North Hill Inn Red Deer

... arrived on Saturday night in Sylvan Lake, where two of the students Jenny and Nathan live. We stayed with their parents and in Jenny and Nathans house. Sunday morning, Jenny, her sister-in-law Crista and her mum-in-law made us all waffles... with strawberries, whipped cream, maple syrup, bacon etc etc etc. I could get used to this! A couple of us then went to church with Nathans parents and his brother Ben. Yet again, the preacher was talking about how ...

Ruth and Gorden's 50th was a great time with family and friends. <br>Boundry Ranch is beautiful.<br><br> We left Boundry Ranch in the PM and stopped in Calgary and had a short put sweet visit with Albert and Mieke. Then drove to Red Deer to overnight with Don and Lois

... race around 2 barrels before going around the racetrack. Lots of fun to watch.<br>Also went to the Reynolds Museum in Wetaskawan (you'll be proud of me Paul, finally got that right) with Paul and Darlene on their 40th wedding anniversary. It was a great museum, and we got dressed up in fliers gear and had our photos taken with an old airplane. It was a fun day. Also went to Drumheller to the Dinosaur Museum there ...

In our quest for the library, we stumbled upon the most beautiful city gardens! What a find in a roundabout way! Since Senica has a broken toe we cannot walk all over the town. I love how we found the highlights just a few blocks from the bus station!

... but the temperature this morning was -36C with a strong breeze that dropped the wind chill to a crushing -47C; brrrrr. The snow fell most of the night and I had to shovel through drifts as deep as 40 cm. Still the weather didn't stop me from walking into town for my dental appointment this morning

Home again. -13C and sunny. The ground is covered in snow and the lake is frozen solid. This may not seem pleasant to my southern friends but those of us who live here call this a gorgeous winter's day ...

Dec 20 - We leave Santiago, Chile at 9:21 pm (5:21pm at home) and land in Toronto at 6:45 am. Dec 21 - From Toronto, we leave at 8:30 am (6:30 at home) and land in Calgary at 10:50 am. Momma, I'm comin home "A journey is a person in itself, no two are alike. And all plans, safeguards, policies and coercion are fruitless. We find after years of struggle that we do not take a trip; a trip takes us." - John Steinbeck (1902-1968)

... sorry bro, bad planning). Now we eagerly anticipate Saturday's flights, still in disbelief that we're leaving so soon!!! Although I think at this point TJ is more excited about Friday because he is going to the Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube Concert with Drew and they have box ...

... on the rides that they could ride alone. In fact, Anique had grown since their last visit here and was quite excited to go on all of the rides that Zoe enjoyed. Once the amusement park closed, we rented little trolleys and pushed the girls around the mall. Later, we visited in the room while waiting for the boys. The Oilers game was their second last game of the regular season, and with only 33 seconds remaining, the Oilers scored, winning ...

Although the ski season lasts until May I think there's a good chance Saturday's trip to Sunshine (one of the mountain resorts at Banff) may well be the last. I'm only in Calgary for six more weeks, and have to fit in term papers and final exams, not to mention social life in Calgary, before I leave. More to the point skiing is a very expensive past time! With Europe fast ...