It's crazy to think before this trip I have never traveled much of Canada beside the normal/average trips to surrounding areas; Fredericton, Moncton, PEI, Bathurst, etc. or the little further ones to Toronto and Montreal. Am I ever glad we did, Canada is the most beautiful place if you just take some time to look.
Our adventure started by taking a flight to Calgary, AB where we stayed at my aunt Gloria's beautiful house. I must say it was so refreshing to be able to stay with loving family and be able to bond and meet cousins I would have never met prior to.
The first day we were able to hang out with my great aunt and uncle and have a few drinks which was great! They invest in a brewery (Fahr) among other things, which we got to try. I am not much of a beer drinker but did enjoy the taste, Ray on the other hand loves his beer and really liked it! They do sell this type of beer at the liquor store in Calgary so if your there, we would recommend you try it out!
The next day we package a small bag for the weekend ahead. Our good friends Tonia and Spencer who live in Edmonton, AB. drove down to pick us up and we were on our way. Banff here we come! I only have one word to describe Banff..... WOW! I fell in love with the view of the mountains. Unfortunately at this time was when part of Alberta was in flames which resulted in a smoky sky which seemed to hover on the mountains partly blocking the view. Still thought it was amazing!
When we got to Banff we went to the Hot Springs. Highly recommend, it was awesome. Not to mention the view! B-E-A-U-tiful
1 Mountain Ave, Banff, AB T1L 1K2
Next was the hotel. If you go to Banff you should definitely stay at the Moose Hotel! it has cabin type feel, beautiful, and central to everything. This place just keeps gettign better! Once we got settled we went for food and to pick up some liquor and had a few drinking in the hotel room.
345 Banff Ave, Banff, AB T1L 1H8
Nothing better then a morning swim on the roof of a hotel surrounded by mountains!
Tonia and I decided to wake up early so that we could enjoy some time in the pool on the roof, and I am so happy we did. Talk about refreshing.
This roof has both a pool, hot tub and a fire place. If you go make sure you make time to enjoy what this place has to offer.
After packing up, getting food and checking out some of the shops it was time for our next destination.
You could say the drive was interesting thanks to Spencer and his 90's Ski Party Music Play List, the best road trip music ! haha
Onto to Drumheller, AB
When we got here we were amazed at how one Province could be so completely different looking. From Mountains to Dessert in just under 3 hours of driving.
After checking into our hotel and getting settled we were off to explore, once again with the best tour guides (T and Spen).
The first place they took us was for food. Instead of a regular everyday restaurants we ended up going to a place called "Last Chance Saloon". This place was amazing; not only just the food, but also the friendly environment and it literally looked like something you'd see in a movie. you know the ones with a stand down and balls of hay rolling on by in the wind.
I am not joking when I say if you ever go to Drumheller, AB go eat here, well worth it and good prices!
555 Jewell St, Rosedale, AB T0J 2V0
Based off Spencer and Rays recommendation, get the burger with an over easy egg on it, "The best burger I've ever had" - Ray
I myself had a chicken caesar wrap and O-M-G, literally the best wrap ever!
Just go here and try it for yourself, you won't be disappointed! next time I think we will camp out here. They also tend to have live music often :)
The cash ceiling. When you walk into the Last Chance Saloon, you'll notice this very original ceiling decor, filled with currencies from all over the world. So Neat! Besides this there are many old knick knacks around to look at along with the few framed bullet holes in the walls.
Next Stop... The Hoodoo's
The Hoodoo's are made out of sand and have been formed over the years with the help from the wind. Definitely neat to see!
This day ended with a nice little walk over the Suspension Bridge which resulted in a great picture.
This place is literally so interesting, and it is loaded with Sage plants, Ev-er-y-where! So I gathered some, bundled it, and dried it out to bring home.
3061 AB-10, Drumheller, AB T0J 0Y0
Back to the Hotel we go, to relax and have some beers :)
The Next day
Valley Plaza Shopping Center, 249 3 Ave W, Drumheller, AB T0J 0Y0
We went to this little restaurant for our morning breakfast. It was insanely good! and the Older Dolls that work there were so nice and funny.
Well worth it.
Next stop.... The Royal Tyrrell Museum
While driving through Drumheller, AB you'll notice it's like Dinosaur City. I say this for two reasons:
1. Everywhere you look there are dinosaur statues/ sculptures, most look like the ones from the Flintstones,
2. The Royal Tyrrell Museum, They said that Drumheller, AB is the place where the majority of Dinosaur Fossils were found, and is known for being the Dinosaur Capital of the World, along with having the largest Dinosaur outside a gift shop that you can climb up the stairs to look out of its mouth.
1500 N Dinosaur Trail, Drumheller, AB T0J 0Y0
60 1 Ave W, Drumheller, AB T0J 0Y0
Largest Dinosaur and Gift Shop
After leaving the Dinosaurs and the gift shop there was one last stop before it was time to hit the road back to my Aunt & Uncles house in Calgary, AB.
Horsethief Canyon, an amazing lookout point where you can see for miles. Also if your quite these little guys may come up to you :)
Horsethief Canyon, an amazing lookout point where you can see for miles. Also if your quite these little guys may come up to you :)
It was nice to get back with the family after a fun filled weekend.
But no where near done our vacay adventures.
The next day we took a relaxing day to hang out with the family; with some drinks, family dinner, and gladly got to meet some cousins I never meet before. It was so nice!
Over the next two days Ray and I went exploring Calgary, AB.
One day we went to Olympic Park to try some down hill Karting otherwise known as the Luge.
These karts moved based off the downhill speed and to stop you would pull back on the handles, allowing you to go at your own speed. In Rays mind of course that means go as fast as possible and scaring people as he flew by. For me on the other hand, because you had to go up via a ski lift it had quite the view, so I took my time to first trip down. You could see for Miles!
Would definitely go back and do this again!
Winsport Canada Olympic Park, 88 Canada Olympic Road SW, Calgary, AB T3B 5R5
The picture says it all, once really isn't enough, we got the package to go down 3 times, SO-MUCH-FUN!
Next up was a different kind of race..... Go Karts!
Over by the Calgary Airport, and hard to find lol, but hey at least we had the place to ourselves.
Ray won but it was all good fun!
Honestly if it was up to me and I had to pick between this or the Luge.
I would pick the Luge over and over again!
58 Aero Dr NE unit 109, Calgary, AB T2E 8Z9
FOOOOOOOODDDDDD!
I found out about this place on a list of must try's in Calgary and I can tell you I am so glad we did!
RE:GRUB (burger spelled backwards)
I am not kinding when I say I am still carving another of these milkshakes.
O-M-G!
And yes that is deep fried Oreos on top, the best thing I've ever had!
While enjoying dessert before lunch, we admired the funky space of this restaurant and a very different table number.
901 64 Ave NE, Calgary, AB T2E 7P4
Now for our meal, Ray had a buffalo meat burger (no picture) and I had This amazing creation!
Your seeing this right.... a grilled cheese as a bun on a burger.
Not only is it a grilled cheese but it is a Mac and Cheese grilled cheese.
Who comes up this this stuff, but I thank you!
A Mac & Cheese - Grilled Cheese - Hamburger
Y-U-M!
Ok, Ok, moving on...
The next day we went to the Calgary Zoo.
This place was huge! With tons of animals, and lots that ray has not seen before in person like:
Giraffes, Hippos, Red Panda, Panda, and so so much more.
I did get a few pictures of some of them.
210 St. George's Drive NE, Calgary, AB T2E 7V6
Few funny things we seen while here:
A few bears in "heat"
A Zebra that was a little too excited
& A Hippo that had explosive Diarrhea and with his best attempts tried to get it on everyone by sticking his butt to the surface of the water. He failed but in fear of a second attemp we moved on quickly, plus the poo clouded all the water making it hard to see the animals.
After this we went over to Telus Spark.
A pretty neat place and great for kids! FYI
Here you can play around with water, sounds, electricity, building, dancing, jumping on trampolines with bungy cords, kids type rope walking, etc.
You can also lay on a bed of nails which we really enjoyed,a very odd feeling but doesnt hurt at all
220 Saint George's Drive Northeast, Calgary, AB T2E 5T2
Just us and the open road!
I feel in love with the mountains on this trip and after only a day and some in Banff, I didnt feel satified to only have that short time within them.
Gladly Ray felt the same, so instead of driving straight from Aunty's house to Edmonton, AB (~3hours) for our second weekend vacay, we took the long way around through Banff, and Jasper which took us the whole day with our extra stops/ adventures.
Back to Banff we go.
Just the two of us and a long highway.
It was so nice being able to drive ourselves through the mountains, the view the entire drive was incredible!
We did stop in Banff again for a couple hours because there was something wee needed to do.
The weekend prior we did attempt to do this but with rays fear of heights he didn't feel ready to do it at that time, and I was not going to push him into it. Also because it is a pricy adventure and we were with Tonia and Spencer who have already done it a few times, we didn't want to make them wait for us while we went up 7000 Feet.
Ray felt bad about not going up the whole week back in Calgary. Mainly because it was one of the things I wanted to do most on our trip which he knew but I would never pressure him into facing his fear; that is something he had to do himself.
We arrived at our destination, and after many deep breaths and a moment of rubbery legs and shaky-sweaty palms he took the leap.
Into the Gondola we went, and started our ascent up Sulfur Mountain.
Once we got to the top of the mountain and out of the gondola we were speechless.... When you get out your in a building with a gift shop, a little café and a lot of windows; and on the outside a big deck path leading from the building between the mountains and to the top of the taller neighbouring mountain peak. A great look out point ! Could literally see for miles! If you ever go to Banff, pay the money to go up Sulfur Mountain.... Incredibly Worth It ! Even Ray thought so once he got to the top.
100 Mountain Ave, Banff, AB T1L 1B2
The ride back down was better for Ray, even on the way down you can see for miles. The mountains are my favorite!
Was even able to get a few pictures on the way down.
Ugh. So worth it, you cnan also hike up the mountain if you'd perfer and had more time.
After this we hit the high way again to continue our travels towards Edmonton.
Our next stop on the day long journey was Johnston Canyon to see some of the falls. We were here for about an hour give or take. There is a nice hike you can do here but we were pressed for time so only walked to a water fall and cave that brings you up close and personal with the falls. Honestly I would love to go here again and stay longer, and hike further. I'm sure if your reading this youve realized I've said this a lot but
It. Is. B-E-A-U-tiful!
Canada, Improvement District No. 9, AB T1L 1K2
Next was my favourite stop of the entire trip.
Lake Louise
Talk about BEAUTIFUL, I guess more like STUNNING view....
Next time we are in Alberta this is for sure one location we will spend more time at. We had enough time to look around a bit and have a photo opp. Next time we want to possibly do the walk around the lake to the other side and/or rent a kayak so we can explore the insanely blue water and have a different view of the mountains.
We stopped for food in Jasper, AB. Our last stop before arriving in Edmonton.
We only stopped at one place in which I didn't get the name of (wasn't anything special) and drove through the little town and back on route.
We didn't explore Jasper but would definitely like to during our next visit as we heard good things, but based off first appearance I like everywhere else we went to better.
When we arrived in Edmonton, AB it was dark out so we went directly to our friends house (Tonia and Spencer) where we were staying for the weekend (thanks again guys for the hospitality and your company :)! ).
Tonia had to go to work the next day (Friday) so we just hung out for a bit and caught up which was really nice.
Once we woke up the next day Tonia had already left, so Spencer, Ray and myself went out to Tim's to get some food then we hit up the Mall.
West Edmonton Mall that is.
When you read about the mall it really does have everything:
pirate ship, roller coaster, water park, seals, a huge place for kids, huge area for restaurants, and too many stores to count.
8882 170 St NW, Edmonton, AB T5T 4J2
We spent some time here, and got some food at one of the resturants. Then we went back to the house to meet up with Tonia. Enjoyed a chill night and order in some pizza for supper. It was so nice being able to spend some good quality time with them.
Day two in Edmonton.
The day Ray has been waiting for since we booked the trip....
Upon waking up, Tonia and I decided to make breakfast for the guys.
Then we were off to the Drift Competition called SpecD.
This was mine and Rays first time sttending a drift competition and we both loved it! I'm sure there will be more in our furture.
It did rain a bit but it didn't last long, so we all went to hid under a roof since the drifting events was put on hold but once it stopped raining it was back on. We really did love attending this event.
We obviously had to get some merch. Ray got a hat and a sweater and I got a sweater also. Unfortunately since Ray and I have moved once we returned from this trip my sweater went missing :(
What can ya do? Maybe it will turn up soon.
Next stop was a big underground car show. It was definitely better then ones back home. So many neat cars! They even had replicas of the Fast and Furious cars. That was cool.
Ray is all about cars so this day was completely up his ally.
Afterwards we all went back to the house, including some of Tonia and Spencer's friends for a BBQ, bonfire, and some drinks.
It was beyond nice visiting yous.
The next day we were headed back to my Aunt and Uncles house in Calgary, this time we took the fastest way back which was about 3-4 hours.
When we got back we just relaxed and had supper with the family. Packed up our stuff to get ready to go back home the following day.
This trip was long over due. We were so thankful for all Gloria, Brian, Tonia and Spencer did for us while on this trip, and the hospitality. It was also so nice to be able to spend the quality time with each of them and we hope to make a trip down again in the future.
Also can't leave out the help of my girls Rylee and Shannon for helping us during this time both with the dogs and the house while having showings of the house to sell.
Until the next adventure.
-- xx