Drumheller part two, in which our heroes conquer the Dinosaur trail and survive the downpour

Previously in Drumheller.....
We rejoin our journey on the South Dino trail which winds up into the mountains surrounding Drumheller.  The first place of note was Orkney point which looks across a cool valley to Horsethief canyon.

After Orkney point you make your way down to a mini ferry to cross the river pictured above.

On crossing the river the trail becomes the Northern Dino trail and curves gently back down to DH.  We stopped there for a cool drink in the Italian cafe and then began the journey home.  Unfortunately when we reached southern Edmonton it absolutely chucked it down and the van being quite old, we discovered some leaks around the windscreen.  Nothing of major concern but it did make things a bit more stressful as Jacqui was having trouble seeing through the downpour.  However an hour later we sailed into port in St. Albert and breathed sighs of relief.

We will go back to the badlands, but better prepared and preferably wearing full hazmat suits.

Drumheller, land of the dinosaurs

Last week we made the trip down south to the Canadian badlands, the uncrowned capital of which being Drumheller.  We took the big baby van and a tent and drove the 300 odd kms to our hot and muggy destination. 

The first night as I was putting up the tent it became clear that:
1: There were a plethora of Mosquitoes in the area, big ones.
2: Our mosquito repellent didn't.
3: They really like me.

So after the tent was erected I reviewed my battle damage and it was pretty nasty.  These flying buggers also stopped us eating outside, going for walks and generally enjoying our first night in the wilds.  However thanks to Jacqui's resolve we did stay the night and looked forward to exploring the following day.  The next morning came and neither of us had a good nights sleep so we decided to look around during the day then drive back that night, one day early but we had reached our limits for this trip.

We showered and wandered into town for a perfectly good breakfast.  First thing after brekkie we made the obligatory visit to the dinosaur.  You can make out Jacqui and Dan if you zoom in on the mouth.

 then headed a bit more south to see the suspension bridge and then the hoodoos.

We took some more pictures of the rest of the trip but they're not too interesting so I'll just write it up.  We made the trip to see Wayne, this is a three mile trip along a windy road on which you cross eleven bridges, quite interesting.  Then along the Southern Dinosaur trail and I'll continue this in the next post.

Getting your moneys worth

Recently we had a tree removed from right next to our house, quite a big tree and very entertaining the whole process was, here are some pics and a video of said entertainment.

Before:

During:

After:

Genuine Lumberjack :)

Fair warning for those of you expecting babies.....

Now I now that the vast majority of our posts regarding parenthood have been positive, this one will show you the other side, the dark side if you will.  It all started last night when I escaped for my weekly nerd night and Jacqui was left alone with the munchkin.  All good soo far, you just wait.  I returned about 10:30 to a slightly emotional wife who had just been through a self-proclaimed night from hell.  And I now pass on this warning to you all.

It all started, and really finished at bath time which is around 7:30.  Mr Daniel was transported to his bath and a normal bath seemed to be in order with much splashing and himself trying and normally succeeding to drink all the water in said bath.  Jacqui then went to remove him from the bath ....

*****WARNING This next bit will be particularily nasty for prospective fathers, do not continue if you have issues with bodily funtions*****

You have been warned!

.... and discovered a small amount of doody (nicest word I can think of), on second viewing a much larger collection was discovered floating around the bath.  Stout wife that she is the creator was removed from the bath  wrapped in a towel.  Unfortunately this did not stop production and a nappy was obtained post-haste, then another, and another and then a fourth.  Yes this was a four nappy monstrosity.  And then she still had to empty the bath, refill it with clean water and wash the munchkin once more as he had mysteriously got dirty in some manner. 

So there is the warning and ignore it at your peril, doody at bathtime can happen and probably will.  Just hope you don't have to go through the night of Two Baths and Four Nappies.

P.S. FYI Mr Munchkin had not 'been' for three days prior to the explosion, this much raw production was not just a days worth.

The Beauty of Yard Sales

Jacqui went out for her evening constitutional with young spogger tonight and noticed a yard sale in progress nary a block away (about 100 metres for the uninformed).  Now I've taken a bit of a liking to these local events and although I have only visited a few my purchases up to this point include a foam sword and a book of Christmas carols, not to be sneezed at I'm sure you'll agree.

Tonight though broke all expectations.  We came back with a bike trailer in which to dump the aforementioned spogger, and a kids easel.  And what did this treasure cost us you cry, $25 I answer, or 15 quid in old money.  Above is an artists impression of said bike trailer.  The child's easel on the other hand looks exactly like this:

Note: I was unhappy not to find another foam sword:

Fathers Day

Well my first Fathers Day had passed and what did I get out of it. Windows 7 and a new hard drive!

Ok, ok I also a lovely card from 'Dan', and a truly wonderful Strawberry Gateaux from my less than ten stone wife. BTW we checked and she was still below ten after the cake ;).

It was absolutely chucking it down so we did not do much but a good day was had by all.

Blimey three weeks have passed already ....

Not a lot to report really. The youngster is now teething like anything, so sleep issues, grumpiness and loads of dribble. He's still a good lad though. 

Not sure if I mentioned that I had replaced the battery in the van after winter but now I know I have. Turn that into English in your head and proceed as normal. Well it appears that I may have (did) fry the alternator at the same time. 

When I took it to the mechanic it literally died on his driveway. When he came out later to have a look the battery was completely dead. Anyhoo all fixed now and ready for our trip to Drumhella, the land that time forgot. 

Now back to watching Canada play Guadeloupe at the beautiful game.