Prairie Rose Club Wives Winter Exercise...

Friday 4 Feb - After taking Tegan and Fraser to school, walked Jinx round the prairie I rushed home and packed my bag for a weekend away with 59 other girls up in the Rockie Mountains. I was on the Prairie Rose wives winter exercise which is kindly organised by volunteer girls who run the PRClub. So with bags packed we all met in the gym car park to board our coach, as there were so many of us we actually had a coach and 2 smaller mini buses. After a while on the coach the games began, first off was a couple of games of bingo - great fun on a coach with 45 girls getting very excited - followed by a general knowledge quiz. Before we knew it we had arrived at TEC. TEC is an Army adventure training base which provides great training for the guys who come out to Canada and kindly accommodated all of us wives. The facilities are fairly basic but all the equipment they provide are top class.

So we were all allocated our dorms with 20 girls in each. After picking a bed and unpacking it was time to get into our Superheros costumes for the party that evening. Five of us had decided to go as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the 5th one being 'mummy turtle' - Noo took on that role to perfection. After supper we all headed to another building for the games to begin. Once again the PRC girls had organised a range of games which were great fun, albeit a little chaotic at some points. The Turtles were voted the best superheros - after which we could all take off our army sleeping bags by this time were far too hot. The evening was great fun with girls trailing off to their dorms as and when they were ready, a few hardcore girls carried on until late into the night. Mind you even if you had gone to bed earlier you were never going to get to sleep with some much coming and going and the lights on.

Due to the large number of girls the following morning the first 40 were on the coach at 8am after breakfast at 7am in order to get to Spray Lakes for dog sledging. Needless to say there were girls who were worse for wear and needed several brown paper bags! Our coach could not make the journey up the mountain to Spray Lakes so we were collected by Howling Dog tours and onto 3 smaller mini buses for the ride up the mountain. Our guide was very informative and happy to answer all our questions about the dogs and the mountain area we were in. Spray Lakes were originally 15 smaller lakes until they were merged together in order to form the reservoir and hydro-electric development which now generates power for Canmore and the rest of the Bow River Valley.

On our arrival all the dogs were waiting for us to start our experience of dog sledging. We split up into 3's for each sledge along with a guide. We were allowed to assist in harnessing the dogs and then I held the line for all the dogs to be attached to. The noise of the dogs barking, due to excitement, was astonishing and you couldn't hold a conversation. I started off the ride standing on the back of the sledge with the guide whilst the other two girls sat in the sledge, covered with blankets. Although there were 7 dogs on each sledge the ride wasn't as fast as we all thought it would be - saying that it was great fun. Being on the back you had to be prepared to jump off and help push round corners or up an incline to assist with the dogs. Trust me - whilst pushing round a corner which has some car tires as a barrier, I managed to catch the edge of one and fell off - after a quick catch up with the dogs and sledge we were off again. Half way round the ride we stopped by Spray Lake and got to walk on the frozen lake and have hot chocolate. Then it was back on the sledge for the ride home. This time I took a place in the sledge with Mel and all our blankets, whilst Sam D got to ride on the back. Arriving back at the meeting place all the dogs were given snacks and water containing chicken soup for taste. After a few cuddles with the dogs we were back on the buses.

Next Tubing. We were driven to Norquay ski slope which has three lanes dedicated to tubing. We all set off up the slope grabbing an inflated ring and either dragging it all the way up the slope - a little hard work involved or for those that wanted a slightly easier ascent they could hitch their tube onto a lift and be dragged up. At the top you lined up on one of the 3 lanes and waited for your turn to be launched down the slope for a 20 second blast. Sam T and I then made it our mission to walk up the slope everytime and to get do as many runs we could - after 2 hours we managed 10 goes of being whizzed round and round down the slopes - fantastic fun.

Back on the bus and off into Banff for supper at a local pub, we also joined up with the other group who had done the same activities just in reverse order. We all spent a couple of hours at the pub enjoying the food and beer and catching up with each other and comparing activities. Then the final activity was Banff Hot Springs - just what was needed after tubing. It was snowing as we arrived at the springs, approx 7.30pm ish and the poor unsuspecting people all ready in the springs didn't know what hit their quiet Saturday night when 60 British girls 'quietly' not! jumped in. It was a great evening outside in the pool with the snow falling. The picture left is before we all made a splash, see bottom of the page.

History of Banff Upper Hot Springs:

Pre-1880’s Canada’s Native people were the first to soak in the hot springs. These were sacred waters – a place to cure illness and maintain health.

1882 Canadian Pacific Railway workers discover the Cave and Basin Hot Springs at the foot of Sulphur Mountain. The discovery captures the attention of the nation and leads to the creation of Banff Canada's first national park.

1884 Europeans visit the Upper Hot Springs for the first time.

1886 Construction of the first log shack and the Grand View Villa and bathhouse, later known as the Grand View Hotel.

1901 Grand View Villa is destroyed by fire and rebuilt.

1904 Construction of the first government facility at the Upper Hot Springs, on the site of today's Rimrock Resort. The facility offers two cement plunge basins, several bath tubs and a 7.2 m x 7.2 m swimming basin.

1915 The Upper Hot Springs road opens to motorists.

1931 The Grand View Villa burns again. The federal government acquires the lease for the property and begins work on the Upper Hot Springs bathhouse.

Banff Upper Hot Springs pool and bathers circa 1932" width="250" height="166"> Banff Upper Hot Springs pool and bathers circa 1932 © Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies / V488(52)D, circa 1932

1932 On July 1, the Upper Hot Springs bathhouse opens, complete with sulphur water swimming pool, plunge baths, steam rooms, tubs, showers and dressing rooms. It’s splendour rivals the famous spas of Europe.

1961 The pool is reconstructed and the interior of the bath house modified.

1995 Restoration of the bathhouse to its 1932 appearance occurs. The restored bathhouse opened in August 1996 with a new spa, restaurant and gift shop as added services.

2001 Pleiades Massage and Spa expands space within the bath house and offers a greater range of services to visitors.

After our time in the springs was up it was time for the drive back to TEC by which time most of us girls were all feeling very sleepy.

Sunday - Up again for breakfast - 7 - 7.30am not much of a Sunday slow start. This mornings activity was snow shoeing at Johnston Canyon. We were met in the carpark by our guides and split up into smaller groups. Eight of us and Geoff (our guide) set off up the canyon, Geoff was extremely eager to tell us everything about the canyon and was a fantastic guide.

The canyon is divided into the Lower Falls and the Upper Falls. Obviously at the time of year we took the walk all the waterfalls were frozen into amazing ice structures glistening in the winters sun. Geoff imparted his knowledge of all the transformations which had taken place over the many many years the canyon took to form and the wildlife that inhabits the area. We made it up to the Upper Falls where Geoff pulled out hot chocolate and maple cookies for a snack whilst admiring the views. I would love to go back during the summer to hear the thunderous sound of the rushing water down the canyon.

Finally it was back to TEC, clear our rooms and onto the bus for the drive back to Ralston and our families.

The PRC girls who organised the weekend worked really hard throughout the weekend and provided us all with a fantastic time away.