Week in Review: Mountain High

This week's review is so full of fun things, I don't even know where to begin. First of all, Matt came home! He arrived home from Wainwright on Monday afternoon, and I went to pick him up at the base. It is so nice to have him here. I told him that we needed to make a hologram of him that says key phrases so that when he leaves it will still feel like he's here. Things like, "Good morning princess", and "Damn cats!" just so I don't miss him so much.

Friday we went to the Edmonton Public Library book sale and scored some excellent reads for super cheap. Thanks EPL! We had dinner at the Sherlock Holmes pub (because it is so good), and followed that with Iron Man 3. The movie is an excellent end to the series, but if you don't need to see it in 3D, don't bother. It loses nothing in the original 2D format.

Bighorn Sheep are just as cute as farm sheep!

Saturday was Free Comic Book Day! We went to our local comic shop and spent a couple hours taking it all in (and getting free stuff). Matt also picked up an air canister for his paintball gun. He is now completely outfitted to go shoot colourful pellets at other men next weekend. We had a quiet night in, some avocado chicken quesadillas, and Matty played some video games.

Sunday we loaded up the car and headed to Jasper! This trip was a bucket list item for both Matt and I. We couldn't have asked for better weather for the drive. It was just beautiful. I didn't realize this, but the town of Jasper is actually smack in the middle of the Jasper National Park, which explained why we had to stop dead on the highway for a super cute roadblock. Once we entered the park itself, the attendant at the gate gave us a helpful guide to spotting wildlife, and maps of the town and park highlights. I began using the list at once to help identify all the animals we saw, and I got to check off Bighorn Sheep right away. Check!

Our stay was fantastic. We were treated to gorgeous scenery coupled with fantastic weather. We saw caribou, elk, and bald eagles as well as the sheep. The town of Jasper is cute and unhurried, with all the amenities one could think of. We took in the shores of 3 different lakes: Lake Edith, Lake Annette, and Beauvert Lake. We got to wonder at the peaks of Mt. Aeolus, Whitecap Mountain, Sirdar Mountain, and the Whistlers in the distance. I would love to go back in the late summer and enjoy the Miette Hot Springs. The Athabasca River was running low, but even just overnight we could see the difference as the mountain run-off began to pick up speed. I felt like I was walking around in a postcard, or an advertisement for Tourism Canada.


Map from PlanetWare.com

We were sad to leave it behind, but we left Jasper yesterday afternoon and came home to the kitties, who were not sad at all to see us. When I booked the trip, I meant it to be a complete getaway from everything - the army, my ongoing struggles, even the world at large. And it was. It was an idyllic two days of peace and relaxation, of no worries and no problems, of stepping outside of it all and just living in the moment. I felt renewed. Getting close to our beautiful world was exactly what we needed. We can't wait to head back.