Catching up & Canmore

I’m not sure exactly where I left off, but I know I have some catching up to do. 

We’re on our way to Jasper, and I thought the 4h drive would be the perfect time to do exactly that, but I keep getting distracted by the majestic yet eerie Rockies looming overhead, as we wind our way through the mostly deserted mountain highway.

Luckily, the roads are clear and dry, although the ominous sign warning of “Snow tires or chains required beyond this point” (in conjunction with the fact that the vast majority of traffic has been headed in the opposite direction, away from the mountains) succeeded in thoroughly terrifying one of us…I’ll leave it up to you to guess who.  But luckily, so far my paranoia has been misplaced.  Although if I’m being honest, there is still great comfort to be found in a passing vehicle every so often, particularly as we continue to climb higher in elevation, the white of the snow-blanketed mountains bleeding into the white of the clouds.  Driving through the clouds at the top of the mountain is magical, lending itself to a feeling of utter peacefulness, yet contrasted with the sharp knowledge that you are completely alone up here.

And with that, it might be time to reminisce and recap the last few days spent at a lower altitude in the company of many people and vehicles!

We were in Calgary for two nights and saw a few cool sights (long boarding along the Bow River, the Olympic park), but with both of us a bit worn down, we didn’t get up to as much as usual.  It would be great to visit again another time; Calgary seems like a fun city to explore.

From Calgary, it was only about an hour to Canmore, one of the most picturesque towns you can imagine, nestled at the foot of the Rockies.  In some ways, it has a typical mountain town feel to it, but marked by a beauty you wouldn’t find in many other ski towns (as J aptly put it, “…even the (enter expletive of choice) Tim Hortons looks beautiful under the Rockies”).

Hello Rockies!  Not a bad view en route to Canmore 

With such a short drive to Canmore, we had the afternoon free to do some hiking and set off to explore the Grassi Lakes.  The hike and the lakes certainly didn’t disappoint, and after some fairly steep hiking along the edge of the mountain (stopping to from the many mountain streams flowing down the side of the mountain), we stumbled on the Grassi Lakes.  I say “stumbled” because in typical fashion, we (not surprisingly) managed to miss the lakes the fist time around.  It wasn’t until we had done some trailblazing of our own, clambering up steep hills with loose rocks trying to follow a pipeline up the mountain, that we determined perhaps this was not, in fact, the hiking trail.  Nonetheless, we found the lakes in the end and that’s all that really matters.

Lookout point at the falls, on the way to the lakes...don't mind the telephone wire running up the mountainside

The Grassi lakes were truly spectacular, despite the drizzle (it was raining…again).  We took our fair share of photos and videos, climbed a little higher to take it all in, and then made our way back down the mountain to the car, content, but hungry!

Yes, this place really does exist!

The second of the two Grassi lakes 

In Canmore, we were spoiled with our own kitchenette and made the most of our time with a real stove and cooking utensils!  Day 1: a seafood feast (tuna, salmon, jumbo prawns!).  It was the perfect ending to a fun day of exploring, bunkered down in a cozy room, the Rockies surrounding us, and a homecooked meal (thanks J!) on the table.