Longest hike of my life and yes, the water is that blue.

By the Summer of 2018 I was ready for an adventure and another chance to step out of my comfort zone. Melisa, Erik and Michael came up with an amazing 10-day adventure visiting both Montana and Alberta Canada. It was an opportunity to possibly see some wildlife and I couldn't wait to see the blue /green waters of Lake Louise in Banff National Park. I had my new passport, and I was ready for my first stamp.

August 11th, we flew into Alberta and stayed in an air bnb in Canmore. The day before we arrived there was a fire that started on Howe Ridge in Montana. The fire started during a thunderstorm and before it was over it burned thousands of acres of land. Because of the fire, the visibility was low.

Bright and early, on August 12th we took the day and explored Banff National Park. We took that first day and visited Lake Louise. There really is nothing like it in this world. Beautiful is an understatement. This is my first view of the mountains and the first, but certainly not the last time I cried. I was in awe of it all. For the next 10 days, I would hear the occasional, "Jesus, are you crying again?" The answer was always, yes. The color of the water is something you can never imagine existing. There were so many people. I wish we could have spent more time in each place when it was less crowded (isn't that what we all want?). These photos of Lake Louise, come on, it's stunning. Look at this place.

Our Next stop was the Lake Agnes Teahouse for stunning views, a pb and j with a lake view and a nice hot tea. The Lake Agnes Teahouse dates back to 1905 and has been serving hikers for over a century. I had the Lavender butterfly tea. It was green tea with honey and lavender, and it was perfection. We hit the outhouse and continued on with our day. (Yes, a real outhouse!)

After the lunch break, we headed to Mirror Lake for a great view of Big Beehive. There were no crowds, and I appreciated the break from people. Visits from a little ground squirrel along the way were a nice surprise.

Lake Louise ski resort was our last stop for the day, and it was pretty cool. We took the ski lift to the top and even with the smoky skies, it was beautiful. I'm not a skier myself, but I just had to facetime Rob (my husband) to show him the views. It was the summer, and of course the landscape was different compared to winter, but I could imagine it would be pretty epic.

It was a long, amazing day and we headed back to Canmore to sit down for a much-earned burger and beer. We had dinner at the Wood, and I had my first Bison burger. I also had my first experience with poutine. Poutine is basically french fries with cheese curds and brown gravy. Reminded me of my younger days, drunk at the diner, in the middle of the night. Salty and delicious.

Day 2 had us up pretty early again. Having a quick breakfast and packing lunches; pb and j, bag of chips, granola bar or two and a banana. My staples. We started out at Moraine Lake. The skies were clearer today, and I was grateful. I thought Lake Louise was the best thing I had ever seen, but that changed when I climbed the rock pile and took in the view from there. It was breathtaking... literally, that climb was no joke, but this... this view was worth it all. It was the screen saver image I had pictured in my mind. It was a place I never thought I would see. It was the stuff of my imagination. Still to this day, nothing has moved me quite like the view that day. I felt powerful and changed. Hard to describe, but something clicked and shifted inside of me. Every trip I have been on since, I am hoping for that feeling. A connection to something bigger. Sounds crazy, but it's true. I was completely moved.

We left Moraine Lake and headed to Johnston Canyon. We did the series of catwalks, and the walk was really easy with great views. The catwalk follows along the Johnston Creek. There were a lot of people with us on the walk, and there was even a park ranger to explain the history of the canyon and various animals that can be found there. As for us, we saw none. I was surprised during our whole trip, we saw only one very distant moose and some mountain goats, again soooo far away. We did get a chance to stop by a small waterway and take off our shoes and dip them in the water.

We followed the Moose Meadows path to the Johnston Canyon ink pots which were the coolest. We took off our shoes and relaxed after our day of hiking.

On to the Upper Hot Springs of Banff. We were expecting some magical hot spring, and we ended up at a very large pool of hot steamy water. To me it was a very large hot tub. It was $16.50 per adult and the hot water was much needed because my body was hurting. I wouldn't consider myself a fit person and my back and feet had seen better days.

The beer and elk burger at The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company was a great way to end our day and our time in Banff National Park. Truly the most magical place. We headed back early evening to park up for our long drive to Montana in the morning. My goal is to head back again and take the kids to see if they love it as much as I did.

August 14th was a travel day. We needed to cross the border into the United States and head to our air bnb in Whitefish, Montana. We didn't do anything exciting that day, but grocery shop and I had the world's smallest wings. Our new place was great, and after running a load of clothes through the wash, hanging out and having a huckleberry beer, I crashed. HARD.

We decided to not set an alarm for the next day and have a casual unplanned day. The only place on the list was Lake McDonald. Because of the huge fire a few days before, the skies were really smokey and the views were not to be had. I dropped some money at the gift shop. Park tees and pins make me happy.

We decided to hike to the Grinnell Glacier the next day. The trail was a whopping 10.6 miles round trip and was by far the most strenuous of any hike I had ever done. Being labeled a strenuous trail, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to turn around multiple times. I was one year into my Keto weight loss and even down 50lbs from the summer before, I was not in shape.

The fires closed down the entrance to Glacier National Park that was closest to condo. That made for long days and hours of driving to enter on the opposite side of Glacier NP. Shout out to my drivers, because you know it wasn't me. ;) On top of that, I woke up totally sore and the blisters on my feet were throbbing. We had a few plans for the day including Two Medicine Lake, driving on the one section of Going to the Sun Road that was still open and a visit to Logan pass.

Smoky skyline and gorgeous views along Going to the Sun Road.

Logan Pass which is located right on the continental divide was our last stop on our last day in Montana. Logan Pass is the highest elevation in the park reachable by car. We stopped for lunch at the Whistle Stop. Sandwiches and beers with the company of their two resident dogs were just what we needed. A quick stop to grab all of our huckleberry favorites. Huckelberry is a big deal in Montana and though I'm not a big beer drinker, I can say the huckleberry lager was delicious. Something about hiking all day and enjoying a beer and burger, works for me. That night, we made a solid attempt to eat all the food we had bought for the week since it wouldn't be traveling with us to Canada the next day.

August 18, started in Montana and ended up across the border into Calgary. We checked into our penthouse and headed out into the city. We ended up at a place called the Unicorn for something to drink and out to dinner at an Irish pub called The Frog and Toad.

August 19th, our last day we explored Calgary. We ate some more great food and enjoyed a few more beers. I was loving the street art, and each shop was cuter than the next.

This trip for me, was amazing. It was the perfect combination of time in nature and enjoying some city life as well. I will always be grateful to Melisa, Erik and Michael for allowing me to join them. It was an experience of a lifetime. Laughter, love, good food and adventure. An amazing combo.

I hope you enjoyed the glimpse into our journey. Thanks for coming along with me.

Later loves.