Banff Long Weekend Camping Trip with all of the Dogs
Above, my litte spot at Two Jack Lake on Saturday. The campground was full so I shared a communal tent area with other people, and it was quite a fun social evening. Coffee was perking in my new camping percolator on top of my new little camping one-element burner. Below, River, the Princess of Two Jack Lake, Banff National Park, helps break in the new tent. I LOVE her "I am so special" coy look. 
I tested out the new gear on the long weekend by going to Banff. On night one I camped at Two Jack Lake, which was a new place for me. But it was very crowded, so the next morning, I picked up my stuff and found a nice campsite on Tunnel Mountain with lots of space to spread out.
Below, Caden seemed to grow up a bit on this trip, making sure to 'be on guard' and alert to all activity around my campsite.
I forgot how nice people are when you are camping. I spent the evening with a family from Czechoslavakia on night one, using my well-honed broken English (which I spoke with my Estonian Grandma).Below, it felt really good to have a German Shepherd male lying by my side. Camping was great socialization for him, and so many people came by just to pat him and the other dogs.
The next day, I was befriended by this great couple from Manitoba. The husband looked like a youngish Bruce Cockburn, earrings and all. Angie his wife told me I was like "the Dog Whisperer" and that my dogs are awesome! A lot of people came by just to visit teh dogs, and it was like a non-stop social time. I was surprised and pleased by the ongoing comments about how good my dogs are. I felt that at times they were a bit wild, but I guess to "non-doggie" people, they must have seemed well-trained. 
This bird is just a plain old crow. But without any exaggeration, it sat in this tree and BARKED at my dogs. Obviously it has learned to imitate dogs. It looked down at the dogs and went 'woof, woof, woof.' That really upset Jet. She just could not lie down for the longest time after being barked at by a bird!
This bird is just a plain old crow. But without any exaggeration, it sat in this tree and BARKED at my dogs. Obviously it has learned to imitate dogs. It looked down at the dogs and went 'woof, woof, woof.' That really upset Jet. She just could not lie down for the longest time after being barked at by a bird!
I tried to use a self-timer to take a picture of me with Ted, because he spent so much time sitting beside me at the picnic table (note - not on the ground, ON the bench). He is such a character. I was trying to get him to look at the camera, which made him look at me!
Second try...
Below, kids make their own fun...Jet and Caden pulled this stick from the wood pile and had a great game of tug in the campsite. 
In the meantime, the more 'mature' dogs, River and Ted, lounge in the afternoon.
Below, a momma Bighorn Sheep runs along the ridge of Two Jack Lake with her little baby keeping up behind her.
So...where were the momma and baby Bighorns running to? As I drove around looking at the lake, I came upon this group. It is illegal to feed wildlife in Banff, but these sheep sure do try to mooch - so I suspect people ignore that rule. Sorry about the quality - I took the photo through my front windshield.
And on the drive home, I heard all of the news about the bad weather in Alberta over the weekend - a tornado, one dead at a music festival, winds, thunderstorms and hail. I took this photo of a pile of snow (from hail) just north of Calgary on the side of Hwy 2.
In the meantime, it was beautiful in the mountains. I went there to escape the heat - 30 C plus on Saturday morning. I had so much fun just hanging out, I didn't even go into the town of Banff to shop! But I confess, on Sunday morning, I did go to Starbucks in the Safeway Grocery store. I hope that doesn't make me an "URBIE" - a word I heard from "Bruce Cockburn" about people who didn't camp the real way in tents!Category Article Commentary
