CaptainOrange

Sunset Giving Me the Finger Dave and I managed to miss two years in a row of doing a mountain trip together, but schedules and luck finally co-ordinated. On September 3rd I jumped in the van and drove the 8hrs to Canmore, AB.  I love the time driving... exploring new music... stopping to take pictures on pure inspiration. If I had thought carefully, I probably would have planned to be near Drumheller for the sunset. I was just lucky, I guess. Horseshoe Canyon -- Sunset Knowing I was going to be in just before midnight, I never lingered long while taking pictures. There is no sense in making a long drive dangerous by being tired on the road. Dave and I were up mid morning and hit the road. We passed by Banff and Lake Louise and crossed into BC,  winding up at Yoho National Park.  We began our journey with some quick elevation gain following the Iceline Trail. Dave reckoned that doing the more difficult hike when we had lots of energy would be better...

Departure 4:34am Return 11:31pm (18h 57m) link to the  online map . You can download a kml or gpx file, if you like. Until I get the issues resolved, the timestamps on the map are all 6hrs early. Departure It was an interesting start to the day. We had a record 6 people depart at a pretty unusual hour for a stroll. I was impressed with everyone who even showed up. The "Glow" Phase Me . I've done this a few times before. This is my 4th completion and longest time to date. Perhaps old age calls... My brother James . Can't remember, but I think it is his 4th serious effort, although on this occasion he only planned to be with me until noonish Nephew David Groot . 2nd attempt. Bri Groot . 1st attempt. Tim Nickel . 1st outing. Had a busy day planned but managed to visit with us for about 3 1/2 hrs. Ryan Bradshaw . 1st outing. His successful plan was for a few hours of early morning birding. He at least got the early part. In addition there were s...

City Walk is fast approaching (101 hrs for anyone counting). I've been doing some thinking about where I find inspiration and why I have this need for adventure. Below are just some thoughts, good literature, movies and songs. Get your brain ready. Childhood The Wizard of Oz . While we had a copy of the book in the house, it is the 4 LP version that I listened to endlessly. It is probably the first great journey to inspire me. It might have been better if Dorothy had to travel the vast desert that surrounds the land on foot. All the same, once the cyclone drops her down, Baum does a great job of making the many miles she puts beneath her feet seem worthwhile (even if she could have avoided every single step with the simple click of her heels). The Hobbit is the book that will always be my benchmark for a good journey. I first read it in grade 3. I took it out over and over again from my school library. There was a beautiful fold out map in the back. I stared at it for hours,...

If you "missed out" on the first two posts related to this vacation... Here is  Our trip out and some early adventures  in Waterloo. There are a few items left on our vacation agenda that I would like to discuss. Stratford is less than an hour from Waterloo. We made a lovely afternoon trip out to see Alice: Through the Looking Glass . Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are childhood favourites of mine and I have read them both to Leora and Anwyn. So, while Gus worked and Darwyn stayed with Joanne (the current au pair), Wendy and the girls and I went with Greta and Max. We arrived with enough time to enjoy some amazing chocolates (for Wendy, Anwyn, Greta and Max) from Rheo Thompson Candies and coffee/cheesecake (for Me and Leora) from Coffee Culture . They were both quite close to the Avon Theatre. We all enjoyed the show, but Greta and Max thought the story was a bit impenetrable. That sounds about right for Lewis Carroll ;) I found the visuals qui...

Greta loves me, so there was pizza on the day of our arrival. One with meat (boo!) and three vegetarian options (yaa!). Like our family, they like to eat outside nearly exclusively in the summer. They have a wonderful, sheltered deck with burgeoning grape vines and a peach tree surrounding it with vibrant leaves. Max knows how to get attention and is incredibly full of energy. The first thing he wanted to show me was his room. At this point, he was called "Super Bat." He was only too happy to continue throwing himself off his dresser until I got the perfect shot with my camera. Darwyn was pretty shy of me at first. Her reluctance to smile, despite my strategic sulking, was heartbreaking (if typical). I'm used to this response from my work at the library and managed to persevere in short order. Success!!! I got to tell them a bedtime story. We made up a lengthy story about Super Bat Max and Fairy Princess Darwyn. We also sang to guitar:  Pete the Cat Loves His W...