welcome 'rents!!!

Mom and dad arrived the same week we welcomed Muggins home. Thanks for the help pup-sitting. They helped us suffer through her perpetual chew phase.

                                                 We took a trip to Jasper

                           Stopping to marvel at the receeding Columbia Icefield

     Looking at Pyramid Mountain (one of seven pyramid mountains in the Canadian Rockies).  This is one of Jasper's most photogenic sights. And two of Jasper's most photogenic people.

We stayed at Coyote Ridge in Jasper, which we will return to again when we ski Marmot Basin. 

We looked for wildlife on our trip and we found sheep, clusters of them sunning themselves and modelling for us.
I said to one of them "Quick! Staring contest me and you"...........

You win again, you always do.
That's why I come up here.

We saw a Moose swim all the way across Maligne lake. What an unbelievable sight.
Sean has a picture of a bear that swam by him in NWT, but I will save that story for him to tell you at a later time. 

our new puppy- Muggins

Muggins is our sweet and furry new addition. She's our little peach I guess you could say. She was eight weeks when we brought her home. A lab- collie cross, she will grow and surpass Apollo's size by estimations.

The name Muggins has multiple meanings:
Muggins was the dog who accopanied Mary Schaffer on her travells as Banff National Park's first tourist
Muggins had a full time job as a canine canvasser for the Red Cross, having an independent route on the Streets of Victoria During WWI
Muggins is defined as a simpleton; silly person
There are also Muggins versions of Dominoes and a rule in cribbage

I have quickly realized my potential to become the bag lady, how many other dog owners notice their coat pockets and purses contain plastic bags and doggie treats?

my little buddy

this is Apollo when he was just little, though he has grown up

We  are still little buddies

He has his dog-like moments too, I guess

But he is too well behaved to be all dog, for sure

Part dog- part awesome

when in banff

At 2100h on a Tuesday, I was preparing for three days off. I wanted to hike but a four persom group is four stongly cautioned at this time of year.
 I stumbled upon a website mentioning a 9:00 am departure tomorrow. It didn't mention where from or where to. Hmm, I did have the address of the Banff Life website. I decided to try my luck. I left at 630 and was in Banff by 815, by the time I found the office it was 830 and sure enough the group was meeting there.
It was such a nice hike along the tunnel mountain path, and the guide stopped along the way to tell us about the area,



She told stories of the Dave White Co, the original outfitters in Banff, and trips Europeans took by train headed west. It reminded me of my first journey here.

 She told us about the people's belief in the healing powers of the hot springs, for the hot springs were at that time just a hole in the ground, and loved ones were lowered into the pool by hide slings made for them.



 I happened to come on the day of the farmer's market and there was nice breads from Canmore's bakeries which I gnawed on as I explored around town. I bought cards with pictures taken of griz and bighorn sheep and heard the story of the pictures from the photographers.

 I went to the Cascade Gardens and thought to myself, I thought I had a flower problem?
This garden hosts a whopping 50,000 annuals a year.

I went to the Banff park museum Natural Historic site and chuckled- as this picture means both museums in Banff have images of people having to pee

.

Luckily this was not a forewarning, I sat in the library and read old books about the CP rail and the Hudson's Bay company, while the rain thinned out the crowd in the town,
 it was a lovely day. 10/10 as Rhonda would say.