Finally its summer time!

Paul with Cam at the entrance to Grotto Canyon.
Last Friday we were able to get out into the mountains and take Cameron on his first hike!

The canyon is pretty neat, and a casual hike with very little elevation gained as you follow the creek bed up about a kilometer to a waterfall and the end of the standard trail (the canyon continues on and if you are ambitious you could then scramble a scree slope and gain the ridge of Grotto Mountain). The Limestone is worn smooth by water erosion and there are even some pictographs about a third of the way up the canyon (so we hear - we didn't actually find them).

Grotto Canyon was the first climbing crag developed in the Canmore area.
Neither Paul or I had ever been up the Canyon in the summer time, though we both ice climbed there a few seasons ago. The climbing looks pretty interesting in there, with a lot tricky starts up the polished limestone before you hit the more featured rock above.

It wasn't a super hot day, which was perfect for having Cam in the sling- we worry about him over heating having him wrapped in heavy fabric and pressed against your chest in the heat of the day. He pretty much just slept the entire time we were out there - going for a walk with him in the sling is a guaranteed way to get him to sleep.

On Sunday we were hoping to take Cam out on his first climbing trip, however when we arrived in Canmore we found the valley completely drowned in low clouds and heavy rain. So instead we spent the afternoon at the coffee shop and then went back to Calgary where it was still hot and sunny. Hopefully we will be able to get out climbing soon!

This is one of the only photos we got of our trip with Nelson to Heritage Park early last week- Of course the camera died on us before we could get any pictures of the trains that we were there to see... Nelson enjoyed himself though and we all had a great day exploring the grounds and riding the train!