Okanagan - Day 11

Everyone slept in this morning, as we were all tired from the park yesterday.  That meant we were late leaving Calgary, but I did not feel like waking everyone up just to get on the road earlier.  At Medicine Hat, we ate a late lunch and then I sped home so that we arrived just after supper, where I became painfully aware that our house lacks air conditioning, after staying in air conditioned hotel rooms for the past 10 days.

We made some chicken on the BBQ for supper and then spent the rest of the evening building LEGO.  Xander built his oil platform, while Evan went through his bulk LEGO and built a bunch of "ships" for his minifigures to ride on.  Thus ends our trip for 2012.

Okanagan - Day 10

Today was a beautifully warm day that we spent at Calaway Park.  Despite sleeping in, we managed to make it to the park just after it opened and got it line to buy tickets.  Due to the warmth, the park was busy, but not a lot busier than last year.

The day was spent on rides, rides and more rides.  The kids went on everything they were allowed to, including Jonathan, who drug me on a bunch of rides I probably would have rather watched from the sidelines.  He loved every ride, as he would get quite upset when they ended and only happy once we got back in line to go on another ride (or back in line for the same ride).  At one point, Evan and Jonathan went on a ride four or five times in a row, with Evan getting out and running back to the entrance as fast as he could to get back on.

Xander was probably half an inch too short to go on the adult roller coaster, which saved me from having to go upside down.  If we end up at an amusement park next year, I may have to learn to like roller coasters.  Our big excitement for the day was the log ride.  Xander really wanted to go down it, even after watching other people, so we got in the very long line around 4:00pm.  Going through the line took an hour, which was a bit much for me and Evan, but we survived.  They let us ride in a log by ourselves, but after the first dip and splash, Xander had had enough and wanted out.  He was quite terrified as we headed for the giant drop and splash and afterwards declared that he would never go on the ride again.  Evan, however, after the giant drop, said "fun, fun, fun" for the next 10 minutes as we walked to find Sandra and Jonathan and go on some other rides.

We stayed at the park until it closed, with Jonathan and Evan riding the little kid boats until they closed and Xander and Sandra taking the last ride on the old fashioned cars.  We then drove back to Calgary, had a very late supper and then put three very exhausted children to bed.  Tomorrow our vacation is over, as we head back to Regina.

Okanagan - Day 9

We are finally back on the prairies and have left the mountains behind, which is good, because I was getting a little tired of mountain driving.  The roads are definitely busier in July than they are in May.  We started the day in Revelstoke and drove all the way to Banff, where we took a bit of a detour to go to the waterfall at Johnston Canyon.  I wasn't expecting it to be a huge detour, as it was only 18km off the #1, but it was 18km of other drivers driving 40km / hr and stopping in the middle of the road to take pictures of moose and bears.

Scary Path

The waterfall hike was quite busy, but we found a parking spot and started down the trail.  We just walked the short way (1km) to the bottom waterfall, which is along a prepared path, with a fence on one side to keep you out of the water.  Unfortunately for me, some of the path is on bridges over top of the water, and I could see how high we were as we walked, which made me a bit nervous.  The kids loved the rapids though - Jonathan could not get enough of the moving water.

Eventually we arrived at the bottom waterfall, which was quite impressive, even though it is only 1/3 the height of the top waterfall.  You can view the waterfall from one side of the river, or you can cross a bridge and go into a cave where you can see the waterfall up close and personal.  That was the only part that Jonathan didn't like, though I thought it was pretty cool.

After hiking back to our car, we got back on the road and sped into Calgary.  It was getting pretty late, so we found our hotel, checked in and then immediately headed to the Chinook Centre, with the plan to eat supper at the food court and then hit the LEGO store.  I managed to survive the roads in Calgary and we made it to the mall.  There was a minor snag at supper, when I was carrying our food back to our table and someone hit my tray, knocking the fries and pop to the floor.  I was actually a bit surprised at how busy the mall was on a Tuesday night.  I told Sandra that if I lived in Calgary, I'm not sure I would visit this mall any more times than I do living outside of Calgary.  There must be easier places to shop in this city.

Regardless, after supper we went to the LEGO store, where we were greeted by the site of fully built LEGO Super Star Destroyer and some very friendly and helpful employees.  Xander found the Cars 2 Oil Platform kit that he had saved up all his money for, and Evan bought a few collectible minifigures with his money.  I had each of the kids build their own minifigure at the minifigure bar, which meant that I didn't get to build one.  :(

We shopped for awhile, with Jonathan holding the minifigure box and spending most of his time scrolling the mouse on the computers that are available for accessing the LEGO website.  Xander and Evan wanted to buy some bulk LEGO, so we let them each fill a small container.  Somehow, I managed to forget to bring my container with me - I never even thought of it until we sat down for supper in the mall.  In the bulk bins they had horses (due to Stampede), so Xander stuffed five into his small container and "convinced" Evan to take three more.

We then paid for our stuff, with Xander counting out $70 worth of loonies and toonies from his savings.  Apparently, they get this all the time, so they were quite happy to help him count out his money and ensure he got his own bag and his own receipt, which they also did for Evan.  We then left the mall, went back to our hotel and eventually put everyone to bed.

Tomorrow we head to Calaway Park for our last official day of vacation, since after that, we just have one last travel day to get home.

Three Very Excited Children

Okanagan - Day 8

We packed up and left Penticton this morning and drove north to the #1 highway.  We joined the #1 at Sicamous, where we stopped for a quick lunch.  The weeks (and months) before we arrived in BC had been full of rain, which had culminated in a bunch of flooding.  We drove over two washed out bridges that were in the process of being repaired.  Sicamous is also under a do not use the water warning, due to the flooding and the lack of proper water treatment at the moment.  Must make keeping a restaurant open quite hard, as you would have to bring in water to wash all the dishes and equipment.  Needless to say, we skipped using the bathrooms, since convincing the kids not to wash their hands, after spending six years telling them to wash their hands, is a hopeless endeavour.

From Sicamous, we drove a short way to the Enchanted Forest, which is a little tourist trap off the #1, where you walk through the forest and look at cement figures depicting famous nursery rhymes and fairy tales.  A number of the scenes include miniature houses, which are open and just the right size for small children.  The kids LOVED it.  Jonathan walked the entire way and was adamant that he follow his brothers everywhere they went, which meant I had to squeeze into tiny buildings a couple of times to get him out of tiny upper floors he was trapped in (or he was trapping his brothers in, by refusing to go down the stairs first).  The older two boys happily climbed a super tall tree house that was way too tall for me.  Luckily I convinced Jonathan to give up his climb when the other two boys started coming down.

We then drove a little further down the road to Revelstoke and stopped for the day.  After supper at a local restaurant and ice cream at a local ice cream shop, we put three very tired kids to bed and ended our day.

Okanagan - Day 7

Today was our last day in Penticton.  After church in the morning, Sandra made the boys hot dogs, while I walked down to a little beach restaurant for burgers and fries for the adults, which were quite good.  We then took everyone down to the beach, as there were thunderstorms forecast for today and we did not know if we would get another chance to play in the beach.

Due to the wind, the waves were huge and the two older boys had a ton of fun standing and sitting in the water as the waves crashed into them.  Xander went down the slide a bunch of times, and if you timed it right, you could slide down as a wave was coming up the slide for maximum splash potential.  There were a few times that he popped up after taking a face full of water.  Unfortunately, it quickly turned "cold" and the kids did not want to be at the beach anymore, so we headed back to our motel room.  Jonathan had a quick nap, while the older two kids played.

At supper time, we went out for more burgers and fries, before heading back to the go-karts for a second ride.  It was cool and threatening to rain, so the amusement park was not very busy.  Evan and I went first, and we were the only go-kart on the track.  The worker disappeared for awhile and left us on the track for a really long time, which was OK, except that I knew he wouldn't do the same thing for Xander.  Luckily, Xander did not notice his ride was shorter, and I did not mention anything about it.

After the go-kart rides, we went to the beach for the final time, as the evening was calm and the threat of thunderstorms was gone.  We played at the beach and in the water until after the sun sank behind the mountains, then returned to the motel room and put the kids to bed.  Tomorrow we pack up and start our journey home by going up to the Trans-Canada and then over to Revelstoke.

Unbreak the stick!

Okanagan - Day 6

Another relaxing day at the beach.  Our first order of business was some housekeeping - we went to a nearby laundromat and washed a load of clothes, before going to Safeway and buying some more supplies.  After a quick lunch, we went to a nearby amusement park that had two-seater go-karts and I ran around the track twice - once with Alexander and once with Evan.  Both kids loved the go-karts, and I had a lot of fun too.  The first time out, with Alexander, there was only one other car on the track, but the second time had a full complement of cars, and Evan was proud that we finished third (due to starting third - there isn't a lot of passing).  When Evan and I finished, Jonathan was adamant that it was his turn, but unfortunately, he was too small.

Beside the amusement park was a small rose garden.  Sandra and the older boys walked through it and took some pictures, while I tried to console Jonathan, who was quite upset, and extremely tired.  We went back to the motel and Sandra put Jonathan down for a nap while I took the older two boys to the beach.  They played in the sand and the water for the rest of the afternoon.  Today was cloudy, but still hot, though not as hot as the previous days.  At supper time, we returned to the motel and we all went out for supper.  After supper, I stayed in the room with Evan, as he did not want to go to the beach again, while Sandra took Xander and Jonathan to the beach.

Tomorrow is our last full day at the beach, and it looks like we are in for some very cool weather, with a possibility of rain.  Hopefully it stays away long enough that everyone can enjoy some more time in the sand and the water.

Okanagan - Day 5

So I missed posting last night, since everyone was so tired that we all fell asleep around 9:00pm.  We started the day off by driving down the valley a bit to Oliver, as there are a lot of fruit stands there.  We found an orchard, got everyone buckets and then headed out to the cherry trees to pick some cherries.  The trees that were ripe had already been picked over, which meant that the only cherries available were up high.  We grabbed a ladder and picked a bunch of cherries - I even put Jonathan on the ladder and pulled down some branches so he could pick some fruit.  Evan was the only one who did not have a good time, as the trees were full of mosquitos and he was getting bit fairly constantly, so he stood in the sun at the end of the trees to try to avoid them.

On the way home, we stopped at another fruit stand to buy some early peaches, as well as at an awesome little BBQ shack in Oliver so that Sandra and I could eat lunch.  They serve pulled pork sandwiches with a variety of sauces and they were fabulous.  Of course, the kids would not eat anything like that, so we ate in the car and then drove back to the motel to make hot dogs for the kids.

The afternoon was spent at the beach.  It started off a little cool, due to some wind blowing in off the lake, but by the end of the afternoon the wind had stopped and it was really hot.  The kids were starting to get a bit red around supper time, so we got them wrapped up and back in the motel room.

We made spaghetti and meat sauce for supper and then went for a short walk after supper to buy some mini-donuts and to take Xander's picture beside a street that is named after him.  As I mentioned previously, everyone was super tired, so we retired to the motel and put everyone to bed.

Okanagan - Day 4

We travelled to Penticton today, which is where we are going to spend most of the next week, before heading home.  The theme for today was "bad service in restaurants".  Not sure what is up with BC, but the majority of the restaurants we have been to have been awful.  For supper yesterday, we went to Boston Pizza, where it was not busy, but it still took forever for our food to arrive, and our waiter never returned to process our payment for the bill.  We ended up taking the bill to the front and paying.  Today, we stopped at a Dairy Queen in Osoyoos for lunch, but they only had two employees working - one on the front till and one on the drive through.  That meant that only one customer could be served at a time.  After waiting at the front of the line for 10 minutes, we left.

Tonight, we planned on going to Taco Bell for my wife.  The story there was identical to the DQ.  Two workers and the front counter worker was responsible for taking the orders, making the food and then calling it out.  I'm not sure how long we waited in line, but it was agonizing.  If it wasn't for the fact that my wife loves Taco Bell, I would have left and gone somewhere else.  Sandra's comment was that at least this restaurant was open - a few years ago, we tried to go to a Taco Bell in Edmonton, but it was closed during the afternoon due a shortage of employees.

Enough complaining about food.  Now it's time to complain about roads!  The first part of our day involved travelling to Penticton.  This is the first time I have ever driven down this highway and I found the road down into the Okanagan valley unbelievably insane.  It is extremely steep, with numerous switchbacks, as you essentially drop down the side of a mountain.  I'm starting to miss the flat roads back home.

Once in Penticton, we found our motel room, which is right across the street from the beach.  After a bit of a rest, we took the kids to the beach and spent the afternoon playing in the sand and the water.  Despite being really hot again today, it was quite cool at the beach.  There were trees for shade and the water is really cool.  I even spent sometime swimming, while the kids filled buckets with water and built their own lakes in the sand.  The kids loved swimming, so we should have lots of fun over the next few days.  The only bad thing that happened was when Xander fell while climbing a slide that is in the water.  He cracked his head on the stairs and got quite a large bump.

After finishing with swimming, we went for supper, went to Safeway for supplies (since our motel room has a kitchenette) and then walked down the beach for ice cream, before putting three extremely tired children to bed.

Okanagan - Day 3

We started the day by driving a little bit north of Cranbrook to the Fort Steele historic site.  Like Heritage Park and Fort Edmonton Park, it is a chance to walk through the buildings that existed in this area over 100 years ago.  And, like Heritage Park and Fort Edmonton Park, it is one street too long for the kids.  It seems like we always end up dragging them through the last area before leaving the park.

But I am getting ahead of myself, as the kids loved the first part of the park.  Evan and Jonathan love animals and the first thing we saw were a bunch of horses.  Xander hides it poorly, but he is a bit of a fan of learning about things, and he enjoyed going through the NWMP officer's quarters, where Sandra read each of the placards to him and explained what was in each room.  All of the kids loved the water tower, which you climb to the top and then look out over the park and the river.

Later on in the park, we were able to stop and watch a blacksmith work, as he filled the entire building with smoke from the coal fire he was tending.  Once it was hot enough, he heated a few pieces of iron and began to hammer them into shape.  Evan was a bit scared of the fire, but the blacksmith used a second forge to show him where the fire was located and to ensure him that it wasn't going to come anywhere near us.

The next big thing for the kids was the chance to pan for gold.  You had to pay money to pan for actual gold (one of the workers was adding gold to bags of rocks for that purpose when we arrived), but they had a kid's training area where there were rocks that contained iron pyrite.  Xander and Evan both panned for gold, though I ended up trying to help Evan a bit and missed the majority of the instructions, so that didn't turn out so well.  In the end, they both obtained a tiny bag of fake gold to take home.

After exploring the rest of the park, we went to a picnic table in the parking area and ate lunch, before heading over to the train station to take a short train ride.  Everyone was happy for the train ride until the whistle blew, at which point Jonathan turned around and started walking the other direction.  I picked him and carried him on the train, but he was not happy at all.  By the end of the ride, he had his head buried in my chest, with his hands pulling his hat over top of his ears.  I don't think he has inherited my love of trains.

We then bundled everyone in the car and drove through the mountains to Castlegar, where it is blazingly hot.  The drive was a bit interesting, as 8 km of an 8% grade downhill is a bit of a white knuckle drive, but luckily the road between Creston and Castlegar was quite empty.  That kind of drive is always easier when there isn't a bunch of traffic around you.

The last cool thing of the day occurred when we arrived at the hotel in Castlegar.  After asking for a room, the first thing they ask for is the number of guests.  Upon hearing that I had small children, the girl asked if I wanted their "Space Room" for the same rate.  Apparently this hotel has theme rooms for the kids, and as one was still open late in the day, it was available without having to pay a premium.  So, the boys are sleeping in bunk beds in a room covered with planets, while the door to our room is a giant space shuttle.

We are finally on Pacific Time, which prompted Xander to try and stay up for an extra hour tonight, but  that did not go over well with his parents.  However, I hope in vain that he will sleep in the extra hour tomorrow morning!

Okanagan - Day 2

We left Lethbridge this morning and drove into the mountains. Our first stop was Frank, AB, which is a tiny town that is famous due to a landslide that occurred in 1903 when a huge part of the mountain decided to collapse.  The results of the landslide are still very visible today, as the highway goes right through a field of boulders and crushed rocks.

Just off the highway is a small interpretive centre, viewing areas and a path that takes you through the rocks.  The entire area was a hit with the kids and they loved the walk through the rocks.  Jonathan walked entirely by himself, uphill and down, and the only issue was that he tried to take six or so of the smaller rocks with him everywhere he went.  It was a good start to the actual vacation part of our vacation.

After getting everyone back in the car, we drove to Sparwood, BC, which is famous for the giant dump truck that sits beside the tourist centre.  The dump truck is extremely huge and one of the main things that the boys wanted to see on this trip.  Jonathan has already associated vacations with a "giant dump truck"!  While the boys ran around the dump truck, I quickly bought lunch and then booked a tour through the local coal mine, as Sparwood is a mining town.

After lunch, we boarded a bus for our tour of the coal mine.  The tour of the mine was extremely cool.  From the entrance of the mine, we ascended 3000 feet to the top of the mountain, where we stopped to watch a shovel fill a continuous line of dump trucks.  The boys loved that part, though they were too short to see extremely well, which meant that we had to hold them so that they could see the dump trucks drive by.  I told Sandra that despite my hatred of driving anything bigger than a car, I think I would love to drive one of those huge dump trucks - it actually looks fun.

The bus stopped one more time at an abandoned mining pit, which they were in the process of refilling with the rock that was separated from the coal mined elsewhere.  Essentially, once the pit was filled enough to get rid of the water at the bottom, they were going to level it off and replant grass and trees.  Apparently it only takes six years for the grass to start growing again, and twelve years for the area to support trees again.

Once the tour was over, we spent some more time at the giant dump truck, which included time cleaning the kids.  The ground we were walking on in the mine was made up of coal, and the kids were black - especially the younger two, who had spent a lot of time picking up rocks.  After that, we drove to Cranbrook, got a hotel room, went out for supper and then played in the pool, before putting everyone to bed.

Tomorrow we plan on visiting Fort Steele.

Okanagan - Day 1

Much like our trip three years ago, today we simply drove from Regina to Lethbridge, in preparation for the rest of our vacation.  Unlike three years ago, today was unbelievably hot - it was 35 in Medicine Hat and 33 when we arrived in Lethbridge.

Despite the fact that today was just a travel day, we had a good day.  We left the house a little later than I planned, but not much, and arrived in Swift Current at lunch time.  We had packed a lunch, so we ate in a park before getting back on the road.  The kids slept all the way from Swift Current to Medicine Hat, where we stopped for gas.  (Not quite as cheap as last time - $1.17/L, which is only 9 cents less than Regina.)

We ran into road construction outside Medicine Hat, but we had put a movie on for the kids, so it wasn't a big deal.  After finding a hotel room in Lethbridge, we went for supper and then relaxed a bit before the kids went to bed.

Tomorrow we continue into the mountains.  We plan on stopping at the landslide in Frank and at the dump truck in Sparwood.

View Larger Map

Okanagan - Day 0

Tomorrow we leave on our vacation to the Okanagan Valley. We have rented a motel room in Penticton, right across the street from the beach. This will probably be one of the first vacations we have gone on where we planned to stay in one spot for the majority of the trip. It will be nice and relaxing, especially since this last week has been insanely crazy. My cousin got married on Saturday and Sandra made the cake, while Xander was the ring bearer, so things were a bit hectic. It will be nice to get to the valley and relax on the beach for a few days.

Our plan is to take the Crowsnest highway to Sparwood, where the boys are super excited to see the giant dump truck. We'll leave Penticton by going through Kelowna and take the #1 back to Calgary, which makes this the third straight trip where we've ended up in Calgary before coming home. However, the kids loved Calaway Park last year, so it should be just as big a hit this year.