Prairie Land

I have a TO DO list as long as my arm (that's 3 feet of schtuff to do people), but instead I'm choosing to write a post.  I may be happy now, but I'll pay for this tomorrow.  C'est la vie (I speak so little French, I had to look up how to spell that cute little phrase I just used).

Remember when I mentioned I would catch you all up on the past 81 days.  Yes, well, this is another attempt at such.  We visited Alberta in July on our vacation!  I was in a cast and we were camping in a 5th wheel.  Need I say more?!?  Of course I do...

Oh Alberta, you are a province all your own!  We crossed over into Alberta just after noon sometime...taking the ferry in the morning and just enjoying the ride.  (About now you're asking yourself, "is she going to be this detailed about the entire week?!?)  

Our first destination was Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump.  Now there's a name for you.  Weird (and a little creepy) name aside, it was an amazing museum.  We camped in a nearby town (more on that later) and explored the 6 story museum.  The museum itself was very well done, displaying all manner of Native artifacts and history around the buffalo jump.  The only problem?  It wasn't designed for people on crutches!  There were lots and lots of stairs...there were elevators, but it was just as much work getting to them as it was going on the stairs.

Never heard of a buffalo jump?  I hadn't either...click here for more info.

After heading out from the buffalo jump, we travelled north to Calgary.  We stayed with some members of a Covenant church who had a little farm land.  This was the best campsite we had all week!  Let's just say that while we appreciate the comforts of an RV, we don't love sleeping like sardines in an RV park.  

While in Calgary this time we took a ride on a monster truck, the boys rode a horse (Shalem's first time!), went to the movies, and made a stop to the Bass Pro Shop.  Yahoo.  

I have to mention that while we were in the Bass Pro shop, we literally ran into our good friend Dave.  He and his family go to our church in Balfour.  Talk about a funny reunion!  These hunting boys all think alike!!

After our short stay in Calgary (ever notice how some people pronounce it Cal-gury, and some people say Cal-Gary??) we headed to Drumheller.  

Can I just say, Drumheller is amazing.  The Royal Tyrrell Museum is world class people, world class.  It has reproduction dinosaurs (you know, dinosaurs that look real), skeletons, interactive games, and a ton of fossils.  It also has kids programs running throughout the day.  It took us the better part of the afternoon to see the museum, and even then we felt like the kiddos were rushing from one exhibit to another.  

The boys looking scared excited about dinosaurs.

The boys looking excited scared about the T-Rex.

Measuring up...

How I saw the museum!

Another great thing about Drumheller is the variety of things to do.  We visited a place called Reptile World;  t had a horrible smell (well, it did!) and lots and lots of reptiles.

 The boys also climbed to the top of a giant T-Rex while I waited below and took pictures.

Right next to the giant T-Rex there was a great splash pad.  The boys had a lot of fun just running through this fountain.  The only problem?  Besides the fact that I could only be an observer?  Mosquitos!  Just be sure to bring your bug spray...

Our classy fire pit at the RV park.  Yup, we paid $10 to borrow this old lawn mower fitted with a washing machine drum.  Genius design really.  Sort of takes away from the whole "we're camping" feel, though.

Overall, Drumheller is a stop I'd do again.  Maybe next time we'd try and find a more remote place to sleep, but there were so many things to see and do--it was a big hit!!

Next stop:  Calgary!  We travelled back to Calgary to see some more sights and to surprise the boys.  My mom and dad came over from Seattle to meet us at the Calgary Zoo!

You guys don't understand how reminiscent this is of 20 years ago.  Picture me, 13 years old, on vacation with my parents...getting pushed by my dad in a wheel chair because of the same broken bone.  Weird!

The zoo was one of the boys' favourite things up to this point in the trip.  Jason and I both felt a little disappointed in how few animals we saw, but the kids didn't seem to notice.  They were too busy eating ice cream and drinking the soda their Nana bought them!

What would a trip to Calgary be without a day at the great Calgary Stampede?!?  

Look at the giant corn dog the boys shared--they couldn't even finish!  Do I dare mention that we bought it at a booth claiming to be from Texas?  Are you surprised?  (I'm not)

After crutching through throngs of people, we made it to the grandstand.  Talk about world class rodeo--I've been to a lot of rodeos, but this was amazing!

Most of the cowboys stayed on the full 8 seconds!  What a show!

The boys loved seeing the bulls, but I think the bucking broncos were their favourite. 

Just a little tip about the Stampede:  don't go on family day!  We accidentally bought our tickets for that day and it was PACKED.  It was okay, because we were there primarily for the rodeo, but had we been trying to play games or ride rides, the line-ups would have been extra long.

After a few more days in Calgary with my folks, we loaded up the truck and trailer and headed west.

We drove through Banff and the boys had to try the stream water...Korban's taking a drink in the photo above.  

After Banff it was "so long Alberta!"  We survived our first RV trip together.  And, it was great!  It wasn't without the normal family hangups, but it was an awesome trip.  We saw and experienced things that hopefully won't be forgotten.  On a side note, when we got home I made a Shutterfly book of our trip to help the boys remember.  They love looking at it!

I hope you all have enjoyed your summer and were able to explore something new.  Perhaps Alberta will be on your list for next year!