Trail Riding and A Day at Lake Annette

Today we decided to drive back into Jasper and go trail riding and spend the day at the lake.  Although it took us some time to actually find the trailhead, once we did, it was a great ride.  I was very proud of Josh, who made the ride into a game as he raced Emma and I through the trails commentating on their every move.  Obviously Josh could of whipped past Emma at any time, but he allowed her to pass him multiple times throughout our ride (what a great big brother!)  Emma did a great job riding most of the way by her self as I helped her up the hills and through some of the more difficult terrain.  She was adamant that I was not her tow truck, but her teammate on Team Butterfly, as she loved seeing the butterflies follow her around as she rode.  Jamie was at the head of the pack leading the way and Josh was our trusty map-reader keeping us on track.  About an hour later we re-emerged at the trailhead that we started at.  A tiring ride by the end, but everyone felt a sense of accomplishment and was happy that we went biking today.  What better way to end off a hot bike ride through the trails, but a nice dip in the lake. 

A few missed turns, but a great adventure by all.

Bikes on the bike rack, beach stuff unloaded, and pack mules Rick and Michelle loaded up to make the trek down to the lake.  Sand toys, inflatables, electric air pump, sports equipment, mini-kayak, beach blanket, chairs . . . did we forget anything? . . . yes, the kitchen sink!!  (I am sure Papa has a spare one that we could of taken in the trailer somewhere).  If I wasn’t sweating bad enough from the bike ride, I was definitely feeling the heat now . . . I think I was officially that guy, you know the overly sweaty guy with pit stains and the growing back sweat.  Lets just say that I couldn’t wait to unload and hit the water to cool off.  I must admit that the water was pretty cool, but compared to the Athabasca River . . . this was like a natural hot spring.  The kids had a blast paddling Jamie’s new kayak around and testing their balance trying to stand up on it like it was a paddleboard.  The kids spent most of their time in the water today, even Emma said, “this water is better than last time”.  

Emma loved being pulled around the lake.  She did a great job paddling her dad as well.

Unfortunately, our time was winding down and we needed to head back before the “Crazies” come out of our children.  One thing about our kids is that when they get overly hungry they start to lose it . . . they are like Bruce Banner, you know the mild mannered physicist who would transform himself into the HULK!  I know I am a geek.  So off we went packing up our stuff and headed down the highway back to our camp.  You know you have had a good day when two of the kids are sound asleep in the back of the truck 10 minutes into the drive.  In my opinion, I would rather have them sleeping than getting on each other’s nerves all the way back . . . because then I think Michelle or I would turn into the HULK and RAGE!!