Thimbleberry Trail and Heart Lake

Today Stephen and I went up Thimbleberry Trail for a nearly 3-mile hike to Heart Lake. It was a pretty, although muggy, day and there isn't much tree cover on this trail. Also, it's a pretty vertical trail, so my left knee, which I strained on the Indian River trail, was on fire the whole way up. When we got to Heart Lake, we walked out onto the small boat dock there and Stephen threw Nika in the water. It occurred to us that Nika had never swam before. Suffice it to say she's simply not cut out for the water. She forgave us quickly as she shook off the brisk water and headed back down the trail toward the car.

Oh, the grand old Duke of York...

Stephen and I went for a spectacular hike all the way up Indian River trail to the waterfall. It was more than 10 miles round-trip and I am spectacularly exhausted, but it was well worth the journey. Here are a few pictures and videos for you to enjoy from the comfort of the nearest chair.

Calgary, Alberta (Day 3)

It's late. It's really late. We only put in 50 more kilometers today than yesterday, but somehow it ended up taking us 50% longer to travel that distance. As you might have already concluded, we had a few setbacks today,  but let's start at the beginning and, more importantly, with some pictures.

From Sitka to Prince Rupert on the M/V Matanuska

M/V Matanuska (at 2am)

Kids in the cabin, snuggling up before crashing.

3-berth cabin.

Seren using her camera.

At the on-board play area.

Petersburg

Some guy fishing in Petersburg.

Another fisherman.

Zonked.

Rainbow!

Waiting to go down to the car deck.

Yes, but where does it end?

At the playground in Wrangell.

"Do I look like a movie star?"

Narrow channel.

At last!

Beautiful British Columbia

Mudflats.

The Canadian Rockies, Alberta

Glaciers in the Ice Fields.

Mountain goat!

Gravel slides left behind from glaciers that have long since melted.

Off-road trolley?

More glaciers.

It's true, we've encountered some pretty breathtaking views along the way, but as mentioned before, we've had our share of setbacks. Porter is toilet-training while we are on the road and he is doing a super job. The only trouble is that he still has a sensitive stomach from all those allergies and we've had to deal with not one but two cases of spontaneous diarrhea. We've made several wrong turns, resulting in an hour or so of back-tracking (total), and there are frequent pit stops with two little ones in tow. Over all, though, it's been a pleasant drive. We've managed boredom and frustration with remarkable ease and the kids are enjoying all of the scenery and wildlife along the way.

Speaking of wildlife, just today (yesterday?) we saw several black bears, some white-tail deer, moose, a coyote, caribou, mountain goats, and a rabbit. It's almost always too fast to get a picture, but Seren really enjoys seeing the animals that she is learning about in her books.

That's all for tonight. It's after 3am here and we need to get out on the road early in the morning. We're hoping to reach Regina tomorrow night, but we'll have to see how the day goes.