CHRISTY HIKES CRYPT!

The last week of July Marissa went to Magrath to be a helping hand/nanny for Craig and Stephanie.  Bruce and Ross were working, and I went hiking on the Wednesday with some friends while Lisa looked after Emma and Erica.  Thanks Lisa!  The girls were so excited to finally have some time to play with the Dunhams since they were gone for the 4 weeks prior to that.

Missy with Cache

Cache and Cheyanne

They love having Marissa come - she's so much fun! and Missy loves going too!  (I think Steph enjoys the extra set of hands too)

Hiking buddies:  Rachel, Jeanne, Rachael, Jessamie, Jonica, Sarah

Crypt lake is in Waterton - a 15 minute boat ride across Waterton lake.  The hike is about 17km round trip, with an elevation gain of about 2300 feet.

It was a drizzly light rain as we started out, but oh so pretty.  And at least we wouldn't get too hot.

so many beautiful flowers along the way

snack time

so pretty, I wish I had one of those filters to capture the colors better

In the middle you can see the shadow of the entrance to the cave we are headed for.  Right after this picture, the rain started to pour, it was some of the heaviest rain I've seen in a long time.  Luckily we were well prepared.  We stopped and put on our rain ponchos, and made a mad dash for the shelter of the cave since we had no idea how long we'd be in this for.

Once we reached the cave the rain only lasted about 5 more minutes.  As we were running across the tiny ledge you see there on the side of the mountain, the rain was pouring like a river down the mountain and across the ledge, plus we had the rain that was falling down on us.  We were wet!  Luckily the rain took our minds off the fact that it is a very skinny ledge, with a steep drop to the valley below.  No fear! (If you are prepared you shall not fear)

Crypt Lake!  Time for lunch!

Coming back down we had better weather for enjoying the scenery and taking pictures.  The Bear Grass was in full bloom.  I've been told that you can only find bear grass in the higher altitudes of Waterton and Glacier National parks, and nowhere else in the world (I did not verify this info though).  It was beautiful.

On the way up the mountain, after the tunnel, is a steep climb up over jagged rock.  The trail is narrow and steep, and dangerous - so there has been a large cable bolted into the rock to assist climbers in navigating this section.  I've decided that being able to see out of only one eye isn't all bad.  On the way up the mountain the steep drop off was always on my blind side - across the skinny ledge, and while climbing up this little section.  A nice handicap to have here.  Coming down the steep drop was in full view, but since I had done it once before (coming up), I wasn't even nervous.  Obviously I was OK, 'cuz I even got the camera out to snap a few photos.

Back up into the tunnel

Going in...

60 feet long, but not high enough to stand up in

Crossing the river is nicer in the sunshine

Funny story (but perhaps only if you were there...).  On the way down (and up), we had had a few discussions of the various wildlife in the area, and what to do if we saw any.  Bears were the main concern, but we didn't see any of those.  However, as we were getting lower down the mountain, Sarah was in the lead and as she turned the corner on one of the switchbacks in the trees, she came face to face with a HUGE male moose.  I wish I had a picture of that!  She stood frozen not sure what to do, by the time we got to her the moose was trudging off thru the trees.  Some of the girls were a bit shaken, and worried about what we should do if we saw the moose again... play dead, run, look big and be noisy....nobody tells you what to do if you see a moose.  Personally I thought it was kind of neat, maybe I should have been more scared, but honestly it didn't make me the least big nervous.  When you are in the mountains I'm convinced you're ALWAYS close to wildlife, you just don't usually know it.  So we continued down the path, and maybe 5 minutes later we suddenly hear the thumping of running coming down the path behind us.  The 2 girls behind me screamed and charged, pushing me over into the bushes on the side of the path.  They were sure that we were being charged by a large angry moose.  I turned around, somewhat dismayed at having been sacrificed to the moose, and looked up to see a nice looking gentleman hurrying down the path.  It turns out he was running to catch the ferry back to waterton, and had no idea about the moose.  So funny!  His english wasn't very good (he's from Montreal), so when we explained why the girls screamed and ran, he felt bad.  When we reached the bottom of the hill he posed for a picture as the 'scary moose'.

Headed home.  What a great hike.  Thanks for organizing Sarah, and Lisa for watching my girls.  I love the mountains!!!

SUPERBLY SYLVAN

Still catching up here....

In July we had the opportunity to participate in what is becoming somewhat of a tradition (we really hope it lasts for many more years) with some very dear friends of ours.  For the last few years we have gathered at a rented cabin at Sylan Lake with our wonderful university friends/roommates and their families.  This year, between all the cameras that were there, there were over 1000 photos taken (lots by the 3 muskateers in the previous post) - so I'll really try to condense them into just a few of the best ones.  What started 20+ years ago with 3 roommates, plus 1 good friend, and 4 girlfriends, has now morphed into this huge gathering of 8 adults and 17 kids.......all staying in one cabin for 3 or 4 days.  FUN FUN FUN!!!  The best part is that all the kids are old enough to kind of take care of themselves, and be safe - and everyone has friends their age to hang out with.  It's been so fun watching these kids grow up together.


sorry in advance for the large numbers of photos...

perhaps an overcrowded boat - but i think we were still within the boat capacity limit

Bruce was the first person in the water (at least, for something other than swimming).

He was also the first to be able to surf without the rope (mostly - couldn't quite thow it back in the boat, even though it was slack most of the time), and was the first to successfully dock his board on the deck of the boat and walk in when he was done.  Yay Bruce! Way to set the bar.

apparently sunglasses increase the cool factor....

mandatory swim time - everybody out of the boat!

a lot of posing takes place when there are cute girls around, haha

Missy has always been adventurous and willing to try new things.  She got up FIRST try on the surf board, and got the hang of it pretty quick.  Next summer she'll be throwing in the rope for sure.

some of the young ones.  our girls are on the ends

some of the teens

we have a TON of pictures of kids jumping off the boat!  this one was jumping backwards

Mackenzie and I waited until all the talented younger kids got off the boat before we were brave enough to give the surfing a try (after Bruce, Missy and all the other smarty pants, I didn't want to make a fool of myself)

i didn't entirely get the hang of it, but i had fun trying, and got up my first try (for a few seconds), and had a long turn on my second try..... maybe next year....

Kenzie and I, or looking at the picture - Me and Mackenzie

I think Kenzie and I were the only ones to wear wetsuits that weekend

everybody worked up an appetite

evening activities

(look at the window at the back, haha)

game time (telephone pictionary)

next day - breakfast in pj's on the deck

another beautiful day

Marissa, Sydney, Jenna

Emma & Marissa

Erica

Ready for some tube wars... (Mackenzie, Leah, Ross, & Levi)

I don't think I want these two to be my spotters

the war continues

hmmm, I don't think I want these 3 spotting for me either

Ross, Kenzie, Leah

(Renee and Josh on tubes)

Me, Carrie, Renee

Carrie & Ross, Bruce & Christy, Renee & Steve

We had so much fun together.  This is the night we were leaving, but we couldn't pull ourselves away until about midnight.  We let the kids think it was their idea.

somehow Darryl and Terri missed all our pictures (except the group one), sorry about that

Ross, Steve and Bruce.  Three really great guys!

All of us!  We'll see you next year! (hopefully). THANKS CHILES!

THREE MUSKATEERS!!!

Marissa had a great summer, it seems like she was always on the go (more about her summer later).  She got to spend lots of time with two very wonderful friends.  That time together was even sweeter since Sydney lives in Taiwan, and Jenna lives in Edmonton.  Oh, how we wish they lived in Calgary (with their families of course).

These three girls are evidence of the positives, and negatives of digital cameras.... we must have 1000 pictures that they took together.  So fun for them, but some very ridiculous pictures to have to sort thru... Oh well, good memories :)

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Remember in the last post when I said time flies.  It's kind of been the theme of our summer.  How is it possible for 18 years to have passed so quickly???   So this is how we spent so much of our summer time. Getting ready to send Ross off to university in Edmonton (U of A) took tons of time. So much has changed since Bruce and I were there. We finally got things settled, with only days to spare. He's in the faculty of science working toward getting in to Medicine after his mission (and a bit more school).

Ross's last night at home...

Anyway, one of the biggest stresses was trying to find Ross somewhere to live. Ross only had 2 friends he knew going to school in Edmonton. One is a girl, and the other lives in Sherwood Park with his family. This meant that he had no friends to room with. After a couple of trips to Edmonton, some internet searching, some phone calls, and a lot of driving around we finally signed him up to live in a basement suite in a house very close to campus. The owner of the house is about Bruce's age, and went to U of A when we were there. Now he still lives in the upstairs and rents out his basement to 5 LDS boys. Each one has their own bedroom, but they share a very small (never updated) old bathroom, and a tiny kitchen (with no table).

Entrance and edge of kitchen.  The counter with the stool is the only 'table'.

The rest of the kitchen. 

Seriously, this is the whole thing - it's tiny.  But honestly, how much cooking is Ross really going to do anyway.

The family room, or common area.  The first view is as you come in to the room, the second picture is looking back up towards the kitchen.  You gotta love the carpet!!!  Straight out of the 70's.  Thick shag, still remarkably squishy for being so old (and yet, I had trouble taking my shoes off and walking barefoot).

We decided that this just might be good training for his mission.

This 'bedroom' is right off of the family room.  Luckily, it is not his room.  I can only assume that this was the last room to be rented.  I'm sure it's probably less than 6 ft. wide, and not much longer.  But at least it has a big window.


 

The very old and dated bathroom.

The laundry room, and a deep freeze for any good old home cooking the boys can get their hands on.

And down at the far end of the hall, far away from all other activity we find Ross's room.  Sorry about the photo quality, the tiny room, poor lighting, and iphone camera, don't make the best pictures.  This is his BIG desk (on moving day).  The desk fits perfectly in the corner butting up against the door.  Next to Bruce is a small gap (where he stores an electric keyboard) and then his night table.

The night table is obviously next to the bed.  He has a great bed.  His old bed frame saved from a couple of years ago, a new mattress, and a beautiful new quilt handmade with love by grandma O.  Some of the fabric came home with her from her trip to Africa last year.  Can you say spoiled?  (Or maybe he's just LOVED).

At the foot of the bed he has a bookcase, then turning the corner for the next wall... a small closet rod with a small shelf above it to mimic a closet with no door.  Next to that is Ross's dresser and a small chair tucked behind the door.  Everything is basically touching whatever is beside it.... but he sure fit a lot in there (and empty space in the middle too).

These are some friends from home that happened to be in Edmonton on moving day, so they came and helped out a bit, and made sure Ross was settled in ok. (and left him a stash of soda pop).  Speaking of stashes, I forgot about the totes stashed under his bed with all sorts of non-perishable costco food, and a secret stash of homemade salsa and bottled peaches - 2 of his favorite foods.

Here he is!  All moved in!  All grown up!

Here's Bruce reliving his university days, walking to campus.  The picture is taken from the end of Ross's street (about 4 small houses away).  The tall buildings are the U of A Hospital, and basically the edge of campus.  The small gray house just above Bruce's head is where I lived for second semester of my second year at university.   Ahhh, those were some good days......

Good luck Ross!  We miss you already, but know you'll have a great time.... make the most of it!!!