Home Again

Our vacation started two weeks ago with a birthday party in Victoria. Three of our children and their spouses have birthdays in September so we celebrate with one party. The efforts of the birthday boys and girl garnered a lot of laughter. I'm sorry I don't have a photo of the cake because Katie topped it with little Lego people representing each personality. 

Our next stop was Chilliwack, on the mainland, where we spent the weekend visiting my family and eating my mom's good cooking!

Early Monday morning (you can tell just how early by the photo) we headed east, to Alberta.

Up, over the coastal mountains, then across the interior of British Columbia, past Kamloops. We stopped at Yard Creek to run around a little and stretch our legs.

On towards the Rockies. Lunch was a picnic at Hemlock Grove rest area in Revelstoke National Park. 

The leaves were still green, but tired-looking. We soaked in the lovely warm sunshine, enjoying our food.

An inquisitive jay hovered nearby, hoping for some handouts. We kept our food to ourselves since that's what the signs recommended.

At first I thought the huge cloud I saw was just weather, but then we saw the smoke billowing up from the mountain. Forestry officials were conducting a controlled burn to rid the forest floor of debris. Controlled burns prevent larger forest fires from destroying even more territory. Fires are a natural occurrence, often caused by lightning.

Our day ended late, in Red Deer. I'll write more about our vacation in another post.