Sunday, August 28, 2011

Mosquito Creek Mischief...

Holy moly!! Folks, I have just returned from what may have been the most wickedly fun weekend on record!! And I didn't even have to leave Alberta for it! Hee hee! One of my best friends is getting married in two weeks, so we had her stagette this weekend at Mosquito Creek (north of Lake Louise). Picture it: fourteen women... three days... one Rocky Mountain hostel... Oh, my!

How are we all gonna fit??!

The real Mosquito Creek Hostel!
Suffice it to say, the majority of the events from the past 72 hours will not be discussed in this post... I'll leave it up to the bride-to-be to reveal as much as she dares! What I can tell you is, that I'm pretty certain all of us had a kick-ass time - there was hiking and drinking and campfires and dancing and socializing (not necessarily in that order!), and I met many fabulous new friends over the course of the multi-day party.

Jody - our Guide Bride!


Crowfoot Mtn and Glacier in the background.

On the way to Helen Lake.

Jump - jump - jump! Jump around!!

The only wildlife we saw all weekend.

Jody, Julie, Heather, Megan, Megan (yes, there were two!), Chelsea, Kendra, Maren, Monique, Darcie, Marian, Christine, Kirstin... you ladies ROCK! I can't wait to see you all again on the big day!!

Cheers!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Foiled Again!

Today I was supposed to meet my good friend Ruby and her two awesome kids, Haley and Erik, for a quick hike up to Baldy Pass (down in K-Country). I was soooo looking forward to it, since I haven't seen their smiling faces in quite some time! Well, unbeknownst to me, there is a place of a similar namesake out near Nordegg... and after hanging out at the trailhead along Hwy 40 for nearly an hour beyond our meeting time, I was able to get ahold of said hiking partners, only to find out that they were waiting for me... three hours from where I was waiting for them!! D'OH!!

Somehow our directions got mixed up, and Ruby and the kids went north, and I went south. We didn't ended up getting together after all. Booo! But, since I was already there, I thought I might as well zip up to Baldy Pass anyhow and check it out.


Just a few minutes below the pass, I caught up to some really nice ladies who were out from Calgary for the day. They very kindly invited me to join them, so I did, and I spent an enjoyable afternoon getting to know Loral, Helen and Monica.



Even though the day didn't turn out as planned, it still ended up pretty darn good! The weather was gorgeous and I met some really nice peeps. And Ruby, Haley and Erik... I still hope to catch up with you soon!

Cheers!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Aerial Views

I love being in an airplane, always have. Cruising along, miles above the earth, being able to see as far as what seems likes forever on a clear day... love it!!! I also love all the shapes and patterns that are visible from the air. Some of the most gorgeous, unique sights go completely unnoticed from most vantage points at ground level!





Flying is such a cool experience - to me it feels like I'm almost suspended in space... and I so look forward to getting on a plane again soon!!

Cheers!

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Good People and Good Times!!

Sylvan Lake was the place to be today! I spent the day with friends at a cabin on the lake, and we had so much fun on the water!!

Peddling around.

Finding a quiet place to ski.

Toni rips it up!! Yeah!

I even gave it a whirl! This was like, the second time in about 25 years!

The day was beautiful, the company was fabulous, and I had such an awesome time! Thanks so much Karen, for inviting us out, and thank you Mark for taking us waterskiing - it was a blast!!

Cheers!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

A little bit of outside time...

Today was one of those days where I spent more time driving to and from the trailhead, than I spent actually ON the trail. Oh well - I still got out for a bit of exercise and fresh air, so it's all good!!

View of the North Kananaskis Valley and Barrier Lake
from the ridge of Mt Baldy.

Randomness!

Not sure what's up for tomorrow... it is supposed to be another nice day, so as long as I get to be outside, I don't really care what I do! Yeah!

Cheers.

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

I saw Shamu!

This past weekend I made it into an extra-long one - I hopped a plane with my good friend Toni and headed for some Southern California sun and fun! The real excuse for traveling to San Diego was my baby sister... she and her husband spend a week every August in the Mission Bay area... so it was doubly awesome to get to hook up with her as well!!

It was a whirlwind tour, for sure. We hit SeaWorld (amazing!), the Gaslamp District (super cool), the San Diego Zoo (that place is HUGE!!), the USS Midway (fascinating), Old Town (historic), and of course a few malls here and there. The weather was perfect and I had a fantastic time! Talk about hard to come home...  **SIGH**

Here is an overview of my favorite things from SD:

SeaWorld!

Killer whale tricks!

Shamu puts on a darn good show!

This was an all-day affair...

Lunchtime!

So serious...

I had no idea hippos could stay under water so long!

Check out the gorgeous landscape!


Well, it's back to work for a few days, and then the plan is to get out for two or three days in the mountains. I just realized that it is dang near mid-August... oyy!! And I haven't even come close to getting to all the trails and peaks on my 'To Do' list yet. Guess I better get on it!!!

Cheers!