The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man and one of those places is Jasper Alberta

As you can tell by my previous blog I love love Alberta!! I’ve been lucky enough to go back a bit and get to see different parts of the province or just re visit some of my favourite places♥


When I got the chance to visit Jasper National Park in July of 2009 I was so excited even though I really didn’t know much about the park itself. I knew there were beautiful mountains and lovely hotels so I decided to research some more so I could make the most out of my visit.


Jasper National Park is approximately 3 ½ hours from Banff National Park which is where I spend most of my time while on vacation in Alberta. The drive from one national park to the other is on the icefield parkway which is widely considered to be one of the most scenic highways in the world


Icefield Parkway

Athabasca Falls

 Getting from Banff to Jasper you get to see some amazing scenery including Athabasca Falls, Saskatchewan River, Peyto Lake and the Columbia Icefield which is home to one of the largest accumulations of ice and snow south of the Arctic Circle. You can take a tour of the icefield where you actually get to walk on the Athabasca glacier and ice that formed from snow fall over 400 years ago. To take part in this tour it only costs $49.95 (I’ll link the site below)

Ice Explorer

Columbia Icefield

If you decide to take part in the icefield tour then I would recommend wearing proper footwear unlike me who wore flip flops whoops.


After my day of adventure and sightseeing I was ready for some relaxation so my friend and I checked in to our hotel, we stayed at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and just like the name it is like having a little lodge to yourself. It was a great hotel and I would recommend it.

There are other activities you can do while staying in Jasper like the tramway or helicopter tours.

I suggest doing all that your time allows you to it really is a great place to visit.

http://www.explorerockies.com/columbia-icefield/
http://www.fairmont.com/jasper
http://www.jaspertramway.com/
http://www.icefieldheli.com/

Banff Alberta or what I like to call it a piece of heaven

What can I really say about Banff?! Screw Disneyland Banff to me is the happiest place on earth. The mountains the aqua water the tranquility it’s just absolutely breathe taking

Banff National Park

I first discovered Banff when I had training for a job out in Calgary and a couple of us decided on our weekend off we would drive out to Banff/Lake Louise and see what it was all about. Well let me tell you it stole a part of my heart and since then I’ve been back four more times and have made it a yearly tradition to go.

Lake Louise

There honestly is just so much to do whether it’s your style to have a relaxing trip or an adventure filled one you can do both.

Some of the activities that I’ve tried out and would do again and have done again are:


Horseback rides through the mountains
White water rafting
Wildlife tours
Lake Cruise
Gondola
Driving tour
Columbia Icefield
And my absolute favourite is the helicopter tours they offer over the mountains and lakes

View from the helicopter tour

But don’t worry if you don’t have the adventure bug then I would suggest renting a “gypsy guide” and go for a drive. A gypsy guide I know sounds weird right?! But all that it is, is a guided GPS so it’s like having your own personal tour guide but on your time and your schedule. If it wasn’t for this GPS my friend and I wouldn’t have discovered one of the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen Lake Peyto. You walk through this enchanted pathway and in the distance you can see the blue water then when you finally reach the lake its self it is just beyond I promise you it’s so worth it, whenever I’ve showed people my photos they all think I’ve photoshopped them but it’s just the true natural colour of the water coming down from the glaciers on the mountains. It’s priced at around $39.00 for the day and its convient because you can pick it up right in Banff at the Discover Banff Tour Company in Sundance Mall. If you’re interested in any of these ideas I’ll post the links down below.

Lake Peyto

So this is just a tidbit of information on Banff I will post more on the surrounding areas like Lake Morraine and more!

Enjoy


Links:

http://www.banfftours.com/ *for horseback riding/rafting and wildlife tour*
http://www.explorerockies.com/banff-gondola/
http://www.explorerockies.com/minnewanka/
http://www.gypsyguide.com/canada/index.php
http://www.explorerockies.com/columbia-icefield/

Lets get this started...

So I realized two things:

1. I love travelling

2. I love reading blogs

So on a sunday evening I decided to put two of my loves together and see what happens

Recently I've been looking up blogs on everything you can think of whether its beauty and fashion or travel and style. I've come across some amazing ones from all over the world and cant believe all the great tips I've learned, not only tips but new websites to shop and new travel sites that I most likely wouldn't have come across otherwise

So maybe just maybe if someone comes across my blog I can also join the group of great bloggers and give out helpful tips and information.

I think this blog is going to start off focusing on travel but who knows if my other loves will cross over as well

Hope you come along on the journey with me