Day 191 - 29th October 2018 - Cattails, Gregoire Lake and Church Windows

Here we are on the last day of our holidays. The time has flown by, seems almost like we just got here. It's been loads of fun and a great adventure. The kids have been wonderful hosts and tour guides, we've seen loads of things and been treated royally. Tomorrow morning we'll head off to the airport early to make the trek home, first stop Calgary, then Toronto and then Halifax hopefully somewhere around 10:30/11:00pm tomorrow night. Going to be a long day but my mind will twirl through all the great adventures we've had on our trip. Sunday after lunch we headed out to Janvier which is one of the reservations. Probably one of the poorer ones, as is evident by the homes. They do however have horses that seem to roam wherever and an airstrip (looks more like a big field, probably suitable for small planes and helicopters). We stopped at Gregoire Lake Provincial Park and a couple of other lakes - beautiful spots.

Cattails in the early morning light.

Gregoire Lake

Scaups or Ring necked Ducks, I think

 No matter where you go around Fort Mac, reminders of the fire are there.

The Church windows at Janvier were stunning.




Enjoy your day

Day 190 - 28th October 2018 - Heritage Village, Foxes and a Canvasback Duck

We've had a busy couple of days playing tourist. Friday Jenny was off so took us out to the Heritage Centre and Village. Lovely gift shop - I found moccasins which have been on my to get list. The village is a combination of houses/cabins/churches/businesses etc. which have been donated and moved from other places. Each building lets you experience a piece of Fort Mac's past. There is also a Shipyard, but that closed in September.  I didn't think of Fort Mac as being in the boat building business but you learn something new every day. From there we went downtown and checked out the Dunvegan Christmas Shop - decorated trees with a different theme on every one. Then a little more shopping and off home to get the chickens in the oven for supper. We had a birthday celebration for both Jenny & Justin. Saturday we headed back out to the Buffalo look off, but no sign of them and then the trail. Even though there are signs posted about wildlife, all we saw were lots of tracks etc of Moose, Deer and others, none crossed our path.  A break  back home then out for a late lunch at Chez Max. Now this is a fabulous little restaurant  featuring Jamaican Food - it was awesome. From there we did the Fox trail. This is a cool spot, there are a number of Foxes along the trail that artists were commissioned to paint. Similar to those big lobsters done in Barrington this year. Being Sunday most of the household will have a sleep in, then I'm sure we'll have another little adventure.

Sunrise

A few of the buildings at the Heritage Village

 Some of the artistic foxes. I met the artist of this one at the Cree Chat on Wednesday.

Canvasback Duck




Enjoy your day!

Day 188 - 26th October 2018 - Magpies and House Sparrows

Falling into my old ways and up way earlier than I should be this morning. Oh well the 5am's were good while they lasted. I walked a lot yesterday, exploring and checking out the hood but apparently the fresh air didn't make me sleep better. We did a little shopping and hung out at the house. Wildlife was sparse even though I checked out a few parks and outskirts. Magpies and House Sparrows were my only finds. Even the pond was empty yesterday. The weather has been wonderful, blue skies and sun everyday. Had a latish supper out at the local Legion last evening. They have a full restaurant - don't think any of the ones home do. But no doubt the population base makes the difference.  It's a little sad when you drive or walk by areas with burned trees still standing - a reminder of the fire a few years ago and how so many have had to rebuild  their lives. Not sure what we are up to today, both Jenny & Justin are off so maybe the Heritage Centre.

Magpie - they seem to be fairly friendly and used to people.

House Sparrow -- lots of these around too.







Enjoy your day!

Day 187 - 25th October 2018 - House Sparrow, Teepee and a Sunset

The weather has been more like the first of September than the end of October. Beautiful, sunny and mild. I've lost all track of the days but I think it was Wednesday yesterday. We were home on our own, so I took the opportunity after searching E-bird to see what was out in the hood. Did the google map thing and got directions to a trail nearby but didn't quite make it there (will do that today) as I found a nice little pond with some Mergansers, also a few House Sparrows in the trees and bushes nearby. It was a nice morning walk. Mom and I checked out the little mall nearby and picked up a few groceries we had forgotten the day before. When Jenny got through work she picked us up to go out to the Metis Local for Coffee Chat with a few of the Cree Elder Ladies. It was a good time, we all chatted, learned a few Cree words, although I'm sure I can't pronounce them again. Elk is waskiso, Mountain is waciy. There is no "K" in Cree it sounds like "G". A quick stop at Walmart and then home for supper and a lazy evening. I think I'll do some more exploring today.

 Cat Tails along the pond.

Mergansers

House Sparrow

A replica wagon from the Red River days

This was where they held the coffee chat - the building was lost during the fire and rebuilt

Teepee on display

And the sun was setting





Enjoy your day

Day 186 - 24th October 2018 - Giant Machinery, Bison Monument and a Spruce Grouse

Tuesday was mostly a day of rest. After a whirlwind weekend of activities and the drive to Fort Mac everyone was pretty tired yesterday.  We lazed around in the morning then did a short afternoon trip to see the "Giants of Machinery" and the Monument to Bison. We also saw where some of the big wildfire had been a few years ago  - trees that were burned, makes you shiver to just think about that summer. I've been out on a short roam of the hood, also checked on e-bird to see if there were any birding spots within walking distance. Since the kids are both working today Big B and I might just do a couple of jaunts on foot. Remembering to take my cell phone, I don't get lost in the woods (as a rule) but subdivisions and urban settings get me all turned around. The Bison Burgers were fabulous last night - so lean and tasty, Justin did them on the barbecue and Mom did taters in the air fryer to go with them.

 Checked out a trail and found this Spruce Grouse.

 Monument to Bison - it's huge

 They don't lie when they call this equipment "Giants"

Enjoy your day!

Day 185 - 23rd October 2018 - Waterfalls, Mountains and Bison

We made it to Fort McMurray last night after a very long drive. It's 8 1/2 - 9 hours to start with but when there are 4 women in the truck quite a few "pit" stops, snack stops etc  made so guaranteed to add a few minutes....or more onto the trip. But it was fun and lots of laughs. Before we left Banff we drove a loop through some of the mountains in search of Big Horn Sheep but they were not obliging us. We did see some spectacular views though. Then a great hike at Johnstone's Canyon to the see the Upper and Lower Falls. Very good idea before we made the trip to Fort Mac. Got all that energy used up. On the way we did find some Bison - they are farmed ones but doesn't matter, got them off that bucket list! And we picked up Bison burgers for supper tonight. Beautiful scenery as we drove along - but the mountains disappeared behind us and flat farmland was all around us. What a change in just a few hours. It appears my internal clock has adjusted to the time change as I'm up 3 hours before the rest of the house. No idea what's on the agenda for today, Justin is off and in charge of entertainment, Jenny is back to work.

 Been seeing lots of Grey Jays (Canada Jays)

Enjoy your day!

Day 184 - 22nd October 2018 - Lake Louise, The Gondola and Elk

Sunday was a once in a life time kind of day and we ticked stuff off of the bucket list like crazy. We had a great day - probably walked at least 20 miles (surely I'll lose weight on this trip), saw and experienced some great things. After breakfast we drove out to Lake Louise, a quick look around the village then walked to and down along the lake. Absolutely stunning with the mountains on three sides and a huge hotel on the other. From there we had a quick lunch and headed to Sulphur Mountain to bravely ride the Gondola up the Mountain (7864 feet above Banff). So yes it was like sitting in a little pop can but it was such an awesome experience. Being afraid of heights I wasn't sure if I could do it but it's enclosed and I didn't mind at all! We checked out all the sights from the observatory decks then went back down. Drove back into Banff to take a look at the famous big hotel - (can't remember the name) checked out Bow Falls and realized we had not seen any animals yet and Elk were on our to do/find list. Yup we found them - lots and lots. After a long and exciting day we headed back to the hotel, had supper and Jenny and I hit the hot pool again to ease our tire feet. Today we are going to do a hike on the trail at Johnson's Canyon and then head for Fort Mac.

Enjoy your day!

Day 183 - 21st October 2018 - Mountains and Banff

A couple days of catch up. The adventure begins in security - Mom has things beeping as does her checked in luggage. After she flaps like a duck, jumps up and down they finally decide it's metal in her new boots. They took her hair gel (missed the scissors) and off we went. I needed Big B for that episode.  Well the plane ride was long, mostly smooth but a few road bumps- maybe they call it sky bumps. Finally made it to Calgary, found our hotel and crashed for the night only to wake up early the next day. We are somewhere between NS time and Alberta but probably not in either. Maybe it was the excitement or the very warm hotel room. Justin picked us up and we headed off to meet Jenny and some of her family for breakfast and then on to Banff! The mountains are everything people say and more, just beautiful. We spent the afternoon roaming downtown Banff, hit a couple of museums and then walked back to the hotel. It's far easier to walk than to drive if it's not too far and after sitting all day Friday it was good to stretch our legs. Supper at Chili's in the hotel and then Jenny and I tried out the hot pool - another fabulous experience. Today we are off to Lake Louise and hopefully the Gondola ride. Might even see some wild life!

Enjoy your day!