The day after we arrived, Aidan and Maelle and I ventured out hiking and spent the day on the Plain of Six Glaciers trail. These kids hiked a whopping total of eleven kilometers, and yes they were very grouchy by the end of it. They did have fun though! At least on the way up!
The weather was perfect all day, and we had endless views of Victoria Glacier and Lake Louise as we made our way up to the tea house. Oh, I forgot to mention that part. There is a tea house at the end of the trail. Always good to have an incentive when hiking with the kids!
And here they are! The Plain of Six Glaciers Teahouse! Funny thing happened here as well. We met a lot of really nice people on this trail. It's a busy one, so we often stopped to let people go by us. We chatted a bit with our companions, and the kids received many compliments on their ability to hike this far. So much so, that when we arrived at the tea house, a few of these aforementioned people broke out into a little round of applause as the kids arrived. How nice is that? They even scored a free mini chocolate bar from one of the people we met.
We enjoyed a few rice krispies squares, a great quinoa salad, and a glass of cold homemade lemonade. Treats well earned by all!
After our first round of lunch, we found a quiet spot to enjoy the remainder of our lunches before making the trek back down. We were treated to a few mini avalanches that thundered off Victoria Glacier while we ate. An awesome sight for the kids to witness, and thus increasing their respect for these mountains around us.
Aidan is learning how to use my camera a little more now. I'd say he's doing pretty good!
After a very long day of hiking, and a few very tired and shall we say cranky kids, we spent our last full day with a little stroll around Moraine Lake. Bree has become a bit of a mini photographer, my side kick if you will, as she would choose several sitting spots and say "picture please!". She would promptly sit down and smile.
And there they all are. My little adventurers. Tired. Dirty. Bruised. Messy. But all still smiling after a little over a month long camping trip all over Vancouver Island, and finishing up with a few days in the mountains.
A beautiful end to our last night away from home.
Over the last month or so, we have had so many amazing experiences, met so many amazing people, and created so many amazing memories with our little family. Just the other day, I was flipping through the kids' nature journals that I made for them before we left, and I was blown away. Here in my hands was evidence of a great vacation. Although there were many times throughout the trip that it didn't feel so great, I was reminded that yes we did have the most fabulous time. I have over eight hundred pictures of our journey, I have kids that are still talking about their adventure, and I am grinning ear to ear. Big time. Every time we venture out to the Island, we love it just a little bit more. But this time was different. This time I think we left a chunk of all of our hearts out there. This has become a special place indeed.
Typical of our last night of a big holiday, Brent and I often find ourselves sitting outside after the kids have retired, wondering and planning what we are going to do next year. We had decided early on that we would do something a little different. Take a break from the ocean, and try and see something new. But as we thought about where we could go, and what we could do, we said nothing. We only talked about that ocean and that magical place called Vancouver Island.
Until next year!
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