We weren't planning on leaving Banff until 10:45 so we took our time getting ready this morning. It was chilly so I boiled some water for dishes and made some cinnamon swirl french toast. Our site was a walk-in site with clusters of tents together so we had some other campers eyeing our breakfast as they walked by with cereal! After packing up we all hit the showers and headed to the Indian Trading Post. Brayden's fascination with wolves and Laney's with native tribes necessitated a stop there. We walked out with only a ring for Laney though.
We met up with Grammie, traded kids, and got on the road toward Calgary. We had strategically planned our departure from Banff to arrive in Calgary at 12:30. Our next stop was quite possibly the activity Dave was looking most forward to - The Skyline Luge. An hour later we exited the transcontinental highway and spotted the Olympic Park from the road. The kids were super excited to stand on the medal blocks and sit inside a bobsled!
We were to be riding special cars down the luge event site from the 1988 Winter Olympic Games and with our arrival timed perfectly we would be one of the first riders of the day. We weren't sure what exactly to expect other than some serious fun, but we were blown away by how awesome this was! We bought Grammie one ticket (and practically had to beg her to go) and we got tickets for the rest of us to go three times. We all put helmets on and rode the chair lift up. When the girls first saw the lift, this was the part that frightened them the most. Each kid paired up with an adult and found out it wasn't all that scary at all. Of course Brayden wouldn't really look down.
Laney, Brayden, and I got our instructions for our first time down and demonstrated we knew how to stop a couple times then we were on our way. My cart must have been ridden quite a lot because the vibration on my seat and hands was almost painful! I passed Laney (aka Driving Mrs. Daisy) quickly and was behind Brayden for the first half of the track. We had some pretty tight turns so I was going down pretty conservatively since we had two more tries. Dave came flying by both of us so I went ahead and passed Brayden right before a crazy 15 foot drop! We got to the end into the chute that collects the cars and everyone had big smiles, even Grammie!
When all the kids got off I knew this place was a hit. I couldn't believe how long the track was! The next life I rode up with Laney and we talked about how we were riding on a course that Olympic athletes were on not too long ago. I think we'll all watch the luge competition next year a little closer!
The ride down was pretty intense and required both hands on the handlebars at all times. This time down we tried to take video with the camera hanging on Dave's neck to show his perspective and see him pass all the kids. After showing we knew how to stop, we all took off again with Ryan and Brayden in the front. Laney was next but of course she was immediately passed. This time down right near the big drop we got held up by a group of slow pokes so after trying to pass them we just stuck around and enjoyed the rest of the ride down.
Dave watched the video to see if he got anything but the camera seemed to be at an angle that didn't work so we adjusted our camera strategy for the last run. The helmets had go pro slots on them but we didn't have it with us today so this would have to work. We also tried to adjust our spacing strategy as the course was getting busy.
The last chair lift the kids were brave enough to ride by themselves. Our last time down was everyone's fastest I think. Well except for Laney perhaps. We all let our carts go without much braking except around the obstacles and hairpin turns. Twice I had the cart up on two wheels, once very close to flipping! The big drop this time was the best eliciting yelps from all of us.
We all finished this run with the biggest smiles and anxious to see if the video worked. Soon, we'll have it up on youtube to link here as it worked great! We bought pictures of each of the kids and I snuck into Brayden's picture.
We hopped back into the car with our adrenaline highs and headed to our next stop. We drove through Calgary looking to get back onto the highway, but Grammie's GPS kept taking her through town. After about an hour she pulled over about to throw it out the window as it had us scheduled for 6 more hours in the car. She figured out a "no u-turns" preference was confusing it and we got back on the road to Medicine Hat, Alberta.
We were just starting to eat when a line of classic 1950s cars started cruising through the campground. Dave said he saw there was some kind of meet up down the road and I guess they were just driving around the city tonight. We all waved as they passed by and Laney decided on a 1950-something Chevrolet convertible.
After dishes the kids headed back to the playground and we organized a little bit for the next day's drive. Brayden had some camp ball batting practice until it got too dark and the adults sat watching until dark while the kids played. They were going to some kind of team record on the hanging wheel. Once Brayden's hands were too blistered to continue, they finally decided to stop and get some sleep. We were going back into the states tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment