Banff Canada

Five minutes.

That's all it took this time to cross the boarder into Canada. I guess we looked less like criminals with our shotgun missing.

After a few wrong turns we finally made it to our campsite in Banff exhausted, but happy to discover the Canadian Rockies. In my opinion the best mountain towns are those with plenty of wilderness to explore coupled with modern convenience, such a perfect combo for this semi-high maintenance girl. Banff easily passed my checklist for it's beauty, outdoor recreation, restaurants and specialty stores.

The town of Banff, AB.

Patagonia...one of my favorite stores. Just going inside makes me want to exercise or go hiking. Real hiking, where you spend days traveling with only a backpack and sleep in a tent. Secretly I wish I was more of an outdoor girl. Who am I kidding, I would never survive.

We spent a lot of time enjoying the town of Banff partnered with day's of hiking to glacier fed lakes, waterfalls and hot springs.

Lake Moraine.

Picnic lunch with a breathtaking view.

Lake Louise.

Blake and I, canoeing Lake Louise with Victoria glacier in the background.

Oh the beauty, it's breathtaking. The water in Lake Louise was a cloudy turquoise.

Justin and the girls with the Fairmont in the background.

We hiked Johnston Canyon.

And spent some time soaking our tired muscles in Banff Hot Springs.

Back at camp we were surrounded by the most beautiful views. It rained off and on making the clouds in the sky amazing.

The girls collected wild flowers.

Banff has surpassed all our expectations. It seems the more North we travel the more beautiful it gets. I didn't think I would enjoy this part of our trip as much as I have, I just might be a mountain girl after all.

With these beautiful pictures I post I do not want to give anyone the impression that our days are perfect. We sometimes struggle as a family, learning to have patience with one another. Annoyances that seemed little before our trip magnify because we are around each other all the time. I am praying continually that the Lord would help me speak words of love. Some day's are hard, but I see progress and I am learning to let go of frustrations.

We are a real family with real issues, but thankfully we have the Lord to help us through them.

Heading onto Revelstoke tomorrow. Right now wi-fi is courtesy of McDonalds, it's nice to disconnect, but also nice to be connected to the outside world once in a while.