Stanford Inn Red Deer

... a while now, so I was really looking forward to actually going. The atmosphere was great, it's really brought the community together, and hopefully I'll be able to go stay and work there for a couple of weeks next April. I got to hear how Chris set it all up, how it works etc etc. All very interesting!<br><br>The other highlight was having a full on snowball fight on Thursday night! The temperature was about 3 to minus 3, and after dinner we looked out ...

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

... Australia and ended up settling around Batchelor) and got to meet lots of family we had never met before and learning more about the family history. One of the highlights was the centenary of the Sargent School (now a community hall). David's great grandparents had donated some of their land for a school in the district, which had then operated as a school until about 1950's or 1960's before being used as a community ...

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 ...

... and write back you can, right from the travelpod. Off to Travis and Melissa's wedding this weekend, pack Sunday night, then leave Calgary on Monday at 10am. Pete and Peggy have arrived in Shenyang today, we shall join them on Tues 8th. Back to scrambling to get ready. Cathy, Rob, Kevin.

... took the road from Rocky Mtn.House to Lake Louise. It took a little while before the mountains were visible, but suddenly the majestic peaks were quite clear in the horizon ahead of us. Even though the sun was setting we still got a good look at the snow clad peaks before it got completely dark. As far as the eye could see, mountains kept popping up out of nowhere it seemed. When we reached Lake Louise it was ...

... condition we all are it took about 10 hours... When we first started going up hill i was weezing and thought i was going to choke, the air was quite thick as it was early morning and quite cool and muggy. but as time went on and taking many breaks breathing got easier. When we cleared the trees and made it up to just near the 'dragons back' ( the skinny part of the rocky area) we stopped for lunch. After climbing ...

... I also met a cool chick called Marie from Toulouse who has promised to help me improve my French. So I had some excellent company, as well as sensational scenery. I was hoping to hit the slopes today but it ended up being minus twenty five and snowing, plus the costs of half a day were pretty inhibitive. So I ended up hiking up a couple of trails, stopping at the hot springs and a couple of pubs on the way. Mal is now a PE teacher, but when ...