Our “big trip” in 2020 was in many respects not as big as previous years. The ongoing pandemic narrowed our travel radius to driving distance of home rather than flight distance. Luckily for us, there are some amazing sights to see if you entertain a few eight hour road trip days. We planned a week away in Alberta split between its mountains and its prairie, and for everything that 2020 has thrown at us, I think we engineered a pretty impressive and needed vacation away.

After driving from Saskatoon to Banff where we made our home for three nights, an ominous longer-range forecast offered a glimmer of hope that we pounced on for a driving exploration of the Rocky Mountains. We started from Banff early in the morning and made our first stop at Lake Louise. I had been here a couple of times before, once with my Dad and another time with my wife, but never with the lake unencumbered by snow and ice. There is a reason many, including me, consider this the most beautiful place in Canada.

It was a perfect morning to stretch our legs, so we hiked the full way around the lake, something I haven’t been able to do before. The colours here were absolutely stunning.

Walking around the lake my wife and I kept stopping to take in the scenery. Lake Louise is definitely a “pinch me, I can’t believe I’m here” type place. The vibrant colours, the remaining snow capped peaks and the textures of the rock faces were all things to slow down and savour.

From the far end of the lake looking back toward the majestic Chateau Lake Louise, I think you get a better perspective for the size and scope of Lake Louise.

If you have read along in my travels over the years, you know that when I see a beach, I can’t help myself…. I walked down to the water level, found a pointy stick, and carved my dogs’ names in the clay-like sand. These two furry buddies, my current dog Chloe, and my past dog Chewy, are on my mind when I travel and I always like to remember them in this way when I’m away from home. I also always chuckle to myself thinking of others reading this wondering if a set of human parents somewhere named their son “Chewy”.

From this point on our day trip, we were calling audibles the rest of the way, guided by a GPS-led tour guide offering commentary and ideas for places to stop. The last few trips my wife and I have taken together usually offer an opportunity to get on top of a mountain, so we couldn’t resist driving up to the Lake Louise Ski Resort and taking a gondola to just below the peak of the ski hill. If you look closely, you can see Lake Louise in the background just above my wife’s head.

The view from up here was stunning. There really weren’t any crowds around (thank you to the closed border for a rare chance to see the beauty of our own country without wall to wall people) so it was peaceful and quiet taking in these views.

I got an unexpected laugh as I boarded the gondola for the ride down – an advertisement for a Halifax-based university we both attended many, many years ago.

Back on the road, we opted to drive into British Columbia and Yoho National Park. Road trip scenery doesn’t get much better anywhere in my country and we thoroughly enjoyed the simple pleasure of being in the car surrounded by beauty.

In Yoho we made a couple of stops, including first, at the Natural Bridge just west of Field, BC. The Kicking Horse River cuts through this rock formation as it spills down through a canyon.

With the sound of rushing water behind us, we stopped for a quick photo together, masked up (because 2020… and the tight quarters we were sharing with others here). One of us is clearly dominating the interesting mask battle.

We continued our mountain drive on to Golden, BC. On the way, my wife looked up a gluten-friendly restaurant with a patio, and I was thrilled to be sitting outside for a meal and a pint while on vacation.

After poking around downtown Golden and stopping at Whitetooth Brewing to pick up some beers for the rest of the trip, we started back toward Banff, thrilled to be seeing the mountains from a different perspective. We pulled off the highway a final time for a visit to Takakkaw Falls.

Our day trip concluded with some good music on the stereo, the sunroof open, and a choice to get off the highway and take the slow road most of the way back into the town of Banff. While we were relatively close to home, we felt far away in the way a great vacation can take your mind off of your everyday worries… not bad for 2020.