Home again

The family gathering for my mother-in-law's funeral was actually very good, it was wonderful to see so many people, especially the older folks that we don't get to see often, and may not see again. Funerals and weddings- the glue that holds family together. I won't post the photos here, except for this one:

Because it represents 4 generations- Ted's dad, Al; Ted; Ted's son Dean and wife Andrea; and Ava, who is Al's great granddaughter.
The trip back was interesting, we opted to stay away from all the busy highways and came home through the mountain parks. We went past beautiful Abraham lake, which is the source of water for the city of Edmonton. The color of the water is amazing due to the glacial silt suspended in it.

We had Merle with us- he was a big hit with the family we stayed with who have two little boys. They had never really played with a dog before, so Merle taught them how- as well as all the neighborhood kids- poor Merle was very tired that day! Here he is chillin' out in the wind at Abraham Lake.

We saw a lot of wildlife along the way. There are a lot of Bighorn Sheep along that highway, and they are so accustomed to traffic that they are easy to photograph.

This big guy wouldn't show me his face, but I love how his ears are paying attention.

These two were part of a large group of rams who took possession of the highway.

We traveled through the Columbia Icefields, and I amused myself while Ted was driving by trying for a triple shot- the goal was to get the reflection in the window to tie in with the scene in the rear view mirror and the scenery looking forward.

I almost got it!
We saw a grizzly bear, but didn't stop because we were going pretty fast and had traffic behind us, and later we saw this black bear.He wouldn't lift his head from grazing.

It's always nice to get away, but it's even better getting home. Peace and quiet, and the normal routine of life are things I treasure.
Tomorrow I haul Chickory to town to get her international health papers and then it's time to put Gussie back to work. Kai should be here soon to start his groundwork, and when he is I plan on doing a photo shoot of Beamer, Belle, and their three sons- Kai, Rio, and Nitro.