Almost a Ski Day

We have been getting so much snow.  The busses have been cancelled a lot which has made Sarah a happy student.  After a week of two more snow days and more snow today, we decided to pack our skis and go cross country skiing.  I thought carefully about how to dress.  I packed a nice little snack.  I put everything by the door.  Ron even brought our poles and ski boots in last night so they would be warm for us.  We carried everything out to the truck and headed north to Flinton.  Number 7 highway was closed due to a serious accident last night.  We continued north past the road closure.  The drive was beautiful.

We parked in the parking lot and reached back for our snacks.  Ron pulled his ski boots to the front and started putting them on.  I looked around.  Was I supposed to bring my ski boots to the truck?  Oh no…I had the treats, the poles and skis but no boots.  

Change of plans…we drove to Bon Echo and enjoyed a beautiful winter walk.  Sarah thought I planned the boots being left behind.  I didn’t but I did enjoy our walk around the camp grounds.

After a four kilometre walk my lungs felt used up and it was a slow walk up the final hill.

We stopped at our favourite meat shop on the way home and picked up a few special meat choices.

Our plans had changed but it was still a good winter day.

One Last Time

The time is getting closer and closer to our move date. Every time we do something now, we wonder is that the last time before we move?

Yesterday, we headed to Waterton with our snowshoes, wood, lunch and games.  The drive down was beautiful.  It was a gorgeous day and the mountains looked spectacular with their winter coats.  We drove down the Akimina Parkway.  There were very few cars and the big horn sheep were enjoying the quiet road.

We were stopped a couple of times going in and they did not seem at all concerned that we wanted to get somewhere.

We parked at the road closure and put our snowshoes on.  There was a nice path through the “woods” that we took.

 A fire from a number of years ago has left mostly blackened trees or stumps but new growth is taking over. This could definitely be a good sermon illustration.

It was almost theee kilometres to Cameron Lake.  The temperature was very mild and, for the most part, we were sheltered from the wind.

We arrived at the lake and could hear laughing somewhere but no sign of anyone.  It’s quite different in the summer when the place is crawling with people.  We had a little rest in the shelter before starting back on the road.

Painting on the window

The snow was good for snowshoeing but so much less than other years.  We have to keep going higher in the mountains to find the white stuff.

Once we got back to the truck, we headed down to the village.  The sheep had moved to the side of the road.  

There was one guy that wasn’t sure if we should be passing and he kept us waiting while he strolled down the middle of the road.  We aren’t going to have this happen in Ontario.

We found a little warming hut and Ron started a fire.  I made our lunch and some hot drinks.  

We played a few games of Rook before packing up.  Ron was the big winner!

We burned up all of our wood because we are assuming that that was our last time for an afternoon fire in Waterton.  

19 days until our move day!

Counting Down

One month from today our house closes in Pincher Creek.  We will no longer be homeowners in Alberta and will actually be homeless for 5 days.  It will be through those days that we travel to Ontario.  Our bank account will look good for a little while.

In the meantime, we continue to enjoy the area.  The weather has been bitterly cold and kept us close to home.  Today, the temperature rose a bit and we headed to the pass. Ron headed up the hill and I went towards the lake…no drastic inclines.

It was still cold but we were dressed for it.  I had been hesitant about going but the views, as always, didn’t disappoint.  

After I made it to the lake, I turned around and headed back towards the truck.  I put my skis away and grabbed my snowshoes and headed up the hill.  Once I was at the top, I met up with Ron.

We headed back down the hill.  He was able to go much faster but I always feel safer going down the hill on snowshoes.

Another gorgeous day in the mountains.  People say we will miss the mountains and that is true!

One Month

One month from today our western life will come to an end.  The movers will be loading our truck on February 13th and we will be spending Valentine’s Day somewhere on the road. 

Abby has always identified me as Nanny out west….I guess we will still be a little west of their home.

In the meantime, we are hibernating.  It’s been a very cold week!

It got down to feeling like -54 Celsius last night!

Snow, Fire and Ice

Last night our weather changed.  Snow arrived and it continues to drop white stuff from the sky. It is supposed to continue to snow throughout the night and into tomorrow.

Last night, we went out to drop off something at a friend’s house.  As we looked ahead, the sky was black.  I glanced down the hill and saw a huge fire.  My heart sank as I thought about someone going through this horrific event.  We continued on our way, only to be beside a business that was totally inflamed.  

Yikes, two fires in our small town blocks apart equaled arson.  It is sad and scary.  Facebook was quick to advise that the culprit was in custody.  The Mounties always get their man!

As the fires raged, the whole town lost internet and tv services.  It’s a small inconvenience for us but much more terrible for the victims who lost their home and business.  The emergency crews worked hard to contain the fires and kept it from spreading to other buildings.  After the immediate danger of the fire was done, the techs took over and the town just got back their services.

After weeks of mild weather and very little snow, it looks like winter has arrived.  With the temperature dropping we were thankful that we didn’t lose power and only had to deal with loss of internet and tv.

We know that the area needs snow for moisture and we hope that a lot comes throughout January and then we are praying for a very dry, non-stormy February to do this move thing.  Who moves in February??  I guess, we do.

30 days until pack day!

September

This month has flown by!  It's hard to believe that September has come and is almost gone.  Work has been super busy with lots of training both in Pincher Creek and in Lethbridge.  I'm starting to catch on to things but there are so much more to learn.

Early in September, we took a weekend break and went to visit our son and take in some horse jumping at the Masters.

The second weekend in September Ron and I headed to Montana to Many Glaciers to hike to Iceberg Lake.  It was a little cool, windy with a bit of rain but it was a nice hike.

It was about a 15 km hike and it was very beautiful along the way and the best thing was to have a day with my hubby.

The destination was a beautiful lake.  We had lunch there and made our way back.  It was a nice day.

The weeks are busy and then the weekend comes and Ron and I have been able to enjoy most of the weekends this month.  Our next weekend, we did a drive down the Crowsnest Pass and stopped to walk through Leitch Collieries.

We also decided to do a little hike.

This past week, was my birthday.  Ron spoiled me by bringing me flowers, donuts for the office, a tea and a chocolate bar.  (I think that means a little more walking!)

That night we went out for sushi to top off my special day.

So it's been a busy month with work, weekend exploring and a birthday.  This weekend Ron had to work nights and it has snowed and snowed.  It seems be the storm of the year already.  We got almost 100 cm of snow with drifts that are right up to my back window.  I just got a message from the school that tomorrow is a SNOW DAY!  If you are going to have this much snow in September at least I get a day off for it!

 I'm not sure whether or not to decorate for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Stay and Ski

It's always great when Ron's days off line up with our son's.  We headed towards his house which means the mountains were in view.  The next morning we all headed to Kananskis.  The roads were a little iffy but we took our time.

The mountains sheltered us from the wind and we put on our skis and hooked up the dogs and off we went down the trail.

Everyone had a dog except me so they quickly passed me by.

And I was left alone with the quiet trees and majestic mountains to keep me company.

It was a beautiful day and the trails were perfect.  We all had a good work out.

We spent the night playing games and then the next morning we got up to do it all over again.  We headed towards the Lake Louise area.  The trail was quite different and the views were spectacular.

  I skied while the guys headed out with the dogs.

We had hills to climb and then slide down.  It will a little more work but it was so beautiful.

At 2.9 km we decided to make it a full 3 km before we turned around.  We headed a little further and started down a hill.  I couldn't stop and when I finally "crashed" we had gone 3.9 km.  

I made my way up the hill and just when we got into the sun again I realized that when I had fallen I had lost my sunglasses.  I took my skis off and walked down to get them.  I got even better exercise by retracing my steps.

It was a great few days...enjoyed by all those with two legs and four legs. 

I heard someone say this week that this has been a long cold winter.  I smiled as I thought that it hadn't been long at all.  We have tried to take advantage of the snow.  I'm even hoping for more to fall this week so we can have another few times out with the skis.

One month from tonight I will be in the hospital post surgery and my skis will be away for the season so I will try and take advantage of every opportunity to enjoy the weather.