kananaskis heli tour

On Saturday, March 9, Burns and I had the opportunity to go on the adventure I had given him for Christmas. A helicopter tour!

It started at 2:00pm and we were so nervous but excited.

This was the helicopter we rode in:

I always wondered why people bent over to get into the chopper because the blades are obviously taller than the people and they shouldn't have anything to worry about, right? Well, it was explained to us that the ends of the blades have the ability to bounce in the wind as low as your head so you should bend over to be safe. I wonder how many times that has happened.

It was a very unique experience. I felt a tiny bit queasy in the rough patches but quickly got used to the feeling. Here I am enjoying the view.

 This was Burns' view in the front:

He could even see right under the helicopter.

Burns with the pilot:

 We couldn't have picked a better day to go. It was absolutely gorgeous out!

This is the lake that we drive by on our way to Banff. The same lake with the island that Burns and I walked to on the ice a couple years ago.

I love Alberta.

The group that went on the tour before us:

 Even though it was a gorgeous day and the snow wasn't very deep, Burns and I decided to snowshoe on the frozen lake we stopped at because we had never tried it before.

We're so cool.

Then we almost fell.

Then we're cool again.

We were very lucky to have such an awesome group. Two ladies in their 40's came with us and our pilot. They were so fun and even helped us build a snowman. They also kept telling us not to take marriage advice from them because they were both getting divorced.

Our snowman.

Burns and I kept throwing snowballs at each other.

Cheers!

 The ladies gave us their chocolates in return for our champagne. Great trade if you ask me!

We then headed back to the base and then went home to pick up Kobe and rush down to Lethbridge for the Moonlight Run. In this picture you can see the shadow of the helicopter on the trees:

They even included a picture in our tour package. We had so much fun!

Since my first 10k last year I have run a 5k obstacle course (Spartan Race) and the Harvest Half Marathon. I feel like I've come a long way in one year. Burns and I were discussing my time in last year's Moonlight run. I got 40th out of 69 competitors in my category of females ages 20-24. My time was 1:01:05. Luke heard us talking about it and offered me $100 if I made it into the top 10 in my category. I didn't think it was possible because I would have to shave off at least 10 minutes from last year's time. Here are the results:

Time: 00:49:53
Overall place: 130/603
Gender place: 34/348
Category place: 6/68

I almost made it into the top 5! I am so happy about this! It's amazing how much progress one can make in one year. Luke wasn't kidding about the $100. Thanks so much Luke!

All I wanted to do was beat one man I had been close to the entire race. I beat him and almost threw up when I crossed the finish line. So worth it. And it's always so wonderful to see Burns and Kobe waiting for me a few hundred meters before the finish line. You guys are the best.

After the race Burns, Brad, Cassi, and I went to Wendy's for a little snack and had a great visit.
Thanks to parents, too, who came out to support me! It means so much to me.