August 28, 2006 by annie.

damn. the canadian rockies rock! we came home last night…and civilization is such a let down. although tyler is thrilled to be able to play his xbox and watch tv. most importantly however…i got to see my mountain goat! five of them. i saw them while hiking the plain of six glaciers trail in lake louise. they were far away, on an alpine ridge…but it was awesome. i also got to see a black bear (also far away). and…a grizzly bear…which wasn’t far away at all!!!

we saw big horn sheep, elk, a weasel eating a snake, and a bald eagle. that was just the wildlife! there was so much more. i’ll write more.

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August 19, 2006 by annie.

i’m leaving in the morning to explore the canadian rockies. i’m heading to banff national park and jasper national park. and…i’m looking for a mountain goat. i understand that i am weird…and i’m set on finding a mountain goat.

don’t they look like they’ll start talking to you any minute?

i am setting myself up for disappointment though. i’ve been searching for a whale for years and haven’t gotten to see one. i even went on a boat tour during the migration season…and missed out. i’ll keep trying though…and since there are no whales in banff (or jasper)…i’ll be searching for my talking mountain goat.

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August 14, 2006 by annie.

i came back from a long weekend of camping with tyler up in the mountains. somewhere in there, we decided to leave again. i have a meeting at work on friday…then we’ll be off to banff national park, alberta, canada. i had been desperately wanting to go explore the area after seeing some pictures of a eurotrekker’s trip on eurotrek.net…and it turns out it’s only about 13 hours from here. woohoo! tyler says he’s excited as long as there is electricity.

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August 9, 2006 by annie.

i am back a week and a half early from my road trip. i came back yesterday. there are several reasons i came home early…but only one i’m willing to write about right now. i realized immediately that i am a mom. it’s not that i just figured that out…but it sometimes becomes extremely apparent to me that i am a mom first. my son is almost fourteen years old. every road trip i have taken has been with him alongside. the first time i hiked the grand canyon, he hiked with me. i cried for two days before i left because i had never left him for so long. but really, i thought, once i was on my way…i would be okay. but i wasn’t. i realized that i didn’t want to hike the grand canyon without him. i wanted him to see the sights. i wanted to have the experiences with him. mostly, i was sad that he was missing it. i am a mom…i made that choice a long time ago…and i don’t often recognize the fact that i enjoy it. soon, he will be off…finding his own adventures and making his own way in the world. but right now, we are experiencing the world in the same space…and i want to watch and know what he sees and how he likes it. i want to witness it.

i hiked the grand canyon while on this trip…only a couple of miles down this time…on the north rim (kaibab trail). the funny thing is…i saw this tree.

i have a thing for trees. i know it’s wierd…but i like to take pictures of trees. not just any tree…but a tree that catches my eye. sometimes they are shaped oddly…sometimes they are in a different place. sometimes…they are just beautiful…or beautifully dead. i don’t always remember what i see in them…but i take a picture. this tree, i saw ten years ago, while hiking the kaibab trail with my son. i took a picture then. hiking the same trail on this trip…i saw the same tree…and took another picture. it makes me smile. trees make me smile. being a mom makes me smile. being home makes me smile.

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