Welcome to my blog. I document my adventures in travel, style, and food. Hope you have a nice stay!
This past Sunday was mostly taken up with spending time with Kellen and Noël before their move to Germany. Saturday, though, was a whirlwind of activity for us. We left the house mid-morning, and didn't get back home until late at night. In between we went to a food festival, saw giant boots, took a café break, wandered through sculptures, dropped by to see how Kellen and Noël were doing with packing, had dinner, and went to a concert (complete with pre– and post–concert activities).
As time goes on, I realize how much I do things like my dad. Several times when we were staying over, we would wake up to him having breakfast ready to be cooked. Just so, this morning I had waffles and bacon ready to cook once Kellen and Noël wake up after a long, hard day; they finished clearing out their apartment yesterday and are hanging out here for a couple nights before moving to Germany.
Tucked away on the north side of the University Bridge is Peace Park, which is a small plot by the side of the road. Its main feature is a statue of Sadako Sasaki, known for folding a thousand origami cranes.
I don't get to the Queen Anne neighborhood very often, but almost every time that I do, I go to Le Rêve Bakery & Café. Whether it be for lunch or pastries, I've always enjoyed the food.
We once again made the annual trek to Southern California to be with family and play tourist for a bit, this time at Exposition Park. We also get the opportunity to thaw out a bit in the warmer weather.
We made it home after the last leg of our trip. Of course, that meant crossing the border, which could have been worse.
Having finished the national park part of our trip, it was time to start the trip home. Our route happened to take us through a couple more national parks, so we made a quick stop in one of them.
The whole day consisted of one hike. One long, steep hike. A bookend for our long, steep hike at Glacier National Park.
We fit in a medium-length hike and got sidetracked watching a helicopter work on a small forest fire. Then we returned to the hostel to lots of haze and smoke in the air.
On the way to our fourth (and last) national park for this trip, we drove the Icefields Parkway again, this time stopping at the Athabasca Glacier. Then into Yoho where we saw a natural bridge.
Our second of two full days in Jasper National Park was spent mostly north of Jasper town in the Maligne area, although we did wander into the town for a bit. And we got caught in afternoon animal rush hour traffic.
Another gondola ride with hiking to a summit, going around a set of five lakes, and a quick stop at another Fairmont hotel. Just another day in Jasper.
Between Banff and Jasper National Park we traveled along the Icefields Parkway, seeing lakes, waterfalls, and glaciers. Later, we saw several animals wandering along the side of the road.
Our second full day in Banff, and we went to Johnston Canyon, Lake Johnson, and in between, took a boat ride on an artificial lake.
The weather started getting cloudier, but we lucked out on our gondola ride to the top of Sulphur Mountain. We then went back to Cave and Basin for a rematch with the mosquitoes, after which we walked around the Banff Springs Hotel area. That was enough for the day.
The reason we decided to make a road trip that brought us into Canada was because the National Parks were giving away free passes, which we started to use. Since the short drive from Calgary got us into Banff much before our room was ready, we went on a short hike which introduced us to Canadian mosquitoes.
Time to drive north to Canada, but not before driving through Glacier on the Going to the Sun road. Once we got to Calgary, it took longer than we expected to figure things out, but once we did, we ended up hopping all around our particular part of the University of Calgary campus.
No earthquakes, no one from New Orleans. We did make it to the Many Glacier area on the east side of Glacier National Park to hike.
Our first full day at Glacier National Park started with a jolt, a bit of déjà vu, and an impulsive change of plans. It got very hot, but we not only survived, but really enjoyed our long hike.
Time to hit the first national park on our trip, Glacier. Since it wasn't that far from Missoula, we went all the way to the park and did a quick trail before going back to our motel.
