Tag Archives: Alberta
Valentine’s Weekend Winter Backpacking
Mike’s birthday falls the day after Valentine’s, so typically I try to plan something fun and special to cover both of those occasions. This year, we decided to test our mettle and do a weekend in the backcountry that involved snowy camping, and a snowshoe trek in. We’ve been out to The Point many many
Backpacking At Lake Minnewanka
Determined to get the most out of backpacking season this year, Mike and I started hitting the trails earlier than usual. A mild winter and incredibly early spring meant that we had almost now snow by mid-April, which allowed us to start spending nights outdoors before May long-weekend. Very early in May we found ourselves
Backpacking With Children: Our First Time
On May long weekend we loaded up 5 backpacks, the kids, their dad (Jason) and headed for the mountains. It was raining lightly, but we’d already booked The Point for two nights, and I was determined that all my planning and packing was NOT going to waste. So off we went, stopping for brunch on
Hiking With The Younglings In Peter Lougheed
Over Easter weekend we decided it was time to hit the trails with the kids. We want to take them backpacking this summer, but it won’t do to just load them up and hope for the best. So, we got out their daypacks, filled them with water and snacks, and drove down to Peter Lougheed
Oh Hai, It’s Me Again!
Right, this blog, I had sort of forgotten about it, and then 2014 was the year of “maybe next month will be better” and of course next month never was. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t terrible, but it definitely had it’s moments. Mike worked away, which was wonderful and terrible all at the same
2013: A Year In Review
The new year is just a couple of days away, which is cause for mulling over the year that has just passed, and evaluating how it went. 2013 wasn’t a bad year, but there were definitely some challenges along the way. The beginnings of the year saw a visit from Mike’s mom and dad, skiing,
Mike Harvests His First Deer: Whitetail Hunting In The Alberta Foothills
** NOTE ** This post contains graphic photos of a deer being gutted, skinned, and processed. It all started with a Remington .308 and some yellow tags. In the spring, Mike and I obtained our firearms permits, via Nelson Firearms Training here in Calgary (we HIGHLY recommend them, they were awesome) with the intention of taking
Our New Two-Horse Herd!
Early last week Mike and I were very excited to finally have two horses delivered to the farm, courtesy of my wonderful Grandfather, along with my Mum and Dad. This pair will be living in our care for the foreseeable future. The bay (reddish brown) and white one is called Little Lucky, and the darker
Winter Camping At Dinosaur Provincial Park
Last weekend, having taken leave of our senses, Mike and I decided to take a preliminary expedition into winter camping. Not so long ago we picked up a reasonably priced 4-season tent from MEC (more on that in an upcoming review) and the forecast was mild, which seemed like the best time to give it
Mike Turns 30, Skiing Lake Louise, And Eating At Banff’s Grizzly House
On February 13th Mike’s Mum and Dad flew in to spend a few days with us! We’ve been looking forward to their visit for several weeks now, and we had plans to do some skiing, wander around in Banff, and celebrate Mike’s 30th birthday at The Grizzly House! Mike and I had to work on
Dashing Through The Snow
One of the favorite traditions in our family is winter sleigh rides! My grandfather has a handful of horses left, and a couple of sleighs that he built himself. There’s nothing like the jingle of sleigh bells in the crisp air of a sunny winter day! I hadn’t driven in quite a number of years,
Ice Fishing On Buck Lake
Over the past month or so we’ve made a couple of trips out to Buck Lake to visit my parents and do a little ice fishing! Mike had never been ice fishing before this winter, and it’s been a LOOOOOONG time for me (which is kind of sad, considering my mum and dad live right
Calgary’s Aerospace Museum
With the cold weather sometimes making outdoor activities less enjoyable, we decided to take the kids to one of Calgary’s lesser known attractions: The Aerospace Museum. It was more interesting and educational than expected, and the younglings greatly enjoyed themselves.
Backpacking Flores Island: Getting There
After weeks of preparation, and quite a lot of anxiety, and making of arrangements, we hit the road for Vancouver Island on Friday, July 20th. The first hour of the trip was uneventful, and then we got to the park gates, just outside of Banff, and it was clear something was amiss. Traffic was backed
How Two Grown Men Outsmarted A Whole Lot Of Bats
One recent weekend, we trekked out to Buck Lake with the kids, to visit my mum and dad for the weekend. While we were there, we did quite a bit of fishing (I caught two!) and enjoyed an afternoon on the boat. Somehow Mike and I got roped into helping dad solve their recent bat
May Long Weekend At Sibbald Lake
For the long weekend, Mike and I took the kids out to Sibbald Lake for three days of camping. Yes, THREE whole days, and four nights, to be exact. We had a BLAST! There was fishing, minnow-catching, hiking, waffles, camp fires. It was perfect. And the weather was pretty awesome too. I think Smidgin’s expression
Hitting The Slopes, Eating Weird Things, And Other Goodness
Some months back, Mike’s mom, Ruth, and his sister, Michelle, came out to Alberta for a visit! It was so great to see them, and the four of us headed out to the mountains for a two-day ski vacation in Banff. I hadn’t been on skis in almost a decade, and it had been quite
Underworld LARP – Winter 2011/12 Assorted Photos
Most of these are of me, as Mike is usually the one with the camera, but I think there are at least a couple shots of him!
Snow Day
Recently, while Sydnie was at a birthday party, we took Lincoln out to a tobogganing hill in the city for some fun. We all went sledding and had a rather fantastic time of it.
Underworld L.A.R.P – September 2011
Dear LARPing, We’ve missed you terribly! I know I am not finished posting about our trip to Alaska (my free time is seriously lacking lately) but I wanted to interject this little post before I forgot.
Random Camping At Running Rain Lake – Day Three
Sunday was another gorgeous day, starting with sunshine and blue sky first thing in the morning. We all got up and made coffee and oatmeal again for breakfast. We pulled the tents apart to dry them from the rain that fell overnight. Then there was time for taking more photos and getting our gear rounded
Random Camping At Running Rain Lake – Day One & Day Two
Over the weekend, we were fortunate enough to be able to take Dan and Kerri on their first backpacking trip (which coincidentally ended up being our first random camping excursion as well). After a not unsubstantial amount of discussion and indecision, we settled on Running Rain Lake, which falls inside of one of the Wildland
Backpacking In Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
One weekend, not so long ago, Mike and I found ourselves with time to spare and no solid plans (a rarity to be sure) and so we took a spur-of-the-moment backpacking excursion to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. There are several backcountry destinations to chose from, but being that we only had a regular weekend, we
