Of mountains and things...

I was so impressed by my trip to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in July that I almost was disappointed to find myself back in Alberta and hiking in the mountains. Almost, but fortunately not entirely. I mean who can be disappointed with clear skies, amazing views and good company. 

My trip to Calgary was short but sweet. I was able to see many of my good friends and even attend a barbeque for my small group, and with gluten-free birthday cake to boot!

we made it!

My brother organized a hiking date for the family and we headed out to Piper Pass in behind Elbow Lake. Great scenery with wildflowers, bighorn sheep and even a waterfall. Had a bit of an adventure when we came across a lady who had lost her husband on the trail, and accompanied her all the way down to the parking lot. Turned out they had passed each other higher up on the trail when he went back to get something he had left behind and then we he did not find her, the husband left to get the RCMP. Fortunately, he returned to the parking lot with an RCMP officer in tow while we were still there and they were reunited in the parking lot. It was a supposed to be a 7 hour hike that ended up taking us around 9 hours with all our stops. Worth the while though.

with the lovely sisterlein

view form near Piper pass

at the surprise waterfall

We made it out to the cabin as well for a dip in the river. Had a family competition to see who could successfully ride the “piglet” (and inflatable raft pillow) for the longest time in the whirlpool. Needless to say my mother is a champion. And then we roasted euro wieners over the fire. The evening was completed with a couple of games of tile rummy amongst a good friend of mine and I. She kept hoping to win and with all the lucky breaks I got, she had to wait until the next time we met About 6 or 7 games later.

the Ghost River

Here are links for a couple of the videos: Momma, Bro, Sis, Yours truly

Small disclaimer though – probably only my family will find these amusing so watch at your own risk

One of the main reasons I came out was for L.’s wedding It was a fun time with the girls and the bachelorette – got to watch Brave for the second time, though this time in English Then continued to have fun at the rehearsal and the wedding. The photographer was also an amazing hairstylist (well she would modestly say she only took cosmetology in high school) and she ended up helping me do my hair as well as the brides. Another lady from church helped us to do our makeup, so we were looking good.  The rain prevented us from holding the ceremony outdoors; however it cleared afterwards so that they could do photos outdoors. We bridesmaids had some fun of our own too. Plus the food was very tasty. And to top it all off, there was swing dancing I could have danced all through the night we were having such a good time haha.

the lovely bride

with the wedding pair

Then back to Quebec I came despite the desire to stay the rest of the week in Calgary. There was a student conference with my church and every year I have thought “that looks great” and every year I have not been able to attend. (Maybe next year !) So somewhat ironically I came back to Québec now wishing for the mountains. Don’t worry, I am happy to be back in Québec and I will be looking forward to my Christmas visit out west

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