Alberta

We have just had the wonderful privilege of spending a week in the wonderful and beautiful province of Alberta. Though neither Jonathan nor I had ever seen or visited this province, the trip was never our idea. It was brainstormed by others, essentially planned by others, and made possible by the generosity of so many people. But it was US who benefitted! And it was a wonderful experience and a grand trip. We left our home last Monday night after dropping Kevin and Kade off at my parents - a very sad good-bye as Kade was very, very upset about us leaving him. But he (and Kevin too) was distracted quickly enough and didn't look back after that. Kylie was already at Josh and Steph's so off we were. We flew out at 8:30 at night and arrived in Calgary at 12Am or so (Calgary time). We stayed with Steve and Karen for the first few days. They have a camping trailer at their home and that became our home for the next week - lovely accomodations!!

Our lovely hostess ~ and unfortunately I have not a single picture of Steve - he was putting a lot of hours in at the farm/ranch, though we did spend our evenings together . . .

And their VERY cute and fun little boy - Matthew. He was a pleasure to spend time with and helped me not miss my kids quite so much:) Some pictures of the farm where they live and work.

As prearranged, this trip was to be part work and part pleasure - though of course it was really all pleasure since Jonathan likes to keep his hands busy and his feet moving. Jonathan spent parts of the first few days there putting in a drop ceiling in Steve and Karen's rental house. Karen, Matthew and I got to spend a lot of time chatting, relaxing, touring and just visiting. One of the places we stopped in at was the Bowden Sunflower and Corn Maze. Though the sunflowers were long past their prime, it was still neat to see and wander through. And there were still a few late bloomers for us to enjoy.
They also had gardens where you could pick your own bouquet of cut flowers, so we cut and put together a couple of arrangements.
And now a little disclaimer: What follows is a multitude of pictures of a limited number of things - in fact I believe only three main are featured: the Mountains, Me, and My Man. Consider yourself warned:)
Friday morning we left Steve and Karens with their truck and trailer and headed out for a weekend at Banff. We camped in Canmore which was just gorgeous. We were right in the heart of the mountains - and therefore had mountains pretty much on all sides of us. Our campsite backed right on to a stream which babbled on by. Though the sites were small, it was perfect for our needs since we were only in the camp for the evenings and the early mornings. It was very peaceful and quiet there - probably a benefit of going this time of year.
The days were all sunny and pleasant - though the nights went just below zero. It didn't bother us though since we had the trailer which was fully equipped with furnace and air (we didn't need the air - though when we were still at Steve and Karens we enjoyed a record breaking 35C one day - probably the hottest day of the year - and it felt great!)We bought a four day pass into Banff National Park right away and this is where we spent our days. Our first stop was the gondola at Banff which took us to the top of Sulphur mountain.
The views from the top were spectacular!

Once at the top there was a path to walk out to a cabin where a man lived years ago as he studied the mountains and explored.

This is the lone animal we saw on our trip - besides the dead coyotes on the side of the road and the friendly bunnies in our campground.

Next we were off to the hot springs - which ended up being nice but a little too hot for the warm day it happened to be. So we came back for another round on Monday morning which was a cool 13C - Then it hit the spot!

"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens."

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"

Enjoying a campfire at night. The fires felt so nice in the cool nights, and we are still smelling them on our clothes now . . .

The stream behind our site.

Saturday morning we stopped by Cascade Pond.

And then we were on our way . . . .

. . . getting closer - you can tell because of the snow on the mountains . . .

. . .to Lake Louise.

It was at Lake Louise that we ventured on our first hike. This is a Beehive mountain and Mirror Pond which we passed (got closer too) on our hike up the mountain.

The hiking was a lot of fun, but also a lot of hard work in places. We figured we put in 15km on Saturday by the time we finished all three places we visited and hiked at.

This was the coolest day - we even saw snow - but it got warm on those uphill climbs.

Lake Louise from a viewpoint we passed on our journey.

Lots of snow/glaciers in this area.

Way up on the mountain we climbed was this tea cottage. This picture puts the cottage into perspective - you can see where we climbed to in relation to the ground. And back on the bottom again.

Our second stop of the day was Moraine Lake which we loved - perhaps more than Lake Louise. We saw 3 weddings here and one at Lake Louise. Brrrrrr. . . .

In front of the shop at Moraine Lake - we also shopped the shops in Banff on Friday - and found that one shop is very similar to the next . . . and the next . . and the next!

Our third stop of the day was Lake Minnewanka (in which you can find a village - under water - if you chose to go diving and look for it ) . . .

. . . and Stuarts Canyon.

And as we were walking the trail back, we caught this rainbow! I love rainbows!

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard." We went to Bethel URC in Calgary on Sunday - this is at a lookout spot they have along the highway. They have lots of these little spots where you can park and take pictures or just enjoy the mountains.

This is a mountain which had a regulated burn on it back in 1993. Jonathan is not a big fan of these regulated burns - it does seem like not much progress in growing back has been made in 15 years . . .

On Sunday we hiked Johnston canyon which was a 12km round trip. We had to think of our dear sister Sarah on these hikes - oh how she would love them!

Johnston's Canyon had lots of little and big waterfalls along the way.

At the end of where we hiked (I always want to say "at the top", but of course we never got close to that) were the Johnston Canyon Ink Pots - which had a thin layer of ice on them.

"At the top:)"

"You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior,

the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength."

This ones for you Steph:)

And on our way home we stopped at another park for a barbeque supper of hamburgers - boy did that hit the spot!

. . . as did the time of rest for our weary legs!

"Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting you are God."

On Monday after lunch we headed back to Steve and Karen's for one last evening with them and then off to the aiport for our flight which left at 12:45Am. We arrived in London at 6:10AM our time to this . . .

. . . not my favorite weather!!! (it's rain even though it looks like snow) We snuck in a few hours sleep once we got home since we missed the whole night. And then it was off to work, and reality and children! But boy were we glad to see them!! And they actually didn't miss us too much at all. We are so thankful that they could stay somewhere that they felt at home and that they didn't get homesick. I was kind of worried, but shouldn't have!!!

So many thanks to many people for making this week possible. Thank you to the brains behind this trip. Thanks for pushing and planning and prodding us along. You knew we would love it and you were right!! If we waited for the perfect week when we had nothing going on, we probably never would have found it! Thanks for driving us to and from the airport - even at unseemly hours! Thanks to Steve and Karen for having us and being such hospitable people. Thanks for letting us use everything that we used. We had such a nice time with you. Thanks to my mom and dad for taking the boys and for all the work (including homeschooling!!) that you did with them. They have so many stories and had such a great time. Thanks to Josh and Steph for taking Kylie. Even though you said she was wonderful . . . after having her back for less than a day, I see that she is still the same old Kylie!!! Cute and Crazy!!! Thanks for adding to your busy household so willingly. I never worried about her for a second!! And of course ultimate thanks to our heavenly Father who gave us such beauty to enjoy . . . who gave us safety in our travels . . . and who rules and reigns supreme!