This year we headed to the Great White North for a beautiful, romantic and exhausting vacation to.....
BANFF!
Before we left I would tell people we were going to Banff. There were only two reactions: "What is Banff?", or "Banff is gorgeous! You'll love it!"
Banff is in Alberta, Canada, in the Canadian Rockies. Now, I adore my Wyoming Rockies and I love the Colorado Rockies, but the Canadian Rockies... well, you'll see.
The fact that people didn't know where Banff was seems very strange to me because it was more crowded than Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain National Park combined. Or at least it seemed that way. We didn't let it cramp our style.
Okay, so the town of Banff is beautiful and quaint... in a Pottery Barn sort of way. Below is pictured our hotel:
And then there was the view from our hotel:
Completely unreal.
The morning after we arrived, we hiked our little hearts out. We hiked about 10 miles that day and I have to say that never once were we in a place without a spectacular view.
This is Mirror Lake with Big Beehive in the background:
The tea house at Lake Agnes:
Right in the middle of this strenuous hike, there is a little house with tea service in real tea cups! How much more refined can you get? If it had not been 80°, I would have been tempted to partake of one of the dozens of varieties. But it was 80° and I had a fabulous sweat patch under my pack the size of Lake Agnes itself.
Just look at it (the lake, not my sweat patch):
Everywhere we went, those beautiful mountains:
Now, at this point in the hike, we were entering into the plain of the six glaciers, which is quite popular with the bears. We also found ourselves totally alone at this point. The crowds must have been back at the tea house. So as recommended, we started to sing. Bears must hate "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Desperado" because they stayed away. The only one I saw the whole trip was from the car, which was simultaneously a relief and a disappointment. We were able to stop singing by the time we reached Lake Louise:
on account of the crowds.
This was the end of our hike and so we treated ourselves to some ice cream at the fancy hotel near the lake.
It was topped with dried goji berries.
I cannot think of anything more stupid to put on ice cream than dried goji berries. It was a disgrace, an abomination. But the hike had been long and I hadn't had anything but a Special K bar that day, so the goji berries went down the hatch. But I'm still thinking of writing the ice cream shop owner a very strongly worded letter. Subject: Next Time Try Hot Fudge.
The next day we visited Moraine lake. I don't know how to photoshop. All these colors are real. I promise.
The canoe rental was well worth the price, which, for an hour, cost approximately the same as a credit hour at UW. Sorry, kids, you're going to have to skip that ballroom dancing elective. We spent your tuition money on something more important.
This was the most peaceful hour of my life. I think if I could do this once a week, I would never need to take another Ativan, or wear the plastic guard that keeps me from grinding my teeth to nubs at night, or yell at my kids. But I would also have to find a way to support my canoeing habit. Eh... Ativan's easier.
Look at that view! A little history behind the next pic: There were a lot of insta-gals there. A lot. Some pretending to ponder the lake, others feigning a dive into the lake, some balancing on a rock surrounded by water, poised on the ball of one foot. They would spend all day lining up shots all for the sake of their insta-stardom. Most of them forgot to enjoy their surroundings.
So we get to this viewpoint and there's an insta-club. They're insta-posing. Chris and I just want to enjoy the view, but their antics are taking up the whole viewing area. I immediately started judging them. However, after they were done, they offered to take our picture. I actually think it turned out quite nice and I repented of my judgement. It's nice to have a pic with the insta-touch.
No, I will not stop. This is really, for real what it looked like. I don't even know what a filter is.
That night we took a gondola up to the top of Sulphur Mountain, which sounds very unpleasant, but which is, in actuality, stunning.
This is the view we had while we ate dinner. Totally unreal!
The following morning, we headed over to Johnston Canyon, which is the home of some lovely waterfalls.
Again, look at the color of that water! And this was on a rainy day too. So gorgeous! (The rock behind my head makes it look like I have a bun! Nature is so cool!)
Then it was time to say goodbye to beautiful Banff
And hello to Calgary.
We spent some time walking along the Bow River:
And across the many footbridges (this one is called the Peace Bridge)
And at this really cool Farmer's market (I hardly had my phone out this whole trip and yet there I am... I think I was texting the kids).
Then we went to this crazy mall area that was near a stock trading tower. It was not my scene. I buy my clothes from the clearance rack at Kohls.
But it had this cool Botanic Garden on the top floor. That part was nice.
Some takeaways from the trip:
- Canadians are super polite. Always. Even when issuing a speeding ticket ;)
- Banff is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
- I love being with Chris. A couple weeks ago was the 20th anniversary of our first date. It's hard to remember life before him and I never want to have a life after him.
And now, we just have to wait another couple (or perhaps 3) years until we go on our next couples only adventure. In the meantime I'm seriously considering buying a small, non motored watercraft for short escapes to the local reservoirs.
