Leaving Whitefish...

Wed 22 Dec - Unfortunately our time in Whitefish was up and we had to vacate the house by 10am. So after saying goodbye to the Teskey and Dunn families, who still had another day to enjoy - which we were highly jealous of - we handed in our keys and set off for the 7 hour journey home.

The house that we hired was brilliant for 2 families giving us all plenty of room with lovely views from all windows and the best bit skiing from our back door. Not forgetting the hot tub which at the end of each day was so soothing especially with a pint of gin & tonic. Everything about Big Mountain was great from the slopes, lift guys, staff in the coffee shops and admin office. We had a couple of problems in the house when we first arrived and within 2 days everything had been mended or sorted.

So as we left Whitefish we passed a shop that sold wooden carved bears which we had seen previously on our trip to Montana. With a 'u' turn we popped in a bought a new addition to our house - large black hand carved bear to sit at the front door.

Our journey home to Ralston was great, yet again the sun was out making the trip so much easier. With one quick stop for lunch we were home by 5pm and collected Jinx shortly after who had been staying with friends in Ralston as we were unable to take her to Whitefish.

Skiing & Snow Mobiling...

Mon 20 Dec - We had a day of skiing with snow falling, so visibility wasn't great although not too bad. Fraser again went on the jump park for a while. All the time we have been in Whitefish the temperature has only gone to about -10 degrees which has been pleasant after living in Ralston where it is so much colder.



As we came home, skiing to our back door, Andy was on his balcony (2 doors down from our house) so it was game on for a snowball fight. This then progressed from the balcony down onto the snow with Chris, Fraser and myself against Andy, Mia, Francesca, Millie and Olivia - not sure who won as we started changing sides. Great fun with the light fluffy snow - however it is not great for making snowballs.





Tue 21 Dec - We were all up, dressed and up to the summit of the mountain by 8.30 am as we had booked to go snow mobiling for the morning. Unfortunately there had been an admin error and the guide was unaware of our booking so it was agreed that we would return that afternoon. However the benefit of being on the mountain so early was the amazing sunrise that we watched.

So after skiing for a couple of hours in the morning we repeated the journey again this time to meet our guide. After a brief introduction to the snow mobiles we jumped aboard and set off. The day could not have been more perfect as the mountains were in their glory of sun and snow. From the summit we dropped off to one side in order to take the routes designated for snowmobiling. The first section was a drop down bending round a couple of corners - I must have missed the comment on where exactly the brake was and therefore went whizzing past Chris and the guide with a look of horror on my face - I soon figured out all the relevant controls.

We got to see many miles of the mountains of Whitefish going at speeds of up to 60kmph much to Tegan and Fraser's delight. At one point our path was blocked by a fallen tree so with a small tight path to the side we all managed to get past and continue on our journey, however on the return leg I managed to sink my machine in the soft snow - it would happen to the girl driver!

It was a fantastic afternoon and such an experience for Tegan and Fraser. Towards the end both children were ready to go home as their feet and hands were beginning to get cold but after a hot chocolate and brownie they were more than happy.

Cafe Kandahar...

Sun 19 Dec - Noo, Richard, Chris and I went out for a very grown up dinner at Cafe Kandahar which we could walk to from our house on Whitefish Mountain.

So getting all dressed up - well as much as the Canadians do - clean pair of jeans, bit of jewellery and heels we stomped across the snow to the restaurant (obviously not in heels but snow boots).

Kandahar Lodge is the only hotel on Whitefish mountain and the restaurant has received fabulous reviews - serving out of the ordinary cuisine using very local produce, the restaurant even had white table clothes - not usually found in Canada/America.

So with pre-dinner drinks in the lounge we then took our seats in the restaurant for what was to be a 5 course dinner - thank goodness I had only had a bowl of soup for lunch! Between the four of us our choices of food ranged from pork belly, duck& liver moose, skirt of bison, asparagus & mushroom, rack of lamb, fois grais, scorpion fish, elk roulade, chocolate volcano & chocolate tasting plate - all of the food done in exceptional sauces complementing the different flavours.

Eventually we finished dinner and walked back to our house - very thankful for the walk as our tummies were groaning but happy!!

Snow Ghost Trees...

Sun 19 Dec - A day of glorious skiing with amazing scenery. Again skied from our back door down to the base lift, a quick warm up run on Chipmunk run and then off up the mountain. We skied several runs during the morning before stopping for a hot chocolate and bumping into Noo & Richard. Noo and I decided we would go up to the summit and ski one of the long routes down - this was Noo's first time at the very top of the mountain and she had a great time and did really well.




Chris and Fraser then decided to go off and do some boy stuff including going to the jump park - Fraser is loving his new found confidence but definitely pushing the boundaries of his ability.

Tegan and I took a couple of lifts up the mountain and then skied Home Again to our back door.

Tegan's 7th Birthday...

Sat 18 Dec - Tegan's 7th Birthday in Whitefish, Montana. Tegan started her birthday off with a breakfast in IHOP - International House of Pancakes where she chose the biggest chocolate pancake on the menu - luckily she couldn't quite finish it all. Followed by a little shopping in Kalispell and after dropping me back off at our house on the mountain Chris took Tegan and Fraser off to the cinema to see Yogi Bear. Whilst they were at the cinema I rushed around preparing all the food (with help from Noo) and getting the house ready for a 'surprise' party - that was really Tegan's only request for her birthday.



Luckily for Tegan a lot of her friends were also in Whitefish therefore we were having a party for 10 children. So with everyone here we awaited for her arrival, by which time it was snowing so the drive up the mountain took a little longer for Chris. The house that we have rented has a mezzanine balcony which was a great place for everyone to hide and then shout 'surprise' - Tegan's face was a picture. So with food, helium balloons and music the evening went great. All the children were happy playing so the evening continued with all the adults having a few drinks!

I even manged to get a fudge brownie cake made by a local coffee shop on the mountain and Noo very kindly did some icing on the cake - Tegan was more than happy and had a fabulous birthday - not bad for a 7 year old skiing in Whitefish.

Whitefish, Montana...

Mon 13 Dec - we left Ralston and drove to Whitefish, Montana, USA in 7 hours with a few stops on the way. The drive was fairly painless as the roads were so empty. We arrived at the house we have hired on Big Mountain at 7pm and friends Noo and Richard kindly had tea ready for us all. After a tour round the house, which is brilliant and very comfortable, we ate supper and jumped into the hot tub. The house has 6 levels going from the garage to boot room/den/bedroom/washroom to lounge/kitchen/dinning room to king bedroom to gallery & 2nd king bedroom - more than enough room for us all. Together with 3 balconies and small patio with hot tub where you can ski from our backdoor onto the slopes.

Unfortunately Tue was a day of rain so it became our admin day and food shop. Kalispell is approx 20mins down the road and has all the large shops that you need, along with Churches for every religion. Whitefish is also a lovely town with many boutiques and local small shops.

Wed we were up and ready for skiing, although the lifts do not open until 9.30am so a reasonable start to the day. We spent several hours on Chipmunk (green run) in order to get our ski legs back and then took several high runs including Home Again which took us to our back door - fantastic.

So we have skied Wed/Thu/Fri and the weather each day has improved - today we skied in glorious sunshine still with not many people on the slopes. All the lift guys are really helpful and friendly and the amenities are great, along with gorgeous scenery. Tomorrow it is Tegan's birthday so a surprise party has been ordered by the 6year old going on 7!!!

Dec 10 Catch Up...

Fraser doing a bit of surfing down the only hill in Ralston. Great fun going down shame about the walk back up the hill.

We are in full swing of winter with temperatures going from zero down to -24 degrees - your nose hairs start to freeze at this point!







SSAFA Christmas Fair - Father Christmas arrives by helicopter to the joy of the children.

The fair was held in Ralston's theatre on Sunday 28 Nov and was well supported by the community. It was fantastic seeing Tegan and Fraser's face as the helicopter landed and father christmas stepped out onto the snow. They both decided to whizz inside and get into the queue to see him - their quick thinking got them 2nd in the queue.

During the fair a raffle was held which we bought tickets for. The table was full of good prizes and amazingly we won a prize. Chris let Tegan go up to the table and pick the prize - luckily she chose a nights stay at the Copperstone Hotel up in Canmore - fantastic more skiing.

Treasure Island at Ralston School. The Missoula Children's Theatre came to Ralston School and gave the children a chance at performing. Tegan was picked from Grade 2 to take part - as a seagull. She was thrilled to be picked and thought her seagull costume was great. The children had rehearsals Tue - Thur and then put on 2 shows during Friday. So we all went to Ralston theatre to watch the performance which was surprisingly good considering the very short period they had to learn the play. Well done to everyone.

Canadian Pacific Railway Holiday Train....

Holidays are coming, holidays are coming...

Tegan, Fraser and I took a trip to down town Medicine Hat to participate in an annual community event tonight - to see the Canadian Pacific Railway Christmas holiday train, which visits over 140 communities along its network. This is a huge annual event with lots of locals turning up to the railway siding to witness the magical illuminated train with all its flashing sparkly lights. The Medicine Hat community provided free hot chocolate and cookies (as much as you liked much to the delight of Fraser) for everyone that came with donations made to the food bank. Noo, Lexi and Harry also joined us with all the children very excited, or was that Noo and myself!

After a short wait the train arrived much to our delight, just after 5pm. The main locomotive was lit up followed by four carriages carrying the Canadian Pacific name, two more carriages decorated with lights and then a carriage with a large metal section in the middle, this was positioned infront of the crowd. Then the metal side was lowered and there was Rocking Santa and his band. We were then entertained for 20 minutes by a brilliant band - Noo had a beaming smile across her face - this really felt like Christmas had arrived. Obviously we were standing on snow with temperatures about -15degrees.

At this point we were in high spirits and decided that we all deserved to go out for Pizza. So after a visit to Boston Pizza, which we all admitted was very nice it was time to drive back to Ralston with tired children, especially as it was only Tuesday night.

History:

The Holiday Train Program began in 1999 with a handful of communities and a few lights on a freight train. Today, with its hundreds of thousands of festive lights and a live show featuring well known performers, it's one of Canadian Pacific's main ambassadors in working with communities in Canada and the United States and is the only fundraiser of its kind for food banks in North America. Since the program's inception, more than 4.8 million in cash and over 2.3 million pounds of food has been collected in Canada and the United States.