Bike Delay

I imagine that his post will be rather swift with scant details of current goings on in Cochrane. However, to surmise;

Mark and Lucy arrived on Wednesday night, although we'd been waiting for them to appear from behind the "customs wall" for an hour before a big security fellow came up to me and, in a serious tone, asked if my name was Simon (I fought off the flashbacks and angst) to which my response was obviously affirmative. He told me and Brina that Mark and Lucy were here but minus a bag - bugger. It was the bike bag...

After two days of hunting for the bike, it has finally rocked up in Calgary, so we have picked it up and are now due to depart on the road trip. We're heading off to Glacier in Montana this afternoon, and we'll ride the "Going to the Sun" road tomorrow. Then off to Yellowstone to see Yogi, into Colorado after a few days - then goodness knows where we'll end up after that...

We've already had a stint up into Banff and the bro and sis in law went out searching for their old haunts - all well and good as Lucy bumped into the manager she worked for at Wild Bills years ago... although Mark's obsession of nostalgia was to drag us around the Banff Springs Hotel searching for the electrical sockets where he used to plug and power up his vaccuum whilst cleaning up on the night shift (good times eh?).

We'd milled around the airport a bit yesterday trying to track down the bag - as we needed face to face contact seeing as though the Air Canada helpline for baggage is based in India and the assistants (loose use of the term) merely read from a pre printed script and did bugger all (no berating of the Indians, just Air Canada). A picnic in Bragg Creek eased the evening away (scorching hot... almost too hot for mozzies - almost), and then we ended up driving to the airport at 10.30pm to collect the bike - it's amazing how the US homeland security hassle all entrants into the country with finger prints, anal probes, labradors and beagles sniffing at your crotch for scent of TNT and make you take your shoes off when walking through the metal detectors (although I think that's because they like to keep the carpet clean in US customs. Yet they are able to loose a bike bag which is so big a family of terrorists could hide in it, nobody could trace it in San Fransico and then lo and behold it is loaded upon a plane two days later - how does that work???

The paper work about the lost bike stated it was a giant bike (which it is) but this raied eyebrows with the Air Canada officials as they were looking for the giant who rode it (it's not really THAT big we had to explain).

Anyway, this has turned out a little longer than expected, but we're off for two weeks, so a big old update will be posted when we get back - with plenty of piccies and nodoubt some Tom Foolery adventures,

Enjoy the summer,

Happy Hols'

S&S.

p.s. Some people just haven't quite got over the jet lag yet though.

Calm Before The Storm

Thought starting off the post with a calm, cosy, homely picture was the order of the day today. Holiday mode is well underway with the both of us now. I always know when my holiday brain has kicked when I forget what day it is - seriously nice way to be, but also very inconvenient when your mind is thinking it's somewhere amidst the weekend, when infact it's Tuesday morning and you've missed your CT scan at the hospital (ooopppss!), never mind, I've had too many x-ray type jobbies this month anyway - and it's always better having the CT scan when at work because you get the day off (and you remeber to turn up).
Got out on the mountain bike with Brad on Friday, just to confirm more than ever that a full suzzie bike is the order of the day (although I imagine it will be next season now), I rattled my elbows and shoulders from their sockets on the descents as Brad's rather spiffy new Cannondale Rush seemed to have a more soothing effect over the bumpy stuff.
Headed out to camp in Banff on Friday night - only to get devoured by mosquitoes which forced an early retreat under the canvass. Milled around Banff on Saturday (and thought it a good idea to pick up Harry Potter in French, just to test out the grey matter and improve my Frenglais if I get through the book - rather slow progress at the moment, four days later, and only on page two - merde).

To finish today, here's a shot of Luna Lovegood at last weekend's Canada day celebrations

Now off to do a bit more route planning for the road trip (and hope the current rain gives way to sunshine before the Kiwis arrive).

Grands Sourires

S&S.

Magnus Opus

Alas, the folks have departed, but a great time was had when Mum and Ken were over - although this blog got seriously neglected. A bit of blogging TLC needed for the coming week, before bro and Luce arrive for more holiday fun!
The past week has also seen the departure of Portland Ken back south of the line to his homeland of Oregon, although we hope to see the big hairy oaf back up here for winter visits (and for reciprical trips down stateside).
The piccie shows us taking in a refreshing pint (courtesy of Nana) on Canada day at a pub below the Banff Springs - and that's not a boil festering on Brina's arm, just her patriotic maple leaf tattoo (temporary of course) - a game which mother also became embroiled in, and it was like walking along Banff Ave with a couple of chicks from Hell's Angels.
We managed a day heading in the Easterly direction (the magnetic pull of the Rockies overpowered for once) and spent a sticky day at Drumheller, gawping at the size of the dinosaur monsters that have been pulled out of the rocks around the area, with a visit to the rather good Royal Tyrell Museum (a place to really realise the insignificance of being).
A stint up to Jasper via the Icefields was the staple for last Sunday. With all of our great outdoor expertise, we rushed out of the car at the icefields equipped with nothing but sandles, shorts and t-shirts ("but it was sunny in Cochrane" was as good an excuse as complaining about being stuck in a snow storm in Caringorm because it was "rather fine in Manchester").

Here you can see Mum and Brina really feel the "bite" whipping down from the Athabasca glacier. Despite the short stroll up to the ice, we were all in agreement that seeing it from the road and the visitor centre was enough and lets get on to Japser...

Bears galore were spotted on the road to Jasper (well, one bear). We spotted the black bear plodding along parallel to the road, with the lovely dopey critter not giving a toss about the cars - and the mega dopey dicks driving cars jumping out of their cars on the bear side of the road with children clutching their hands to walk up close to the bear for photos (honestly, these folks were unbelievable). The highway was only single lane, and the bear was on the other side, we did slow down for a quick photo (O.K. we triggered a bear jam! oops) and just as Brina was about to click the camera shutter, a crazy assed tourist (who am I to speak!?!) skidded his car onto the opposite side of the road so that Brina got the photo of his car - how lovely. More humoursly though was mother's fury at this other incondsiderate driver, and she let loose with a tantrum of what can only be termed "bear rage"; "you fu#$*ng stupid p!!$ why the f$#* can't you go and *!#*!*! etc...." she screamed - well you get the picture, don't piss off mother when there are bears to be seen.

This piccie is hardly going to win the wildlife photo of the year award, but you can just see dumb ass's car honing into view as big ol' bear is thinking about looking up to give us a smile.







Fortunately for mum and Ken they'd spotted another Ursus americanus on their trip down to Yellowstone - and fortunately for the population of Montana, nobody had driven into their field of view when mum had seen it!

With much sunshine and good weather, mum was eager to finish her stint here this year with a good hike - "relatively flat" she said, "this is the Rockies" I replied; "somewhere with not too steep drops" she'd asked, "this is still the Rockies" I reminded her; "something not too tricky" was her request, "No problem" my response, but then this sign scuppered me at the trailhead of the chosen hike;

Slightly disconcerted and reminding me of her vertigo, Mum scaled the heights of Heart Mountain to the glorious vistas at the top. From the summit, when viewing the ridge walk which I had suggested was a rather easy descent, mum's voice quaivered as she asked "we don't have to do that do we?" (I've edited the expletives) - "of course not, we kind of skirt around the back" - oops... But mum took to the scrambling like a scouser takes to thieving, and within no time was scaling this;
I just hope that I'm giddy enough to try a seven hour hike with all this nonsense when I'm 59!
All in all, it's been a super time having Mum and Ken over here (and it's been a good excuse to overindulge in coffee, beer and natchos).
Best get ready for the arrival of bro and sis in law now (who knows what adventures await for the rest of the month? - a quick camping trip out to the hills tomorrow with Brad and Julie should occupy us enough for now).
Here comes the sun,
Big Smiles,
S&S.