Banff

We started day 2 in Canmore off right, with a little longboarding, the Rockies as our personal backdrop (“real life” is going to be one serious reality check after this trip) before heading to Banff.  We started in the Vermillion Lakes in Banff – postcard beautiful with the mountains and clear blue skies reflected in the perfectly still water.  With no real hiking trail around Vermillion, we had no choice but to do some more longboarding around the lakes, under the mountains!  It was a tough compromise, but somehow we survived the whole ordeal.

Vermillion Lakes

After Vermillion, we stopped by the Banff Legacy Trail before heading into the town of Banff to check out the Bow Falls and Minnewanka Lake + Two Jack Lake (absolutely beautiful), snacking on trail mix and stopping to snap photos along the way (yesterday was an incredibly taxing day for us).  Having seen most of the sights we wanted to check out in-and-around Banff, we made a snap decision to drive to the infamous Lake Louise.  After the sheer beauty of the Rockies and the many lakes that we had already seen, we were both somewhat underwhelmed.  Admittedly, it was later in the day and somewhat gloomy, with a gray, overcast sky, but I think our lack of enthusiasm is a testament to how incredibly beautiful the Rockies are in their entirety.  There isn’t one place that stands out as particularly beautiful when everywhere you look is absolutely stunning.  It’s hard to put into words just how incredible and majestic these mountains truly are.

Bow Falls

Falls

Minnewanka Lake

Shadows at Two Jack Lake

Stopping at the side of the road to see the elk!

Lake Louise

Anyways, tomorrow we plan on seeing the best of Jasper and I can’t wait!  En route to Jasper, we decided to take the scenic route, the Bow Valley parkway.  We stopped by the Johnston Canyon (and Falls) and it was well worth it, in spite of the hoards of people (ourselves included) streaming back and forth from the falls.  Johnston Canyon has firmly cemented 'swimming under a waterfall' as an item on my bucketlist - another adventure, for another time!