2nd Annual Cameron Family Camping Trip!

For the 2nd year in a row, we met Cal's sister Carmen and her crew, Cal's brother Gerry and his crew and Cal's Mom and her crew at Carson Pegasus Provincial park.  This years trip was August 5-7. The weather was hit and miss during the weekend (as seems to be the theme of the summer here in AB) but we had a great time!!  11 grandchildren, 1 great grand daughter and 7 adults!  That's a lot of people ;)  The kids are always so excited to hang out with their cousins, there's 9 of them who are close in age (Reese is the youngest at 5 and Kerri and Kailey are the oldest at 9 and 1/2). We had a fun weekend of fishing, playing games, watching movies in the trailer during the rainy times, bike riding and visiting!! I hope we can continue this tradition in the years to come!

Saturday morning breakfast!

The guys taking the kids fishing!

Cal with his great niece, Aurora - in case you can't tell she is ADORABLE!!!

Sooooo many laughs with the Pie Face game!

Grandma Bev and her grandchildren :)

My sister-in-law made a great green beverage ;)

Jasper 2016

We spent August long weekend in one of our favorite spots - Whistlers campground in Jasper National Park.  The week prior, Blake and Reese suffered through a few days of the stomach flu and they weren't really back to themselves when we headed out for Jasper but at least they weren't puking still ;) My fingers were crossed that Emerson, Cal and I wouldn't catch it but unfortunately it did hit Cal :(  He had to dial in for a few teleconferences while we were in Jasper and suffered pretty bad one day and then didn't feel really great for almost a week after that.

But even though not all of us were feeling 100% we still enjoyed our time in Jasper!  We were there from Thursday afternoon to Monday morning and my parents were with us.  It rained some, which meant coloring, Lego, Barbies and movies in Grandma and Grandpa's 5th wheel but we didn't suffer too much ... the fireplace was even on ;) We had one really hot day, which we spent at Athabasca Falls and at the beach on Lake Annette!  We enjoyed a walk at Pyramid Lake and a hike around Patricia Lake, such gorgeous scenery.  We also made it up to Miette Hot Springs - it took two trips though!  The first time the pools were closed due to thunder and lightning but the kids and Dad and Cal did make it to the source of the original hot springs and luckily we all made it back to the trucks just before the skies opened and rain poured down!!! We spent some time in town, the kids had some vacation money they saved to spend in Jasper, so it took a few stops before all 3 had found the perfect souvenirs :)  We also had dinner at one of our favorite Jasper restaurants - Something Else and of course we made a few stops at our favorite bakery - The Bears Paw Cafe!  The kids had fun attending a few of the Xplorers Programs at the campground and we enjoyed a few bike rides on the trails.  It was awesome that Reese was able to ride with us this year :)  Speaking of the Xplorers Program, we were all VERY excited to find out that the kids were included in the advertisements for the programs!!  They used photo's that were taken last summer on a large banner that is hanging as you drive into Whistler's campground and on posters that they posted in the washrooms and showers and on bulletin boards!  The girls are on the banner and all 3 kids are on the posters!  Very, very exciting for the kids and for us ;)

We had a small scare one evening when Blake rode ahead of us on the trail and missed his turn off.  Cal and my Dad were looking all over the campground for him.  When he walked in our trailer, I was very relieved to say the least.  He was a bit shook up but said he knew our campsite number and just found his way back.  Smart boy, thank goodness :)

I'm so glad we got to Jasper this summer, I just love the fresh mountain air and the beautiful scenery.  It's certainly my happy place!

xo
Tracy

Putting those muscles to use ;)

Family bike ride <3 br="">

Beach fun at Lake Annette!

Gorgeous Lake Annette

Our little stars!!

Grandma and Grandpa + the Cameron grandkids :)

Family photo with Jasper the bear!

We found a geocache on Pyramid island!

Lake Patricia

All 3 of the superstars ;)

Summer Vacation: Family edition - camping!! (4 of 4)

From Ol' MacDonald's we made a quick stop in Edmonton to re-stock the trailer fridge and freezer, do a few loads of laundry and let Blake play 3 on 3! The groceries and laundry took a little longer than anticipated but we did manage to get to Long Lake around 7 pm.  The kids and I were excited to be spending the next 7 nights with my parents, sister and nephews!!  Cal headed back to the city for work on Monday evening and joined us again on Thursday.  Jeremy was also working during the week and joined us again on Saturday.  We had a great week of tubing, swimming, discovering a new love for a seated washer's game (lol!), boat rides, walks, and outdoor movies!  Oh, and ice cream ... can not forget ice cream ;)  It was also so nice to spend that much time with family.  We see each other here and there throughout the year but just being that close together for a week, was really nice.  Here are some photo highlight's from our last week of vacay:

Heading to the boat with Grandma, cousins and the tube!!

Bumpy ride, as requested ;)

selfie <3 br="">

Tube riding with Connor!

A favorite - swimming in the middle of the lake!

Reese jumping off the boat!

Boat riding!

My mom became a tube-riding Grandma this week!!!

Connor and Reese hitchin' a ride!

Taking a break on the beach!

Fun at the beach!

Washers!!

Outdoor movie time!

Time for some ball!

Yours truly!  (might look easy but was not easy on these old bones!!)

r

Em and Mason


 And that wrap's up Summer Vacation: Family edition - camping!!  It was another great adventure with the family with many memories were made, that we will cherish forever :)  

~Tracy

<3 br="">

Summer Vacation: Family edition - camping!! (3 of 4)

The next stop on the great AB tour was Ol MacDonald's Resort!  We had an interesting drive from Dinosaur Provincial Park to Ol MacDonald's - tornado warning, hail, torrential downpour, flooding in the parking lot of the grocery store we stopped at in Hanna and apparently a tornado actually touched down outside of Hanna, just a few hours after we passed by.  Yikes!! The weather continued to be somewhat strange during our stay at Ol MacDonald's.  We had some rain and some sun but it seemed to be either one extreme or the other - pouring or hot! Regardless of the weather, we had a great time at one of our favorite campgrounds!  There's just so much to do, I always say we could spend weeks there.  We got to spend a few days and nights with friends who happened to be camped for 2 nights right beside us.  We had a great time with them and the kids were happy to have some friends to hang out with for a few days :) Here are a few photo's of our time at Ol MacDonald's: 

 

Beach Day #1 - we love this beach and Buffalo Lake, so clean and the beach-front ice cream shop is a bonus ;)

The good 'ol Triple Nickel train ride!!

Lots of time spent at the various parks!

Swing ride 1 of a gazillion ;)

Blake even enjoys the swing ride now!

'lil monkey, she really mastered the monkey bars this year!

mini golf on a rainy day! of all the times we've visited, we've never tried the mini golf!

also our first time tie dyeing Ol' MacDonald's t-shirts! 

entertaining themselves under the awning while it rains ;)

fun on the beach with friends on a super hot day!

Summer Vacation: Family edition - camping!! (2 of 4)

Our next destination on our summer vacation was Dinosaur Provincial Park. Up until this year I had never heard of Dinosaur Provincial Park.  It was while reading a blog post from Frugal Edmonton Momma that I discovered this southern AB gem!

The kids enjoyed climbing the hoodoos on the day use trail near our campground.  Cal, the kids and Heidi climbed alllll the way to the top, while I stayed at the campground to capture some photo's:

There they are - almost to the top!!

The sunset over the hoodoo's is gorgeous and had I brought my good camera, I'm sure I would have captured some great photo's (yes, I regret not bringing my Nikon on this trip :( )

We spent a good portion of one of our days at the Visitor's Centre.  It was definitely worth the small entry fee.  This was a great place for the kids to learn, play and explore.

And of course, the gift shop was hit!  Blake chose a new book about dinosaurs and Emerson and Reese chose 'gems'.  I bought a postcard to add to my pile of post cards ... which reminds me, I really should get them all organized one day ...  

The weather was off and on - some rain, some wind, some sun!  But it seemed to be either one or the other - pouring or +25! On one of the hot days, we decided to go for a little hike on the day use trail.  We were pretty excited to learn that there was a geocache hidden along the trail!  We also enjoyed checking out the cacti and pretty wildflowers.  We did not enjoy the thought of crossing paths with a rattlesnake or a scorpion and thankfully we didn't encounter either ;)

Checking out the geocache!

The kids also enjoyed bike rides to the playground and for ice cream (a camping vacay must! :)  Cal and I spent the evenings reading and surfing the Internet!  I was grateful to discover the campground offered free Wifi!

Stay tuned for part 3 of our camping vacay!

~Tracy

Summer Vacation: Family edition - camping!! (1 of 4)

From Vancouver, I flew to Calgary where I took a taxi to Cross Iron Mills and met Cal and the kids!  It was so good to see them and very exciting, being that we were beginning our 2 week AB tour a.k.a camping vacay ;)

Our first stop was the Crows Nest Pass for the Sinister 7 Ultra Race.  Cal was on a team of 7 and ran the 2nd leg.  It was an awesome experience for Cal and his teammates and myself as well!  Considering how many races the kids and I have cheered for Cal in, this was one of my favorites.  The vibe and the sheer number of people involved, was nothing short of amazing.  The volunteers were fabulous and everything was so well ran.  Friday evening began with registration, a catered dinner (delicious!!) and a pre-race meeting for all runners.  We also visited the vendors and Cal picked out a commemorative t-shirt.  Saturday morning, Cal was up early to see the first runner off and to catch a bus to leg 1/2 transition point.  Once the kids and I woke up, we headed to the transition point to see Cal come in and the 3rd runner in the team head out.  Each leg had a transition point and at each transition point there was 100's of people cheering on the teams and the soloists and individuals and teams supporting the soloist's in their needs - food, water, change of clothes, medical aid, etc.  Each transition point had snacks and drinks for the runners - everything from soup, chili, muffins, and sandwiches to fruit and protein bars!!

Here is a description of the course (from the website):

All distances and elevations have been verified by GPS, foot, mountain bike and quad. Difficulty is based on how hard the leg is in comparison to the other legs of the race (ie: Leg 6 is 7/7 meaning it is the hardest) in our opinions. Every leg of the race is hard.

Distance: 161km - 100mi
Stages: 7 stages ranging from 10.7km to 36.2km (6.65 to 22.49mi)
Elevation: Gain: 5,687m (18,658') / Loss: 5,676m (18,622')
Duration: 30 hours to complete the course 

Cal ran the 2nd leg.  Here are the details (again, from the website):

Leg 2 - Hastings Ridge

Distance: 16km (9.94mi)

Gain: 937m (3,074')

Loss: 1,110m (3,642')

CPs*: CP2 – 10km

Difficulty: 4/7

Trail Type: Single track, double track, dirt road

Est. Time: 1.5 to 3 hours

Must start: 10:00 hrs (Saturday)

Cutoff: 13:00 hrs (Saturday)


Beginning at the base of Hastings Ridge, runners begin a grueling climb to a rewarding view. Once atop the ridge, you get a view of the entire valley, including Crowsnest Mountain and the Seven Sisters; certainly worth the punishing climb to the top! There is no time for rest as runners drop down the other side and head towards Blairmore to the finish of leg two.

Although Cal has ran numerous 1/2 marathon's and a full marathon, he says nothing compares to the challenge of trail running in the mountains!  The track and the elevation gains and losses can make a 'short' run feel like a marathon!!  He rocked his leg and we were so excited to see him come down the hill at the end of leg 2 and pass the timing anklet and bear kit onto the next man on the team!  Cal and his teammates were at each and every transition point, sleeping a few hours here and there throughout the night and early morning.  I stayed in the trailer with the kids, as I didn't think they'd do so well being woke up and then told to go back to sleep and then woken up again ;)  As we were packing up on Sunday afternoon (after the brunch), the last of the runner's were coming through (the field that we were camped in was very close to the finish line).  We all stood on the side of the road, cheering the last 2 runner's on.  I had tears in my eyes, I can not even imagine the emotions of these runners - they were soloist's and had just ran 100 miles in just under 30 hours (if a team or a soloist does not make it in, in 30 hrs or under they are officially disqualified and do not receive a time).  Unbelievable.  This race was like none I had ever attended and it really made me wish I was a trail runner ... maybe one day?!

Once we were packed up, we headed off to Frank Slide for some sightseeing!  The kids were really interested in the history of the Frank Slide.  

Stay tuned for part 2 of 4 in our summer vacation :)
~Tracy

There's Cal, so close to the finish line of leg 2!!

Super, super proud wife and kids :)

Frank Slide