So proud...

Sunday afternoon, after spending a fabulous day at the skate park and local farmer’s market, we shared a tearful goodbye with Chris and Paula’s family, and drove several hours south to Heads Smashed In Buffalo Jump in Southern Alberta. Our experiences in Calgary had been amazing, but with only three weeks left of our adventure, we were all looking forward to spending the remaining time together as a family of four, and we have certainly shared some special moments over the past four days! Although we have had many amazing experiences together on this trip, there have been two truly wonderful events this week that have made Shawn and I feel extremely proud of our boys and the strong, capable and committed young men they are becoming.

To help you understand the first event, I need to give you a little background information. All along our journey we have had opportunities to observe others and have had many conversations about those who are less fortunate than we are. About a month ago, Shawn and I were talking to the kids about poverty and how many children, even in rich countries like Canada and the U.S., go hungry everyday. Our discussion led Shawn to share his memories of participating in the 30 Hour Famine back when he was in high school and what he learned from that experience. As well, we had some discussions about how we could get involved to help back in Newmarket. Inspired by our chat, Braedon commented that he would like to try fasting and so we agreed that our first day out of Calgary, we would have our own famine and learn first-hand what it might be like to go hungry.

As agreed, Sunday night, after a supper of farmer’s market finds, Braedon, Shawn and I set our minds and settled our stomachs for more than 30 hours without food. The plan was to make it all the way through to breakfast on Tuesday morning without eating a thing. Shawn and I would drink only water, while Braedon with his growing body would drink mainly water, but some juice as well. Monday dawned a beautiful sunny day, and though we headed out for a busy day exploring Head Smashed In and Fort Macleod, I am hugely proud to report, that with a few minor exceptions (Shawn had a cup of coffee to manage a headache, I had a glass of juice to stop the shakes, and Braedon had a handful of blueberries to get to sleep on Monday night) we all reached our goal. We could not be prouder of Braedon! He not only committed himself to achieving his goal, but made some really mature comments about how his experience differs from kids who cannot count on a healthy meal even after 30 hours of hunger. It was a learning experience for all of us!

Despite our hungry bellies, Head Smashed In was a great experience. For those of you who have not been there, Head Smashed In is a Buffalo jump and a UNESCO Heritage site. For more than 6000 years in the past, First Nations people lived in harmony with buffalo, hunting them without weapons by working together ingeniously as a community to drive an entire herd over the cliffs to their death. The interpretive centre was highly informative and after learning more about the people and their amazing ingenuity, we were able to walk out to the jump and take a look at the actual site. Although, there were some great hikes, with no food on board, we decided not to push ourselves too hard and instead headed into
Fort Macleod for the afternoon. Historically, Fort Macleod was the centre of the Alberta cattle industry, and one of the original outposts of the Northwest Mounted Police (now the RCMP). The museum was hugely informative and offered us the chance to tour a fort, but also to see a musical ride. We all enjoyed the experience and learning some history, but probably were most excited by the three goats living on the sod roof of one of the buildings.

Early Tuesday morning, with rumbling tummies, we headed 100 km South to Waterton National Park. After a hearty breakfast at a local restaurant, we headed out to explore the park. Waterton is simply breathtaking and absolutely makes our Top 10 list for the must-see places we have visited! We’ve been staying in the Townsite campground, which is located in the heart of the park, and the scenery is so beautiful that I simply don’t know where to put my eyes! From rocky mountains, to deep blue lakes, and meadows literally overflowing with wildflowers, Waterton is a feast for the senses. In addition, the local wildlife is unlike anything we have encountered so far with deer literally walking the streets of town (we counted 14 on our way to the amphitheatre last night including 4 fawns!) and ground squirrels clambering everywhere you look. We spent the day simply enjoying the area, planning out our visit, biking, and swimming and the evening enjoying a presentation at the amphitheatre and lazing on the pebbly beach. It was fabulous!

Today, we decided to embrace another adventure and were thrilled to have a second reason to be proud of our boys! Although we have done a great many hikes on this trip and have reached the summit of many mountain tops, our longest to date had been 15 km. Crypt Lake, known here in Waterton as Canada’s Best Hike, was our new challenge. The distance of 17.8 kilometres was daunting enough, but with an elevation change of more than 2200 feet over only 8.9 km, we knew it was going to be a hard climb. Since we were also aware that near the top, this route would require us to scramble across narrow rock ledges with steep drops while holding onto a cable and to climb a ladder to cross through a natural tunnel, we all awoke this morning feeling a little nervous. Our experience, however, was truly one we will never forget! It took us 6 hours to summit and descend, and we will all have sore muscles tomorrow, but the sense of accomplishment we all feel tonight and the spectacular views along the way made every minute worthwhile. Braedon and Riley were absolutely amazing, tackling this challenging trail like pros and persevering through hot sun, enumerable switchbacks and monster deerflies that decided we would make a good meal. Braedon even overcame a fall and twisted ankle, donning a tensor bandage but never stopping on our descent, while Riley encouraged him to finish the hike. All in all, it has been an amazing few days. As always, I feel hugely blessed to have such an amazing family, to have this time to spend together, and to share these unforgettable experiences.

Tammy

Catching Up with Chris and Paula!

After an exciting week with Lisa and Grant and a fabulous time Stampeding, we spent the weekend together at Grant’s mom’s trailer in Sundry. With a great playground and lots of space for bike riding, the kids thoroughly enjoyed tearing around and having the freedom to come and go as they pleased while the grown-ups hung out together. In the afternoon, we took a leisurely walk down to the river where we all through sticks for Kipper and enjoyed watching him as he tried to swim back to us through the strong current. After wading in along the banks, the kids decided it would be more fun to lay down in the gentle current and float downstream. Braedon and McKenzie had so much fun, that they returned the next morning with Shawn to try out the boogie boards. In true Dillon fashion, we capped off a great day with a couple rousing games of Euchre. Shawn and I are proud to say that the Ontario crew held strong and beat the Calgary folks two games to one!

After hanging out on Sunday and stopping in to visit some of Lisa and Grant’s friends on the way back to town, we arrived at my step-brother Chris’ house late on Sunday night. Although Chris and I spent most of our teen years living together in Oro, until this week, we had not seen each other in almost 10 years and were both really happy to finally have time to catch up. Chris’ kids Seamus (13), Kiah (9) and Emma (8) have enthusiastically welcomed our guys into their home and we have all enjoyed watching the kids connect and interact with each other. On Monday, we loaded up both families and headed out to Drumheller where we visited the Royal Tyrell Museum. It was fascinating and combined with dinner out was a fantastic way for us all to get to know each other. Although the dinosaurs were amazing, it was probably even more fun to watch the kids as they bustled piggy-back from exhibit to exhibit in groups of two and three and shared their discoveries with each other.

On Tuesday, we hung out as a group at Chris and Paula’s home in Calgary and enjoyed a day of sunshine in the back yard. The elastic guns that we picked up way back in Colorado continue to be a big hit, and the adults managed to balance conversation with the constant need to duck in the face of an invasion. After much provocation, Shawn and Chris finally retaliated and I got to watch a very humourous and impromptu “Battle Royale” take place in the kitchen and living room. On Wednesday, Shawn and I took the kids to a nearby water park and we all had a blast riding the waterslides and challenging ourselves in the wave pool. Yesterday, we headed to Heritage Park, a local western pioneer village. Although the history and exhibits were all really neat, I think what we all liked best was that most of the shops in the little town are still actually operating and that we were able to purchase some yummy baked goods at the bakery and to take home some sweets from the general store!

This morning, we plan to reconnected with Lisa and the kids for breakfast and another visit and will spend the weekend hanging out with Chris, Paula and the kids before departing on Sunday for Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump in Southern Alberta. We are continuing to have an amazing trip, and are finding it hard to believe that we will be home in just over three weeks. Wow!

Tammy

Against My Will (AKA: My Aunt made me write this!) - A Guest Blog by Jeff

My journey began with a gorgeous ride into Banff from the Calgary airport, where I got a little taste of the mountain views and the beautiful scenery that Alberta has to offer. I was surprised to find that when I arrived at the campsite it was the same one that we had stayed at 13 years ago when I took my last trip to the west coast. We spent the first evening at the Banff hot springs and had the most relaxing massage and soak. What a way to start the trip! On the way back to the campsite, we decided to stop for ice cream and I was faced with by far the toughest decision of the trip. Do I get Wowie Cowie or Gooey Mooey ice cream? My solution….get them both! It was well worth it!

We spent the next day on a great hike through Johnston Canyon. We hiked to the upper and lower falls and were able to go off the trail to explore some of the hidden treasures, drink the cool water of the river and watch my uncle fall into the water. Priceless! The natural stone carvings and downriver views were beautiful and lots of pictures were taken to remember them. We capped off the Banff trip with a beer and some wings on the patio of the Banff Springs hotel, where we enjoyed the beautiful view and the tasty beverages. We couldn’t ask for more!

We left Banff on Monday morning to head toward Calgary for a visit with Lisa and Grant, who are Dillon cousins. On our way to Calgary we took a very scenic route through the mountains to Kananaskis village. We stopped in for lunch (best prime rib sandwich ever!) and took some time to absorb some more great mountain views. We arrived in Calgary at Lisa and Grants and got to meet Kipper, their vicious attack dog that tried to lick us all to death. We spent the night having some beers and sampling Grant’s famous chicken wings. On Tuesday, we had a boys day and went to an indoor water park which was awesome. They had a wave pool, some water slides and Tarzan ropes that we all made great use of!

Wednesday was the start of Stampeding, definitely the highlight of my trip! The grounds are massive and there was so much to do that we definitely needed the full 2 days to cover it all. We started the day with some midway rides (thank God for unlimited passes), watched some real cowboys ride the bulls and horses at the rodeo, and got some great pictures of cowboys being tossed to the ground, looked like a lot of fun, maybe a new career for me? Thursday was spent watching all the shows, doing some souvenir shopping and watching the Chuckwagon races and grandstand show. My favourite show (besides the grandstand show) was the rock and roll ice dancing show. The music was awesome and the performances were amazing! It took me a little while to understand what was happening in the Chuckwagon races but once we got it all figured they were very entertaining to watch. I can understand how people would make some pretty serious bets on them! The grandstand show followed the races and all I could say was “WOW, what a show!” From motocross jumping to crazy acrobatics to some great singers and even a tribute to Michael Jackson, it was all very well done! It was capped off with a spectacular fireworks show that left us all in awe.

Now, the time has come to return to reality and head back home. I miss everyone and can’t wait to see them. Happy trails Uncle Shawn, Aunt Tammy Braedon and Riley and thanks for having me!

Jeff

Heading East toward Calgary!

We have had a great time reconnecting with family and friends over the past couple of weeks. After leaving Jana and Joe’s house on Saturday, we travelled to Chilliwack and the spent the night with Shawn’s cousin Kenny and his wife Theresa. Since the boys had both had the chance to hang out together with their son Elliot last summer, they were very excited to see him again and entertained us with their exploits on the trampoline. Although their daughter Natalie was headed out for an evening with friends, Shawn and I enjoyed reconnecting with her before she left and were amazed to see that the tiny baby we met when we visited BC nineteen years ago, is now a lovely young woman heading to Germany for a summer trip with her boyfriend. As always, Kenny and Theresa were welcoming and we spent a lovely summer evening catching up on the back deck and enjoyed a bike ride the next morning.

On Sunday, we headed east and enjoyed a beautiful drive to the Okanagan Valley where we stopped in Peachland to visit our friends Dave and Virginia, who moved from Burlington almost seven years ago. It was really lovely to reconnect and to reintroduce the kids who were just little guys last time they saw each other. Their home, which is a stunning white treasure nestled in the hills above Lake Okanagan and offers an extraordinary 360 degree view of the lake, mountains, and forest, was almost enough to have us considering staying out West, and we loved every minute we spent sitting on their back deck and catching each other up on our lives. Tossing in a day at their swim beach where the kids got to try out not only the diving boards and zipline, but also Elise’s Sea Scooters, and we could not have asked for a better visit.

On Tuesday, we packed back up and headed along the TransCanada Highway to Revelstoke. The scenery along the way continued to be amazing and since we were in need of power, we were pleased to find a beautiful little campground on Williams Lake just minutes from Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks. Our original plan had us doing some serious hiking and biking in the area, but unfortunately Shawn’s rather hilarious attempt to zipline at the swim beach in Peachland revved up his old shoulder injury and required a few days of rest. Instead we took it easy, simply taking in the scenery from the beach and enjoying dinner and some live music in the town.

Yesterday, we arrived in Lake Louise. After a massage on Tuesday night, Shawn was feeling better and we decided that a hike was in order. After a quick set-up in the Provincial Park campground, we headed up the mountain to the Chateau Lake Louise and marvelled at the beautiful green lake surrounded by snow-capped mountains. Even though Shawn and I had seen this view before, we were still staggered by the beauty. After feasting our eyes for a little while, we headed out on the mountain trails and climbed up past Mirror Lake to Lake Agnes. This lovely climb ascended about 1100 feet over 3.5 km, and since it was a beautiful sunny day, the quiet 7km route was the perfect way to spend the afternoon. At the top, the view of Lake Agnes nestled into the mountains and the cascading waterfalls beneath was a fabulous reward for our cardio workout on the way up. Descending down the other side, we were fortunate to see a marmot relaxing on the rocks, who posed for us and allowed us to take his picture. After jumping into the van for our ride back to the campground, we had an even more amazing visitor with a full grown Grizzly bear grazing quietly at the side of the road. Our patience while watching him was rewarded when he looked up right into the camera for a split second and I got one of my favourite shots of the whole trip.

Today, we are on our way to Banff. Tomorrow, we will be joined by our nephew Jeff. The adventure continues and with just over 5 weeks until we arrive back in Ontario, we are determined to embrace every minute!

Tammy

Enjoying the West Coast!

Last Friday, we left the islands and headed for the mainland taking our last ferry from Salt Spring to Tsawasssen in Vancouver. After driving for another couple of hours, we arrived at Alice Lake Provincial Park, about 40 minutes south of Whistler. The park itself was very beautiful with campsites nestled among tall pines and four lakes backing on to snow-capped mountain peaks. It was so pretty that the boys decided it would be another great spot to pitch the tent and campout, and Shawn and I were able to enjoy another night with the trailer all to ourselves!

On Saturday morning, we headed into Whistler Village where we enjoyed some time hanging out before preparing for our afternoon activities. Shawn and Riley were very excited to have a guide all to themselves for a 4-hour rock climbing session in the valley and had the opportunity to climb four top-roped sections and to repel down. Shawn even got to self-repel and was pleased to find that his shoulder held strong and did not seem to limit him at all. Riley, as expected, demonstrates his monkey skills and climbed with confidence up everything that the instructor threw at him. After looking at all the options, Braedon and I decided that while rock climbing sounded like fun, the opportunity for an ice hike up a glacier was something we could not pass up, and so we donned our helmets, harnesses and boots, grabbed our ice axes and headed out for a 3-hour tour. Our guide, Ryan Angus from Whistler Alpine was really great taking the time to demonstrate the skills we needed to use our axes to stop us in the event of a fall and to ascend the steep pitch, but also explaining a lot about the mountain and sharing some great stories. We had a great time challenging ourselves and totally enjoyed slipping and sliding our way back down.

On Sunday, we returned to the village for a ride on the Peak 2 Peak gondola. As skiers and snowboarders, we have certainly ridden our share of gondolas this season, but since this is the largest and highest unsupported span and offered a view of both Whistler and Blackcomb, we certainly enjoyed the ride. Afterward, the boys had a fun checking out the adventure zone at the base of Balckcomb Mountain. They were able to tackle a rock climbing wall, swing on a trapeze, find themselves in a maze, bounce in a castle, zip through the village, and spend some time in the batting cage. At Braedon's suggestion, I somehow find myself agreeing to spin in a Spaceball with him. While it didn't make me sick and was a neat experience, I have to say the first 60 seconds were much better than the last and I was happy to be right side up when the ride was over!

Monday morning, we left Whistler and travelled to Port Moody, a subburb of Vancouver and the home of Shawn's cousin Jana and her husband Joe, who invited us to stay with them. It has been a lovely week! We have enjoyed getting to know everyone better and the kids have had a ball hanging out with Reid and Carter, who are nine and six. In addition to some great family time, and a lovely dinner at Shawn's Aunt Marg's condo on Tuesday night, we have taken time to explore the parks and bike trails in the area and have had a couple great days in Vancouver. On Wednesday, we went into town and explored the area around Granville Island on our bikes. The public market has a very similar feel to the St. Lawrence market in Toronto and in addition to eating a yummy lunch and watching some great street performers, we had fun exploring the interesting array of shops. Yesterday for Canada Day, we were fortunate to be able to head to Lilith Fair, an amazing concert at Ambleside Park where we enjoyed some of our favourite bands including Sarah McLachlan and Sugarland. It was a great day!

Today, we had fun cheering on Reid and Carter in a head to head lacrosse game and are looking forward to a BBQ with Jana's sister Tanya and her two girls. Tomorrow, we will head out toward Chilliwack where will will have an evening to catch-up with Shawn's cousin Kenny and his family before heading to Kelowna on Sunday. We are still enjoying our adventure and can hardly believe that we will be heading home in just over 6 weeks!

Tammy