Banff National Park, AB

We took route 1A through the park in order to reach our campground. 

It turned out to be a great way to meet the neighbors, like this elk.

And this little bear, who likes to eat wildflowers.

You can see why they called the elk wapiti, a Shawnee word meaning "white rump."

This ram watched over the intersection of 1A with the highway.

Thanks for looking out for us!

Glacier National Park, BC

Then we drove through Canada's Glacier National Park. 

A pillar commemorating the opening of the road through the Rogers Pass bears this quote:

"Let all who use this highway look with awe and reverence upon the majesty and God-given beauty of these mountains."

It's hard to do so when you're driving.

So I just had to stop.

Only God can sculpt something like this.  Who else can handle a tool as powerful as a glacier?

Shuswap Lake

Having a time constraint, we couldn't be quite as spontaneous as we would have liked.  But we did take some time to observe Shuswap Lake from a roadside pullout near Salmon Arm, BC.

I'm not sure where Scoot focussed his binoculars, but the panoramic view was worthwhile.

I pulled out my Field Guide to Wildflowers, Western Region, to identify this sweet-smelling shrub:

It's a mock orange, as you Idaho natives will recognize.  I didn't bother to look up the giant dandelion, and I refrained from bringing its seeds home.  That's illegal, you know.

The boys enjoyed some bouldering,

and I soaked up the sunny scenery.

Kamloops

We spent the first week of July camping in Canada.  Here is some of the scenery we enjoyed.

This is a view of Kamloops, BC, from the Information Center.  The hills have a sagebrushy sort of landscape.

Our waterfront campsite was moist and green.  The skinny girl with the short shorts in the office said that there is usually a beach here, but the Thompson River was testing its bounds. 

We had no fear of rain that night, and we cheered for the bats who came out to feast on mosquitoes.

Don't let the penguin drive the bus!

Acceptance

Much ado is made, particularly in the Christmas season, about "a child's sense of wonder."  If you've spent any time with a toddler, you know this sense is vigorous and motivating.  "Why?" the child asks.  "Why?  Why?  Why not?"

Equally marvelous, though, is a child's sense of acceptance.  The other day, while ferrying Scoot to yet another activity at the local fairgrounds, I noticed that many RVs were parked next to the stadium.  They did not have the distinctive look of the usual Destruction Derby crowd.  With my own, however depleted, sense of wonder, I was curious.  As I drove along the fence, I checked my peripheral vision for clues.  Just as I was pulling up to the drop-off point, I noticed something. 

"There is an elephant!" I said, and quickly reversed for a better look.  There were, in fact, two elephants standing under an awning, next to a large trailer.  Scoot, Mr. Punctuality himself, soon asked if I'd let him out, so I pulled up again and dropped him off.  Rollo asked for another look.  I parked, and we walked to the fence.

I quickly imagined a conversation like this:

"Mom, why are there elephants here?"

"They are part of a circus."  (I had just remembered the lone circus sign on the corner.)

"A circus?  Can we go?"

"Well, we're pretty busy . . . ", and much whining would ensue.

But this conversation did not come to pass.  Perhaps Rollo had seen the sign, too, and figured things out.  D2 wouldn't have noticed.  As we quietly watched, the boys admired the sinuous curves of the trunks, and asked why the elephants were swinging their tails.  Neither asked why two large, exotic mammals from India would be standing around at our suburban fairgrounds.

Why not?  It's an amazing world.  These things happen.

Fun, Fun, Fun

I recently received an email message from Coupon Caboodle entitled "Fun without Funds."  I'm always interested in opportunities for free entertainment.  Such events are even more valuable in the summer, when I need some excuse to get the boys out of their caves.  So I opened the message eagerly.  Here is what I found:

• Walking, Hiking, and Running  I do enjoy these.  The boys don't find my jogging particularly entertaining, so they zoom ahead on their scooters in more or less formal races.
• Cooking and Baking  I make the boys do more of this in the summer, too. 
• Writing  Here I am, though the competition for the computer is pretty keen.
• Reading Library Books  We check out an average of 20 every three weeks, often with a few more in between.
• Playing an Instrument  The writer of the message admitted that musical instruments are not generally free.  And if you call it practicing, the entertainment value drops significantly.  However, we do sort of collect instruments around here, and everyone likes to try them.  This is the latest:

A handmade marimba.  It arrived from Guatemala yesterday, in a package with 103 stamps on it.  Dandelionslayer, our resident percussion expert, has longed for a marimba for years.  It cost more than tickets for most concerts that we attend, but the music will last longer, too.

So, we already do everything on the list.  We must be having fun!

Summer

The summer solstice was also the boys' first day of summer vacation from school.  The Caterpillar thought that coincidence made all the snow days worthwhile.  I'm not so sure.  But it actually felt like summer as well.  Summer in Western Washington, anyway.  All 75 degrees of it.

It was good enough for Rollo and D2.  They got out the sprinkler, dutifully applied sunblock to their snowy skin, and made a swamp to splash in.

On the second day of vacation, we went back to school.  Just can't stay away, can we?  You see, Rollo brought a friend home with him.

This is Jake, the painted lady caterpillar.  Rollo's classroom was an absolute menagerie this year.  Besides the resident fish, mice, dog, and hamster, the children raised worms in the fall, and caterpillars in the spring.  They kept the butterflies, instead of doing a grand launch, and let the life cycle begin again.  Jake is a member of the second generation. 

Rollo learned that caterpillars like to eat lupine leaves, and he brought some home with Jake.  But soon he needed a refill.  What to do?  We don't have any in our garden.  But Rollo knew.  He told me the Legend of the Lupines: 

"An old teacher, before Mrs. E. was here, read a book about this person who went around the world, and where she went, she would plant lupine seeds. The teacher wanted to do the same thing, and so she took her class back behind the fence at the school and planted some lupine seeds. And now, all these years later, they have come in use for caterpillar food."

I was interested to see the Secret Lupine Garden.  So the boys hopped on their scooters, and off we went.  Not far behind Rollo's classroom, there was one plant with a few purple flowers.  It provided some serviceable leaves, but didn't impress me.  Since we were there, the boys enjoyed the playground that wasn't occupied by those poor kids who have to go to school all summer.  I decided to wander back to the fence and see what was on the other side.

There I found the Secret Lupine Garden.  There were all colors, growing amid the long grass and other wildflowers.  Is the legend true?  Was there a Mrs. Lupine-seed who traveled the world, planting caterpillar food?  Or was it . . . Dennis Moore?