Ribbon Falls Hike

Adding another notch in our belt this weekend, we hiked the beautiful Ribbon Falls trail.  The trail is 22 km (13.5 mi) round trip.  The hike is done in two parts.  The first part of the hike is to the falls, and the second part is a 2 km hike/climb to Ribbon Lake.  The trail is a very gradual grade, only 1,020 ft elevation gain to the falls.  The last 2 km (1.25 mi) up to the wall of chains is another 1,000 ft elevation gain, so a pretty steep climb at the end.  Once you reach the wall of chains, you can either climb the chains, hand over hand, all the way up to Ribbon Lake, or you can turn right around and run screaming down the mountain..... like I did.  Jim thought we could do it, but I told him I didn't give a rip about seeing the lake if that chain was the only way up!  You'll see what I mean when you see the pictures below.  

The day was beautiful and we met lots of great people along the trail.  Hikers are the friendliest people around.  I guess they are just really happy about being outside in the sun and 70 degree weather instead of the miserable 40 below conditions that we will all experience come winter time (I’ve heard this 40 below horror story more times than I can shake a stick at.)  One man in his late 70s gave us a walking play by play tour of the trail all the way down the mountain.  I know what you're thinking.....but this guy was keeping up quite a clip while giving us a history of the whole area.    The hike took six hours including 45 minute break for lunch and photo snapping.   Every pore on my body was sore and achy by the time we got back.   And even as I sit here today, writing this blog, my muscles are screaming in revolt!  

With each hike we take, we learn a little bit about what we need to take with us and what we need to leave at home.  At first we were taking waaaay to much stuff with us, and our packs would feel like they were filled with rocks about halfway to our destination.   You can tell the locals from the tourists. The locals wear shorts, t-shirt, and either boots or sneakers while us tourists are wearing hiking pants, hiking shirts, hiking jackets, hiking belts, hiking hats, hiking sun glasses, hiking backpacks......you get the picture.  I know we just want to be comfy and acclimatized, but all these extra clothes have to go somewhere as we start to peel them off.  So our packs become heavier and heavier and heavier.  We finally figured out that the following are necessities. Everything else is just fluff:

• Bug spray - Horse flies can pick up small animals and carry them off into the woods.  
• Water, lots of water - We are using the Camel Packs from our bikes now.  They work great.
• Sun screen 
• Rain jacket
• Hat
• BEAR SPRAY!

That’s pretty much it.  We will be in Edmonton next week.  Uh Ree Va Dare Chee until next time. J

Views of the surrounding peaks from the trail

Our first glimpse of the falls

At the bottom of the falls.  From this angle, you can only see 1/3 of the falls.

Jim at the foot of the falls.  Note the bear spray holster on his hip.

Two old geezers.  

Seriously!!?? Does that look like something I would climb?  No way, Jose!  These hikers are using a chain that has been hammered into the rock to haul themselves up, up, up....

Looking back through the valley we just hiked.  Mt. Kidd on the right and Mt. Bogart on the left.

A view of the falls from further up the trail.

Amazing view of mountains while driving back to Calgary.

This little guy was standing in the middle of the highway licking the salt off the road.  He belongs to the Long Horn Sheep family.

Bike Ride to Bowness Park

This past weekend Jim and I rode our bikes along the Bow River Pathway to Bowness Park, a 74 acre park set on the Bow River.  The pathway is used for cycling, hiking, jogging, as well as rollerblading and skateboarding. The paths are connected with a system that extends along the Elbow River and other areas of the city.  The network spans 48 kilometres (30 mi) from Bearspaw Dam to Fish Creek Provincial Park, connecting major parks and green areas in Calgary.  We started out around 9 in the morning not knowing how far we would go or where we would end up.  Along the pathway we would stop to talk to people and ask them how far to the next green space.  Several times other bikers told us, "The ride to Bowness Park is a great ride.  Just keep going."  I dunno if it was the accent, but I was sure these folks were telling us to go to "Bone Ass" park.  Well, I didn't ask any questions about this "bone ass" park, not wanting to look like a tourist and all, but when we got there it all made sense.  This park is where rafters "put in" to float down river into Calgary.  The river is still pretty swollen from snow run off and it's running pretty dang fast.  It takes around 2.5 hours to float the 15 miles down river to where you get out.  As we rode along, we kept seeing water rescue teams in the the river.  I guess they were expecting some "bone head" or "bone ass" to do something crazy like jump overboard for a swim and get themselves into trouble.  I don't know the laws about drinking on the river here, but I'm pretty sure they are not as lenient as they are on the Guadalupe.  In other words, you are probably not allowed to drink a whole liter of vodka and cranberry by yourself, Jim...... 


On the way back to the house we stopped in China Town to check out the veggie market.  It wasn't as impressive as the one in Vancouver, so I'll keep going to the farmer's market near our house.   We had Chinese barbecue for lunch.  I wasn't sure what we were going to order, but you all know I'm always ready to try something new.  The first thing you get is a plastic glass of steaming hot tea.  I thought it was ice tea without the ice until I picked it up.  I'm glad I didn't try to chug a lug it.  I tried the pork and Jim had duck.  After you order, they grab the little piggy or duck that are hanging in the window, they hack it up, throw in some rice and bok choy and Voila! You have Chinese barbecue!  I have never had pork like this before.  It was delicious.  It is beautifully smoked with a nice red ring around the outside, like brisket.  Jim's duck was good too.  Next time, we try Korean barbecue!

The bridge to Bowness Park

Chinese Cultural Center

No trip to China town would be complete without a visit to the Dessert House!

Coined in Tacoma

This past week Jim and I went to Vancouver and then on to Seattle (Tacoma) to meet up with good friends Garner and Charlene Strickland.  Jim and Garner played in the annual TOTE golf tournament while Charlene and I drank Bloody Mary's.......I mean, while we sipped lemonade.

One evening while "Go-Go and Cha-Cha" (try to top those grandparent names if you can!) entertained us with stories of the new grand baby, a couple of military officers showed up on the hotel balcony.  Since we were the only ones out there, we invited them to have a drink with us.  The officers were in Tacoma to help train ROTC recruits from all over the country.  We enjoyed each other's company and told each other big whoppers of stories.  Most of the whoppers came from Jim of course.  Anyway, at the end of the evening, the officers "coined" us.  I had never heard of the tradition, but it goes something like this:  The military has a tradition of recognizing those who go the extra mile.  The public usually thinks of medals being awarded for heroism and such, but troops of all services know that a coin can tell the tale about service.  Wherever or however it started, the idea of giving small medallions, or coins to recognize those who performed exemplary service gained in popularity within the military.  To be "coined" is something special.  We hadn't really done anything special.  We had looked at pictures of their kids and swapped stories with two men who were missing their families, but man did we feel special.  I even cried a little.   Good luck and God speed to the officers from Fort Lewis and all troops around the world.

Seattle Art Museum and Vancouver Fairmont

Port Metro Vancouver

Flowers at Pikes Market in Seattle ($10 a bunch!)

Street performer in Seattle: two guitars, two hula hoops,  Mexican  shakers.  He just needs cymbals between his knees.

Shannon Falls outside of Vancouver

Anthony's at Point Defiance in Tacoma (Go-Go, Cha-Cha, Candy, Jim)

Self photo at Auburn golf course Tacoma

Dan and Dave 

Command Team Coin - Timber Wolves, 1st Battalion, 391st Regiment

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.

  

Pancake Breakfasts in Calgary

This will be a short post today with lots of pictures.  We are getting ready for the kids to arrive in Calgary this evening, and Jim and I are attending a Stampede event this afternoon! Yeehaw!  I have to say that Calgary does a much better job of getting into the rodeo spirit than Houston does.  Every office tower, every restaurant, every bar, every grocery store, every gas station, (you get the picture) decorate for Stampede.  Bales of hay and old barn wood abound!  One of the coolest traditions for Stampede is the "Pancake Breakfast."  Every morning, venues all over the city offer a pancake breakfast for FREE!  And by venue, I don't mean large auditoriums, although there are plenty of those.  Nope, even the corner grocery store and gas station gets in on the action.  Every councilman, politician and community center, etc. has their version of the pancake breakfast.  There's even a special website to find the pancake breakfast closest to you on any given day:  http://www.flapjackfinder.com  Check it out, it is really a good website.  Here is a map view of some of the pancake breakfasts:

Now for the "Mini Series of Hikes!"  This week's hike was done in Kananaskis Country on Mt Allan.  We hiked to Troll Falls, Nakiska Ski Area, Skogan Trail, and Hummingbird Plume Lookout......all in one day!  It was 18 km or 11.25 miles.  We were tuckered out when we got home and in desperate need of a beer. :)

Troll Falls

The troll at Troll Falls.....the one with the hat

Double Falls on Marmot Trail

We ate our picnic lunch at Nakiska Ski Area.  It's closed for the summer.

Mt. Baldy from a Nakiska ski run

Mt. Baldy from atop Hummingbird Plume Lookout (looking Southeast)

Kananaskis Valley from atop Hummingbird Plume Lookout (looking North)

Old man I found atop Hummingbird Lookout

Kananaskis River looking south from Hay Meadow