Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. Last stop before the Canadian Border crossing. We found a great brewery (what else?) in this cute town. Very good beer. And some fried spuds.
A shot of Bonner's Ferry
Kootenai (said "Kooh-ten-knee") Brewing front door;
now that's a front door handle!
Next stop, Kimberley, British Columbia. This is a cute Bavarian-style town which made it's wealth from lead and zinc mining for over one hundred years, ending in 2001. On Father's Day morning, my dad and I rode the Kimberley Underground Mining Railway, which was informational and memorable.
We ate at a superb German restaurant called The Old Baernhaus (building was shipped over piece by piece from Europe) that served German food sourced locally. Divine.
American actors portraying Germans
Family Affair
This place is legit
Spaetzle
Mom and Dad
Schnitzel
Prost! to you, The Old Baernhaus
And guess in which way this small Canadian town resembles Texas?...
...drive-through liquor store!
We just had to experience it.
This is the view from the back patio of our condo
Invermere, BC. We stopped for lunch at a small town called Invermere, on the advice of Uncle Fred, where we found a good pub and a pretty lake. At the pub we discovered our favorite beer of the trip--Double IPA from Invermere's very own Arrowhead Brewing Co.
A nice father's day indeed
Lake Invermere
Canmore, Alberta. We stayed four nights in a condo downtown. Um, yeah, it is outrageously pretty. The town is cool too, with a brewery (beer was mediocre), wine shops, cafes, farmer's market, cute stores, juice bar, day spa, upscale italian market, walking trails. It's one of those sweet towns that makes life feel a little easier. Oh, and it's surrounded by amazing mountains and bordered by a turquoise river. Not too shabby.
View from our courtyard
View from our patio
Bow River, flows through downtown Canmore,
a 10-minute walk from our condo. Sort of incredibly lovely.
Grassi Lakes, a few miles outside of Canmore.
Tim, Miriam and I spent a few hours hiking outside of town. It was an hour hike straight uphill. Miriam was a trooper, occasionally needed a lift in daddy's backpack, but when we got to the top it was pure paradise.
Man and child
Hiking babe, taking a break on the trail
The sweet rewards: Lower Grassi Lake
Delighted
Lawrence Grassi, a tribute. Nice discovery, Larry G.!
Upper Lake, view back down onto Canmore (in the valley)
Goofing off at the creek
Heading back down the trail
Banff, Alberta. In Banff, we discovered two things.
First, hot springs are awesome. There is a public pool, up the hill and out of town, where people of all ages, creeds, colors and ethnicities come together to, well, soak. It feels so good.
Second, the town feels a bit too crowded and bustling for our tastes. Some of it feels like the Palm Springs strip, not in a good way. It's a cute town, but we felt we had made the right decision choosing Canmore as our home-base.
Soaking in the mountains, Banff Upper Hot Springs
Soak, relax, hang out
Miriam, posing in her flamingo suit...
...and Tim, who opted to rent an "old-fashioned swimsuit".
He's my hero.
Rejuvenated family, ready for, wait for it...beer, at Banff Brewing Co.
Pretty church
It's a pretty town
Banff is home to "Canada's First National Park", called Cave and Basin. The cave was cool but stinky and the walking tour around the property was enlightening but not without massive mosquito attacks.
Moraine Lake, Alberta. I know, you're probably getting tired of looking at incredibly gorgeous lakes. It's not my fault. Blame Mother Nature for making Canada prettier than anywhere else.
We want to return here some day, rent a canoe and cruise around this majestic body of water
The glacier here is in the shape of a face;
can you see it?
Lake Louise, Alberta. Lake Louise is a big tourist attraction. It's easy to see why.
Mims in a field of flowers, walking to see Lake Louise
Punchy child, beautiful setting...what more could one ask for?
Family Portrait
Sigh
Lake Louise and glacier
Radium Springs, BC. We had to do it. We hit one final hot springs on our journey. Heavenly...
Soaking in the mountains again,
Radium Hot Springs
Cranbrook, BC. This was our final stop in Canada. Had good food and beer at yet another brewery. The hotel was cute...on one side was a rad mini golf course and on the other side was a trail out to a bird sanctuary.
At the Heidout/Fisher Peak Brewing,
Dad and I split a meal called "The Expense Account".
Utterly fabulous...nothing like surf and turf to make
one feel the vacation vibe.
Ready to find birds at the bird sanctuary
Elizabeth Lake Bird Sanctuary
We got some random road shots. It's just so damn gorgeous, everywhere you look.
They build these neat highway crossings for the mooses
Spokane, Washington. We spent a night on the front end and a night on the tail end of our trip. Uncle Fred, as always, was a welcoming and kind host. Spokane is a cool town, worth getting to know.
Fred and Miriam, Sagittarius buddies
Loved it. All of it. Canada is amazing.
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