Category: canada

Ha Ling Peak: Ten

It was suspiciously windy in the valley when we set off for my tenth Ha Ling Peak ascent of the year, and the Moosling’s first ascent on the outside.

We were just below the treeline when a stop was called for a nappy/diaper change and a feeding. The change on the mountain side went smoothly, apart from the boy starting to slide down off the changing pad thanks to the lack of handy flat ground. Then it was onwards and upwards and into the wind. And by golly was there a lot of it.

Mountainside diaper change

We were about 100 metres short of the summit when we were hit by a gust strong enough to leave everyone crouching (and one of us minus a pair of sunglasses) – and that was about when we decided we didn’t want to be blown off the mountain, so maybe we’d just go and enjoy the view from the saddle.

A little bit windy – on the edge of the saddle

So after narrowly avoiding a terrible windy fate, we hiked back down again (as you do), and were terribly grateful to arrive in the trees where the wind could no longer throw rocks at us.

Goat Valley views, heading back down again

And the Moosling slept snug in his baby sack and sling all the way to the bottom of the mountain, blissfully unaware of any wind (or the trembling leg muscles).

Food break

canada general

And so now it’s Winter?

It feels like we’ve gone from yellow trees to snow in the space of a week. Maybe it’s a few weeks – time does weird things when you’re never getting more than a couple of hours sleep in a row.

(There was more snow around first thing, it was all beginning to melt a bit by the time I decided to get up)

canada general

Autumnal

Post author By megan
Post date 17.9.2010
1 Comment on Autumnal

All of a sudden all of the leaves are turning yellow (and orange) and falling off

Aspen? Beech? I need to get me some tree edjumacation

Looking out over the yellowing trees of Canmore from below the Nordic Centre

Cougar Creek – not flowing at all now

So that’s the end of “Summer” in the Bow Valley

canada general

The Grand Dinosaur Adventure

Post author By megan
Post date 11.9.2010
1 Comment on The Grand Dinosaur Adventure

(aka We Finally Visit The Royal Tyrrell Museum at Drumheller)
(and the World’s Largest Dinosaur)
(and the Moosling slept the whole time)

Black Beauty ( a Tyrannosaurus Rex fossil found in Alberta)

Stegosaurus

Archaeopteryx – a copy of the Berlin specimen, discovered in 1876 (the guy who originally found the fossil exchanged it for a cow)

Albertosaurus – a tyrannosaurid that used to live in Alberta

Woolly mammoth!

canada general

The Highland Games

The Mass Pipe and Drums gathering

It was the 20th annual Highland Games in Canmore – lots of bagpipes and kilts and knitted socks with things tied round them, and caber tossing, drums and highland flinging. And genuine Scottish accents. And sheepdogs.

Most of the day was cold, overcast and miserable – nice and authentic highland weather. We took the moosling out for a few wanders around to check out everything, and ended up at the far end of the field for the mass pipe and drum event. They marched up to within 5 metres of us, bagpipes blaring, and he didn’t even stir – there really is something to the phrase ‘sleeping like a baby’.