Happy NeighborWoods Month! Go Outside and Hug a Tree on Your Street

Didn't know October is National NeighborWoods Month? Neither did I until I stumbled across it online.

This fall I made three separate journeys into the Rockies in larch season and watched their progression from green to gold over the course of a month--Snow Peak via Burstall Pass, Chester Lake and the Elephant Rocks, and Little Arethusa--but barely noticed that the trees in my front yard are losing their leaves. Yet the mature trees that line my street are one of my favorite things in the neighorhood. They make the street feel comfortable, livable, like home. Even on the greyest winter day, their stark naked branches are reminders that spring and green leaves are on their way. And the boys are forever finding things to do with the branches that fall on the ground, many of which are new and innovative ways to get under their father's skin.

It's too late in the season to plant a tree in Calgary to celebrate NeighborWoods Month, but it's never too late to post my favorite urban tree photos and hug spruce trees in my backyard.

Little Arethusa and golden larches under a layer of snow.

Luging with Kids: The Skyline Luge at Calgary's Winsport Olympic Park

Okay, so it's not hiking or some other "outdoor" activity, but the Skyline Luge at Calgary's Winsport Olympic Park is too much fun not to write about. And as a writer, I have to give credit where it's due. The tagline "Once is Never Enough" is absolutely true.

Calling the Skyline Luge a "luge" is a bit of a stretch, though. Starting at the top of the ski hill, you race a speedy little gravity-powered go-kart type of thing down a 1.8 km concrete path that winds down to the base of the chairlift, losing 120 m of elevation in the process. And fun it is. You're low to the ground, the curves are tight and passing has all the thrills I imagine a driver in F1 experiences. Best of all, it's something the whole family can do together. Kids 6 years who are 110 cm tall or over can ride by themselves. Younger and smaller kids have to ride with an adult.

Michael is 8 and Mack is 13, so we were all able to drive our own luges. In total we did three runs and, not surprisingly, the boys beat me every time but once. I guess my inner child isn't much of a speed demon.

www.skylineluge.com/luge-canada/skyline-luge-calgary/