Saying good-bye to the Rockies

One last look at the Rockies from Banff

Today was a bittersweet day for us, marking the last day of our camping tour of the Rockies with Fresh Adventures.  We had such a wonderful time getting to know this breathtaking region, and getting to explore some of the off-the-beaten path hikes and activities in the region.

Our guides, Jamie and Manuel, were amazing energetic people who worked from dawn til dusk (literally) every day to feed us, drive us, guide us and otherwise do an incredible job with an ambitious tour itinerary.  

We had an early morning today (maybe even a little earlier than planned, thanks to the non-stop barrage of trains rolling through Golden starting at about 3:30 this morning), and we packed up our camp, ate one last breakfast together, provided one last feast for the aggressive Golden mosquitoes, and hopped into the van to head back east.

The trains proved more cooperative at posing for photos than the mosquitoes

We drove through Banff (omg so many people!) and had a quick stop at the Banff Upper Hot Springs. While they were a little crowded, we all agreed that the hot water felt amazing on our tired muscles, and we thoroughly enjoyed our soak.

Family selfie! And yes, we know we look tired. We are pretty excited to not be sleeping outside next to train tracks tonight. 

So pretty. But so peopley.

After the hot springs, a quick stop at a gift shop, and we headed off to the Calgary Airport, where one of our group had a flight to catch, and we bid farewell to the rest of the group and to Manuel and Jamie, and went to pick up our 2pm (ha!) reserved rental car from Budget Calgary Airport.

So sad to say goodbye to Jamie and Manuel. Hopefully we can find them again someday in Patagonia, where they guide in the winter months

This part went a bit sideways. I had to wait in quite a line at the car rental counter, only to find out that it would be a 60-90 minute wait for our car.

One hour turned into two and a half hours (lesson learned - do NOT rent from Budget Calgary airport!), and we eventually got keys at 5pm and were off. The kids passed some time at the play area in Calgary airport, and I hunkered down beside a vending machine because I spotted a free power outlet where I could charge my phone.

Brad enjoying his snazzy new wheels 

Brad was pretty stoked about our ride - a bright blue Dodge Charger. I was frankly stoked to be in any sort of vehicle as killing three hours at the Calgary Airport was not exactly what I had planned for the afternoon.

Magnetic roll-up camping board games for the win.

We adjusted our plans for the afternoon, and so when we got to Brooks, headed straight toward a highly-rated Indian restaurant called Indian Panflame. The food was amazing and we completely gorged ourselves.

Our hotel was just down the road, so in no time, we were checked in, and the girls changed back into their bathing suits to hit up the hotel pool (the hotel has a pretty awesome water slide, so the girls spent a solid 90 minutes going up and down the twisty slide, figuring out the best angle to end up shooting half way across the pool).

Screenshot from a little video I took of Zoe shooting across the pool

I tried to drown out the screaming (SO MANY CHILDREN) and watched the girls while sipping...uh....water....out of my water bottle. A suspiciously high number of parents seemed to also be sipping...coffee?....from various opaque and unbreakable containers. Really, the only way to survive over-excited, over-tired kids at the hotel pool.

So all in all....a pretty low-key day. But we are back at it with the adventure tomorrow, with a guided hike to the Centrosaurus Bonebed in Dinosaur Provincial Park.