This is now a new tradition for me since the first The Hatchelorette Part 1: Celebrating the Woman Who Was, Is and Will Be. To take some time before the coming of a new human, celebrate and Continue reading
Many of you may remember The Hatchelorette Part 1: Celebrating the Woman Who Was, Is and Will Be. A pregnancy road – trip I took with my first unborn child at 8 months pregnant. It was a way of closing a chapter in my life while celebrating the coming of a new one. The intention was to visit natural hot springs and celebrate myself and who I was as Human and Woman.
Now the tradition continues, the Pregnancy Pilgrimage in search of new hot springs but this time with my family unit. Again I am 8months pregnant and this time, I will have my 21month old Human and my life-partner to share this adventure with.
I am excited for this trip because it’s been a long time since we have travelled and travelling has always been a huge part of our lives. Being in different places, exploring foods and cultures and climbing destinations has been a way to constantly remind me how fortunate I am and how to be value the simple things in life.
Our plan is to do a multi day loop down to Montana, through to Idaho and up through British Columbia and back home. It won’t be a long trip as I want to be within a reasonable driving distance from Canada in case of any medical emergencies but nevertheless I am confident that one does not have to go far to reconnect with nature and themselves.
Our first stop will be Sand Coulee, Montana. A little town just outside of Great Falls Montana. This will be a resting point em route to our hot springs and hopefully give us a chance to find some nice disc golf courses to hit up and get some mileage in for my pregnant bones.
Last journey, I slept in the vehicle with my Dragon the Toilet Trained Cat: Week 4 and the most painful part were the nights of changing position and having my hips pop and settle and resettle. I’m happy to report this time, since there’s going to be my whole family unit with me, I have booked airBNB’s along the way to make the journey much more bearable!
This Carriage House Bed and Breakfast really hit the mark. Warm, cozy and lofty it made us wish we could stay longer to really enjoy the extras! We arrived pretty late, close to dinner time and it gave us enough time to settle in, relax and make some dinner. There were a great variety of books and board games for us to enjoy and to be honest after a long day of travelling we just looked forward to some rest.
Our breakfast consisted of a some amazing homemade eggs and pancakes with homemade jams, fresh blueberries, fresh squeezed orange juice and a side of sour cream with a brick of butter. We were pleasantly surprised by the amount of food and on top of this breakfast delight we were greeted by our hosts barrage of animals!
It was such a wonderful treat for our little human to experience morning on a Montana homestead! Horses, chickens, donkeys, kittens, puppies, roosters the whole she- bang made this a great kick off to our little family adventure.
We hit the road after breakfast, pooping and packing and took a little detour to check out Giant Springs Park in Great Falls which had a pretty amazing fish hatchery for us to check out.
With a full day ahead exploring natural hot springs we managed to just get on the road and make our way to Stevensville, a little hamlet just south of Missoula but a wonderful base camp for the next day.
Hopefully the weather holds and we’ll be able to hike in to a series of natural Hotsprings in Lolo National Forest where we will spend the morning & afternoon soaking old bones in nature’s mineral waters.
There’s been a lot of girl power stuff going around these days and I was really inspired by the whole ” —– like a girl,” movement.
My whole life it always seemed like such a negative to be a girl. “You throw like a girl,” “you cry like a girl,” “you play like a girl.” Like what does that even mean? I was always one to play as hard, throw as far and run as fast as most boys in my school days and yet it was always the worst insult when someone said ” you *blank* like a girl.”
Well you know what? I’m taking it back and making it a positive! Damn right I *blank* like a girl, because girls are unstoppable now.
This is why when komfibaby approached me about making a custom shirt for Basia, it didn’t take long for me to decide on “Climb Like Basia.” It doesn’t mean she has to become a climber someday or even like climbing, but hopefully it will inspire those that doing things “like a girl,” is actually the best compliment.
Not only that, but I requested that her name be spelled in American Sign Language (ASL), because deaf culture needs more credit!
I hope that at the minimum it sparks conversation and intrigue to learn what those letters spell and at the best open the world to climbing as well as ASL!
“Mellie – Mel!!” That’s what Gerrick used to always call me. Nevermore. I found out yesterday that one of my longest calgary friends passed away suddenly.
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/mobile/video?clipId=1563616
Gerrick Winston and I used to work together at the Talisman centre. I would lifeguard, he would coach diving. On our breaks we would seek out the acoustics in the rec centre corridors or the lifeguard break room.
I remember singing Simply Red “If you don’t know me by now.”
He was the reason why I wanted to learn how to dive and last year the month before I blew my ACL Gerrick took the time to coach me for my first dive competition.
He was bright eyed and bushy tailed and loved his wife and kids so much. He had the most beautiful voice, most precise and focused way of teaching that was fun yet impactful which no doubt contributed to his success.
My heart grieves for the loss of an amazing human and a man that made the world a better place.
Being a new mother I never realized this whole culture that existed regarding the isolation a lot of moms feel. Even ones that used to be outdoorsy and active, once the first months of excitement of a new baby die down, they are overwhelmed with loneliness. Continue reading
I was recently involved in an amazing mini documentary project called Mums Gone Climbing Film . Continue reading
17 oct 2014 by Tim Nguyen Two Days before my first half marathon and 4 months from when I started running.
May 20, 2014, something happened that changed my life forever. I had been experiencing bright spots Continue reading
(Depending on your knot tying skills…) I’ve had a lot of comments and questions about where “I got” my baby carrier… the truth is, I made it myself using a couple of baby blankets. A couple months ago I found myself in a bind because I left my homemade baby wrap in the car so applying my first aid sling making skills I tied a triangular and made it into a quick carrier.
We always hear from people that “it’s never too late to learn,” but saying it, is one thing and doing it is something completely different.
Last week I posted a comment on the Alberta Outdoor Women’s facebook page about providing a resource for those having trouble with the “doing it” part and giving some encouragement. One group member responded with “Why is it not easy. Just do it.” Continue reading
My Hatchelorette road trip was designed with the intent to take some time for myself before my first Little Human arrived. I’m 8months pregnant, and I know that this will be the last time I get to travel by myself Continue reading