Another Grand Adventure

Working in the tourism industry it is difficult 

to get time off in the summer. 

But my daughters and I managed to get 5 days off at the same time

and we went exploring.  

The plan was to drive about 8 hours North of where we live

and do a 3 day hike.

After a day in the car together

We arrived at Tombstone Park, where we camped for the night. 

We took an evening stroll on a short trail by the campground.

And the evening was beautiful.

We spotted a cow moose with two calves, which we enjoyed watching for some time. 

(without my tripod my picture is pretty shaky though - and you have to look pretty closely in front of the momma's nose to see the ears of the second calf)

The evening was beautiful

 and we hoped for good weather the next 3 days.

The next day started with a steep climb, and the little camera that I swapped my big one for, didn't capture too many pictures. 

My daughter did take some, and that is me heading up the hill 

with my other daughter waiting for me. 

 

The climb up was long, but spectacularly beautiful

and the weather was perfect - sunshine with a breeze!

And the views a delight

every way you looked

(yup that is me enjoying the view and the day)

See the lake in the distance?  - that is our destination 

. . . and we had already hiked about 5 hours at this point. 

So on we went - hiking and here I am celebrating the views

Yup... spectacular views everywhere we looked.

Sometimes the walking was easy

and sometimes hard.

There were some fields of larger boulders to cross that I found difficult and I didn't get pictures of, as they required all of my attention to cross safely.

 

and yes we did a bit of this.

but most of the time we walked

and walked

and walked.

And the lake got closer

until we finally made it!

And how beautiful it was.

We set up our camp for the night.

 I decided I would get a picture of myself by the lake the next day.

It was a beautiful evening to spend resting and soaking up this amazing place.

The rain started through the night,
and the clouds covered the amazing mountain peaks. 

It was still beautiful in the rain, and I enjoyed the silence and beauty.

Our plan had been to spend another day camping at this lake
and do a day hike from here.
But the weather was pulling in worse 
and by noonish we made the decision 
to pack up, strap the big packs back on 
and make the long hike back to the car.  

Here we are by the lake, in the rain ready to head out. 

The rocks were slippery, and the hiking was hard

but even in the clouds the scenery was spectacular.

and we still celebrated along the way.

The weather was better as we got away from the lake
but still cool, windy with bits of drizzle and rain on and off

We worked our way over the rocks and the hills

and down the long climb we had come up the day before.

and my camera did not capture the last 4 or so kilometres of the trip,
as it stayed tucked away in my pocket. 

Minutes after we arrived back in the car the rain pounded down
and we were happy not to be hiking.  
 

Our 5 day adventure turned into a 4 day one, 

- but it was a grand one.

  I am so thrilled to be able to have done this trip with my daughters.