Amazing Alberta, Canada

After almost two years without any travel (Covid19 restrictions), James and I were escastic to be able to explore again, and this time with baby Everly at 3 months of age. She was such a trooper in the airplane on the way to Calgary with no fuss and lots of zzzz's. We were welcomed by our friend, Anne and she toured us around Calgary on foot to see the Bow river, East Village, Cold Garden brewery, Stampede grounds, and the Calgary Tower. It's a quaint city with a lot to offer, nestled in the mountains. On day two we headed even more west in our SUV to Canmore, which is a small, safe, and beautiful city with great eats and a cute downtown for shopping. The best part of it is its closeness to the mountains and lakes. We spent day two hiking Grassi Lakes and exploring the 3 Sisters Mountain range. Everly loved being cuddled into Daddy on the carrier and slept most of the hike. Day three we headed to the famous Lake Louise for opening. We were tickled to see the vibrant green water and the mountains in the background. We did a 5k hike up a steep incline to the Lake Anges Tea House and warmed up indoors (with vaccine passport!) with some tea and tea biscuits in the small, wooden tea house with a fireplace for warmth. We lucked out on getting parking at Moraine Lake, a popular destination as well. It was raining, so we stuck it out and got some amazing photos of the crystal blue lake which was once featured on our $20 bill, and I can see why! We appreciated this site more than that of Lake Louise, but just felt so lucky overall to be exploring our own country's nature and beauty. Day four we trekked our way into British Columbia to Yoho National Park and saw one of the tallest waterfalls in Canada called, Takakkaw Falls as well as a really wide falls which came after a rewarding hike called Wapta falls. James was daring and went right below them while I rested on a rock with Everly attached to my front. We really loved seeing Emerald Lake, which is just that, as green as can be. There was a cute blue bird that was tame and spending time investigating us, too! Day five we headed north to Jasper along the world famous highway, Icefields Parkway. With mountains and glaciers along both sides of the highway for almost 2 hours, we couldn't help but fall even more in love with the west coast. We stopped for a small hike at Sunwapta Falls and explored the canyon along the hike. Once we reached Jasper Town we were lucky enough to see Elk eating some grass along the roadside near the Jasper Park Lodge. They were so tame and had cute, white butts! :) We really appreciated the Maligne Canyon and couldn't believe how vast it was. We only did 4 km of the 10 km hike (in the rain) and were awestruck by how deep and long it is. Jasper is a cute town with an amazing main street looking into the mountains. We enjoyed town centre and the infamous black bear statue as well as the Jasper Brewery eats and drinks. Day six was our favourite day of the trip! It started out nice and early before sunrise at the Grizzy Paw cafe for coffee and sticky cinnamon buns, yum! Next week watched the sun rise over Pyramid Lake and were appreciative of the mountain reflection in the lake. We took our time driving to Maligne Lake and stopped several times to watch Bull, Cow, and Calf Moose eating leaves on the roadside. I got out of the car to take photos with the other photographers, but stayed close to the car, just incase. They are so large and majestic, they truly are an incredible creature. At Maligne Lake I took the boat cruise to see Spirit Island (a native island) and took pictures of the scenic glaciers and mountains in the background while James and Everly hiked and observed moose in the lake. What a magical place. We felt so aligned with nature and the outdoors and were so grateful to share this with our 3 month old. Day seven we flew home and again, Everly was a saint on the airplane. We cannot wait to travel again with our little family. The world continues to be our oyster!