Month: January 2020

Day 8 – Hungry Horse Dam

Day 9 – Two Medicine Valley

Pinnable image of Iceberg Lake hike, Glacier National Park

Glacier National Park Day 3 – Driving The Going-To-The-Sun Road

In Camping/Road Trip Adventure, Glacier National Park

On January 29, 2020

When driving the Going-To-The-Sun Road you want to head out early for great light and views without the crowds. The parking lot at Logan’s Pass fills up very early. If it’s full on your drive over in the morning, try to aim for 5pm or later on the way back over and you will probably be able to find a spot. Plan for a full day to explore the road as there are hikes all along the route as well as pull offs and some picnic spots near the bottom on the West side.

There are lots of pull offs along the road to stop and take in the views which we appreciated. The road is narrow and winding so you are not able to take trailers or vehicles that are wider than 8ft or longer than 21ft. If you have a truck where you can fold in mirrors you will find that at certain points you will have to fold them in when passing vehicles going in the other direction.

Once on the other side of the park our first stop was Sacred Dancing Cascade which is a pull off with a very short boardwalk/path to see the falls.

We took being on the West side of the park as an opportunity to stock up on a few grocery items and drove over to Kalispell as we knew we were going to be camping on the West side later in the week and would have time to explore this side of the park.

After a picnic lunch of grocery pick up we started making our way back up over Going-to-The-Sun Road. We had noted a few spots we wanted to stop on the drive over.

There are lots of waterfalls all along the road which are pretty neat to see. Note how low the barriers are along the road, which meant our oldest was too nervous to get out and look at some of the pull offs.

When we reached Logan’s Pass some of the parking spots were starting to open up so we lucked out. Since the sun doesn’t set until quite late we decided we would take the hike to Hidden Lake. This hike is for a large part a boardwalk and stairs to protect the surrounding landscape. The hike is 3 miles with an elevation gain of 500 feet. The trail is fully exposed so, this is best done early morning or early evening and make sure to have water with you.

Watch for mountain goats along this trail as this is their habitat and they will stroll right across the path. Make sure to give them as much room as possible when you see them coming as they are wild animals. We also saw California ground squirrels and a marmot.

Our youngest loved spotting all of the wildflowers along the trail.

This is a beautiful trail and the views are stunning the entire way. We couldn’t believe that we were here and that this was real.

When you reach Hidden Lake there is a viewing platform and this tends to be a busier spot on the trail. The trail continues on if you wish to do more hiking. When we were there, people coming from that portion of the trail warned of bears, so we decided that was as far as we would go.

Once we got back to the parking lot the visitor centre at Logan’s Pass was closing up. Being that it was getting fairly late it was time to keep heading back to our camp site.

At this time of the evening the road was much quieter. We lucked out and saw a black bear on the side of the road on our drive back down. As always, keep your distance and leave the animals alone. There was a family in a vehicle in front of us on the road that were harassing this bear. I pulled out my zoom lens and took this photo from a distance.

Being that it was quiet, it was a great time to stop at the Jackson Glacier pull off so the kids could see the shrinking glacier and get a sense of how quickly glaciers are disappearing.

We then headed home to get a good night’s sleep as we had planned to join a full day ranger led hike the next day. This campground is very open and does get quite windy in the afternoon, early evening. This area of the park sustained a forest fire in 2003 and as such there aren’t any big trees yet. Some of the sites appeared to be a bit more private that others. These are small pull through sites with no hook ups.

If you are visiting the park in June, it is best to check the road conditions to find out if Going-to-the-Sun rd has opened yet. The road typically opens late June and remains open until Thanksgiving, this however is all weather dependent.

Have you driven the Going-to-the-Sun road? If you have driven this road, what were your favourite stops or hikes?

Don’t forget to come back each week for more details of our trip.

If you missed the previous posts, you can find them here:

Day 1 – Ge tting our Bearings in St Mary’s

Day 2 – Waterfalls and a boat tour on the East side of the park

Day 4 – Full day ranger led hike to Iceberg Lake

Day 5 – Quiet day exploring the west side of the park

Day 8 – Hungry Horse Dam

Day 9 – Two Medicine Valley

Glacier National Park Day 2 – Waterfalls and a Boat Tour

In Camping/Road Trip Adventure, Glacier National Park

On January 27, 2020

The kids were up early and raring to go for our first full day in the park. We were hoping to get in a couple ranger guided hikes to waterfalls.

Since we were up so early it gave us a chance to take our time and pull off at the scenic lookouts on our way to our first hike.

The first hike we joined was the hike to Baring Falls. This is an easy child friendly hike that is 2 miles with a 400 ft elevation gain. This trail follows along the lake for a portion as well as through a burn site from a forest fire that happened in this area in 2003.

This would be a quick hike if you did this on your own, but with the ranger it was a couple hours due to stopping to tell us stories of the parks history. It was neat to hear about the huts and accommodations that had been located in this area and see the photos. Once we got to the falls then we were left to do our own thing and hike back at our own pace.

Since this hike was short enough we had time to head back to camp for lunch and to refill water bottles before we needed to be at the dock for our ranger led boat tour of St Mary’s Lake. One our way back to our campsite we lucked out and saw a young grizzly in the distance at Two Dog Flats. We pulled over, I put on my zoom lens and was able to capture a shot while the kids watched through their binoculars from their seats.

There are three ways to access St Mary’s Falls. You can take the boat tour of the lake which will cut off part of the hike, you can hike from the Baring Falls trail head or hike from the St Mary’s Fall trail head. The Baring Falls and St Mary’s Falls trailheads are located along the Going-to-The-Sun Road. If you choose the boat tour option you can join a ranger led hike to the falls and you will cover 3 miles with an elevation gain of 250 ft, making this a great option with young children. If you hike from the St Mary Falls trail head , the hike is 5.2 miles with a total elevation gain of 700 feet.

During the boat tour of the lake, the ranger told us stories and information about the park and the surrounding area, as well as answering any questions anyone had about the park. There is the option to sit outside at the rear of the boat or inside the boat.

Throughout the hike you travel through burn site and see varying landscape. Part of the trail is along a cliff over the lake. We had a great ranger for this hike who really engaged the kids and kept it interesting.

At the waterfalls, we were given a bit of time to sit and have a snack and look around. There were some families who had hiked in on their own that were enjoying swimming in the water at the falls.

On the hike back to the boat, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for wildlife. We stopped and watched a moose off in the distance for a bit with our binoculars. He was swimming so it was neat for the kids to see.

Have you done either of these hikes? What wildlife did you encounter?

Don’t forget to come back later this week for more of our trip to Glacier.

If you missed the first post about our trip to Glacier National Park you can find it here:

Day 1 – Ge tting our Bearings in St Mary’s

Day 2 – Waterfalls and a boat tour on the East side of the park

Day 3- Driving the Going-To-The-Sun Road and hiking at Logan’s Pass

Day 4 – Full day ranger led hike to Iceberg Lake

Day 5 – Quiet day exploring the west side of the park

Day 8 – Hungry Horse Dam

Day 9 – Two Medicine Valley

Glacier National Park Day 1 – Getting our Bearings in St Mary

In Camping/Road Trip Adventure, Glacier National Park

On January 24, 2020

This summer our big family camping trip was to Glacier National Park.

Glacier National Park is situated in Northwest Montana in the Rocky Mountains. The park has a number of entrances, but we chose to start our vacation off on the East side of the park as it is the closest to our home.

The east entrance is located in the village of St Mary which is just over 3 hours from Calgary.

We crossed the border at the Piegan-Carway Port. As it is a small port, be prepared to wait in a line up during busy summer months.

We had been a little late at trying to book a campsite within the National Park so our first night we camped at KOA St Mary. This campground is not very well maintained, with sites overgrown and lots of Cow Parsnip throughout the sites (beware with little ones as it can cause nasty burns on your skin). It is completely open with no privacy between sites. One thing to be aware of at this location is that the wind whips up in the afternoon so make sure to stow away any loose items before heading out for the day.

St Mary KOA is situated on a lake so can be a nice spot to cool off in the morning or evening.

Being that we couldn’t bring fresh food across the border, we had to pick up groceries after checking in at the campground. The staff at the KOA told us the closest grocery store was Browning. Browning is about 45 minutes from the KOA and with road construction in the area it took us longer.

We found out on our way back that there is a small grocer right in St Mary outside the park gate which had more fresh options than the store did in Browning. These are small grocers so you can pick up your basics, but don’t expect anything fancy. It was sufficient to get what we needed to make meals while on this side of the park.

Our first stop with any National Park is always to the visitor centre to get the lay of the land, pick up maps and chat with the rangers to get a sense of must do hikes. We also like to pick up a copy of the schedule of activities. In Glacier National Park there are quite a number of ranger led hikes as well as kid geared activities.

Of course we had to grab a photo with the park sign. The nice thing about going in the evening is that the visitor centre tends to be quiet, giving us a chance to chat with rangers a bit longer and for the kids to collect their Junior Ranger Books to complete throughout our time in the park.

There are some great views from the St Mary visitor centre along with a number of paths and shorter hikes.

We arrived at the park early enough to find out about the children’s evening program at the campground just inside the park. The kids really wanted to attend. They had lots of fun learning about some of the wildlife we may encounter in the park.

Check back later this week to see what we got up to on our first day in the park.

Have you been to Glacier National Park? What were your favourite spots, hikes or memories?

To read about what else we did on our trip to Glacier, check out the links below:

Day 2 – Waterfalls and a boat tour on the East side of the park

Day 3- Driving the Going-To-The-Sun Road and hiking at Logan’s Pass

Day 4 – Full day ranger led hike to Iceberg Lake

Day 5 – Quiet day exploring the west side of the park

Day 8 – Hungry Horse Dam

Day 9 – Two Medicine Valley

Friday Family Fun Night At Telus Spark

On January 22, 2020

In Alberta, Calgary

TELUS Spark is a place our family really enjoys spending time at. There are so many hands on activities to keep the kids busy for hours.

Did you know that now on Friday nights kids can get in for $5 after 4pm? The chef also prepares a special family style dinner at a great price. Check online for the menu as it changes weekly. The dinner special is $15 for adults and $10 for kids which includes a main and two sides along with a dessert. The night we went dinner was Beef short ribs, Mac ‘n Cheese, roasted vegetables and caramel bread pudding.

Your entry includes access to any movies being shown in the IMAX theatre as well.

We took advantage of this deal over the Christmas break as only myself and my youngest have a membership. This is a great way to spend time together as a family. TELUS Spark is pretty quiet on Friday evenings which means no line ups or waiting to try different activities for the kids.

TELUS Spark has started to update some of their exhibits, including repairing ones that seemed to always be broken and adding in new things to see and do. Now is a great time to return to see what is new.

For more information you can check out https://www.sparkscience.ca/experience-telus-spark/family-fridays/

What are your favourite things to see and do at TELUS Spark?

3 Days in Edmonton with Kids

On January 20, 2020

In Alberta

Over the past couple of years we have moved more towards giving experiences or handmade items over toys and items. Our children each asked for a week at camp this summer as their big gift.

My in-laws always send us money each year to purchase something for the kids that they need or to use how we would like. We like to use the money for a family experience. This year the kids asked if we could use it for a trip to Edmonton to check out the Marvel Comics Exhibit at Telus World of Science. Luckily we had travel points saved up to cover accommodations so it made for a great inexpensive getaway.

To help keep costs down when we travel I generally try to prepare most of our meals in advance to freeze so we can take them with us. If too cold to camp, then we look for a hotel with a kitchen or at least a fridge so we can prep meals in our room. If there is not a stove top, then we will pack our slow cooker or instant pot to use for warming our meals up.

We spent 3 nights up in Edmonton to give us time to check out a couple museums as well as stock up from some of the great gluten free bakeries and stores that are located in Edmonton.

Day 1: Edmonton is just over a 3 hour drive from our home, so we like to aim to have a good breakfast and then hit the road fairly early so it doesn’t feel like we spent the whole day in the car.

About a week before we were heading to Edmonton I was fortunate to win tickets to Glow Gardens Edmonton so we decided to plan for that as our first stop in the city after driving up. It was a pretty neat experience and the kids had a great time running around trying to collect stamps in their passports while enjoying the lights.

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There were some great play and hands on areas for the kids. There was a large playground, light up swings, large lite-brite, hopping pads and a train ride. It was a good way to spend a couple days and worth it if the weather is too cold or nasty to be outside.

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Of course a trip to Edmonton would not be complete without a trip to the West Edmonton Mall. Our kids love to go, to walk through the mall, check out the sites such as the water park, amusement park and skating rink.

Day 2

We woke up and had breakfast in our room before heading over to Telus World of Science. We like to arrive at or near opening time to beat the crowds when we head to museums. The kids were so excited to see the Marvel Comics Exhibit. My husband and I loved reading about the history and seeing some of the original boards and comics, while the kids enjoyed the interactive exhibits and seeing all of the outfits. We spent 2 hours in this part of the science centre as there was so much to see.

We were happy to see that the rest of the exhibits had been updated and there were some new ones since we had been to visit last. The space exhibit was a hit with many fun hands on activities.

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Our kids always love a visit to the children’s play area where there is a fun water table (bring a change of clothes for after!) and an airplane set up the kids have fun playing in. We were happy to see a big climbing/play centre in the new children’s play area.

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A favourite spot that has been added is the new Nature Exchange where kids can bring in items they find in nature, or draw pictures of items they found to collect points. Kids can then redeem their points for various nature artifacts such as rocks, shells, leaves, sticks, fossils, etc. We will definitely be back for this. We spent quite a bit of time checking out all of the items and they have some microscopes and magnifying glasses to encourage children to take a seat and explore the items they have.

We spent the entire day at Telus World of Science since there was so much to see and do. The kids were pretty tuckered by the time we left.

When we got back to the hotel the kids couldn’t wait to pull out their notebooks and journal about their day.

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Day 3

We got up and enjoyed breakfast in our room. Then packed up our lunch and headed downtown to visit the Royal Alberta Museum. (Note to self, check the opening time before heading out). We arrived well before the museum opened, so we walked around the outside and had a visit with a woman who had shown up early as well with her service dog in training. We weren’t really sure what to expect with this museum before entering.

The main floor is an excellent place for children. Our kids thought it was so neat and had so much fun exploring the Children’s Gallery. There is so much to see and do. You could easily spend a whole morning, if not more time playing in this area. The area is so inviting when you walk in, with large windows letting in loads of natural light. Our kids had fun pretending to be coal miners, playing in the sand table to change elevations, building with “ice” blocks, having fun with the air before moving further into the gallery where there were different building centres, dress up play, and crafts. There was a story time as well for those interested.

Our youngest loved bugs so we knew the next gallery was going to be right up his alley. The bug gallery has a great variety of different bugs, some you have to look hard to find. Of course if you ask him what his favourite part of this gallery was and he will tell you the tarantulas, especially the blue one.

The special exhibit I Am From Here, the kids enjoyed which was about the Black Pioneers who made Alberta their home. It was interesting to read the stories and was a part of our provinces history we hadn’t heard about. This exhibit was a small room off of the Human History Hall. There were some fun hands on exhibits for the kids throughout this exhibit and some interesting stories shared. From what we understand this mechanical horse is the highlight for many children to the museum.

After taking a break to eat our lunch we ventured upstairs where they have a room full of rocks and minerals which our kids love collecting, so they thought this was neat to see so many “gems”. They also had lots of fun creating volcanoes on the simulator. If you ask our kids what their favourite part of the museum, they will now tell you it was seeing the Mastodon and Wooly Mammoth skeletons which are located upstairs. We had fun watching our children learn the Grouse’s mating dance.

This is a museum that is easy to spend a whole day in and then some. We were there all day having fun and learning lots.

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When we got back to the hotel room, the kids actually asked to have some quiet time before dinner.

Dinner seemed to give them a second wind so we decided that we would let the kids stay up late and we would head out to do some skating on the Victoria Park Iceway Skating Trail. It was a busy spot, but worth checking out. Such a fun experience. There is a pathway that loops through the park and over to a large skating rink. The whole path and skating rink were well maintained and provided great skating. Over at the main rink there was music playing for those skating around. Our kids loved the portion of the trail that had multicoloured lights. Such a unique experience.

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Our favourite gluten free establishments:

Kinnickinick Fresh: You may be familiar with this brand. They sell bread, buns and donuts in the frozen section of many grocery stores. What you probably didn’t know is that they have a fresh bakery in Edmonton where they sell a larger variety of products including fresh cinnamon buns, sticky buns, rolls, baguette, sub buns, pizza buns (one of our favourites for a snack in the car). Always worth a visit if you are in the area. We discovered their jelly rolls on our last visit and ended up bringing a bunch home to put in our freezer.

Rio Vida Gluten Free: This place was a new discovery and the owner is lovely. She makes empanadas that are excellent and also sells the dough if you want to make your own. Our daughter can’t get enough of them. She also has a variety of soups, meat pies, breads, doughs, and baked goods for sale.

Ben’s Meats & Deli: This was a place I had heard lots about, but this was our first visit. They carry a selection of gluten free European imports and had fresh gluten free pastas including ravioli. They also carry a selection of baked goods from Totally Gluten Free located in Lacombe, AB. We had been hoping to get some of their fresh mini gluten free donuts, but we were too early. If you are in Edmonton on Saturday then you should stop by around 11am for fresh mini donuts.

My Fries Poutinerie: This place was so much better than we were anticipating and worth a visit. They have so many different poutine options or a build your own option. We loved that the fries are not greasy since they are baked and not fried. We ended up ordering 4 different poutines to try and they were all great. They are a certified gluten free restaurant (the very first).

What are your favourite things to see and do in Edmonton? We would love to hear of any hidden gems to check out on our next visit or any restaurants or bakeries worth a visit.

A New Year