Travelog for: Tucker

Hi Mum,

Today sammino told us to get ready to go for a trip . He didn’t really give us any detail, other than the fact that it will be many long hours before we find out our destination .

Hi Mum,

Guess what!? I’m back in Europe ! After an awfully long trip including a missed connection I eventually fell asleep and this morning I woke up in northern Italy....and with a lovely breakfast ready in front of me .



Refreshed and with a full belly , we were ready for sammino to introduce us to some of the local residents.



There’s even a twin of sammino...although a tad bigger .



As it is quite hot, we decided to finish recovering from the trip and spend the day chitchatting on the window sill, where we can enjoy  a bit of breeze .

Hi Mum,

It’s freaking hot here , and having just arrived from Canada it feels even hotter . So I guess it’s no surprise that we are spending most of the time sheltered indoor . Today, to keep ourselves entertained, we decided to play some roulette. The professional skills of our feathered croupier appeared to be at the very least questionable , but generally luck seemed to ignore me, so I am afraid I can't come back home in a private jet yet .



After that we decided to do something more challenging and organised a chess tournament . It was a real battle of minds and, of course, I was the best .



Later we explored a bit the bookshelves and found this old atlas, which seemed a bit strange: I didn’t remember Germany to be so big when I left .

Hi Mum,

Today another guest arrived, Orpheus , one of smaug’s TVs who will spend a few days with us.

Hi Mum,

Today we had a very important football match to watch: the Euro Cup semifinal between Germany and Italy . Having to watch the match behind enemy lines I had to camouflage myself before it ...



...but, as soon as the teams came on the pitch, there were easily identifiable German and Italian camps in front of the TV, and emotions were running high.





Unfortunately Italy swept Germany away ...




...and, as if the result wasn’t disappointing enough, we had to look at sammino going a bit wild on the celebrations .

Hi Mum,

After just a few days, today we had to say goodbye to Orpheus and Sigfrido who are travelling to Rome...lucky them .

Hi Mum,

Today we headed into the heart of the dolomites , where early in the morning we were welcomed by pouring rain , and as we left the parking lot there were limited signs of improvement.



Still, we started walking up a narrow valley and when we came out of the trees things got better . We were following a very nice trail...



...with lovely peaks surrounding us all the time .



As we gained elevation, the view improved further...



...and we eventually saw the highest point of our day, a narrow pass at the top of the valley.



Once we got up there we saw a plateau that apparently we had to cross...



...and more mountains around us .



A few hours later , we were looking at the same plateau from the opposite side...



...before diving down this wonderful valley and go back to the car, where we arrived just minutes before the rain came back, perfect timing .

Hi Mum,

I’m back in Canada ! Alas, the holiday ended soon , but when we arrived in Calgary we found a surprise: an envelope that looked like there was a new guest inside .



And yes, there was actually a new guest , Shooga, a nice TV from Germany and she brought a wonderful card with her .



But today it was also goodbye time as we wished a safe trip to Melek who jumped in his envelope and started travelling to his next host.

Hi Mum,

Today the weather didn’t look too good, but it was actually quite warm, so we headed to the mountains for a little hike...hoping not to get drenched by rain . The first part of the day wasn’t too exciting, until we started to see something between the trees.




Eventually we reached a ridge were the view was much better : we had some nice rock walls in front of us...



...and could see the Bow valley far in the distance.



We asked sammino if that peak was our destination, but he told us that it was just a little hump along the ridge .



On the way we got distracted looking at the many flowers, we really like these little ones .



At last we reached the top where the view was a bit of a disappointment .



It was so foggy that the only thing we could barely see was the ridge that we had just walked up from.



Interesting enough, despite the elevation, it was full of mosquitoes...and fairly vicious ones too. So we hastily found cover in the bag and left the blood thirsty bugs to feast on smaug .

Hi Mum,

For once the weather was gorgeous during the weekend so, of course, we headed to the mountains. After a bit of walking we reached our first view point, where we had the side of Mt. Glasgow just in front of us .



From here our path followed this nice valley...



...that soon became very wide.



At this point we had Mt. Fullerton towering above us.



From here the valley started getting narrower...



...and then even narrower and narrower . But the view improved: we had a good look at the back of Mt. Fullerton...



...and some glimpses of the top of Mt. Howard.



Eventually we reached a nice little cirque where we had a great view...



...and could also see the headwater of the creek that we followed the whole day, with Mt. Howard slopes on he right.



As we were ready to start heading home sammino told us that we were going to be bold and push for the summit of Mt. Howard. We were not that convinced about this being bold business , but once we reached the top the view was wonderful in every direction .





What a day !

Hi Mum,

Today I said goodbye to all my friends here in Calgary and started getting ready to travel to my next host .



Before I hopped in my travelling compartments sammino gave me a big hug and wished me a safe journey .



See you soon !

Tucker arrived safely in Iola, Kansas, USA!

Tonight we visited the local farmer's market. The most exciting thing was that they had a pepper tasting contest. The Thai peppers were very hot!

Tucker was really fascinated with the hedgehogs that he visited!

We went to Sabbath supper at the SDA church and enjoyed great food and great fellowship!