On Friday the 17th of May we got up early for a weeklong trip to Alberta Canada.
Our flight left around 6AM so we got to the airport before sunrise. Our flight into Seattle went well.
It was a clear day so we were able to see the famous Washington State Mountain peaks. This one is Mt. Rainier but I also saw Mt. Hood and Mt St. Helens from the plane. (Rick missed them all because he was sleeping) They were awe inspiring to see from that vantage point.
After getting a quick breakfast we hopped onto another flight into Calgary.
After getting lunch and checking into our hotel (The Courtyard Calgary) we put on our Sunday best and drove out to the Calgary Temple. (Temple # 3 for the year)
We were able to do a session and enjoy some time in the Celestial Room. 😀
Afterwards we drove downtown for a special date at the Calgary Tower. We ate at the Sky 360 restaurant and thoroughly enjoyed our view of the city. The food was just so so but we enjoyed the novelty of the revolving restaurant. The sights of Calgary were beautiful. In the distance we could see the majestic Rocky Mountains!
After a good night's rest we got up ready to drive to Cardston to attend the temple there.
Before we left, though we decided to stop at the Calgary Farmer's Market. It was fantastic!
It runs Thursday thru Sunday year round. It is inside a fun western type building and each of the booths was so interesting. There were lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, crafts, bakeries, and ethnic foods.
We had just had a good breakfast so we weren't too hungry but we did buy a couple of things for our Sunday picnic lunch...and of course some pastries!😀
After the temple we were hungry and there is not much of a choice of restaurants in Cardston except for fast food so we opted for the Chinese Restaurant. It was decent. The chow mein was like something that was made back in the 80's haha! but still good!😂 It filled us up anyway...
After getting back to our hotel we just relaxed for the evening.
The next morning, since it was Sunday, we went to a Calgary Ward. I love visiting other wards, The people were really kind and gave such insightful thoughts during the Sunday School lesson.
After church we went back to the hotel to have our "picnic" lunch. We decided to eat it there instead of on the road. Afterwards we checked out of our hotel and drove towards Banff. The first night we stayed at the Mount Royal Hotel. It is an old historic hotel and fronts the main drag in Banff. We got a little dinner from the hotel's restaurant and then stepped outside to see the beauty of the town. The main drag is filled with shops and restaurants, kind of like a Park City feel. We just loved it!
After a good night's rest we woke up to a bit of rain. We decided to get over to the Visitor's Center to see what was a must see for the area. The girl at the desk sent us over to a hotel that had a sightseeing tour desk and while we were there we set up a few adventures. Our first excursion wasn't until later in the afternoon so we were able to get checked out of Mount Royal and check into the Moxy just down the street. The Moxy is a Marriott affiliate but was not open for our Sunday stay. We were able to stay at the Moxy for the rest of our time in Banff. We were able to upgrade to a King Suite which was a very cute and stylish room.
Our big King bed faced the floor to ceiling windows and overlooked the pool out at the beautiful snow covered mountain peak. It was absolutely gorgeous. We got to wake up to that view each morning!
Next we got to walk around the shopping area. I ended up buying a shirt, a sweatshirt, and a new hat! Rick bought a ball cap for his collection:) Of course we had to stop and get some ice cream from Cows, a Canadian original ice cream shop.
Next we got to go to Lake Minnewanka. It is just a few miles from Banff. We hopped on a bus that took us to the lake for a fun boat ride. We were able to learn about the lake and the mountains around it. It was very beautiful!
That night we ate an Italian Restaurant, I can't remember the name right now.
This picture here is of my lasagna. It. Was. Fantastic!
We actually got to share our meals.
After dinner we got into our swimming suits and went out to the jacuzzi.
I got turned around and first got into the pool (thinking it was the jacuzzi) which was nice and warm and all but I was a little disappointed that it wasn't hotter. Rick joined me and when I told him I wished it was hotter he let me know that I was in the pool and not the jacuzzi. I transferred over to the jacuzzi and BOOM! HOT WATER that felt perfect! We visited with a Chinese Canadian, Philip for quite sometime out at the jacuzzi. He was a talker but listening about his life and how he came to Canada was quite interesting.
The next morning we had scheduled the Banff Gondola Excursion just outside of town,
The gondola took us way up onto the mountain peak where a nice interpretive center has been built.
We enjoyed walking around seeing the sights but mostly enjoyed the gorgeous views surrounding us.
We happened to get there when it was quite clear so we could see all around us...even down to Banff town.
It was at least ten degrees colder up there...and Banff was already cold so we sure had to bundle up while we were outside. There was a bit of a breeze so that added to the coldness!
Rick took a hike up three hundred+ steps to get to an overlook peak. I sat in the coffee shop sipping on my hot chocolate and people watching. He came back and then we came down the same way we went up... the gondola :)
After our Gondola experience we got into the car to drive further into Banff NP. What a beautiful drive it was! We drove to the famous Lake Louise. There were a lot of people there and the lake was mostly frozen over but it was still nice. There was a big French looking Chalet there at the lake where I imagine people come and stay year round. It was a beautiful place. We were hungry and wanted to get something to eat there but the restaurant was closed so we just used the bathrooms (with a twenty minute wait)
and then headed up the road hoping to find a place to eat.
Lake Louise.
There is a glacier at the top of it. Not sure of it's name.
We pulled out of the Lake area and found a little cafe right inside the town of Lake Louise.
We got our bodies refueled and then headed towards the small town of Golden.
This required going over the continental divide and through the Yoho NP into British Columbia.
We got to see a black bear just off the road. We did see a bit of wildlife throughout our trip. We spotted a wolf just as we were coming into the park on Sunday and throughout the next few days we saw elk, deer, TWO black bear and a half of a grizzly. I say only half because one day we saw a bunch of cars pulled over but we were in the left lane so we had pass the car on the right of us and pull over and then reverse to get to where the people were. As we pulled up I jumped out and ran to the other cars. As I looked into the woods I could see the hind end of a big grizzly bear dissapearing into the woods. Unfortunately, Rick got there to late to see him even though we stayed hoping he would come back out!
We tried to find us a moose, as well, but to no avail....
After we got into Yoho we stopped at a place called Natural Bridge.
It was really amazing! We got a beautiful view up close of the river water that is a gorgeous aqua color.
They say the light blue color of the water in the parks comes from something called "rock flour". It is a substance that comes off of the glaciers and goes into the streams giving the water this amazing color.
The natural bridge was really cool and Rick got a close up as he walked over the barrier and got right on top of it!
A few miles up the road we stopped at Emerald Lake.
As you can see it is incredible. I mean, THAT COLOR.....! Unfortunately, pictures on an iPhone never give the landscape the justice it deserves but still.....amazing!
After another 40 minutes we were able to make it to Golden. I had seen the Golden Skybridge advertised and thought it would be fun to get to.
The place was really great! It had more than the skybridge. There was a playground for kids, mountain coaster toboggan ride, zip lining, and more.
We got out onto the Skybridge, and it was really scary to me.
This bridge is the highest swinging bridge in Canada. I don't think I'm a person that is afraid of heights (ok, as I'm getting older maybe I am getting more afraid of heights) but this bridge was really high over the canyon! 426 feet up! There were people walking behind us on the bridge and it just kept moving a bit and I'll be the first to admit that it made me a bit nervous!
Of course, I'll be the next one to admit that it was really great, too!
I loved the beauty below.
Rick never seems to be rattled by anything. In fact....
he decided to do the zip line AND the mountain coaster rides!
Here are some pictures of the zip line but
I didn't get any pictures of the coaster ride.
It was fairly late by the time we got back to Banff and let me just say right here how grateful I am to Rick for being my chauffeur. I got to just to ride along and look at the sights (and nap:) while he drove us around. I'm so thankful for my dear husband! He is the light of my life and my partner in adventure! I'm so blessed to have him by my side through life!
The next morning was our last excursion. It required another drive two hours up to the Columbia Icefield area. We got a little bit of snow and passed some frozen lakes to get there.
When we arrived to the visitor's center we were able to board one of the ice explorer busses and drive ONTO the Athabasca glacier. It was a cool experience. We enjoyed about a half an hour on the ice walking around and then loaded up to go to the glass-floored Columbia Skywalk.
It was a very nice excursion!
Here are the pictures from our Skywalk...
We got to see our second black bear on our drive......
Our last stop was Peyto Lake.
The hike, which was snow covered, took about twenty minutes to get to the lake.
As you can tell in the picture it is in the shape of a wolf. Super cool to see!
It was frozen over except of a little spot near the edge of the lake that was thawed out. The color was a deep, deep blue! I can only imagine what that lake looks like in the summer when it's thawed.
It must be truly incredible! We really loved this excursion even though we had to take our life into our own hands with that snowy/icy path. We made it, though!
We got back to the hotel and ate at a super expensive place called Bluebirds. Honestly, it wasn't worth the time or money but that's the way it goes sometimes.
The next morning was the day we were to leave Banff. We had the morning to just enjoy the area.
We stopped at the Bow River Falls and drove around to some picturesque overlooks then went back into town.
Brandon Orr had told us about the Beavertails scones so we stopped there to get one. Rick chose the apple pie flavor and I had a bite, too. It didn't disappoint!
A cool story to end this post which happened just before leaving Banff.: We were wandering thru a couple of stores and then happened upon one that we went in to peruse. I don't believe there was anyone in the store other than the two women clerks. Rick and I got to looking at a shirt that had the provinces of Canada so of course we started talking about the different provinces that we had been to. I had a question about the provinces on the East Coast so I walked up to the counter and politely asked the clerk about it. She answered my question with a slight accent. We bantered back and forth with small talk and then she came over to the shirt to point the different provinces on the shirt.
Long story short she told us that she was from Quebec and is French Canadian. She asked why we were there and I mentioned that we had come to visit the Calgary and Cardston Temples. We then asked if she had ever seen them. She said she hadn't. She had only lived in the area for a couple of years.
We told her a little bit about temples and introduced her to the name of our Church She hadn't heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints but had heard a little about the "Mormons". We explained how the Church had come to be known as the Mormon Church. That was a segway into teaching about the Book of Mormon and the prophets that had lived on the American Continent.
She then told us that she was raised Jehovah's Witness but at 18 years old she turned her back on her religion and never really looked back. She said she had also stopped believing much in God. (She is now in her late 30's) She told us that she gets her spirituality from nature and things like that.
She then said, "Life is interesting." We could tell that she was thinking about something but wasn't sure if she should say it. I think it was Rick (or me I honestly can't remember) who then asked, what are you thinking? She said, "You know, it's funny. Last week I wanted to know if "He" (meaning God) is real.
So I asked him, "God, if you are there please let me know". She then said, "and now here you are telling me about these things." I immediately teared up thinking, "we are a direct answer to her prayer."
I said to her, "I just want you to know that God is real and He loves you." Rick then asked if she would be interested in reading The Book of Mormon and that it is another testament of Jesus Christ. She said she would like that. Rick told her that he had one in the car that he had been reading and marking passages in. He also mentioned that our son Gary had written his testimony 15 years ago inside the front cover in an effort to find someone to give it to. Gary never did so Rick was using it to read and mark this year. He offered it and she refused saying, "Oh no, I don't want to take yours I can just buy one. I don't need to take yours." Rick insisted and she agreed saying she would be there for the remainder of the day. We told her that we would have to go back to the car to get it.
It had starting pouring rain at this point so we finished up and rushed back to the car in the rain.
Rick found it. I added my testimony to Gary's and Rick ran back to give it to her. She was on her 30 minute lunch break and Rick felt bad not to talk with her again, but he left it with the other clerk with our names and numbers inside. He ran back in the pouring rain. We decided that we would drive around for a few minutes and then go back to talk to her about it. Rick specifically wanted to show her 3rd Nephi where the Savior visits the Nephites. Fortunately, when we went back she was there and so happy we came back. We talked with her, and we left feeling very happy to share the Book of Mormon with someone who was sincerely looking to find God in her life.
End of story for now.....hopefully we will hear from her sometime in the future!
If not I know that a seed has been planted in her heart for maybe a different time and place.
God works in mysterious ways and we were so happy to be a part of her answer.
We drove back to Calgary for the night and got up to take an early afternoon flight home.
We both have commented many times on what a wonderful trip this was for us. We loved the temples and the beauties of Banff National Park. Most of all we just loved doing it all together!💖
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