2nd Annual Boys Fall Camping - Benson Lake Campout (2015)

We just returned from our second annual boys fall camping trip. Last year we canoe camped on Sparks Lake. This year Hunter wanted to do a backpacking trip so I selected Benson Lake as a good starter - a 1.5 mile hike into the lake with wilderness camping.  Mileage-wise not a lot, but with packs on it was plenty to get a taste and enjoy the experience. We left home after the boys soccer games on Saturday afternoon. The drive was about 50 minutes from Bend past sisters on hwy 242. We had spectacular weather and it didn't even get very cold at night. The water was so clean and clear we drank right out of the lake. The boys loved it.    

Alberta Heritage Museum

Yesterday, was our last day on our trip and we spent the day at the Heritage Museum in Calgary. The mesuem consisted of Alberta's history from the natives to the railway to the coming of the automobile. The kids loved it and got to ride some old fashion carnival ride at the end. We had a wonderful holiday in Alberta Canada and feel so fortunate to have seen such beautiful mountains and scenery.

Floating the Athabasca River

Today we drove into the town of Jasper for the day. The weather has been unseasonably cold here. We did not plan for this so we stopped off to buy some hats and gloves for our rafting trip. The weather wasn't looking great but the sun broke through which made for a nice afternoon. After our float down the river we met up with Ralph and Fran to have lunch and enjoy the quaint town of Jasper.