Oh, Canada

 Canada, the very little I've seen of it anyway, is spectacular and awe-inspiring.  Driving along the Canadian Rockies, brisk air jetting through the windows, would make any heat miser fall in love with winter, including myself.  I always have been, and most likely always will be, a true hater of cold and snow, which I thought would make the drive up to Canada a struggle.  But alas, after one glimpse at the beautiful landscape in Alberta and I loved the idea of bundling up in a tent in almost freezing weather.

After we left Glacier, we started the 6 hour trek up to Banff National Park.  This is the stop we were both most excited for.  Courtney and I both knew we wanted to get some cold weather in before we headed down to Southern California for a while.  Crossing the boarder is pretty simple, but here are a few tips to make it as easy as possible.  Tip 1: have your passports ready to hand to the officer, tip 2: they will ask you a ton of questions, don't freak out, and tip 3: this is not the time to crack jokes, they take their position very seriously, and could take a joke the wrong way.

 After arriving in the final frontier, we had a few more hours of driving to reach Banff.  When we finally reached the park border, we still had another hour of driving inside the park, because apparently there are many different national parks inside including Jasper, Kootenay, and others.  If you have time I definitely suggest taking a day or two to check out some of these other parks, because judging by the brochure, it is seriously not something you want to miss.

It gets incredibly dark and the sky lights up with stars so if you're into photography/astrophotography this is time to break out the camera.  I'm still learning a lot about it, and besides being a bit over saturated and having too much chromatic aberration, the photo below is not a terrible start.

The town of Banff is something out of a fairytale.  It has small town charm and whimsy, along with a kick-ass backdrop of snow-capped mountains, that together gives it that feeling of Christmas. There is something magical in the air here.

We had planned on seeing Lake Moraine the next morning on our way out, but we weren't really prepared for how majestic it would be.  Standing at the bottom next to the lake, it looks pretty grey and dull, but when you climb up a large pile of rocks and look at it from a different angle you get a beautiful turquoise color revealed.  Crowded by mountains on the perimeter, the scene is a piece of landscape porn, if you will.  It's a sight unlike many others I have seen in my few short years, but one I hope to see again.

Lake Moraine, Banff National Park

 Canada, Alberta specifically, is a wondrous place that I truly want to revisit in the future, and one that I think everyone should see before they kick the bucket.

Has anyone been to Banff, and if so did you love it as much as I did?

The Beauty of Glacier

I'm about to hate on Wyoming for a second.  That state, as it would seem from driving through it, is a vast wasteland devoid of human life.  It was pretty easy to guess that it is in fact the least populated state, but it's also the 10th largest, thus you are left with a large mass of land with no one inhabiting it.  My apologies to the half a million people currently living there, I know how it feels for people to hate on your home.  There are a butt-load of farms though.

After the endless stretch of Wyoming, Montana came through to save us.  We couldn't find a campground near where we wanted to stop so we again decided upon renting a motel room for the night, and get an early start for Glacier National Park the next day.

Lake McDonald

We were really amped up to get to the park because out of all of the pictures we've seen Glacier looked like one of the most beautiful places in the country.  I think we both wish we got to see more of the park; we stayed at the Apgar Campground on the southwest side and didn't get to see the other side.  We did drive the full length of the famous Going to the Sun road where alpine trees dotted every face of the mountain range that runs along it and throughout the park.  Our campground was situated right next to Lake McDonald, but I was, and still am, very bummed we didn't get to see St Mary Lake, Ginnell Lake, or any of the mountain goats.  I still have anxiety when I see pictures of it on Instagram.

We got settled for the night  in our cozy spot with a few neighbors, and behold, we made fire!  It didn't last very long but we were able to roast some weenies for dinner, which if you haven't have a full meal in a few days, taste like a delicacy.  We enjoyed the little time we had with the fire and relaxed to soak in the sounds of nature.  When the sounds of nature started to sound scary we piled in the tent.  Even though we were 10 feet from the bathroom (we always pick the closest spot to it) walking through the camp at night when you're a little stoned is a very terrifying experience.  When it's pitch black out and your flashlight is dimming, knowing there have been bears and mountain lions traipsing through the campground consistently, is not the time to start thinking about it.

Courtney and her weenie

In the morning, Courtney informed me that she heard a loud, wild snarling noise next to our tent just after I feel asleep that night.  If there is anything that can make you feel unsafe in a tent, it's that.  I took an hour or so to take a few photos, unfortunately for me they weren't anything stunning.

I dream about going there again one day and being able to see everything there.

Has anyone else out there been to Glacier?  How was your experience there, and what things should I know for next time?