Walking in a (kind of) winter wonderland

I love winter in Canada but the weather was unseasonably mild so we were unable to go skating on the lakes or cross-country ski on the golf course. Plus, the fire destroyed all of Dad’s recreational equipment.

Kinda an important piece of the puzzle.

And so we took the dogs for a walk every day. Sometimes it was just around the neighborhood, other times it was an adventure. Like the Southland Off-leash Park where we crossed the Bow River and trekked to Carburn Park. That walk’s excitement: we spotted coyotes just a stone’s throw away.
Though after scoping out the woosy meat selection, they deemed the dogs unworthy to attack.

Bode’s threatening howl helped, too.

Our secret entrance off Deerfoot Trail to this overlook of the Bow is always fun.

But hands down, our favorite trek this year was when Jamie joined us to explore Bow River Valley Ranch. The frozen falls on the river were sooooo cool.
Literally.
Especially compared to how it looked last summer.

Vs.

This time around, thrill-seeking Shanty wanted to drag Bode down to the Bow River but he resisted.
I couldn’t really blame the kid. Remember when I talked about those mild temperatures? That means the Bow River is the very definition of THIN ICE.