Union Reservoir

Chris proclaimed that he was taking the girls swimming at a lake on Saturday afternoon.  It was hot.  It has been hot for weeks.  The girls loved the idea.  I did not.  I am not a swimmer.  I rarely make the effort to take my kids swimming unless it is to swimming lessons.  Chris usually has to push, convince, make me go.  And such was the case on Saturday.  I went, but I did not want to.  I took a book to read and watched and read from the beach.

They had a blast.  It grew cloudy and windy for a bit and I thought the canopy shading me was going to take off and blow away.  Just so happens that the wind made the water extra choppy and fun, similar to a wave machine at a pool.  They had three inner tubes along with Kristen in a life jacket bobbing around in the water.  They swam for a couple of hours and could have swam even longer, but Chris was ready to go home.

The Life of a Frequent Flyer

Chris' sister Lori offered a couple of months ago to watch our girls for a couple of days for Chris and I to get away together.  She was coming in to town for a family reunion and family wedding.  Since we had already made most of our summer plans and committed Chris' time off, we decided that I would just tag along with him while he worked.

Chris picked Lori and her two kids, Addie and Simon, up from the airport on Tuesday evening (which also happened to be Lori's birthday).  We celebrated with some angel food cake, strawberries and whipped topping, and Lori was happy to sport the "1" and "8" birthday candles.

Chris and I packed up Tuesday night for our 8:30 am flight on Wednesday morning.  Before leaving Wednesday morning, Chris hugged all of the girls goodbye and headed out to the car.  As I made my round of goodbyes, Amy was the only one who woke up enough to say anything--until I was just about to head out the door and there was Misha running down the stairs to say goodbye.  We hugged for a minute or so.  She had tears streaming down her cheeks.  Ahh, my Misha.  You made my heart melt.

With me along, Chris changed his normal carry-on procedure to accommodate me and my non-3 oz. toiletry items.  We checked our bags.  Our first stop was Phoenix.  He dropped me off at a little strip mall with the Deer Valley AMC 30 movie theater while he went across the street to American Express to work.  I shopped around for a bit waiting for my movie to start--"What to Expect When You're Expecting."  Total chick flick.  There were only five of us in the whole theater, and one was a guy.  I had had a quick lunch at Rubios before the movie started and thoroughly enjoyed the salsa bar.

I didn't want to spend much time outside in the 111* heat, so I quickly made my way to Target to find a snack after the movie.  As I was walking in the store, I overheard this mom say to her little toddler, "Mommy will follow wherever you want to go.....uhh, that's one way we're not going."  I chuckled.  I picked up an apple and some almonds and made my way over to Chick-fil-A where I would find more A/C and wifi while waiting for Chris.  I texted with Amy for awhile until Chris was finished working.

We drove to see his grandmother who was in the Citadel Care Center recovering after spending a week in the hospital.  She was surprised to see Chris and doubly surprised to see me.  We had tried to call to tell her that we were coming, but never got through.  A surprise is always good.  We chatted almost an hour and left her to rest before dinner.

Chris' main purpose in coming to Arizona was for a presentation on Wednesday morning.  We checked in to the Kimpton Palomar hotel where the presentation was to be given.  Our room was delightful.  The shower area was as big as our bathroom area at home and came complete with a soaking tub.

The hotel had been open for less than a month and they were still celebrating.  They brought us chocolate-covered strawberries and champagne.  Chris declined the champagne and the staff member offered to find us something else.  There was no sparkling cider to be found, so they brought us a Pellegrino, some diet coke, and a fruit plate.  Very nice.

We located a Pita Jungle about a mile away from the hotel and started out on foot, in the 111* heat.  At least there was some shade along the way.  It was nice that we had the mile to walk back to the hotel, because we were both quite full afterward.

Chris and I were up fairly early on Thursday morning so that he could prepare for his presentation, exercise at the Gold's Gym across the way, and get breakfast.  I had a couple of hours to myself, but it was early enough that the shops close by were not open and it was just too hot to wander around downtown.  I had a leisure morning watching tv, texting with the girls, and reading.  Fortunately, Chris was done by 11:30 and we hurried to check out.  Since our flight was delayed by a half an hour, we stopped for lunch at a quaint little restaurant called Cibo.

Our flight in to SLC arrived later than we had planned but was actually good planning for the rest of our evening.  We had made plans to meet up with my siblings at Cafe Rio in Draper at 6:15.  My sister has major allergies to onions and garlic, and having an outdoor seating area made Cafe Rio on okay place for her to enjoy dinner with us (she had to bring her own food).  We talked for an hour or so.  Utah's temperatures were in the 90s.  Still hot but not quite as bad as Arizona.

After saying goodbye to my family, we drove to Sandy to meet up with Boswells for ice cream at a new shop called Sub Zero.  You pick your flavor, milk, and mix in and then they freeze the ice cream right in front of you.  Pretty unique.  We wish we could have chatted longer, but they had their kids with them and it was getting late.

Our hotel was the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Salt Lake.  Chris had an 8 am phone meeting on Friday morning and scheduled meetings at IHC until the early afternoon.  I went down for breakfast by myself and ordered oatmeal and egg whites.  The oatmeal was great, but my first bite into the egg whites was far too crunchy.  I told my waitress to send it back, but I wasn't in the mood for any more eggs.

I dropped Chris off at "work" and headed to see my brothers at their Optometry practice in Draper.  I had an eye appointment with my brother Dallin at 10:15.  Since he and his family had conflicts the evening before, it was nice to get to see him and his son Wade (who came to work to be a janitor for the morning).  My eyes are getting older.  I don't like it.  I have never had to wear glasses.  I don't want to wear glasses.  I am going to need to wear glasses, mostly for reading,  but if you see me wearing them, don't make fun of me.

I picked out a pair of glasses.  Apparently, the new style is called "Geek Chique".  I'm in style.  My other brother, Brad, came in to his office to give his opinion, "Well you look Dorky Chique."  Hmmm.  I looked at Dallin and he smirked and said, "That wasn't quite the positive affirmation I was hoping for."  I'm Geek Chique.

Dallin and Wade took me for lunch at Costa Vida (notice a bit of a Mexican theme going on?)  It was fun to chat.  Wade has fabulous blue eyes.  After hugging them goodbye I had a little time to waste before meeting up with Chris.  I stopped at South Towne Mall but didn't find much.  I was grateful for the GPS in directing me back to the IHC Campus.  Chris was happy to be done for the day.  We drove up to the outlet mall at Park City and shopped a bit, found some Old Navy 4th of July shirts for the girls, and then headed back down to the valley.

Chris drove in to downtown Salt Lake City and showed me the City Creek Center.  It looks pretty cool.  I think I would love to spend a little time exploring there.

Time to head back to the airport.  We had dinner at a Greek place in the airport and then it was time to board.  I'm not sure that I could be the frequent flyer as Chris is.  I felt as though I had been gone a lot longer than three days.  We were met by Amy and Misha who were more than happy to see us.  Kristen was in bed but not asleep.  Loved hugging my girls and being home.

Doh

I had a true airhead moment a couple weeks ago.  In April, I signed Misha and Amy up for a diving class at Centennial pool and found a swimming lesson for Kristen's level around the same time.  I was making a separate calendar of summer activities and camps to make sure that I didn't overlap anything or double book the girls.  I forgot to add it to my online calendar which I have now become accustomed to looking at (after giving up my Franklin Planner).  The lessons were supposed to have started on June 4.  I had this nagging feeling that I was forgetting something, but didn't realize that I was totally bailing on the swimming and diving lessons until I looked at the Camp Calendar on June 12.  Doh!  We had missed three classes already (they are held on Monday and Wednesday)!  Boy, did I feel stupid.

Well, we got the girls to their lessons on Wednesday the 13th--better late than never right?  I was so totally not impressed with Centennial Pool.  The parents had to sit on hard, uncomfortable bleachers in a gallery that was glassed off from the swimming pool.  The pool is a lot older and just not my favorite.

The girls are doing pretty well.  Misha and Amy's diving ability has improved impressively.  Kristen has a second set of lessons scheduled for the last week of July into the first week of August at Sunset outdoor pool.  I know that she will enjoy it a lot more there.

A Bird in the Hand....

I saw this cute little sight perched on the porch railing and couldn't resist taking a picture.  Little did I know the close encounter to come with these two lovebirds and company.

It was dark.  I opened the front door to retrieve the kitchen rug that Amy had left on the porch.  I flipped on the porch light, stepped outside, and in doing so, totally surprised three little, feathered squatters that had set up house in the top of one of the columns on the porch.  I so totally shocked and surprised the birds that not one, not two, but three little birds flew in to the house.  I immediately rushed back in and yelled, "Three birds just flew in to the house!"  Sam and Lori (Chris' sister) were visiting, and Sam and Chris--after yelling "What?!"--immediately leaped in to action.  I left the front door open hoping that the birds would look for the easiest way out, but they just flew around in fear.  Sam caught the first little bird and set it free outside.  I closed the door and waited for the next one.  Poor little birds were screaming.  Sam caught the next bird, and Chris soon followed with the third one.  Whew.  And, a bird in the hand means that there are still two more flying around inside!

I have watched since then to see if the birds are in the column anymore, but I think they decided to pack up and move.  Good thing though, I don't know that I could catch them on my own if Chris weren't here.

Misha's Mouth

Misha got some pretty good news last week.  She has been wearing a retainer since her braces were removed.  She doesn't have to wear it anymore as teeth are coming in.  Woohoo.

BYU 5K Family Race

A couple of months ago, Chris signed our family up for the inaugural Mile High Cougar Run.  I thought it was a great way for our family to exercise together while helping BYU raise scholarship funds.  Perhaps it was a ploy by Amy that she sprained her knee so that she wouldn't have to participate...  The rest of us were up early on a Saturday morning to be in Littleton (45 minutes away) for the race start at 9 pm. 

I'm not so sure that Kristen and Misha would be so keen to participate in such a race again, but they both did great.  Chris walked/jogged with Misha and motivated her to the finish line while I was a little further back with Kristen.  She needed a lot of encouragement as well, but both girls finished.  As a treat, we stopped of at a yogurt shop for treats after a Subway lunch.

Camp Invention

A couple of months ago, I signed Misha and Kristen up for a summer program called Camp Invention from June 4th to June 8th.  I knew that Misha would love it.  I hoped that Kristen would.  While in Canada, I received an email about the program stating that my kids needed broken or non-working, small appliances for the camp.  I was trying to figure out what I could send with them since we had just unloaded a lot of stuff at the Firestone clean-up day.  I even had a crazy "I'm not prepared" dream where it was Christmas Eve and I didn't have any presents wrapped.  We got home Sunday night and started scrounging around for a few things to send with them on Monday morning.

The girls ended up taking some old Sansa shakers, a hard drive, a radio...we found plenty so there was no need for me to have worried.  We also gathered up recyclable items such as boxes, paper towel tubes, etc. for help in building their inventions.  Kristen, Misha and I were out of the house shortly after 8 am on Monday morning to drop them off at Blue Mountain Elementary, way the heck on the other side of Longmont.  It took about twenty minutes just to get there.

Kristen was a little miffed that I had signed her up for the camp.  "Did you ask my permission to sign me up?" she demanded.  I hoped she would have a fun time.  She and Misha were in different groups for the week, as they were divided up by age, but both made friends quickly.  When I returned at 3:30 pm to pick the girls up, Kristen said to me as she bounded along on the sidewalk, "You have my permission Mom."  She loved her first day and each day after excitedly jumped out of the car ready for a new day.

At the end of the week, Chris and I attended their big invention reveal.  They both had fun showing off how their invention was successful in popping a water balloon.

Amy's leg

So a couple of days ago, Chris and I enjoyed a beautiful Colorado evening by taking a walk around the neighborhood.  Misha was supposed to be mowing the lawn and Amy and Kristen were in the back yard playing.  As we walked along, I happened to notice Misha riding her bike up the driveway into the garage, but never really thought any thing of it.  We kept on walking and then turned around and walked back the way we had come.  As we walked up the driveway, Kristen came running from the back yard and breathlessly announced, "Amy hurt her leg on the trampoline.  She's crying and she can't move."  Chris and I hurried to the trampoline to find Amy laying on it crying and unable to move.  I climbed through the safety net to her side.  She was shivering in shock but was able to tell us that she had been jumping when her knee suddenly hyper-extended and then she came down hard on it.  I helped Amy slide to the edge of the trampoline though she was in a lot of pain and didn't want to move.  When your daughter is all of a sudden taller than you, there's no more scooping her up to carry her to safety.

Chris was able to help get her off the trampoline and then carried Amy in to the house to settle on to the couch.  She was unable to walk on her leg and our best efforts to relieve pain did not help her very much.  The next morning, Friday the 7th, I decided that it would be best to get her knee checked out but was unable to get an appointment until after 4 in the afternoon--and not with a doctor I was hoping to see.  It was a crazy afternoon of picking kids up and dropping off here and there, but we finally sat in the doctor's office.

I watched as Dr. Fischer (not really a fan) pushed and prodded and stretched Amy's knee.  She figured it was most likely a sprain but we had x-rays taken just to be sure.  And we got to leave with crutches.  We now have our very own pair.

I listened to Amy joking a week later how Chris and I leisurely walked around the neighborhood as she lay on the trampoline in pain and Misha raced around trying to find us on her bike.  A week later and she is off the crutches and announced today that it wasn't hurting anymore.

Garden 2012

My garden is growing amazingly well this year.  I planted my peas earlier than I have in the past and they should be ready to harvest in a week or so for the first time.  Here's a picture before we left on vacation...

And after we returned from vacation I picked a few pods.

I am also growing beans, potatoes, zucchini, onions (volunteer from last year), and carrots.  The new garden box that Chris built for me (you can see it in the far corner of the picture by the tree) will be ready for my next growing season as life has gotten busy.  No worries, I am pretty pleased with the progress thus far.

4.0

So I finally checked Amy's grades the other day.  Another 4.0.  So proud of my girl.

Canada Trip - Day 11

Home Maynard.  Just kidding.  No one in our family is named Maynard.  But we were definitely heading home.  I took "zero" pictures today.

We were all up around 8 am and headed down for the complimentary continental breakfast.  I think we were packed, beautified, and on the road by 9 am.  We had about an seven to eight-hour trip ahead of us, and that's never fun.  We drove toward Rock Springs, WY starting in the beautiful mountain pass of Hoback Canyon, following the river of the same name.  The canyon was part of the Bridger-Teton National Forest and opened up into the Green River Valley.  As we continued our drive into Wyoming, Chris looked in the rear-view mirror and commented, "We left all the pretty behind us."  It is true.

Chris joked over the deer crossing signs complete with flashing lights.  They weren't flashing in the sunlight and he quipped, "What, is there some kind of button the deer have to push to turn the lights on?"  Yeah, it was kind of funny.  Speaking of deer, we passed dozens and many standing right next to the road.  Only one was smart enough to turn and run away.  At least none of them tried to cross in front of us.

We stopped for a quick lunch in Rock Springs at Taco Time...ahhhh, reminded me of Mexican food in Canada.  (On a side note, I commented to Chris the other day that I could never live in Southern Alberta with its lack of Mexican restaurants.)

So we got smart this time, just before we passed a rest stop, we gave Kristen a chance to request a stop.  Her response, "I'll go if you want me to."  My question, "Yes, but do you need for us to stop?"  Her reply was the same.  She wasn't about ready to say she had to go when a rest stop was handy.  We stopped.  She went.  As we were walking back to the Pilot she nonchalantly said, "It is much easier to hold your poop."  Pause.  "I'm just saying...."  Sometimes I stare at her in wonderment.

Not five minutes later.  "Stop!  I need to go to the bathroom again."  WHAT?  Fortunately we were close to a truck stop complete with a Subway.  I made Chris take her in this time.  She came out and as we were leaving the parking lot, "I think I need to go again."  Well, maybe now we have damaged her.  I took her back in to the bathroom and she tried and she tried and she tried.  Poor kid.  Now she just had issues.

We had a chuckle as we left the parking lot and saw a sign being held, "Stranded.  Broke.  Ugly."

Our final stop of the day, and both Chris and I wished that I had taken a picture.  An older couple in a truck pulling a long trailer had tried to gas up and then leave the pumps designed for reasonably-sized vehicles.  They must have missed the pump area as they drove in that was for larger vehicles.  Anyway.  As they were leaving, they had clipped one of the pumps and knocked both nozzles off the holders.  Traffic was terribly jammed as people tried to maneuver around.  The man finally unhooked his trailer and moved his truck.  One of the employees stood out in the parking lot with the couple, but they weren't moving the trailer.  I'm sure there were safety issues galore.  Sadly, I didn't take a picture.

Home again, home again.  Jiggety jig.

Canada Trip - Day 10

Saturday, June 2.  Almost home.  Bozeman was beautiful.  Again, May/June was a great time for travel simply because of the freshness and greenness of everything.  Chris mentioned that he would love to live in Bozeman someday.  I said, "Maybe in the summer."  We started out on US 191 and drove through Gallatin National Forest following the Gallatin River in the rain until we reached West Yellowstone.  Before entering the park, we stopped for some snacks, apples, and carrots to get us through the next two days.

Our first wildlife siting was in a field spattered with buffalo lazily munching on grass.  They were massive creatures.  The sunshine finally decided to appear and Chris mentioned that a little sunshine on his leg while driving felt great.  That blossomed in to "Sunshine...on my shoulder..." and I just had to find the John Denver song on my iPod.  Amy, as an opinionated and happy-to-share-it twelve-year old said we were listening to old people music.  Pssshhhh.  Chris and I sang along.

We turned the car and the music off when we reached Old Faithful in West Yellowstone.  Lucky us, we arrived right in time for an eruption.  Kristen was fairly young the last time we were here so it was nice for her to make new memories.  Since it was lunchtime and our peeps were hungry, we walked over to the cafeteria at the lodge. 

We didn't spend too much time in Yellowstone since we had been there last summer, but drove through on to Grand Teton National Park.  And Kristen.  Dear Kristen.  "I have to go to the bathroom!"  Child, can you not tell the difference between an urgent need and an I-should-tell-my-parents-that-I-could-use-a-bathroom-in-the-next-twenty-minutes need?  Fortunately, we were close to a marina equipped with restroom facilities for her use.  The view just happened to be a bonus.

We saw a cool electronic sign that read, "Bears with cubs crossing next 10 miles.  Slow down Cowboy."  Sadly we weren't able to add to our bear sitings of four for this trip.  Chris had checked a map before leaving Bozeman and chose South Jenny Lake for a stop and hike.  We took a boat launch across Jenny Lake where the last return launch of the day was 4 pm; we arrived around 3 pm.  We didn't have a lot of time.  However, there was a two-mile hike along the shoreline that would return us to the marina if we happened to miss the boat.  Two miles was nothing.  You'd have thought we told Kristen that she would have to hike for days if we missed the boat.  She hightailed it up the path and the mountain and was determined to be first in line for our return trip at four.  Ohmygosh, she whined the whole time about needing to be on time.  She said to me as we hiked, "This is just not my element."  I was amazed that she knew how to properly use element in a sentence.   We quickly distanced ourselves from the rest of the crowd and hiked first to the waterfall and then on to Inspiration Point.  Kristen thought we were just going to the falls.  Talk about frustration with her parents.  She reconciled herself to continuing on and pointed her hiking shoes up the mountain; we were obliged to follow her pace.

When Chris started walking past Inspiration Point and wanted to continue on...well Kristen's frustration level was off the charts.  She wondered why I couldn't just let her find her own way back down to the dock.  Um, no.  We finally decided to turn around, much to Chris' disappointment, but Kristen breathed an audible sigh of relief.  We came across two marmots (maybe) on our descent.  Amy and Misha rushed ahead, but either Chris or I had a hold of Kristen's hand all the way down.  She was still worrying her little head off that we weren't going to make it.

And what do you know, we didn't.

We heard a boat leaving the dock just as glimpses of lake showed through the trees.  We hoped Amy and Misha were not on the boat.  Kristen broke down.  As we continued on down, Amy and Misha ran back to meet us.  "We told them you were coming but they didn't wait.  But there's one more boat coming back."  Hallelujah!  If Kristen knew the words, she would have sung it.

Kristen was the only one who finished her Junior Ranger packet from the day before and since we weren't close to the Visitor Center in Glacier, she was able to turn her packet in at Jenny Lake visitor center for a sew-on badge.  Not sure yet what it will be sewed on to, but she was pretty proud of herself.

Everyone climbed back in the Pilot and we were on our way again toward Jackson, WY.  We came upon lots of people along the side of the road at the Taggart Lake Trailhead.  There was a whole group of people with massive lenses pointed toward the brush.  Just as we walked up, I spotted what was a baby moose disappearing in to the bushes.  His mother was not too far off, hidden in the bushes and munching away.  Maybe with those huge lenses, they could get a better shot, but the branches obscured a lot.  Ah well, I saw her head.

We didn't have to drive too far to reach our destination for the evening at the Homewood Suites in Jackson.  Chris checked us in and then we went in search of a restaurant.  I was hoping for some good Mexican, but the address we searched for was nowhere to be found.  We parked in downtown and searched on foot.  Plus there were a lot of touristy t-shirt type shops that my girls were hoping to find a treasure in.  We dined outside on the patio at Mountain High Pizzeria, after which the girls were successful in finding shirts and a pair of sweat pants for Amy.  Happy day.

Canada Trip - Day 9

We slowly tumbled out of bed at the Bed and Breakfast on Friday morning.

We weren't in too big of a rush and told Mary, the hostess, that we'd be happy to have breakfast at 8 am.  I learned later that my dad was anxious to get fishing, he would have left around 6:30 am, but waited around until we were all ready to leave.  We followed him and my mom to Payne Lake which was only about seven minutes from where we had stayed.  He got one fishing rod set up in the water and then handed it over to the girls.  They thought they had bites and would reel it in, but by the time the hook reached shore, the fish had gotten away.  Oh well, there was the anticipation.

We hung around for awhile as my dad got his fishing box set up.  He would cast his line and then set the rod on the box and just let it fish for him.  That way, he could have two rods going at once.  We had to be on our way around 10:30 am before any fish were caught, but he did catch two decent-sized rainbow trout around noon.  We loaded up and began our drive to the Chief Mountain, MT border crossing.  Kristen shed some "sad to say goodbye" tears as we drove away.

I did not realize that Chief Mountain was actually in the United States.  I looked at it out our kitchen window growing up and always thought it was in Alberta.  Not so.

As we stopped at the border, rolled down the windows, and removed our sunglasses, we had two or three agents working with us.  One to ask questions and the other two opened up the back of the Pilot and poked around.  We were asked to surrender our apples, but the agent returned them when she realized they were from Washington.  One of the agents asked about some boxes in the back and wanted to know what was in them.  They were Christmas presents for the girls that my dad had made.  I asked, "Could we tell you without our girls hearing?"  I guess they realized we weren't trying to sneak anything by and said "no worries."  And with that, we were back in the good ol' USA.  Our first destination was East Glacier up Highway 49.  There were times that it was just a sheer drop off from the side of the road.

We stopped for a short while at the East Glacier Lodge at Mary's recommendation and got out to stretch and explore.  I remembered these cool red buses from Waterton Park.  I guess they go back and forth across the border from the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park to Waterton Lakes Provincial Park.

It was lunch time so we found a quaint little place that was recommended for their food--not so much the ambiance.  We could tell why as we drove up.  Amy said, "I am craving a hamburger.  Must be from all the cows I saw earlier."  We enjoyed a nice lunch at the World Famous Whistle Stop.  After lunch, we backtracked a bit to the turn off for Two Medicine to explore Glacier National Park a little.  We stopped to hike/walk the Running Eagle Falls Nature Trail and ended up at, you guessed it, Running Eagle Falls.  It was an amazing feature with a huge fall in front and an equally large fall behind.  The sound of it was incredible.

The girls had picked up Junior Ranger workbooks and quickly began filling in the pages.

As we returned to the car, rain began to fall and continued as we drove around.  Not too appealing to want to get out and hike in it.  We continued on to our destination of Bozeman, MT via Browning, Choteau, and Helena.  We could have stopped for dinner in Helena.  We should have stopped for dinner in Helena.  Instead, we drove on to this dumpy little town called Townsend and ate at the Wood Family Grill.  I do NOT recommend it.  The highlight was having our novice waitress spill spaghetti sauce on Kristen's jacket.  Ugh.  We were just happy to get out of there.  I wished that we had waited longer because on arrival in Bozeman, there were plenty of dining options.  Ah well.  Next time.

We checked in at another Residence Inn in Bozeman.  They were not so gracious as to upgrade our room.  In fact they said the company never upgraded.  Chris tried to argue that that wasn't true since we had just been upgraded in Billings, MT a week ago.  Ah well, a studio with one King, a pullout couch, and Kristen on cushions on the floor.  I rigged suitcases and a chair so that the cushions wouldn't separate in the middle of the night.  Lest you think we are horrible for making her sleep on cushions, she's the first one to "call" 'em.

Canada Trip - Day 8

Waterton Day.  Waterton Park is an amazing Provincial Park that is part of the Rocky Mountain Range that extends from Colorado.  Waterton Park, is also part of the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park extending across the border into Montana.  I imagine for my parents, traveling with the Klines is an adventure in and of itself.  We had booked a Bed and Breakfast in Mountain View back in February about ten minutes outside the Park.  Inside the Park didn't given us the room or options we wanted, and having breakfast provided for us on Friday morning would be a nice bonus.  Sure, we could have driven back to Stirling, but staying over would be fun, and Chris and I planned to leave the country via the Carway Border which wasn't too far from Mountain View.

We packed up all of our stuff Thursday morning and headed out.  My parents brought their truck and we filled the back of it with our luggage so that we didn't have to take it all in to the Park with us.  We met up at the Cardston, Alberta temple.  While waiting for everyone to arrive, I was standing in front of the temple and two people came out and asked if they could take pictures for me.  The second person was a security guy and fairly skilled with a camera.  We got some nice pictures--and I was in them!

Before leaving Cardston, we stopped at Subway and picked up sandwiches for lunch and were on our way.  We passed by the Bed and Breakfast on our route and decided to see if they would mind if we left my dad's truck for the day.  Mary, the hostess, was happy to let us leave the truck, and to check us in.  She gave us keys so that we could return later and she wouldn't have to be there.  She lived down the road and we had the place to ourselves for the evening.  Nice not to have to rush back to check in.  Chris declared the rest of the day a "No Electronics Day."  Crazy girls would rather stay glued to their iPods than enjoy the scenery.  Kristen commented after Chris declared the no electronics rule, "Unless you're a parent....Amy, you're not a parent."

As we drove toward the mountains, Chris and I were amazed by the beauty of Chief Mountain and the green pastures below. Chris pulled over to let me take some pictures.

Just as we were entering Waterton Park, someone in the vehicle wished that maybe we could see some bears today. What do you know, not even two minutes later, we spotted a mother bear and her cub along the side of the road.  The cub was so close, maybe three feet from where I was sitting in the front seat.  It was a great way to start out our wildlife spotting.  Chris offered $5 to the first person who spotted a big horn sheep and Kristen was happy to claim that prize later in the day.  We saw a total of four bears, numerous big horn sheep, deer, mountain goats, and a coyote.  Though the elusive salamander seemed to evade us.  Somehow though, it scored its very own sign.

Chris was turning away from Cameron Falls when I told him we needed to go there first.  It's tradition.  Growing up, we didn't always get out, but it seemed we always drove by the falls first.  We slowed to get a good look and then continued down toward the shore of the Upper Waterton Lake and the camp kitchens there.  So many memories of eating lunch and dinner here.  We started out at one camp kitchen that was enclosed on three sides and decided to move to one that was totally enclosed.  My dad built a fire even though we weren't going to be there long.    The next family to use the kitchen would enjoy the benefit of my dad's fire-building skills.

If you have ever been to Waterton Park before (especially not in June, July or August--and sometimes even then), you will not be surprised when I say that is was windy.  No, REALLY WINDY.  It was much nicer to have the enclosed kitchen simply for refuge from the wind.  We ate our Subway lunch, snacked on cookies, apples, and carrots and finally left our warm fire.  Kristen asked of no one in particular in the car, "How do you say Canada in French?"  My dad quipped, "Quebec."  Perhaps you have to be Canadian or know a passionate one to get the joke.

We stopped at Cameron Falls.  Amy and Misha weren't going to get out, but were finally convinced.  I got a few pictures and we saw our first deer sighting.

We drove around the town site for a bit and then headed up to Red Rock Canyon.  There's one piece of road that if you get going at just the right speed, it drops dramatically and you're stomach feels as though it is in your throat.  My mom hates it.  As a child, I remember begging my dad to go fast.  Chris obliged as well.  My mom then shared how as a little girl, to avoid getting sick, her parents would let her get out of their car and walk while they drove ahead.

The drive to Red Rock Canyon seemed to tire Amy and Misha out as well as Grandpa.  When we pulled in to the parking lot, Amy and Misha were already asleep in the back seat, my dad stretched out on the middle seat, and my mom moved to the front seat to knit and enjoy quiet time.  I think they all slept for about an hour.

Kristen, who likes to boast that she's our best hiker, came with Chris and I to hike the path around the canyon and then on to Blackiston Falls.

On our way back from the falls, Chris and I spied my parents hiding behind a bunch of trees.  Kristen hadn't seen them yet until my dad jumped out and growled like a bear at her.  "Oh Grandpa."  Love the pictures of my parents.

We drove back down to the Waterton town site where Chris promised the girls a snack.  Before arriving, I spied another bear chasing some smaller animal.  This bear was quite a distance away this time.  The girls scored ice cream once we arrive back in the Park and sat on benches to eat their tasty treat.  We scouted out a few of the restaurants and picked a reasonably priced place to return to later.  After the girls finished their last licks, we headed up to Cameron Lake.  We came across a large group of big horn sheep.  A car had stopped in the road and motioned us to slow or stop as we came upon them.  Again, they were right next to our car and never seemed to be too bothered by our presence.  But don't you get the feeling of "I'm watching you?"

We had been told that there was still about 4 feet of snow at the lake.  There was, though the parking lot was cleared.

On our return trip back to Waterton, we saw our fourth bear.  It munched on dandelions as I snapped pictures and everyone in the car watched.  I could have stepped out of the car and hugged it if I wished.

A little further down the hill, we stopped so I could take a picture of this iconic landmark.  You might recognize it as The Prince of Wales Hotel.  It is rather old now, but hotel rooms will still run you a pretty penny.

We ate dinner at Zum's and then drove back to the Bed and Breakfast.  It was pretty quiet but nice to have the facility to ourselves.  We sat and watched all of the pictures I had taken thus far on our trip and then gradually made our way to bed.  We stayed in a large room over the garage with three queens and one twin.  Nice that we each had a bed.  Sad that Chris and I had to share a room with our girls.