Grandpa's 60th: Day 1 & 2

On August 15, 2013 my Dad will turn 60 yrs old.  60 is worth celebrating but it is extra special when we reflect back to the fact that we almost lost him at the age of 48 to cancer.  My mom set about planning a surprise family reunion/vacation to celebrate.  We realized quickly that the "surprise" factor wouldn't work but I think we still managed to surprise him with different things all week long.

We booked some amazing cabins in Jasper and my sister and family stayed in their trailer at the neigboring campsite.  We have spent a ton of time exploring the Rocky Mountains around Banff but never spent much time in Jasper.  The unreal beauty blew me away all day long, each day.  A new favorite.  I feel like my camera just couldn't capture the beauty, the colors and the joy that came with it all.

We drove the 4 hrs (maybe closer to 6 with a few stops) and spent the late afternoon/evening exploring the cabins and all that were around them. 
We stayed in a beautiful one bedroom cabin and my parents stayed in one a few cabins over with a bedroom and then a loft full of beds.  The cabins sat right on the athabasca river.  My heart smiled every single time I walked outside as I soaked in the amazing scenery.  That and I think my senses were always a little heightened each time we stepped outside looking for wildlife.  T had a coyote come up on him and WR, I had a heard of elk sneak up behind me and the baby and my brother and Dad saw a grizzly bear cross the river right in front on our place ;) 

I loved the way the river went from a deep blue early in the morning and late in the evening to a turquoise/milky color all day long as the sun hit it.  I could look at that view forever!  (washing dishes was pretty sweet looking out on it)

The kids loved the huge tree house, the play structures and the large outdoor cabinet loaded with toys.  If you ask AL though, the highlight of the entire trip was the nightly visits to the hot tub!

 

On our first full day there we surprised my Dad with some pretty sweet "Team H" hoodies!  He loves sailing so we had a boat added to them.  It was pretty darn chilly in the early mornings and high up in the mountains so these hoodies rocked.  Just wish we had gotten a group shot.

We headed up to the Gondola to check out the view and get in some hiking.  We had all been to the Banff one and were pretty surprised how rough this one was in comparison.  It was snowing at the top of the mountain which wasn't a surprise but the trail was crazy steep with barely a trail through the loose rocks!  It was a challenge for the little people.  I got almost all the way to the first summit with WR on my back and then had to turn back when he got miserable from the cold.  T was super man and carried JA on his back and our crazy heavy back pack on his front all the way to the 3rd and final summit in the snow.  It was pretty cloudy most of the time we were there making it feel just like we were walking in the clouds.

You can see the top of the gondola on the mtn peak

The peak you can see in the pic is just the first half of the trip up.  It was so high!

The kids loved this sign at the gift shop

Starting the trek

Top of the Mtn

Amazing views

 

My bro and BIL continued to hike down the back side of the mtn while we relaxed in the restaurant.  We all enjoyed some serious relaxation in the hot springs after this one ;)  Sadly no pics but we loved the 40C hot spring pools and took a few "refreshing" dunks in the 15C mtn cold water pools!