Carla Schoepfle

Going to the Canadian Rockies for vacation was so much fun.  The day of travel up was a bit rough.  It messed up everyone’ sense of time so much that we all were immediately on Central time.

We kept our hikes short, but I was really surprised at how good Ian did on them.  On our first day I had only expected to make it to the first set of falls in Johnston Canyon, but Ian wanted to see the upper falls too.  He made it the whole way!  After that we still had time to make some hearty Vegetable soup for the the rest of our stay.

On Monday, it happened to be raining at Baker Creek, so we headed up to the Columbia Ice field’s Athabasca Glacier.  On the drive, we saw rain, sleet, and snow!  After we got back, Ian finally got to meet Leah and Flynn (who live up at Baker Creek Chalets) , who he got to play with the rest of our stay.

My grandmother really loves Yoho and spent years camping there.  So it was a lot of fun on Tuesday to take a tour of Yoho.  We got to see Takakkaw Falls, take a canoe ride on Emerald Lake, and see the Spiral Tunnel.  On the way back to the cabin, we saw a small Blackbear eating clover on the side of the road!  It was very exciting.

The next day was so pretty and sunny, that we took a Gondola ride up the Lake Louise ski slopes.  We saw a coyote on the slopes below.  From the top there was a nice view of Lake Louise.  After that, we drove over to Lake Louise for a picnic lunch.  It was nice to see the lake from two different perspectives.

We also experienced Ian’s first turn at roasting marshmallows.  He seemed to like eating them out of the bag better than waiting for them to roast. 

On our last day in the Parks, we went to Kootenay National Park which had had a large forest fire in 2003.  However, the fireweed and new pines that had come out and were growing everywhere were gorgeous.  We hiked up to the paint pots and through marble canyon (definitely a really fun hike for a younger audience).  On our way back to the cabin, we saw an elk eating grass on the side of the road (definitely a reason to end quiet time).

That evening we had an early celebration for my grandmother’s 87th birthday with brownies, sprite (for Ian) and campaign.  Definitely a good party.

Glad we made the trip home in two days (first day was driving to Calgary).  It gave us time to see the zoo, where we got to see some of the animals we didn’t see in the wild.

We had an awesome time in Boston.  We started our adventure at my cousin Kate’s wedding.  After Ian’s fever went away, we spent lots of time dancing.  Ian wore both me and his grandma out!

Since an 8 hour train ride for visiting only one day would be silly (or insane), we stayed for the rest of the week.  We started by seeing the Boston Children’s Museum. 

Then because Ian’s fever returned, we took a trip to the Massachusetts General Hospital.  We planned to go to the clinic, but as the clinic doesn’t see children Ian’s size, the ER was the only option.  So after learning that it’s not an infection and “patience” is our only medicine, we headed out to the Aquarium.

The next day was water themed.  We happened to go to the opening day of the frog pond.  If the little park near us becomes half of the fun, that will be a major accomplishment!  Then we took a trip on a swan boat.  We finished off with all five of us (Pete, Ian, me and my folks) taking a duck tour.  We may have to take the duck tour back here in DC too!

Later, we learned that even though the guide book says “all ages”, it does not make it so.  The science museum didn’t end up being of too much interest.  I guess your can’t win them all.  The Boston common park made a good alternative.  I guess if your are not in an age range that has to pay, you probably are not interested.

On our last day, Pete made a solo trip to Mass General for a twisted ankle.  Since the Children’s meuseum was the most popular, Ian and I spend all day there.  Then after dinner, and since it was Friday, we got to spend our evening there too!

We ended up seeing some history too.  Our hotel, the Omni Hotel of Boston, was the oldest continuously running hotel in the US.   The nearest park, where we spent so much time, the Boston Common, was the oldest public park in the US.  Then, the T-stop at the park, Park Street Station, was the first rubway station in the US. 

On my walk to work today, I saw a strange sight.  There was what appeared to be a lot of smoke coming out of one of the mulch rings that the county puts around all the small trees in the parks.  Since there were no actual big flames, I didn’t believe it was actually smoke till I took a second look.  An unfiltered cigarette butt had lit the mulch on fire.  Two dog walkers asked if I had a cell phone.  So I called 911 (for the first time in my whole life).

911 asked where the fire was, and I gave them the nearest cross street and the address of the apartment building across the street.  Then they asked how close it was to the building.  It feels very silly to say – “Uhh it’s in a park next to a tree and not near any building and it’s a small fire”.  So they took my name and telephone number and hung up.

However on the walk home, the fire was definitely put out (and mulch moved to double check).  Apparently Pete and Ian saw the fire trucks that came to rescue the tree from the cigarette butt.