This was our first Thanksgiving weekend, it wasn't going to be a big deal for us, but Lara's school was closed on Friday and Monday, and Dan's nursery was going to be closed on the Monday too, so we figured we might as well enjoy our long weekend.
We took the opportunity of Dan being at nursery on Friday, but Lara being off school, to go down to a ski equipment shop in Calgary and get ourselves measured up for skis and boots. We were in there for 2 hours and poor Lara got a bit bored once she had been measured up, and had picked out the skis she liked. But it's all over now, we're sorted out, and can really look forward to the first ski trip in a couple of weeks time.
On Saturday we took a drive out to Lake Louise, after a little stop off in Canmore en-route. We went out to see Moraine Lake, close to Lake Louise, and it was beautiful. Lara enjoyed climbing the moraine, and was pretty confident about it, even if Olga and I had our worries, and I was the one that had to follow her up! We drove back from Lake Louise to Banff along Highway 1A, the "old" road dating back from before they built the Trans-Canada Highway. We'd been told there was a much better chance of seeing bears and other wildlife, and whilst we didn't see any, it was a lovely drive. The whole day was about a 275 mile round trip, but certainly worth it.
On Sunday we did traditional Bank Holiday housey-type stuff, while our neighbours were entertaining friends and family. At least our garage looks a little tidier now!
On Monday the weather was perfect, blue skies with no clouds. So we loaded everyone into the car, including the dogs and drove to a local (only a 25 minute drive) provincial park - Big Hill Springs park. It was busy with plenty of families out for a holiday walk, and we were nervous about how our dogs would react, but they were fine, hardly a peep out of them. We did wander off the main path at one point, and had an impromptu scramble through the forest, but we found our way back to the path without encountering anything more dangerous than a squirrel. In the afternoon Olga cooked a full turkey dinner while I took Lara to the main park in Airdrie for a bike ride, and that was Thanksgiving.
Now we're just waiting for the first snow to fall - the weather here is dry. I mentioned this to a work colleague who has lived here for 35 years. He reminded me that we are living in a desert climate, not something you associate with all the snow we will get, but outside of winter, this place is a desert, and I must say it makes a nice change from the showery weather I've been used to.
Back to work tomorrow, although we will get distracted by having to buy Lara an ice-hockey helmet tomorrow before her first skating lesson on Wednesday. And we have to collect our skis and boots from the shop, once they have fitted the bindings. It's none stop here...!
Here are some photos from the weekend (click on any photo to see them all at your own pace in a larger window):
We took the opportunity of Dan being at nursery on Friday, but Lara being off school, to go down to a ski equipment shop in Calgary and get ourselves measured up for skis and boots. We were in there for 2 hours and poor Lara got a bit bored once she had been measured up, and had picked out the skis she liked. But it's all over now, we're sorted out, and can really look forward to the first ski trip in a couple of weeks time.
On Saturday we took a drive out to Lake Louise, after a little stop off in Canmore en-route. We went out to see Moraine Lake, close to Lake Louise, and it was beautiful. Lara enjoyed climbing the moraine, and was pretty confident about it, even if Olga and I had our worries, and I was the one that had to follow her up! We drove back from Lake Louise to Banff along Highway 1A, the "old" road dating back from before they built the Trans-Canada Highway. We'd been told there was a much better chance of seeing bears and other wildlife, and whilst we didn't see any, it was a lovely drive. The whole day was about a 275 mile round trip, but certainly worth it.
On Sunday we did traditional Bank Holiday housey-type stuff, while our neighbours were entertaining friends and family. At least our garage looks a little tidier now!
On Monday the weather was perfect, blue skies with no clouds. So we loaded everyone into the car, including the dogs and drove to a local (only a 25 minute drive) provincial park - Big Hill Springs park. It was busy with plenty of families out for a holiday walk, and we were nervous about how our dogs would react, but they were fine, hardly a peep out of them. We did wander off the main path at one point, and had an impromptu scramble through the forest, but we found our way back to the path without encountering anything more dangerous than a squirrel. In the afternoon Olga cooked a full turkey dinner while I took Lara to the main park in Airdrie for a bike ride, and that was Thanksgiving.
Now we're just waiting for the first snow to fall - the weather here is dry. I mentioned this to a work colleague who has lived here for 35 years. He reminded me that we are living in a desert climate, not something you associate with all the snow we will get, but outside of winter, this place is a desert, and I must say it makes a nice change from the showery weather I've been used to.
Back to work tomorrow, although we will get distracted by having to buy Lara an ice-hockey helmet tomorrow before her first skating lesson on Wednesday. And we have to collect our skis and boots from the shop, once they have fitted the bindings. It's none stop here...!
Here are some photos from the weekend (click on any photo to see them all at your own pace in a larger window):
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