Exploring Rat's Nest Cave with Canmore Cave Tours

What do you get the father / husband who has everything? That's the question I have every Father's Day when trying to decide what to gift my husband.

This year, I went with my usual go-to: the gift of a new experience. This is something I love to give to my husband, because he usually buys what he needs for himself and I also really am horrible at thinking of physical presents. But I can always give him a new experience! In the past, I've gifted Joey with dog-sled rides, helicopter rides over the mountains, hiking through frozen ice canyons, and soaking in grotto-style hot tubs. (Plus, I always get to tag along, so we both benefit from this! See what I did there?)

So for Father's Day 2018, the kids and I gave my husband a fantastic Father's Day gift of exploring Canmore, Alberta's 'Rat's Nest Cave' (with me) and then a day of fun and sun at Calaway Park (with the kids). You can watch the Calaway Park video here, but to hear about our amazing time spelunking in Rat's Nest Cave, read on!

Fondue (Or Fondon't) at Banff's Grizzly House Restaurant

I don't usually write about restaurants. This isn't a foodie blog. It is a travel blog. But sometimes, while on your travels, you encounter a unique restaurant that actually deserves its own spot on a travel blog because it isn't just a restaurant, it is a destination.

That's how I feel about the Grizzly House restaurant in Banff, Alberta. This place isn't just a tasty, unique, and fun experience, it also has a super juicy history that has to be shared!

Read on to learn about Banff's premiere restaurant to fondue, and er... frolic?

Banff Winter 'Fests: Banff SnowDays & Lake Louise Ice Magic Festival

Sometimes (not often) winter is worth celebrating. Christmas. Snow days. Curling up by the fire while big, fluffy flakes drift slowly to the ground outside. These are all things I actually do enjoy about winter.

In Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, parks personnel take celebrating winter to a whole new level. 

When I gifted my husband a trip to the mountains for his Christmas present this year, we were lucky enough to arrive on the same weekend that both the Banff SnowDays festival AND the Lake Louise Ice Magic Festival were happening. It made the weekend that much more full of interesting and beautiful sights, beyond the usual majesty of a winter mountain vacation.

Skate and Sleigh on Alberta's Frozen Lake Louise

Skating on a frozen lake can be an enjoyable experience.

But skating on frozen Lake Louise in Alberta's majestic Rocky Mountains is even better. With the incredible backdrop of Mount Fairview, Mount Whyte, and the Victoria Glacier surrounding you, gliding across the exceptionally blue ice is an unforgettable adventure.

Combine your skating activity with a sleigh ride around the snow-covered banks of Lake Louise, and you have created a perfect scenic winter day in the mountains. This is exactly what we did in January of 2018 when I took my husband and kids to Banff National Park as a Christmas-gift-experience. If an outdoors adventure of this nature appeals to you, then read on for more details on how you can organize your own winter getaway!

Banff's Fox Hotel and Suites: Hotel Review

Since Banff, Alberta is such a popular tourist destination in both the summer and the winter, there are plenty of places to select from when looking for hotels, hostels, and bed and breakfasts. The most famous of all is the Banff Springs Hotel, which looks like a castle, is rumoured to be haunted, and is totally on my bucket list. I have yet to check that one off. (At what point do travel bloggers start to get free stays in fancy hotels? Because I'm still waiting...)

However, two weekends ago my family and I reserved rooms at the Fox Hotel and Suites on Banff Avenue right downtown, and it was an amazing mini-vacation. I'd like to give you the details on our stay so you can decide for yourself if this hotel is right for you when coming to visit Alberta's mountain wonderland.

Winter Tips for the Johnston Canyon Ice Walk

About thirty minutes west of Banff, Alberta is the amazing Johnston Canyon. Nestled in a valley in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, this canyon is impressive in both summer and winter. The seemingly innocuous Johnston Creek is responsible for the canyon's design, cutting through the limestone walls over millennia to form sheer cliff walls, smooth water-rounded corners, deep pools, and even a waterfall or two..

I have written about Johnston Canyon in the past, as we have hiked it several times during the summer months. I even have photos of myself as a child, feeding chipmunks and hanging from branches as my family and I hiked up to the falls. Now it is my turn to take photos of my own children doing the same!

However, despite being very familiar with the canyon, I had never hiked it during the winter. So for Christmas this year, I gifted my husband a weekend family trip away to Banff, where we'd visit Johnston Canyon and do the 'Ice Walk'.

Things to See and Do in Invermere, British Columbia

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will have learned that I have spent a week of every summer for the last ten years visiting the Invermere area of British Columbia. My husband's family (well, a portion of it - he has a big family) opts to get together and rent a house, and then we spend our week lounging on the beach, eating way too much food, and trying out as many activities as we can. I have several posts on this region, but even with all of those posts, I still haven't written about everything we've done (and not yet done). So I'd like to take this time to kind of 'wrap up' my thoughts about the Invermere area, and share with you all of the lovely things to see and do. Enjoy!

Explore 'The Home of 1000 Faces' in Radium B.C.

For a decade now, my family along with various members of my husband's family, have been vacationing for a week in Invermere, British Columbia. We rent a house (loosely called a 'cabin' by us), plan our meals, pack games and the Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville mixer, and spend a week enjoying laughs, family companionship, and various adventures.

The Coast Hillcrest Hotel in Revelstoke: Hotel Review

During a recent visit to Revelstoke with my family (my Mother's Day / birthday getaway), we had the pleasure of staying in Revelstoke's Coast Hillcrest Hotel. I have noticed that my readers seem to enjoy hotel review blog posts, so I thought I'd share a little about this mountain resort getaway for anyone planning on making a trek out to the region.

British Columbia's Three Valley Gap Ghost Town

Nestled along the TransCanada Highway just 27 kilometres southwest of the bustling town of Revelstoke, B.C. stands an odd and seemingly dilapidated assortment of buildings, sprawling out from the shores of the majestic Three Valley Lake. The red tin roofs, so out of place among the green mountainsides and glacial blue waters, make the establishment hard to miss.

When visiting The Enchanted Forest with my family a couple of months ago, we had to drive past this cluster of buildings known as Three Valley Gap, and decided that it was worth a stop.

Ride the Pipe Mountain Coaster in Revelstoke, B.C.

I wouldn't typically claim to be a so-called 'thrill seeker'. I have no aspirations of bungee jumping or leaping from an airplane. Heights freak me out, to be quite honest, although I can usually stomach them if I know I am perfectly safe. Even waterslides give me butterflies in my stomach, and I tend to stick to the ones where I am lined up with five-year-olds in the cue. So there isn't a lot of 'daredevil' travel stuff on my blog.

But this past weekend I rode a roller coaster down the side of a mountain. And that was pretty cool.

Discover Magic in British Columbia's Enchanted Forest

This May long weekend, my family took its first ever ‘family-only’ holiday - no extended family or friends, just us. It was wonderful and we had a total blast, spending some quality family time together. We headed out to Revelstoke National Park in British Columbia for a few days, choosing to stay at the Coast Hillcrest Hotel, which was really nice. (I will do a hotel tour post on that soon.)

Hiking Maligne Canyon in Alberta

I always have a hard time shopping for presents for my husband. He is the kind of guy that when he needs something, he simply goes and gets it and puts whatever item he has bought to practical use. He doesn't even like receiving presents. So gift-giving is tricky with that man. Especially gift-giving for his birthday, which comes so close after Christmas.

Go Snowshoeing in Jasper National Park in Canada

Item number 57 on my bucket list has been "Go snowshoeing" for years. Despite living in rural Alberta my whole life, where it is winter three-quarters of the year and always full of snow, I have never even stood in snowshoes before. It was actually a little sad that I had never checked item 57 off my list yet.

Strolling the Banks of Lovely Lake Louise in Alberta

While I have lived in Alberta, Canada all of my life, I freely admit that I have not yet explored every nook and cranny of my province's various natural regions. It is a big province with much to offer, so there's no shame in admitting that I have a lot left to discover. I AM a little embarrased to reveal, however, that I have never laid my eyes first-hand on one of our most famous gems: Lake Louise.

Athabasca Falls of Jasper, Alberta

The Jasper area of Alberta's Rocky Mountains is often overlooked in favor of the more popular tourist destination of Banff. I myself, a resident of Alberta, Canada, am guilty of choosing to visit Banff over Jasper in the past. However, a quick trip in May of 2015 with my family convinced me that Jasper has a lot to offer, and is often times more appealing to visit. It is beautiful, clean, and not as busy as the more touted Banff region.

Walk the Jasper Skywalk in Alberta, Canada

This past weekend my fantastically thoughtful husband gifted me a trip to Jasper, Alberta for my birthday / Mother's Day. It was a very exciting present indeed, seeing that I hadn't been to Jasper since I was a child, and Joey has NEVER been to the Jasper area in his life.

It was also great timing because the newly created Jasper Skywalk (officially termed the Glacier Skywalk) had just opened, and I was itching to go visit it, despite my love/hate relationship with heights.

Dog Sledding in the Canadian Rockies

For my husband's 35th birthday, I was out of gift ideas. We are planning for baby #2 (already - who knew we were so fertile!) and so have been downsizing and minimizing like crazy to make room for a second nursery. Peanut is only 13 months, so the two babes will be 18 months apart, and that means lots of baby items, toys, and messes. My office has now completely disappeared, and my husband's office now doubles as a spare room. Boxes of books, trinkets, clothes, and much more have been carted out our front door to various destinations, just as long as they are not in our house.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding in the Rocky Mountains

This past month, during our annual family vacation in Invermere, British Columbia, my sister-in-law brought up the idea of trying our hands at stand up paddle boarding.  I had always wanted to test myself on a stand up paddle board - I am not the most graceful person - and I jumped at the chance to go with her.  So did my husband and brother-in-law.

Soak in Lussier Natural Hot Springs, British Columbia

Lussier Natural Hot Springs, located in the Kootenay mountain range of the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, are possibly the nicest natural hot springs I've had the pleasure of visiting.  I realize I haven't visited many natural hot springs, but I feel safe in saying the Lussier Springs are stunning and relaxing and anyone who visits them will be glad they did.