A Helicopter High Country Adventure

Five years ago we did a helicopter hike with our family before we had any grandkids, and everyone was able to come including Tiffany and Deana. Well, Doug decided it was time to do it again this year. As it turned out only Lindsay, James, Mark and Jon were able to come. We started making plans, and Doug booked the helicopter tickets! We prepared our gear and equipment and even tried to walk to get in shape for the hike.

Lindsay and Doug decided that we needed to make our own beef jerkey, so that turned into a fun evening and into the next morning project! It turned out great and we enjoyed eating it on the trip.

The helicopter ride up took about ten minutes. We flew into Michelle Lakes, in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, just outside of Banff. The only way into these lakes is by helicopter.

 

It was so beautiful to see these mountains, lakes and waterfalls from the helicopter!

After we were dropped off, we started to explore. We hiked around one of the lakes to get to the waterfall...the panoramic view was breathtaking!

We felt like we were on top of the world!! We surveyed the area and did a little hike up to some flat ground and pitched our tents.

Munching on trail mix and beef jerkey, we hiked and explored around the lakes. We saw several families of grouse, with their babies, and the wild flowers were delightful. The lakes are a beautiful turquoise color. They are glacier fed, so the water is freezing !! We didn't swim, but we did cross several streams in our bare feet!

What we needed we brought with us in our backpacks...warm clothing, sleeping bags, tents, food, cooking pots, utinsels, water purifier and toiletries. It was quite a feeling to be so secluded and completely dependent on what we had brought with us.

By early evening we were hungry, so out came Doug's little stove made from an empty cat food can that had holes punched around the top, along with his little bottle of alcohol. That was our only stove, so we could boil one pot of water at a time. Dinner was a long process, but we all got enough and felt satisfied. The only thing we really missed was a camp fire, being so high in the mountains there were no trees of any kind for firewood!

We enjoyed the evening together, and we were in our tents and settled in fairly early as a storm had rolled in. During the night the winds were fierce, and it truly felt like we were going to be blown right off the mountain...that was about the time the pouring rain, thunder and lightening started. I really thought we were going to die up there, we were a perfect target for lightening!!! However, I have a very experienced "camper husband" who quieted me down, said a prayer and watched over our camp as I feel asleep.

The next morning, luckily the rain had stopped. We were a little wet and tired, but got up early and started our trek down. We had to hike up and over a mountain and onto a glacier, before hiking all the way out.

 

There wasn't a marked trail, we were told to follow 'Owen Creek' down the valley to the highway. It sounded good when we planned it, but in reality, it was CRAZY! It looks easy here, but we are just beginning ten miles of bushwhacking!

 

It was a steep hike out through bush, trees, mud, rocks, tons of fire burned dead logs...a true obstacle course! We saw bear and wolf tracks, and tried to make as much noise as we could coming out! When we stopped, we really did enjoy the beauty of the valley and surrounding scenery, but when hiking, we had to concentrate where to step.

The only way for us to quench our thirst was to use the creek, to purify the water, which was difficult most of the time! I loved it because it gave me a chance to rest, have a little trail mix and to take more pictures! (And get a good drink!)

 

We came close to falling in the 'creek' several times. it was so wet, with little water falls and creeks running down the mountain ino the water, we were constantly trying to use good foot work to stay upright. About 5 hours into the hike, I fell coming over a wet area! It was about here that I cried...and really wondered why we were doing this stupid adventure!

Well, after 8 hours of plodding through bush, we finally saw the highway!! We were all relieved, and could finally stop asking Doug..."how long before we get there??"

We were all pretty worn out and took a few minutes to gather any energy left to drive back into Banff. We stayed overnight there in a hotel, dried out our gear, went to church, then headed home. We asked each other if we would do it again and almost in unison answered "yes...in a few years!"

 

Summertime Fun... With a Little Work

Summertime is here and that means summer camps are happening! Doug left yesterday morning to go biking and hiking, with the Young Men in our Ward. They have been getting ready and preparing their bikes for this trip for several weeks now. Luckily the weather is hot, so I hope they're getting good weather up there in the mountains, too. They are about 40 miles west of Calgary, in an area called Kananaskis. They are going to bike up to their camp, then stay several days and hike the surrounding mountains and fish. I'm hoping Doug survives, but I know he loves this stuff!!

Tiffany, Jon's wife, asked me if I could babysit Ava, (3) and Josh (9 months) for a couple of days while she went to girl's camp. I was so excited to be able to go down to Airdrie and spend 3 days with them. We had a lot of fun together, going to the park, having baths, playing and just 'hanging out'! I"m glad Tiff had the opportunity to go, she said she really bonded with the Young Women, but really missed the kids! Jon came home from work in the evenings, it was fun to visit & be with him, too!

 

 

Last weekend we were able to finally spend some fun time at the cabin, getting on the lake and enjoying the boat. Jon and Tiff met us at the cabin on Friday and we visited and played with them and the kids all day!

Mark came out with us and we all really enjoyed the lake and the beautiful weather! He just finished teaching in Calgary, and starts a summer job today at Tommy Hilfiger, at Cross Iron Mall in Calgary. He got a permanent teaching contract beginning in September. He will be teaching at the Catholic School he was subbing at last year. They had an opening in their 5/6 class and hired Mark as their new full time teacher. He is excited to have a contract this coming year, this will help him secure his 'permanant teaching certificate'. We are so happy for him.

On Saturday, Doug had rented a bob cat and had ordered a full truck load of fresh soil and and a load of gravel to be delivered to the cabin so we could continue with our 'tree removal project'.

We now had all the stumps ground down to saw dust, so we needed to use the bobcat to pick up all the saw dust, put it on the trailer and haul it to the dump. Then, James used the bobcat to shovel all the new dirt that we had brought in into the 'stump holes', and spread out the gravel on the driveway and fire pit area. It was a full day project in the hot sun, but fun with everybody pitching in and enjoying time together!

It is so good to this have done. Now we have seeded the yard with new grass, and hopefully the yard will be useable for the schuduled Stringham Family Reunion out there in 3 weeks!

 

 

Fun in the Phoenix Sun

We live in a city that has very cold winters but beautiful summers! Many retired Edmontonians go South to Phoenix or some place hot for the winter and then come back to Edmonton for our lovely summers. We sure understand now why they come back! We had an extra day off this last weekend so we drove down to Great Falls and then flew to Phoenix for the weekend to see Cam, D and the kids. Oh wow, it was 108-113 degrees on average each day we were there!

We decided that to cool down we needed to get to a lake, so we managed to go boating on Saturday at Bartlett Lake, about a 45 minute drive away. Once we were on the lake, things were so much cooler! We packed up a lunch, some snacks and plenty of water! We spent most of the day at the lake in the water, it was so perfect for swimming!! Mckinley even got into the lake with her mom and dad!

It was so fun for dad to be there, because this was the first time he was able to actually try out his boat! Last time we came down in March we tried to rent a truck with a hitch to pull it out to the lake, but the hitch had a lock on it that we didn't notice until we tried to hook it up to the boat...it was so frustrating for all us that day as we were all ready for a fun day on the lake. But this time luckily Cam's friend from school had a truck and joined us in our 'lake party' this time.

Brooke has really become a great swimmer since living in Phoenix! She is like a fish and loves to be in the water! She has had several swim lessons now, and was invited to join a swim team, but she's not old enough yet... Just barely 4! Hopefully she will continue her swimming when she returns to Edmonton next year!

So while we were there we knew we would be celebrating Canada Day on Sunday so we brought some stuff down with us to celebrate! Some Canadian flags, suckers, a tie for Cameron and a bandana for their dog Tugger.

When D and I went shopping Saturday evening for Sunday dinner groceries, we picked up some fireworks! We got quite a few for only $10.00!! We had to make sure that there wasn't a fire ban on, so Doug and Cam went online and found out EXACTLY what fireworks were allowed and which ones were not. We tried really hard to only light the ones that were allowed, but somehow I think we set a few off that weren't and caused a few too many sparks! We had so much fun setting them off, though, and we did it right next to the pool!

It was a wonderful Canada Day weekend!!