Good day eh! My google search informs me that this is a common Canadian greeting, so I’m practicing. I realized that I got so wrapped up in beef tacos and Mexican food menus last week that I forgot to share that Michelle and I were no longer hypothetically going to Canada, we ARE going to Canada. Tomorrow!

I used that exclamation point after tomorrow to denote both excitement and panic. Excitement because of course, Canada! and poutine! and beautiful wilderness! Panic because if you’ve been reading for any length of time you know that I am quite the planner, and this trip has been particularly difficult to plan in great detail. And also bears. Always bears.

This trip came together quickly and I feel like I am as prepared as I can be, but not quite as prepared as I would like to be. The weather looks like it will be in the high 40’s low 50’s which is great, I certainly prefer cold to freezing. I did purchase these babies just in case..

So at least my feet will be warm.

Our rough itinerary is as follows:

We fly into Calgary tomorrow afternoon, rent a car and drive towards Golden, British Columbia, where we are staying. We plan to stop at Lake Louise on the way and do a little hiking and have dinner at a lodge somewhere in the park. The next day we will hike Glacier National Park. The next day, Kootenay and Yoho. The following day we’ll do Jasper National Park. The next day we’ve left open in case we miss a day because of the weather or find that we didn’t get to everything one of the earlier days and want to return to a certain place. Or we can spend that day exploring Golden which I read is a very cute town! The next day, Tuesday, is our last full day and we will explore more of Banff (come on hot springs!) before driving back to Calgary that evening and staying in an airport hotel before our early flights out on Wednesday morning.

Normally I have a trip planned down to the smallest detail, exactly what we’ll do each day and where we’ll have all our meals etc. This one is a lot less specific. I stared at maps and searched blogs for hours and still don’t know how you go about deciding which trails you want to hike until you actually get there. I am an admitted control freak so maybe this trip is the universe’s way of telling me to let go and be a little more spontaneous?

Either way, I am really excited to spend a lot of time with one of my best friends and favorite travel companions in a lot of gorgeous places, and I’m only mildly concerned about getting eaten by a bear (Michelle swears that if we see one we can bang rocks together and it will leave us alone). If you have any recommendations as far as specific hikes/sights to do and see, restaurants to try(Golden or in any of the parks), or sure fire ways to avoid bears, I’d love to hear from you!

Have a wonderful week!