Mount Robson Provincial Park

Alberta didn't appear to be a likely move for us, but we are embracing it. We were in Alberta for a few short weeks before heading off to the Rockies. We had a couple backcountry camping trips planned. We took our sweet time getting to Robson Provincial Park in British Columbia, with stops at MEC, Cabela's and the trustworthy Sandman Hotel. 

Beautiful Mount Robson

This was my first trip to Mount Robson Provincial Park. It is incredible how quickly the flat prairies turn into impressive mountainous terrain. We had to pick up our backcountry camping passes in Jasper before heading to BC. I managed to doze off between Jasper and Mt Robson, and waking up to the towering Mount Robson was a jaw dropping sight. Our campground, Robson Meadows, was opposite the highway of the information center - prime location. 

Day 1: We spent one night in the full-service campground, reading and preparing for the hike. This was my first multi-day trip so I was a bit nervous. We tackled the approach to Mount Robson, called Berg Lake Trail. It is 23km one way, with an elevation gain of about 800 meters. It doesn't sound like crazy elevation, but a lot of the gain occurred over 8 kilometers. 

Are we there yet? So close to a plateau.

Berg Lake at Marmot Campsite

Day 2: After a little complaining and a lot of sweating, we (I) made it up the steep climb. The entire hike was gorgeous, but I was very happy to see the glacier off in the distance. Our destination: Marmot campsite. Originally, we attempted to secure a spot at the popular Berg Lake campsite, but it was full, and we were directed to Marmot. This little hiccup turned out to be an incredible spot. There were fewer tent sites and the view was spectacular. We met the other hikers at the tent site and shared hiking, kayaking and traveling stories. It was an early night for most of us. The rumble of the ice/snow cracking and falling into the lake was booming. 

Day 3:  We woke up, made breakfast, filled our water bottles and set off to Snowbird Pass Route. We didn't complete the entire loop. We made it to Robson Glacier and it was amazing. 

Rather than completing Snowbird Trail, we blazed our on trial and headed toward the base of the glacier, with caution, of course. I felt so small and somewhat insignificant standing next to the glacier. The sheer size and rapid receding of the glacier made me realize the magnitude of its depletion. We made it back to our site after a few hours of exploring and admiring the wonderful scenery. The evening was spent hanging around the 'cooking' area and chatting with our fellow hikers. It was another early night to bed. 

Day 4: Our packs were a bit lighter after eating most of our food. I was thankful for that. We packed up camp around 10:00am and made our way back to the parking lot, which was about 20km away. As difficult as it was gaining elevation, descending is challenging in its own way. 

We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was hot, sunny and the summit of Mount Robson was visible each day. The last few kilometers were occupied by a lot of people as it is a very popular trail. My feet were full of blisters, but I was happy to reach the parking lot. We ripped those packs off, changed into sandals and made our way toward Jasper. We decided to continue on to Hinton to find a hotel and something delicious to eat. Thank goodness for Boston Pizza and Shoppers Drug Mart (blister repair). 

WE MADE IT! 

Welcome to Alberta!

It seems appropriate to finally write about our move, now that we are settling into our Albertan lifestyle. It felt like a quick transition from work, to packing, to moving, to unpacking, to vacationing and back to working.

Let's start off with finding out we were being posted to Wainwright! Initially we were told that Alex was staying in Gagetown for another year - yippie! While he was in the field, he received news that this wasn't the case and our next destination was Wainwright. We immediately made appointments with Brookfield and sorted out the details, all while Alex was in the field. We met up several times a week on the Base to sign papers and sort out details. A few weeks later we were on our house hunting trip in hopes of finding a half decent place. The stars were aligned that day; the first place we saw was a keeper. To amuse our rental agent and to abide by our agreement with their agency, we looked at a few places anyways. The rental opportunities are scarce in this small town so we were sure to snatch up the first place we saw. Although it is far too big for just two of us, we are managing to fill the place with new toys.

Packing our gear

I had a couple weeks of work-free time before packing things up for Wainwright. I was able to visit with friends and family, which is exactly what I needed. After nine days of driving, Alex and I arrived in Wainwright. Unfortunately, our items were split up into two loads and we were living with only the essentials - bedroom, kitchen, love seat - for a week or so. Just before we headed off for the Rockies (to come in another post), the rest of our belongings showed up. I was thrilled to have them here before we left for vacation.

I started working as a Fitness and Sports Instructor with PSP here on the Base. I initially applied for a position that I was NOT qualified for with hops that it would turn into something better, and it did! I am being trained as the reconditioning specialist, so I am constantly learning new information and stepping outside of my comfort zone. In addition to working with military members, I also teach two different fitness classes at the Communiplex (community recreation facility) 2-3 times per week. I do enjoy what I do but I have to admit that over 40 hours a week of fitness and sports instruction and I am beat.

I am told that winters are long here and that I should keep busy. As if work doesn't keep me busy enough, I am hoping to join a mixed curling league this winter. I am not a curler, but I think it'll be a good time. The community has tons of youth activities but lacks adult engagement. Most people around here have kids so we've opted to try hunting... yes, that's right, HUNTING! We'll see how that one turns out.

Thumbs up for adult activities! 

Running, Cycling and Paddling!

We're into June, which means one month left in Fredericton. We have several things on the agenda before leaving NB, mostly visiting and having a good time. This weekend was full of active fun. Alex completed the Who's Your Daddy Adventure Race and I finished my first duathlon. 5.6km run, 20.4km bike, 2.8km run in 1:24. I was happy with my time, especially for my first du, although I did learn that brick training would have been a good thing to do before this race. Overall, it was a positive experience and maybe I'll do another!

Who's Your Daddy - Natural Selection Adventure Racing

Moncton Subaru Duathlon with Hannah and Bobbie

These two ladies motivated me to get my butt in gear. I was feeling quite discouraged before the race because I attempted a 10km bike/4km run the Wednesday before and felt like I was going to die.. okay, maybe not die, but it was painful. The ladies got me up, made sure I was fueled and ready to go. I can't thank them enough for pushing me and keeping my spirits up.

Last weekend I participated in the Cabot Trail Relay in Cape Breton, NS with the Gagetown Gunners. It was an incredible experience and if you get the chance to get involved, I highly suggest doing so. I ran leg 16, which was 15.34km. There were incredibly talented athletes at this event. The atmosphere was supportive and encouraging all weekend, even throughout the night legs. Our team placed mid pack, coming in 35th out of 71 teams. I'm quickly crossing things off the Maritime to-do list.

Gagetown Gunners - Cabot Trail Relay 2013

As for preparing for our move across the country, we have several activities and events planned. We've been trying to skydive for several years now. This may be our last chance to jump out of that darn plane. At the end of the month, we'll be packed and ready for the 9 day trek across the country. We found a lovely duplex to move into with a garage, yard and loads of room. It'll be great to get there and settle in. 

Let's Recap Feb-April

Wow, it's been four to five  months since I last updated this blog. Life has been in the fast lane since we got back from Christmas vacation. I don't know where to start, but chronological order seems to be a good place.

February: Chinese New Year - the Year of the Snake

I love February, for more than one reason. My birthday falls just before Valentine's Day and our anniversary is somewhere in there as well. We don't necessarily celebrate the actual day of our anniversary, rather the event. Alex and I were set up by a mutual friend and our first date was the Paardeberg Ball, which is a bi-annual event. Generally, we celebrate by going to the ball.

During this month, I also tried ice climbing for the first time. It was a ton of fun. I can definitely see why people are addicted to the thrill of the sport. I was comfortable top roping ice, but I doubt I will ever lead climb ice. Next winter, this is definitely on the list of things to do again!

I also started training for my new job with the Kinesiology Faculty at UNB. A mat leave opportunity opened up with the Take HEART Program as the coordinator/research assistant. I always thought I would go back to school to do my Masters, but I'm not entirely convinced that I like research, data entry and data analysis. The hardest part is being sedentary for hours a day. I didn't realize sitting behind a computer would be so exhausting. Regardless of all the sitting, it's a great experience and can't hurt my resume.


March: New Hampshire & Getting Certified 
The weekend before March Break, we made a trip to New Hampshire with friends of ours (Joel and Tara). As couples, we drove in our respective vehicles, with the intention that Tara and I would head back to Fredericton together on the Sunday because we have jobs that don't allow as much time off. The boys stayed down for an extra day and half to get more technical ice climbing in. Before we left NH, we did some hiking, a little shopping and lots of eating.

March was also a busy month getting certified to become a personal trainer. I audited KIN 4282, as it was the only class I was missing to become nationally certified through CSEP. Throughout the month I conducted several fitness assessments, completed the practical exam and passed the written exam. I thought the written exam was a bit tricky, but I only needed a 70% to get certified. Typically, I would cringe at a 70%, but because I was auditing the course, I knew it wouldn't affect my official transcript. Thankfully, I passed with a 92% and now I'm waiting for my certificate in the mail. I don't intend to make a living training people, but this certification also has includes insurance, and allows me to practice independently of an organization. It's a transportable certification and valuable in my field of study/practice.

April: Easter Chocolate, Frisbee Throwing and Posting Messages
Before I knew it, Easter was here and another long weekend to look forward to. Alex's parents sent us more than enough sweets to get us through the weekend. I think this was the first long weekend we stayed in Fredericton. We've been doing so much travel lately that I was definitely burnt out.

A good friend of mine, Heather, came from Ottawa to visit for a weekend. We played in an ultimate tournament together. It was so great to catch up with this girl. Another great experience about that weekend was meeting her brother, Tim. He is cycling across Canada and playing Ultimate along the way! His story is unique and very interesting. I would recommend taking
a read through his blog.

 To cap off the month, Alex was promoted and posted within 7 days of each other, while he was in the field. The next adventure will be Wainwright, Alberta. Stay tuned for an update on this!

Christmas 2012: Gilmore/Lam & Buck

Time has flown by! It's about time to do a little recap of the holidays. It is inevitable that I won't be home every Christmas, but 2012 marked my first Christmas away from home.

I worked until Dec 17th then made my way home that day. We decided to surprise my mom by flying Kevin home from Germany. This would have been her first Christmas sans children, which to be honest, had me feeling a little sad. All three of us were expected to be away on Christmas day. To make up for our absences, I thought it would be great to send her to Myrtle Beach for NYE. For a few weeks, this was the plan, until plans changed. I arranged to have Kevin fly into Ottawa, where Chris picked him up, and they drove through the night. I told mom that I felt terrible that her trip to South Carolina had been 'canceled', so to make it up to her I had Chris pick up a rather large gift in Ottawa. I told her it was too big to wrap and that she was getting her present early. She immediately thought it was something from IKEA (she loves that place). When the boys, and Steph, arrived the morning of the 18th, she had no idea what was going on. She was thrilled to see Chris and Steph and KEVIN... KEVIN, she began to cry. A reaction like that was worth the secrecy and small fibs.

I can't describe to you how happy she was to have us all home. I left December 21st, Chris stayed until Christmas Eve and Kevin came to the rescue on Christmas day. 

Getting to Norfolk proved to be more difficult than anticipated. I left Moncton at 6:15am, landed in Newark at 8:00am, where I was surprised to find out that my connecting flight was canceled, due to weather conditions. After waiting in the customer service line for nearly 2 hours, I was put on standby. This was useless because several flights were canceled, and the planes were full. After several phone calls with Wayne, a plan was created. I rented a car, drove to Philly and dropped the car off at the airport there. I then took a cab to a hotel and waited (...slept) for Alex to arrive. He drove from VA to pick me up - what a great boyfriend. We made it back to Norfolk the following day, just in time to decorate the Christmas tree. An added surprise was seeing a "Lam" added to the herd of Bucks on the front lawn!

The next day was filled with things to do and people to see. It was the Buck Christmas Cookie Party! Carol made 12 different types of cookies and Wayne the eggnog. I did give it a taste, but due to my nonexistent tolerance to alcohol, and lactose issues, I steered clear of the rum concoction. People were flowing in and out of the house all afternoon. I think I heard someone say 125 people came through the house that day. I was surprised that I ate only a few cookies. Sometimes I wish I had more self-control because the leftover cookies taunted me for the remainder of my stay. By the end of the night, I was zonked, and I slept like a baby.

As I said earlier, this was my first Christmas away from home and the Bucks did everything right - I felt like I was at home. They spoiled me rotten and showered me with everything Hello Kitty. I think my Asian side screams "I love Hello Kitty", but in reality I've never even seen the show. Nonetheless, I loved it! I am currently growing my Hello Kitty Chia Pet :) Her hair is thinning, but that is because I couldn't keep a plant alive if my life depended on it. The rest of our stay in VA was spent installing (Alex and Wayne, mostly) new hardwood floors, relaxing in the hot tub and seeing the sights at Busch Gardens. Christmas with the Bucks can only be described as wonderful. I am greatly appreciative of the time and energy put in to make me feel like I was part of their incredible family. 

Mom, if you're reading this, you should know that I did miss you over the holidays, but I knew Kevin would keep the traditions alive and strong - xo.

We left Norfolk and headed North, to Ottawa, for NYE!