Kids in Canada

 We have been super busy the past two weeks.  The kids arrived on Tuesday night and left on Sunday.  Jim and I flew to Vancouver on Monday and returned on Saturday.  I had planned to blog while I was in Vancouver, but I couldn't bring myself to drag this behemoth of a laptop with me.  It’s as heavy as a history book.  So I'm a little late on delivering my "weekly" blog. J

We had a great time with the kids.  They arrived at 11 P.M. on Tuesday night, and we left for Banff early the next morning.  We headed straight for Lake Louise and had lunch on the lawn of Chateau Lake Louise.  We then hiked to Consolation lakes via the Lake Moraine trail.  Before we started our hike, we saw a huge sign warning us to hike in groups of four or more due to bear sightings.  Jim had his bear spray holstered on his belt like a pistol.  That man is like Daniel Boone when it comes to bears!  We didn't encounter any bears on the trail.  The only wildlife we saw was a "hoary marmot" and chipmunk.  (More about the chipmunk later).  When the girls and I saw the marmot, "we backed up faster than a crawfish."  We thought it was a badger, and we weren't taking any chances!  I had heard badgers were blood thirsty animals and would rip out your throat at the slightest provocation......  apparently marmots are docile animals and are vegetarians.  Who knew?  The hike involved a scramble over some huge boulders at the end of the trail.  It was beautiful and worth the hike.  The boys decided to see if they could climb up to a patch of snow that looked relatively close.  NOT!  

We stayed in the town of Banff that night and celebrated Jim's birthday at a local pub.  He turned 57 and still looks like the man I married 32 years ago!  What a hunk. :)

The following day we attempted water sports. We rented two kayaks and one canoe. Casey and Anthony had their GO at the canoe first.  Now, you would think that paddling a canoe would be as easy as "falling off a log."  Not so, since we were paddling UP river!  After a few attempts, Casey and Anthony decided in order to save the sanctity of their marriage, they would split up and Casey and I would take the canoe and Jim and Anthony would take the kayak.  BAD DECISION!  Casey and I managed to turn the canoe in circles for about a half a mile floating down river, all the while knowing that Bow Falls was not more than a mile or so below us.  We kind of started to panic, and the dock boy who had been yelling "helpful directions" to us from the shore decided it was time to "save us."  He paddled out in his own canoe and tried to tow us back to the dock, which was a bad idea since we were still determined to row in circles.  He finally gave up and told us to STOP ROWING!  He cut us loose and said, "Row to shore and GET OUT!"  We got the message.  We had flunked Canoeing 101.  We "traded up" to a kayak and all was well.  Next time I attempt to canoe, I’ll make sure I’m in a serene lake where I can row in circles to my heart's content.

When we got back to Calgary on Thursday, the Stampede was just starting.  We went to the Stampede parade and walked around the Stampede park grounds in our "cowboy gear."  We observed, that in Calgary, most people wear cowboy hats and skip the boots, which seems to be opposite in Houston during the Livestock Show & Rodeo.   One of the more interesting things we saw was the Indian Village where we watched authentic Native American dance rituals.  There were around 100 dancers, more or less, which were split up into groups by age and costume.  Each group did a version of what was called the “walk around” dance.  Yup, you guessed it, the same dance to the same drum song (over and over again.)  I’m sure if our ears were more attuned to the drum beats, we could have discerned a slightly different beat…..or maybe not.  J   I liked it anyway.

We had our own private pancake breakfast at home and it was Deeelicious! (See previous posting on "Pancake Breakfasts in Calgary") One more observation, if you say "Yee Haw!" in Calgary, they will know you are a tourist.  Here they say, "Yaa Hoo!" Go figure.

Anthony and Casey at Lake Louise

Ryan and Cindy at Lake Louise

Lunch at Lake Louise

Lake Moraine

Along the trail of Consolation Lakes

Boulders at Lake Consolation

Ryan and Anthony (tiny specks in the middle of frame)

Blood thirsty Hoary Marmot

Lake Moraine

Anthony feeding a granola bar to a chipmunk.  Poor little guy probably developed a peanut allergy.

Banff Springs Hotel

Ryan and Cindy rowing on the bow river

Casey and Candy showing good form (No more circles)

Anthony paddling up river

Dinner with Hendrik & Kathrin (Casey's friends from Germany)

Anthony and Casey getting into the Stampede Spirit

Ditto Ryan and Cindy

Out on the town during Stampede

A friend, Glen Hacke, in the Stampede parade

More of the parade

Casey and Candy at the parade

Our cowboy boots at the front door...ready for the Stampede!

Two beauties before the Stampede firework display

This amazing display went on every night at 11 P.M. during the Stampede.   It's a short walk from our house to look over the city and Stampede grounds.