Loch Awe

Our first trip "out of country" was up to Loch Awe in Scotland. We went with Outdoor Rec from base so the whole trip was planned and taken care of. We left at midnight and the trip was about 12 hours. At least we were able to get a little sleep. It was beautiful when we arrived and our hotel was right on the loch.

This is a highland cow and I absolutely love them!!! They look so cuddly and the little calves are just too adorable! I didn't get any really good pictures of the little guys.

I wonder if he can see past his bangs.

This was way at the other end of the loch. I love it!!!

We went on a hike that afternoon and Scott picked this purple thistle. I think it's like their country flower. It's the one they talk about in Braveheart. It is also significant because it was used in battle against Scottish enemies. I can't quite remember the whole story so I won't even try.

This was the destination of our hike. It was a beautiful view. This is looking back at Loch Awe.

There were so many beautiful flowers all over. This was right outside our hotel.

Looking across the loch from where we stayed. Looks serene, but it was actually not. We learned what midges are. They are like little gnats that bite. They were awful!!! You could hardly bear to be outside during dusk and dawn.

It was supposed to be a canoeing trip at Loch Awe, but the midges were so bad and the weather was supposed to rain all day that the group leaders decided to go somewhere else. We drove up to Ft. Williams, which is known as the capital of the Highlands. It was supposed to only be an hour drive, but turned into a much longer trip. The scenery was absolutely phenomenal so that was ok. This was at a curve in the road where we got out to stretch our legs and listen to some bagpipe music. Pretty cool:) In Ft. William we went to a whiskey distillery, (that's what happens when you are traveling with a group.) Ft. Williams is at the foot of Scotland's highest mountain, and on a loch, so it was neat to walk around during lunch.

On our drive back we went back through Glencoe. I'm not sure if there is a town, or it's just the name of this area, but it was beautiful! The mountains were gorgeous.

We got out for a couple of minutes to snag some pictures. It would have been awesome to hike around, but I guess that will have to be on another trip.

When we got back the midges had subsided for a bit so we were able to go canoeing. Lots of fun!

There was a storm brewing back there, so the water was a bit rough. It never actually did rain on us which was great!

We made it to the other side of the loch. That's our white hotel behind us across the water.

We were waiting for the other group to get back so we could go see an old castle. That's Scott's male model look:)

This is the castle that Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned in. Such incredible history all over here!

This picture was taken at about 9:30PM! The sun didn't go down until 10pm something and it didn't actually get dark until after 11pm. It's kinda crazy, but it is pretty far north up here.

On our way back home we stopped by the Campbell's house, or castle. They were the prominent clan in this area. Beautiful.

Our last stop to look around was the town of Inverness. A new friend we met on the trip knew some of Scott's relatives were of the Kerr clan. Each clan has a tartan or pattern to distinguish them. She bought Scott a wool tie, with the Kerr clan tartan. Very thoughtful of her.

We headed back and it turned into a pretty long drive. Poor Scott got the stomach flu along with our driver. We found out that after we got back about half of the people on the trip got it too. Bummer, but at least our time in Scotland was great!

It was a quick trip, but it got us excited to travel back there to experience more Scottish culture, castles, and beautiful scenery!