An Aussie Onslaught weekend

An exciting week for us Aussies when Christine and Mozza announced their engagement. We celebrated with some champers and beers in Sylvan Lake on the Friday night and waited for Saturday to collect some more friends from Oz.

We were excited all week for our next round of Aussie visitors. Jo and Bern arrived for a weekend of Canadian fun. First stop the Bass Pro shop near Calgary - Redneck heaven!

We also picked up Karin on the Sunday who joined us for the weekend. So in total we had Christine, Mozza, Hudson, Jo, Bern, Kaz and the Cant family all from Australia and Corrie, Rob, Chloe, Mel, Tim, Cadie, Cale and Callin from Canada joined us for some Canadian fun. A hot weekend ( for Canada standards) saw us don the t-shirts and share a wiener roast, perogies and s'mores around the backyard firepit.

On the Monday Paddy conveniently missed the bus so Jo had her first driving on the wrong side of the road experience - lots of laughs! Kaz was my taxi driver to and from ortho appointments and Bern had jet lag so had a few naps.

An awesome weekend that just flew!

Spring break- Part 2

A trip to the ortho showed Ali's arm healing well (at least he thinks so). He did say that it will probably not heal in straight normal alignment but that it would have full function. Surgery was not an option at this stage due to a high risk of infection and lack of mobility post surgery.

Arm in the cast

Arm out of the cast - YUCK.

We have caught up on the washing so now it's time to pack the car again and this time we are heading south.  through the badlands of Alberta. First stop is to Drumheller - home of the Royal Tyrell Museum where loads of Dinosaur specimens have found a home. Kids LOVED it!

We found the landscape so incredibly different - it was like being on another planet.

 The Badlands of Alberta at Horseshoe Canyon was another really interesting spot.

The Hoodoo's - south of Drumheller.

The Atlas Coal Mine near Drumheller. It has been closed for many years now but at it's prime provided an essential resource for the now very small communities around this area.

 Grain store - at the moment there doesn't look to be much grain growing in this area but the snow has just melted and there are lots of farms nearby so this could be the major source of farming for the area.

We took a drive along a road that had 11 bridges to the small town of Wayne - population 27.
Unfortunately the pub was closed.








Hiking in the Dinosaur Provincial Park. The kids were hunting for fossils as many of the exhibits at the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller were dug up here. It's also Rattlesnake country so I had my eyes peeled too.

Medalta Pottery at Medicine Hat in Alberta's south. Still make a few sample pieces for the gift shop but this place had most of the porcelain shipped all over Canada for ceramics, bricks and toilets.

The World's Largest Tipi at Medicine Hat

So ends our our Spring Break :(. We saw loads of interesting things from snow capped mountains to dry arid regions. The boys have learnt so much over the last 10 days about other cultures, seasons and industries. We have loved it - bring on summer! We still have so much to explore of Canada.

Spring break - Part 1

"SPRING BREAK"

We so needed a holiday! How do Canadians do it? 13 weeks of a school term is crazy. Our bodies were tired, our minds exhausted and we wanted to explore. Unfortunately our plan to drive to Vancouver and up to Whistler and then on to Jasper and back home was foiled by Ali's doctor's appointments for her broken arm. After of a week of pain and sleepless nights she decided we must do some exploring anyway so that we would not waste the 10 days of spring break. So we loaded up the car and headed north in Alberta.

Church at Camrose


Giant Pyanska and Elk at Vegreville - it was Easter afterall.

Our plan was to drive an alternate route to get to Edmonton (the long way around took us 5 hours instead of the normal 1.5 hours up the highway) then on to Jasper, visit the Icefields parkway and see the Athabasca glacier, go though Rocky Mountain House back to Sylvan Lake. See the Orthopedic surgeon and then on to Drumheller and the badlands, down to Medicine Hat via the Dinosaur Provincial Park and back home.



Here's some pics of our trip:

Greek Orthodox Church at Vegreville

Being spring we thought we might catch a glimpse of some animals at Elk Island National Park. A few beaver lodges, some Canadian geese, a loon (duck) and a muskrat was all we saw but we would definitely be coming back to this park - not far from Edmonton to see the wildlife in the summer.

There's Beavers here somewhere...

In their lodge perhaps?

Some Canadian geese

Something big has been here...

 We made it to Edmonton and spent a couple of days with Christine. Ali's arm was not fabulous but she managed to spend a full day shopping at West Ed mall to commiserate her misfortune. After a week the bruising had started to come out.
At least Christine helped carry the bags. The boys had a nice time enjoying mini-golf.

River on the way to Jasper

Mountain goats at Jasper National Park

Well hello there...

Jasper National Park has lots to offer nearly every 20 steps is a photo opportunity so only a few snippets of pics of the thousands we took. We enjoyed a hike through Maligne canyon (Ali's grip on the handrails was with her armpit so she could steady herself for the downhill ice slide on snow and ice covered steps).

Frozen waterfalls - photos don't seem to do the colours justice.

Maligne Lake

Elk

Time for a rest in Jasper for the night. A lovely pub meal of bison burgers and a comfy bed restored our energy for the next day.

Totem pole - main street Jasper AB

Main street - Jasper AB

Athabasca Falls - frozen.

Along the icefields parkway

Bear bin

Athabasca Glacier

All aboard the tundra buggy

Glacier

On the ice formations

The most unique glacier in the world where 3 rivers meet

On the way home - bye for now.