With the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop, last weekend my family and I all met up in Canmore, Alberta for a short vacation. My parents had given my sister, brother, and I our own rooms at the Creekside Inn and planned activities in Kananaskis as one of our Christmas presents last year.
I drove up with my folks on the Friday and we met up with my brother and sister later that evening. We had lots of really great food, including the ribs that I had at the Iron Goat and the ravioli that I had at Luna Blue downtown. The change of scenery always seems to make those ordinary moments standout, and it was nice to spend time with everyone in such a beautiful place.
Our time in Canmore was really just a warm up. The real fun was the Paddle & Saddle package that we were doing, which included a horseback trail ride through the mountains, and white water rafting down the Kananaskis River. We managed a trip to the Calgary Zoo on our way up, and my sister and I stopped at Canada Olympic Park on our way home to check out Canada's Sports Hall of Fame before meeting up with more of the family at my Grandma's place on Sunday afternoon.
We created a lot of new memories, inside jokes, and stories, but here's a bit of the backdrop that we were playing in to kick things off.
One of the final moments to share from my visit to Regina earlier this month was the time that Tyler and I spent exploring downtown. I hadn't even realized prior, but 12th Avenue has now been paved to create the City Square Plaza around Victoria Park. This links the F.W. Hill Mall and creates a huge open walking space that brings a welcome and brand new focal point to the centre of the city. They've done a really nice job.
The new Mosaic Potash Tower (Hill Centre Tower III) is also nearly complete, which changes the symmetry of the skyline created by Regina's twin towers - not to mention the logo on the welcome to Regina signs. It's a beautiful area though, and we even had a few flashbacks from seeing the Saskatchewan Film Pool building again. It was where we screened our experimental film shorts back in 2006. It's great to see Regina continue to become a more dynamic place, and in some cases change so rapidly in just the few years that have passed since my time there in film school.
On my way to Golden, BC I had it in my mind that I'd stop at Lake Louise in Banff National Park for a couple of hours to walk around and snap pictures. What had become obvious the closer I got however, was that the clouds weren't breaking up and it was going to be overcast while I was there. That wasn't exactly the picturesque scene I had in mind, but I had been driving for hours and felt like stopping anyway.
The bright side to this was that the park was noticeably less busy because everyone figured it was going to rain. It also wasn't a total loss for me because I knew I'd be back through in a couple of days and it was supposed to be really warm and sunny.
On the Sunday as I was heading back home, the weather didn't disappoint. The crowds were insane however, and it took me an hour just to find parking. I got a kick out of everyone, myself included, snapping the exact same pictures of the famed lake in Banff. Who could blame them? It was really scenic.
I walked around the boardwalk, did a lot of people watching, and took a short tour around the Fairmont Chateau. It was a nice afternoon and the vibe (outside of the parking lot) was really relaxed and enjoyable. Banff in general, including Lake Louise, is truly an incredible place.
