Monday, July 17, 2006

A "Traditional" Break



After my list on Thursday 13, of things I did for my maintenance week, I figured I needed a break with my fam. This is where we went for that break. Saturday morning we loaded up a van and a car with myself, Beloved Hubby, 3 kids, both mother's in love, my sis and her hubby and daughter. Oh and can't forget the dog. And definitely can't forget the food. Picnic of course.

We took off for a day of family, relaxation, sunshine and fun. Oh and did I mention picnic. This is one of our day trips that has become traditon in our family. A national park complete with creeks, pathways, lake, hiking trails in all sorts of difficulty levels and distances that lead to more lakes, waterfalls and beautiful areas. There's deer, moutain sheep, and bears. Yes, we've had, in past visits, a bear run right in front of our car on a road leading up to some waterfalls. It's got a cute town with all sorts of souvenir shops, ice cream & fudge shops, even a tiny movie theatre if you so desire. You can go on trail rides, rent a paddlewheeler boat and go on a tour. At that hotel in the picture (sort of to the middle left), which is one of the most photographed hotels in North America, you can even have high tea, very British style complete with cucumber sandwiches and crumpets and petite fours. But we go just to be in the mountains, be together and, oh, picnic.

One of our favorite family traditions on these trips is to get by our favorite stream, build a fire in the little outdoor wood burning cooking thing they have in picnic areas and roast hot dogs on a stick. Of course with this first comes the smoke in the eyes and getting that fire going. Then we roast away and lay out a spread. BH always says we take way too much food but that's half the fun. Whenever else do we get the fire roasted hot dogs, coal slaw, kentucky clucky (KFC), fresh cut veggies, pasta salad, potato chips (absolutely can't call it a picnic without those), tuna roll ups, and of course, the most anticipated item, roasted marshmallows. Did I mention we picnic?

The kids then played in the stream, played football, frisbee, fished and even rented bikes where you sit side by side, pedaled around the town and had a riot. And I sat and visited and read my book and ate. Put my feet up and did nothing! It was heaven. Did I mention we took a picnic? And in the midst of this beautiful place I paused lots and remembered my Creator. Like no other place, in this national mountain park, God reveals Himself to me as a loving Creator God. And I'm so thankful that I have eyes to see, ears to hear, nose to smell, hands to touch and feet to walk through and experience this wonderful gift that I like to think He gave as a special gift to us His children so that we might have just an inkling of what an mighty, majestic and artistic God that He is.

13 comments:

Katrina @ Callapidder Days said...

Oh, Susanne - that is absolutely beautiful! Sounds like a wonderful day. And you are so right - there's nothing like this amazing creation to remind us about the God we serve!

Donnetta said...

Sounds fabulous! So glad you had these moments!

Heather Smith said...

Man, some friends and I are talking about going to Canada next year. Where is this place? It sounds like a lot of fun! Have a good one!

Sarah said...

WOW! The vista in that photo is A.MA.ZING. Sounds like you had an incredible day. What a wonderful Creator we have.

Shawna said...

BEAUTIFUL. Hope you are all refreshed now.

Melanie @ This Ain't New York said...

How beautiful!!

Kari said...

Great, great "vacation" if you can call a one-day escape vacation! I'm so glad you enjoyed your time and that you shared the picture with me.

By the way... thanks for the kudos on my new background. I created it using typogenerator.com and then spent an hour figuring out how to change my template. I felt so "smart" when it was completed!!

Shalee said...

That is a beautiful place to picnic, hike, picnic, play, picnic, read and of course picnic. Congrats on making the most of your family time!

Susanne said...

katrina: It's one of my fave places to go for the day!

momrn2: we'll talk the food calories in private. I have some 'fessing up to do! :)

Heather: come on down. You won't regret it!

sarah: it's breathtaking!

chappyswife: I'm ready for another few weeks of work before official holidays

melanie: it sure is!

mommab: You are definitely smart to do that! And I was so proud when I was able to figure out how to link a book in my sidebar. Now I gotta run to catch up to you!!

shalee: next time you guys come too, ok?

Kari said...

Correction to my earlier comment... it's actually typogenerator.net... I just spent another 20 minutes looking for it. Hah, silly me!

Fingers To Toes Photography said...

WOW what a beautiful spot!

Katherine@Raising Five said...

Did you take that photo or is it from a travel magazine. Oh, how I miss the mountains! Truly spectacular.

Susanne said...

Jennifer S.: welcome and yes it absolutely gorgeous

Katherine: I gotta admit I took this off of google so I could get it posted 'cause Beloved Hubby didn't get the pics downloaded from the camera just yet. But if you go on certain hikes you can take this kind of pic yourself.