A Summer Trip

Hello!  My family has just come home from a road trip to see some family.  We loved the drive, through the mountains, over rivers and by lakes.  The sky always changing and the gorgeous clouds that the Lord decorated the sky with.  

It was a lot of hours, and our dog seemed quite content to sleep many of them away on her bed between my girls. 

The sun sets always captured my heart.  I love how the light changes, and the colours deepen and then soften. 

We were blessed with many great little places to rest along the way.

The beautiful Alberta fields were full of colour, and just stunning set against the blue sky and fluffy clouds.  I wouldn't eat canola, but it sure is pretty! 

Lots of old barns and buildings dotted the landscape.  Makes me think back to when they were in full use, what it would have been like.  I like the stories they tell.

The cousins all had some fun blowing bubbles and discovering them nestled in the grass. 

We also spent lots of time around the train tracks and watching them go by. We don't have the same working trains where we live and it was fascinating for us all to listen to the horns (although not in the middle of the night) and to hear the rumble of the cars as they passed. 

Great balancing activity as we walked along the rails.  Or jumped from rail tie to rail tie. 

Along the road were a few areas where forest fires had come through.  SO many acres of burnt trees, but it's so nice to see the lush green coming up from around the charred remains. 

I love this picture my daughter took from the inside of an old building.

A highlight of our trip was that I could meet my niece for the first time in person.  She is such a delightful happy little girl.  Here I'm twirling her around in the grass.  Her sweet giggles melt my heart! 

It was a treasure to be able to spend some time with family that live far away.  💗

We got to be there when a couple big thunderstorms rolled though, and we could watch the lightening and hear the thunder.  We don't get many of these storms where we live, and we all enjoy them. 

Evening trip to the tracks.  Loved the sunsets and the gentle stillness of the evening spent this way.

We saw lots of wildlife on our trip.  These were cinnamon black bears and you can see two cubs in the grass...another was close by climbing up a tree. 

We saw lots of bison some alone and some with herds.  Mountain sheep and porcupine.  

I loved the winding roads through the mountains.  Some places where there were steep drops and glorious mountain vista views.  Interesting to see how the mountains changed from rolling to sharp rock peaks. The trees changing to from tiny up in the alpine to tall and lush in the valleys.  

Wonderful lakes with docks to walk out on.  No swimming time on this trip, but I do love to just stand on docks and feel the water rolling around underneath.  

There was time for raspberry picking and making some jam.  Oh how I love these berries.  I've planted some raspberry canes in our yard, and there are just a handful of berries from them this year.  Next year should be much more bountiful.  

More prairie sunsets.  Love the scope and breadth of the sunsets here!  The layers of coloured clouds was breathtaking!  

It was a wonderful time away, but it's always sweet to come to back to the familiar haven of home.

Now it's back to caring for the home and garden again.  The garden grew so much while we were gone and there is much to do to get it ready for our rapidly approaching fall.  

I pray that you have all had a wonderful day and that you are still enjoying the wonderful summertime!  

Sharing with The Art of Homemaking Mondays.