I'm on Mountain Time!

And I'm not talking about the time zone, either... I'm talking real, live, in-the-mountains time!! This weekend I finally got to get out onto some trails, and it has been awesome! Todd has been a great sport about the whole hiking thing also. I know he'd rather be kiting, but I appreciate that he has humored me these last two days and joined me for some fresh, K-Country air. When I say 'humored', what I really mean is that he listened to me whine and complain about how out of shape and slow I am, and mostly he just made jokes about it. Thanks Sweetheart!! Hee hee.

Anyhow, we spent Canada Day on King Creek Ridge, which was steep but led to fabulous views.

Todd waiting for Cher, as per usual!

View from near the top of the ridge.

Todd checks out the valley and the Kananaskis Lakes.

King Creek Ridge summit.

Summit cairn at the north-most end of the ridge.

Todd at the end of the ridge.

The sun came out once in a while and we lollygagged on the nice, grassy meadow at the summit for nearly an hour before taking a different, more scenic return route. The best part of the day however was when we were almost back to the car - we came out of the trees to a frantic lady yelling "Bear!", and sure enough, we darn near walked right into a momma grizz and her two tiny cubs. We watched them for quite some time; she was gorgeous and the babes were soooo cute!

Today we drove down to Highwood Pass, since I've never been there before. We hiked the Picklejar Lakes trail to the col before you drop over down to the tarns, but instead of going down, we went up. We topped out on the start (or end?) of Lineham Ridge, which was very cool. The views were fantastic and had it not been only my second day out this year, I might have had the nerve to follow Todd further along the scrambly part of the ridge.

At the col below Lineham Ridge.

Wicked view of three of the four Picklejar Lakes!

The first Picklejar Lake.

Todd descends from higher up the ridge.

Lantern Creek Valley

So far, it has been a stellar weekend, and tomorrow should be more of the same - I'm going to Rummel Lake with some friends from Canmore.

**SIGH** There really are few things more therapeutic, for me anyway, than being outside, wandering around in the mountains. Life.... is.... GOOD!!

Cheers!

King Creek Ridge
Time (car to summit): 2 hours
Distance (round trip): 8km
Elevation Gain: ~730m

Lineham Ridge (North End) via Picklejar Lakes Trail
Time (car to car): 4-1/4 hrs
Distance: ~11km
Elevation Gain: ~900m

Escaping the rain...

It's been a long couple of weeks. Between work, and the weather, it has just been one big dreary blur. So yesterday, we escaped! Todd, Chris and I zipped down to Keho Lake where we spent an enjoyable day in the sun (and of course WIND!).

Todd and Chris rode for several hours in absolutely nuking conditions, and they finished the day with a down-winder to the end of the lake.

Sola chased James all day!

It was so awesome to be outside under blue skies! And tomorrow I get some more outdoor time - I'm meeting some friends down in K-Country and we're going for a hike. Yippee!! Life is good!

Cheers!

Workin' for the Weekend...

It's kind of an unoriginal post title, I know. But it was the story of my life this weekend. Work. Boooo. Oh well - it rained through most of it anyhow! And at the end of it all, I was treated to this beautiful sight....

 

The things I see on my daily drive.

Cheers!

Backroads

However you want to describe it - taking the scenic route, the road less travelled, getting off the beaten path - I like to mix it up once in a while and drive the backroads to my destination. I find it to be less busy, less stressful, and of course way more interesting than following the usual route.

My great friend Mona lives in Linden, so I drove out and picked her up and then she and I spent a fabulous day yesterday touring around the area. We checked out the incredibly pretty Dry Island Buffalo Jump Park, we poked around some random, abandoned road-side farm buildings, and we stopped for yummy mochas and lattes at the Arboretum in Trochu.

 

At the end of it all, I got to enjoy an amazing dinner and an evening of drinks and visiting with fab friends. Thanks again for the hospitality, Mona and Ron! And Mona, I look forward to our next backroads tour!! Yeah!

Cheers!

Repairs

Finding the pinhole leak in the bladder out of his 17m kite took Todd the better part of a day... but after hours of pumping and deflating and snooping, and of course cursing a blue streak, the teeny tiny culprit was discovered and patched.

 

And it was fixed just in time, too - Saturday was windy all day, and we spent it at Gull Lake. The skies were hazey early on from all the wildfire smoke, but by late afternoon it had cleared right off.

  

Chris and Darryl came out as well, and I think everybody had a pretty good time. Especially Darryl. That guy spends alot of time inverted!

 

 

Well, back to work tomorrow. Work. Bleh. I'd so rather be playing! Hopefully the weather is turning for the better and hiking season can seriously begin. Not that I don't enjoy taking pics of these guys on the water but... I'm really looking forward to getting out and stretching my legs on some mountain trails.

Cheers!

We bought a boat!

Ah ha! I bet that got your attention!! Alright, alright... it's only 15 feet long and it requires a pump, but it is still a boat! Here's the new toy:

It's an inflatable kayak made by Advanced Elements, and it can be paddled by either one or two people. We took it out on Gull Lake today for a test run and have decided it was a grrrrreat purchase!



The convenience of it packing down small enough to fit in my car combined with a set-up time of about five minutes means this is going to be super duper fun on non-windy, non-kitesurfing days this summer. We may even get a second kayak so we can do some river camping trips!

yellow-headed blackbirds in the reeds

Fun fact from the day: Our top speed was 4.6 mph. Todd claims it was all him of course.  ;)

Cheers!

The In-Laws Go To Maui

Recently, the in-laws vacationed in Maui, and upon their return, Todd's dad gave us a memory stick containing all of the photos from their trip. With Keith being a bit of a shutterbug, this meant we had somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 pics to browse through. Wow.

Now, since I loved Maui, and since I love pictures, I perused each and every one of them. Then I decided to have a bit of fun with my faves of the bunch. I cropped here and PhotoShop'd there, and basically just enhanced some already very cool shots. I think perhaps Doreen or Keith reads my blog once in a while, so we'll see what they think of them!

Aren't the pictures fabulous! Keith's photography is really great! He has taken some super stellar photos, and this one is my total favorite:

Thanks to Keith and Doreen for sharing their pictures with me (and now with you!).... It was almost as good as going back there myself!

Cheers!

Friday the 13th!

Nah, I'm not superstitious... so I don't really care that today was a 'Friday the 13th'. It was actually a very pleasant day - the sun was out, it was warm, and I wasn't at work! It almost felt like a real summer day! Yeah!

I still have the winter tires on my car however, and it is only mid-May. In the past, swapping over to the summer wheels has almost always been followed by a late spring snow squall... so I'm putting off the changeout as long as I possibly can! Ha ha!! You're welcome!

Cheers! Enjoy the sunshine!

When Bad Things Happen To Good People

Today was.... the most sad day I've had in a long, long time. I got a phone call this morning - the type of phone call that relays the terrible kind of news that up until now I've only ever read about in the papers. A phone call with words that were so unbelievable, so surreal; words that just couldn't be true. But they were: A good friend of ours is with us no longer.

Brent, you are in our thoughts... And while it doesn't make it any better, it does take the sting out of it a bit to know that it happened while you were out doing something you loved, with people you loved.

You are an amazing person who will be missed dearly. Perpetually happy, always upbeat, the phrase "No dramas!", and wool socks in your crazy flip-flops... that is how I will remember you.

 

My heart goes out to Megan, to your family, and to J and Jody. Brent, you left us far too soon. May you rest in peace, our friend!