiter still hadn't taken our orders. We ended up picking up some pre-packaged sandwiches from the snack bar and oddly enough mine was made with John Morrell meat! Yes, I go all the way to Montana to eat John Morrell. During lunch, mountain goats walked right up to our window and sniffed for food. They have huge amber eyes with horizontal black lines as pupils.
After lunch we did a little a shopping in the gift shop that featured a lot of nice items. I bought two wooden postcards featuring images from Glacier National Park, including a shot of St. Mary Lake and the Red Jammers. They offered the means to mail postcards, so one is currently on its way to Cincinnati ;)
We boarded the buses and headed back across the border and into Canada. The Canadian border patrolman was friendly, but not as fun as the American patrolman. A short, rainy trip and we were back in Waterton National Park and planning out trip to the shops and pick up dinner from the local pizza pub. I managed to find a nice black fleece at a very nice price in town that I couldn't pass up and then had a delicious pizza sub for dinner during our last evening at the Bayshore Inn.
Day three started out rather warm - but just in our hotel room. I woke up burning up and was fortunate enough to open our patio door while I got ready and welcomed in some mountain air. While my family woke up extra early to make a visit to the pie shop, I chose to sleep an extra half hour and just enjoy the complementary breakfast.
It was an absolute beautiful morning in Waterton National Park - even though we had some crisp temperatures, the sun was shinning brightly through the peaks, onto the lake and warming our faces. We boarded the coach and headed for the border for a day trip to Montana.
We were warned that the border crossing folks can be a bit on the tough side and to play it straight, no misbehaving. Fortunately, Stg Denis was in a peachy mood. He came down the isle collecting passports, but not saying much. We all kept quiet until he reached my Aunt Dottie, who asked him if he minded his photograph taken. He chuckled in suprise that someone wanted to take his photo and said "Well, sure!" She snapped a few and he exited the coach to scan our passports. He came back to distribute them and was again cheery. He started passing them out and said loudly from the front of the bus, "Where's Sarah Kelley?" I waved, my Aunt waved and I thought to myself, ohh no, what have I done?! He said, "Ohh in the back - you're last!" Sure enough, I was one of the last to receive my passport back and had to double check which Sarah Kelley belonged to the passport, comparing the photo to myself and my Aunt. He had some fun and we all got a good laugh. He stamped our passports and we were off back to the United States.
We stopped shortly into Montana for a photo opportunity - Mountain Chief Peak. The peak is sacred to Native Americans and is stunning in the landscape. We took some great photos and I of course managed to get mud on my shoe and spent a good bit of time trying to wipe it off. I also had a grand total of a minute of phone service and hoped I would get to use my phone in Montana, but no such luck, that was last bit of service I had the whole day.
We traveled on into Glacier National Park to jump on the Red Jammer tour buses to take the Going to the Sun Road from Saint Mary to where the road was blocked from snow at Jackson Glacier Overlook. Logan's pass isn't open yet as they are still shoveling snow (eww yuck). The Red Jammer held all fourteen of us and our tour guide, Darryl and the top canvas rolled back to reveal open air and beautiful sunshine. We stopped along the way to take in the various peaks and views along the Saint Mary Lake. I took the very front seat in the Red Bus (the Jammer is the driver since he traditionally had to jam the clutch to double shift in the previous versions of the bus) and had a tremendous view. Our guide shared with us that there are about 22 glaciers in the park and when he started working there, they had more than 30. He said scientist suspect that there will be no glaciers left by 2020. The highlight of the this journey came right at the end when we came face to face with a black bear grazing on their candy (as our guide put it) - dandillions that were growing along the road.
Right as we returned back to our coach, it began to rain, so we just made it before the weather turned. We headed over to Many Glacier for some lunch and shopping at their hotel. My Aunt Edwina and Aunt Dottie and I headed into the dinning room for lunch while everyone else hit the snack bar. We later joined them when we waited a good 20 minutes and our waiter still hadn't taken our orders. We ended up picking up some pre-packaged sandwiches from the snack bar and oddly enough mine was made with John Morrell meat! Yes, I go all the way to Montana to eat John Morrell. During lunch, mountain goats walked right up to our window and sniffed for food. They have huge amber eyes with horizontal black lines as pupils.
After lunch we did a little a shopping in the gift shop that featured a lot of nice items. I bought two wooden postcards featuring images from Glacier National Park, including a shot of St. Mary Lake and the Red Jammers. They offered the means to mail postcards, so one is currently on its way to Cincinnati ;)
We boarded the buses and headed back across the border and into Canada. The Canadian border patrolman was friendly, but not as fun as the American patrolman. A short, rainy trip and we were back in Waterton National Park and planning out trip to the shops and pick up dinner from the local pizza pub. I managed to find a nice black fleece at a very nice price in town that I couldn't pass up and then had a delicious pizza sub for dinner during our last evening at the Bayshore Inn.
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