After a nice big meal on Sunday, my family consented to accompany me on a LB trip out towards the mountains on Thanksgiving Monday. It was sunny when we started out… sun and clouds for most of the day. And the temps got up to about 12C, so it was actually a fairly nice fall afternoon.
We began southwest of Cochrane by turning down 68 toward Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest where we were able to pick up BlueJs Northern Owl… a quick and simple find. We feasted on our picnic lunch on the tailgate of the truck while the eyes of numerous cattle watched from the nearby woods.
Then it was across to the Kananaskis Trail (Hwy 40) and the Colonels Cabin Historic Site where we were able to pick up Blue Js Falcon. This is the kit that I wear while letterboxing. My husband is threatening to make up T-shirts for he and Alex identifying them as muggles.
Then on toward the mountains. The next was a fairly lengthy hike up Heart Creek toward the waterfall where we were unable to find The Playmakers Heart Creek Trail box. Too bad.
Still further west to Dead Mans Flats and up to the gates of the Banff Gate Mountain Resort. This trail quickly and easily yielded up No Moose by 8 Bare Feet. And then on still further west to Canmore where we picked up The Three Sisters by MPBS in the heart of a very touristy (and busy) downtown. Time to head for home. On our way back along Hwy 1A we made a quick stop at the Ghost Reservoir Provincial Recreation Area to pick up Crimson Lake Grouse by Blue J.
Our day ended at Dairy Queen in Cochrane for a treat _ reward for a hard days work. All in all, a successful and happy day. Thats pretty much it for the close boxes. All future trips will now be further afield with less rewards along the way…. that is until I get more Albertans carving and planting.
Wow. What beautiful landscapes. Nice photos Water Lily. Cows in the woods – that’s a sight I’ve never come upon. Hopefully you’ll drum up more interest in the coming years. Looks like lots of scenic locations to plant lots and lots of boxes.
Yes… in the foothills cows are “free-ranged” through the summer months, so many of the non-park areas you have to dodge the cow patties. Never had a run-in with them, but it is a bit disconcerting at times.
Yes, I’m looking forward to meeting the 4sailors and other 3 adult letterboxers in the Calgary area, BlueJ, Chocolate Dreams and BiblioTech. (We are having a mini-meet / carving event on Nov. 5). Then, with a library set or two, and maybe a workshop to go along with them, I can hopefully encourage more folks to participate. It is a beautiful province with lots of potential hiding spots.