Our family arrived with much excitement all round on the 30th December. We were all so busy getting ourselves organised shopping, packing etc that we forgot to even see in 2008.
What a way to start a New Year though. We left for our holiday in the early hours of the morning on the 1st. We started off at cabins about 1 hour past Jasper. The trip took about 9 hours because we kept having to stop to take photos. We were all absolutely enthralled with the beauty. It is impossible to describe. Even the photos don't really do it justice although they are lovely :o)
The highlight of the holiday (for all of us I think) was a dogsled ride through the Rockies. 2 people per sled. 1 in and 1 driving. My parents in law were living proof that you are never too old to have a bit of fun and they joined us on the ride. Hannes drove Jared and I, my sister in law Sunette drove my father in law and my mom in law went with one of the guides. Nothing I say here can even begin to describe to you what an experience it was. It was a 3 hour trip with a stop in the mountains for lunch. Jared was so relaxed in the sled with me that he fell asleep and only woke up after a lot of nudging and poking when we stopped for lunch.
We then spent 2 nights in Banff on the way home. That was beautiful as it always is.
We were happy to have gone to the mountains with the family because we have had no snow here at all. In fact, we have had temperatures up to 9 degrees. So much for bitterly cold snowy weather in Calgary ha ha!! We'll see what February brings since that is supposed to be the coldest month of the year...
Here are some pics. It was a real task choosing so I went a bit overboard! Enjoy!!
Just because I like this pic. Taken on my birthday..JPG)
These were actually taken at Bragg Creek which is 20 mins or so from our house. Hannes took our new camera and went and played a little.
Jared walking on a very frozen Lake Louise. You will remember my earlier blog entry with the pics of Lake Louise in summer. What a different place!!!
Stream at Lake Louise. Look how thick the snow is there. Beautiful!
The first view of the hotel
Jared, Sunette and I on the bridge over that little stream in the pic above. Notice Sunette isn't bundled up. I finally have someone who knows what I mean when I say -9 doesn't feel like you would imagine it to feel :o)
The ice castle they have built on Lake Louise. They also skate on there and play hockey.
Me looking through one of the ice castle windows
My little family.
Taken out the car window on the side of the road on the way home from Jasper.
These guys were roaming around our chalet in Banff. They would stroll onto the patio and were so tame. The were not at all afraid of Jared even and all he wanted to do was touch them. They are so gorgeous.
The whole family.
The 2 babies :o)
Jared very upset because he couldn't go and touch the reindeer.
One of the roads in Banff
Looking the other way. There are mountains everywhere you look.
The Athabasca Falls in the Jasper National Park. We'll definitely go back there in summer as I am sure it will be breathtaking in a totally different way.
The dogsled teams!! The dogs were priceless while we were waiting to leave. They howl and bark as soon as they know it is nearly time. They get so excited. They love it. And the more you praise them while they are running and tell them good dogs the faster they run. Adorable.
That's Sunette in the white jacket. I swear she was an eskimo in a past life she looked so graceful on that sled. (we were behind her)
You can just make out Jared peering over the top.
The lunch spot
Me checking the scene in the falling snow.
Jared running around at lunch time. He just wanted to go and pet the dogs. He had just woken up and his batteries were fully charged. Did I mention that he seldom sits still ha ha!!
