May 26th-29th
For the past few years, Jed & I have traveled with Eric & Audrey on Memorial Day. So we decided to keep that traditional alive again this year. In typical fashion, dozens of places were researched and two floated to the top, Glacier National Park and Banff National Park. Before we starting planning this, Jed & I had never even heard of Banff but we were up for any kind of adventure.
In the end, Glacier was just too difficult to get to and afford for just a long weekend so we pulled out our passports and booked our flights to Calgary, Canada!
We were so excited that we were able to find a super adorable hotel right in downtown Banff,
Moose Hotel and Suites. As we pulled up and checked in late in the afternoon, it could have been a more perfect setting.
The small town was adorable and we were so excited to get out and explore.
We found a great dinner place that was know for pizza,
Bear Street Tavern.
We finished our evening doing a little planning for the next day and enjoying the view from the roof of our hotel.
The next morning we headed to
Banff Gondola and we were one of the first people to the top of Sulphur Mountain. The views from the top were just breath-taking! There is no way pictures could come close to the view and experience but it didn't stop us from trying to capture it.
We spent some time hiking around and checking our some cute wildlife.
Once we made it back down from the mountain, we headed back into town for brunch before heading back out on the road.
Wild Flour Bakery had received tons are great reviews so we decided to check it out and we were not disappointed.
Next on our list of places to explore was
Johnston Canyon. It was a bit of a non-traditional trail. It was pretty tight and a lot of it was man made in order to get to the falls but it was beautiful and we had a fantastic time.
We still had lots to tackle today so we were back on the road after some time at the falls. Our next stop was the famous
Lake Louise. This place was right out of a fairy tale. It was just stunning. We spent part of our time just sitting and enjoying the view and then hiking to the far side of the lake to get the true experience.
There was another, lesser known and lesser visited lake right along the road to Lake Louise that we decided to check out on our way back towards Banff,
Moraine Lake. There was something truly magical about this place. It was quiet, peaceful, and gorgeous! It was a favorite stop for all of us.
We found some food on our way back into town at the
Outpost Pub before getting back into Banff in time to explore some of the downtown before everything shut down for the night and we retreated back to our rooftop hot tubs and heated pools.
Our last day in Banff was jam packed with lots of things to see and do. So we had our lunches packed for the day and headed out along
Tunnel Mountain Road. The first photo op stop was Surprise Corner.
It wasn't much further down the road before we stopped again for Tunnel Mountain Viewpoint and again for a short hike down Hoodoos Viewpoint.
After that, we had to focus and get on the road to make it up to the Glacier Fields. We made it as far as
Herbert Lake before we stopped for our picnic lunch. Who could ask for a better view for lunch!
We hopped back into the car and continued to drive deeper into the Canadian Rockies and it is truly indescribable! We felt like it was a painting or a movie backdrop. It was just surreal.
Our next random pit stop was at Crowfoot Mountain. This is where Jed & my retirement plan continued to take shape as we watched a retired couple live out of a RV that was parked in the parking lot overlook area with their lawn chairs out, sitting and watching Crowfoot Mountain to see the next avalanche.
After a little while at the viewpoint we decided to head up the road just a little further to take a quick, little hike to Bow Glacier Falls.
There were a few red flags at the beginning of the trail but I pushed and pulled everyone anyway. They seemed like little hiccups at the time, can't find the trailhead, the trail being covered in inches of snow and ice, gushing streams running over chunks of trail, little things. I was sure the trail would clear up and it would be worth it. I ended up dragging everyone along for about a mile. With every obstacle, I had no interest in quitting and would continue to stay, "You guys go back, I just want to see what is around this corner." And with a roll of the eye and through great frustration, I would run ahead and they would begrudgingly keep walking.
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| The trailhead |
Then it happened... the low point in the trip. We turned the corner, Jed slipped and ended up falling into the snow. We thought he was screwing around and could not stop laughing. We laughed so hard. Jed on the other hand, wasn't finding it very funny. He was stuck and we had no clue. After what I am sure felt like 30 minutes, we realized he was stuck and needed help has he was freezing stuck in the snow. I quickly realized that the hike was up, I had pushed as far as I could and I needed to just conceded that I wasn't going to make it to the waterfall that I was sure was "just around the next corner."
As we stood there talking about all that had just happened, we heard something of in the distance coming our way, it sounded like a group of loud people and for a minute or two we wondered if they were calling for help but then they rounded the corner and it was 4 Millennial ladies with hair and makeup perfectly in place, no hiking attire, playing loud music while documenting their adventure through their SnapStory. We spoke for a minute, asked a few questions about what the trail was like they had just come from and other tips to find the waterfall, all while knowing we were turning back. We waited as they left and I figured we were giving them some time before we tucked our tail and followed then back to our car. Much to my surprise, after a minute or two someone said, "I was ready to give up until I saw that they could do it so now I don't think my pride could handle it if we went back now." The hike was back on and it was beautiful!
We picked up another stray, lost hiker that had lost the trail and together, the 5 of us made it to the waterfall. It was such an amazing experience and without a doubt, I story we will tell for years to come.
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| The arrow to tell you where to go. |
Once we finally got back to the car, we were way late and had at least two more places we wanted to tackle before we lost day light. Our next stop was
Peyto Lake. We weren't really that surprised when we got to the start of the short trail to the lake and there was 2 FEET of snow over the trail. After our last experience, we didn't really think twice and we quickly made our way to the overlook. It was absolutely worth falling on the snow and ice three to four dozen times for that view!
Unfortunately, we didn't stay long, we were on another mission. However, we got derailed for a short period of time as we saw cars stopped along the road. We quickly realized why as we watched a bear finish climbing down the mountain and cross right behind our stopped car!!!
The day before as we were at Moraine Lake, Eric's battery had died so we all decided that one more stop there was in order before leaving Banff. We were able to make back to the lake during the "Golden Hour" and as Eric worked to get the perfect picture, we sat and just took it all in for the last time.
By night fall, we made it back into the town of Banff for dinner at
Eddie Burger Bar. It was a tiny little burger joint that was a perfect way to end our time in the beautiful town of Banff.
After dinner, we drove our final leg back to Calgary so we could fly out first thing the next morning. It was absolutely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I can not wait to go back again!
