13/07/2022 Road trip to Peyto Lake, Emerald Lake and Lake Louise
What to expect
Road Tripping
The one thing I love doing the most with Blake is going on road trips. And the one thing I love even more than this is going on road trips to Banff with Blake.
So today was the day.
Peyto Lake
Our first stop was Peyto Lake, which is technically part of Jasper National Park, passing Banff National Park on the way. The viewpoint of Peyto Lake was just breath-taking! The turquoise lake was surrounded by glacier mountains and since we went past the viewing platform, there were no other people near us.
A “little” surprise
As “true backpackers” we wanted to take a selfie of us with the lake behind us so Blake positioned the camera and started counting up to 10. I was a bit confused because one: I didn’t see a flashing light on the camera and two: his counting was totally off (jumping from five to seven and not really counting in the length of real seconds). I didn’t think much of it (blamed the fresh mountain air that had gotten to his head), but when Blake counted to 10, he dropped down on one knee and pulled a ring out of his pocket.
I was in shock and disbelief, so my first answer to the 1-million-dollar question was “No!”, followed by “Really? Yes!!” – the first word every man wants to hear when he asks his girl to marry him.
I must say I was reeeaaally impressed by Blake because how could he make me any happier than with a ring? Exactly, with food! He had brought along an entire picknick bag including cheese, crackers, chocolates, fruits, tarts (pretty much all my favourites) and champagne.
I wouldn’t call myself materialistic at all and I never really thought about what type of ring I like but the ring Blake had made for me is pretty perfect. It is a diamond from the Canadian Arctic so that I “always carry something of Canada with me” and the inscription inside says “our story 03.02.2012” – the day we met in the 10 dorm hostel room in Cairns, Australia over ten years ago.
I don’t want to bore anyone with any more details but let’s just say Blake exceeded all of my expectations (not that I had put any pressure on this moment 😉).
Emerald Lake
After walking back to the car – or flying back on cloud nine – we drove to Emerald Lake which we had visited last winter as well. With a temperature difference of 60 degrees Celsius the green lake looked just as stunning as it did when it was completely frozen last winter.
Lake Louise
On the way to Banff we stopped at Lake Louise where we have a stopover every time I’m in Canada. Last year in summer the lake was covered in smoke because of all the wild fires whereas it was stunningly blue this time.
In Banff we went out for dinner and drinks at my favourite place “Earls” and then stayed at the Banff Caribou Lodge and Spa.
Amazing start to the world trip
This was such a strong start to the world trip – it can only go downhill from here 😉.
14/07/2022 Banff
Banff
In the next morning we walked around Banff town, went to one of my favourite cafés “Good Earth Café” and called our families to share the big news.
Johnson Lake
We then drove to Johnson Lake, which is only 10 minutes out of town where we relaxed for a bit. On the way back to town we spotted some female elks on the side of the road – only in Canada!
Spa in Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel
Last winter we discovered that we are indeed “spa-people”. This is why Blake’s last birthday present for me was a day in the Spa of the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. Three hours never went over so quickly in which we tried all the hot and cold pools and dozed off in the relaxing area.
Night out in Banff
Having gone out for a fancy-ish meal the night before, we weren’t that fancy tonight and got take-away pizza, some beers and my favourite chocolates for dessert, before going out to listen and dance to some live band in town (I think Blake wanted to prove to himself that at our age we are not “washed up” and can still go out on a week night).
It was a lot of fun, but at the same time I was also happy when we went to bed afterwards 😊. It’s all about balance 😉.
15/07/2022 From Banff to Canmore
A relaxing day in Banff town
Our last day in Banff was really relaxing: we strolled around town, went to three different cafés and walked along the river, before meeting Blake’s sister and her husband for a weekend trip in Canmore.
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