What's buzzin Hive!
With our first day off to a great start, we woke up on our second day bright and early feeling pretty excited about the day ahead. We still didn't have a solid plan. The weather is a little unstable this time of year with a mix of blue sky with patchy stormy areas but it's hard to tell what will be what until the morning fog burns off (11 am - noonish). The whole point of coming to Canmore for this unplanned quick trip, besides the general purpose of spending time in the mountains, I wanted to visit Lake Louise in it's unfrozen state with snow around it. This is probably my favorite scene to photograph especially if there are reflections (or a close second to Kinney Lake, I'm still undecided on that). It's about an hour drive mostly on the main highway but saving over $200/day in hotel costs to stay a bit further away, it's a magnificent drive anyway. Driving by the giant Castle Mountain is always a delightful view.
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I did decide, next year, I'm going to splurge and stay one night at one of these luxury hotels and I even have one picked out. Oh my! The view of the grounds is nice with a river that snakes thru so I will save this view for a nice summer of fall evening. I wanted to visit one night at the near-by Nordic spa in Kananaskis before we left but we wont have enough time, @silvergingerman had a party to get to on the week-end so we were limited on time we can spend this trip. That is part of my future goals, try to bring you some experiences/reviews from the more upscale resorts, why not spoil ourselves a little one night each trip.
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That being said, I really want to experience that Nordic spa this winter so I would expect to twist his rubber arm into coming back here in a bit, maybe if they have the ice carving competition again might be a good time. Look at me here, not even finished this trip and already daydreaming about not the next but the trip after LMFAO. I can't get enough of these mountains. With covid, things are cheaper and quiet. Besides, we hardly got to spend any time in the mountains at all this year with the covid and Kananaskis truck issues of the spring we have to make up for lost time, we will just take all our trips for the year in a few months, it's the perfect time for locals to visit anyhow.
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Spending a good deal of the winter around them hills might not be a bad distraction anyway. I'm so over 2020 and honestly, when I'm here, I can't think of anything but mountains, pictures and spending time exploring with @silvergingerman ... The perfect escape from all the madness. It will give me something fun to write about since almost everything else I consider fun around the city is still cancelled. If I can get my ass in gear and actually write stuff from time to time, I think I might be able to make it to dolphin HP status organically soon, at least by my 4th anniversary in June is my goal, spending extra time exploring should help with that Hive mission of mine. Anyone have a spare cup of ambition I can borrow?
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Well, we arrived at the Lake, I'm already cold just thinking about getting out of the truck! It's not really that cold, -10 but it's early in the season and this trip being my first exposure to full on winter my body isn't acclimatized yet. It's still pretty foggy up here will it clear up? On the other hand, I have never seen this place so quiet past 6 am, even for off season this is slow. Lake Louise is probably one of Banff's most visited areas and crowded from morning to night. To get a parking spot easily, come nice and early like before 9 am, if it's full look into the shuttle system from the overflow parking lots but I'm unsure of their availability during covid and off season.
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We took the usual 2 km or so hike to the back of the lake so nothing new to report there. I did pay attention and noticed the trailhead to Mirror Lake, I plan to hike there someday, I was looking for that trail. For now we stick to what we know since my feet still hurt and it's too cold for my runners. All the hiking around Lake Minnewanka with my horrible hiking boots that I'm still in denial about and trying to break-in for 3 years. By now I should just admit I spent too much on a pair of crap equipment and get new ones... I'm too stubborn for that!
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Being off season, there isn't much for events or activities happening on the resort besides absorbing the incredible view. After a few hours of walking around I was starting to get a bit cold so we decided to go warm up and try the kitchen at the Fairmont to see if there was anything I wasn't allergic to and bring you some of their food. After assuring me everything was soy-free except one dish and ordering, one at a time as they double checked ingredients, my options started to dwindle rapidly.
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Sitting here after 45 minutes, looking out the window, beginning to overheat from all the clothes I'm wearing to protect myself from the cold, I could see the sun finally come out to play along with the manager coming back with the news that my third selection is also a fail, I thanked them and abandoned ship...This one was clearly sinking faster than the Titanic. Too bad, the menu items I had selected looked delish, some things are just not meant to be. I did snap a few pictures while I was in, it looks pretty nice, so many details in the décor. I still hope I get to stay here one day and get the full experience. I wanted to take more pictures of the architecture but due to covid, we were not allowed to walk around too much outside of the restaurant. Keep in mind, shops or anything else is now only for hotel guest.
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The warm up break felt nice but it was now mid afternoon and the sun was as out as it was going to be for the day, time to head back outside. We didn't go far, took a little walk to the boathouse and see what trails were behind there. There was nobody here but us, suddenly I hear something ahead as I look behind the bend, this big porcupine was crossing the trail. Of course I had the wrong lens on! I couldn't change it in time before he disappeared in the bushes and didn't get the greatest of pictures but I'll share them with you anyway because it's my first porcupine and it's 2020, if it's not on video or on a photo on the internet, it didn't happen!
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My sweet sweet city boy gave me quite the laugh of the day. I love that he never grew up in nature because I get to teach him many things and watch his reaction as he experiences somethings or wildlife for the first time. Most of the time it's a normal reaction, other times I get the laugh of my life. I don't like to share his blunders but this is actually pretty cute, along with ladybug's trolling skills to give it the right confusing spin. As the animal was slowly approaching, he suddenly gets jittery and blurts out:
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-So... How far do they launch their spikes so we don't let it get too close?
-Me: (giggles a little inside) What do you mean? Launch? Like a rocket artillery? Sling shot? Does he launch them one at a time or is it a blitz attack all over your face?
-Him: Well it happens to dogs! I don't want spikes all over my face! That looks like it hurts!
-Me: Don't sniff it then!
-Him: Awwee...???!!!...Why would I sniff him? Wait...What?
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Well, in case you don't know and are curious of your safety around them, no they will not launch a blitz attack on your face from a distance, you have to touch them to get some into your skin. It does look painful thought. I truly enjoyed that innocent moment, obviously he caught on pretty quick I was trolling him but it was fun while it lasted. Porcupine quills were once popular with local indigenous tribes as a beading accessory to make jewelry, to decorate clothing, leathers, bags and boxes during early times of recorded local history. Many examples can be found in Banff's Buffalo Nations Luxton Museum, I will only share a few pictures today as a sneak peek but I will be sharing more about the museum in an other post as it deserves to be the star of it's own show.
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Well this was fun but it was a long day in the cold already and I got all the pictures I could get here today, we decided to pack it up and visit a few near-by spots while we were here and still had some daylight to spare, of course Castle Mountain and the lookout on the parkway that overlooks Storm Mountain. Such a gorgeous valley. Little did I know I would be hiking on the other side of those mountains for the first time the next day (lets save that for next post). Exciting! The only thing that could complete this picture is a train. You know my obsession with the trains in the mountains by now. We waited like 45 minutes and no train...Maybe next time.
Of course part of the Canadian Rockies experience is visiting local shops and art. The mini-mall inside of the Fairmont may be off-limits to the general public at the moment but before getting on the mountain in the little town-center, there are some worthy shops to visit. They carry many goods made from local artists and sweet-shops along with your expected trinkets. The culture in the Canadian Rockies is as colorful as it is beautiful! Just a tip, if you are a fan of the popular B-C carved jade bears, the artist past away therefore the supply left is all there will ever be and the prices are increasing, might be a good time to get one if it was on your bucket list.
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We were getting pretty hungry by now and there isn't much left for us to do here with the fast disappearing sunlight, it was time to head back towards Banff and kill some time in town. I walk funny with my crappy hiking boots and it hurts other body parts and we have a giant tub at the apartment. I was anticipating a relaxabath with a bathbomb to release all that built-up tension, luckily, my favorite bath shop is in Banff...Rocky Mountain Soap Company. They are a local based all natural eco-friendly soap company with an extensive line of high quality bath and beauty products and scents for both men and women (I'm not sponsored by them or anything, both @silvergingerman and I just love their products and promote them any chance I get). With Christmas fast approaching if you don't know what to get your special someone, I highly recommend their products. Here is a link to their website:
https://www.rockymountainsoap.com/
Cheers my friends! X🐞X
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Stunning shots. Makes my want to see Into the Wild again :) Oh and nice encounter with the porcupine, such a handsome fella :)
He is so handsome, I wish I had my 300mm on, he was a little shy and slowly got back into the woods and I wasn't going to chase him down.
Hiya, @lizanomadsoul here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Top 3 in Daily Travel Digest #1025.
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Wow... I like this nature 🤗👌👌👌 and very cool post.
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Npr 👌😅🤗 I be soon more back.