While on a trip, there are the natural ebbs and flows of normal life, the ups and downs, the highs and low.  But when miles from home, encased within a mountain range, the lows tend to feel ” Low low low low…”.  Yesterday Henna awoke with a small bite mark below her eye, a little red and slightly pufffy.  No big deal right? Well, throughout the day this area of her eye continued to grow in it’s dough boy puffiness.  I watched her begin to look like a child who should flich when we raised our hands near her.  I, of course began to worry.  That unsettling feeling began, the electricity of some gloom in the forseeable future. So this morning when she woke up, with an even bigger shiner, I began to feel a bit more anxious and so I wanted to talk to my mommy.  Very badly.  Mommies have that almost instant soothe..kind of like whiskey.  But with calls to the states so costly I did the next best wonderful thing., I texted my sister Audra a picture and description of Henna’s eye.  Her wonderful advice, as it was sent through space, made me feel sooo much better. That feeling ebbed a bit and the nice pharmacist at Safeway also maylayed my fears.  We were feeling better.   

As we left Canmore, the weather was dreadful!  It was about 50 degrees outside and rainy.  Yikes!  Our drive west (Ouest in french..which I love better cause it looks like quest) on highway 1 through  Banf, Glacier National Park, and Revelstoke was doomed to be wet, windy and cold.  No hiking for us.  sniff..sniff.  A new low.  Our spirits were down as we drove through construction and rain.  But Harry Potter kept us up, as he battled the fight at Hogwarts ( I won’t spoil it for anyone…)  and Henna’s endless love of verbal games kept us entertained.  This scenary should have been breathtaking, but after yestedays drive through K country I found it to be second best.  I was beginning to feel a little bit at ease, less nervous and when I looked back at Henna the swelling had gone down.  That miracle of modern medacine, Benadryl had done the trick.  Yea!  There is nothing better than when your child  gets better.   

Later we stopped at a way side picnic area with a hike through old Cedar growth forest, repleat with a shelter and board walk trail.  We brought out our stove and cooked up some white fish and ramen noodles for lunch.  The hike was perfect and for a short while we were transported back in time when these trees were seedlings and Christopher Colubus was sailing across to the new world (the plaque at the trail head referenced him).  I felt a bit small at that moment next to these trees that would out live me and my highs and lows.  We had so much fun that Henna and I raced through the hike again just for the sake of it.  The flying squirrels and voles that keep these trees fed must have thought we were nuts.  But I was happy to be riding this high…my daughter looking good, our spirits high, the look from the top is nice.  Tonight we are camping and hoping for no rain…….