"Oh Canada"

Brian and I were super blessed to be able to take a trip (just the two of us!) to Banff, Canada. We were wanting to get away before baby girl comes, and knew we had no worries with Luke spending 2 nights with Tula and Pop and 2 nights with Noni and Grandpa. My parents have been to Banff and after seeing their picutes, I had always wanted to go. This was a perfect time for us to get away, and we were not disappointed. Unfortunately the weather was less than optimal, and was mostly cloudy and rainy the whole time, but that didn't stop us from seeing the sights! We stayed at the Rimrock Hotel, which we highly recommend. It is located about a mile up from the town of Banff in the mountains, and has beautiful views. Here is the view from our hotel window! Brian and I enjoyed drinking coffee and just taking it all in.

There is a ton of wildlife in Canada. Cougars, black bears, grizzly bears, elk, moose, etc. We were fortunate enough to see some elk eating on the side of the road on our first day there. We did not see any cougars, thank goodness, but there were plenty of signs that said to beware because they were spotted in the area and were actually seen tracking humans. Yikes!

After seeing the elk, we made our way to Johnston Canyon. It is a short hike to a couple of waterfalls and was well worth it.

After the hike we were told to the little town of Field. It was nestled right into the Canadian Rockies and was oh so cute. I had the best mushroom soup of my life!

Brian right outside the restaurant.

After lunch we headed to one of the many gorgeous lakes in the area. Emerald Lake was breathtaking and we even had a little sun shine down on it.

The next day we took in the sights of Banff. Here is the famous Banff Springs Hotel. If you look up into the top left hand corner of the picture you can see our hotel nestled in the mountain.

Here is a view from Tunnel Mountain Road. Notice the Banff Springs Hotel in the background again.

Here we are at Town View Point. Obviously you can see the small town of Banff in the background.

The cute town of Banff. Look blue sky!

On our third day we headed out to Lake Louise. The Canadian government is in the process of building these new "animal roads" over the highways so the animals can migrate safely. They cover them with dirt and plant trees so it looks and feels like the forest. Pretty neat!

Before getting to Lake Louise, we stopped off at Moraine Lake. It is beautiful and used to be pictured on their $20 bill.

And now to Lake Louise.

After touring the lakes, we decided to take advantage of the relatively clear sky and hop on the Lake Louise Gondola. It was so much fun and we had amazing views to take in. It did get pretty cold at the top, and the rain started at that point, but was overall a must see!

View from the top. You can see Lake Louise in the middle of the mountains.

Obviously I was pretty cold at this point. =)

The highlight of the trip...a bear! She was just walking around right underneath the gondola totally unfazed by all the people around.

After the gondola ride, we headed back to the hotel for some relaxation and later enjoyed one last evening in Banff. They were actually having a festival that night with their annual "Bike Banff" race. They blocked off the streets downtown and had pretty hardcore races taking place. I think an Olympian was even in the top race. Very fun to see.

Our trip was amazing, but there is nothing like coming home to your little boy! Stay tuned for pics of what Luke was up to while Mommy and Daddy were away. =)