May 13, 2011

Bull River

Two weeks ago already!

On April 29, my friend Connie and I packed up my car with all of our
scrapbooking needs for a long weekend in Bull River, British Columbia! This
would be my second year there, Connie's fourth. Armed with cameras, coffee
and visa for gas we were off for our 7ish hour drive. We whizzed through to
Calgary with no problems, traffic was fine and we missed rush hour (YAH!).
Our first planned stop was in Nanton, AB for gas, a quick bowl of yummy stew
and of course a pee break. This is where we ran into the start of some bad
weather! The worse came on highway 22, the Cowboy Trail. We got stuck in
some of the worse winter conditions I drove in this year (remember it is
April 29th!), white outs, wind and slippery roads. Fortunately we were in a
small convoy behind a plough/sander, so on the upside things could have
been worse.

Once we got to Frank Slide, AB, the stress of driving was hugely
reduced and we were that much closer to our wonderful destination!

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Once there we set up and unpacked all of our stuff, arriving early gave us
choice seating with lots of room to spread out! Slowly everyone started to
show up and the noise volume was crazy. It was like a homecoming party! This
is such a great group of ladies. Was great to see friends that live farther
away, but the icing on the cake was all the ladies I met last year, who
through the wonders of Facebook have become wonderful friends! Not much
scrapbooking happened that first night as everyone caught up with life.

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Although scrapbooking is the intent of this weekend, it really is about the
FOOD! C.J. is the most fantastic chef!

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C.J. and her sweet daughter "mini-me"
Hidden in this gorgeous lodge in the mountains is a treasure! Three
 meals a day, she WOW'd us with scrumptious meals that looked
 as good as they tasted! Here are a few samples of what we
enjoyed or you can check out my SmugMug site for more mouth
watering views.

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Dale, also employed by the lodge, kept our wine glasses full and from what I
hear made impressive Caesars! She was always there to help with things and
did it with a huge smile. She fit right in with the fun of our weekend!

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There were too many laughs to mention but watching Jayme belt out the words
to Paradise by The Dashboard Light was priceless! I think she has another
calling!

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Sadly all good things come to an end. On Monday morning after an incredible
breakfast everyone packed up and said long goodbyes!

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More friendships were made, other strengthened. We'd have to start our
countdown for next year's retreat! Seems like a long ways away, but it is
sure to fly by as fast as the past year. Fortunately I have lots of pictures
to keep the fun alive!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

great shots....I joined weight watchers but I would still eat EVERY bite over again if I could....guess I got to save up my calories for next year!
Thanks for sharing the pics! Shilo

mow180 said...

I miss my choosen daughter, I do I do. The time flew by so fast and I forgot to tell you so many little things. Thanks for sharing your Nova Scotia pictures as well as for sharing these. Wasn't it a nice week end? Keep well, lots of hugs.