I think at one point, we had all 4 girls sleeping...at 9:30 am. Nothing short of a miracle!
We arrived in Valemount around lunch time, checked into our hotel, found a sitting area and ate some lunch before unloading the quads to head out on some logging roads to see the sites
The view of the valley was quite beautiful, and it was a great first day, especially for me driving the Ranger Crew, to get used to how it handled.
After we were done quadding and had eaten some dinner, we all went down to the hotel pool where the adults sat in the hot tub while the kids enjoyed swimming. I think everyone was in bed, asleep, by 8:30 pm!
The next morning, since we had brought breakfasts as well, we headed back to the lounge for some eats.... A few of our fellow guests at the hotel thought that it was continental breakfast for everyone, so we had a good chuckle watching people....and telling them to stay away from our food!
After breakfast, we suited up in long johns and MANY layers to head up on the Sea to Sky Trail, which goes up Canoe Mtn. to 8500 ft. The day was quite cool, and the higher we got, the cooler it got, until we reached this...
SNOW! It was actually really low visibility...
and after we ate a quick lunch of hot soup (good thinking, Jen!), much weeping and gnashing of teeth from the girls b/c they were extremely cold, we headed back down the mountain. We didn't actually make it to the very top, because our 4 wheel driving wasn't working, but Art and Hannah made it up to check it out. On our way down, just past the snowline, we were rewarded for our endeavors with...
An amazing view of the valley, and a gorgeous, bright rainbow. But let me tell you, we did hightail it down! Ellie Mae was quite exhausted, and fell asleep on the way down, which she thought was pretty cool!
After ordering pizza for dinner, we warmed up in the hot tub again while the kids swam.
Sunday morning, after breakfast, we headed towards McBride for our last ride. Initially, it was going to be a shorter day of riding, but the scenery was so beautiful that we just couldn't stop!
We unloaded at a rest stop, and followed a recreational trail along Small River.
We found a little bit of mud....
Or maybe a lot...
And even crossed the river a few times. The picture may remind you of a similar event that happened in June, but fortunately, no one got stuck...in the river.... (not mentioning any names!)
Along the road, we met an old man who told us of some of the highlights of the area...
like waterfalls and cabins and other hidden surprises.
It really was fun to put this bad boy machine through the paces along this winding road, until we came to "Mile 19"
Where we couldn't quite get across. However, our wonderful husbands who look out for us so well, decided to cross the river just downstream from here, and left us to fend for ourselves with ALL 7 of the children. Thanks, guys! From here, we turned around and headed back to where we had spoken with some campers who had brought their toy hauler and quad out here and graciously left a fire going for us so we could warm up some lunch
It was a little bit primitive, but we made do!
After this, we headed back to the trucks, not before Abby broke down on her quad....the steering and brakes totally gave out, and she ran into the side of the mountain! We are so thankful she was going slow, and it hadn't happened on the other side of the road, where there was a 10 ft. drop to the river... (don't worry, Auntie Frieda....we are all safe and sound! She's alive!) Truly, we thanked God for keeping her safe. And now, she has a great story to tell EVERYONE!
We ended up back and the trucks, loaded up and on the road by 6 ish, which didn't get us home until midnight, but it was well worth the late night and tired kids! We had a great mini-vacation away, and are looking forward to going next year!
However, what do you think the chances are that the dealership will let us demo another unit? We may have to buy one.....
1 comment:
I'm thinking the dealership will say "not so much" next time! Ah, beautiful B.C. Glad you had fun!
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