Jeff and the Jeep of Doom

All I can think is, it just wasn't meant to be.

On Friday, we embarked on our second attempt to hike to Crypt Lake in Waterton National Park. It was a resounding failure!

Team Non-Jeep-of-Doom.

Halfway to Waterton, I received a text from Jeff saying that he was having car trouble, and didn't think he would be able to leave Claresholm. As it turned out, Tom and I were just passing through Claresholm, so we stopped to see if we could offer Jeff and his passengers a ride. Jeff decided he wanted to stay near his Jeep overnight so he could talk to a mechanic first thing in the morning. So he and his girlfriend, Julie, opted to stay in Claresholm.

His Jeep was making what I can only describe as... A death rattle. I did not sound good.  But with Jeff's urging, we continued on to Waterton, with an extra passenger-- Billy!

Waterton Lake.

When we met with Ashley, we decided to abort our second Crypt Lake attempt. Instead, we decided to do the shorter 11.4km hike to Bertha Lake. It was a warm and sunny day, and we took in the horde of people at the trailhead, and snagged one of the last parking spots in the trailhead parking lot. 

Lower Bertha Falls.

Upper Bertha Falls.

Waterton National Park has two main roads-- one road, the Akamina Parkway has been closed due to washout. This means that nearly half of the usually hiking destinations are cut off, so the Bertha Lake hike was particularly busy. Despite this, we powered up the trail. We passed Lower and Upper Bertha Falls, before arriving at our final destination, Bertha Lake, just before noon.

Bertha Lake.

Bertha Lake is quite beautiful, nestled at the top of a series of steep switchbacks. There is also a campsite near the lake that provided an excellent location to enjoy our hiking lunch. We headed back early, but were slowed by the dozens and dozens (AND DOZENS) of hikers heading towards the lake. After a quick shower, we headed back to Claresholm to give Jeff and Julie a ride back home.

We were thwarted this time... But third time's the charm, right? We'll hike Crypt Lake in 2014!

Jeff and Julie managed to check out every possible attraction in Claresholm. They also stayed at the Lazy J Motel, whose claim to fame is hosting Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal while they filmed Brokeback Mountain in 2005.

And what of the Jeep, you ask? Well, it needed some new parts that will take a couple days to acquire.   The Jeep will live to see another day!

Lululemon SeaWheeze Half Marathon - Vancouver

Second half marathon of 2013, completed!  I am happy to report I ran my third half marathon at a personal best of 2:05:10, a six minute improvement over the half I ran at the end of May.

Starting line: Photo Credit

This time Tom and I travelled to Vancouver to meet up with Andrew and run  with 10000 other runners in the Lululemon Seawheeze Half Marathon. Ashley was supposed to run in the race as well,  but the flooding in June caused the Ride to Conquer Cancer to be postponed to the same weekend,  so Tom ran in Ashley's place.

I admit I was disappointed that Ashley wouldn't be joining team Greig in Vancouver.  For the last three summers the four of us have done an annual hike.  A hike wasn't possible this year, but the race weekend would have served as a satisfactory substitute. Nevertheless, Tom and I are proud and happy for Ashley to be participating in the ride-- a particularly meaningful event for her this year.

Thousands of runners: Photo Credit

Lululemon knows how to put on a good party, but good gad do they have ridiculous rules about race package transfer. Essentially, their policy is no refunds, and no package transfers. Which... Seems unreasonable when you pay $128 for a spot in the race! For example, Ashley couldn't run in the race because of her ride-- but she wasn't allowed to transfer her package to Thomas. Something about liability (blah blah blah). But... Couldn't the new runner sign a waiver like the original runner did? Wouldn't that get rid of all your liability problems? Just sayin'...

But never fear! We bent the rules, and Tom ran in Ashley's place.

Race route and elevation profile.

I don't know Vancouver too well, so I was pretty turned around during most of the race. But I do know that we ran past BC place, over the Burrard Street Bridge, and around the seawall in Stanley Park. It was a beautiful course, and there were hundreds of spectators that came out to cheer at various cheering stations around the route. There were mounties on stilts, carnival performers, cheerleaders, and even transvestites strutting their stuff! Instead of pace bunnies, there were pace "beavers," and there was a brunch of muffins, waffles, tiny quiches and fruit at the end of the race.

I learned that Vega sports drink (a clean, plant-based nutrition supplement) is disgusting (I grabbed it by accident thinking it was water at one of the hydration stations). I spat it out and ditched the rest of it (and did NOT make that mistake again).

SeaWheeze 2013 Finishers!

By the end of the 21.1km, I was ready to stop running-- but I felt great! I found Andrew and Tom without too much difficulty, and we gobbled down some brunch before heading back to the hotel for a much needed nap.

I'm not sure what my future running plans will include, but the half marathon course has not seen the last of me! But for now... Much more rest.

Sunshine Coast - British Columbia

Ferry to the Sunshine Coast.

If you've known me for any amount of time, you probably know that Tom and I have a preference for all thing Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts related. It seems like anything this company touches is gold, whether it's their vacation properties in Banff, Lake Louise and Emerald Lake, or amazing restaurants all over Calgary.

A few years ago we noticed that CRMR had picked up a new property on the Sunshine Coast in British Columbia called the Painted Boat Resort. We were both interested in trying it out, but the Sunshine Coast is a long way to go.

So when Mallary and Colm's wedding popped up in Kelowna, and the Lululemon Seawheeze Half Marathon popped up a week later in Vancouver, we realized this would be the perfect time to head to the coast.

View of the bay from the Painted Boat Resort.

The Painted Boat Resort does not disappoint. Set in a calm, secluded embayment, we had a stunning view of the water and marina. We had a spacious suite including a full kitchen, living room and dining room, as well as a spacious bedroom and bathroom. There was also an additional bathroom and bedroom in our unit, but because we didn't pay for a two bedroom unit, the bathroom and bedroom were locked so we couldn't go inside!

Unit bedroom.

Unit kitchen.

Being close to the water gave us an opportunity to play in the water! We took out a sea kayak one afternoon, and tried stand-up paddle boarding on a second afternoon. We also enjoyed the infinity pool in the resort (which was SUPER cold), and the hot tub.

In order to keep in shape for the upcoming Seawheeze, Tom and I made several attempts to run in the nearby community of Madeira Park. Unfortunately, the community doesn't have much of a sidewalk, and running along the highway was a bit daunting. As an alternative, Tom and I investigated the Skookumchuck Narrows trail. We ran this trail twice-- once in the evening so we could see the tide pouring into the narrows, and once in the afternoon so we could see the water rushing out. The trail was approximately 7-8km round trip, and provided a good variety of elevation change and scenery. 

Tide flowing into Skookumchuck Narrows.

On our way back to the car on our last trail run, I thanked a couple of ladies who moved to the side of the path for me. As I passed, one of the ladies yelled, "SHOW OFF!" at me! In another instance in one of our earlier runs near town, and old man slow clapped for me as I run by, and hollered, "Way to to go, Miss!" I had to laugh-- there was no other way to respond!

By far, the best part of the BC is the fresh fruit. Tom and I gorged ourselves on fresh peaches and nectarines every morning and afternoon. By the time our last day arrived, we had soaked in a mass amount of sunshine and Vitamin C, and were ready to head into Vancouver.

Next up, the SeaWheeze!

Kelowna & Newlyweds

I can barely remember the last time I was in Kelowna. I know I've been there before-- I remember talking about the Ogopogo, and I remember a white and blue castle on a mini golf course (which is STILL THERE). But it has been a long, long time, and I have never experienced it as an adult.

Sun setting over the Okanagan.

On Sunday I caught a morning flight to Kelowna where I was picked up by Jill. Each of us (Jill, Jasmine, Paige and I) had made our way into British Columbia so we could partake in the wedding festivities of Mallary and Colm.

The wedding took place at the lovely Summerhill Pyramid Organic Winery. There were around fifty guests in attendance, and the ceremony was held on a second floor open-air balcony/patio. There was a second wedding occurring at the ground floor of the winery, and we watched the guests sitting in the blazing sun, slowly melting... So we couldn't help by be a bit smug on the shaded patio. We were able to enjoy the ceremony in comfort!

Beautiful bride Mallary, and new husband, Colm.

While the newly-weds powered through photos (seriously, they POWERED THROUGH their photo session), we gobbled down delicious appetizers, and sampled various wines from the vineyard. We were all feeling pretty good by the time the bride and groom rejoined us.

Wood wine rack. 

Now, if you know Mallary even a little bit, then you know she's a bit of a foodie, so we had high expectations for dinner. We started with a deconstructed caesar salad, followed by braised short rib on a bed of vegetables, followed by a rhubarb berry crumble with vanilla bean gelato. Dinner and dessert was fantastic!

Deconstructed caesar salad.

Dinner was followed by your typical wedding traditions. Speeches from the families and wedding parties, first dances, cake cutting, and a whole lot of good times! The venue didn't seem particularly pleased with the music on (at one point, they told the DJ that someone "might call the RCMP on them"), and they turned the music off at exactly 12:01am (they meant business). But it didn't matter, we helped Mallary and Colm celebrate their marriage in style.

Jasmine, Jill, Mallary, Paige and I.

 Mallary and Colm-- Congratulations!