Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Moose and Baby Geese and Bears... Oh My!

Working 12 hour shifts are never much fun and I have vowed that I never want to do this again, however, on a positive - my Canadian credit card has been paid off!

I have 7 weeks remaining in Calgary and am planning to make the most of it (as best I can with limited funds) and this weekend I am heading up to the mountains to do some camping. I stipulated that in order to go camping, there must be toilet and shower facilities around as I do not feel like starting my first (and quite possibly last) Canadian camping experience smelling like a feral.

Our plans so far include Johnston Canyon which last time I was in Banff I missed out on due to cries of 'oh but it's too icy' and 'oh but if I go I might break an ankle' - right, next time don't come to Banff if you just want to sit in the car and complain the entire time. The Rockies are home to many of the most beautiful hikes in the world and I plan on enjoying them whilst I am here!

We also are going to attempt 'a little bit of paddling' - aka - canoeing! This I have not done in a very long time so I am a little concerned I may end up drenched in icy cold water and I have images of my friend whipping out the camera and him laughing hysterically whilst I am floundering around the bottom of some lake being attacked by underwater grizzly bears.
Funnily enough, I was reading up on the Banff National Park website and there are quite a few mentions of bears and how to protect yourself against them by:
  • not leaving food around your campsite;
  • traveling in groups of 4+ on certain hikes that are in bear territory;
  • carrying bear spray.
I am excited to see a bear and am going to demand my National Park entrance fee back if I do not see a bear (and also a moose, and perhaps an elk) whilst camping. That being said, if a bear comes to the edge of my tent and pokes its snout in, I may just well have a heart attack and keel over so I guess I should be careful of what I wish for. 

Nevertheless, I am beyond excited for this upcoming weekend and should post a few pics up when I get back as I've been a little slack
 in doing that for this site seeing as all my photos are posted on the social site known to all as Facebook!

Oh and one random other thing I feel like sharing 
- a few days ago I went for a walk along the Bow River and 
it was beautiful and sunny.. actually, I rollerbladed... and saw some baby geese. They were so cute and fluffy but of course, no camera, so I am going to go back tonight and hope some of these little baby geese are till there! Super cute! 


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