Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Oh, Canada


So last weekend, Aviva and I met up with my Dad and Peg in the Canadian Rockies, spending a couple of days in Banff. Its the first time that my parents got to see Aviva since she got pregnant, and they were so excited to see her and the baby belly - she is about 5 months now and baby G is still perfectly healthy and right on track.

We had been looking forward to this for a long time, and now that Aviva is pregnant this trip was extra special because it was going to be our last significant getaway before the baby comes. Plus, Banff is awesome - I have wanted to go back since I stopped there with Ryan on my road trip across the continent when I moved to New York.


And the trip turned out great. Peg picked a fabulous place to stay, Rimrock resort, nestled in the mountains above Banff, right next to the Upper Hot Springs. We went hiking each, at least my father and I did, Aviva and Peg spent Thursday at the spa while my dad and I were hiking to Bow Glacier Falls, up past Lake Louise on the Icefields Parkway. Friday was Upper and Lower Johnston Falls, and on Saturday we walked along the shore of Lake Louise, and then my Dad and I continued up towards the Plain of Six Glaciers while Peg and Aviva went back and got some lunch at the Fairmont Resort. 


And every day, after the hike we went to a great meal. For such a small town, Banff also has a lot of great restaurants - with the emphasis on meat, a lot of bison, venison and local Alberta beef. My favorite place was The Maple Leaf Grill, where I had once of the best pieces of meat I have ever eaten, a bison prime rib with an escargot & roasted tomato sauce. The elk meatball appetizer and my fathers maple and mustard salmon were also fantastic. The Bison, where I had a spectacular venison medallion and we had some amazing tuna carpacchio. And Nourish, where we had a variety of totally fascinating vegetarian dishes incorporating tons of fruits and veggies, like felafel with red pepper, strawberries, sprouts and cranberries. 


Overall, a fabulous, fabulous trip - great bonding time with the family and some pre-birth baby bonding with our upcoming Bubbie and Zayde. 


Below are some pix from our trip ...



View from our hotel


The Rimrock Resort at night



Bow Glacier Falls


Bow Lake from the falls


Cairns along the trail to Bow Glacier Falls




Bow River flowing away from the Glacier


Dad and I in front of Bow Glacier




Bow Lake


Crowfoot Glacier


Bow River in Banff


Family in front of Lower Johnston Falls


Upper Johnston Falls







Waterfalls along Johnston Creek 


Pathway in Johnston Canyon



Johnston Creek


Lower Johnston Falls


Lake Louise




Fam on the way to the Plain of Six Glaciers


Waterfall below Victoria Glacier



Victoria Glacier



At Lake Louise



Evening in Banff

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