Lake Louise to Jasper

Setting up our campsite in Jasper. Notice, two tents now at opposite ends of the campsite. No need to worry about bears while we have Dean with us. That snoring would scare off anything.

A cariboo crossing the street just outside of Jasper.

A rainbow along the way.


The family on the Athabasca Glacier. Kelly was appalled by our unique fashion statements.

Okay, so it's a little out of order. This is back on the hike to the Tea House.

Mom and Kelly enjoying the view,

Camper Kelly!!!

Finally, Mom and Dad had some common sense and got us a cabin to sleep in last night! I'm not sure if anyone's mentioned this yet, but I've discovered that I HATE camping. It's wet, it's cold, and I just don't like it. The cabin we stayed in last night was awesome. It had a nice bathroom that we didn't have to share with everyone else at the campsite, it had nice showers that we didn't have to share with everyone else at the campsite and it had REAL BEDS!!! There was a loft with two twin mattresses on the ground where Campbell and I stayed. The only problem with that is because of the low ceilings, we hit our heads when we woke up. But, in my opinion that is way better than waking up cold and wet. There was also a kitchen, and a TV to watch baseball on (GO RED SOX!!)
This morning we went ziplining and it was amazing! There were 5 lines. The first three were really great, but the fourth and fifth were my favorites. The fourth one was 2200 feet long and 250 feet high. It went right over a really nice creek and the view was incredible. On the fifth one, you went backwards, threw your feet in the air and flipped yourself upside down! Yeah, that's right. Upside down.

Finally...some photos

They may not like hiking, but they seem to be waiting for us a lot.

Campbell and Kelly looking out over the valley from the Hoodoo's in Banff.

Kelly contemplating her plight on yet another hike.

Another card game at the campsite.

Kelly has moved from s'mores to Jiffy Pop. Nice to know some things, like Kelly's eating habits, never change. She can cook any junk food over a fire.

Our campsite in Lake Louise. Notice how there are now 2 tents. After sharing a tent the first night, the kids insisted Dean sleep in his own tent so his snoring wouldn't be quite so loud!
The hiking may be tough, but there are spectacular views along the way. Kelly and Campbell enjoy one of those special spots.

Finally at the Tea House, but at $6.00/cup for tea, we did not get any tea. Yet another reason why Kelly doesn't like hiking...no shopping involved.
On the trail up to the Tea House at Lake Agnes. It is about a 3 hour hike out of Lake Louise. Kelly confirmed once again that she hates hiking!
High atop Sulpher Mountain in Banff.

The first of many card games.

Notice...there is one tent on our site where the 4 of us slept.

Our first campsite in beautiful Banff. Campbell and Kelly were quick to get into the s'mores.



Campbell and I enjoying the West Edmonton Mall. Who needs shopping??

Banff, Lake Louise and Jasper

After our tour of the West Edmonton Mall, we headed off to Calgary. Now that's a boring drive!! From Calgary, we had a wonderful drive to Banff. We set up camp in a beautiful campground that was almost empty. We took the gondola to the top of Sulpher Mountain and spent a few hours wandering around the various hiking trails. It was a gorgeous day and the views were spectacular. On Sunday we drove to Lake Louise and did a 3 hour hike up to the Tea House on Lake Agnes. Our campsite in Lake Louise wasn't quite as nice as the one in Banff, but it was fine and rather quiet. On Monday, we took about 8 hours to drive the 250 kms. from Lake Louise to Jasper. We stopped along the way at just about every scenic lookout and at the Icefields Centre to take a bus ride up to the Athabasca Glacier. The campsite in Jasper was nice, but it was cold and rainy most of the night. Yesterday, we drove to Kamloops to stay with friends. It was really nice to spend the evening with Ron and Gemma and to have a warm bed to sleep in. Today we are off to Whistler for another night of camping and a zip-line adventure. Hopefully our days of no internet access are behind us and we'll be able to keep up on the blog. I am determined to post photos from Vancouver!! Really.

Kelly in Calgary ;)

Okay, so day 2 of the trip, in Calgary. This morning we went to the West Edmonton Mall and I bought a sweater from Aeropostale. Well mom bought a sweater from Aeoropostale. So for lunch we went to this hillbilly-ish place called "Patty's Family Diner." After we went to the hotel and it feels really weird being at a hotel for a reason other than baseball. The thing I miss most about home is definitely baseball and everyone we know through baseball. And of course I miss Heidi, who helped when I had my little break down the night before we left ;)
It really hasn't hit me yet, that I'm actually doing this and not coming back for 5 months and 7 days, but hey it only happens once so I'm trying to be positive! <3*

Reunited in Edmonton

After a bit of panic on Thursday morning because our wake-up call never came and we slept in until 6:15, we were ready to go when Dad picked us up at 6:30. We had a great flight to Edmonton and Dean was there to meet us. We went straight to the West Edmonton Mall and spent the next 4 hours riding every roller coaster and stomach-churning ride we could find. We had an early dinner and headed to our hotel for a very early night. It may only be a two-hour time difference, but that was all it took to throw Campbell and I out of sync. At 5:00 this morning, we wandered the streets of Edmonton looking for coffee. Kelly and Dean managed to sleep in until 6:30. We'll head off soon to spend a bit more time at the mall and then we're off to Calgary. Campbell has promised to show me how to download some photos this evening, so hopefully there will more photos and less words soon.

Once step closer to being off

“Two of the greatest gifts we can give our children are roots and wings.” Hodding Carter

The kids and I did one last panic trip around the house this morning to try and leave things in some kind of reasonable shape. I'm not sure we succeeded, but we hope Barb, Doug and Charles will be able to deal with the mess we left behind. Barb, Doug and Charles will be looking after our house and the two stupid cats (are there any other kind?) until our return at the end of January. We are thrilled to be leaving our home in such good hands. Sorry guys for the chaos we left!!

Dean phoned last night to say he had made it to North Battlefield, Saskatchewan. I'm feeling pretty good that he will get to Edmonton in time to pick us up on Thursday morning. With Dean's sense of direction, I was happy to hear that he had actually headed west! Campbell, Kelly and I are going out to dinner with Mom and Dad this evening and then staying at a motel in Ottawa. That will make it easier for Dad to pick us up tomorrow morning at 6:30 to get us to the airport for our flight to Edmonton.

So...there's one more day to try to finish all the work I have left to do at Cowater. Again, sorry guys for the chaos left behind!! Then I think I can say that our adventure will truly begin. It hasn't really sunk in yet, but I am feeling more and more excited each day.

Dean is off

Dean didn't quite get away at noon as he had hoped, but by 4:30 on Saturday afternoon he pulled out of the driveway. I obviously wasn't thinking because all the photos I took of his departure are on his camera, which is currently somewhere north of Sudbury...I hope! We packed all of our backpacks, camping gear, emergency bottles of wine and anything else we could think of in the trunk of the car so that the kids and I will only have carry-on bags when we fly on Thursday. It was substantially tighter than it would have been in the van, but we'll make the best of it. Watching Dean pull out of the driveway did not hit home like I thought it might. It was like he was just off to another ball tournament and will be home at the end of the weekend. I'm sure the reality of this whole adventure will sink in once we get on the plane. I think we have just been too busy with our preparations to really think about the enormity of what is ahead. Maybe that is for the best. Four days to go...

Campbell made the team!

We were all thrilled to find out that Campbell made the Ontario Summer Games team as part of the National Capital Senior Baseball Association. Those many evening tryouts in Brockville turned out to be well worth it. Campbell is part of an excellent team with talented and enthusiastic players. Dean dropped Campbell off at Carleton University yesterday where the athletes will stay for the next 3-4 days. They will be fed at the university and bussed to the various parks for their games. I have no doubt that a good portion of the budget for the games goes towards feeding these young athletes. Campbell's team played their first game this morning. They were well matched with their opposition but ended up being defeated by one run. I am now waiting to hear the results of their second game. No matter how they do in the standings, this will be a tremendous experience for the boys.