Thanksgiving in the Rockies

This was the first time in thirty years that we have not spent Thanksgiving with the kids. :(  So we decided to take a couple of days and go skiing at Lake Louise, which is about three hours west of Calgary.  The snow was terrific! (But you already knew I was going to say that!)  After skiing on Thursday, we were set on having a traditional turkey dinner, but it was hard to come by.  Jim would have been just as happy with a pint and some bangers and mash, but I wasn't having any of it.  I wanted my turkey and dressing!  We ended up going to Ricky's, which is the equivalent of a Denny's in the US.  It wasn't too bad,  but they should have been ashamed of themselves for charging $15.99!  You'll see what I mean by the picture below.  

We had sunny skies all day on Thursday and it snowed on us all day Friday.  Both days the temperature hovered around 20 F(frigging) degrees.  No broken bones to report, but lots of sore muscles!  The hot tub certainly came in handy after a hard day of skiing.  The Men's World Cup races were being held at Lake Louise while we were there.  We saw time trails on Thursday and Friday, but not the race itself, which was held on Saturday.  Jim tried to sign up up, but was told he was too late and too old  (he-he-he).

We should have another record breaking season of snow in the Rockies, so we invite you to come ski with us any time!  We'll bring the Bota bag (wineskin)!

Beautiful sunny skies on the slope.

You can just make out Lake Louise at the base of the mountains near the middle of the picture.

Twelve minute gondola ride up the mountain.

Old lady snow bunny.

Cool ice sculpture at the base of the ski resort.

Our delicious turkey dinner!

At the top of the gondola.

Bomber, Jim.

In front of the City Hall.

Jim's creative shot of downtown Banff.

View of Cascade Mountain from our hotel room.

Mt. Girouard and Saddle Peak.

The Bow river as seen from the Banff bridge.  Mt. Brett in the background.

This bride had to be freezing her patooty off!  Click for a close up of her tattoos.

Rock stars.

Tex-Mex at the Hunnicutt's

I've been needing a "Tex-Mex" fix for a while so I finally broke down and made a big ol' mess of chicken enchiladas!  I call them my "world famous" chicken enchiladas, but to be fair, they're only famous in Houston and now Calgary! :) We invited friends, Deb, Les, Suzanne and Guy over for a real Tex-Mex extravaganza! Deb brought her "world famous" guacamole to round the meal out just perfectly!  What a fun night!  

(Don't worry, kids, I'll be making chicken enchiladas when we come home for Christmas.)  

Deb and Les Grieve

Suzanne and Guy Lembach

"Yours truly" and my "Hunka-Hunka-Burning-Love"

The whole gang!

Winter Wonderland!

We seem to be having an early winter here in Calgary.  We've had two pretty impressive snow storms in the past three weeks.  I think we got around 10 inches of snow in each of the storms.  You know, I can't really call them storms though.  The snow started gently falling and kept accumulating overnight.  I didn't have to drive in the snow, so it really didn't impact my insignificant little life up here.  In fact, I rather enjoyed it!  

I have discovered that there are a few things you just don't say to a Canadian.  Things like, "Oh my, isn't this snow b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l?" or, "I hope we get more snow tonight!"  It's really not a good idea to talk about the snow in general.  People will either think you have lost your mind...or perhaps you are making fun of their "snow plight."  Yes, I said, "snow plight."  Some people really do take the snow personally.  I overheard two young ladies discussing the first snow in hushed, sad, tones, "I guess winter's here...I know it's coming every year, but it's always such a shock when I see the first snow."  I feel bad saying this, and I would never say this to a Canadian, but I love snow!  I love to walk in it!  I love to ski in it!  I love watching it fall from the sky (when I'm inside my lovely warm home)!  Now, I know at some point this winter, I will be heard to exclaim, "Daaaang! It's cold!"  And that's when I'll have to eat my words. But that's okay.  I will still like snow! 

I'm still getting out to walk almost everyday.  I have enjoyed even the coldest days (so far, 1 degree F).  I know.  I know.  I can feel those forty below temps coming.  The ones every self respecting Canadian has warned me about since our moving to Calgary in June.  But I promise I will be ready!  My snow tires are on the car; I have a wind shield scraper thingy; a shovel; some pea gravel; a solar blanket; hard candy; several tea light candles; a colored ribbon to tie to the antenna.....and that's just to drive to the grocery store!  

We had a beautiful sunny morning yesterday, so Jim and I took a walk in the hood and he took some snow pictures to share with you.  Enjoy and don't tell any Canadians about our snow passion! :)

Jim in our back alley shoveling the driveway.

The berries on these trees come out in August and are still here.

Anyone up for a swim?

These guys are clearing the side walk with blowers.

This how we measure the snow fall.

A park next to our house. 

More pictures of the berry trees.

A very cool old house in our hood. I love the river rock walls.

A street in our hood.

I could be ice skating.......or maybe just trying to keep my balance.......

A shot of one of the many parks in our neighborhood.  The blue spruce boughs will  get so heavy  they will touch the ground

Stairs to the street level below.  (Remember these, kids?)

Looking down over the rooftops.  We watched the Stampede fireworks from up here this summer.

One of our favorite restaurants.......No more outdoor dining.....

This is all that is left of an old house that was torn down to build a newer, larger home.  I wonder if they'll leave the little gateway?

Recognize this "big ol' snow angel"?