Anniversary Trip: Columbia Icefields

Our next stop along the Icefields Parkway were the Columbia Icefields.  The visitor centre was hopping, so we decided to skip it.  A lot of people pay to take a tour of the icefields and glacier, where they are taken to the icefields in an ice explorer (it's basically a huge bus with special tires that can drive on ice).  But Antoine and I are cheap, so we headed right to the small parking lot closest to the Athabasca Glacier...

View from the parking lot.

The trail leading up to the glacier.

I get why people pay to take the bus up to the glacier...it's not the easiest of paths!  It wasn't that long, but boy, oh boy, was it steep.  And since the ground was all gravel, loose rocks, and ice (in some parts), slipping was a very real possibility.  In fact, on our way up we saw several people land on their butts.  Though the real culprit of them falling was poor footwear, we're talking Tom's and I even saw a woman (probably in her 50s!) wearing a pair of dressy ballet flats.  Come on!  How did that seem like a good idea at all?!  Sporting our hiking boots(!), we slowly made out way up the steep path...

The view from part way up.  In the distance you can see the small parking lot we parked in and, at the base of the mountain, the visitor's center.

The Athabasca Glacier.  All in all, it was kind of underwhelming.  I mean, the idea of it as a glacier, right there in front of you is cool, don't get me wrong.  But in reality it wasn't nearly as spectacular as I hoped.

Back on the road toward Yoho...

Only two more anniversary trip posts to go...one of which includes the prettiest place we stayed (though not the best accommodations), so stay tuned!  Anyway, until then, happy Wednesday everyone!

Ohio Bird Sanctuary

After our apple picking fun we had every intention to return to the campground and then go hiking, but as we were driving back my sister spotted a sign for the Ohio Bird Sanctuary, just down the road from Apple Hill, so we decided to check it out.  Antoine and I are always pretty cautious when we have Cheese with us, wanting to make sure he's allowed to be the places we're going.  We had already called Apple Hill ahead of time and double-checked that dogs were allowed.  But when we got to the bird sanctuary we were happy to see that dogs were allowed, on leash, except in the bird enclosure.

I had never heard of the Ohio Bird Sanctuary before, but it turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the whole trip!

The only other bird sanctuary I had ever been to was the raptor center in Yellow Springs (which I love), but this is much larger and much more interactive.

The sanctuary even had an enclosure that you could walk into and there were a variety of birds like blue jays, doves, pheasants, killdeers, etc.

Blue jays are so obnoxious (as this guy was), but so pretty!

Since the enclosure was one of the two places (the visitor's center was the other) that Cheese wasn't allowed in, my sister was kind enough to look after him while Antoine and I went inside.  Aunt Michelle was also nice enough to offer up some scratches and some lovin'...which Cheese obviously did not turn down!

The sanctuary also had a wide variety of flowers and plants in gardens surrounding the bird enclosures.  And there were a plethora of bees investigating the flowers; I simply couldn't resist...

I'm not sure what these orange bugs are but they were all over this particular plant!

Next up we took turns checking out the small but nice visitor's center...

Lazarus and Milo, two of the Eastern Screech Owls that live in the visitor's center.

A cute fluffy bunny that calls the visitor's center home.

As we were getting ready to leave one of the staff members started training with Diesel, a Red-shouldered Hawk.  After she was done she noticed we were admiring the bird and was kind enough to come closer and answer some questions about Diesel, who is a falconer's bird currently being trained as a program bird.

Then, shortly after meeting Diesel, another staff member brought Lazarus, one of the Screech Owls in the visitor's center.  Laz was actually hit by a car and thought to be dead, but made a miraculous recovery.  He has eye and brain damage which makes it hard for him to focus on objects, thus making hunting for food impossible.

This picture was taken right after Laz noticed Cheese, who was sitting about six feet away and started whining (probably because we were paying attention to an owl instead of him).  Laz proceeded to focus on Cheese, not taking his eyes off him, for several minutes.  The staff member said that was a big deal for Lazarus since he usually couldn't focus on something that far away for that amount of time!

It was so cool to see this little guy up close!  And I think he enjoyed being out in the warm sun for a while.

If you're ever in the area I highly suggest you check out the Ohio Bird Sanctuary!  It's a great place to spend a couple hours, plus it is free and very informational!

Camping Weekend in Instagram

What a great weekend, but man, I'm tired!  And, is it just me, or did the weekend just fly by?!  Camping was a big success, but I think I need a couple days just to recuperate.  I took a bunch of photos this weekend, including some night-sky photos that I'm hoping turned out well, but until I have a chance to edit them here's some photos from Instagram...

 Antoine and I were in charge of all the food/cooking.  I was in charge of the coffee, something I've never made when camping before because Antoine doesn't drink coffee.  But since we had some serious coffee drinkers in the group this time I got this and this (which also came in handy for making some warm spiced cider Saturday night!) and some tasty coffee from Stauf's...and it turned out really well!  Plus my sister gave me this sweet set of metal mugs, bowls and plates (thanks sis!).

 These photos are from Saturday morning.  Antoine and I made an egg bake (somewhat similar to this one) with potatoes, onions, and peppers from Amanda's garden.  We topped it with Parmesan and aged white cheddar and it was very tasty!  Cheese, of course, wanted to help with the cooking process and kept getting way too close to the fire...but he managed not to burn himself, somehow.

 On Saturday we went to Apple Hill Orchards in Mansfield, OH, which was about a 30-40 minute drive from where we were staying near Mohican State Park.  I had never been to Apple Hill and just found them online earlier that week.  It's a great little place that I'd highly recommend (and they are dog-friendly which is awesome!).  We went apple picking, feasted on apple donuts, and sampled some delicious cider.  Good times!

 After Apple Hill, my sister and brother-in-law spotted a sign for the Ohio Bird Sanctuary just down the road.  It turned out to be a really great impromptu stop!  Cheese was allowed in most of the areas, they had a cool selection of owls, hawks and falcons, and they even had an enclosure that you could walk into (but no dogs!) that had all kinds of birds in it, quails, blue jays, chickens, killdeer, etc.  And then as we were getting ready to leave we spotted one of the very friendly staff exercising one of the hawks.  And then another one of the staff members brought out this little screech owl, Lazarus, to talk about!  I have better photos that I'll definitely share later!

 As you can see Saturday night got a little silly!  We were all drinking and playing cards against humanity and then this happened...don't worry, that's not cocaine it's powdered sugar for campfire pies!

It was a fun, but exhausting weekend...especially for the Cheese-man!  All the smells, all the random people petting him and rubbing his belly...it's so rough!

Stay tuned for more camping photos, though it might take me a while to get to them since this weeks is Midpoint!  Happy Monday everyone!

Hawaii: Part 10 (Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden & Byodo-In Temple)

How was your weekend?  Mine was pretty much a bust.  I spent about 75% of it with my head sandwiched between two pillows trying to get rid of a killer sinus headache!  Finally, after the right combo of meds I felt fairly human again and had some time to finish editing my Hawaii photos [YAY!!!].  I assume there will be some sort of awesome parade in my honor, as this has been one hell of feat.  While it could be said that it is my own fault for taking so many photos, really I think Hawaii is to blame for being so flipping beautiful!!

Anyway, I'll start the first of my last three Hawaii posts with our visit to Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden.  This garden is nestled at the base of these gorgeous mountains and sits on 400 acres.  This garden is very different from the Hawaii Botanical Garden, which we visited on the big island.  First, it's free!  Second, it's more spread out and doesn't really have little individual gardens like the Hawaii BG...but it does have a fishing pond, pavilions, and camping.  Unfortunately, the day we went was super muggy and warm and we weren't feeling very energetic because of our sunburns, so we didn't stay very long...

The fishing pond

After the Ho'omaluhia Botanical Garden we headed over to the Byodo-In Temple, a Japanese Buddhist temple located in the Valley of the Temples Memorial Park.  This temple was easily one of my favorite places we went to while in Oahu!

Our main reason for going was because it was in an episode of Lost (where Sun and Jin get married), but also because it looked beautiful! And it did not disappoint!

Built in the 1960s to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first Japanese immigrants to Hawaii, the Byodo-In temple is a replica, on a smaller scale, of the nearly 1,000 year old temple of the same name in Japan.  The temple is not an active Buddhist temple, but instead part of the cemetery and private property, therefore there is an admission fee.  But it's totally worth it in my mind!

Before you enter the temple you are supposed to ring this enormous, elaborately decorated bell to help clear your mind of negative energy.

The pond that surrounds the temple is LOADED with koi!  I don't think I've ever seen so many koi in one place before, it was insane!

Inside the temple you'll find one of the largest Buddha statues in the US, this 9 foot tall golden Amida Buddha.

Crazy fish!

The area surrounding the temple was really quite pretty, mossy shaded covered areas, thickets of bamboo, and an assortment of flowers.  Oh, there was a black swan and a peacock roaming the property...

He posed for me for a bit...so kind of him.

Then I saw this guy who was also apparently ready for his close-up as well!

We probably stayed for a good hour and a half just walking around the property, admiring the temple and all the animals.  And of course, feeding the fish.

On our way back to our airbnb in Kailua, we stopped by the Nuuanu Pali Lookout, located right off the Pali Highway between Kailua and Honolullu.  Before we had a chance to walk over to the lookout I spotted a couple feral hens and their chicks!  Apparently feral chickens are about as common in Hawaii as feral cats.  We probably saw 3 or 4 hens, all with babies, in this parking lot alone.

So cute!

The lookout is nestled up in the mountains above the highway and offers a view of the Kailua area.

The view is spectacular!  But it is super windy up there, so if you ever go make sure all you ladies out there tie your hair back and don't wear a skirt/dress!  I was wearing a maxi dress and really wished I hadn't since I had to hold it in place the whole time!

I've got two more Hawaii posts lined up and then we're finally done!!  The end is near, my friends...but in a good way!