Glacier and Revelstoke National Parks

Red chairs at Hemlock Grove!

 Another full day was spent traveling west this time, thru Glacier National park all the way to Revelstoke thru the Rogers Pass.  This was a very interesting and beautiful drive, unique and different from Yoho.  Glacier National Park is huge, but even more remote than Yoho. The valley which the Rogers Pass cuts thru is narrow and so the scenery is different also because this is where the warmer pacific air meets the colder dryer continental systems.  You can tell the difference by the huge evergreens and the jumbo foliage on the floor of the forest.
We followed the parks map and picked out the boardwalk trails along the way. First was Hemlock Grove. 

Next was the Giant Cedars Boardwalk, in Mount Revelstoke National Park. Another short walk but enjoyable and we were amazed and awed at the changes in scenery only miles apart.   We had many things to research and discuss about geography and science from this!  

The last boardwalk was the Skunk Cabbage boardwalk.  This also was in Mount Revelstoke National Park. Many of the longer trails  was closed because of roaming bears hunting for berries, but these hikes were open and well used but even so, we were cautious and bear aware.  A new favorite saying for the boys ... "Be Bear Aware!" 

These final two pictures are for my own interest as most people are not as fascinated in old deserted buildings as I am 😉 The Rogers Pass is intriguing to me as it is the main artery between BC and Alberta yet virtually undeveloped.  There are no gas stations, no bathroom breaks etc. for miles and miles.  Just steep mountains on either side of a well maintained highway and many snow sheds/tunnels on avalanche paths.  This area receives so much snow (10 metres on average per winter!!) it can be a dangerous place to drive in the winter so this makes it much safer as the snow can travel over the road.  In the pass there is a discovery centre to stop at with interactive displays and lessons on being wildlife aware. There are also these deserted buildings. They are the old Glacier Park Lodge hotel buildings for back country skiers.   They are quite famous for their unique shape and obviously location. You'll see them featured in magazines etc. about the area, which is, obviously how I first heard about and saw pictures, of them.  So one of the things I wanted to do was see them as it blows my mind how something so big, unique and in such an ideal location would be closed down!  There is much shrouding the story of these buildings but apparently they are full and were left as is, one day being locked up and closed. There are chairs and dishes and beds unmade... all deserted.  They have been like that for several years now and are probably going to be torn down next year. Anyways, intrigue aside, I managed to see them, and snap a picture or two. 😊

Yoho National Park

Along the TransCanada Highway #1, past Banff and before Golden is Yoho National Park.  We spent one day going thru the main stops at that park. It was one of the places I'd wanted to go to for a long time, as it's astoundingly gorgeous and seriously, who doesn't want to hit up as many National Parks as possible on Canada's birthday year! 
Yoho is unlike Banff in that it is not nearly as touristy and it does not have copious campgrounds or places to stop - there is a little place called "Field" but other than that, no place to get gas, groceries or even a coffee.  Yoho, along with Glacier Glacier National Park are very rugged and wild, undeveloped. It's bear territory, so I was slightly on edge ;)  There are some well known and well marked stopping points - waterfalls and such - but not days and days worth of stuff to do unless you do back country hiking or hiking which is not suitable for small children.  But we had a very enjoyable day seeing the highlights of the park. First up was the Natural Bridge.

We had to hang on to all the kids here as we felt a little nervous about the water!

Beautiful views!

Our big van was put to the travel test and it passed with shining colours! We took four seats out and had tons of room in the back for all our gear. 

Next stop was further down the road, Emerald Lake, which is kind of like an... emerald coloured lake and is the largest of Yoho's lakes.   There was a trail that went all the way around but since it was difficult to take the stroller (for some reason we had decided to take the stroller instead of the backpack carriers) on parts of it I turned around with Abby, Rowan and Marla while Andy continued around it with Seth and Tristan.
There is a tiny holiday village at the base of the lake and it is so cute I'd like to stay there someday:) 

We like to read all the signs and pull over at the viewpoints to learn as much as possible about the area so here we pulled over at a viewpoint for the spiral railway tunnel.  It was difficult to see, but thankfully Seth had his trusty telescope along.
Spiral tunnels are a little hard to discribe but are essentially a tunnel built into a mountain which is circular to overcome a steep incline. They are quite remarkable (called an engineering marvel!) and were built in 1907 copying Swiss designs.  It's in the Kicking Horse Pass which is the most impoertant Pass in the Canadian Rockies.

The final stop and stroll for the day was the Takakkaw Falls, which are about 900 ft. of gushing water. "Takakkaw" loosely translated from Cree means "It is magnificent" and it was a magnificient, we could hear it thundering from the parking lot already which was a good km away.
Parks Canada had set up red adirondak chairs through out Canada for the 150th birthday celebrations and encouraged people to take pictures and share with the hashtag #sharethechair.  Andy and I got right in on the fun and posed at as many chairs as we could find.  😁  It looks so calm and peaceful but don't be fooled... the kids were having a hoot and half behind us and we were saying between smiles "Quick! Are you done yet Tristan??"  |Photo credit to Tristan.

Same chairs. Different persepective/direction. 

White Water Rafting - Kicking Horse River

So in typical style, the boys had everything researched and events planned out before we even left so
high on the list was White Water Rafting.  Turns out the Glacier Rafting Company was only open for two more days due to the sinking levels of water on the Kicking Horse River (which happens every fall) so it was high on the priority list and was accomplished on Wednesday.  What a neat experience and alot of fun for them!  It was a six hour trip, including the bus rides and practicing, a bbq lunch and the trip itself. There were two trips that could be done, one was more family oriented and this is the one Seth and Tristan were allowed to do.  There were two class 3 rapids.  The distance was 12 kilometers. 

 

Cutest rafters of the day 💗

I think Tristan was a bit nervous to go and Seth also had a bit of apprehension, but they couldn't stop talking about it and were beaming from ear to ear when they came home.  They can't wait to go again!

At the end of the trip there was a bbq lunch.

Kicking Horse Resort

September brought our family vacation!  It was something we had looked forward to for a very long time.  We hadn't been away from the farm for an extended amount of time since we had gone to Ontario in April of 2015.  And there is something so refreshing, mind cleaning and eye opening about going away and recharging, it's reinvigorating!  Before we left we were a little anxious about leaving it all behind - the barns were full of chicks, but we had hired help - another first for us.  We knew we needed to go though as Andy and I were feeling uptight and exhausted about everything. In short, we couldn't wait for a change of scenery. 
I'm not writing the above to say to anyone that we aren't/weren't happy.  But we came home after 11 days thoroughly refreshed and with new vision, new goals and seeing the bigger picture once more.  It was so nice to get some space from the little area we call home and to enjoy what God has given.  Its so easy to get caught up in bills and the mundane of everyday, chores and yet more chores, and so when we were fed one Sunday by a faithful pastor from the book of Ecclesiasties on enjoying what God gives as he gives it to be enjoyed it was another good reminder to find time to bathe in sunlight, relax, laugh and slow down and really enjoy what He has given - without guilt! - including take-out coffee and road tripping in this beautiful world. 

First stop in Claresholm!

Five hours of driving and we made it to the BC border - thru Banff and Lake Louise. 

Our destination was Golden BC. Just a tiny town along the Trans Canada highway past Yoho National Park, before Glacier National Park.  Golden has a beautiful ski resort (Kicking Horse Resort) 14 km up into the mountain side and that's where we found a beautiful condo.  The location was perfect for day trips in all directions and the condo was luxurious and big enough for days at home.  We got a good deal since it was "off-season" and it was a lovely way to roll into school, which we did accomplish some of.

Stay tuned for our adventures....
:)

Bylsma Wedding

Yes, Bylsma with a "Y".  Andy's cousin Dianne (who grew up where we now live) married Adam and we were invitied to the wedding which was fun for us as basically it was a date. I even had to get a babysitter for the oldest four kids for an afternoon and evening (which we literally never do) and it was such a beautiful occasion :). It was an elegent, yet simple, summer wedding. Blessings on your marriage Adam and Dianne, thanks for letting us be part of your special day!

Marla was our sweet companion, in her newly made dress and headband. Our little princess!

Dianne looked radiant!

Andy's Aunt Binne and Uncle John Stegenga from Ontario were in Alberta for the wedding. They also came for a coffee to our place. It was good to see them.  💓