Adventure at Taste of Edmonton

Last week, Lucas, Dan & I went to Taste of Edmonton for "dinner". The moment we walked on site I knew this was going to be a bad idea, as Dan does not like crowds. It's in a new location this year, due to the construction around Churchill Square, so I thought they would work out some of the major issues from previous year's festivities. They did okay, but there is still room for improvement.

First you have to try and find where to buy food & beverage tickets. All the ticket booths are in a centralized location this year, and if memory serves, there were less booths than in previous years. I think this is because you can buy your tickets ahead of time online, so they anticipated less people using the onsite booths. From the lineup we watched snake through the crowd throughout the night, I think it's going to take a hot minute for this to catch on.

TELL ME ABOUT THE FOOD!
We spent $67, which got us 40 tickets. Each item ranges in "price" from 3 to 6 tickets, and six tickets doesn't always mean you get a bigger item. I have no idea how many vendors there were (no more than 100 I think), and each vendor decides which of their menu items to offer to a maximum of two items. It looks like some vendors offer specialty items that aren't on their regular menus, or a smaller version of a standard. The variety of items is high, as Edmonton has been expanding our variety of restaurants in town overall. I remember when the "variety" used to be Chinese food and maybe an Indian joint! You can get bar fare like burgers and deep fried pickles, "pan-Asian" items like green onion cakes - an Edmonton original - tempura, and sushi. And there Indian, Ethiopian, and fancy hotel fare. And the ice cream line ups are always long! The vegetarian options are sparse, but not impossible to find. And thanks to the addition of a few vegan restaurants to the Edmonton scene, there were some easy choices for those folks as well.

40 tickets got each of us a couple of "entrees", a dessert, and beverages for the guys. I brought my own water because I am trying to be thrifty! Lucas wanted to eat and run. No exploring, no waiting for the band to start. He ate his last item (beef & sesame sauce on rice) and said "okay let's go". And then we went home and made soup, because we were still hungry.

PROS AND CONS
Cons: Crowds and lineups. Expensive for the amount of food you get. Generates a lot of garbage.
Pros: Experience restaurants that you might never go to otherwise in a casual atmosphere. Free music. Beer garden. You can bring your own reusable dishes.

PLAN FOR NEXT TIME
If there is a next time...but who am I kidding, there will be a next time. I'm going to leave the boys at home, grab a friend and a beer, a fun new snack, and catch a band or two!

xo

p.s. I do think they could benefit from some sort of organized queue system at each booth...

July Long Adventure

Last weekend me, Delilah, and the boys headed out to Kootenay Plains on the David Thompson Highway for a long weekend camping adventure! Happy Canada Day!

Kootenay Plains is a group campground site that is literally right on the highway, but a lot of the campsites are tucked beside a rocky outcropping (a cliff? a mountain fingerling? I am not up on my geology terms...) so it is quiet and lovely. I mean, look at that view!

Gran bought the boys some dollar store bow & arrows, which all broke immediately. But with a little duct tape, Gran had them all back in commission. Note: this was the most fun thing the entire weekend. Below, you can see Evan in his power pose.

Day two, we decided on the Siffleur Falls hike, which is literally immediately across the highway from us. There are some really steep sections, but the boys were champs! Eventually you hit the gorge, with the river running below. Again, spectacular views both above and below.

My parents! It's been a really long time since we went camping together, so this was a big treat for everyone.

Relaxing with some G&Ts outside the cookhouse. BFF was in Red Deer for work all week, so it was completely amazing to have him come out with us! Also, he is the only one who knows how to set up the tarps...so....

We got one of the campsites that is nestled up against the rocks at the back of the campsite. Popular with rock climbers, BFF, Dad, Lucas & I attempted a skinny little goat path and made it to the top! You can see our cook shelter tucked in the trees at the bottom of the photo.

My boys! They had so much fun this weekend, playing Catan (so many games of Catan were played!), colouring (Evan was carrying this colouring book + a pink felt around for most of Saturday afternoon), chasing each other, making a fort out of the firewood, climbing rocks, and wrestling with Grandpa.

It was my sister's birthday on Saturday, so Evan & I spent some time picking wildflowers to make her a little bouquet! He presented it to her so perfectly, and there were only a few bugs on it.

Amy brought her own cake because she is the smartest person I know.

We actually were invited to be part of a larger group, connected via a friend of my Dad's. Kam (& his wife Jan) are avid mountain climbers, world travelers, volunteers, and just genuinely nice and smart people. I mean, Kam is "something else", but at least 92% awesome. We spent our last night sitting around the campfire with Dad, Kam and their friend Tyler telling dirty jokes.

Other info about this area...
- The closest town is Nordegg, and they have gas and most services. Next closest is Rocky Mountain House, which is larger, with more services. It's a good place to stop for a quick snack or rest on the way down. Saskatchewan Crossing and access to the National Parks is about 20km away. It's nice drive in to Lake Louise or up the Icefields Parkway if you are so inclined.
- This entire stretch is dark sky rated. We had a couple of cloudy nights (and also I was too tired to stay up past 11pm), but the star viewing is supposed to be very amazing here!
- It is BEAR COUNTRY PEOPLE! You have to be really careful with food storage, garbage, etc. Walk in groups, walk loudly, carry bear spray, that kind of thing. That being said I think it's been many years since anyone has reported a bear sighting in the campground.
- There are a lot of informal camping sites along the highway. In fact, you could pretty much pull over anywhere and set up for the night. And a lot of people do. The big lake (reservoir) just to the north of Koontenay Plains (Abraham Lake) is the most beautiful colour of turquoise, and there are always loads of people with their trailers and tents set up on its shore.


BFF & I are already talking about coming back in the fall...

May Long Camping - Our Wet Adventure Scrapbooked

Lucas was very apprehensive about tenting with Mom. Y'know, cause of sleeping on the ground and stuff. But he was a total trooper. He did at one point tell us that this was the WORST camping trip ever...but his smiles and giggles told another story. I wanted my layouts to reflect this riotously unsuccessful yet awesome camping trip with my Dude.

I made the following photos collages using the wrong combination of photos. Mixed metaphors? I dunno. Whatever. I'm sure you can figure it out...

I love rummaging through my supplies these days, because everything is kind of just randomly sorted. That is to say, not sorted at all. So every page is a true mishmash of stuff I have been collecting over the years. Stuff that I love and has survived many purges, and new stuff that I haven't tired of just yet. And that's the way I like it.

I think Nadine questioned my sanity a little when I bought this pineapple paper. But it matches the tablecloth I bought (not on purpose...geeze people), so who's laughing now?!

I bought two rolls of that neon green mesh at a Scrapfest 100 years ago, and it's still one of my favourite things to add to a page. See, random is my friend.

Now, you might be asking yourself, "why the 6x12 layouts recently, Lis?" and I'll tell you. Hell, I'm going to tell you if you were asking or not, so just simmer down now. I bought on Kijiji a 4x6 photo album binder a few winters ago, thinking it would be perfect for something. Turns out it's going to be perfect for my 2016 memories album. I will be printing photos and randomly inserting some scrapbooked pages as I go. Told ya random works for me!

And yes, I still haven't finished my 2015 album, but shut your pie hole. I'm getting there...False starts still count.

xo

May Long Camping - Our Wet Adventure

I took my Guys camping this past weekend, to Brazeau Reservoir. I haven't been camping on the May Long weekend in....um, a really long time! So you can't really blame me for putting a forgetful, rosy spin on how the weekend would pan out. Spoiler Alert: We got rained out!

 Let's recap!

Left: Got my NEW adventure hat on, and we're off to pick up Dan!

Right: While we were unpacking, Lucas hopped in the back of Delilah and would shout "Gotta pay the toll!" every time we got close.

Speaking of Delilah...isn't she gorgeous?!

We played Catan everyday. It was epic.

Lucas figured out how to recline the jump seat and got all cozy while we were unpacking. I think he loves the van as much as me!

Our first morning was SO COLD! Lucas would take his mitt off, take a bite of his toast, then immediately put his mitt back on! We spent most of the morning in Drayton Valley buying him new boots, a mug, and a warm fleece coat. Mom Fail.

Left: We made a friend on one of our walks around the reservoir. This is Nugget.

Right: "You shall not pass!!"

It's hard to explain what this area looks like. The photo above shows what the reservoir looks like right now. The water level is very low and the entire lake bed is this sandy mud. We went for lots of walks here, as a path behind our camp site led right out to it. The change in elevation in the sandy areas was more dramatic than I anticipated, but still easy to walk on.

The photo below shows the treeline. Lots of weeds, moss, driftwood. We don't think the water has been this high is awhile. There were geese, and loons, and we could hear other birds, but didn't see any. We did come across some kind of chicken-esque bird in the campground. Quail maybe?

We found the spillway and walked down beside it until it reached the lake below the dam. Again, it doesn't look like this gets used much if at all.

Group shot!

Mom & Dude self-timer on the dyke with our sticks.

The fire ban was lifted so we had a little fire on Saturday night. Our little bag of wood didn't last long, but it just doesn't feel like camping without it.

By the light of the lantern. It looks like it's stealing Dan's soul!

This guy...like, I can't even explain how grateful I am...

It's 7-ish am and we are all packed up and ready to go home...a day early. Sigh.

They Story: After tossing and turning all night listening to the rain I woke up at about 5am in a PUDDLE. I got up, set up some blankets in Delilah thinking I could get a little bit more sleep, but Dan was right behind me as he was also sleeping in a puddle. We checked the forecast and found a brand new rainfall advisory for the area. With 20 to 40 mm of rain - and possibly snow - expected, we decided to cut our loses and head home early. Thankfully, Lucas stayed dry the whole night and was perfectly fine with getting an early start on playing DS in the van! We put the coffee on, packed everything into garbage bags, and got on the road.

Thankfully we found a diner open in Drayton Valley for a dry breakfast. Lucas enjoyed his half waffle with strawberries and whipped cream, with Mom's side of bacon.

So our weekend did NOT turn out as I had planned! To say the least. But you know what? We had so much fun! I probably won't be booking any more May Long Weekend Camping Trips, but I will always have fond memories of this one!

Check back tomorrow for the two scrapbooking layouts I did for the trip.

xo