we go to banff..

Cave and Basin

"So we go to banff and we see the unicorn , I think unicorn so extinct but unicorn live in banff!!" Well that would have been the cherry on top of this wonderful weekend, but unfortunately unicorn sightings are limited to foreign tourists. Towards the end of February Andrew and I went on a weekend getaway to Banff, Alberta, Canada. It is just a four hour drive from where we live so just far enough away for it to feel like a vacation. We were fortunate enough to have had

Lake Minnewanka

our hotel (Mount Royal- right downtown) and one of our main activities paid for (I won a trip through work to Banff- thanks Hudsons!) so the first day we made our drive up, relaxed once we got to the hotel and then went for dinner at the Keg. We both had the blue cheese filet mignon- very good as per usual. We then called it a night and stayed at the hotel for the remainder of the night. The second day we had a full day of activities planned. We went to Melissa's for breakfast in downtown Banff, then ventured off to the beautiful Lake Minnewanka where we walked out onto the ice covered surface.After we got back from our little ice walk we followed some signs to a place called Cave and Basin, where the provincial park originated from. There were natural springs both inside a cave and out on the mountainside. It was really quite a sight to see- and they had just finished redoing the whole tourist space so it was very interactive for people. We found a mini ice castle for kids and naturally had to play on it ourselves. The weekend would not have been complete without a beaver tail, so this is where we went next to get our iconic Canadian pastry. We both couldn't decide what flavour to get so we each got two flavours- Andrew got the oreo and skor while I got maple butter and nutella banana- they were all so so good. For dinner on the Saturday we both got all dressed up and went to Saltik- a more casual place in Banff. Andrew got a salmon dish and I settled on a chicken dish with baby potatoes. We spent a good three hours just eating, drinking and enjoying each others company. Sometimes these nights are just the best- no rush to eat, just pure relaxing while having someone serve you (oh the joys of being a server and being served by someone). By the time we left it felt around -40 degrees outside, so we hurried back to the hotel and decided to warm up by going to the Upper Hot Springs. This was rather nice, it was very warm compared to the air. Here is where we ran into the most of the tourists- there were so many different languages being spoken in that small area- very neat. We left after around a half hour and headed back to the hotel to rest up for our exciting next day.... BECAUSE WE WENT DOG SLEDDING!! With

Puppies

 work I won a dog sledding adventure through Howling Dog Tours, so we were waiting for this moment for around 3 months by this point- so yes we were very excited. This was something that neither of us had done before- so we didn't know what to expect or wear, but it was such an amazing time. Our guide, Cole, was so passionate about the dogs and their wellbeing and had so many stories to keep us entertained with on our two hour adventure. Our sled was a team of 7 dogs, and each and every one of them had their own personalities- some were super shy and quiet- others barked all the time and were hyper- and some just LOVED people and would do anything to be beside someone.

Dog Sledding

They were all so adorable and I could tell they just loved running. It was a rather cold day which was the only downside to the whole adventure, but the sights we saw and the whole experience was amazing. I suggest everyone should do this once in their lifetime. We finished off the trip by meeting up with Andrew's grandma and good family friend in Canmore.