The Canadian Rockies

 

One of my favorite discoveries of our whole trip was the beautiful town of Canmore, Alberta. It is a charming, modern day, rustic town nestled between the spectacular peaks of the Canadian Rockies ~ most notably, the "Three Sisters" which you can see on the left in this photo below taken from our condo balcony.  

I suspect as Banff has gained in popularity over the years with tourists, Canmore has become the preferred town for those wanting something more quaint. It was indeed so perfectly charming and quaint.

This was the first time on our trip that we were able to easily walk to a coffee shop or dinner, or go on a quick run. I think we were all needing some room to breathe at this point.  

I took advantage of it by getting up early our first day there and exploring the trails that meander between the mountains and the town. I was in complete awe of the scenery. 

With no set plans for the day, Luke had mentioned possibly renting bikes.  Once I had a chance to experience the views from the trails and had noted what a bike friendly town it is, I was all in for the bike rentals. 

It was the perfect way for us all to get to explore this gorgeous town.

We ended up biking about 14 miles - up and down hills and into the mountains.  It was the most perfect day.

We headed to Banff for our second day in the Canadian Rockies. We had a fabulous lunch at The Grizzly House filled with fondue and a hot stone to cook up some really spectacular Alberta meat and seafood.  

We left there and headed to the Banff Gondola, which takes you to the top of Sulfur Mountain...  I will spare you the details of the drama that ensued as we attempted to get to the gondola by our scheduled lift time. Let's just say Sam had to run a mile through town, I tried to chase after him but had to stop because I peed my pants, and the others had to corroborate a story to keep us from finding out they actually passed up two shuttle buses as they waited for us to save the day.

The important part is we made it, it was lovely, and we're all still speaking to each other.

There's nothing quite like a view like this to reground you.

We had an early dinner at Sky Bistro on top of Sulfur Mountain - I highly recommend the entire experience.

Charlie was on a quest at all times to capture some wildlife photography. These are two of the great shots he got during our gondola adventure.

One of the places I REALLY REALLY wanted to see while we were in Canada is Lake Louise. At this point in our trip, our kids were pretty tapped out on driving long distances to experience another scenic view...  but I REALLY wanted to see this one. 

They politely went along with it - since it was only about 40 minutes beyond Banff. 

It actually worked out perfectly. It was nearly 7pm and it had rained a bit, so the crowds had diminished. 

It may have been my biggest win of the entire trip when we arrived and Charlie said, "Yeah.. I can't even come up with something sarcastic to say about this place. It's too pretty." 😀  

He let me win!

I'm sure it's even prettier on a day with blue skies - but good gosh this place is stunning.  It would be nice to spend more time there and do some of the hikes to catch all the pretty views of the lake. But for this mama - I was wildly satisfied with just having the opportunity to see it.

We spent the next day driving through Kootenay National Park as we made our way to Glacier.  It was a rainy day and perfect for our travels.