A REMINDER: There will be no journal post tomorrow or Saturday morning. Those entries will be posted later on Saturday or on Sunday. We will be camping off grid and out of cell phone service. Regular posts will return on Sunday.

Our lives have given us the opportunity to visit some incredibly beautiful places. In 2006, our sabbatical journey included time in Alberta and British Columbia including visiting the two iconic Rocky Mountain National Parks, Banff and Jasper. the two parks are right on the border between Alberta and British Columbia and are connected by a road known as the Icefields Parkway. Just north of the community of Banff is Lake Louise with its beautiful green glacier fed waters. The color of the lake comes in part from the granite dust suspended in the water. From Lake Louise to the city of Jasper is a scenic two-lane highway that winds near the Columbia Ice Fields, where tourists can take a ride on giant ice coaches, walk on the face of the glacier and drink the pure cement. Visitors can also view historic photos of the glacier and see how dramatically it has shrunk in recent years.

Amid the news of devastating wildfires wreaking destruction on the Island of Maui and historic flooding destroying homes in the town of Hemsedal, Norway, was a brief story about a couple who road a Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park for their wedding photos. While they were posing for memories to be recorded of their special day a thunder storm swept over the mountain and electrical service to the gondola was cut off. Along with about 300 other people the couple was stranded. There is a large three-story building at the top of the Gondola, so people had shelter as they waited and waited for power to be restored. Nightfall came and it was dark without electricity. People ended up sleeping on the floor, including the groom in his suit and the bride in her gown. The couple were smiling about the experience after they got down from the mountain the next day, saying, the experience was “not that bad” as they were warm and safe and “had each other.” They also got a helicopter ride down from the mountain and memories to last a lifetime.

We’ve done a fair amount of camping in the mountains and know that all along the Rocky Mountains, afternoon thunderstorms are part of summer weather. We used to joke that getting rained on was typical of all of our backpack excursions. In the days before we owned a tent we carried a plastic ground cloth and with a bit of cord could fashion a suitable shelter from the rain. We also learned that we could survive getting wet. We learned to stay away from exposed places during thunder storms and took shelter being careful to avoid the area beneath the tallest trees. I’ve spent hours lying in my sleeping bag counting the seconds between lighting flashes and the sound of the thunder to estimate the distance and direction of the center of storms.

Things are a bit different here on the western slopes of the Cascade mountains. Our mountains are as beautiful and dramatic as the Rockies. Mount Baker, which is visible all across Whatcom and Skagit Counties rises 10,781 feet above sea level. Considering that our house is a mere 90 feet above the high water level in the bay, the rise in elevation is dramatic. The mountain, known as Koma Kulshan or simply Kulshan to the Nooksack and Lummi People, is perpetually covered with snow and ice. It is a glacier-covered andesitic stratovolcano and its crater is second only to Mount St. Helens in terms of thermal activity. The volcano is quiet for now and there are all kinds of beautiful places to hike and visit all around it in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. There are several places within the forest where one can walk in old growth groves under gigantic spruce, hemlock, and Douglas Fir trees. Baker Lake is a reservoir. The dam boasts a generating plant that provides power to Pacific Power and Light customers in our region, including our home.

We’ve scouted the area and will be camping on the south side of the mountain with our three oldest grandchildren for the next couple of days. The water has that glacier green color similar to that of Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies. Like Lake Louise, it has a dramatic snow capped mountain to reflect in the water. And, like Lake Louise, the water is cold enough that one doesn’t swim very long before climbing out to wrap up in a towel and warm in the sunlight. Children, however, have an amazing capacity to play in cold water. And we’ll have a couple of kayaks for them to paddle and play when they want to be on the water but a bit more dry.

Our trip will include roasting hot dogs over the campfire, toasting marshmallows and making s’mores, hot chocolate and plenty of stories. Among the things we invited the children to bring are books. Everyone will have time to read and relax. The campground where we are staying has approved fire rings where campfires are allowed despite the generally dry conditions that have a fire ban in place throughout much of the national forest. There is a fire burning in the forest, but it is not near to where we are camping.

I’m a bit like I was when I was a kid: excited to get going on our trip and eager to for the adventure ahead. We joke that having grandchildren continues to give us new experiences. After all we only had two children and so our family camping adventures were less complex than a trip with three children. Although the dynamics of three in place of two are new to us, we have a good collection of games and activities for all and we know what to do to entertain ourselves if rain should fall.

Maybe we’ll have the good luck of our former years of camping and will see some rain during our camping outing. I hope so, just as long as it isn’t accompanied by lightning. The firefighters could use a break. We won’t, however, be sleeping on the floor in our wedding clothes. Our pictures might not be as dramatic, but we’ll be much more comfortable. Like them, we will be warm and safe and have each other.