Another adventure

These are just some random photos of our travels. Phil has made an inukshuk. These are scattered over all the tourist spots and can be brought in all shapes and sizes. It is to be the symbol of the Olympic games in Vancouver in 2010. It used to be a place where the Inuk people buried fresh meat in the snow to share with other travellers. It also pointed the way in which the travellers had gone. Now it represents friendship and helping each other. I am quite taken with them and we will buy one as a memory of our time in Canada. The photo was taken in october at the Athabasca falls. Which now would be covered in snow and possibly the water would be frozen over. This is a photo of the Columbian Ice fields. They had a small avalache and we just caught the after spray (if thats what you call it). We heard it before we saw it. Quite amazing. We should have a camera which you dont have to turn on and just knows when to be ready to take the right photos. Note also the amazing blue sky.
This was taken in the same week. Mark and Linda are behind the snowman with us. We brought a book about the history of snowmen. (snowpersons I suppose now) which is so interesting. This one was made by the staff at Meligne Lake. When we got there there was no one around, usually it is quite a busy tourist spot with cruises and walks. They shut the roads to Meligne lake when they get too much snow because of the narrow roads and I guess there are to many roads that need maintaining (snow ploughing and sanding) during winter that they only do the main ones. Some of the roads actually became cross country skiing paths, so you see road signs that are only for the skiers which is quite funny.

With the weather dropping to -19 today with a wind chill of -25 I now know why people wernt keen for winter to come. It snowed overnight and is snowing at the moment but not very heavy. It will be interesting for Josh and Jane, who arrive on Sunday morning (1.30am), to be in such cold weather. I think the excitement of the snow will outweigh the cold. (maybe) Starting from Sunday we will have all our kids over the Christmas holidays, yeh. Clayton is coming in February for a month and Gai is coming for a month at the end of February. So we will be busy, which will be fun. It will be so nice to get some snow photos and for Little Elijah to have some fun in the snow. He turned one last week. Time has flown. I miss the kids so much!!!!

Well have a great warm week and will update more snow photos soon.Mind you the camera gets so cold sometimes it refuses to work. Interesting!!

Tina

Winter is almost here!

Well another couple of weeks spend in the Rockies. How exciting. It has started snowing on the mountains and while Edmonton has had a few falls of snow it hasnt layed yet. It did snow a little on my birthday and that was exciting for me. Phil and I spend a few days in Banff with Gary and Merrie. There was a fair bit of snow around making driving a little hairy at times. The most amazing days were when we went up to Sulphur Mountain by Gondular and got the most beautiful clear skies and a 360 degrees view of the rocky mountains. Another amazing day was the hike up Johnson Canyon. I have been there a few times but this time some of the water falls and pools were starting to freeze. I know where they get the saying "Winter Wonderland" from.

This is a photo of a male Elk. They have amazing antlers which drop of each year. You see a lot of these guys and they are quite used to tourists stopping for photos. They can be quite aggressive and we are advised not to go to close to them. Notice the beautiful snow peaks in the back ground.
This is an office for the Johnson Canyon walk. It is a log cabin and just doesnt look out of place nestled in the mountains. In winter they have ice walks in Johnson Canyon where you actually climb up the frozen water falls and walk on the frozen creeks. Hopefully we will get to do that when the kids come over.
What a beautiful picture of this little deer. This photo really sums up the peacefullness of a snow fall in a Canadian forest. This photo was taken near Maligne Lake, near Jasper.
I just love this photo of the snow on the mountains, on a beautiful sunny day with a new sprinkling of snow on the mountains. In a week or so the stream will be frozen and all we will see is white. Canadians say that offen when it has snowed you get the most beautiful sunny days even though it may be below zero, around -20 it is still amazing.

Well a little over 2 weeks till Josh and Jane come to visit. Then kylie arrives on Christmas Eve, Tim, Kate and Elijah in January and Clayton in February. I am so looking forward to seeing them all. Gai ( from Tamworth) is coing for a month at the end of February. Yeha I carnt wait. I will be so busy I wont have time to get homesick. Our little 1 bedroomed apartment will feel the effects of being overloaded. But it will be worth it.
Christmas has come to Edmonton Mall and it looks brilliant. I was starting to wonder if Halloween would ever finish. Lots of stitching needed to be done and card to be made and sent, so hopefully I am going to be busy for a while.
Have a great week, and Dont forget to take time to smell the roses.

Tina

More new Photos Sorry!!!!!!!!

Wow what a day!! The rivers and lakes are starting to freeze as you can see in these photos. Someone said that running rivers and streams never freeze, well here is the evidence. It is so amazing to see how it changes even daily. It snowed overnight and at some points in our adventurous day it was -4 degrees.

The photo below is of a raven. We saw several of them today trying to get the tourists to feed them. I wonder if the cold weather makes them a bit lethargic or something, because they seemed to appear at all the parking areas and came very close to us.
We have had a lovely few days in the mountains and the snow is just a beautiful bonus. Most of the day we travelled in snow and the trip to Lake Louis was all snowy. Lake Louis wasnt as majestic as it is when there is no snow around. We spent a bit of time looking at the shops in the Lake Louis Chatae which is quite beautiful in side. Nothing though compared to the Banff Fairmont Hotel which is more like an old castle.
Thinking of you all as the weather is warming up and the cold is setting in over here.

Tina