Valley of the Ten Peaks

I picked up a book in Chapters near the beginning of the summer about the most beautiful or must-see places in Canada. The Valley of the Ten Peaks at Moraine Lake near Lake Louise was one of those listed in Alberta, and since it was close, I made it one of my goals to visit this place some time this summer. Last weekend, I finally made it. Deanne and I, both amazingly free of commitments, set out to spend some time together for this day.

We set out at 9 am, and the drive there took us 4 hours. This is it: The Valley of the Ten Peaks!



 

So, this place is famous for being the picture that was on the back of the old $20 bill. It's called the $20 view as a result.

 

 

 

You can't tell from the pictures, but the colour of the lake is amazing. It is a bright turquoise. This is the closest I could get, but in real life, it is almost unbelievable.

 

 

We spent the afternoon hiking to Consolation Lakes. There was apparently a grizzly in the area, so we were warned to hike in groups no smaller than 4 people. We followed closely behind a German couple and their kids.

 

 

And they came in very handy for taking our picture, and we would return the service.

 

 

When we got back to Moraine Lake, we rented a canoe and paddled around. Really, the colour of the lake was amazing, and the gorgeous Fall colours were also beginning.

 

 

What a wonderful day. We spent time just relaxing out on the lake. On the way home, we stopped for Thai food in Canmore, and just enjoyed the time catching up. It seems like forever that I've had the chance to spend some time with my favourite adventurous friend. Love that Deanne Bertsch!

 

 

Till next time....



Whitefish Part I

Our wonderful friends, Neil and Allison, generously invited us to join them in Whitefish, Montana area, for part of the week in the middle of July. We drove the beautiful road to see them, planning on taking the Road to the Sun. As we got to the summit of the pass with rain coming down in torrents, the road was suddenly closed off because of rock slides. We had missed the slides by a mere 5 minutes (a trip for lunch at a drive through had set us back about that much time), which meant that we had to turn around and retrace our steps. Our journey was extended by a few hours as a result, but we also picked up a stranded paddler by the name of Halliburton from Atlanta, who kept us company and told us many stories about kayaking rivers both large and small. Our destination was Columbia Falls and our condo was in the Meadown Lake complex.

It was beautiful!! The complex included a pool and hot tub, a golf course, and many other amenities. Bevan and I had our own private suite with a soaker tub and a kitchenette.

Golf was the first order of business the next day, which I did not take pictures of. This is probably a good thing, since most of us were not completely happy with our games. However, the course itself was very nice. For the evening, though, we made our way to Whitefish to see the Conrad Mansion, an historical building built in the mid-1800's. It was certainly big...

But my favourite part was the teeny tiny Conrad Cat Door. The Conrad cat was mostly plain and highly standoff-ish I thought.

Afterward, we drove to Polson for our dinner cruise on Flathead Lake. Here's me, waiting to board.

Once on, we were treated to a pretty mediocre Italian feast, but then what can one expect for a $30 night of entertainment. Happily, the company..

And the scenery....

Was enough to make up for the dining deficiencies. After the meal, we got to walk around to enjoy the outdoors and the sights.

As the sun went down, it was satisfying to feel the wind and the lake air while boating. Since we chose not to take our Dragonfly out this summer, we had been craving some water time.

And we got to see the sun set in this beautiful place.

We made our way home, and got up early the next day to go biking. Our day was 5 hours of mountain biking, beginning in the West Glacier area.

We climbed many steep hills and enjoyed the natural sights.

A little gas station provided us with a place to eat our packed lunch.

Then we found our way to a steep hike up to Apgar lookout, a 2 hour hike up the side of the mountain, which everyone promised had a view that made the effort worth it. As we started out, a few people warned us that it was "hat". And it was. The trail was challenging.

Too challenging, it turned out, for Bevan, who got overheated and just plain exhausted. So I threw him on my back and took him back down the hill. (This is not entirely true, as he walked, but I think he would have welcomed a carrying. An APGAR, as Neil reminded us, is a composite score given to newly delivered babies to measure their responsiveness and health. Bevan would have scored poorly with an APGAR at that point.) Neil and Allison went on, but before Bevan and I turned around, I snapped a picture from where we were.

Then we began the hour long trek down. Near the end, we found a chilly creek to cool our feet and restore Bevan back to health.

And then we made our way home. It was a wonderful beginning to a trip that just got better and better.

Dino

On Wednesday, we said goodbye to Dino (aka, Mr. Dino, Uncle Dino, Dino Nino), who has been our loyal and lovable pet for almost 15 years.

Over the last few years, he had been getting old, and with age, his health had deteriorated. This summer, he didn't want to go outside; instead, he preferred to remain in his bed for the most part. His kidneys and liver were failing, he had very high blood pressure, he was in tremendous pain, and he was virtually deaf and blind. His diet included special food with a variety of pills:

Because he had become so sensory deprived (or just confused), we would often find him just staring at walls:

He commonly had problems on the stairs and suffered some startling falls, and he was becoming incontinent, so we had begun to crate him while we were at work. Dino, who had always been the most gentle and obedient of dogs, would get very aggressive, almost biting us on a daily basis:

He had changed a great deal, just like people do sometimes when they begin to fail physically and mentally due to old age. It was with tremendous sadness that we made the decision to say goodbye. The girls and I had the vet take his pawprints in clay and be fired. They will be mounted in a frame with his picture, so that we can remember him. While going through our Dino pictures, there were many of him down a gopher hole or covered in mud, but the one below is of Dino on a walk or run with me on a path in Carbon. That is the way I remember him best.

So this is to Dino:
marathon runner, gopher digger, leg licker, hair shedder, people greeter, greedy eater, awkward snuggler, confused swimmer, focused hunter, quick learner, food gobbler, enthusiastic exerciser, sneaky escaper, destructive toy-chewer, ball chaser, fast racer, champion poser, golden retriever lover, kid protector, and human charmer. Our faithful friend.

Lovin' Summer

It has been a long time since I've written something here. Consequently, the last pictures I posted are from a completely different season. It is SUMMER. Glorious summer. And my yard is in full bloom. The flowers are coming out beautifully.

I'm proud of how it looks all together, but the individual beauties are even better. Here are some of my favourites.

The Snowdrop Anemone

The Peony

The Painted Daisy

The Bleeding Heart

The Globe Flower

The Iris

The Rock Garden

I'm always so happy to get out in my yard to tend these babies once the sun starts shining! What about you? What are you working on in your yard while the weather is warm?

Canada: The New Vacation Destination

I am both delighted and concerned. I bought two very nice winter coats this year to help me brave the bitter cold that is inevitable during a Prairie winter. I have been able to wear them a few times, certainly (see the pictures of Banff on New Year's Eve), but for the most part, our winter has been much too warm so far this year. This makes me a little sad, because I love my new coats and don't want them to be wasted. On the other hand, yesterday was (drumroll, please) a balmy 13 degrees celcius! To really feel the impact of our good fortune, I wanted to see how much better my daughter is doing on her vacation in Cuba. It is only about 10 degrees warmer there. Oh joy! We are having it so good. I also looked up our long term forecast and found that there is really nothing less than 0 degrees during the daytime, for the next 10 days. How can I really complain about not being able to wear my coats?

Due to a combination of holiday and nice weather, it is a time for walks.

But walks with friends are always better....

And some of us, despite nice weather, still need coats.

As for the holidays, I am still working almost all day every day. However, I was able to take pictures of what I have worn on a few days, outside and without a coat. I am loving it!

blazer: Ann Taylor; bottom: Paige Denim; scarf: The Bay; shoes: Geox; purse: Michael Kors

blouse: Judith and Charles; bottom: Banana Republic; vest: Jones New York; shoes: Stuard Weitzman

Ciao for now. I have made some changes, so hopefully those of you who were wanting to comment will be able to now.

A New Year And A First Post

I have to admit that I've been addicted to reading all sorts of blogs over the past year, and I've been wanting to do one of my own for some time. I LOVE fashion blogs, but I also love blogs that document the lives and passions of their writers, sometimes daily. This is the plan for mine.

I've found myself, in the last few years, becoming more and more focused on the goals that I have for the future, and I've lost track of the little things that make me happy in the here and now. I'm hoping that by being more purposeful in documenting those moments, I will have a better sense that there is balance in my life.

So...to start, here was my New Year's Eve. Now this one was different for many reasons. My husband has an uncanny knack for spending our New Years' Eves with a terrible flue of some sort, while I while away the hours watching various television programs (seriously...this has happened at least four times in the last 10 years). When he does manage to stay healthy, we have friends over for fondue and games, but this year, everyone had other plans. Lucky for us, my mom and her husband had decided to stay at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel for a few days. I spotted an opportunity and invited the hubby and I out for dinner with them.

What a great idea it turned out to be!! We got to Banff about 3:00 in the afternoon. They took us for a bit of a tour, then we stopped for drinks in the Rundle Lounge. We all ordered Manhattens, which is, according to our server, the man's martini. What a beautiful place! I mean, we look ok in the picture, but take note of the scene outside the window too.

Our reservations were at the Maple Leaf Grill for 5:30. We went back up to change, and it felt really good to have an excuse to dress up for a change.

In true fashion blog style...here's what I'm wearing: blouse Banana Republic; jeans Fidelity; earrings Stella and Dot; watch Fossil (and unfortunately you can't see my great shoes!)

We met some really nice people from Chicago while waiting for the cab. We stayed warm under the outdoor heaters.

Our reservations were at the Maple Leaf Grill, and I think we got the best seat in the house. We were nestled by a toasty fire and we were watched over by the giant moose head. We ate a two tier seafood appetizer, bison prime rib, and a yummy creme brule dessert. We had a great wine and finished the meal off with coffee and a rum liquer. The company was wonderful. The location was dreamy.

I loved our New Year's Eve. Thanks mom and Richard for everything. Can't wait for next year. I'd love to hear about your New Year's Eve adventures too.