Canada wrap up

I'm sort of over these "lessons learned". I'm sure you are too. BUT I have to finish, for journalings sake. I intend to turn my blog into a book so that our future kids can see what life was like for me and Ryan before they got here...SO, sometimes these posts are more for me than they are for you :)

Anyway, here it goes...the last few things I learned on our trip to Canada

1. Just because I'm not overweight, DOES NOT mean I'm in good shape!

Ryan and I getting ready to hike Bears Hump

22. When you go on a short, but steep hike, and you're not fit, you will ONLY focus on the steep part.

I'm almost there...Ryan is trying to bribe me to climb the rest of the way by holding up the water bottle. I asked him to bring it down to me...he wouldn't :(

After the hike photo...still trying to catch my breath.

23. Every hiker needs a buddy. Don't count on your husband to be there for you, especially if he's leading the group and you're at the very end. Instead, choose a hiking buddy with a similar hiking pace. I chose Cheryl's #2, she's about 6 years old (is that right Cheryl?). To say we had fun on our hike up to Bears Hump, wouldn't be right, but we surely bonded and were buddies through the rest of the trip. #2 and I have a very similar hiking style: we're a little slower than the rest, we complain a little more than the rest, and we take more breaks than the rest. We're perfect for each other :) I miss my buddy!!

Me and #2 on a different hike...we did a lot of hiking on this trip.

24. Most exhausting hikes have a great reward at the top...ours was the view of Waterton. I might never do it again, so it's a good thing I got pictures.

25. When it rains in Canada, it pours! We were out at Cameron Lake (I think that's the one, there were so many lakes) eating lunch and the clouds started coming in. We packed up our lunch and headed to the cars but couldn't make it before the downpour started. Several of us were stuck in a tiny room waiting out the storm. When the rain finally let up a little (after maybe 10 minutes or more of waiting), we all ran to the cars...which leads me to my next, and perhaps most important lesson of the trip.

26. Never, and I mean NEVER, run to the car in the rain with your camera in your sweater pocket. It WILL fall out into a puddle and never work again. DEVASTATING :(

27. If you're going to play Canadian Cranium, make sure you have the one Canadian citizen of the group on your team. Even if he's just a kid, he'll win the game for his team! (Great job Jeremy!!)

28. Mountain View will sell you fireworks, even though they're illegal to set off. We set them off anyway. Since we didn't get fireworks on Canada day, we just HAD to have them on the fourth of July, even if we weren't in the US.

29. Sometimes you have to save the best for last. On our last day in Waterton, we took a short hike to Blackesten Falls (my buddy and I did just fine on this one). We came back from the hike and found brown bears right near the parking lot. A mama bear and her two cubs were not 100 feet (something like that, I'm a bad judge of distance, but they were CLOSE) from us climbing trees and playing around. It was AMAZING!!! Of course, my camera broke the day before, so I don't have pictures :( THEN a heard of mountain sheep, which look just like goats, came into the parking lot to lick the salt off of the car tires. They were SO close to us...like, we could have pet them if we wanted to. It was AWESOME!!!! These two encounters, especially the bears, MADE MY TRIP!! The whole trip was really great, but that just ended it on the BEST note!!!

30. The airlines will sell you a ticket even if they don't have a seat for you...what's THAT about?!?

and here's one more, to wrap it all up:

31. No matter how great a vacation, how great the company, how great the scenery, there really is no place like home! Sleeping in our own bed after a week away was heavenly!!

Well that about covers my FIRST trip to Canada. I really had a blast and am so glad that we were able to go. I enjoyed getting to know the Stringam side of the family a lot more, since I had only met most of them once or twice. We truly were in great company and in a BEAUTIFUL country. I can't wait to go back!

Just a few other pics...Prince of Whales Hotel and Cameron Falls in Waterton.