Banff trip--Day 5

On Wednesday was my birthday, so Dave had planned surprises.  We drove to Banff and took the gondola up Sulphur Mountain.  The main building had a nice gift shop and the gondola ride was really fun, with amazing views at the top.  We took pictures and checked out the gift stop and displays.  Another surprise was a delicious lunch at Sky Bistro.  After lunch, we walked up the boardwalk/path to the top of Sulphur Mountain.  There was a little research building with good views at the top.

After taking the gondola back down, we drove to Central Park, where there was a farmer's market (every Wednesday) and we found some neat things to buy.  We shopped a little more in Banff, then ate another delicious pizza meal at Bear St. Tavern (we had the perfect place outside to eat). 

We drove to the famous Fairmont Banff Springs and walked around--behind it was the river and Bow Falls...a fun little hike, but buggy!  We stopped by the big Banff sign for pictures, which wasn't too busy in the evening.  Back at our place, we ended the night with birthday presents and playing a new game.

Banff trip--Day 4

On Tuesday, we spent the morning in Banff before driving up the Icefields Parkway.  Some of our favorite stops were:

*Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint

*Bow Lake Viewpoint

*Peyto Lake lookout (short hike from parking lot with amazing views)

*Waterfowl Lakes Viewpoint

*Mistaya Canyon (short was from parking lot with a very cool river...definitely could have brought a picnic here)

*Saskatchewan Crossing (had our picnic here and got very expensive full-service gas; checked out the small gift shop)

*Weeping Wall (small waterfalls off the side of the road)

*Big Hill/Big Bend (roadside stop after a big curve and uphill--waterfall view)

I found a great website that told us about all of these stops (15 Best Stops on the Icefields Parkway you can visit in 1 day!)

The Columbia Icefields was our main stop--we got there early, so we explored the Discovery Centre and gift shop, then got changed into warm clothes (pants/sweatshirts/jackets).  We took a bus ride up to the ice-explorer vehicles that took us out on the glacier.  It was a very cool experience!  The temperatures were much cooler than down below, and the girls were wishing they had brought their sunglasses and hats.  My dad regretted not wearing his hiking boots and bringing his hiking poles, as it was slippery.  We had about 25 minutes on Athabasca Glacier--we took pictures, walked around, and filled up our water bottles with glacier water.  On our way back down on the ice explorer vehicle, we saw a bighorn sheep.

When we got back to the bus, it took us to the Skywalk.  Norah and I walked around quickly without looking down (the floor was made of glass).  Abby would only take one step out onto it, but my dad and Dave enjoyed walking around and taking pictures.

The car ride back to our place in Canmore was about 2 1/2 hours--we saw a couple of black bears by the side of the road.  We had a late supper and the girls had time to feed the bunnies before bed.

Banff trip--days 1-3

We had an amazing trip to Banff, Canada in July!  We left around 7 a.m. on Saturday, and crossed the border into Canada a little before 6 p.m.  It was pretty remote for awhile on our drive in Canada, but we found a nice hotel in MooseJaw to stay overnight.  

On Sunday, we left the hotel after breakfast and arrived in Canmore around 5 p.m.  We checked out our place for the week (a Vrbo apartment-like place called Solara), unpacked, and then walked to find some supper.  We drove to get groceries and checked out the (very small) pool at our resort.  We didn't use it that night, but did use the (very large) hot tub.  The girls loved their pull-out couch bed, the TV with Netflix, and feeding the friendly bunnies outside of our porch.

On Monday, we explored Canmore before picking up my dad.  We did a little walk (Policeman's Creek), saw the Big Head statue, the Mounted Police Station, hiked the Bow River Trail. 

At 11, we picked up my dad and had a quick lunch at our place.  We had to leave at noon to get to the 3-hour Banff Trail Ride that Dave had booked for himself and Abby.  While they rode, my dad, Norah, and I drove to Johnston Canyon and hiked to the Lower Falls (easy, short, but super busy hike).  On our drive back to pick up Dave and Abby, we saw two bears and a mountain goat along the side of the road.  It was a pretty drive through Bow River Parkway.  Dave and Abby had a fun, but hot, ride--Dave said shorter would have been fine!

After picking them up, we went to the main street of Banff and checked out some shops (Big Bear Trading Co. was a favorite).  We tried Beavertails for a snack.

In the evening, we went back to our place and had supper, then showed my dad the places we had been in Canmore earlier in the day.  We ended the day with ice cream at a cute little place called Old School bus Ice Cream (literally run out of an old yellow school bus).

Adventureland

Summer wouldn't be complete without a cousin trip to Adventureland!  This year was extra-special, as my cousin Ben's girls were able to join us as well.  We had a blast!

Watermelon Day

We always love visiting Stanhope for Watermelon Day in July!  It's such a great opportunity to see both sides of my family, and the girls especially loved holding the babies this year!  Norah also loves the opportunity to get a can of pop at the pop toss.  Such a fun day!