We had a relatively early start yesterday, although not as early as I had hoped. We left my place an hour late to bring the dogs to boarding. We packed into the truck, literally, my cousin was in the back seat with 3 large dogs. The kennel where I board them is 1.5 hours to the West, just this side of Cranbrook, British Columbia.

We dropped them off and headed North towards Banff Alberta. I guess I’m not used to travelling with a senior citizen, we made stops often and because my aunt requires a walker and assistance getting out of the truck, it slows us down. A slower pace is good though, sometimes a slower pace is a good thing.

We stopped for lunch at a smokehouse on highway 93, excellent food and I was very hungry. I posted that we were making awful time, but really, we aren’t on a schedule. We got into Banff and parked illegally in residential parking. We toured the downtown area and did some shopping. Banff is a beautiful little town, a little too touristy for my tastes. The mountain views are beautiful, as nice, or nicer than where I live (Coleman Alberta) but a lot of people.

We headed to Calgary for the night and had a nice dinner at Denny’s. We were all exhausted, both from a long day of travel and from a lack of sleep. My cousin is rather jealous that I fall asleep so quickly, and last night insomnia left me, I slept nearly 7 hours. I feel quite refreshed this morning.

We changed plans for today. We were going to use Calgary as a base of operations since hotels were so much less expensive. Notes we’ll spend an extra night in Jasper to cut down on driving. We’ll head there via Lake Louise. Thursday will be a travel day as we return to pick up the dogs. On Friday, we’ll tour the Frank Slide Interpretive Center and learn about the deadliest rock slide in Canadian history.

Despite any challenges we are having, it’s fun spending time with family. I think though that I may need a vacation from my vacation.