Back in the USA

Today we would be returning to the USA.  Our stops in Canada were short but we had fun and left plenty of stuff to do the next time we visit.  We had close to 6 hours of driving per Google which for us means closer to 7 hours.  Plus, we had to cross the border.  But I had learned my lesson earlier about stressing over the border crossing.  This time I was cool as a cucumber!

We left Kewlona and started driving uphill.  We drove up and up and up.  I have never gone up hill for so long in my life!  Our destination for the day was Seattle which, last I checked, is at sea level.  So I though that it would be a net downhill day.  I can’t be sure, but if Seattle is at sea level then Kewlona must be several thousand feet BELOW sea level considering all the steep hills we climbed today.  But the Beast did his job and trucked along just fine.

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Urban Farming

A few generations ago growing your own food was a part of life.  Today it seems like it is a lost art.  It is an art form that definitely intrigues me.  Our family travels have not been good for the honing of my green thumb but I keep trying to grow a variety of different veggies and berries on our little piece of downtown Longmont.  One day this spring I was out in our garden that sits between the sidewalk and the street working when a lady came by and said, “your farm is looking good!”  Wow, she called my little plot of veggies a farm!  Which means I am a farmer.  An urban farmer!

So, when Steph said she found an urban farm in Kelowna British Columbia that was also an RV park, I was super excited to check the place out.  We arrived at the park in the heat of the day but pulled right in to site #9 as instructed by Tyler, the owner, who called us earlier in the day.  He just opened the RV part of the farm in May so the sites are freshly landscaped and look really nice and clean.  Spots are a little on the tight side but not impossible.  I noticed about  half of the sites had rigs as big as ours and all our trucks were sticking out beyond our official spot.  All the spots are full hook up and the WiFi is super strong and snappy!
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In hot water

After a busy day of driving and hiking yesterday it was nice to just relax today.  We took plenty of walks around the campground, read, played frisbee and horseshoes.  I called my dad to wish him a happy 82nd birthday and had a nice chat with him and my mom.

Our campground was just a few miles from the town of Radium Springs which is home to a hot springs pool.  But it was a blistering hot day so we decided to try out the pool after the temp cooled down a bit in the evening.  So after dinner we drove the short distance to town.   Before going o the hot springs we stopped to check out the stations of the cross they have on a hillside in town.  I don’t think I have ever done the stations of the cross so this was a very neat experience and we counted it as our church for the day being a Sunday and all.
Stations of the cross
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Beautiful Banff

As Steph was researching where all to go on our summer trip she reached out to many friends asking for advice.  One of our friends from the ‘hood were also heading in that direction and it seemed would be in the Banff area about the same time we were.  So we made sure to align our Canadian Rockies visit with the Tillery family.  We decided to meet up for a hike in Johnston Canyon in Banff National Park at 0900 to try to avoid at least some of the crowds.  Being a 1.5 hour drive from our campground to the the trailhead meant a super early morning for our family.  But we made it and were able to find our friends in the sea of visitors.
The whole gang
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Oh Canada

Last year when we were at Niagara Falls we so badly wanted to cross over the border to check out the falls from the Canada side.  However, we did not have valid passports.  So, we made it a priority to get passports for the whole family before this trip so we could cross the border if we wanted to.  And we wanted to!  Brielle was so excited about going to a different country and the Canadian Rockies sound like an amazing place.  On top of that, we had some friends that were going to be in the Banff area about the same time we were so we decided to hook up with them for a day.  But first we had some logistics.
Border

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