Celebrate Saskatchewan - Big Muddy Valley & South Saskatchewan

I am very blessed.  Last weekend my good friends Donna & Rob accompanied me on a 1 1/2 day "mini vacation" to the Saskatchewan badlands.  I know they did this "for me" since this was a few days in advance of me learning about major tests I had to see if my cancer had spread.  (Note:  The news was good... no change in my condition, no cancer can be detected.)  Regardless, I had not known this at the time and there were a few places I'd always wanted to see in my own backyard but somehow never got around to seeing.  

Sukenen Ship Heritage Village
All my life I've passed by this museum on the way to & from Mossbank and "the farm".  I'd always wanted to see it.  It was very well done!  I was impressed.

St. Victor's Petroglyphs 
Nearby to where I was born... ancient stone carvings.  A sacred place in a glorious setting.

Castle Butte
In the Saskatchewan badlands.
We did a 7 hour tour that took us to many other places in this area as well, which was great fun!  
This included visiting 3 different First Nations sacred places - A buffalo effigy, tee-pee circles, turtle effigy, ceremonial circles. 

I will upload a few more pictures as the days go by.  Here are a few to start.  (Click on them for best viewing.)

Peyto Lake, Banff National Park

It was an incredible day in the Rockies.  We went to Peyto Lake.  Easy walk to the look out point.  Then we hiked ( a proper hike!) Down to thebottom.  It was quite a way.  It was quite steep.  Art said any steeper we'd have had to scramble with our hands.  For two thirds there was switch backs, so not too bad but final third difficult.  Great and different views from the bottom but you have to work for it, especially since for all the elevation you hike down has to be hiked back UP!

Then we had our picnic along Bow Lake.  We couldn't have had a lovelier location, if cool.

Just a few more pictures, some from our drive.

Calgary zoo

Such, such, such fun!

Much better pictures on my camera which I will post when I'm home.  (And yes I ate bugs.)  In the meantime....

Sisters out for adventure

In Calgary, Alberta,  Canada.  My country.

Home again, home again....

Lots of turbulence on the flight - for at least 1 1/2 hours of the trip - it calmed down around Winnipeg.
Arrived 1 am Thursday... bedtime 2 am... up at 6:45 am...

Home again, home again...
Today:

• Car battery dead - CAA boost & then made appointment to get a 'battery maintainer' permanently installed in a couple of weeks so this won't happen in the future
• 2 loads of laundry done
• Some hand washing done
• 1 grocery shop
• 1 visit to bank (deposit Income Tax refund)
• Opened some but not all of my mail
• Emptied suitcases although stuff still strewn about
• Had a quick visit with friend Donna and out of town friend in town from BC, Diane
• Was invited to supper at Bev & Jerry's (so kind!)
• Downloaded pictures of my two cameras & table to computer... filled its remaining memory... must contact brother-in-law about how to get more memory (I deleted lots of stuff to get room for the pictures... proud of myself for kind of figuring out the problem).

It's 7 pm - I'm tuckered out

The picture below is one of I took of a display of some Morpho butterfly from the Panama Canal museum.
HOWEVER, I saw FOUR in the wild on my trek up the mountain on Tobago Island.

The blue morpho is among the largest butterflies in the world, with wings spanning from five to eight inches. Their vivid, iridescent blue coloring is a result of the microscopic scales on the backs of their wings, which reflect light.

They flitted by too quickly for me to get pictures of them in the wild but they were wondrous to see.  

Safely in Toronto..

Waiting for connecting flight to Regina.
ETA in Regina - 10 minutes past midnight (0:10 am) early Thursday. It would have been 1:10 am Panama time.

Will be so glad to be sleeping in my own bed tonight, even if that's hours away yet.

Back from Tobago...

Lovely tour.  I was the only one who had booked the town tour and the 4x4 trek up the mountainfor 360 degree views.  So VIP treatment...could ask whatever questions sI liked or stop for photos where and when I liked.
Good guide in Heidi, originally from Missouri U.S.A so obviously her English was perfect - unlike the dud of that rickety bus tour.

No pictures since I didn't take my tablet so, since tomorrow is farewell to Coral Suites hotel (A delightful hotel), here is its rooftop pool and view from this morning (once I can get uploaded that is).