Going to the sun road - Montana USA

An awesome drive from Waterton this morning. We were lucky enough to see two grizzly and one black bear on our way out of the park. We passed through customs at Chief Mountain on the Canada/US border. We were keen to start early as we heard that there was a severe weather warning for upper Montana and that the Going to the sun road might be closed. It had been closed earlier in the week due to a landslide but today was our lucky day. The mountains were amazing! I am always blown away by the size of mountains and how insignificant I feel next to them. In the middle of summer we are still seeing snow. The winding road and amazing scenery kept us in awe all day. Lots of stops for pictures and short hikes also kept us from going crazy in the car. At Logan pass we were greeted at the visitor centre by a small herd of mountain goats and gophers. A short swim in Lake Macdonald revived us and we drove to Kalispell for the night.

Kimberley, Fernie, Frank and Waterton.

Back in the car and we made our way to Kimberley for lunch. This quaint little town reminded me of postcards I had seen in the Swiss Alps. It would be gorgeous to visit there in the winter too. We had lunch at a funny little Greman pub and enjoyed bratwurst and saurcraut. This should make for an interesting car ride later. We all enjoyed a game of street chess before returning to the car to head for Fernie.

Fernie is the place where I had broken my arm and I really wanted to show Dad the hill that had hurt his little girl. Greg wanted to go mountain biking but I talked him out of it. No way was I letting anybody else break anything and the rest of our Summer holidays be spent in a cast. This place must have some bad karma because as we were about to get in the car we wanted to take a picture of the inukshuk that stands at the entrance to the ski field (missed it last time) poor Joey stood us too fast and cracked his head on the hard stone of the inukshuk :(. We were all hot and annoyed after that so a quiet trip towards Waterton it was.

The boys feeling the need to get out of the cramped space of the car asked could they show Grandpa around the Frank slide site. Greg and I stopped for the rest and a leisurely stroll while Dad and the boys enjoyed the information centre. Dad was surprised at the boys knowing so much of the history - must take after their mum - so smart :).

On to Waterton for the night - one of my favourite places in all of Canada that I really wanted to be able to share with Dad. A stroll along the shore of Waterton Lakes and we spotted a deer and her baby - so beautiful to watch how protective she was of her newborn. We drove up to Cameron Lake and were surprised that the snow from 6 weeks ago had all melted away. From here you can see across the lake into USA. It still blows me away that you can see another country across a lake.

We had a quick visit inside the Prince of Wales Hotel - which only opens over the summer months. So very Scottish is the interior I thought easily I was back in Oban (my favourite place in Scotland).
Driving out of Waterton Park we stopped for a bear jam where one side of the road there was a large black bear and on the other side of the road a small grizzly.

Radium Hot Springs

Greg had said a tearful farewell to his mum and dad and then drove on to Calgary to return the van and pick up our little Mazda. The boys and Dad enjoyed some time by the pool while I got organised fro the next leg of our trip. Once back in Canmore Greg picked us up and with much reluctance we piled into the little car, so uncomfortable after having so much space in the van. Tonights destination was to Radium Hot Spings. On the way there we spotted a moose on the side of the road. The kids were very excited that this was Grandpa's very first Canadian Moose. We arrived after lunch, checked in to our accomodation and then took the kids for a swim to the lake in Invermere. That evening we went for a relax in the Hot Springs. They had 3 there. One that was a warm heated pool, one freezing and one extra hot. The idea was to go from the hot to the freezing and back to the hot to aid circulation and promote wellness. I found it worked wonders for my shoulder which had been fairly stiff after immobilised for so long and I was able to do a few laps of the warm heated pool. The boys didn't like the hot thermal pool so much because it was too hot and you couldn't really stay in there too long but they did enjoy the warm heated pool that had a slide and a diving board where they perfected their summies. We told Greg that he had to get in the freezing pool first and then enter the hot one. Hilarious!! The freezing pool was excatly that and then as you entered the hot pool it was like having millions of ants bite you where your body had been 'frozen'. I think Dad really enjoyed his time here as it was so relaxing and we left feeling rejuvenated.

Banff National Park with the Parents

The plan for the next few days was to take it easy and try to relax a little before we put Frank and Helen on the Rocky Mountaineer to finish their Canadian adventure and then on to Europe. We were all tired but powered on and enjoyed our time together.

A vist to Banff for the day and we showed the family around spots we had been. The Hot Springs, The gondola, "Hogwarts" and the main street. One of our favourite places was the look out near Nordegg ski hill where Paddy's gopher friends lived. We took a few beers and watched the world go by - very relaxing!

The next morning we wandered the streets of Canmore and sent home a parcel of fabric from the Quilt store there before Greg and Frank even knew we had brought it. We hadn't visited Morraine Lake yet so today was the day. Armed with plenty of repellant and our walking shoes we hiked around the edge of one of the most gorgeous lakes in the world. You could see the glaciers from certain vantage points around the walking track and imagine them melting and producing the most stunning blue of the lake below. Again lots of pictures taken and still amazed at be on the look out for bears signs. A quick snack shared with a  friendly squirrel and we were on our way gain - this time to Lake Louise.

Greg and the boys were desperate to hire a canoe and paddle on the lake. Frank and Helen joined them and it was cute to see them trying to race each other across the lake. My broken arm which was still mending was not up to the paddling so Dad and I decided we would hike to the Lake Agnes Teahouse. It said 3.2km which we thought was a reasonable distance. Holy cow the climb was hard. The incline was steep and I forgot how old Dad was - or perhaps I aged him 20 years taking him on that hike. It took us nearly 2 hours to get to the teahouse and there were parts where I thought I'm going to have to carry my Dad back down if he slips into a diabetic coma. Well we made it and it was definately worth the sore muscles we were bound to have in the morning. The views were stunning and we were in awe of the world. The Fairmont Lake Louise which stands so majestically at the edge of the Lake looked like a little speck from the steep mountain we were looking from. A 30 minute downhill trek and back to the van.

At this stage we thought we'd be late for a show that we had booked in Canmore so we were in a bit of a hurry to get out of the car park. Gereg let a big truck pull its trailer up to the car park when all of a sudden the big truck and its massive trailer stopped - and so did everyone else. The truck has blown its transmission and was blocking all of the traffic. You can imagine how furious Greg was. Ha ha funny now but finally someone with a vehicle able to tow that truck and trailer up the hill came along and moved it. Also funny was how all the tourists to Lake Louise that day cheered when it was moved.

Back in Canmore we enjoyed the stage show "Oh Canada, Eh!" a dinner and show which was awesome. Everyone enjoyed this one which had something for all age groups. Our final night with Frank and Helen was a special one.

Tears the next morning when they had to leave early to board the train but what a wonderful experience our kids were able to share with their grandparents. Memories I am sure they will remember for a lifetime.

Edmonton, Jasper & the Icefields Parkway.

Packed up and ready to go we hit the road in the mini-van again. We must have looked like the Griswalds on their Canadian Vacation. First stop was to West Edmonton Mall for a brief look (if it could be brief there - it's huge). We had all agreed to stick to a 2.5hour limit there and to just wander. Surprisingly enough we succeeded. Frank was again on the look out for stuff - this time Rockport shoes. Not in his size the sales assistant suggested we buy them online and ship them back to Oz. This sounded great - the story is a long one. Dad was sensible and brought his 2 pairs while we were there. A coffee to perk us up from Second Cup (one of my favorite coffee places in Canada) and back in the van for the drive to Jasper.

We arrived in Jasper quite late and found our accommodation at Tekarra Lodge. Being a popular place to visit both Summer and Winter I had booked this place in advance as we wanted to accommodate the 7 of us in the same suite. The room was hilarious. Space for all of us - just. The word was that NOBODY FART! 2 reasons for this - 1. The room was fairly small so you'd probably kill us and 2. The mosqitoes were so bad that if we opened the door for air we would all get munched.

Our day in Jasper was great. We walked the 7 bridges of Maligne Canyon - got munched by the mozzies anyway. Took a drive to Maligne Lake. Relaxed with a cocktail at the Fairmont and looked for wildlife. Finally on our drive back to Tekarra we spotted deer, cariboo and black bear. Of course Greg and Dad had to jump out of the car and be tourists to take lots of photos while I panicked about them being attacked from the safety of the car.

The next day we packed up the van again took a short walk around the grounds of the Lodge, got munched by the mozzies and headed towards Banff on the Icefileds Parkway. Frank and Helen had really wanted to do this and even though we had done it already we were amazed by the changed that Summer had brought. We revisted the Athabasca Falls which we had seen frozen in winter and were amazed at the amount of water flowing over them now. The winter must be so cold to freeze such a huge volume of water - great for the kids to see and recall to the grandparents about what we saw in a different season only 4 months prior. Lots of stops along the way for pics of glaciers, snow capped mountains, bears and amazing scenery which still takes my breath away.

We arrived in Canmore for a few nights of R & R at Mystic Springs.

Short time in Sylvan

Packing up the van that we had hired to get the 7 of us around proved slightly difficult. With all of us with luggage from our Alaska trip, Frank and Helen with their stuff and Dad with his we were thankful that Corrine was still with us to pile some gear in her car too. Back to Sylvan we went.

A tour of the town and the house where we are staying, loads of washing and repacking for the next leg saw us in need of a few cold beverages. We headed out that evening to Gull Lake (about 20 minutes from Sylvan) to enjoy a BBQ and drinks with our friends Mel and Tim Harris. The kids had a ball climbing trees, running through forests and splashing in the lake. Mel's parenst Judy and Darryl were also camping in their trailer there and we all enjoyed each others company - particularly Judy and Helen who seemed to have known each other for a lifetime.

We would have liked to have had Frank and Helen spend more time in Sylvan but given their limited time holidaying with us it was a quick pack up and head to Edmonton the next day.

Calgary & The Calgary Stampede

Our plan was to take our parents to Drumheller today so on the way there we thought we'd stop at CrossIron Mills (a retail and factory outlet shopping complex) for a coffee and a bite to eat. I could have told Greg a zillion times that this was not the right thing to do with his mum in tow and yet again I was right. But we did have fun. To Helen's defense it was Frank who was the most annoying shopper today as he couldn't find the perfect pair of jeans - he's even fussier than Greg, but after an eternity in Levi's we found 2 pairs that he was happy with. We missed Drumheller because by the time we looked at all the stuff in Bass Pro Shop the day was coming to an end. We needed a good nights sleep as tomorrow was Stampede Day.

Yee Haw. It was time to kick up our heels. Having prepurchased tickets for the Chuckwagon races when we were in Australia we decided to get to the stampede around lunchtime and have a look at the rides and show pavillions. If we had to compare it to something similar at home it would be equivalent to the Sydney Royal Easter Show. I have never in my life seen so many pairs of cowboy boots, big buckles, hats and check shirts in my life. Joey and Paddy blended in very well. We had a friend from Sylvan join us - Corrine and we spent the day wandering in and out of the pavillions. It was so hot in Calgary that day and we really felt like we could be home in Australia but we coped.

The evening show that we had our tickets for was definately the highlight. Its funny when you do prebook things from home you don't know what to expect. To our surprise our seats were AMAZING!!! We were in an air-conditioned front row glassed in section overlooking the rodeo and chuckwagon circuit. We had table service for meals and alcohol and a TV at our table to watch the close up action of the Chucks. WOW we felt very spoilt. Frank told me I had done good in organising such an amazing trip so far for them (I had to put this in writing because being his daughter-in-law, he doesn't like to give me too many compliments ;)). After the chucks we enjoyed a stage performance from the Young Candians and local turned international star country singer Paul Brandt. Me not being an avid country fan still enjoyed it and thanks to Steph our exchange teacher leaving his CD in the car I knew all the words. What a fabulous day! Time to hang up our hats and hit the hay.

Summer Break Day 10: Anchorage to Calgary

I am so not a morning person and today was no exception. Being the crazy organsied freak that I am though I had the kids dressed ready to go when they went to bed so that when it came for our 5am pickup I just had myself to sort out. Going through customs was nearly a tragedy when Frank had cleverly packed the precious tubes of Vegemite in his carry on luggage. We were horrified when he was pulled aside and they searched his bag. The rest of us said in unison "Not the Vegemite" and tried to explain to customs what it was and how it was liquid gold to us Aussies.
After landing in Seattle and then on to Calgary I was finally reunited with my Dad. Lots of tears and excitement mixed with exhaustion from an early start we went and stayed at Gave and Julies for a good rest.

Summer Break Day 10: Anchorage to Calgary

Our last day of our tour today and we traveled back to Talkeetna for a quick rest stop. A funny little town where we wandered to have something to eat and looked at the local handicrafts. The place reminded me a bit of Nimbin - as did the townsfolk. From here we boarded a train to travel back to Anchorage. The train was amazing!! A glass dome enclosed us so we had awesome views for our travel. Heaps of leg room and champagne made the end of our trip so worthwhile. A magical dinner and the ambience of the train made me miss home and being able to share this experience with our friends and family. It was so special to be able to share the experience with Frank and Helen - definately a time that I know they will cherish with the boys and vise versa. Unfortunately our train trip had to come to an end back in Anchorage and we took the opportunity to enjoy a twilight walk around the streets. Some beautiful aspects but so small for a city. Back to Calgary tomorrow where I am excited to see Dad.

Summer break Day 9: Denali National Park

An early start to be back on the bus and a trip to Denali National Park itself. We were hoping to spot some wildlife today and Frank was getting a bit antsy about having not spotted any so far. A quick look around the nature centre where we picked up some junior ranger packs for the boys and boarded a bumpy old school bus for a better look into the park. Luckily the ranger packs had some binoculars. Once on board the bumpy bus we were treated with some laughs and bum bruises. A huge thunder storm hit and we were all feeling very pesimistic about seeing wildlife. Woo hoo the storm flushed some animals out and we saw a moose and her calf, a teen moose with antlers just starting to grow and a few cariboo all taking advantage of the fresh water. Frank was happy which meant the rest of us were too. The boys were extremely fortunate to be inducted as junior rangers of Denali National Park. A few games of checkers while the rain continued to fall saw us relaxed and refreshed for another day of travel.

Day 8: Seward to Talkeetna

Packing all of our stuff and leaving the boat today, we boarded a bus from Seward to Anchorage. It's funny when you think of a capital city you imagine in size how big it is going to be and how fast paced it will move. Anchorage is nothing like that. While it does sprawl a fair distance it is definately not fast paced. Probably comparable to Dubbo - a nice country atmosphere about it. As we traveled into the city itself we were given a chance to look about at the gorgeous scenery and to hear some of the history from our local guide Andy.
A long bus ride and we finally arrived at Talkeetna - a village just on the outskirts of Denali National Park. The view from our lodge was of Mt. Mackinley - the tallest mountain in North America. We had learnt on the way to Talkeetna that only 30% of tourists actually get to see the top as the majority of the time the peak is covered by cloud. Greg and I opted to take a plane flight to get up close and personal to Mt. Mackinley and we are now proud owners of a badge that says we are one of the 30%. Woo hoo. What a majestic mountain. With the kids at the lodge with Frank and Helen we decided to stop in at the Denali Brewing Company and sample a few local beers and enjoy some dinner. Having fully stuffed ourselves we walked back to the lodge. Greg assured me it was not far, however, every movement and rustle in the trees we thought we'd either be attack by a bear or charged by a moose. After an hour's walk we made it safely back.

Summer Break Day 7: Hubbard Glacier

We were up at the crack of dawn this morning and it was cold!! We piled on as much winter gear as we could and headed out on deck with many others on our way to the amzing Hubbard Glacier - a frozen ice river that feeds into the sea. At 6 am we were 30 nautical miles from it and it was huge. In the water there were small fragments of ice that had broken off the glacier and we hoped nothing too big - thinking Titantic was up ahead. As we approached the glacier it got more and more spectacular. Finally at about 9am after a slow approach and copius amounts of hot chocolate and coffee which the staff brought to us we were 1/2 nautical mile from it. WOW. It was so impressive up close. The colours in such a huge mass of ice were beautiful. We were fortunate enough to see a huge chck of ice calve off the glacier and it made quite a splash in the water that the wave rocked the boat and tipped half of the pool water out.

We then headed to our final port of call for the trip to Seward. I could eat much for the rest of the day, the open ocean made me feel very ill.

Summer Brak Day 6: Skagway

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!! American Independance day and we had arrived in to the small town of Skagway to see the town decorated in red white and blue. We had organised a tour today to whitehouse and the yukon. On the bus we saw a brown bear by the side of the road eeating summer berries. I would have stayed in hibernation! It was cold! We stopped in at the Yukon Suspension bridge and nearly froze.

We had to show our passports on the bus and an immigration officer came aboard and checked as we had travel from Alaska, US and into BC and the Yukon, Canada. After our bus adventure we boarded a train near Whitehorse and headed back towards Skagway. The railroad was an old one and was a path the gold miners took when they went searching for Klondike Gold. We had a slamon bake for luch and trued to redeem ourselves gold panning - still no retiring and then explored Skagway. The town was gorgeous all decorated and had a real goldrush vibe to it. It was a shame we missed the 4th July parade but the town itself was abuzz.

Summer Break Day 5: Juneau

After our relaxing day at Icy Straight Point we then set sail for Juneau. Greg, the boys and I had to disembark early today for a Gold Panning adventure to try and get lots of Klondike gold. Unfortunately we didn't find the biggest gold nugget but we did get a few flakes - looks like we don't get to retire after all.

Back to the boat for some breakfast with Frank and Helen, but they were nowhere to be seen - obviously off shopping - AGAIN.

When we did meet up with them we took the Mt Roberts Tram which goes from near sea level to the mid-point of Mt. Roberts, an 1,800 foot rise that provides sweeping views of downtown and the Gastineau Channel. It was stunning and made our huge cruise ship look like a little boat in a bathtub. We got to explore the midpoint and saw a bald eagle up close and personal, saw a porcupine in a tree and took stroll around to play in the snow. The track was a bit slipery so that was fun too.

Back down the mountain and a wander through the town - cruise ship supported and back on the boat for a lovely dinner in the "fancy resturant" followed my a musician/comedy act which was brilliant. Frank even brought some amgic cards which he tested out his magical skills on the boys. They thought Pop was awesome. The magician did show Pop's good old faithful thumb trick much to his delight - he couldn't wait to tell the other grandkids.

Summer break Day 4: Icy Straight Point

Back on the boat and it was nice to feel warm. Overnight more shows to watch and kids club to play in. So far this has been a rather relaxing holiday - so much to do on a boat. Love that the kids were entertained and Greg, Frank, Helen and myself could kick back at a bar, coffee lounge, casino or duty free shop and relax.
Our next port of call was Icy Straight point. As we arrived there were 2 humpback whales that were bubble feeding close to shore and to the boat. Greg and I had made friends with a naturalist on board the boat and he was able to explain the technique of them feeding to us. So amazing to watch such huge creatures engulf their meals with their mouths wide open. We felt very special to be sharing their space.

There was not a lot to do at Icy Straight point but a few short walking trips. We explored the shoreline and a beautiful forest and then we walked to the small town of Hoonah. It made us realise that in Alaska many of the towns that we stop at are serviced mainly to look after the cruise ships. It was hard to see a town that was on the outskirts of the cruiseship made Icy Straight Point with it's touristy bits to a small community stuggling and needing the dollars. I hope that some of the funds go back into this community. We made a point of buying some lunch there to try to boost the economy a little.

Greg had organised a fishing trip to fish for King Salmon. Only drama was that we were not able to bring any home with us. However, we did get our fill on the boat anyway. He was lucky enough to catch one and also saw an amazing natural wonder of a bald eagle swoop and catch a fish too. To disembark this morning we had to board the safety vessels which lowered down from the ship into the water and to the small dock.

Summer Break - Day 3: Ketchikan

We were all up early this morning as we sailed into our first port of call Ketchikan, Alaska, USA. Straight off the boat and we were whisked away to board a flight over the Misty Fjords on a float plane. Some amazing sights and we were lucky enough to be able to have the mist clear for 10 minutes so that we could land on a mountain lake.

Lucky for us we had the rest of the day to explore Ketchikan so after our flight we headed to the Potlash Totem Park to view some of the historical totem poles that had been salvaged from Ketchikan. Amazing craft work in the carving of these massive trees. Just next door was a Bald Eagle recovery centre and Salmon Hatchery so we checked out those too.

 A rainy day meant that we needed to find some shelter, so what better place than the shops. You can bet that Frank, Greg and the boys were impressed. It was a cold, bitter day even though it was summer but we managed to brave it covered in our thermals, trackies and jackets. We took the "Married Man's Path" - home to past brothels to Creek Street - shops that are basically built on poles above a creek. Lots of little trinket shops to attract the tourists, but interesting all the same.

Santa's place in the North Pole is not too far from Ketchikan and Santa and Mrs Claus like to visit their on their Summer Holidays so we dropped in for a visit with Santa at the Christmas shop. Lucky us.