Adventures in Banff.

28 July, 2014 Adventures in Banff.

MAKE TIME TO SEE THE WORLD.

Take your family, take your dog…heck, go solo. Just GO. I don’t know if I have ever been more excited to share a story with you. I used to sit in my cubical zoning out over adventures like the one I’m about to tell you. I’d get lost in my head wanting to just walk out, get in my car and drive to the mountains. I was aching to see more of the world. There’s just something about seeing things that make you feel so small. I have old family friends who live in Canada. Edmonton to be exact. I’ve been talking about visiting them for at least a decade but it never happened. I made up my mind that 2014 was going to be my year to finally get to Canada for some adventures in Banff. I grabbed my travel buddy, Sarah and we hopped on a plane to Calgary rented a car and drove to our hostel in Banff. In a matter of a day and a half we visited 6 lakes, hiked 12 miles with a 1,500 ft. elevation gain, sat on the edge of a cliff, sipped tea at a teahouse on a mountain top, picked up hitch hikers who had just fallen in love in Canmore a few weeks before, came face to face with a bear & chased a mountain goat. Everywhere I looked…WOW.

After exploring Banff we drove up through Jasper National Park and hiked up a glacier. Once we got to Edmonton I squeezed my friends, shared long over due stories, went on a 10 mile bike ride and then played tennis. We sat around the campfire on the lake talking for 4 hours…they’re just those kind of people that you need in your life. Take trips to see those people. Take trips WITH those people…the ones who add that extra zing to your life. A few weeks back I found out that one of my childhood friends passed away in a plane crash in California. He was one of THOSE PEOPLE…contagious smile that could light up a room. He loved life and others so much and at 32 he was taken way too soon. At his memorial service the hashtag was #LiveAndLoveLikeJacob. It’s crazy that I hadn’t seen him for years but when I knew he was gone my heart ached for the people closest to him.  I cried because I knew that now I would never have that chance to run into him again. We followed each other’s lives on instagram but if I could change one thing I’d want to be involved in his life because he just GOT IT…he knew how to live big and love hard. I’ll always miss Jake. This is a reminder to me not to always get caught up in just making new friends but I need to make sure I’m setting aside some time to see those old friends. Jake thanks for being an inspiration to a ton of people including myself. Please click on this link to help out his family. Jake & Amanda are expecting a baby boy soon and your donation would help out.

I snapped so many photos on this trip but there were times when I just took mental snapshots. Here are some images from my iPhone 5 and also my Canon 5D Mark II. So thankful for this trip. It was very much needed. To purchase prints click HERE. To view some of my adventures in BIG SUR click HERE.

Adventures in Banff