Roadtrip!

After an exciting day at the Stampede, it was off to Banff and Lake Louise for the night.

There were a couple of things in Calgary (Canada as a whole actually) that I think America can benefit from.  I've never seen this before so excuse me if your city has it.  I was in Toronto and Vancouver and never saw these.

Its a sign that tells you how many parking spaces are available in the parking lot.  And to make it even better, once you're inside the garage Parkade, there are little red and green lights above very space.  If there is a car there, the light is red.  If the space is empty, its green.  So theres no crawling up to a space to see if its empty only to find some smart car parked there.  This is just genius.

 On our way!  A parting shot of Calgary.

 We passed the ski jumps from the Calgary Olympics.

 Open road.  Banff is about 85 miles from my dads apartment in Calgary so it was a short drive.  It took a few minutes for the scenery to change from city to this.  Those are the Rockies in the distance.

 Someone passed out early.

Getting Closer.....

 I was taking pictures out of the car window the entire time.  My dad was good about stopping but if he had stopped every time I needed to get a shot we could have walked to Banff faster......

 Just inside the 'foothills'.  The water was so clear in some spots.

 A quick family shot.  Nick didn't want his picture taken at all but he gave in and let me take one with grandma and grandpa.  When I handed the camera to my dad, he threw a fit.  Don't worry, I'll get him later!

 The clouds rolled in as we got further in.

 Entering Banff National Park.  It took me almost 20 frames to capture that flag.

 Carved by nature.  I could live here.  I want to wake up to this every morning.

 The water is so pure because its glacial water.

 Castle Rock

 Lake Louise.  We stopped at the Chateau Lake Louise.

Here is one off their website.  The weather was bad so my shots are horrible too.

 Told you I got one!

 This chipmunk came right up to us and looked at Nick.  When Nick didn't give him food, he took off.  I was standing this close to him.  No zoom.

 After Lake Louise, we headed back to Banff with a detour to Lake Moraine.

 Again, my pictures don't do this place justice.  The water was this intense color of aqua.   Check here for some pictures of the Lake and area.  I know a lot of it was battling the clouds.

 Heading back down to Banff.  I love snow covered mountains.  As much as I love shots from an airplane window......

 Back in Banff.  Cute little town.  I had about an hour to shop before the stores closed down for the night.  By the way, it stays light late in Calgary.  This shot was taken around 10pm.

 The next morning, my dad did a courtesy drive by at the Banff Springs Hotel.  The website has better pictures of course.  Anyone want to join me this winter?  I totally need to see this place covered in snow!

Tuesday begins the blog hop so the rest of the trip will come after the 29th.  I have some scrap related posts scheduled every day this week beginning on Tuesday!