Oh Canada!

As many of you know Clay has been spending a lot of time working in Canada lately (and will be for the foreseeable future). Luckily Clay works for a generous company who allows one of us to travel to see the other every other week. A couple of weeks ago I went up to Canada to see him (yes I realize I am WAY behind on blogging). We spent the weekend in Banff at the most amazing resort ever!

Instead of spending the weekend in Calagary Clay decided we should go up to Banff which is a lot like Jackson Hole, Wyoming and is a gateway to the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Having grown up around the Rockies my whole life I was amazed how much more rugged the Canadian Rockies are. We drove up Saturday morning which was snowy and raingy to first visit Lake Louise which is this picturesque glacial lake. Luckily I did pack my ski jacket, hat, and gloves. But even with all of that we could only stand to stay out for a few minutes because the wind was blowing so fast off the glacier and across the lake I could barely stand up!

Me attempting to stand up in the wind.
(And yes, that is the color of the water!)

After nearly freezing to death we decided it was time for lunch at the Chateau Lake Louise which was really wonderful. After lunch the wind had calmed down a bit and we took our chances at a normal looking picture.

Not sure I look normal in my goofy ski hat, but Clay looks handsome!

We stayed at the Banff Spring Hotel (if you ever visit Banff you MUST stay here) which is a 5 star resort. At first we had planned to just drop off our luggage and head down to Banff but after discovering I was staying in a Castle we spent most of the afternoon exploring our awesome digs!

An upclose of the castle (we really couldn't do the building justice).

Clay really spoiled me with a massage at the spa. It wasn't just a massage though it was the whole spa experience complete with mineral pools, relaxation room, sauna, hot tubs, steam room, and of course "purification water" which was sliced cucumber and basil (YUM!)! The massage was amazing and I loved the spa experience. I even told my massuese I suggest she buy a castle with a mineral pool. She just laughed at me.

While I relaxed in the spa Clay had a swim at their Olympic size salt water pool (which he loved) and then we had dinner at their Italian restaruant. All I can say is they frown on licking your plate at 5 star restaurants otherwise I would have licked my plate. AMAZING!! The best part was the dessert (okay just one of the best parts) which was ice cream truffles. Yeah they were good :)!

Finally Sunday we did find time to explore Banff which was a wonderful little town with neat shops. If you ever get a chance I highly recommend visiting. The weekend was really special and I was glad to see Clay. Right now we are lucky that he gets to spend some time at home which we are enjoying. So with that I shall leave you with the breath taking scenery!

The view from our room. (We had a "cheap" view)

From the highway during our dreary Saturday drive.



This is Cascade Mountain which was one of my favorite views

The drive home on Sunday was partly cloudy which made for some amazing views. This picture really doesn't do the mountains justice. Imagine this about a zillion times cooler!