Mr. & Mrs. Vandebilt + kids

We set off from Vancouver to head to our first stop in the Rockies – Jasper – where we would stay for a few nights before heading through Lake Louise, Banff and on to Calgary. We wanted to make sure that Charlie didn’t have to move on his birthday – that’s really all the three of them asked for this year was for their birthdays not to be a drive day. Seems a pretty reasonable ask.

It’s a long old drive from Vancouver to Jasper, one of the longest drives we have had to do, with very little in between. It was a nice drive, even if it was long. It was pretty crazy to see all of the wild fire aftermath. We stopped for supper and a bit of time out of the van for everyone to stretch their legs and get some fresh air. They had a great park, and some outdoor exercise equipment for us to take advantage of. Jacob especially got in a great workout.

The highlight of the drive was around dusk when a mama bear and her two cubs popped out of the ditch in front of us. We were able to slow down enough to get a really good look at them. Unfortunately, while the bears were really cool, the overturned construction vehicle on the highway was much less so. The accident had the highway closed for a couple of hours, so after a very long day in the car, we ended up at the hotel well after midnight.

After a slow start the next morning, the kids and I headed downtown to the pharmacy where we discovered the magic of prescribing pharmacists who got us all sorted out. Our luck continued with free hot dogs and pop for lunch from the grocery store!

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the town and checking out local cafes and brewpubs. The kids managed to find a play area right next to the brewery patio that happened to be owned and run by someone from PEI. She let the kids hang out in the space while Jacob and I were out on the patio. It was a perfect afternoon for everyone!

Charles celebrated his 11th birthday (what?!) while we were in Jasper. We started the day with pop tarts, h are into the mountains to the hot springs and finished the day with probably the best Indian food I have ever had. A pretty great day all around.

Our final day in the Rockies was spent driving from Jasper to Banff through the national park. It was absolutely stunning the whole way. We unfortunately didn’t have bright blue skies as a backdrop to the mountains but it was spectacular nonetheless. We stopped at Lake Louise excited to see the magic only to find it still snow covered.

We arrived in Banff with enough time for a sandwich, a coffee, another COWS treat and a walk around the village. On the way back to the car we almost literally stumbled upon a couple of elk lounging in the shade of the trees.