Vacation, 2016 (with a healthy dose of "real") Part 1

I could write a blog post with all sorts of pretty photos and tell you all the great things about the past 5 days of our little family vacation this year.  The photos ARE pretty.  Nobody is crying or fighting in any of them.  We don't take photos like that, typically, on our vacations.  Those aren't the moments that make us eager to pull out the camera and capture forever.  I will post my pretty photos.  I will also post my commentary.  This is our "truth" and I think, if most of us are honest, this is how a lot of family vacations go.

As you read through these posts, click on any photo you'd like to see better, and it will enlarge.

We started out last Sunday.  6 years ago, I decided that I would try and plan something around Aug. 14, which happened to be my old wedding anniversary.  I wanted to turn that day into a day where I celebrated doing something fun with my kids, who, technically, wouldn't be in my life without that day.  So, I planned our holiday this year around it.  It happened to be the first day of our trip to Jasper. It would be a long travel day.  I wanted an early start.  I accidentally slept an hour past my alarm because I shut it off instead of pressing snooze.  Packing the car turned into kids fighting and hitting each other and generally not wanting to help.  I stopped at the store for drinks and then realized I had forgotten something at home and had to go back.  We left town at least an hour and an half later than I wanted to.  I was hurt at the bad attitudes and suddenly, I was crying in the car, hurtling down the highway at 110 km/hr, and, in between sobs, telling my kids how I just wanted this all to be a good day and that I'm thankful they are in my life BECAUSE of this day, which just so happens to be the day that should have been my 17th anniversary.  Yep.  Choked that out while wiping away copious tears.  Great start.

I should say that the majority of the day went by just fine, but the things that didn't go fine, just seemed to exacerbate the feelings of frustration.  And since I have a child on the autism spectrum who mirrors my moods, it did seem to spiral quite badly at times; a moody 13 year old isn't fun at the best of times, an hour driving around a highly tourist-y town just to find a picnic table to eat at, and a giant rock hitting my perfectly never-cracked windshield all made me wish I was at home instead.

However, all days, even the bad ones, come to an end, and this little cabin was waiting for us at the end of it all.  I was beyond grateful for the TV inside, more than I could have ever imagined, as, when it was on, was the only time I was sure nobody would be fighting.

Day 2.  I didn't actually plan very much for this trip, as I had never been to Jasper (as a cognizant adult - apparently, I was there as a baby/toddler).  The day started with a few hiccups, too, as it took an hour to decide what to eat for breakfast and lunch at the grocery store.  And then finding a place in a strange town (Hinton, just outside the park's gates) to sit and eat.  The "planning" only began once we entered the gates and got a park guide from the agent there.  Here we are, putting on our brave faces in hopes of a better day. 

Maligne Lake turned out to be our destination.  This took us on a long, winding, but very beautiful drive.  Our "luck" perhaps changed when I had to pay less than I thought I would for a pass into the park for our days we'd spend there. Then, when arriving at the lake, the parking lot was full and the overflow lot was SO far away, so I gave the close lot one last shot, and got a spot almost directly next to the path that led to the lake and "chalet".  We ate our lunch, I enjoyed the view, and the kids fought/played. I attempted to read (I might have gotten 2 or 3 pages in).

I'm quite certain this is mere seconds before that child bending down, picked up a giant pile of sand/dirt/rocks from the lake and chucked it over the heads of his siblings, causing shrieks galore.  I had to ask him (yell at him) about 4 times to stop doing that.

Silas is super mad in this one because Rory is standing on a rock he wanted to stand on and we couldn't have done a selfie that way.  You will also notice that this may well be the last "normal" face you see on Ethan in coming photos.  Haha!

On our way back from Maligne Lake, we stopped at Medicine Lake, which is known as "Disappearing Lake".  Turns out, it was named Medicine Lake by the First Nations people because they believed it to have magical or medicinal powers.  In summer, the lake would look like it does in these photos, and by October, it would recede and, essentially, disappear and be gone throughout the winter.  It has something to do with the drainage system and the best I could understand was that it is somewhat of a reservoir for excess water in spring and summer.

It may be difficult to tell, but these trees are all burnt and the burnt foliage continued far behind me as well.  This was from a fire only 1 year ago and there is already so much new growth.  It was fascinating to read about.  It started from a lightening strike that smoldered underground for 8 days before it started burning.  I don't know how they know that, but I thought it was cool.  Only cool because I know fires like this are actually quite good for the long-term health of the forest.

I'm not too bad at the panoramic shots!

Finally, we stopped at Maligne Canyon (which is technically a gorge).  There is a phenomenal hike around this gorge, which, of course, due to my chronic foot pain, I was unable to do.  These kinds of things get me so down, that I can't be active with my kids in the way I'd like to.  They would love to walk and hike so much more than I am capable of.  We did the "easy" hike (about 10 minutes).  These photos don't even come close to doing justice to the depth of this gorge.  You can see all the areas where the water has cut it deeper and deeper through centuries, I'm sure.  This was incredible.  The video barely does justice to the depth, but I was trying to capture it.

I can't remember what this is called, when a rock is wedged between two cliffs like that, but it obviously can stay like that for a long time based on the amount of moss and foliage on it.  Eventually, as the gorge continues to change shape, it will fall.  

We finished this day off in the town site of Jasper, for a yummy (but pricey) dinner on a rooftop patio. I think the kids were expecting something quite a bit different than what it was when they heard "rooftop patio", but I enjoyed it very much, and you couldn't beat the view.

The oldest child did NOT want to be in this photo.  Aww, kid!  It's the Jasper mascot!  Oh well, his loss.