Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The Golfer

Have I ever told you what a great golfer B is? I haven't? Really?

Well that's probably because he's only golfed once this year. But he made it count!

He went to a tournament a few weeks ago and beat the pro on one of the holes. This particular hole had a little contest attached to it. If you beat the pro you got to enter your name for a drawing for an iPad.

Guess what B won?

Guess what I knit for it?


I got this worsted weight yarn from the last swap I was in. It's some lovely handspun from Harrison Wheel Works. It was just enough to knit this cozy. I have only the tiniest ball left. The pattern is called the Cabled iPad Sleeve by Haramis Designs and it's a free patern on her blog.

I even had the perfect button in my button jar to go with it!


Thanks B! You're a lucky bugg... great golfer!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Hiking around Cypress

This a picture heavy post because this what we did every day when we were camping. We hiked. We hiked a lot. There are so many trails all over this park we had a hard time choosing the right ones. Turns out each one was perfect.

The first day we hiked over 7 kms on 3 different trails. The first one was called the Prairie Nature Trail. It was an interpretive loop that took us way out to the edge of the park and had great views. 


Josie picked up a cow skull. It was gross. She thought it was a prize of some kind and pranced around with it for a long time.

The next trail was also an interpretive loop that went through totally different terrain. This one was a shady forest much like home (BC) on the one side and on the other it was exposed and dry (which oddly, is also a lot like BC). There was a swampy area in the middle that was shallow and reedy. The dog thought it was grand. So did the kids...


Mr. Man climbed trees and threw rocks was only clean for about 5 minutes every day. Otherwise he was covered in dirt pretty much the whole trip.


The last hike for the day was through a forest and it was lovely. The Superstar stole my camera and snapped about a million pictures of trees, rocks, Mr. Man and her shadow...

I'd share more pictures from the other days, but I'd bore you. They're pretty much the same kind of thing. I totally loved this part of our trip. I love to hike and there was so much to see in Cypress. I can't wait to go again!



Sunday, September 9, 2012

The Dino Museum


On Saturday we went to the T.Rex Discovery Centre  in Eastend. It was a great little museum. They had all the things you would expect like fossils, a movie and replicas of big dinosaurs. We spent a fair bit of time wandering around inside...


This guy was supposedly common around Saskatchewan. I can't remember his name and I'm having a hard time finding him with google search. He was like a rhino though and he had the best nose.



And here is Scotty. He's the whole reason this museum is here. He was found in this area by paleontologists and the local high school principal. Mr. Man wasn't sure what to make of him...

Outside was just as much fun as inside. We wandered around and the day got brighter and hotter and sillier...


I even found a spot to sit quietly...


For about 2 seconds...


Fun times were had by us. If you ever get over to this part of the province you can't miss this little gem of a town. There was lots we didn't see and I'd like to go back soon.




Saturday, September 8, 2012

Fort Walsh

We went to Fort Walsh on Friday. The Fort is a national historic site and a fascinating one if you're into the history of the RCMP in the west.  They have reenactments, tours and people dressed in period costumes. The buildings are wonderfully maintained and the artifacts are great. I love that we were able to really explore the whole place.

We started at the interpretive centre, they have a great timeline history of the Fort and the area. There's a shuttle down to the Fort if you want it but we walked instead. The trail was a bit steep (especially going back up) but the view was so worth it!


I love that the trail between Fort Walsh and Fort Benton in Montana is still usable. I would love to hike/camp this trail one day.


So Parks Canada has this Young Explorer program that Mr. Man got participate in. He got to wear a Mountie shirt and run free all over the site playing games and working out puzzles found in a little booklet we were given. He had a blast. I did too!


Because he was the only little person there that morning, he got to help one of the "real" Mounties arrest some law breakers. B was one of the lucky ones that got arrested. He played his part very well and Mr. Man was hilarious.


The day got really hot by the time we started back up the hill. It was nice that there were benches to rest on.


We had packed a lunch and we were sitting there all happily munching away when suddenly B put Josie away in her kennel. I wasn't sure why since we weren't at all finished.


Out of some trees at the end of the parking area came a few horses. Then a few more, until suddenly there were about 20 of them. There were lots of babies too. 


It was a bit surreal. Especially since we were just immersed in a time period where people depended on horses for their very survival. It was a perfect way to end the trip.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Camping at Cypress Hills

We went camping at Cypress Hills InterProvinical Park this past weekend. It was fabulous! We stayed in the centre block where most of the camping is located for 5 days. There were over 1000 sites scattered in small camp areas around the block.


We were in Rainbow which was in a lodge pole pine forest. It was shady and exposed and got pretty crowded by Friday night. The funny thing was that even though there were so many people there was wildlife everywhere.

look closely


This guy was our dinner entertainment one evening, he was about 20 feet away from us for around a half an hour until Josie saw him. There were lots of silly squirrels and more deer. Tons of birds and flies. But no mosquitoes! It was almost heaven! 

The great thing about this camping spot was all the stuff to do! We hiked every day, we went and had ice cream and went to a dinosaur museum and geocached and I got to taste test at a winery.

 

B and I would like to go back sometime. When we do we'll camp in the West Block. It's much more rugged  and there are very few people. It's the biggest side and we barely explored it. There is just so much to see!

Little Sheep Virtues

Happy Friday! I'm pretty excited to be sharing this cross stitch project with you all. Pattern: Little Sheep Virtues 1-12 by Litt...