Its Winter

First significant snow fall and the Canadian winter has arrived.

 It only takes about 30 seconds before you cant feel your face when you walk outside.

 At about -10F, we do that crazy thing Canadians do and will start plugging our car in when it will be outside for longer than 2-3 hours.

Luckily for Sharon, she has a little extra insulation for the winter.

Canoe trip - the Bow River

Labor day weekend I decided to take a backwoods canoe trip with a buddy at work.  It was a 60km canoe trip from Lake Louise to Banff.  This is a 2 day trip that landed us at a remote camp site along the river the first night.  The picture below is the canoe we rented in Calgary and drove to Lake Louise to put in.  In the background is the famous Fairmont Springs Hotel.  We made a pit stop here to take advantage of the nicest 'facilities' available before we roughed it in the woods.

The canoe looks pretty big for the car but it had to be long enough enough supplies for 2 days.

This picture is the first class II rapid we hit and almost capsized.  We took on about 2-3 inches of water going through.  It was enough to soak my blanket and most of my dry clothes.  Lesson Learned - keep clothes and sleeping gear in a dry bag.

Right after we took on water we had to remove everything and flip the canoe to dry it out.  Next time we decided to pay attention and follow the 'portage' signs. 

I took the stern for the whole trip due to the fact that Andrew knew how to steer like a champ. 

The first day was 5.5 hours on the river and the current was pretty strong so we covered just over half the trip.  The water was crystal clear and the weather could not have been better.

The river follows a train track for most of the way so we saw quite a few trains during our adventure. 

Yes.. that is a grizzly bear right across from the river where we just pitched a tent and brought out the steaks we were about to grill for dinner.  Step 1 - put the food in rope and pull rope to bring food as high in tree as possible.  Step 2 - grab bear mace.  Step 3- pee in pants cause Ive never been so scared.

 Step 4 - Pee in pants even more cause the bear crossed the river just upstream to come to our side.

 After about 30 minutes of not knowing where the bear went and seeing the sun creep lower we had to start a fire so we could cook and eat.  We only got about half way through cooking before it was dark.  The rest of dinner was cooked and eaten with a flashlight and wet pants.  We never did see the bear again but it was pitch black out so for all we know he could have been 5 ft away watching us.

The next morning I woke up with about 1 hour of sleep.  4 hours of shivering because my feet never defrosted and 4 hours of worrying about the bear.  This is our gear before it went in the canoe.  A little colder the next day (~50 F) but it warmed up pretty quick once the sun rose. 

The next time we saw rapids and a portage sign we followed it and went around the rapids.  Just crossed our fingers that a train didnt come.

Overall an awesome trip.  Next year - Edmonton to Fort McMurray via Athabasca river (~480 km)

Vancouver

While we are in Canada, we want to try to get to see as much of the country as possible.  We got to check off Vancouver (twice) since being here.

Our first trip there (Easter) we stopped at a famous suspension bridge.  It was typical spring weather for the area.. rainy.

When we returned in July (with friends) we biked around Stanley Park and kept going along the waterfront all the way to kipsilano beach.

It was a long trip and the girls were done by the end... they made sure to let me know.

We spent all day at Grouse Mountain (in north Vancouver) walking on eco-tours and seeing the sights including this grizzly... don't worry it was a pet bear that is kept behind some chicken wire fence.

The girls took a chair lift all the way to the top of the mountain.. while the guys hiked it. 

We took advantage of eating out and dressing up while we weren't in Fort McMurray.

 

We also took advantage of Sharon's pregnancy and made her Captain DD for the evenings out.

Softball

A great social sport we joined was softball.  Not the most exciting sport, but we can have a beer in our hand the entire time except when batting.  It is a coed league and the only reason I got to play was because they needed a girl and I convinced the team that we were a twofer.  We met some good friends and it was fun to play after work.

Team name was the SERPENTS, named after the SER (Sulfur Emission Reduction) Project we all work on.

 Sharon turned out to be the backbone of the team.  As long as Sharon was playing... we were winning.

 Actually, by the end of the game we were pretty drunk and couldn't remember the score.. We were all winners!

Banff vacation

In June we traveled to Banff and Lake Louise (8 hour drive from Fort Mcmurray) to meet our family and friends (Steve and Janice).  We went on some amazing hikes such as tunnel mountain, hoodoos trail, and the six glaciers.  By the end of the day we were ready for the hot tub.  It was a great time and we cant wait to go back.

 

The park service warned everyone about the grizzly bears and to be careful.  While the bear bells are ~75-80% effective, bear mace is actually ~95% effective for scaring away the bears.  We didn't carry either... but Sharon made sure she would scare them away ( woa bear... woa).  They say to make your self look as big as possible and yell.  Then if they do attack, lay down and play dead.  Don't run.  Actually many work friends tell me to always hike with someone slower than you... that way when a bear attacks, they will get them.. not you.

An added bonus to the trip was the famous bulldog that skateboards (as seen on Youtube).  I have to say.. he was pretty good.  Grover could learn a thing or two from this guy.

 Lake Louise was amazing.  It was the longest hike we did (~8 miles roundtrip) and after a ~7 mile hike (Hoodoos trail) we completed in the morning.  It was well worth the hike to the top.  At the top, there is a teahouse that everyone says we must stop at.  The lemonade was to die for... if you like countrytime brand (inside joke).

Once we were close to the top, we started walking across snow (in June!).  I was pretty thirsty so I melted some in my mouth.  Not bad, except for the dirt taste that was left in my mouth for the rest of the hike.

This is the end of the hike.  A view of one of the glaciers and Sid and Steve are in the background.  While we were up here, we heard snow falling from the cliffs above..... we didn't stay too long before turning back.

  We did get to see a waterfall at the end as well.  The water tasted a little better than the snow.

The guys decided to race back the entire length of the trail so I got this shot of Lake Louise on the way back.  It's a little blurry because I was running when I took the picture (It was a race!).  The water was actually blue-green color.

Highway of Death

The only road that leads to Fort McMurray from civilization is Highway 63 (from Edmonton).  Many of the locals call it 'Highway of Death' because of the fatalities.  It is a one lane road with a speed limit of 100 kmh (~70mph).  We saw a truck pass us doing about 150 kmh on a solid line and managed to just miss a mac truck.  They were pulled over by the only RCMP I have ever seen on the road.  4.5 hours to get to Edmonton.

Tar Sands work site

Not the best environment to be working in (pictures taken from highway).  Once the temperature reaches -55C, construction stops and workers will go back to camp until the next day.  As long as temperature stays above -55C, work is on and believe it or not, the Canadians prefer working in this weather condition rather than 30C.  Not the cleanest air either but this was expected.

 Sharon's work site on the other hand is pretty posh... and she has her own desk!

Skiing

Who would have thought that there was a ski hill in Fort McMurray.  Only 5 trails but better than nothing.  We went in February so it was pretty cold (about -20C).  After about 3-4 runs, we had to go to the lodge to warm up.