Blast from the Past - A Little Trip - and Summertime Dreamin'!

We took a little quad trip out to Medicine Lake, west of Rimbey, yesterday with our friends, Audrey and Aime'. It was a grey, drizzly kind of day but only actually rained while we were driving out there. While we were on the quads, there were a couple of times we thought it was going to start raining but it just drizzled a bit and then stopped. A provincial recreation area takes up one side of the lake and there is lots of wooded



Our little group, marvelling at how industrious beavers can be! At this spot the dam they had built across the creek must have been nearly 75 feet long and 3 feet high.




When you've the leader, sometimes you get into problems that need a helping hand!




Aime' got stuck in the muskeg - maybe buried is a better way to describe it! - and needed to be winched out.

Gratitude Gifts Today

Summertime fun has been in full swing around here!  We went away on a little quadding trip with family and celebrated some special birthdays with the other side of the family last week.  The weather was hot and sunny and then turned stormy and very rainy.  The mosquitoes are growing bigger and hungrier by the minute - it's ridiculous!  But so many good times have been had and so many great memories have been made that we aren't letting little things interfere.

God's goodness is filling every day and so I count on with the little moment-by-moment wonders that He puts everywhere for me.  How very blessed I am!



#2710 - #2740

- safety while travelling
- time spent with loved ones
- laughter around the campfire
- smoke that sends the mosquitoes away
- a snug camper

- wildflowers blooming everywhere
- tall, tall trees
- rivers, clear and running fast
- firewood
- beautiful vistas

- watching others with their grandchildren
- a visit with our grandchildren who are safely home from a vacation
- a kind and beautiful daughter-in-law
- working together
- abundant, delicious food

- baby smiles
- cooing and sounds from Maëlle
- shy smiles from Blake
- great big hugs from Meadow
- pictures of vacation fun

- pancakes cooked on an outside grill
- breakfast stacks
- grilled salmon and new potatoes
- delicious birthday cakes
- birthday celebrations

- travel opportunities
- safety while driving through windy rainstorms
- the mail moving again
- intense discussions on convention resolutions
- childhood memories shared with great laughter

Thank you God for these wonderful days of summer and the times we share.

Quadding

A good summertime for us often involves quadding - something that might be new to some of you, like Margaret :)   And Mel asked for more details too so let me show you a few pictures from our little getaway.  I hope you can see why we enjoy this activity so much.

Use of off road vehicles, like quads,  is regulated to specific areas in the province and we have a great area just an hour west of us.  There are lots of trees, creeks, and trails that meander along and present interesting opportunities.

Sometimes the rutted tracks in the trails get filled with water, especially after all the rain we've had this summer. 

And that means alternate routes have to be chosen which sometimes don't work out too well!

The creek bank was too steep and the water was running too fast so Aime' had to get winched out. 

The area that we were in has many, many oil and gas wells so there were lots of open spots where we could stop and relax - and take pictures.

More work to get through tough spots -

which means more relaxing.

The guys often have to direct, instruct and help (sometimes literally by pushing and pulling) less experienced drivers, like us girls,  through muddy spots.  You can imagine the laundry piles after a few days of this!

We camped in a recreation area and had the whole big spot to ourselves - well, we did have to share with the deer and an owl.  It was beautiful weather during the day and on the night of the full moon, we watched a spectacular sheet lightning show with the light of the full moon shining down too!  Just as we went to bed, it started raining and hailing but we were safe and snug in the campers.

And we even played a game of Jack Attack (also known as Sequence) around the evening campfire.  Good times with good friends - one of the best kinds of summer fun!

Autumn Quadding Adventure

Sunny September afternoon + temperature of 28 degrees C + good friends + 4 quads + being outdoors = a great time!

We headed to the Brazeau Dam area with our friends, Audrey and Aime' and this is what we did:



someone got stuck in a water hole



surveyed the river and the reservoir



someone else got stuck in the muskeg



drove along grassy trails



enjoyed the leaves changing color, the brilliant blue skies and each other! A very fine way to spend a Saturday :))

Scenic Wonders

While we were quadding, we rode to two extraordinarily beautiful spots.  The first was Ruby Falls, tucked up high against the mountains, very close to the Jasper Park boundary.  The water falls over the layers of rock and heads on down Ruby Creek.  

If you look really close (or enlarge the picture by double clicking on it), you can see Pam, Del and Darrin behind the waterfall.  That gives you a better perspective on how high the falls actually were. 

We walked up a trail beside the falls and then looked down on them and the valley.

Some very brave (or very crazy - not quite sure which they are!) people (Pam, Ed, Larry and Bob) actually went for a quick swim in the freezing cold pool above the falls.

I love this picture of Pam and Ed.

On our way home, we took a different trail that led us past Ruby Lakes.   It was a smoother trail but there were some very big muskeg bogs along it.  Good thing it was dry and you could navigate through.  This week I'm sure it's way too muddy to get through very easily!

Our second scenic ride was up to the Grave Flats Lookout Tower.  We rode up the trail and then left our machines to hike another 200 metres to the top of the hill.  The forestry tower here is manned to watch for lightning strikes and fires.  You could see for 50 or 60 kilometres in all directions and there were photo ops everywhere. 

The angle of this alpine meadow was so, so cool.  Yes - there was still snow on the right hand side.  

The best thing about this spot was the wide, wide open alpine meadow with gorgeous wildflowers!  We actually came up here twice - it was just so beautiful!

The flowers were nestled right on top of each other - there were so, so many!

Tiny blue forget-me-nots - and we won't forget this place!  The banner on my blog page features the pink flowers that were  up here too.

Home From The Hills

The Rocky Mountain foothills, that is!  We went away with some of my family this weekend on our 5th annual quad trip.  It doesn't seem like we've gone that many times already but when we were reminiscing we certainly had lots of memories to chat about!

This time my brother, Del, brought this big canvas tent where he slept with Pam and Ed, his 2 kids.  The best thing about the tent (other than it's size) was the wood stove inside (see the smoke going up - that's the corner) which made the place toasty warm - and a great spot for hanging wet clothes up to dry!  Thanks for providing the laundry service, Del!

Of course having that stove and a campfire meant that there was lots of wood chopping to do.

My sister, Esther, does an amazing job of organizing the meals.  Pam and Kelsey assembled 59  - was supposed to be an even 5 dozen but Pam miscalculated on the meat :)) - buns with sauce, peppers, mushrooms, cheese and sliced meat.

And then we popped them in the hoagie makers and cooked them in the campfire -

and had delicious hoagies for supper and the next day's lunch! 

We spent lots of  time around the fire eating, chatting and laughing!

We stop at every interesting spot along the trail and this cabin site was a great spot for a group photo!

We were tucked up right alongside the mountains which made for beautiful views.  One day we quadded right to the Jasper National Park boundary.

It was lots of up and down through the forest -

crossing creeks - 

and trying to find where we were on the maps!  Good thing Larry and Del have hunted in this area and that we had a map book.  Bob's GPS came in handy too.

Playing and splashing in the creek is part of the day too, especially when the machines and riders get muddy.

Stay tuned for more pictures and stories tomorrow!

Friday Adventure

Yesterday Jerry arranged a little quadding trip with his mom (Judy), Murray, Naomi, Bob, and I. We loaded up and headed into the wilderness further west of where we live. Our goal was to get to the North Saskatchewan River. Our first adventures involved some big mud puddles!



This is just one little part of the action we had in this particular spot. Eventually Naomi hooked up to them with her quad and winched them out.



When we got down to the river, there was a side stream that we had to cross to get onto the island. Judy and Murray went first and got stuck in the wet sand on the other side. Bob drove over to help them out - and soon he was stuck too.



While team 1 was trying to get unstuck, Naomi had decided to cross at a slightly different angle - and ended up drowning her quad. She jumped off and swam it to shore and then the guys had to take it apart, dry the air filter and the spark plugs and get it running again. Good thing there were some spare pieces of clothing along that she could get into and warm up.

Meanwhile, Jerry and I stayed on the bank and contemplated our plan of action. How many quads should we put out of commission? Finally Bob called for me to come over and help out. Luckily I was able to miss the predicaments of the other 3 quads and arrived to help in the rescue efforts. Eventually Jerry came across safely and we had lunch on the island.



Happy 32nd Anniversary to us!! It was this week and we have lots planned for the next 10 days so we'll be celebrating a lot. I guess that's a serious thing, by the expression on my face!



Just as we got back to the trucks and loaded the quads, the rain started so our group picture is a bit wet. We definitely had a ton of fun and there are lots of stories about this trip. Murray suggested we make it a weekly event - it's easy to tell that he's the retired one!! But I'm sure we will go again, hopefully soon.