Sheringham Point Lighthouse is a heritage site located in the hamlet of Shirley about 20 minutes west of Sooke on Sooke Rd/Hwy 14. This lighthouse was first illuminated in September of 1912 and a foghorn was added in 1925. The lighthouse was automated in the 1980’s and fully de-staffed in 1989. The building is now maintained and supervised by the volunteer run Sheringham Point Lighthouse Preservation Society.
To access the lighthouse you will turn left on Sheringham Point Rd which is where the firehall is located as well as Shirley Delicious Cafe. You will continue down this road until you see a trail head marker. Park to the side and then you can follow the trail.
The trail is a short walk through a forest, and you will see the lighthouse. To access the lighthouse you will cross a private road and pass through the gates. The gates are open from 9am to 8pm daily. It is free to access the lighthouse grounds.
Be aware that bears are in the area, so best to make noise when walking this trail. The bear in the picture below was sneaking up behind a volunteer who was doing some painting on the lighthouse. We managed to scare it off some to give distance with hollering and clapping. It is good to always be aware of your surroundings when in bear habitat. This bear hung out for a while at the top of the hill eating before it eventually wandered off. We gave the bear lots of space and decided we would enjoy the views from the viewing platform until the bear wandered off.
Once you walk down to the lighthouse, there is a viewing platform that you can walk out on and watch the wildlife and boats go by. You may even get lucky and see a pod of orcas swim by. While we didn’t see any orcas the day we were there we did see seals and otters playing in the water.
Once out at the lighthouse there is a short trail that is a loop that follows along the cliff edge for a short while that you can enjoy and get some different views of the lighthouse.
Do you like to visit lighthouses? Do you have a favourite lighthouse?
Mystic beach is part of the Juan De Fuca trail on Vancouver Island. This is a fun hike to with kids with lots of things to find and see on the way.
Before heading out, it is best to check trail conditions as windfall can block portions of the trail. Be prepared for mud as this hike is through coastal rainforest. The kids will think the mud is great, but it can also prove to be a bit slippery in places as well so shoes with good grip are best.
To access the Mystic Beach trail you will park in the China Beach day use area parking lot. This parking lot is accessed off of Sooke Rd also known as BC 14W. The parking lot will be on your left side approximately 5km after Jordan River when heading towards the community of Port Renfrew. You will see a sign for the China Beach campground, but continue past this and it will be the next turn off. It is about one hours drive from Victoria.
The trail to Mystic Beach is about 2km. If you plan in advance, you can also camp at Mystic beach, but you do require a backcountry permit to do so. Being that it is not a far hike, this would be a great introduction to back country camping with children.
The trail leads through the woods, with a few boardwalks as well as stairs.
Keep your eyes peeled for banana slugs and various forms of fungus growing from falls trees and on the trees themselves. My children loved seeking out all of the different fungus on our way to the beach.
A favourite part was the suspension bridge you reach at about the halfway point to Mystic Beach.
Continuing on the trail enjoying the flora and fauna and searching for critters you will eventually start to hear the waves breaking on the beach as you begin to near the stairs down. The stairs are well maintained down to the beach.
Make sure you check the tide tables before heading out on the trail so that you will be able to spend time exploring at Mystic beach and to be able to walk over to see the waterfall. At the beach there is a swing we had lots of fun swinging on and it is a great spot to enjoy a picnic.
Once we had lots of fun down at the beach it was time to head back to our car. On the hike back we continued looking for plants or fungus we might have missed on the way out as well as exploring the trees.
Have you hiked to Mystic Beach? Do you have a favourite hike on Vancouver Island? Any hidden gems?
Avatar Grove is a fun little hike where you get to see ancient cedars and Canada’s Gnarliest Tree.
Upper Avatar Grove
Upper Avatar Grove
Avatar Grove is located in Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island. To get there take Hwy 14/West Coast Hwy to Port Renfrew. Once in Port Renfrew you will take Deering Road north to the end of the road. You then need to turn left onto Gordon River Main Rd. When you reach a Y in the road continue to the left then the following Y turn right. Continue past the pavement and onto the gravel road, you will keep going even if you suspect you may have missed it. You will cross 4 bridges in total and shortly after the 4th bridge the trail signs for Avatar Grove will be visible on the left side. This road can be rough so best to have a vehicle with higher clearance. Ancient Forest Alliance provides a map of the area and other large trees worth a visit.
Upper Avatar Grove Trail
Amazed at the size of the trees
The trail on the right side of the road takes you to the Gnarliest tree, and the trail on the left side takes you down into a forest with many tree nurseries.
Amazed at the roots of a tree that had fallen over on the lower Avatar Grove trail
When going ensure you have proper footwear as the trail can be wet, muddy and slippery. Take your time and be amazed by the ancient trees. My children loved making up stories about who lived in some of the trees. There are large cracks in some of the trees where you can stand inside the trunks, allowing you to have a great appreciation of how large these trees truly are.
Fun exploring inside the trunk of a Redwood Cedar
My kids and I standing inside the trunk of a Redwood cedar
When hiking to the Gnarliest tree, keep your eyes peeled for faces carved into some of the trees which can keep kids busy.
One of the carved faces hidden in the trees
The Gnarliest tree is roped off around it, so please respect the signs and stay on the outside of the rope. This is to help protect the tree.
As we were nearing the end of our vacation, we knew we wanted to get some more hikes in and there was one part of the park we hadn’t been to yet.
We made a drive back along highway 2 early in the morning to Two Medicine Valley. This is certainly one of the quieter parts of the park and doesn’t appear to see near as many visitors as the other sections.
We decided to start the day off with a short hike to stretch our legs after sitting in the car for a while. It was the first trail we noticed on our drive into Two Medicine. Running Eagle Falls is a very easy short hike (0.6 miles) with nice wide paths and little to no elevation gain. A great hike to take with little ones sine they can splash in the shallow river when you reach the falls.
Running Eagle Falls was named after Running Eagle who was a woman warrior of the Pikuni tribe. She is held in very high esteem by the Pikuni people for her knowledge and wisdom, as well as the inspiring person she is.
We continued on the road to Two Medicine Lake where most of the trails in this area begin. We were aiming for Aster Falls.
Aster Falls is a fairly easy hike which would be doable for most families. It is 2.8 miles round trip with a total elevation gain of 320 feet. Huckleberries lined most of the trail.
Since we found the trail to Aster Falls easy compared to any of our other hikes, we decided to continue up to the Aster Park Overlook making the total hike 4 miles. This has considerable elevation gain of 780 feet over a short distance. Be prepare to hike switchbacks up due to the gain. The effort is worth it for the views up top.
I personally found it harder going down the steep hill than climbing up.
Once down we took a few minutes to enjoy the view of the lake and rest.
This hike deserved some more ice cream for the kids and a cool drink for us, especially with the temperatures getting quite warm again. We went into the general store in Two Medicine for the treat. This was probably the best general store for souvenirs we saw in all our time in the park.
On our drive back out we stopped at a few pullouts to take in the views and take a couple pictures.
We figured one couldn’t go to this part of the park and not stop in to see the lodge. Glacier Park Lodge is one of the original lodges. They had a great display at the end of the one hall depicting the history of the lodge and of the park. It was neat to read and see all of the photos. While we were reading about the history of the park our kids enjoyed working on the puzzles that were out on the tables. You don’t have to be staying at the hotel to go in and enjoy the lobby area where you can sit and relax out of the sun.
Our son loved seeing the Totem poles and gardens that were out front of the lodge.
There are some neat signs we noticed on the East side of the park along the highway. We stopped to see one of them and see what they were about on our drive back to West Glacier and camp.
When you have a child with loads of energy you are always on the lookout for interesting spots to stop and stretch legs, run around, or get sillies out. Luckily there were a few spots we could stop on the way back. One place we stopped was the Continental Divide.
This was a great way to spend our last day in Glacier National Park before heading home the next day.
To read about more of our adventures during our time in Glacier National park check out the links below:
After having a nice quiet day to recover, it was time to get back to hiking.
I tend to wake up before anyone else when we are camping and I enjoy the peacefulness before the campground wakes up. I used this morning as a chance to head down to the lake and watch the sun rise since I was up about 6am. At some point my daughter woke up and came to join me down on the beach.
We hoped to be able to make the guided hike to Avalanche Lake in the morning. This is a very busy trail head as there are a number of trails that start from this parking lot. It can be tricky to find parking, so may be worth considering the park shuttle if you want to hike in this area. This is a 5.7 mile hike with a total elevation gain of 730 feet if you only go to the lake and turn around.
Luckily the hike left a few minutes late and we were able to catch up to them after finally finding a parking spot.
The first portion of this hike is along a boardwalk called the Trail of the Cedars. This is an accessible 0.8 mile trail that is part boardwalk and part paved path. It is a loop that is great for all ages and abilities with benches throughout for anyone who may need a rest. You could easily use a stroller on this path, or if you are in a wheelchair this is one trail that you could enjoy. The ranger stopped a couple of times for us to really take in the beauty of this rainforest and the size of the trees as it also gives a sense of this areas past.
Avalanche Canyon is the stop just before we turned onto the trail to Avalanche Lake. The colour of the water in this canyon is that stunning blue that doesn’t look real.
Then it was off up the trail to Avalanche Lake which started off steep and then became more of a gradual climb. Our ranger asked the kids to use their observation skills on the first climb, to see how many different coloured rocks they could observe. This was a great way to keep the kids moving and not realize how steep it was.
During the hike we passed an area where there had been a slide, saw massive boulders and enjoyed the hike. The nice part about this hike is that most of it is located within the trees so you don’t have to worry about the heat quite as much.
When we reached the lake, the kids thought it was a good time to have an early lunch so they could then wade in the water. There are lots of fallen rotting logs from a previous avalanche in this area. The beach area around the lake is quite large and so it was easy to find a spot to sit together and enjoy the view. There is no shade at the lake, so something to take into consideration when planning your day.
After some fun in the water, the kids asked if we could see where the trail lead that went around the lake. We started out on the trail and got up the one side when a family coming towards us warned us of a bear not far up ahead that did not appear to be shy of people. We decided that it wasn’t worth the risk and it was time to turn around and we would head back down to the car.
By the time we got back to the car it had gotten quite hot out, so we decided to go for a drive to keep the kids a bit cooler and see if we could find some ice cream.
Just outside the gates at West Glacier there is the West Glacier Cafe which has a good selection of ice cream and ice cream treats. A perfect spot to stop on a hot day.
The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out by the lake and cooling down as needed.
What is your favourite ice cream flavour? My kids were taking full advantage of any opportunity to have Huckleberry ice cream.
To see what other fun we got up to on our Trip to Glacier National Park check out the links below:
When you ask our kids what was their favourite part of our trip to Glacier National Park, they will tell you it was our hike to Iceberg Lake. This was a great accomplishment for them and they were pretty proud of themselves for having completed it. This was a 12 mile hike with an elevations gain of 1364 ft.
We left the camp site early in the morning to ensure we would make it to the trail head with plenty of time. This trail is located in the Many Glaciers area of the park. The park was so peaceful on our drive over. We lucked out and saw a fox wandering down the road during our drive. The views were lovely, but be prepared the road is a little rough in this portion of the park.
We chose to join the Ranger led hike up to the lake due to the frequency of bear sightings in the area and we also thought it would be a great way to learn more about the park. The meeting location for the hike was in front of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, as the trail is located behind the cabins. We were the only family joining the ranger led hike with kids so we did discuss it with the ranger before leaving and we were told we were more than welcome to join in. Our concern was if if your children would be able to keep up with the group. Our kids more than kept up throughout the hike.
Our ranger Diane went through how the hike would work, and anything we needed to be aware of before heading out. As well she wanted to make sure everyone had sufficient water for the hike.
The hike starts out with a fairly steep climb, but then levels out a bit more and the rest of the hike isn’t too bad even though it is a steady climb. Our ranger always seemed to know when everyone would need a break for a few minutes and would stop to tell us some facts about the area we were hiking through.
We did take a longer break near the halfway mark at Ptarmigan falls which is in a lovely wooded spot with some great rocks for sitting on. The break was long enough for a snack and for everyone to be able to run up to the washroom if needed. There is a pit toilet here.
Shortly after this break we hiked back into the opening and the views really opened up. Walking along a cliff edge there were some great views and we could get a sense of where we were heading to.
When we were nearly there the trail was loaded with wild flowers on either side and a small gorgeous blue lake . It was beautiful and a nice surprise.
Iceberg lake did not disappoint and was a great spot to sit and enjoy our lunch. During our lunch we even had the chance to see a chunk of ice and snow fall into the water, creating waves. Some people chose to jump in for a swim, but this is glacial water so extremely cold. There is a pit toilet not far from the lake, for those who may need it before heading back down. The colour of the water in Iceberg Lake is actually that colour, there has been no editing done on these photos. It really is something else.
The day was starting to warm up considerably so we figured we better get going as we wanted to make sure the water we had left would last us all of the way down.
To keep the kids motivated and also to ensure we didn’t startle a bear, the kids and I sang our way down the mountain. I may have also had a secret stash of M&M’s to sneak the kids one every once in a while.
The kids did well and were pretty proud of themselves when we completed the hike. There was a small amount of whining towards the very end, but I think we were all feeling it at that point, since it was a hot day.
The general store at the trail head serves up great soft serve ice cream, so the kids were rewarded with a big cup of it each. That seemed to energize our two completely. After they finished they wanted to race to the car, and with their energy, no one would have known they had just hiked 12 miles.
One can’t drive through the Many Glaciers area without stopping on the side of the road for at least a couple pictures of the mountains.
We headed over to the St Mary visitor centre to pick up our trailer where we had dropped it for the day before making the drive over to West Glacier. As trailers cannot be taken on the Going-To-The-Sun Road, we took the long way around the bottom of the park along highway 2. This is a very scenic route, where there were a number of picnic areas. Driving along highway 2 around the park takes approximately 2 hours.
We were booked into Fish Creek on the west side of the park for the next couple of nights. Will discuss the campground in detail on the next post as we arrived quite late this night.
Have you hiked to Iceberg Lake? Any favourite memories?
If you missed any of our previous posts from our trip to Glacier National Park you can find them here:
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:
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:
Early morning trend continued on day 7 with our daughter waking up at 4:45am. Since it was nice and early and the weather forecast for the morning was good it seemed like the perfect day to hike up Cadillac Mountain. We headed out of the campground around 6:15 once we had woken up enough, brushed our teeth and made some peanut butter sandwiches for the hike. We hiked the Cadillac Mountain South Ridge Trail leaving from Blackwoods campground. The trail is fairly flat and moderate from the campground to the main trail head and involves crossing the main island road. There are some boards you need to walk across in the swampy areas as well.
Once you hit the main trail head the climb begins. The South Ridge Trail is the easiest of the trails leading up Cadillac Mountain but the trail could be challenging at times, especially with a little one on my back. It is recommended to hike up the mountain to be at the top for either sunrise or sunset. After hiking this trail in the light, I would definitely not want to hike this in the dark. They were working on the trail in a number of spots when we were hiking up to help preserve and protect the surrounding landscape. There are some fantastic views along the way. At the right time of year there are also a great deal of blueberries lining the trail so you could have a nice snack. Our daughter napped in the carrier for a large portion of the upwards climb.
Once we reached the summit we enjoyed a bit of a snack and a break before hiking back down. Many people will hike one way and take the Island shuttle back down. Nearing the final stretch is where you can meet the biggest challenge. It is rocky and a bit of climbing is involved. You reach this portion after hiking down a bit where there is a pond. The views are definitely something else once you are up at the summit.
As we started the decent back down Tessa had a run in with a porcupine. She would not let us remove the quills while on the trail so she had to hike back to the campground with them in her mouth and nose. We were back at the campground by 11:00 am, so Dave headed into Bar Harbor to take Tessa to the vets while our daughter and I made and had some lunch and relaxed a little. The vet told Dave that they have dogs in there at least a couple times a week who have had a run in with the porcupine on Cadillac Mountain.
After lunch we headed out of the park to grab a shower and get cleaned up. There is a private operation offering paid showers just outside of the campground located on the main road. It is $2 for 4 minutes since there are no showers within the campground.
Once cleaned up we headed back into Bar Harbor to pick up a few items, check emails and then pick up Tessa from the vets. Since Tessa was in no state to walk (she had to be put under to have the quills removed), we took a drive down to Bass Harbor to see the lighthouse.
The drive was nice and it was a great way to spend part of the rainy afternoon. Once we reached the lighthouse the sun decided to come back out.
After a little drive around Bass Harbor we continued on to Southwest Harbor to grab some dinner before heading back to camp. We decided to order take-out from a little place on the main street. Once I had ordered dinner I headed next door to check out Hatched On MDI. This is a gorgeous children’s shop carrying clothing, toys, etc that are not your run of the mill. She carries lots of the brands that I like for our daughter which are more unique and the woman who owns the store was a great help in choosing some outfits to take home with us. Once my shopping was done dinner was ready and we were back on the road.
We decided we would take our dinner to a freshwater beach we had passed on the way down. Paige was enjoying watching a family play frisbee on the grass while we ate. Then we let our daughter wade in the water and play in the sand.
We had trouble getting her out of the water to head back to camp. Once back at camp it was time for our daughter to head to bed and then we got ourselves organized and partially packed for the trip the following day.
To see what else we got up to on this trip check out the links below:
First off I am sorry it has been so long. We have gotten so busy around here (not really sure with what) that I didn’t really have much time to sit down and write up some posts. I am going to try and get a little ahead over the next couple of days (time permitting) so there won’t be such a long break again. Fingers crossed!
Paige has gotten over waking herself up from sitting in her sleep, but with this heat has been waking up thirsty every night for the last week and a half between 11:00pm – 12:00 for a “snack”. It means I am struggling to get used to being woken up once a night again, either that or I stay up to try and get her fed again before I head to sleep.
Construction of the highway has been very busy the past couple of weeks as well which means they start early in the morning and it also means it can be tricky getting in and out of our place. On the upside some of the expropriated homes have come down on our road so hoping that means the one next door will be coming down soon. Also with all of this construction maybe they will be done our section soon which will also include some nice new paving on our road. Paige loves watching the big trucks go by.
The day we had our pool filled we unfortunately had to take down Paige’s swing set since it had been eaten from the inside out by carpenter bees. I think we might have to wait until next year for a new swing set now.
Last post we were getting the pool filled that day. It has taken some time to warm up enough to be tolerable but today we spent some time in the pool together. Even though the water still feels quite cool, Paige was having a blast and did not want to come out. She swam a bit on her back in her life jacket then had fun floating around in one of our floating loungers splashing the water.
After swimming we hung out on the porch playing until her afternoon nap time when we headed inside where it was a little cooler. We topped off the day with a barbecue at our place with friends.
Also I was able to get the paint colour fixed (thank goodness) it is a little lighter than we wanted since it was a lighter base used to get the “wrong” colour I had originally asked for, but at least it is in the right tone. I also managed to get one coat of paint on half of our kitchen cabinets. They definitely look better, but boy were the fumes strong from the melamine paint.
Tuesday May 29 Paige had a swimming lesson where we worked on jumping off the edge of the deck and going underwater. Paige couldn’t get enough of going under water. She especially loved when we would go right to the bottom and back up (there is no real deep area in the pool where we take lessons).
That Wednesday we had a hike with a friend in Durham Forest. We did the Red Oak and Spruce loop. It was a great day to be out hiking and the loop is about 8km. Unfortunately we dropped the head rest to the pack on the first time round so I ended up having to hike this entire loop again. Thank goodness the weather held out. On the second time round it was amazing how different the trail seemed as we noticed things we had missed the first time round. Paige was really enjoying seeing all of the different butterflies that she could point out to me.
Thursday was Baby Beats which Paige absolutely loves. The morning was spent playing out on the porch.
Friday we worked in the yard before the wind and rain storms hit that afternoon. \The wind was wild and brought down a great deal of branches and leaves. It looked like a tornado had been through our yard. Some of the branches that came down were bigger than some trees. So Saturday was spent trying to clean up the yard. Paige chipped in with the clean up, even if it was only 1 leaf at a time.
Sunday turned into a nice day and we spent it catching up with one of my husband’s buddies from school who came out to share some exciting news with us.
This past Monday we led a hike out on the Seaton Trail from Whitevale. It was overcast so not too bad for our hike. We covered about 7.5km. The hike always seems to go by quickly when you are in good company.
That afternoon was the start of a new session of Baby Beats which overlaps for 2 weeks with the session that is just coming to an end, which means Paige gets to go to music 2 times in 1 week for 2 weeks straight. There were only 2 little ones at the class so Paige got to choose some of the songs and was having a great time being the centre of attention and snuggling up to the teacher.
Tuesday was our last swimming class so we did a little of everything. There were no life jackets used this class. The little ones also got to go down the slide once more. Paige got a nice little certificate which will go in her scrapbook (when I actually get around to starting it). That afternoon it was a great afternoon to play out on the back deck and enjoy the fresh air. Paige had fun singing songs and playing her instruments.
Wednesday we walked at the zoo with one other mommy and her little one. I am glad we had decided to shift the walk an hour earlier since it was very busy with students and daycares and it was becoming so hot at the zoo by the time we left. We did check out the kids zoo, which I hadn’t even noticed before. Paige really enjoyed watching the Prairie Dogs run around their enclosure.
Unfortunately by the time we got home my migraine was getting the better of me so I had to climb into bed while Paige played so nice and quietly in my bedroom until I could function a little again. She seemed to understand that Mommy couldn’t play and that I needed to lay down since she played quietly and didn’t fuss once.
Thursday was Baby Beats again. Paige has grown so much more comfortable at these classes now and doesn’t hesitate to join the other little ones up at the felt board or check out the other instruments put in the middle for them to all play with.
Friday we were out for our usual stroller walk with 2 other moms and babes. It was a bright sunny day but with the breeze off the lake it wasn’t too hot. After afternoon nap we played/worked out in the yard to get some things done before the rain was to arrive.
Saturday we finally picked up the final load of mulch (1 yard) that we had been putting off getting. We transplanted and split 2 of our large hostas that needed to come out of some of my other gardens as well which really cleaned up the way the back yard looks. We also managed to pull up a bunch more of the mustard garlic that keeps taking over the hill in our yard. Our gardens have really exploded with all of this rain and heat. We have never seen our plants do so well. It is nice to see and things are really filling in.
Yesterday we spent the day taking it easy and just enjoying each others company. We started with breakfast on the porch. Paige had her nap while we got a few things done around the place then it was time for all of us to swim. After swimming we played on the porch and had some snuggles then Paige went down for her afternoon nap. During her nap Dave and I sorted out the details of our trip out east that is coming up since plans fell through that we had accounted for in the middle of our trip so we had to make some phone calls to switch check in dates and reconfigure our plan. In the evening friends came for dinner and Paige had her playmate to play with while we all caught up since it had been a little bit since we had all gotten together
Today we are off for a hike on the Seaton trail. Depending on the heat, not sure if we will make it as far as we did last week but we shall see. Then it will be Baby Beats in the afternoon. This week there should be a few more little ones at the class which will be fun for Paige.
