A Little Mountain Getaway

Last week, we decided on a whim, to head to the mountains for the weekend! Meaning, we booked a hotel room Friday afternoon, packed that evening and loaded up the car Saturday morning. Who says all spontaneity dies once you have children? ;)

We didn't have too much of an agenda - the hotel we booked had a pool with a waterslide, and we knew we wanted lots of time to enjoy it with Sully. He loves swimming right now, and loves going down waterslides, so we knew it would be a big hit with him (it was!). We stayed at the Best Western in Canmore, and I would definitely stay there again. The rooms are nice and clean, there was a fridge and microwave (a definite must when traveling with kids!), and a fireplace! Plus, my other must have when staying at a hotel: hot continental breakfast. Nothing makes you feel like you're getting your monies worth than a free breakfast for you and your kids! Unlimited juice for everyone!

On Saturday, we headed out past our hotel, to Banff, where we had lunch and then walked around for about an hour. It was unfortunately raining all day, but it wasn't too cold so it wasn't miserable. Plus, Sully had a blast jumping in all the puddles and throwing snowballs on the sidewalks (snow plus light rain equals the best snowballs).

The hotel had a late check-in time of 4pm, so around then, we made our way from Banff back to the hotel. We changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the pool for a few hours. Emmy slept in her bassinet the entire time, which allowed me to get a few runs in down the slide and some time in the hot tub. We ordered pizza in that night for supper and when it was time for bed, Jim and I wished each other the best of luck! Haha! We chose a room with two queen beds so that Jim and Sully could sleep in one, and Emmy and I slept in the other. Sully was pretty restless all night and fell out of bed once (oops!), but thankfully Emmy slept well, other than needing to be fed and changed once in the middle of the night.

We didn't have time to go swimming again Sunday morning, but we did take advantage of the hot breakfast, and then once we were packed up, we headed back out towards Banff to drive around and explore. There's so much out that way that I've never actually seen and we made lots of notes of places we will return to once it's a) warmer out and b) the kids are older.

Then on our way back into the city, we detoured a bit towards Kananaskis and attempted to hike to Troll Falls. I did this hike on a girls weekend trip just over a year ago, and it's an easy, family friendly hike. I knew I wanted to return with Jim and Sully one day, but unfortunately, all the rain turned the trail into a sheet of ice. We managed to get about 3/4 of the way by walking on the edges of the trail where there was still some untouched snow, but it was challenging for Sully and for me since I was wearing Emmy. But my family was a great sport about it and Sully walked the entire time, so I was proud of him! I'm sad they didn't get to see the frozen waterfalls, but we will be back!

And that was about it! Our little hike ended around 5:30pm, so we hopped back in the vehicle and made the drive home. Despite the logistics of traveling with a toddler and a newborn (ohhhh the logistics!!), we had a really nice time. The weather didn't end up being as nice as we had thought it was going to be, which made everything a little bit more challenging - like stopping to nurse and change diapers - everything had to be done in the vehicle with it running. But I think we made the best of it, and a trip to the mountains, no matter how short, is always so good for the soul.

Alberta Adventure Girls Weekend Retreat

This past weekend, I had the incredible opportunity to join a bunch of fantastic ladies on an Alberta Adventure Girls retreat in the mountains! The Alberta Adventure Girls are a group of women from all over Alberta who share a love for adventure, the outdoors and the mountains. While there have been some smaller meet-ups for members, such as hiking, snowshoeing and axe throwing, this was the first ever weekend retreat!

The retreat took place in Kananaskis, and started out with a morning snowshoe hike to Chester Lake. I met up with Ange and Jen early Saturday morning to carpool and we arrived at the trail head just before 10a.m. The hike up to Chester Lake was intense as it's a pretty steady elevation climb of 310m (1,017 feet) and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't huffing and puffing for most of it! The good news is, it's all downhill on the way back! It's a 10km return trip and it took us about three and half hours including a half hour break at the lake and several stops to catch our breath and take some photos.

It was probably one of the most challenging winter sports activities I have ever done as snowshoeing while climbing a mountain is no nature jaunt. Snowshoeing seems to require use of different leg muscles than I'm used to, probably because of the wider gait and pointing of your toes to engage the crampons. It's a fantastic workout though, and is quickly becoming a sport I really, really enjoy! Here's my favourite photos from the hike. It was hard to narrow it down!

Once we got back to the car, we headed to the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis to check into our hotel rooms. Then we hightailed it over to Woody's Pub to celebrate with a beer and some much needed carbs in the form of a warm pretzel!

We had about half an hour before we had to meet the group for pre-dinner s'mores and Hot Toddy's, so we took advantage of the hot-tub in the hotel to soothe our muscles and get rid of the mountain chill that had set in.

Dinner was held at the hotel restaurant, The Fireweed Grill, and my meal was fantastic. I went with the Katsu Chicken and while I thought I'd be saving half for the next day, I ended up eating it all. Snowshoeing makes you hungry! Oh, and another beer was also enjoyed.

Post-dinner, I joined a few ladies for a dark walk around the hotel grounds before changing into my pyjamas for the pyjama party! More food, wine and girl talk were enjoyed before I crawled into bed shortly after midnight.

Sunday morning, we had a private yoga class which was such a fantastic way to start the day! Our instructor Sarah Elliot lead us through a 75 minute Yin practice and I think I found my new favourite style of yoga! So peaceful, calming and just what my tired body needed.

Up next was a delicious brunch buffet! I was famished and had no problem polishing off most of my plate.

After brunch, and once we had checked out of our rooms, we headed to do one last trail hike before heading home to the city. Troll Falls is a 3.2km return hike with very little elevation gain. It was perfect for stretching our tired legs while breathing in the mountain air. I say it every time I go to the mountains, but there's just something so healing and rejuvenating about being in the mountains. It does my heart and soul good. We didn't explore around once we hit the falls, but I plan to return one day to do so!

And that was my weekend! I walked/hiked almost 23 kilometres this weekend, I spent time with good friends and made some new ones, and I got in some much needed mountain time. Thanks to the Alberta Adventure Girls and Delta Lodge at Kananaskis for putting on such a fun weekend retreat!



Tell me something you did this weekend!

Do you prefer the mountains or the ocean? (I'm a mountain girl at heart!)

Favourite winter activity/sport? 

Linking up with Her Heartland Soul for Weekend Snapshots!