Tag Archives: Outdoors
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 With Children: A Week On A Remote Island
All through the spring we worked on getting the kiddos ready for our big (secret) backpacking trip of the year: a week on Flores Island. Mike and I have been there before, and since we were going to Vancouver to see my brother and his lovely fiancee get married, we decided to make a vacation
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,
Summer Vacation In Ontario
The heavy snowfall we’ve had recently has me longing for the lazy days of summer. I was browsing photos from the warmer months, and realized I hadn’t gotten ’round to writing about the wonderful trip we took to Ontario this summer! I even got to accomplish a couple of list things, thanks to Mike’s really
A Weekend In Radium Hot Springs With My Grandma
My Grandmother was fond of taking us on trips when we were young. We (meaning my siblings, cousins, and myself) spent a great deal of our childhoods at my grandparents farm, near Sundre, Alberta. There we would while away the hours riding around on trikes or horses, picking eggs, tormenting the chickens, attempting to befriend
Bringing In The Garden Harvest
I spent a great deal of time late last week harvesting, washing, and finding homes for the considerable volume of vegetables we grew over the summer. Late in the winter Wendy and I began scheming, and while I didn’t get around to planting ALL of the things I wanted to, or even half of them,
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
Personal Identification In The Backcountry? Dog Tags To The Rescue!
Mike and I don’t carry our wallets in the backcounty. There are several reasons for this. 1. I don’t like to risk potentially losing my wallet or any of the stuff inside of it. Replacing a sleeping bag or a tent is easier (if not more expensive) than replacing credit cards, drivers licences, and all
Backpacking Flores Island: Camping At Kutcous Point
After spending four nights and three amazing days at Cow Bay, Mike and I decided to cut the hike out into two pieces, and go back as far as the low-tide shortcut on Thursday afternoon. We would cross the shortcut at low tide and camp on the other side of it, so we could do
Backpacking Flores Island: Camping At Cow Bay
The following four days were absolutely amazing. Waking up in the morning to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach, and watching whales spouting while we drank our morning coffee, it was incredible. We fished, and played in the water, and caught crabs and minnows and whatever else we could find. The beach
Backpacking Flores Island: Walking The Wildside Trail
After departing the trail office, we headed to the beginning of our hike in. There are a number of signs that you find along the trail, which go along with a booklet you can pick up, that explains as you go along the significance of some areas to the native people. We didn’t get the booklet, but
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
Dragons, And Goblins, and Kobalds, Oh My!
It’s summer time, and LARP is still in full-swing! Oddly enough, we’ve appeared in a few photos as of late, and so I wanted to share some of them with you. Here’s Mike, and the Order of the Golden Dawn (my character isn’t a member, yet, for religious reasons) Yay for morning coffee. Goblins loooooove
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
