Stuart had a long weekend and we decided to make the most of it and take mum to see the Rockies. We stayed in a little condo overlooked by the Three Sisters mountain range, which was located just outside Canmore. Although there is no skiing at Canmore, it is where most people stay as it is near to Nakiska, Sunshine, Banff and about an hour and a half from Lake Louise. Stuart was hoping to do some boarding at Nakiska, but sadly he was a week too early. The snow was falling though and you could see the resort was gearing up for the start of the season the following weekend. The girls loved playing in the snow, throwing snowballs at the car and they did put on their skies for a shuffle around. Holly seemed to pick up just where she left off a few years ago in France and Amy (little miss kamikaze) just threw herself in to it. We had a little look round Canmore. Stuart bought himself a nice bright yellow Oakley ski jacket which was half price in the sale and mum and I picked up a few bargains in a gift shop or two. That night Stuart and I were able to go out for our first meal together since arriving in Canada. We went to the "Grizzly Paw" for pub food, beer and a fix of ice hockey - it was our wedding anniversary after all!
The following day we drove to Banff and rode on the gondola. Mum was clearly a little worried, but with two enthusiastic grand-daughters to pull her along she couldn't really say no! The adventure begins with an eight minute journey to the summit of Sulphur Mountain in a modern, fully-enclosed four passenger gondola cabin. The views become increasingly spectacular as you climb 698m (2,292 ft) to an elevation of 2,281m (7,486 ft) where you get a bird's eye view of six mountain ranges. It was pretty cold at the top and blowing a blizzard. Sadly the hot springs weren't open to warm us up! Banff National Park is set in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. It attracts roughly 4 million visitors each year and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The town of Banff is less than 4 km square in size and surrounded by mountain parkland and wilderness. Elk, sheep and bear sightings are not uncommon near this town filled with trees, parks and trails. We didn't see any!
The following day we travelled to Edmonton for some shopping, via the famous Chateau at Lake Louise. We only had time for a very brief stop to look at the lake which was completely frozen. The journey to Edmonton took us about six hours in total - too long. I just hoped the shopping would be worth it! West Edmonton Mall is North America's largest shopping centre with the world's largest indoor theme park, roller coaster, lake, wave pool and bungee tower. It has over 800 shops, 9 indoor attractions, themed streets, a casino and bingo hall. You can play crazy golf, watch sea lions perform and even ice skate. It's pretty big and you can easily get lost.
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