Summer Trip - Mainland to Home

Following the reverse summer posting, I thought I would post some stuff about our return trip.

The wedding (posting to come) was great and we packed up shortly after the festivities, making our way home.  The original plan was to take the most direct line back, the #5 and then the TransCanada.  It's been ages since we've been to the enchanted forest, in fact Dora and I haven't been there together so we couldn't wait to take the boys.  Everyone was excited!

 While much of the displays brought back memories, several displays were fixed up and different from what I remember.  They boys were out of control!  At one point it felt pointless to reign in the chaos that had ensued.  They could run into doors faster than I could contort my body.  It felt like a strange form of torture as I twisted my body through a tiny opening only to have Winnie the Poo staring at me with a smile.

It was pretty fun with only a few injuries.  I think Evan got the worst of it, a swinging door in the face.  We found an interesting campsite only a few km away, Noah's Ark Resort.  A campsite with an actual boat on-site.  Very unique.

Now our trip home took a sudden detour when we got a hold of Ham Solo.  He was around so we headed south to Cranbrook.  We hadn't seen our friends their in years and since they were around we felt it would be great to visit.  We had some time to kill so we also decided to hit Fort Steele.  I don't remember ever going and Dora has been bugging me for years to go.

 It was a great visit, too short but enough to make us want to return sooner rather than later.  Logan made a new friend and everyone had a blast!  We also found some excellent Japanese food too.

Fort Steele turned out to be more fun than I expected, plus they were dog friendly, a bonus for us!  Imagine bringing a dog into an environment with sheep, goats, horses and such.  I must say she behaved herself exceptionally.

The real reason for our visit to Fort Steele was to get one of those old fashion style pictures.  Dora had one with her family when she was younger and she always wanted to get one with our family.  Turns out the wait was worth it and we managed a few good shots!

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Waterton with the Hams

With both of us back in school, we were doubting our resolve to get out after our first week of school.  We knew it was the long weekend, but we were in desperate need of time to prepare for our classes.  We compromised and went to Waterton for the day with Dora's folks.  Turned out to be one of those wonderful days that you all remember in the Gem of LOMAH.

We started with a nice lunch on a great blanket, enjoying the fine fares of Subway.  Not much planning on our part.  Dora's folks had packed a lunch that looked a lot better than what we had.  The kids of course have learned the fine art of "Mooching".

 The lunch was followed with a hike up to Bertha falls with both boys taking their turns running down the trail.  It's so nice to see them enjoying the great outdoors.

Once at the falls, Logan proceeded to scare the living crap out of me.... repeatedly, by jumping back and forth between the rocks.  I swear that kid was gonna end up in the water if I didn't grab him!  This has gotta be payback for something right?

Good thing Mom is agile!

 After my nerves were shot, we headed back down the trail.  I thought I would put the MEC warranty to the test and see if our kid carrier could handle 70lbs.  No Problem!  Heck I just need to figure out how to make it a double decker.  Evan fell asleep of course and enjoyed a nice quiet ride back while I kicked the older boy off after a few km because the leverage from him hanging on was starting to kill the shoulders.

We finished the day by having supper with some friends who were camping in Waterton and were at the park when we showed up.  It was a pleasant surprise that included some great burgers and some sweet Taber corn.

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Whitefish Mtn Biking

So my brother calls me up and want to know if I want to go biking in Whitefish with a few friends of his.  You know, some downhill stuff.  Will an OK from Dora I call back with an "I'm In!"

Now this is where it gets interesting.  I'm thinking a Saturday at the ski hill and then maybe some shopping Sunday and an early departure home.  To my surprise, the actual plan is for a little cross-country biking on the Saturday and the downhill on Sunday.  I can work with that.... or so I think.

Turns out the cross-country they have in mind is an 11 mile climb.  Oh wait, that's just until we turn around for the return trip.  22 miles or 40km.  Considering the preparation for this trip was buying a $10 used downhill helmet on my way through Columbia Falls, I figure I'm screwed.  Turns out I was right!
I'm exaggerating a bit, considering I was lucky to have a nice family pick me up on the way up.  They were doing it right, having their mom run shuttle for them.  So in the end, I missed a bulk of the climbing, but still did enough to have me gasping for air.  Where the heck did my cardio go?!?

We finished the run and then decided that a BBQ meat platter at Piggyback BBQ would be an appropriate meal to follow up with after the ride.  You know, 1/2lb of pulled pork, 1/2lb of ribs, 1/2lb of beef brisket and a whole chicken.  Not to mention the sides.  Man, I'm glad we're done for the day.

Wrong.

Turns out they want to do a 6 mile ride to finish the day.  Oh wait, make that 12 miles round trip.  After about 4 miles I call it quits and let the younger generation speed off to their future while I start planning my funeral.  I hate those kids!

The next day was a better with me holding my own on the downhill.  I crashed more than the rest of them, but I held my own.  Come to think of it, I might have been the only one who crashed.... repeatedly.  Regardless of the crash count, I had an awesome time and would do it again.  I just have to find a shuttle bunny!

The rest of the pictures are here, hopefully the rest of the people can link to their pictures in the comments.

2011.09 Bike Trip

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SKUNKED!!

Well, I got skunked in August.  No Posts!  Man, that's not right, we had lots on our plate and lots to talk about.  I guess I'll need to update everyone about our summer, but will do so in reverse order.  That means I get to talk about last weekend and my bike trip in Whitefish.

Pictures to come when I can download them from my camera.  Speaking of which, where is my camera?

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Broken Group - Day 4

It's hard to complain with a 4th day with the same weather! It's been sunny every day, the complete opposite of our last trip 3 years ago. We did wake to thick fog that made visibility an issue, but by noon it had burned off.
We moved camp to Gibralter Island and secured the so called honeymoon spot, the one site isolated from the others. After setting up camp, we paddled out to Reek Island which was punctuated by jagged rocks and narrow surge channels.
Another great day! Thanks again to everyone who made this trip possible, you know who you are!
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

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Broken Group - Day 3

After an evening of socializing with the neighbors, enjoying their hospitality and wine, we awoke to news of a whale in coaster channel. We skipped breakfast and headed out for an early morning paddle. We were rewarded with a school of fish, herded towards us like cattle, while they fipped at the surface of the water. As I watched the whale surface and dive, I was startled when is spy hopped behind me and about 30ft from Willy. Man that boy was as excited as a school girl who just saw justin beiber!
We came back for breakfast and headed back out for the afternoon. We headed for the outermost islands, the ones exposed to the swells from the pacific. It was a bit rough and we listened to our inner voices, or our wives and avoided the worst crossings.
Heading back, the sea fog rolled in, a relief for my arms that at this point looked like neopolitan ice-cream. It was a great day out and I'm lucky to have friends that drag my butt out to do this stuff.
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

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Broken Group

With the sun peeking through the tall cedars that surrounded the tent we were excited for another day of fine weather. The new growth on the tips of the trees offered a warm glow to the morning. I was also excited for breakfast, SPAM and eggs! The meal also included some Cowboy coffee, with all the fixin's.
After breakfast, Willy was slowed by a stomach bug and sat the day out at camp. Merc and I decided to tour Effingham and Austin, two of the outer islands that are exposed to the Pacific, with the nearest land to the west being Japan. The paddle was highlighted with jagged cliffs, dark narrow sea caves and an arch that we passed under. We then beached on a sandy shore where we ate lunch and laid in the sun like flotsam. Speaking of flotsam, you should see what I came across while hiking the shoreline!
With another day coming to the end, I remain thankful of the opportunity to come out here. Thanks Dora! I'll be home soon to help pack!
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

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Broken Group

Well, day one and I have to say the weather and company has been awesome! We left from Port Alberni after a night at the Batstar B&B. Fresh fruit muffins, an egg dish (need to try it when I get home!) and fruit was a great start to the day.
We jumped on board the Lady Rose ferry and were off to Seachart, the launch point into the Broken Group. We packed up with room to spare and were off.
Weather was good, blue sky, with a few clouds. We felt awesome, but noticed some whitecaps right away. We were pleasantly surprized to find them enjoyable and relatively easy. The wind slowed progress and we were definitely tired by the end of the day, but it was worth the push. We ended up on Gilbert, one of the outer group islands. I think tomorrow we'll explore the islands out here and return to the same site. Fingers crossed for more of the same,
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

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A Beautiful Day Part II

Here is a link to the fancam.  Here you can see the 6 of us between acts.  Not much action yet...we were saving all our energy for the real thing.  The show was even better than the real thing.

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It's a Beautiful Day

A couple of years ago for Christmas or birthday - neither of us remember which - my littlest brother bought a family pack of U2 tickets for the show in Edmonton.  I was post-baby fat and breastfeeding and needing some cheer so the news was so very great.  When the concert was delayed due to Bono's back surgery I was so disappointed.  Although, it meant that there was no rush to wean my baby.  I could deal with it.

So a year after the original concert date, with a few different members of our crew we set out for U2.  I had never been to a big name concert before.  I've seen live music and always enjoy it, but a real live super star?  Only in my Hello magazines.  Mom, Jesse and I headed out from Lomah in the morning and stopped to grab Eric in Calgary.  I drove from Calgary to Edmonton and managed to find Kendra and Seth's place without much difficulty.  So awesome that they could join us.  Always nice to see them and have a chance to catch up in person, but they were also our Edmonton chaperons guiding us through Edmonton transit and allowing us to park for free at their place.  Seth even lent me a red shirt.

So after a long day on the road (or teaching - depending on who you were) we were off to see the magic that was U2.  Worried about rain and cold and so damn excited to be going, I skipped all the way UP to our seats.  We were about 10 rows from the top of the stadium.  Perfect birds eye view of everything.  Great seats Eric, thanks again.  The Fray opened and I don't really have much to say about that.  They were good, he was tall and bald.  You could tell how big his feet were from where we were sitting.  They didn't do much to get the crowd moving.  A U2 roadie in a black hoodie had more stage presence.  Oh well.

U2 were late getting to the stage.  Go figure, I always thought that rock stars were punctual.  But I think they were waiting for the sun to go down a bit so their massive light show would be visible and therefore more cool.  It was so surreal to watch them come out to the stage, take their respective positions and then DOMINATE those spaces.  For being so small, Bono could take up a lot of physical space.  He moved around, but was large in his movements.  We could see him and be taken in by him from way up in the cheap seats.  So awesome.  Truly a superstar.

I took a few photos and even video of the first song.  At some point without talking about it we all decided that that was enough sitting and we all stood up and danced for the rest of the concert.  We also sang back up for most of the songs. Why should Bono have all the fun?  It was such a great thing to be a part of with my family and friends.  I only wish that we had taken up more of you with us.  Then it would've been SO good.  Next time.

 The totally expensive, 150 trucks to move "stage".  Very Star Trek...I loved it!!

 Seth and Kendra just before things got started.  And just before Seth's purchase of a hot dog.  "How often do you get to eat a hot dog at U2?" Didn't need to convince me.

 My partners in transportation.  They were most effective at relaying proper merging techniques to a certain Sask driver.  Boy oh boy and I thought I had a runaway mouth in the car.

 So excited!!!  SO VERY EXCITED!!!  Note the red shirt - thanks again Seth.

 Our view, with an extreme zoom on the camera.  Not bad actually.  The ginormous TV screen helped.

The full on light show adventure.  This show kept building and building and building on itself.  I would definitely call that money well spent.  We should totally go together next time they're in town.

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And this is where we're at.

So currently, we are knee and elbow deep in helping my parents renovate their new rental property and our new home while we're building our new house.  It needs a bit of work, so I thought I would post a few pics.  I was waiting till we had our good camera at the house, but the blackberry pics will have to do.

It's been going fine, but there is still a lot of work to do.  Sanding, more sanding, painting and of course there is that whole kitchen thing.
My parents ordered the new kitchen out of Great Falls, MT and it should be ready in a few more weeks.  I think once we get the painting done and the new kitchen in it will look lots better.  Until then, I'll continue with school and everything else.

Oh... I'll have to post as well about my Vegas trip!  Just got back from a conference in Vegas and I must say, what happens in Vegas doesn't always stay in Vegas!

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