Laurence had to work tonight, so we picked Kevin up after school, came home to pick up Susannah (and have a quick supper - I had barbecued pulled pork in the crockpot and it was YUMMY) and then we headed out to Elk Island Park. We drove around the Bison Trail twice - once on arriving - in daylight, and once on the way home, in the dark/ twilight.
I think Kevin was really surprised at all of the bison and how they were everywhere - he said the area by the bison trail reminded him of Africa - which it does in many ways - similar tree shapes and the animals in their groups etc etc....
We drove up to Astotin Lake, and stopped by the beaver pond. Luckily we saw three beaver swimming around :) One young one and a couple of adults :)
We got out and took pictures, and walked down to the lake - I was really surprised to see that it has already started to freeze around the edge! The kids all tested the strength of the ice - it held Sams weight but not Abigails. They know not to go onto thin ice, so we were just by the edge. It was quite amazing how the lake has frozen sooo much and so thickly already!! It has frozen in waves :)
We walked around the boardwalk and enjoyed the sunset:
Everyone liked smashing the ice at the sides of the boardwalk/ dock - the entire lake on this side is already frozen!
We walked up to the Pioneers cottage before heading back to the car. We were the ONLY people there today. The parking lot was empty! It was cold (-5c) but it was a beautiful and sunny day! No wind really!
