Camping at Riding Mountain

This summer for our family camping trip we met up with my sister-in-law, her husband, and their six kids at Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park.  It boasted beautiful lakes but also an abundance of mosquitoes.  The weather could have been a bit warmer for swimming but we still got in a lot of beach time.  Also one day my brother-in-law rented a pontoon boat to do some fishing and it was lovely to get out on the lake.  (No, I didn't fish.  I was crocheting on the boat and just enjoying being on the lake.  But I was the person who held the net when someone caught a fish.)  Star did try her hand at fishing and caught a couple of fish.  She was very excited.  

Beautiful Lakes

Star on the dock

Uncle P did join us for few days as well.  Here he is being goofy as normal.  Splashing the girls just as I was taking the picture.

We did do a few hikes but the mosquitoes were quite atrocious on our hikes.

They have a bison pasture there as well and we were able to get up close to some bison.

Sky and Lil on the beach.

LK trying his hand at some beach volleyball.

Sky and Daddy playing volleyball.

Star on a paddle board we rented.

LK and Lil working on a sand castle.

Star and Sky with their cousin.  

It was a lot of fun for the kids to camp with all their cousins and it was fun for us adults too.   

Camping in the Pasture

We have been having some unseasonably warm weather here in Saskatchewan so this past weekend hubby wanted to take advantage of it and go on a little camping trip.  With having a baby who was not quite two weeks old I was a little uncertain.  However hubby did  all the packing and it was decided that we would camp in the pasture at our ranch so I could take the little ones home to sleep.  It was gorgeous out and I think the older girls really enjoyed it.  We did some hiking in the hills.  I carried the baby in a wrap and she slept peacefully.  In the evening we sat around the campfire and a copious amount of marshmellows were consumed.  Then I took LK and the baby home to sleep and Daddy and the girls slept outside.  They didn't even set up the tent and decided to just sleep out under the stars.  We could hear coyotes howling in the distance and the cows came to visit us.

In the morning the girls and dad enjoyed breakfast cooked over the campfire.  I joined them a little later and we went on another hike through the hills and then enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading home.  It was a lot of fun and something I think the older girls will remember.  A big thanks to hubby who did all the packing and cleaning up.  He has been a great help as we adjust to life as the parents of four. 

Checking out the campsite we picked.

Going for a hike.

Me with the baby in the wrap.

Sky enjoyed traipsing through the brush.

Playing in the dirt.

Star caught a frog.

Tending the campfire.

Sitting around the fire.

LK on the beds with the cows in distance.

Summer Camping Trip

Well we are back from our annual summer camping trip.  A good time was had by all.  This year was a little different for us as it was just our immediate family.  Usually some of my siblings and other relatives join us.  So I had plenty of food packed as my girls don't eat nearly as much as my brothers. 

The first day of our trip we drove to Little Bow Provincial Park in Alberta.  We spent the next day at the beach there.  It was a nice beach area and the weather was hot.  We spent the whole day at the beach as it was much to hot to do anything else.

Daddy throws Sky into the water.

Star and Sky play in the sand.

Daddy takes LK for a ride in our inflatable kayak.

LK has a snack on the beach.

The next day we headed off to Kananaskis Country where we were staying at Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.  One nice thing about travelling by yourselves is that you can stop where ever and whenever you want.  We made a number of stops along the way, including a stop at a cool looking playground we saw with this climbing apparatus.

The first full day we were in Kananaskis it was cool and rainy (quite a contrast from the heat we had at Little Bow).  We didn't do all that much.  The girls and Dad had their bikes so they went for some bike rides.  (This was an excellent place for bike riding as there are lot's of bike paths and many of them are paved.)  We don't usually have room to bring bikes along on our camping trips so the girls were really excited to have them.  We also attended a family event on being Bear Aware which the girls really enjoyed and at night they went to a talk given by someone from the Windriver Bear Institute.  The next night they went to another interpretive program put on by the park which they really enjoyed.  The programs put on by this park are excellent.  Really entertaining and informative.

Being over seventh months pregnant and having a 17 month old I wasn't able to do quite as much as I would have liked but I still had a lot of fun and felt pretty good most of the time.  LK wasn't  much for sitting around the campfire but he did love to hike and explore.

LK hiking along a trail.

Daddy was there to carry him when he got tired.

LK loved throwing rocks in the water.

The next day at Kananaskis the weather was slightly warmer and not so rainy so we were able to do a number of different hikes.  Including one that was over 5km and had an elevation gain of over 700 ft.  I wasn't sure about hiking up that steep of a trail but I made it and it was worth the effort as we ended up in a beautiful alpine meadow with rocks and waterfalls.

On our hike.

The wildflowers were spectacular.

Star on our hike.  What beautiful scenery!

Daddy and LK on the hike.





As you can see I was usually trailing the pack as I mostly got pictures of peoples backs.

The next morning we packed up camp as the forecast was for rain all day that day.  We were lucky that it wasn't raining in the morning when we packed up but a lot of stuff was still wet from the rain we did have.  We headed in to Calgary and got a hotel room with a small pool and water slide.  (This is treat we usually allow ourselves after camping for a week in a tent.)  We spent the afternoon at the Calgary Zoo.  We saw lot's of animals.  Of course it was raining which made it not quite as nice but there were a number of buildings to duck into and view the animals.  Near the end of the day we just braved the rain and wandered outside.  We ending up getting some great close up views of the bears and cougars.  All the kids enjoyed the zoo, especially LK.  We saw giraffes, hippos, lions, tigers, and more.  How ever I think LK's favourites were the fish.  He kept pointing out all the fish and saying "dsh" (fish) to anyone who would listen.

LK looking at the fish.



A giraffe at the zoo.

We drove home the next day. And that was our trip.  Camping is great family time and the girls really love it.  I wonder where we will go next year.

An Impromptu Camping Trip

With harvest finally being done and the nice weather continuing we decided to go on a one night camping trip to Buffalo Pound Provincial Park this weekend.  It was good to get away even for a day.  Camping is a great way to just get away from it all.  It can be a bit of work but when you are only going for one night you only have to pack the bare essentials.  There is not much you can't live without for one day.    We arrived Friday evening, set up camp, cooked our supper over the fire, and then just sat around enjoying the fire and snacks.  My two sisters, and one of my brothers joined us and we helped them set up their tent in the dark.

Saturday morning after breakfast we went on a hike.  We hiked to this old house.  It was built in 1903 and is pretty impressive looking.  It is part of the Nicolle homestead.  It was a good hike, we got some exercise, and enjoyed a nice fall day.  

In the afternoon we spent some time on the beach.  It was pretty windy but the girls still enjoyed playing in the sand.

LK enjoyed crawling around outside eating leaves and dirt.  However all the fresh air tired him out and he had a snooze in the stroller.

After going on another short walk through a marsh on the boardwalk, it was time to head home.  It was great to get away even for a little while.   

Our Camping Trip in Banff National Park

We are back from our camping trip.  We had a great time and saw some beautiful parts of the world.   We went camping with three of my brothers and my sister and it was great to visit with them all.  We did have to deal with some cold and rainy weather but we managed all right.  While camping we tend to spend a lot of our time around the campfire cooking our meals and enjoying sitting outside so we don't get a very early start and most of our evenings our spent around the campfire.  We spent even more of our time around the campfire this trip as it was so cold we wanted to be by the fire to stay warm. I'll give you a quick day by day of what we did as much for my records as for your reading enjoyment (or boredom?).

Day 1: July 10, 2010.  We left at 7:30 in the morning for the 9 hour drive to Banff.  The kids were all very good on the drive.  We do have a DVD player in our van so the girls watched a couple of movies, but we did spend a lot of time talking, they read some books, and they did some drawing and colouring as well.  We had to stop a couple of times for me to nurse my son and we tried to stop at a park or somewhere where the girls could get out and run around while I fed him.  Then we let him stretch out a little bit too before packing ourselves back in the van to continue the trip.  We were very happy when we finally arrived at our campsite at about 6:00 PM that night.

Day 2: July 11, 2010.  In the morning we went to Johnston Canyon and hiked to the Lower and Upper Falls.  It was a very nice canyon and the falls were pretty.  This is a very popular spot so if you want to do this hike I would advise you to get an early start to avoid the crowds.  In the afternoon we went to Johnson Lake and hung out on the beach.  Some people went swimming but the water was way too cold for me.  After that we hiked up to Cascade Falls.  It was a steep hike but it was pretty short.

Johnston Canyon

The girls at Johnston Canyon

Cascade Falls

Going for a shower at Cascade Falls.

Day 3: July 12, 2010.  We drive to Yoho National Park to see Takakkaw Falls.  It was a bit cool and windy this day and we got caught in a bit of a rainstorm while hiking by Takakkaw Falls.  We took shelter at the walk-in campground, then made our way back to our vehicles when the rain let up.  While in Yoho we also stopped at a lookout to see where a waterfall had created a natural bridge, and a lookout which describes the spiral tunnels built in the mountains for the railway.  Both were interesting.

Takakkaw Falls

 

My six year old on our hike near Takakkaw Falls.  She loved climbing on the rocks.

Day 4: July 13, 2010.  This day was our coldest of the trip.  The low was -1*C and the fore casted high was 5*C.  So we decided to take a drive and go to Radium Hot Springs.  On the way we stopped at Marble Canyon which was a short but very interesting hike with many bridges over the canyon.  The hot springs felt very welcome after the cold weather and the girls enjoyed swimming in the cooler pool as well as it had a diving board and a slide.  This was definitely a family friendly place to visit and the cost was reasonable (under $20 for a family of four).

Day 5: July 14, 2010.  The weather started to warm up a bit on this day.  In the morning we went to Lake Louise which is very beautiful.  We did a hike up to a lookout point there and came across some snow.  It was a good hike with lot's of nice views of the lake.  In the afternoon we drove up to Moraine Lake.  It is very pretty as well and the water is very blue.  We did a short walk along the lake but it was cold and windy beside the lake. Then we went into the Village of Lake Louise to pick up some groceries.  We also went to the visitor info center which the girls enjoyed.  My 6 year old loved collecting pamphlets and looking at the maps.

Hubby and the girls at Lake Louise 

Climbing on a hike at Lake Louise

By Moraine Lake

Day 6: July 15, 2010.  On this day my hubby two of my brothers, both my sisters and my new brother-in-law attempt to climb Eiffel Peak.  This was a scramble (meaning there is some climbing involved but no specialized equipment is needed) and my husband has completed a number of these.  My newly married sister got a little panicked by the heights so she and my brother-in-law left early and went and did their own thing.  My two brothers and other sister made it nearly to the top but there was some snow near the top that they had to skirt around and it was very steep so they didn't quite make it.  Hubby however did make it to the top so he was happy.  He did wish that the others had been able to make it as well but he was glad that they knew their limits and no one got so panicked that they had to be rescued. 

While they were doing this the children and I and one of my brothers went into Banff.  We walked around Bow Falls and let the kids set the pace.  We then went to the Cave and Basin historic site to see the origin of the hot springs.  It was closed for renovations but we did do some short self-interpretive hikes around there that explained the history of the Banff Hot Springs.  The weather was finally nice and warm this day so then we went to Cascade Ponds for a picnic lunch and we relaxed on the beach while the girls played in the water and sand.  

The girls on the boardwalk of a self-interpretive hike.

Playing in the sand at Cascade Pond.

At Cascade Pond

And I had to include a picture of my son.  He was very good the whole trip.  Here he kept trying to eat the sand.

Day 7: July 16 2010.  We packed up camp and drove to Brooks, Alberta where we had booked a hotel room.  A nine hour drive the first day was okay but after a week of camping we didn't want to drive nine hours all the way back in one day.  The hotel was nice and we could get cleaned up after a week of smelling like woodsmoke.  We enjoyed the hot tub, pool and water slide and ordered pizza to eat in our hotel room.

Day 8: July 17, 2010.  We took advantage of the hotels free breakfast, and jumped in the pool for one more swim before heading home.  We arrived home in the mid-afternoon and immediately started unpacking.

There that's our trip.  It was a lot of fun and well worth the effort it took.  Banff really is a beautiful place and while we did encounter some crowds it wasn't too bad.  We saw a grizzly bear along the road one day and a few mountain sheep.  We also made a game of looking at all the license plates we saw.  We saw 26 state plates (including Hawaii), 7 provinces, and 2 territories.  Hmmm, where should we go on our camping trip next summer?