When not working, we have been trying to get out of Calgary as much as possible. We have gone on several road trips already. It is nice to be at a different reference point - especially so near the mountains. Back in June, Calgary had an ultimate tournament in which we competed. We didn't do very well but we sure had some good times.

On the July 1st weekend, we got out of Calgary and did a great road trip in southern Alberta. We went to Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, Ft. Fort Macleod, Lethbridge, Writing on Stone Provincial Park (WOS), Kananaskis Country, and Crowsness pass. Some highlights of the trip included the wonderful hoodoos at WOS. WOS has great geology and indian paintings but one of the best parts is jumping into the milk river and floating back to the camping area. Next time we'll bring our inflatable tubes.

In Crowsnest pass near the BC border, we went on a great hike up to a 1946 plane wreck. 7 people died in the crash and the plane wreakage is still littered all over a mountain valley. We spent the rest of our time camping in Kananaskis.

Wayne had some time off and came to go hiking with me (Steve) on the July 8th weekend. We headed down to Glacier National Park in Montana to do some hiking and to drive the highway to the sun. The views were spectacular. After that we scooted over to WOS Provincial Park (yes, again, because it was so good!)

Well, the last of the 4 roommates is getting married. Ryan Koop and Becky Jorgensen are getting married on August long weekend. Of course, such an occasion must include a wildman bachelor prelude. With Saskatchewan's north pretty much up in flames, our original plans were dashed and we decided to canoe from Oulook to Saskatoon.

Things went well the first day. There was a gentle current and there were many sand bars to get out and toss the disc around or play some volleyball. There were several cliffs along the way and we enjoyed some good cliff jumping. Camping on the sand dunes proved to be uncomfortable and mosquito infested.

One of the highlights of the trip occured while we were joking around, cooking and having a happy ol' time. What we didn't notice was a huge wall of water and 100km winds coming towards us. We had sensed the rain so we put everything under the canoes and flipped them over. But this wall of water met us with sheer bewilderment. The winds pelted us at once, flipped over a canoe, sent a lifejacket flying down the sandbar, and left everything we had muddy and wet.

All and all we survived the 2 days and ended up only making it 3/4 of the way to the Berry Barn where we picked 6 pails of berries and ate at least 2 in the process. That went well until the Steve's came down with severe Berry Belly (an uncomfortable ailment somewhere between a bad case of gut rot and pre-diarrhea).

We made it to the final day of Calgary Stampede after a weekend wedding marathon. We didn't do a whole lot except catch the Third Day, Chris Tomlin, Starfield concert. But we for sure made sure we were going to blend in with the cow folk.

Updates on our life have been pretty sparse lately. I guess routine has set in and it doesn't seem like there is anything too exciting going on. Work takes up a lot of time for each of us. Maybe we need to book a trip or something :)

Anyway, we have been enjoying staying put for a bit, gaining some skills through our jobs, having people over to our house, going to the mountains at least once a month, etc..

Amie and I have had a great first year of marriage. They always say the first year is the hardest. We didn't really notice that but if it gets better from here, giddy up! It seems like the year went pretty fast but it sure was packed. We had a great wedding followed by a fantastic honeymoon in the Cook Islands and New Zealand. We had a blast in small town Humboldt Saskatchewan last summer and then we were of for 5 months in Suriname. That had it's ups and downs but it led us eventually to Calgary which has been a great time of refreshing.

For our anniversary, I (steve) took Amie to the Calgary tower for supper. I have kind of marveled at it since we moved to Calgary and I am glad we finally got to go up. Can't say the next time will be anytime soon (expensive!) but it sure was great. While eating the restaurant rotates once every hour so you get a good panorama of the sprawling city. There is also a lookout area with a glass floor. That makes for a great view and a rush when looking at the cars below your feet (and the 600 foot drop!)

We have had a good month hanging out in Cochrane, Alberta area with family and friends. We have been volunteering with Fourworlds (fourworlds.ca) for the last 4 weeks. They are involved in consulting and community development here and abroad. Amie has been working on a literature review and I (Steve) have been revamping the four worlds website.

We have also had the pleasure of staying with Leon and Cindy Hansen in Ghost Lake. It has been a quiet and refreshing refruge from that of Suriname to say the least. In our spare time when we are not with Amie's family or other Cochrane friends, we have taken advantage of the warm weather to do some mountain hiking, snowboarding, and walking in the beautiful surroundings.

As of March 1, 2006 we are officially homeless, jobless, and poor. It is job hunting time.