This year...

This year we are not camping in the Rockies.... *sad face*... but we will still be camping high up where the weather can be interesting. The Cypress Hill Inter-Provincial Park hits around 7000 feet above sea level at it's highest point. We will be camping on the Alberta side (the other side is in Saskatchewan). This is also where I grew up as a child, as my father was a forest ranger/park ranger there! But I have not camped there since 1991 so I am excited to take 2 of my three kiddos out for four nights. I will post photos of the campground we chose and of the lake and area when we return. It's not the mountains, but if you are looking for somewhere new to camp, you have to check out the Cypress Hills!

From last year's camping tips and tricks ideas, I already have 3 baggies full of dryer lint, ready for starting up our campfires. It worked really great last year and was my favorite Pinterest find. And of course I am taking along the foam squares for the tent flooring - tied for my favourite Pinterest find :)

Takakkaw Falls, Yoho National Park

We hit the falls at 5pm and were lucky to be there for rainbow time!!! Stunning photos and so much fun. So try to hit Takakkaw Falls in the summer months around 5pm and see if you are lucky too. Here are some of our photos from July 2014. It was stunning (and WET. protect your camera!!)

 Ha Ha! Had to do it! (my bro)

 My family running away from the powerful waterfall spray :)

Kicking Horse Campground - Yoho National Park

Finally updating from our camping trip last summer. Kicking Horse Campground is in a perfect spot - right on the road to Takakkaw Falls, off the main highway but just a short drive to Field, BC and it is also only about 20 minutes from Lake Louise, AB so you can camp in a quiet area but still be close to everything. It is also close to Emerald Lake, another beautiful place to visit, along with the Natural Bridge. We went to all of the above during our 4 day trip.

Kicking Horse Campground is first come - first served. The information online can be a little confusing because it states you can book in in the afternoon but then also says to arrive early because sites fill up fast. You start to wonder if you should bother arriving at noon, if you cannot book in until hours later. But each time we have camped, we have tried to be there just before noon (as check out is 11am), and we got a site right away. We picked a site ourselves after the one the gate agent gave us would not fit our truck and tent (???) but they were totally fine with us driving around and picking THE perfect spot. In my opinion it was the best site in the whole campground. Large, near the bathrooms, near the walking trails, etc. In fact, it was a huge site. Our usual site washed away in the flooding in 2013 so we were disappointed, but after finding our new spot we were thrilled. It's a nice quiet campground but there is a lot to do for nature lovers. We awoke to two female elk and their calves having breakfast 30 feet from our site one morning. Lovely :) We camped in the second week of July and had a great time. Here are some photos from our summer 2014 trip to Kicking Horse Campground:

 Kicking Horse River - runs alongside the campground

 Glacial Silt "beach"

 Mountain above the river

 View from the river toward the back of the campground

 Campground playground

 Playground and group use cooking hut (large)

 View from my firepit

 Our campsite (wider than you can see here because trees are in the way)

Campsite