Calgary, Alberta - April 23, 2017 (Day 10)

I woke up this morning to the sun shining brightly in the sky and a lovely 15 degrees of heat. My heart jumped with excitement that the rain had finally ended and that I could continue my outdoor adventures. I checked out of my hotel at 11AM, had some lovely crepes and a homemade hot chocolate. I then made my way to the Indian Trading Post, where I would pick up a few handmade items. From here I decided I wanted one last beavertail with a blue berry lemonade smoothie before starting my day. Once I was done taking in some vacation sweets I sat to ponder what I might like to do for my last day of adventure. I checked out the Banff Upper hot springs, but was very disappointed, for it was simply a glorified man-made pool with hot spring water.  

I chatted with a friend who sent me a link with the top 5 sights to see in Calgary, out of the 5 there was only two I had not yet done… and out of the two only one would be on my way to the Edmonton airport, so I made my way to the Calgary Pre-historic Dinosaur Site. 

I drove for four hours and all that could be seen in any direction was empty fields upon fields (I thought I was in Saskatchewan). Finally my GPS indicated that I had arrived at the look out, all I could see was an empty parking lot, and fields for days. Disappoint I got out of my vehicle and walked to the lookout ahead… and just like Little Foot from the Land Before Time… my eyes would widen and my jaw would drop as I looked down from the lookout I had found… THE GREAT VALLEY (I know I should really adult and stop watching kid movies). 

 

The view was breathtaking and absolutely stunning in a whole new and different ways than the mountains had been. Canyons upon Canyons could be seen for miles, and a small sign would mark the beginning of a beautiful 4 hour trail/hike. 

  

DINOSAURS

I completed my trail just on time, it was 6PM and time to head to the Edmonton airport to catch my flight home. I stopped into Ricky's Bar & Grill, had one last awesome meal, and made my way to the airport. Returned my awesome vehicle (thankful I took insurance cause my windshield had many cracks - think that's a western region norm). Then patiently awaited my flight home... Although it has been an amazing journey I am ready to come home =) 

Thanks again for following and I can't wait to see all your pretty faces xo.

- San

Banff, Alberta - April 22, 2017 (Day 9)

I woke up this morning to the same sounds as yesterday and was a tad disappointed… I decided I’d grab a Timmy’s breakfast bagel and a Starbucks coffee then head back to my hotel to do some video editing of my cave expedition hoping that the rain would lighten and that I may still be able to do my final trail! Noon rolled around and as I had hoped the clouds parted and the sun appeared. 

I made my way to Parker Ridge Trail, which would be about 2 hours from my current location. I began my trip in 14 degrees which was absolutely wonderful and the trail was quite pleasant. Many of the sight I saw were basically a compilation of the sights I’ve seen on previous trails on this trip. Suddenly the colours faded, the vegetation and trees disappeared and for as far as I could see the only thing present was rock and dirt. As I continued my trek, animal remains began to appear...At first I was fascinated until a certain thought dawned on me… Why were there so many dead animals and remains? I then proceeded to speed walk...

I continued my trek until the trees re-appeared, but to my surprise the dirt did not return, instead, I found myself in waste deep snow at the base of the Parker Ridge Trail... I had walked for too long to decide to turn back and not do this trail so I decided the only direction to move was forward. The next two hours would be one of the most strenuous hikes I had done yet, without snowshoes... I don't know if you have ever trekked a mountain covered in snow without snowshoes; if you haven’t and are thinking about it, don’t do it. The hike was hard and I was soaked when I returned home, not to mention I was quite exhausted. 

The trek is usually one of the most beautiful trails the Jasper/Banff, Alberta region has to offer, but at this time of year the trail is not yet open, therefore, if you are trekking you are making your own path through the forest/mountain and I must say its beauty pales in comparison to the summer views (according to google photos I saw). Although a little disappointed the trail still offered wonderful views and it was far better than sitting in my hotel all day doing nothing.  Below are some photos from today’s excursion. 

 This is what happens when you hike all day without seeing a single human... you start to talk to yourself and do silly things to amuse yourself! 

 Thankful it was warm or being soaked would have sucked! 

I made sure to leave some human prints behind so the animals would know I was there!

  

Thanks again everyone for following :)

- San

Banff, Alberta - April 20, 2017 (Day7)

I woke to the sound of heavy rain and thunder this morning… Although these are two of my favorite sounds, I don’t like hearing them when I am heading out to do a 12 hour hike on one of the hardest trails I’ve done yet. Due to weather conditions I decided to re-organize my remaining days and use today to do some shopping and scouting different bars and restaurants (and to chat with locals).

A view of the market and just a few of the many shops available to shop =)

All the street names are named after wildlife that can be found in the area which I thought was pretty neat =)

This was the epic meal which I treated myself to and it was absolutely delicious!

Thanks for reading and checking in even if today may not be the most exciting. I promise tomorrow and Saturday will be awesome though =)

- San

Canmore, Alberta - April 19, 2017 (Day 6)

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed from a solid night of rest and very excited to start my day and go… CAVING! From my hotel in Banff I had a 25 minute drive to the Canmore Cave Office where I would meet Brent, my tour guide for the day. Slowly more people began to join and the fun would soon begin.

We signed a waiver basically forfeiting our lives to the cave and whatever Mother Nature had in store for us. We then got fitted for coveralls, and equipped with knee pads, gloves, ropes, carabiners, harnesses, hard hats, a light, just enough water to keep you hydrated but not needing to pee and a… CLIFBAR. Last, we were encouraged to use the rest rooms before leaving as we would not have access to a bathroom, for the next 4 hours a Nalgene bottle would be all we have, and SheWees would be available for the ladies.

              Nalgene Bottle                                                                 SheWee

We packed up our caving gear and drove up to the cave parking lot. Once arrived we would hike approximately 30 minutes up a mountain to the Rat’s Nest Cave entrance. As we hiked up Brent explained the geology of the surrounding area, described how caves are formed and enlightened us about how human presence impacts the environment even on a microscopic level. Throughout the trip he provided us with many interesting perspectives, which make you realize that we are but a spec in time and how the human lifespan pales in comparison to many organisms and their life span. 

Once inside the cave, we rappelled 6 stories down. I offered to go first which was an added bonus, for one I didn’t have time to get nervous, and secondly it was extra dark as no one was behind me to light my way adding a bit more adrenaline and excitement to the experience. Once the entire team made it down to the bottom, we would try our first practice squeeze, which wasn’t any more of a squeeze than getting an MRI at the hospital. 

When we first got to the base of the rappel all kinds of animal bones would be there to greet us along with some daddy long leg spiders, a nest of them to be precise, a nest exactly where I chose to stop and rest my head... Thank goodness spiders don't bother me.... 

We would later move on to more extreme squeezes, some that definitely made your heart race when you felt stuck or when it was so dark you were not sure where you were going. Our group was pretty strong and accepted all challenges Brent placed before us, and for that reason we got to explore one area of the cave in complete darkness and played a sort of Marco Polo game. During our caving we went into the “Five Way Chamber”, “Laundry Chute”, “Grand Gallery” and lastly, the “Grotto” an area bursting with stalagmites and stalactites with a beautiful pool of clear water once we arrived to our end destination. Before making our way back up, Brent asked us all to get comfy, turn off our lights and sit in silence for a few moments. Here we would experience absolute darkness, the beautiful sounds and atmosphere of the cave as they were meant to be. This was truly a beautiful experience.  

Finally we would make our way back up to the surface via “the box” a man-made area in the cave to allow for quick access and exit of the cave. Once we reached the surface, the day light was blinding and even the cold fresh air was much appreciated (the views surrounding us would be a site for sore eyes). Once we made it back to town, we did the only sane thing left to do… head to the Tavern for drinks.

Below is a 19 minute video of clips and snips of my 4 hour caving experience underground, I know it is lengthy but if you have time, it’s very cool to see. Shortly after the 9 minute mark is a typical “Sandra” moment that I think will make you all giggle. 

Thanks again for following along, and I apologize for the delay, for one my internet access was not good enough to be blogging these past few days, and the video took me longer than anticipated since my laptop is not state of the art technology (not even close).

- San