We woke up and had breakfast at my mom's house this morning. We left early (8:45) so that we could make it on time or a little early to the 10:30 session at the Payson Utah Temple. We made it early, alright...about 10:00...and the session began at 10:45 instead of 10:30. Oh well. The Payson temple is Gorgeous! There were a lot of people getting married today. Mattina Ann had a lot of people to watch while waiting to get in to the Baptistry.
After the session, we walked around the grounds then made our way to Costa Vida for lunch before hitting the freeway for our final stretch. I drove from Payson to Beaver, and Mattina Ann drove from there to home. It was then that the sky decided to release rain. Yah, that was fun. She got us home alive at about 6:00. Mattina Ann just glared at me, so I have to add that she did very well driving home.
Sherry Ann went to get Tanner, Geremy, and AJ while Mattina and I unloaded the car and tried to clean up. Mattina Ann then got ready for work and left at 6:40 and finally got home at around 11:00. We started cleaning clothes and getting ready for our next adventure beginning on Monday. Goodbye Canada...California, here we come!
We are sad to be leaving Edmonton and Canada today, but excited to be headed homeward and closer to the boys.
Sherry Ann wanted some Wunderbar candy bars so we tried looking for a Walmart. Our RITA took us to the All Canadian Store instead. That turned out to be a blessing because the candy bars were on sale. Yeah! The cashier couldn't believe that we didn't have Wunderbar's in America. We also bought Swedish Berries (like swedish fish but in berry shapes) and 2 large chocolate hazelnut bars. YUM!
We weren't totally ready to leave yet so we drove to Calgary and went to a souvenir store called Maple Country. It had the maple syrup Sherry Ann really wanted and the sweatshirts we all wanted. We had spent the whole trip looking for these things and this was the perfect stop.
We then went to a pancake house. It was closed because the owners were "on holiday". Ugh! So we went to our other lunch request. We went to The Buttermilk Fine Waffles! It was DIVINE!! Between the 3 of us we tried 3 different types of waffles. We tried the traditional, churro, and raspberry sauce with strawberries. PERFECT! All of them. This was the best way to finish our eating in Canadian style.
We then got gas in Lethbridge and went to the border to come back to the United States. We were very disappointed that there was not a large flag to greet us. There were lots of cameras taking pictures of our car coming in. The border agent was very nice and friendly. He was joking how Mattina, in the back seat, was the boss. Sherry Ann let him know that she was the real boss.
We then drove to Great Falls Montana where we had dinner at Arby's and went to bed. All that driving made us very tired.
July 29
We left Great Falls by 9:00 and drove to West Valley where we had dinner at Chick-fil-A. We then went to Dave's house for a tour. We are so happy for them. We then went to Aaron's mom's home where Aaron helped her with family history and Mattina tried figuring out her friends lives. Exhausted, we finally made it to bed. We miss the sun going down so late.
Today, we decided to go off the beaten paths of Canada's National Parks, and spend some time in an urban playground. Okay, well, it's really the biggest mall in North America - The West Edmonton Mall.
First on the itinerary was to find some souvenirs for A.J., Tanner, and Geremy. Mattina Ann also wanted to get a little something for her friends. We found everything we needed at one shop. Sorry, boys...no spoilers!
We ate lunch at the food court and then made our way to Galaxyland! It is an indoor amusement park located inside the mall.We had a wonderful time. First we went to the bumper cars, then eased our way to the roller coasters on what Mattina Ann referred to as a kiddie coaster. Then we went on an assortment of other rides including the "Galaxy Orbiter" (reminiscent of the "Spider" at Lagoon), the "Mind Bender," the "Space Shot," a 7-D ride/game, a ropes course, and many more! We also played one of the midway games and Sherry Ann won a plush Pikachu. No, boys...it's not for you. "Mind Bender" broke down after a while, so most of the afternoon/evening was spent on the "Galaxy Orbiter." We went on that ride so many times, we could not count. We were trying to find out which seating arrangement would give us the greatest spin factor. We decided that Sherry Ann on one side with Aaron directly across from her with Mattina Ann next to Aaron gave the greatest spins.
We had to take a respite and get something to eat and give our stomachs enough time to stop spinning. By the time we got back to the park, we had enough to time to ride the bumper cars again, and then they were closed.
We drove to a Marble Slab Creamery for some ice cream and took a stroll through a nearby park as we ate it. The ice cream was delicious. The sweetness must have gone straight to our blood stream because the mosquitos came out in full force and started sucking our blood. So we high tailed it out of there and went back to the hotel. The mosquitos were still attacking on the short walk from the car to the doors. I tell you, anyone going to Canada...wear long clothes, mosquito repellant, and bring lots of Caladryl lotion.
We're all exhausted and ready for bed now. Unfortunately, tomorrow we begin our drive back toward home. It has been a great adventure that we will always remember.
We left Calgary at 11:00 this morning and headed North toward Edmonton. We made a pit stop for lunch at Red Deer. We were invited to have lunch with Caroline Sokol, who is a member of our Ward in St. George. She lives there in the winter months, and in Red Deer, AB during the summer months. She is a dear friend, and it was nice to visit with her and 2 of her grandsons, Dallin and Ben. Sister Sokol also joined us for a wonderful temple session at the Edmonton Alberta Temple. While in the dressing room, Sherry Ann saw Sister Sheri Dew, and was told that Sister Dew and Sister Nelson were both in attendance tonight. That was a major highlight for Sherry Ann.
After the temple, we said good bye to Sister Sokol and went downtown to the Annual Taste of Edmonton festival. You had to buy tickets and use the tickets to "purchase" food samples from the vendors. We didn't really see anything that we wanted, so we went and got gas and decided to find dinner on the way back to the hotel. Unfortunately, nothing we saw looked very good. So we decided on the Olive Garden across the street from the hotel. It was near closing time, so they only had one bowl of my Zuppa Toscana...sigh.
All-in-all, we had a nice day and the temple was lovely.
Today started early. We had breakfast in our room and made our sandwiches. First, we went to get gas. We weren't sure we'd get through the day on what was in the car. Our next stop was Lake Louise in Banff National Park. Can I just saw, "Wow!"
The lake was almost an emerald green color. We were told the the green color comes from what is called "rock flour." They are tiny particles of rock that are as fine as flour and are suspended in the water, too light to settle on the bottom. The water comes from the melting glaciers high above in the mountains. We could even see some of the glaciers from where we stood.
While at the lake, we searched for and almost gave up on finding a geocache. We had the coordinates and tried to find the most logical place for it. In fact, just as we were ready to give up I said, "I don't get it. I mean the most logical place to put it would be in this hollowed out tree stump. I mean, you wouldn't want it to get washed away by rain fall or snow fall, but I've looked in there a couple of times already." That's when I looked down and saw the small box hidden under some fallen pieces of wood at the base of the stump. Brilliant.
So, we knew that we were running a little late for our appointment to do the zip line and still had a bit of a drive ahead of us, but we stopped at a bench lake side and ate our sandwiches. It was so serene. When we were done, we made our way back to the car and drove toward our next destination. But after about an hour later and we still weren't there, we got worried that we had missed our turn off. So we stopped at a visitor canter at Yoho National Park to ask someone who knew the area. She said we still needed to go another 20 minutes or so, then turn off. Well, it was already 25 minutes to 2:00 and we were supposed to be there by 1:45. Great.
We got there right at 2:00 and nobody was there to greet us. So we lingered a little while, then the guy running the operation showed up. He said we were just fine being late since they were running a bit behind schedule anyway. So, we ended up on the 3:00 zip line tour with a family of 4. It was sooooo much fun! We did 2 short lines, and then the long one that traversed the Kicking Horse River. You'll have to see the pictures and videos below. Sherry Ann had a little difficulty getting over how high the platform was for the final line. I'm pretty sure A.J. would not have gone up that catwalk.
After doing the zip lines, we began driving back toward Banff. We saw a sign for a "short" hike to Wapta Falls, so we decided to give it a try. It was a huge waterfall! Well worth the hike in. Sherry Ann and Mattina Ann stayed at the top lookout of the falls while I hiked farther down the trail to the base of the falls. It was just amazing. I'm probably going to use that small phrase many times, because all of the falls we saw tonight were amazing.
After that hike, we made our way back toward Banff (again). On our way, we discovered that we had actually crossed over into British Columbia on our way to the zip line. So, we visited 2 Canadian national parks, and 2 provinces. Cool. We finally got to Johnston Canyon and began hiking to the lower and upper falls. Actually there were 7 falls along the "creek." It was more like a raging river in our opinion. The trail was paved...with several cliff-side catwalks along the way. The falls were...inspiring (there, I used a different adjective). I am amazed at the beautiful creations of our Heavenly Father. We took 180+ pictures.
On the way back to the hotel, there was a lot of lightning to the North and to the South. Somehow we missed the rain storms that came through. That's okay, though. We got back to the hotel at 11:15 tonight, and are now eating some of our snacks for our "dinner." Good night.
This morning, we attended sacrament meeting at the Calgary 13th Ward. Mattina Ann was worried that they wouldn't sing "Come, Come Ye Saints" since we're not in Utah. But she was pleased to see hymn #30 as the opening hymn. One of the speakers was a young man who made Sherry Ann's eyes leak a little. He is a Philipino, living in Calgary, going to Boston, Massachusetts to serve his mission for the Lord. He made Sherry Ann...leak when he began singing "My Heavenly Father Loves Me." That is only one of her favorite songs she sings to Tanner and Geremy every night. She loves them so much and misses them.
Then we returned to the hotel and got ready to go downtown and stroll by the Bow River. We decided to go to Prince's Island Park for our stroll. There was a Folk Music Festival going on, so half of the park was gated off. We had a lovely stroll while we just watched people. Everywhere we looked we saw people old and young were playing Pokemon Go. Everyone's eyes were glued to their phones. Mattina Ann decided that she doesn't like big cities. "There are too many people," she said. So, any of you keeping track, she doesn't like big cities, places with no mountains, and humid climates are out. We told her to be careful voicing these opinions, or she may end up going to one of those places for her mission.
We returned to the hotel, had a light dinner of cheese and crackers, and went to the hot tub to relax and watch the airplanes take off and land. There wasn't a lot of air traffic tonight, though. We returned to the room and are now settling down to go to bed. We had a gorgeous sunset out our window. Now, at 10:00, the sun has set and darkness is covering the hills surrounding Calgary. Good night, eh.
It was so nice to sleep in this morning. We had a wonderful breakfast of grapefruit. Then just sat around the hotel until lunch time. We found a grocery store and got some chicken and various side dishes. Mattina particularly enjoyed her Mac and Cheese. After lunch, we started the drive to Banff.
We started our experience by seeking out a parking spot. We eventually found one at the stables. We walked around the town, enjoying the gift shops and seeing people from EVERYWHERE. Sherry Ann found that maple syrup she's been looking for, but hasn't bought it yet... $$$
Crossing the streets in Banff is interesting. You can cross diagonally if you want. It was so cool. We did it just to say we did.
After wandering the street of Banff for a while we headed back to the stables where Mattina met Romeo. It was love at first sight. J/K sort of. Mattina's horse was named Romeo. Then it was Sherry Ann's turn to get a horse. Let me remind you that Sherry Ann was thrown from a horse 14 years ago. She mentioned she wanted to ride the miniature horses so that she didn't fall so far. Sherry Ann's horses name was Wilson. Wilson was the tallest horse of the 45 that went. Lucky Sherry Ann. Aaron's horse came next. Jester was his name.
We finally started our long anticipated horse back ride. Aaron was first behind the guide (Will), then Sherry Ann, then Mattina, then the rest of the people (from Austalia). We rode for an hour. Aaron talked to Will with Sherry Ann chipping in every now and then. When we asked what Mattina was thinking, she said, "Ranger's Apprentice". She was enjoying her ride.
Will said that they had seen a bear on the trail earlier today. Will and Aaron saw a snake. After an hour ride we stopped and had a Steak dinner, baked potatoes, rolls, salad, beans, and mini cheese cakes. It was delicious. We also played horse shoes and roped a "cow". After dinner we were back on our horses for another hour. We went straight up then straight down. It was an amazing ride. It was fun to look back at how far and how high we had gone.
Sherry Ann was the first to be let off her horse so she ran back to the car as fast as she could to get the camera. (Camera's weren't allowed on the trail). She managed to get a picture of both Aaron and Mattina before they got off. Then a small video of them getting off. We are a little sore, but we are all so glad we did it.
We then drove to Walmart to get some food for tomorrow. You should have seen the check out lady's face when we gave her our postal code she asked for. She looked at us and said, "You aren't from here."
We finally made it back to our hotel at 11:00. When it stays light until 10:00 p.m., it's really easy to stay out later just enjoying the outdoors.
Finally going to sleep now. We need to rest up for more fun tomorrow.
After loading the car this morning, Sherry Ann and I went over to the Cardston, Alberta Temple. Mattina Ann would go over later, because the Baptistry wouldn't be open until noon. It had rained during the early morning hours, so everything was fresh and butiful. When we entered the front doors, we were greeted by an indoor atrium. Apparently, it used to be outside, but they built around it so that it is now indoors. There is a fountain with a frieze sculpture depicting the bible story of the woman at the well. The session we attended was really nice.
After the session, we went outside to find Mattina Ann. We didn't see her, so after taking a couple of pictures of our own, we went to the Baptistry to find her. She had just finished being baptized for some family names, and was going in to be confirmed for them, so we were able to go in with her. I was even invited to perform the ordinances for those deceased ancestors. It was a really neat experience.
When we were done at the temple, we went downtown to have a quick tour of the Charles O. Card house. He was one of the first LDS people in the area and the town eventually took on his name (Cardston). After the tour, we went to get lunch on-the-go and hit the road. We were intent to get to Calgary for the 6:00 session and we only had a couple of hours to get there.
Our plan was to stop a the Costco in Lethbridge to top off the gas tank and then continue on. But, like so many perfectly laid plans, this one fell short of perfection. First, my Costco card would not work at the pump, so we went inside and got a new card. We went back to the pumps and this time my debit card wouldn't work. News Flash...apparently U.S. Debit cards don't work at Canadian Costco fuel pumps. So we had to go and find another station. Gas hear looks like it's really inexpensive. The price was $0.878! Oh, yah. Did we mention that everything here is in the metric system? So that is the price per Litre. Whatever that converts to in dollars per gallon, we don't quite know. But it is more than it costs to fill the car at home.
Mattina Ann was kind of weirded out on the drive to Calgary. There were NO visible mountains to giver her any reference of direction. She just about had a panic attack.
Sherry Ann's panic came with the heavy rain and the fact that in a new car, we weren't quite sure how to work the wipers. It's not like we use them often in St. George. Then there was the standing water on the road. Combine that with the discussion we had with our hostess, Bronwyn, in Cardston about destructive hail and tornado warnings from the past, Sherry Ann was quite on edge.
We arrived safely in Calgary just after 6:00. Well, we missed the session at the temple that we wanted to attend, but we had enough time to get there for the 7:30 session, as the temple was only a 25 minute drive from the hotel.
Wow! What a beautiful temple. Mattina Ann even commented later that the Baptistry was amazing. Sherry Ann and I were asked to be the witness couple for the session. It has been a long time since we were able to perform that service. After the session, we went outside and found Mattina Ann quite quickly. We took some more pictures, and headed back to our hotel. By this time we were hungry and it was 10:00 at night, and the sun had just gone down.
We found a Jim Horton's and had some sandwiches, then went back to the hotel. Mattina Ann likes the LED lighting around the base of our beds. She can change the color depending on her mood. Purple, blue, green or red.
All-in-all, it was a great day. Now we have a few days here in Calgary, so it won't be so much driving. It will be great to see what Calgary and Banff National Park have in store for us. TTFN!
Today began with a morning visit to the Idaho Falls for some pictures.
After the falls, we began the long drive up I-15 toward Canada. Montana started out pretty enough with the mountains and trees. We loved driving through the canyon next to the river. BUT...then the mountains gave way to the rolling prairies. And they went on and on...
The End
Just kidding. We had a great lunch in Helena at the Staggering Ox. The sandwiches there are truly one-of-a-kind. The bread is rolled up like a spongy tin can, then filled with all of the meats, cheeses, and lettuce, etc. The manager saw us taking pictures of the food, so he went and got us a bumper sticker advertising the restaurant.
Then we were on the road again. I think Sherry Ann even started singing the song...but I digress.
The rolling prairies started again and we had to find ways to keep entertained. I began talking about how interesting the mountains are. They are formed in linear ridges when looking at them on Google Earth. I tried to explain them to the others, but did a pretty poor job. Then Sherry Ann just started laughing uncontrollably. We asked what she found to be so funny, and all I could get from her was "Rocky Mountains...mountains of rock!" She even needed a tissue because her eyes began "leaking."
At last, we pulled up to the boarder crossing to enter Canada. Mattina Ann went camera happy again. She even took a picture of Canadian soil on the side of the road. When it was our turn at the inspection station, we handed the agent our passports and he began asking us all sorts of questions about our intentions and activities in Canada. He even asked whether we had in our possession any amount of cash exceeding $10,000. Sherry Ann told him that we did not, and I said (under my breath) , "I wish." We thought we saw the serious border agent crack a hint of a smile. Then he handed us our documents and we were admitted into the country.
We arrived at our host's home in Cardston shortly. Her car was in the drive way, so we knew she was home. We knocked on the door and waited. Sherry Ann knocked again. And we waited...again. Then I rang the doorbell. The waiting continued. Not sure what to do next, we just stood there. Then the door suddenly opened and our hostess jumped in surprise. She did not expect to see us standing there. She was just going to move the water on the front lawn. Apparently, she had been in the garage putting some things away and did not hear the knocking or the doorbell.
Before going to dinner, we decided to play a little game. We went in search of our first international Geocaches. We were able to find 3 of them near our hostess's home!
We went to a local pizza place for dinner. We begin talking about the highlights of the day, and I mentioned that the laughing fit through the rolling prairies was pretty fun. So Mattina Ann and I decided to ask Sherry Ann what she found to be so funny. She tried to explain again and all we really got was..."The Rocky Mountains...mountains of rock..." And she began laughing hysterically again, I was afraid she'd choke on her pizza.
After dinner we drove past the Cardston, Alberta temple. You know, it's not as gigantic as I thought it would be from looking at the pictures. But it still is a beautiful sight to see.
Now we are winding down and enjoying the cool Canadian air. I can't wait to see what adventures await us tomorrow, eh!
Today, our adventure began! We've been looking forward to this for a long time. We started in St. George and Mattina Ann drove to Nephi. During the drive, there was a van that we couldn't seem to pass from Cedar City until it turned off at I-70. Mattina Ann named it Oswald.
We stopped in Salt Lake (Midvale) for lunch at Popeye's, then we took a quick detour to Winco. We bought delectable chocolate cinnamon bears ;) and two cool cucumbers (remember that, it's important).
So, we drove...and drove. Finally, we reached the Land of Potatoes, which is riddled with construction zones and lower speed limits. Needless to say, it took us longer this we thought, but we eventually made it to Idaho Falls, and our hotel, about an hour later than we planned. We quickly checked in and changed our clothes. Then we drove...again. This time we went to Rexburg to attend the temple.
There was so much construction (and consequently slower speeds). Dad mentioned that the cars on the frontage road were going faster than those of us on the highway (remember that...it's important, too).
Temple was really nice, and even though we were late, we enjoyed our time there. After doing baptisms, Mattina Ann took pictures of the temple and watched people (brides, mainly). When we were done, the three of us walked around the temple grounds taking more pictures.
Eventually, we started the drive back to the hotel, this time on frontage road to "save time". Our GPS, RITA, kept telling us where to go..... Then to turn around..... Then to turn around again, and yet again! Everywhere we turned we hit dead ends. Eventually we stopped listening to her.
While we drove we opened the treasure trove of snacks. We struck gold with the cucumbers. Mattina, sitting in the back, peeled, cut, and salted them. She kept saying that this was the strangest thing she has ever done. Cutting a cucumber on an unnamed street somewhere between Rexburg and Rigby. YEP! Probably really dangerous too.
After 50 min., we went back to Rexburg to get on the highway. We made it to Idaho Falls and took a wrong exit. This took us 8 miles out of the way. It was a long drive.
We walked around the Idaho Falls temple and took more pictures. Then we had dinner at Burger King. Finally, bedtime.
Even though we were in the car for hours on end, we had so much fun, shared many laughs, and made great memories. It was a great way to start our adventure.
I am a mother of 4 very busy children. They keep me going and going. I would like to write on this blog every now and then and keep a journal of what's happening with my family and let anybody who reads this know something that is going on in our lives.
