Boat Floats

With the cooler temps yesterday, Papa and Jonah took advantage of getting outside earlier than normal this afternoon. Jonah loves the remote control boat. So they spent some time out on the dock playing and "driving" it.

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Peyto Lake

Absolutely breathtaking! Peyto Lake is a glacier-fed lake located in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies. The lake itself is easily accessed from the Icefields Parkway. The lake is formed in a valley of a large mountain range. We saw it from Bow Summit. During the summer, significant amounts of glacier rock flour flow into the lake, and these suspended rock particles give the lake a bright, turquoise color.

Because of its bright color, photos of the lake often appear in illustrated books, and the area around the lake is a popular sightseeing spot for tourists in the park.

1. family time
2. getting vacation photos in an album
3. a Friday night home-cooked meal

4. kicking off the July 4th season with Greg's fireworks stand

5. fresh fruits and vegetables

6. worship time

7. "home" time

8. new pastor and family arriving 

9. a Saturday night home-cooked meal (Wow!--two in one weekend)

10. visiting with friends

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July 4th brings family, friends, fireworks, and food together!

Lord Reign In Me

(Brenton Brown)

Over all the earth
You reign on high
Every mountain stream
Every sunset sky
But my one request
Lord my only aim
Is that You’d reign in me again

Lord reign in me
Reign in Your power
Over all my dreams
In my darkest hour
You are the Lord
Of all I am
So won’t You reign in me again

Over every thought
Over every word
May my life reflect
The beauty of my Lord
‘Cause you mean more to me
Than any earthly thing
So won’t You reign in me again

Copyright © 1998 Vineyard Songs (UK/Eire). All rights reserved. International copyright secured.

Veggie Tales

Although the garden needs a little TLC, it did yield some pretty cabbage, okra, and squash this week. Still waiting on those cute little green tomatoes to ripen.

Hot Springs, Arkansas Summer 1979

Check out those "daisy dukes."

Edna, Opal, Carl, Nig

Vegas Summer 1982

Rick had just recovered from knee surgery. Justin (1 yr.) was with grandparents.

Marilyn and Carl were with us.  Marilyn was pregnant with Greg.

The Columbia Icefield

The Columbia Icefield is located on the boundary of Banff and Jasper National Parks. It is one of the largest accumulations of ice and snow. We took the one hour and a half tour on the snow coach pictured below out onto the glacier. This company owns 22 of these coaches. Each one costs approximately 1.2 million dollars. Notice the tires; each one costs $5000.We made sure we followed all touring rules. We stepped only where they told us to and went no further. 

The visitor center is closed and boarded up each winter. Our tour guide said last winter the electronic devices registered the temperature inside the building as minus sixty-eight degrees! 

What a Trip!

We made it. At 2:30 a.m. this morning, we coasted into Gunter. 

We were tired but still smiling.

 We went for ten straight days from early morning to very late each night. It was actually still light at 10:00 p.m. with the sun coming back out in the wee morning hours. 

We discussed several times throughout the trip that we were blessed to have been able to take this journey into Canada.  To see this part of God's majestic creation was sometimes simply overwhelming for each of us. We have a photographic journal to cherish (and share for any of you that wish to see a few hundred beautiful shots of British Columbia, Canada). 

Although it will be difficult to choose, watch for a couple of additional posts of highlights.

Day 10

Well, today has proven to be another adventure in itself. We arrived at the Vancouver Airport this morning to be greeted by a smiling young lady. We knew something was up when she said, “Good morning, ladies. WERE you going to Dallas/Fort Worth this morning?’

It seems our noon flight had been cancelled due to mechanical problems with the plane. No problem! We certainly didn’t want to find out later during the flight there were issues. All passengers were to be re-routed out on different flights and even different airlines. Fortunately, after waiting patiently in line, we were given alternative arrangements. We eventually flew on Alaskan Airways to Los Angeles. (The LA airport has proven to be a sideshow.) We ate our lunch/dinner meal at Chili’s. It was comped through American. So we splurged and even shared dessert.

 While we were eating, they made an announcement that our flight to Dallas had been delayed!

 So here we sit. We are full, patient, and still smiling! Who knows when we will get back to Dallas.

Day 9

Today we flew from Calgary to Vancouver in a smaller plane that I really prefer to be in. It was a rocky flight for the most part; it seems that flying over mountains tends to make it rougher. Thanks to the motion sickness pill I took though I did not get sick. Woohoo!

We spent the afternoon in Stanley Park. It is the equivalent probably of Central Park in NYC. We walked quite a bit and also had a meal at The Fish House. Here's a couple of the many pictures.

Day 8

Today, we left the beautiful city of Banff. We drove to Calgary which is so totally different from everything else we have seen. We made a few "touristee" stops once we arrived. Tomorrow, we will take a flight from here back to Vancouver rather than drive the 600 miles we have driven since we left there. The weather is still great -- highs of 60!

Father's Day

For Father's Day I chose this picture. It was taken approximately 30 years ago after Rick and I first married. We were all at Edna and Nig's house. And as usual, I had the camera. These two dads were the best! 

FATHERS ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE

Fathers are wonderful people
Too little understood,
And we do not sing their praises
As often as we should...
For, somehow, Father seems to be
The man who pays the bills,
While Mother binds up little hurts
And nurses all our ills...

And Father struggles daily
To live up to "his image"
As protector and provider
And "hero of the scrimmage"...

And perhaps that is the reason
We sometimes get the notion,
That Fathers are not subject
To the thing we call emotion,

But if you look inside Dad's heart,
Where no one else can see
You'll find he's sentimental
And as "soft" as he can be...

But he's so busy every day
In the gruelling race of life,
He leaves the sentimental stuff
To his partner and his wife...

But Fathers are just wonderful
In a million different ways,
And they merit loving compliments
And accolades of praise,

For the only reason Dad aspires
To fortune and success
Is to make the family proud of him
And to bring them happiness...

And like Our Heavenly Father,
He's a guardian and a guide,
Someone that we can count on
To be always on our side.

By Helen Steiner Rice

Both the fathers in my life were huge blessings to me. The memories I have will stay with me forever!

Day 7

We saw more bears today!!!

Here are a few shots for the day...

Day 6

WE SAW A BEAR!!!!!!!!

This was our goal for the day. Finally, late this evening we saw one. That topped off a great day of site seeing. We have been to Johnston Canyon, Lake Louise, and Moraine Lake. We also toured the Fairmont Banff Springs, and Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise hotels.

And now for Friday's Fotos....

Day 5

These are some of the beautiful sites we have seen today. We have been to Salmon Arms pier, Crazy Creek, Natural Bridge, and Emerald Lake. We are now at Banff, Alberta for the next 3 days.

Day 4

We began our journey in the rental car this morning. As we traveled out of Vancouver, we went through the USA border into Washington State so we could add another state to those visited. This proved to be an experience in itself! 

Later in the day we visited a hotspot-- "Tickleberry's Ice Cream Shop" in Okanagan Falls.  It was actually much more than that. Great ice cream!

We drove around 300 miles -- beautiful scenery.

Even treated to a rainbow over the mountains after a rain shower.

Day 3

Fudge Cake at Willie's Bakery 

Two of more than 1500 hanging baskets in the 

city of Victoria--each are watered nightly

This is a picture of the world-famous Empress Hotel. The hotel was built in 1908 and has hosted kings, queens, movie stars and other celebrities.  

Across the harbor from the Empress Hotel are the Parliament Buildings. Both the Empress Hotel and the Parliament Buildings were designed by the

architect Francis Rattenbury.

Day 2

We took a very large ferry from Vancouver this morning over to Victoria where we will stay until tomorrow.

Lunch at Fisherman's Wharf

The Victorian Harbor

More of the Harbor

Hey friends and family! We can pool our resources and purchase this 

500 sq. ft. boathouse for $229,000. What do you think?