Making a Splash at Lake Louise

Today, one of my articles, Making a Splash at Lake Louise,  is up on Travel Savvy Mom. Please take a moment to check it out here. I hope you enjoy it. Then take a couple more moments and check out the rest of the website. There are lots of great hotel reviews (some by yours truly) and articles to be read!

My Vancouver article is up on Travel Savvy Mom

Check it out here: http://www.travelsavvymom.com/blog/family-travel/whos-afraid-of-the-big-bad-city/

Road Trip Day 15- Waterton Lakes National Park

The day had come. It was time to pack up and head back across the border. Canada had thrown alot of rain at us but she also overwhelmed us with her beauty. Luckily, she still had one more trick up her sleeve on the US/Canada border: Waterton Lakes National Park.

We reached Waterton Lakes just as the clouds broke and the rain stopped. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Obviously, there would be lakes. I did not, however, expect bison. I could barely contain my excitement as we drove in to the bison paddock and started our search for North America's large mammal. We drove along the gravel road and craned our necks as we searched the hills for signs of the herd. Just when I was about to give up, I spotted them. We were completely overtaken with excitement. I ignored my better judgement, jumped out the car,  and started snapping pictures. Luckily I had enough sense to keep my children's safety in mind and they were plenty excited to watch the bison graze from inside the car. Yes, we would continue on to other parks and see hoards of bison but there is nothing like your first time...  

Waterton is where the prairie meets the Rockies.  It is striking to see rolling hills colored with greens, reds, browns and yellows suddenly shoot up into the air and take on deeper greens, gray, blues and whites. It was so peaceful to watch the grass blow through the breeze and a fly fisherman knee deep trying to catch dinner.

Of course the most obvious stunners at Waterton Lakes are the lakes themselves.

Never have the lakes looked more stunning than with my babies posing for pictures in the foreground (okay, I may be a tad biased).

Another landmark of Waterton is the Prince of Wales Hotel. I can only imagine what it must be like to wake up to the breathtaking views that its windows hold.  The hotel is just as gorgeous as the landscape that surrounds it.

One of the great side trips in Waterton Lakes is Red Rock Canyon. It almost seems like Disney snuck into Waterton and carefully placed a brightly colored canyon in the most unlikely of places.

While we were exploring the canyon, the clouds began to gather once again. It was Canada's way of telling us that our time exploring her treasures was up and that we better find our way back across the border. But in true Canada fashion, she couldn't let us leave without giving us one more gift; a bear foraging near the road. I didn't get the best shot but I promise you, he was there and we were thankful  to be given one last gift.

To see more gorgeous photos check out Delicious Baby's Photo Friday here.

Road Trip Day 13- Heritage Park

I am a sucker for historical villages. Dress up in period costume, throw in some old buildings, line the streets with stores that sell jam and turn of the century wooden toys, throw in a butter churning demonstration, and I am there. I think my love for all things old fashioned started around the same time as my obsession with Little House on the Prairie.  Along with the majority of girls who grew up in the late seventies and early eighties, my dream was to grow up in Walnut Grove and be Laura Ingalls. Since we had an actual grove of walnut trees across the street from my neighborhood (which has since been plowed and replaced by tract homes), it wasn't hard for my imagination to get the best of itself. Unlike the average child of that time, I never grew out of my love affair with the Ingalls and their days on the prairie. I spent a large portion of my pregnancy watching LHOP reruns and daydreaming about raising my little ones in a little house out in the country. As we all know, Orange County is about as far away from prairie life as anyone can get so I have to find other ways to fulfill my inner pioneer. A day at Heritage Park did just that.

The first building we came across was the Gasoline Alley Museum. It was filled with old gas pumps and cars. I am not really a car person but I absolutely loved this museum. The kids got to sit in some early 20th century automobiles and I fell in love with the old Shell Gasoline tanker truck. It was so cute. The old pumps make you yearn for the days when there was more beauty at the filling station. We loved peering into the old camping trailer to see what things were like when Grandma took trips across country as a kid. And what's not to love about a tricycle track for the little ones?

From the museum we hurried to catch the steam train for a trip around the park. The kids loved every moment on the train and we could ride it for as long as we wanted since the ride was included in the price (which was incredibly reasonable). Riding on the train and looking out at the historical buildings that we passed truly made me feel like I was coming out West to settle.

There were  plenty of old fashioned carnival rides for the kids to get their thrills on. The viking ship swings were so fun and unlike anything I had seen before. Ben got a really big thrill out of riding a early version of the "vomit rides" we see at the fair today.

No historical village tour is complete without a wagon ride. The man who gave us the tour has a special connection with Heritage Park. The little red schoolhouse on display at the park is the exact schoolhouse his grandmother went to in rural Saskatchewan when she was child. Eventually the town needed more than one room so the school was put on a truck and move to the park. He must feel so proud to have such a special connection with the park.

We finished our day with a trip to the old fashioned toy store. The kids each got a wooden train whistle and happily made their own "choo choo" sounds for the remainder of the trip. Just as we started to head to the car, the rain came. Canada had given us a great day in the sun but decided it couldn't spoil us rotten.

If you are visiting the Calgary area, I highly recommend Heritage Park. You can find more info here.       

Road Trip Day 12- Car Trouble

Waking up in another country knowing your car isn't working properly just plain sucks. Luckily I was in Canada (which is essentially USA North) and not Mexico so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. And even more lucky, the shop was open on Saturday. I took it in, begged and pleaded with God for it to be nothing major, and then took the bus home. Today was gonna be a lazy day which was probably what we all needed anyways. The kids played in the backyard with their friend and tried to distract myself the best I could as I waited for the call from the mechanic. It didn't take long before a Canadian number popped up on my cell phone (a cell phone which got charged with $137 of roaming charges even after I called and signed up for an international plan for the month specifically to avoid roaming charges. You will be getting a very angry phone call very soon Verizon Wireless!!!!!) and I got the verdict. Evidently the undercarriage of my car was caked in mud. Probably from going from dusty roads to severe rainstorms so quickly. And somehow the muddy water got into my engine and caused it to stall. He suggested I get an engine shampoo when I get home (which I still haven't done a month later) and that was it. What? No new parts? No emminant engine explosions? It was that easy? Yes, it was! Of course finding out there was nothing really wrong cost me about $150 but hey, I'll take it. 

That night, we decided to take advantage of the light (It stayed light until about 10:30!!!) and go for a walk with the kids. Their sleeping schedule had been thrown completely off by the extended daylight and I wasn't about to try and fight it. We walked down to the bluffs above the Bow River and enjoyed the view. Calgary really is a very nice place. The geography reminds me alot of Denver. Its just on the edge of the Rockies so there are some hills but to the east there is nothing but flat prairie. If only it wasn't so cold... Here are some pictures from our walk:

 

(Pet bunnies that had be released and left to fend for themselves. Not cool people, not cool)

And just because Ben looks's so silly and cute in his Canadian jester hat...

After the kids finally went to bed Jess and I decided to finish our day with a drink. I had received a can of Clamato as a free sample at the Stampede because evidently, Clamato and vodka is the unofficial drink of Canada. It sounded absolutely disgusting but I insisted that we try it.

It was even more disgusting than I could have ever imagined! What is wrong with you Canadians?????!!!!! What about clam juice, tomato, and vodka makes you say "I'll have another please!"? Never again! Then we moved on to absinthe because its legal in Canada and I really have never had it.

 (Note the sippy cup and memory card in the background. Very odd)

It tasted basically like drinking mouthwash but was much more tolerable. Still, I think I'll stick to beer....

Road Trip Day 11- The Calgary Stampede

It all started when I heard the words "world's largest rodeo". I had never been to a rodeo before so why not make my first the world's largest? I certainly knew I wouldn't be coming to visit mid winter. 24 days of vacation centered around this day. Stampede Day.  I was really hoping it wouldn't disappoint.

The day didn't start out quite as planned. For one thing, we actually got a warm and sunny day. After days of rain it seemed as though God was giving us a break. But not too much of a break. On the drive over to the train station my car died while going 50 miles an hour over a bridge. Not a great thing to have happen in general. I found it especially concerning being thousands of miles from home with two little kids. Luckily the car started right back up after I cruised to a stop on the shoulder but  I had a new problem on my hands. Car trouble in Canada. I hoped and prayed it would be anything major because I couldn't get stuck in Calgary forever. I had an itinerary to follow. I meticulously and freakishly planned itinerary. And hotels to review! No- getting stuck was not an option. I tried to to push the paranoia out of my mind and concentrate on finding a parking spot at the train station so we could get to Stampede. The car would have to wait until tomorrow. Nothing was gonna make us miss Stampede!

We took the public transportation to Stampede because the fairgrounds are in downtown Calgary and there is no place to park. The public transportation was nice and clean just as one would expect from Canada. The kids thought riding the train was a fantastic treat. They got to sit in big kid seats without seat belts. What could be better than that?

The train let us off directly in front of the Stampede entrance so we gathered our children and headed inside the gates. Suddenly we were surrounded by a sea of cowboy hats. Everyone seems to get in the cowboy spirit during Stampede. Yuppies wear their designer jeans and hats alongside genuine country kids who consider their hat and boots part of their daily uniform.  It is nice to see so many people celebrating the spirit of Stampede. I instantly regretted not bringing my cowboy hat even though I knew it would have been squished in the back of the car by day 2 of our trip. I bought the kids a couple hats which they refused to keep on for more than 10 seconds at a time but at least we had something to hang on the stroller right?

  (Me looking oh so western)

 

The Stampede is like a state fair but without all the trashy people. Its clean, its nice, its friendly, and its fun.

 

We bought our rodeo tickets and headed in to the grandstand. Bronco riding was center stage and the kids climbed the fence to get a good view. We opted for the standing room  because the stadium seating was more expensive and probably would have gone to waste with a bunch of antsy toddlers. The kids loved all the action and lasted alot longer than I would have anticipated. While I didn't have a clue as to how exactly one rider was better than another, I still loved the excitement of it all. This certainly won't be our last rodeo.

After the rodeo we decided to go check out the First Nations area. There were teepees which First Nations members lived in for the duration of the Stampede lining the field. Some were even open for us to snoop around inside.

We had been lucky enough to arrive during the tribal dance competitions. Every single one of us was enthralled by the rhythm of the drums and the beauty of the dancers. The elders seemed to like to participate in the more traditional dances with chanting and simple movements while the younger crowd loved to compete against one another in the the more physical and flashy "fancy dancing". It seems like these things hold true across cultures doesn't it?

In between competitions the kids had a blast rolling down the hill around the stage but as soon as the music would kick back up, they were fixated. For me, it was the highlight of the day.

I knew it was inevitable. We eventually had to go check out the carnival portion of the Stampede. I am not a fan of fair rides in general. When you add in the element of crowds, heat and lines I become one cranky momma. But I endured and the kids had fun.

That is, until fatigue set in and melt downs began. Suddenly asking them to sit in the stroller between rides was like asking them to peel their toenails off.

That was our cue to leave. We played one more game so we could bring home oversized novelty hammers, a must for all toddlers.  The Stampede was awesome and I honestly think it set the bar in my mind for what a fair should be.  Not that I won't be absolutely entertained with the deep fried bacon and parade of white trash that will come with our visit to the LA County fair this month. Ahhhh... America....

 

    For more awesome travel photos check out Delicious Baby's Photo Friday!

Roadtrip Day 10: Banff and Yoho

Waking up in the Canadian Rockies was a dream come to life. The rain was gone, the air was crisp and the mountains were showing off their good looks like a super model on a catwalk.It certainly helped that we were staying in a fabulous condo at the Hidden Ridge Resort.  We had a long day ahead of us and I was excited to see as much of Banff as we possibly could with four children under four. Traveling with small children can be extremely unpredictable so we had to prioritize. My number one priority was Lake Louise. I had seen so many pictures and read so many accounts of its beauty that I absolutely needed to see it for myself. As we walked up to the shoreline and the lake came into view, the color of the water took my breath away. It just didn't seem like it could be real. It was too turquoise, too milky, too unlike anything I had ever seen.  The glaciers that feed the lake create a color that seems almost magical. The kids were eager to touch, throw rocks in, and even put their sock and shoe covered feet into the freezing glacial water.

From Lake Louise we headed further up the mountains toward Moraine Lake. The rain started to fall and the thought of dragging the kids in and out of the car again seemed a bit much so Jess and I took turns running from the parking lot over to the lake. Not exactly the way I envisioned us viewing the lake but sometimes you make do with the situation you have. I thought Moraine Lake was even more beautiful than Lake Louise. It was smaller but the color of that lake was out of this world. Pictures really don't do it justice. Especially pictures taken in the pouring rain. The next time I am in Banff I would love to spend more time at this lake and maybe even stay the night at the Moraine Lake Lodge. It was just so quaint and isolated and peaceful. It seemed like a very special place.

The rain continued to fall which did put a damper on some of our plans. We decided to head over to Yoho National Park and check out Canada's second tallest waterfall, Takakkaw Falls. At 1250 feet in length, the falls seemed to explode over the mountainside. The surrounding area is equally as stunning. The drive off the main highway to the falls  included the biggest hairpin turn I have ever encountered. It was literally impossible to stay in your lane and make the turn. It was that sharp and steep. Cars had to take turns doing three point turns around the corner! Yoho holds a special place in my heart because it is the only place on our trip that we saw a moose. I suppose it is fitting that the one moose we did see was in Canada.

After Yoho we had to head back through Banff and down the mountain towards Calgary. The rain came pouring down in buckets and sadly I had to bid farewell to the Canadian Rockies that I had fallen in love with. As we stopped for gas the mountains gave us one last gift. It was truly the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen. The picture doesn't show how vibrant, colorful, and complete it was. I felt like I could literally just reach out and grab it. Instead, I chose to leave it right there where it belonged, in a little piece of paradise.

Roadtrip Day 9- Revelstoke and Glacier

We visited four Canadian National Parks and five US National Parks during our 24 days on the road. The first one we came across was Mt Revelstoke National Park, about an hour east of Salmon Arm. I had never heard of Mt Revelstoke until I started researching our trip. It is a small park, situated alongside the Trans-Canadian highway and if you didn't know to look for it, you would barely notice it was there. A tiny sign signaled us to turn off for the Meadows in the Sky Parkway so I quickly swerved over and prayed Jess had enough time to get over as well. Luckily she did and soon we were heading up a windy, rainy road towards the summit. I watched the car thermometer quickly drop from the 60s down to 40.  We passed through forest of cedar, hemlock, spruce and fir and after 16 switchbacks, we reached roads end at Balsam Lake. We bundled up and  headed over to the shuttle station to wait for our ride to the top. The rain was falling and we were wondering what was taking the shuttle so long to arrive. We checked out the trail to the top and decided maybe we should just take it instead of waiting. Mazzy was cold and didn't want to walk so Jess hauled out the stroller. After a couple hundred feet, found the trail to be not so stroller friendly. There was still snow on the ground in spots and parts of the trail were muddy and steep. Back down the hill we went to wait. And wait. And wait. Finally another tourist informed us that the shuttle was not running today. The National Park website said the shuttle would run daily. No park ranger informed either one of us that the shuttle was not running when we paid our fees.We had just wasted our time freezing in the rain for nothing! By that point the children were growing irritable, the rain was coming down harder and taking the trail was just looking like a bad idea. Not a good start to our National Park tour. There was a subalpine meadow filled with wildflowers with my name on it and we just weren't going to be able to see it. We said goodbye to beautiful Balsam Lake, packed our kids back in the cars and headed back on down those 16 switchbacks. I hope one day we can go back and get to know Revelstoke a bit better.

The next National Park we encountered that day was Glacier National Park. This was another small National Park along the Trans-Canadian Highway filled with glacier covered peaks and temperate rainforests (not that we could see the glacier covered peaks since the cloud cover was so low).  Most of the trails in Glacier were uphill and advanced for the toddler set so we settled on taking a boardwalk tour of the hemlock grove. We received plenty of rain during our time in the rainforest and honestly, it only added to the experience. Everything was so lush and green. Little streams meandered underneath us carrying the rainwater down the mountain. It was warm enough to enjoy the rain and the kids loved catching droplets in their mouths.

 

Ben, being true to character, insisted on bringing a ball along with him on the boardwalk. Even after a stern lecture about not dropping the ball off the boardwalk, temptation took hold and off it rolled. My first instinct was to tell him "too bad" and let him learn the consequences of not listening to Mommy but then guilt crept into my mind. The ball was made of plastic and there was no way that I could leave it there to never biodegrade and tarnish the otherwise pristine forest. Normally I would never condone anyone walking off trail because of the damage it can do to the ecosystem but in this case I felt it was the right thing to do. There was no way for me to climb off the boardwalk where he dropped the ball so we walked to the end of the boardwalk and I proceeded to wade my way through the forest. I say wade because getting to that ball involved me crossing two streams and getting poked countless times by some seriously sharp and seriously soaked waist high underbrush. The recovery was made, I was soaked and the boy was happy.

(Look closely and you can see a white object near the wooden pole. That is the soccer ball I had to retrieve. Lesson learned- leave the ball in the car)  

We continued to drive through Yoho and Banff National Parks and even though I was tempted to stop, I knew we would have to explore them the next day. We settled into our awesome condo at the Hidden Ridge Resort. It was so nice to have a full kitchen, a living room, and room to spread out. We tucked the kids in, planned our itinerary for the next day, and watched the rain come down on our balcony. It was a long and memorable day.