Half Term In The Rockie Mountains...

The last week of February saw half term at Ralston School so we thought we would make the most of it and off to the Rockies we went for a spot of skiing. We drove up midweek and was up on Thursday morning all ready to hit the slopes at Sunshine Village. However as we came off the highway we were stopped at the beginning of the drive up the mountain to be told that due to the extreme cold -32degrees the mountain was not opening until much later. So with a quick turn around we drove into Banff for morning coffee and a brisk walk around the town - it really was very cold. We then came to the conclusion that there would be a lot of people waiting for the lifts to open at Sunshine (especially people who had caught the bus up the mountain and had no way of leaving) so headed off to Norquay instead.

This was our first time skiing at Norquay and although much smaller than Lake Louise and Sunshine is was fine for an afternoon ski - again we could only manage 3 runs before coming in to warm up and then out again. Tegan and Fraser were not particularly enjoying the afternoon so by 4pm we called it a day and headed back to the Copperstone Hotel where we were staying and jumped into the hot tub. So the remainder of the evening was spent in the hot tub with a G&T before tea and bed.

Friday morning we drew back the curtains to be met with glorious bright blue sky with not even a whisper of a cloud - however we knew immediately that ment cold. Yet again it was so cold Sunshine was not opening until 11am - so with a lazy start we eventually made our way up the mountain. This time the afternoons skiing was awesome!!! The slopes were extremely empty, the views of the mountains surrounding us with clear blue skies were breadth taking - the only problem was that it was still so cold my camera would not work, hence no pictures. Tegan and Fraser skied really well and it was great fun us all sking together. Eventually it was time to leave the slopes so we skied off the mountain back to the car. Tegan and Fraser both had fantastic afternoons along with finding as many jumps through the trees as they could.

Back at the hotel it was hot tub time, then Fraser managed to cut his big toe open so rather than turning the hot tub red we made a quick dash back to our room for Chris to carryout first aid - I am a poor mum when it comes to blood.

Saturday morning it was decided that due to Fraser's toe he couldn't put on his ski boots, so Tegan and I went skiing for a girls morning whilst Chris and Fraser went into Banff. The boys had a great time as they went and watched some ladies curling and then for over an hour watched Timbits Ice Hockey. For those of you who are not aware Tim Hortons is a national institution in Canada - they serve good coffee and doughnuts, they also sponsor many children activities and one of them is junior hockey - hence the name Timbits. Fraser thought it was great watching children his age and a little older playing hockey, Chris thought it was hilarious watching them fall over. Whilst the boys were doing boy things Tegan and I had a great morning skiing the slopes of Sunshine.

After a quick change back at the hotel we drove to Calgary Saddledome to watch the Calgary Hitmen(3) vs Kelowna Rockets(4) ice hockey match. This was a treat for Tegan and Fraser, especially Fraser who's face was a picture when he entered the Saddledome to see how big it was and the noise levels were amazing. So with our hotdogs, fries and drinks we settled into our seats to watch the game. The standard of play is extremely fast, at points you lost sight of the puck but a great game to watch. It was 9.45pm by the time the game finished and we set of with the other hundreds of people to drive out of the city centre and back to Canmore.

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.

Wildlife in our very own Garden...

With the mountains of snow that we have around the village there is an abundance of wildlife, primarily very hard rabbits and herds of deers. The deers are becoming far too tame as people have been feeding them, although notices have been placed on the BFBS broadcasting channel informing us not to feed. They have also worked out how to knock your bin lid off and pull all the rubbish out - very annoying not at all cute.

However it is a lovely sight to open your curtains and see the deers that have been sleeping for the night in your garden. Tegan and Fraser are continuously excited when the deers are there.

Burns Night & Med Hat Tigers....

Friday 28 January - Chris and I attended the annual Burn's Night held in the Offr's Mess. The mess had been decorated in a Scottish theme with coates of arms adorning the walls all of which had been covered in material, tartan runners were laid down all the tables, a false fireplace had been erected with antlers each side and a picture of the Queen and Rabbie Burn's.

The team of organisers had worked extremely hard and transformed the mess. On entering the mess a 'young Rabbie Burns' was working hard on his poetry, although his poems were a little flaky! Robert Burns was born 25 January 1759 - 21 July 1796, he was also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son. We were all piped into dinner where we enjoyed a traditional dinner of haggis with tatties & neeps - lovely.

The dinner commenced with the address to the haggis and the immortal memory- all in Scottish obviously, some of which went totally over my head (a foreign language to most of us). Throughout the dinner several people stood up either reciting a poem or addressing the laddies & lassies. Also members of the Medicine Hat Scottish Country Dancers kindly came and danced for us all, all very entertaining. Eventually the dinner finished and it was time to take to the dance floor for some reeling. Chris, as always at Burns Night, declined from reeling so I found myself a partner and managed to do a few dances, not particularly well but great fun. We got home at 2.45am after a fantastic night. It is still very strange, but lovely, going out in DJ and posh frocks with your snow boots on and snow falling as you drive home.

Unfortunately the remainder of the weekend I was ill and stayed in bed, hence Chris was in charge and took Tegan and Fraser on Sunday to Ralston Arena to meet the Medicine Hat Tigers - much to Fraser's excitement. Although when it came to skating with guys from the team Fraser suddenly became shy.







My Heart's In the Highlands - Robert Burns

Farewell to the highlands, farewell to the North
The birth place of Valour, the country of Worth;
Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,
My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer;
Chasing the wild-deer, and following the roe,
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

Sylvan Lake...

Friday 21 January - International Pot Luck Supper. Laura (the Base Commander's Wife) and a group of girls organised an international pot luck supper for all the girls in the village which took place in the Jubilee Arms basement. The intention was to bring along as many different dishes from around the world - not sure where my pasta salad really comes from!! Laura and her band of helpers did an amazing job decorating the basement and providing us all with games to participate in. My favourite was the indoor curling - the girls had improvised curling to 4 frozen plastic containers with the bottoms cut out with solid ice inside and 4 floor mops thus throwing the ice containers across the floor to a brilliant marked out zone. There was also a general knowledge quiz and a random game of what you have in your handbag - great if I'd read the advice not to change handbags before coming to the evening; unlike me who got out my tiny bag that contained lipstick, perfume and not much else. By the time I left for my little walk home the snow was falling, something that has happened much more frequently compared to last year. This was slightly concerning as we were due to leave for Sylvan Lake, Red Deer north of Calgary the following morning.

Saturday morning arrived and the village was yet again covered in more snow; approx another 10 centimeters had fallen. Not to be put off (we are in Canada you know) we shovelled our way to the car, loaded everything in and set off to Sylvan Lake, just outside Red Deer which was approx 31/2 hours away. The first part of the journey from here to Brooks was very gentle journey as the highway was littered with cars that had come off the road and into snow drifts. Slightly worrying when we saw a tanker overturned on the road, which by looking at it had only recently happened. So with plodding along very carefully we made our way up to Calgary and then North to Sylvan Lake. Friends Dave & Helen had very kindly invited us up to Sylvan Lake to go and watch the Red Deer Rebels against the Moose Jaw Warriors. We met Dave and Helen at Sylvan Lake where we put on our skates and had a go at skating on a frozen lake. So many times we have told Tegan and Fraser not to go near a frozen lake as it is dangerous, however, this was a bespoke area organised for skating; there we were encouraging them to skate and play hockey - how fab was this!!! It really was great, there were two areas that had been cleared for skating, along with people out on their skidoos whizzing across the frozen lake, guys in their fishing huts who had drilled holes in the ice to fish (who in their right minds would want to sit in a tiny tiny hut on ice trying to catch a fish!!??) the whole lake had an amazing community feel about it. So after a while skating and playing hockey - according to Fraser the boys won - we headed to Dave and Helen's house to drop off our bags.

Then it was into the cars for a 15 min drive into Red Deer to the ENMAX Centrium stadium. After buying our tickets we walked into an amazing stadium with all the hustle and bustle before a game. Tegan and Fraser's faces were alight with all the noise and things going on. Our seats were up in the gods so after a Everest climb we took our seats ready for the game, before deciding we needed some food and refreshments. As always the atmosphere in the ice hockey stadiums is amazing not only with the music playing but the loyalty of all the teams supporters there to shout and cheer the loudest - absolutely brilliant. Pleased to say that the Red Deer Rebels won the game with an exciting finish - Moose Jaw Warriors pulled their goalie in order to put another player on the ice in an attempt to get a goal - however the Rebels made a long shot down the ice and into the unattended goal - huge cheers from the crowd, including all of us.

So back to Dave and Helen's and kids to bed whilst we sat up drinking and chatting until 2am - needless to say it was a slow start Sunday morning, Helen very kindly providing much needed bacon sandwiches. On the way home we called into Cross Iron Mills - a large indoor shopping mall in Calgary - Fraser wanted to look at skate boards - his new thing and is currently saving all his pocket money towards one - here comes the summer - as I write this it is -43degrees!!! A great weekend enjoyed with very good friends.

A Week Of Snow....

10 January - the week has been an endless 'dumping' of snow. 7am on Monday morning it was announce on the BFBS morning radio show that school was closed due to the roads being inaccessible, at this point Fraser punched the air and shouted 'yesss'. So with a slow start to the day we eventually made it across to the gym (trudging through thigh high snow on the kids, at one point it was easier for them to crawl than walk) in order for me to do a Zumba fitness class whilst Tegan and Fraser ran round the gym with friends. Later that day we went out again to play on the massive snow pile at the edge of Porton Place, this is a cul-de-sac and the snow plough drives round the circle and leaves all the snow in one large pile at the end, perfect for sledging. Sam kindly then fed all the children tea and before I knew it the none school day had suddenly disappeared, not so bad.

Tuesday 3 of us made a quick dash out of the village in order to buy in provisions as it was reported that it would snow for the remainder of the week and there really is only so much you can buy in the Canex, it is not famous for its fresh produce or range of goods (however it can be very handy at times). So we called into Costco and not only came out with food but also 7 boxes of snorkel, masks and flippers, Spring coats, swimming costumes, sledges and an inversion table.

That night the Icemen played the Chieftans. It was also the decision making night for who had grown the best mustache in the Icemen team. Most of the team members had taken up the challenge and grown some either very hideous caterpillars or some 'barley there' ones. Some of us Icemen wives donned mustaches whilst watching the game. The winner was announce in the pub later that night - 'sexy' Dave won with not only a very large caterpillar but also handlebars up his face. Thank goodness Wednesday morning Chris was freshly shaven and looking good again.

Wednesday and the remainder of the week the snow returned each day gently covering the village deeper and deeper. Walking Jinx has become more of a work out as it can be hard work walking through the snow, then again at -27degree Jinx isn't too keen to go out for very long.

The weekend started around midday for me with lunch at Noo's followed by an afternoon in Sam's hottub with a small bar to hand in the snow. We all then continued the motion with the guys coming round and us all pulling together supper for the kids and adults. The night followed on with Wii Dance and Wii Sing - brilliant fun. Saturday Tegan went round the village with the Girl Guides collecting recycling whilst Fraser went to his ice skating lesson. Chris and I then went to do the Saturday shinney - always good exercise. That evening whilst I relaxed on the sofa watching Eclipse Chris attending a leaving dinner in Medicine Hat. Sunday was a quiet day with a family trip to the swimming pool to test out the new snorkel & mask.
So with the snow falling frequently and lots of shovelling of snow to keep our path and driveway clear January is passing by quickly. The village is also packed with deer wondering around. The deer are becoming very confident and happy to come right up to the houses to get food. It is a wonderful sight as you get up in the morning to see the deer sitting at the front of our house quite happily snuggled into the snow. Along with the deer with have the 'hard as nails' rabbits, they litter the cul-de-sac quite happy hopping along.

First Week Back in Ralston 2011....

First week back in Ralston since all the Christmas and New Year excitement and still as busy as ever. Chris went back to work on Tuesday and Tegan and Fraser back to school on Wednesday - so some normality is slowly returning. The Icemen met up for training on Wednesday and in true squaddie style they did 21/2 hours of training/shinney - great for the body after not playing for several weeks, along with another shinney Friday afternoon.

Monday & Tuesday Tegan and Fraser finally got round to playing with some of their Christmas gifts. Fraser spent several hours on a crystal mining set - slowly chiselling away at a block of rock - or rather in Fraser's way beating it hard. He finally gathered 13 rocks and was delighted at cleaning them all and lining them up. Tegan began sewing her bag - her first go at sewing - it could take quite a while to complete, but is looking good.

Wednesday I had my first trip back to the physio to see how my wrist/arm is progressing. Obviously skiing has been a great form of physio and my wrist is healing really well. Back to ice hockey for me then next week.
Saturday morning we woke up to a blizzard ragging throughout the village. Tegan and Fraser were due to return to their skating classes but everything was cancelled. Slowly the village disappeared as the snow grew higher and higher. Chris ventured out to take Jinx on a very short walk by which time Jinx's face was frozen from the snow and Chris couldn't see the village or anything else. So we shut all the doors and stayed inside. We didn't appreciate how bad the weather actually was until we heard stories of cars overturned on the highway and a Greyhound coach that had been in a fatal accident about 2 hours up the highway causing the road to be closed. Several people from the village who were due to return have had to book into hotels anywhere they can find them.

Sunday the Devils ice hockey team were due to host their annual PSP match. This is where the 1st year Devils get to play against the PSP staff (Canadian gym staff) which is a comedy to watch. Again due to the weather this was cancelled but in its place was a Devils shinney - much to my delight this meant I could return to the ice and get a game - exciting after 3 1/2 months of not even stepping on the ice. We had a fantastic game - Blacks vs Reds and everyone was in good spirits. It had also been arranged for a pot luck Sunday roast to take place after the PSP match so this carried on with about 80 people going to the basement for lunch. Due to all the time changes Chris stayed home and cooked all the parsnips (my contribution towards the lunch) and swept our pathway for 11/2 hours whilst I played ice hockey. We then all went for Sunday lunch and had a great afternoon with friends in the village. The Medicine Hat Tigers were also due to come to the arena but again this was cancelled due to the weather - fingers crossed they will reschedule as Fraser was so excited.
It is a wondererous thing living in Canada and experiencing so many different things - everything from the blizzards where you step out of your door and sink knee deep to having some deers pop along for a bit of a snack. Thursday afternoon I was sweeping the path, a daily ritual almost when along walked a couple of deers, so I couldn't resist cutting up an apple and feeding them.