R&R and adventure

Our family took a quick trip to BC this past week and, as always, had an amazing time. Our favourite getaway is at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort. We stayed in a loft suite in the lodge. If you stay there, I highly recommend asking for a poolside room. If you stay on the 5th or 6th level, you will get a great view of the hot pools. If you stay on the 4th level (which is ground level at our room but as it is built into the side of a hill, it's not actually 4 levels above ground), you will have a walk out patio where you can access the paths onto the grounds which is very convenient. The 4th level poolside rooms are enclosed with gardens and are very peaceful but do not have view of the pool from the main floor but you can see the pools from the windows in the loft.

Here is our view from our 4th level room. Beautiful. The "registered guests only" pool is right where those trees in the open are.



During our first evening, we went down to the Spruce Grove Campground which is a quick trip down the highway from the resort. It's a nice campground with a bit of space between you and your neighbour. That is an Albertan's opinion, our BC friends did not think it was very roomy! Tells you the difference between BC camping and Alberta camping! We are used to packing it in like sardines.

Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our friends as they were only there for the night. :(
However, before they left, we went for lunch at Tony's Greek Grill & Juice Bar, which is located at the base of Fairmont Resort Road. If you have never stopped here, you must! This is authentic Greek cuisine and is made with fresh ingredients, daily, on site, by Tony and his wife, Vivian. The falafels are amazing and the humus is the best I've ever had. Nevermind the decor, you aren't there to eat in a fancy restaurant! The picnic tables and plastic chairs lend to the charm of this place.

During our stay in Fairmont, we would start each day at the pool where our kids perfected their dives and cannonballs. Of course Mark is a former Fairmont Hot Springs cannonball champion (see this blog post for pictures of his impressive tidal waves, earning him top prize at the Saturday competition.)

Each night, we would enjoy a soak in the hot pool at either the public pools or the private, for registered guests only pool that is nestled up to the lodge. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and this pool is surrounded by huge trees and beautiful flowers. It is such a tranquil place.

The Bear's Paw Bar & Grill hosted Dean Ray of the Dean Ray Band each night that we were there so every night we would go hang out and listen  to some great live music.

In 2012, Fairmont Hot Springs suffered major damage during a mudslide that took out the road and foot bridge that separates the resort from the campground. Check out the news coverage of it here. While we were at the resort, they had just installed a new, much larger and stronger foot bridge, and it is due to open to the public this week. Check out their Facebook page for pictures of the bridge and it's install.

The mudslide also took out the fencing along the creek, which they put up a few years ago in an attempt to keep people out of the waterfalls down below. We would go anyway :) The waterfalls and pools down by the creek are the result of where the pools empty and are a great place to go visit. Not a lot of people know about this place as it is a little bit of a hike to get there and it is not crowded at all. The pools are formed from the natural minerals in the water and as a result, it is very slippery down there.

While cleaning up from the mudslide, they decided it was time to remove the pools by blasting the stalactite that had formed where the water flowed off the cliff at the second waterfall. We'd heard a few different reasons, one being the resort was afraid that the stalactite would break off and fall, killing or hurting people in the pools below. Another reason was that so many injuries happened down there, when people would slip and fall and they would have to bring in a rescue crew to lift them out as it was not possible to bring in a stretcher.

So, the pools are no more :(







During this trip, we spend one afternoon shopping in nearby Invermere. We walked up and down the main street, visiting all the art galleries and little shops. Look! They even named one store after me!

This is Rusty the Moose. He's an 8 foot tall work of art, made out of a various pieces of metal.

We also took a drive out to the hoodoos and hiked around the river to collect some rocks.

Rayden is a fantastic rock hunter! He found beautiful rocks for us to take home for our rock collection. NO! This area is not in a national park! We are not doing anything illegal here! :)

Zander found this perfect chair shaped rock. It was too big to put in the back of the Explorer :-P





















On our way home and just after we had passed Radium Hot Springs, my oldest son made a comment that we had not seen a lot of wildlife on this trip, only a few deer and how cool it would be to see a moose or bear. I have only one time seen a moose and he was so far away, you could barely make out what it was. Not even 1 minute later, we round a corner about 1 km north of Sinclair Canyon and there are cars stopping all over the side of the road. Guess who they were looking at? A moose! She was standing in a turnoff, eating something on the road and was not bothered by these vehicles at all! Some cars seriously drove right up to her, within feet of this humongous animal. I wish people would give the wildlife some space, they were just way too close. We did slow down to gawk at her and I didn't even have enough time to take a picture, but I will remember that thrilling moment forever!






Not far past Radium is a little roadside turnout at Numa Falls which is along the Vermillion River. The mountains surrounding Numa Falls currently have several forest fires burning, so the trails are shut down, but we could still go to the first bridge and take a few pictures of the falls.

 

Looking east towards the parking lot.

 
Looking west

On our way home, we took a quick jaunt up to Lake Minnewanka, as neither Mark or myself had been there since we were little children. Mark and his family used to pull their trailer up there but it looks like they do not allow trailer camping anymore, only back-country tenting. Lake Minnewanka has a rich history as the original townsite was flooded after dams were put in. If you scuba dive, you might want to check this place out!

Many of the areas along the highway were closed due to bear sightings and we were surprised to see many of the areas along spillway at Lake Minnewanka were closed due to electrofishing in the area and its risk of electrocution to people. What is that all about? It's actually a rescue mission for the displaced fish as a result of the flooding that happened the area earlier this summer. Check out this Global news video about it here.

Why didn't I take any pictures during our stop here? Dunno.

We stopped in Canmore for lunch and drove around the area to see the damage left from the devastating flood this summer. You couldn't even tell this town had been ravaged by flood waters and debris just 2 months ago, it was in perfect condition (by my eye anyway, I'm sure the locals could tell you many areas are still in need of repair.) We ate at Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. and had their amazing pizza that is made with many organic, fresh and locally produced ingredients. They use a wood fire oven that is right in the open restaurant so you can actually watch them pull your pizza out. This pizza was AMAZING. Honestly, aside from our homemade pizza, which is the best pizza I have ever had in my life, this place was a close second.

It was an amazing trip and one I never get tired of taking. I loved visiting old, familiar places and discovering new ones as well. We have a few more days of vacation and come Tuesday morning, we all head back to work and school. Until next time, BC!

falafels,

falafels,

falafels,

Weekend in Banff

Last weekend, my family went to Banff for, as my husband put it, "fab 40" weekend with my two oldest and bestest girlfriends and their families. We all turned 40 in the last few week and were also celebrating over 30 years of friendship. To commemorate the event, we came to Banff and got matching friendship tattoos!

The weather was phenomenal. I cannot recall a more enjoyable time in Banff than this trip, and I have been there quite a few times. 

On Saturday morning we went for Timmies and met up with a cowboy who worked at one of the trail rides. My 14 year old son is obsessed with horses and has never been on a horse before. While my friends and I were out getting our tattoos and enjoying a beer on a patio, my husband took the kids horseback riding:

We all walk around the townsite multiple times, bought too much (but not enough) fudge and took in the scenery. It was perfect.

 

On our last day, after saying goodbye to my wonderful friends and their precious families, my husband and I took our boys for a ride up the gondola on Sulfur Mountain. 

Mark did not like the gondola! He is a little bit afraid of heights.

Are you going to puke, Marky??















Look at the view from the top of the mountain. Incredible!!

You can see the townsite and Bow River snaking it's way through the valley. In the back you can see Lake Minnewanka.

On top of the mountain, there is a boardwalk that leads to the top of Sanson Peek, where the Cosmic Ray Station, built in 1903, still stands.

Just a few pictures of the view up there.

Looking up at the cosmic ray station:

Looking back towards the observation deck when you get off the gondola.































Looking down the valley from the ray station.

Me and my boys with Banff in the background:

That hike is only a few Kms (both ways) but the climb up the mountain is pretty steep, so you are doing a LOT of steps. My calves hurt for days afterwards!

Such a fantastic weekend. I never wanted to leave.

Steve

We got the kids a Leopard Gecko for Christmas! They have been begging for something lizard for about 3 years, finally we caved.

Zander has a stuffed animal iguana that he has been carrying around for 2 years. He repeatedly says he wishes Stripe were real. When we were building out new house, he claimed the bottom of his closet would be the perfect place for a lizard or gecko. For the past school year, every book he brought home from the school library was about lizards, iguanas, geckos, etc. He really did his research and knew that the best type of pet would be either the Leopard Gecko or the African Fat Tailed Gecko.

When I picked Steve up from the store, the girl at the store said, "this one is an albino Leopard Gecko", but I thought she was talking about the other. Now I'm thinking it is Steve as we've had him for over a month, he was probably 2 months old when I got him and he has no dark markings at all, just the pink and orange. I googled that and yes, it seems that he is albino. Time will tell.

This video was taken Christmas day, when the boys first met Steve. Surprised doesn't even being to describe it. Notice as soon as Zander realizes what is in the aquarium and he runs to hug me (that part tears me up everything I watch it), he immediately sits down and puts Stripe the Iguana up to the glass and makes Stripe wave to Steve.

They love Steve!

Sweet little Steve under the heat lamp:

This is a mixture of multivitamin powder and additional Vitamin C powder that is essential for gecko health. Don't ask me why. It's not like someone is putting a dish out for them in the wild! I'm assuming the crickets and mealworms we feed them don't have enough nutritional value. But in the wild...?
Regardless, we dust the crickets with the powder before each feeding and he will also go and lick it right out of the dish when he wants to.

Little poser:

Look at his pretty colourings. He's pink and orangy.

This little house is filled with moss that must be kept moist at all times. The heat lamp is right over top of it, thus providing a humid hid for him. This is especially important when he is shedding.
Like I know what I'm talking about....

Here his is hunting down a meal worm. Click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see his funny angry eyes. He always gets that face when he hones in on his dinner. So cute!

Nom, Nom, Nom!

Yes! He is smiling!

Macro Steve:

Swainson’s Hawk

Edit to update title! I emailed the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Edmonton with these pictures and asked if they could ID this hawk. Holly, the Animal Care and Project Manager, emailed me back to let me know he is a Swainson's Hawk and that they are quite common in our area. They migrate to South American and usually leave in September.

Thank you for the ID, Holly!

There have has been 2 hawks living in the forest behind our house this spring/summer. Haven't seen a nest or babies but we can see them and hear them every day. The other day our boys saw them sitting on a guard rail on the road near our house and were so excited to get within 20 feet of them, before they both flew off.
Today, I saw a commotion outside the front window so went to see what was going on. There were 3 hawks fighting in mid-air, one of them had something in its talons. We thought it was a mouse at first but could soon see it was much bigger than a mouse, a gopher, perhaps?
Anyway, he landed on our neighbours lawn and sat there for 40 minutes, eating away.
Neighbours came and went, he cause quite a scene in small town Devon! People were stopping their cars in the middle of the street to take a look or take pictures. This isn't something you see everyday!
Click on the picture to see a larger image, then click your back button to come back to this post.

One of his buddies landed on the roof of our house, obviously upset that HE didn't get the gopher and that his feathered friend wouldn't share.

The third guy circled overheard quite a bit, squawking like crazy.
 

Edited to add this shot. Our neighbour Mandy sat on her step the entire time watching him. She was no more than 10 feet away! He was not bothered by her in the least. She was giving me a play by play from her spot, where she said she could hear bones crunching!

Gopher? Looks like it! The hawk literally ate him from top to bottom! It was such a cool sight. Gross, but cool.
Seriously, is something wrong with me? I laugh every time I look at this picture. You HAVE to click on the picture for a closer view. You HAVE to!

Looks like a fuzzy pair of pants, doesn't it?

Here is an addition to the post, where the hawk has literally turned the gopher inside out. He's quite efficient!

We watched him eat until the neighbours cat came trotting down the sidewalk. Did he seriously think he could take that bird? Or was he just looking for gopher leftovers?
I was so excited when he took off that I nearly missed the shot. I have such a bad habit of doing that, not a good trait for a photographer! BTW, that red thing that is hanging behind him? That's gopher spine. Ick.

Turns out, the cat wanted the gopher leftovers. He licked the grass for a few minutes then walked away, satisfied with himself...

Fairmont Hot Springs vacay

We just got back from a week in Fairmont Hot Springs, a family favourite vacation spot. I have been going there since I was a baby and have always loved it. Mark and I started taking the boys several years ago and they are loving it just the same. It feels exactly as it did when I was a child. It's like time stands still there. The ambiance is just amazing...

Fairmont Hot Springs Resort


Usually we camp in the RV park but this time we stayed in the lodge. We were upgraded to the Queen Loft with Kitchenette, which had 2 Queen size beds and a kitchenette, then upstairs in the loft there were 2 singles beds for the boys. It overlooked the grounds and the pool and was amazing!

The weather was amazing every single day. And surprising, NO MOSQUITOES!!

We checked in and went straight to the pool, of course. The boys, all 3, spend the majority of their time in the pool, doing cannon ball after cannon ball, dives, jumps, spins and a few belly flops. One of the things I love about Fairmont is how people will line the walls of the diving pool to watch the jumpers, and cheer for them, groan when you smack the water and encourage the scared ones. Exactly like when I was little.

View from my lounger:

Shmoopie!

Gorgeous mountain view from the pool. This pic also gives you a good idea of how the diving board pool is separated from the hot springs pool and the regular pool (reg pool on the right).
The hot tub has a temperature of 39C, the large swimming pool is 32C and the diving pool is 30C.
Reputed health benefits of natural, mineral hot spring water: Health Benefits

Mark is VERY excited!

Here goes Zanz!

Off goes Rayden!

Mark loves the cannon ball:

The valley is so swollen right now, I've never seen it flood like this:

Went for a walk to see the Indian Bathhouse and saw this little beauty:

Hello!

There was a cougar and cub spotted up by the Indian Bathhouse so I didn't go up too far this time. Here are some of my most favourite pictures of the bathhouse. I'm sure I can't get any better pictures than these anyway!

I have this picture enlarged and framed, hanging in our main floor powder room.

Interesting history: 
History of the Hot Springs

Inside, the bathhouse is divided into three rooms, each with it's own bathtub carved out of the stone floor. Hot spring water flows in the front and out the back.

Each room has it's own sky light!

Outside and further up the hill is an outdoor tub. Water flows right in from the springs coming out of the ground.

Natural hot spring coming out of the ground:

On Tuesday night, we drove 45 minutes south to Kimberley, this cute, little Bavarian town to have supper at the ski hill with the Tings. Erika and I have been besties since we were...10? 11? And here we are, just a mere 20 years later ;-p with our babies.

Look at Averie, she is losing it by this point!

On Wednesday morning we took the kids golfing at Creekside, which is just a little Par 3, down at the bottom of the resort hill. This was the first time the kids have played 9 holes without help. We've done Texas scramble with them before, and gone to the driving range. Rayden has had a golf lesson in gym class but other than that, this was the first real game of golf.

Honestly, I don't intend to dress them as twins...

Marky:

This was my best hit of the day.

See the ball? Long and straight! Mark should have taken pictures of me every hole, if it produced shot like this!

Never played on a course with an Inukshuk before!

Very excited!

Last hole of the day:

Thursday afternoon we took the kids to the Hoodoos and let them hike up the side a bit. Those hoodoos are so amazing looking.

On our way home, we stopped in Radium Hot Springs for lunch (the Melting Pot, YUMMY! Best chicken burger ever!) and to visit the Radium Woodcarver's place. Radium Woodcarver We've been to his house/shop twice now and it is always a treat. This is the first piece we bought from him, 2 years ago:

Rolf is a totally eccentric hippy from Switzerland who is an amazing artist. He lives in a pieced together half shack, half treehouse, with his 2 goats. He is self sustaining, with a roof top garden and hot tub! He carves all of his incredible pieces with a chainsaw! His house/workshop is rigged with hoses that shoot water at you when you least expect it. Soon you DO expect it, but you never know where it is coming from!

Here is the east side of the house/workshop.

Look! It's Osama!

The outside has all of these funny signs and one proclaiming his house has been featured on HGTV's "Weird Homes". I believe it!

Hello Sweety, Have a Seaty. See the water spout right behind Zander's head?

Entrance:

Up top is the hot tub and you can also see the goat runs that run the whole perimeter of the property.

This is Rolf and our kids. Yes, he really does wear dresses and crazy hats. Don't be scared of him, he's really nice.

Zander was taking a look at this cool sculpture:

And got blasted!

This guy is about 7 feet tall.

Nice hat:

This is the piece we bought this time:

Right across the street is a beautiful old church. Just wanted a few pictures of it.

The roof is a cobalt blue with green/yellow/brown moss growing all over it.

On our way through Banff we decided to take a little side jaunt over to Banff Springs Hotel and go for a walk inside. So beautiful. The kids thought we were at Hogwarts.