The drive from Cranbrook to Calgary, which saw us cross over from British Columbia into Alberta was stunning, we traveled up route 22, which is known as the cowboy trail, owing to its sweeping arid fields, long straight endless road and snow capped Rocky Mountains which dominate the backdrop, it truly was breath taking.


Calgary was literally a two hour flying visit, and then onto Canmore in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Everywhere you look is a perfect picture from a glossy travel book, the rockies are stunning and majestic, awe inspiring and just plain gorgeous – no picture will do it justice

We stayed in Canmore at this amazing penthouse condo with views looking out to the Rockies for a week and provided us with the perfect base to go out and explore Banff National Park (one of the most famous parks in the world). During our stay we walked Ha Ling Peak, a steep and popular hike to a mountain summit in the Bow Valley Corridor above Canmore, it took us about 4-hours, with the terrain proving difficult, ranging from black ice and thick snow, however the view from the summit was something else.



Took a trip out to Johnston Canyon, a spectacular walk that gives fabulous views of the Johnston Canyon, past the lower falls and to the breathtaking upper icefalls. (again the walk proved hard as we were walking on sheet ice – note to self, definitely need crampons)

Another day we rented ‘Trail Fat Bikes’ and set off to take on the mountain trails through the woodlands, noting the warning signs for pumas and lynx’s and how to defend yourself against them. On the other days we headed to the slopes of Sunshine Mountain for some skiing, it didn’t live up to its name, visibility was poor and the sunshine was non-existent, but the ski and the runs were good! The following day we went for a gentle stroll around Lake Johnson, it was so peaceful and quiet, it was like seeing double looking into the lake and seeing the mountain reflection.

One night we decided to walk from the condo for a few beers in Canmore, it’s a 10 minute drive, so we didn’t think the walk would take long, we were wrong, it took us an hour and a half… on arrival at The Grizzly Paw Brewing Company, having worked up a thirst and a bit of an appetite, we decided on the sample tray, where we sampled ten local craft beers and ordered up a plate of ‘Poutine’ a dish originating in Quebec, Canada, made with french fries, topped with a light brown gravy-like sauce and cheese curds (comparable to English chips and gravy, with a rubbery like cheese) it went well with the beer.
Leaving the bar and dreading the long hike home, Tom suggested we hitch a lift, we put our thumbs up, two SUV’s went buy (by the way pretty much everyone drives SUV’s/4×4’s), but the third vehicle stopped, a guy, also called Tom picked us up, went out of his way taking us right to our door – the people of Canada are so friendly!!!