My blog

A little bit about me and a lot about the things we do.

Tuesday 27 September 2016

BIrthday + Tea + Hike = Perfect Day

I've planned, researched, anticipated and watched the weather for weeks.  The Lake Louise Double Tea House hike has been something that I've been interested in since last year.  Finally, the time arrived. Ron and I left on Sunday afternoon and headed to Canmore where we would spend the night.  We went into Banff since our granddaughter, Sarah, told me that if I was going on to Lake Louise I should go to Banff too.
We had a delicious dinner at a wonderful Greek restaurant and sampled some chocolate at one of the homemade candy stores along the beautiful city of Banff.  Ron and I enjoyed a relaxing evening and then headed back to our hotel in Canmore with tea in hand.

Ron had watched too many tourists posing!

The next morning we travelled to Lake Louise and did lots of people watching while we waited for our hiking partners to arrive.   We were asked to take pictures for the many tourists enjoying the beautiful morning along this beautiful lake.

Once our hiking team showed up, we were off.  

The 3.5 km trek up to Lake Agnes Tea House was definitely a good work out but the views along the way were well worth my heart rate of 170.








 I got to enjoy a tea and a hot chocolate while the dogs cooled off in the lake.

No electricity.  Supplies are brought in by horse back.
We stopped along the path and ate our lunch while we soaked in the scenery and sun.


The trail between the two tea houses was a good work out again and not as busy.  I think we had the nicest day of the fall to enjoy the hike.







Slowly we made the last steep steps to the Six Glacier Tea House and found a picnic table where I enjoyed my birthday cake.  Ron and I shared a delicious piece of an old family recipe from the tea house.  It was a great stop.
The baker for the cake...an old family recipe.


 


We continued up the path another 1.3 km to get a good view of the Victoria Glacer.  The sun shone bright and warm and we could hear the rumble of avalanches.






Since Ron was taking most of the pictures for the day he decided he should do a selfie.


We headed back to the tea house and then began our 6.1 km hike down to Lake Louise.  Careful steps were important due to the steep decline and it was important to stop once in awhile and take a good look around at the beauty from where we had been to where we were headed.
Our hike took us close to 6 hours and I burned 2304 calories.  It was a wonderful day and a great work out.

We concluded the day with a pizza dinner in Canmore.  I figured I deserved it after a 16.1 km hike!  We stopped at our son's house on the way home.  We were too full to even sample the cake which meant I got to enjoy it today instead.


A wonderful birthday hike...fantastic weather, good hiking partners, amazing views and tea!  

Today....I've soaked in the tub and am moving slowly.  So glad we are going to Andrew and Brianne's for supper.  The hard part will be getting there.

Saturday 24 September 2016

Our Fall(s) Tour

Fall is a favourite time of year for me.  Back in those Ontario days it meant a few colour drives and one would definitely be around my birthday to Algonquin Park to see the magnificent display of maple leaves.  Another one came in October when we would spend the day at the hunting camp doing lots of walking through the paths.  I loved the crunch of leaves under my feet or the spectacular view that we got when we climbed the Big Rock to enjoy the colours that surrounded the area.


As time goes by and we can't do the same thing anymore we create new fall tours.  Last weekend we left on Saturday morning and travelled through Kananaskis.  It's a beautiful place to drive through any time of the year.
The colours didn't disappoint us and neither did the animals that strolled past us as we drove along the highway.

We drove through familiar territory but never tiring of the majestic rocky mountains.  We stopped occasionally to take pictures or explore a trail.



We had wanted to take the motorcycle on this trip but were very thankful for the truck with the temperature being a little chilly and a few rain showers along the way.  We crossed the border into British Columbia and spent the night in Cranbrook where we enjoyed a delicious supper at a German Restaurant.  The next morning the fog hung heavy over for the mountains which made for ever changing views.
At this point we were going through new territory and it was beautiful.
We stopped at a Kootenay Lake Church and it had to be the friendliest church ever.  It was a small church but everyone knew our name by the end of the service and even knew what we did and where we lived.

From there we caught a ferry and crossed the Kootenay Lake.  It was a relaxing way to enjoy the scenery and another cup of tea.
 On the other side of the lake we found more curvy roads, little towns to explore and lots of beautiful fall pictures to take.
 We spent the night in Revelstoke after taking another ferry.  After a good night sleep we were ready to turn this fall tour into a falls tour.  We hiked about 45 minutes into Wapta Falls. 





Bear Spray in one pocket and a knife on his belt...He's my protector!


From Wapta Falls we drove to Takakkaw Falls and walked into enjoy the area.





It was a beautiful couple of days and I was not disappointed with the fall colours or the Falls that we found.  I especially enjoyed my tour guide. 
And so with that weekend gone it's time to plan my birthday adventure.  Tomorrow we are off to Canmore and Banff and then we will spend the day at Lake Louise on Monday.
And yes, today is my birthday.  Last night I was treated special by Andrew and Brianne who gave me a Pandora bracelet.  I had phone calls and one came with little voices singing Happy Birthday to Nanny.  I have received well wishes via the cyber world.  I feel loved but just not on my birthday, always.

Friday 16 September 2016

September Days

The days are cooling off and the evenings make me want to turn on the heat.  The lights need to be turned on earlier in the evening and stay on longer in the morning.  It's just that time of year again.  I do love the feel of crunching leaves when I am out walking but I know that all too soon sweaters will need to be pulled out and boots ready to pull on....which I'm okay with.  I just went shopping this week and was very successful in finding some new boots to spruce up my fall wardrobe.


You see it just happened that Ron had to be a way for training all week and so I took Tuesday afternoon off and Brianne and I headed to Calgary.  We shopped hard and I came home with two new pair of boots and a FEW other fall items.



I was pleased with my purchases but of course the rest of this week has been pretty warm so I haven't had them out to wear yet.

I'm glad that today is Friday and I took the day off to catch up on things around the house and I'm excited because soon Ron will be home and then we have a long weekend to plan to do something or nothing at all.

Things have been going well at work.  I'm starting to feel like I am figuring out what I should be doing and this week I was the "star" on their facebook page.  I guess I really do belong when you make it there.

Yes, here I am sitting in my little office trying to smile naturally.  I love their flexibility so that Ron and I can spend time together when he isn't working and it's always nice to get paid to go to chapel and prayer.  I use to do that for free!

And now onto September birthdays:

Both Emma and Jacob have birthdays this month.  Emma turned 5 last Saturday and Jacob will be turning 4 tomorrow.  Big school kids!
And we had a celebration for Andrew last weekend who turned a little bit older but would still like to play on the playground equipment. 
And oh yes, there is another September birthday coming and we have plans but that's a whole other blog.