Last week, I was lucky enough to take a quick trip out West to celebrate the wedding of good friend Perianne Jones to Mr. Joel Jacques. Being a rookie Albertan, along the way I tried to experience as much of the Wild Rose province as possible, while fitting in some ski training as well.
I was travelling with my family and girlfriend Jaime, and once we landed in Calgary, we were right off to Drumheller for the Royal Tyrell Museum and the Badlands. Dinosaur country is totally amazing. It’s so easy to become a T-Rex obsessed toddler again, completely in awe of these massive creatures.
Tyrannosaurus Rex, a.k.a. “tyrant lizard”, or simply “Rex” in Toy Story.
Strangely beautiful landscape outside of Drumheller, complete with stereotypical pumpjack.
After exploring the badlands, we drove to Canmore where we stayed at the Paintbox Lodge. This place is very awesome and I definitely recommend staying there while in the Bow Valley. We hiked a mountain called Yamnuska, and right after we passed the treeline, some bad weather hit and we ended up being very exposed during a thunder storm. It was certainly an electrifying experience!
Me, Jaime, and my Mom and Dad just barely below the clouds, right before the rain started.
The next day, in the morning before the wedding, I met up with friends from Toronto and BC and we climbed up Ha Ling peak, which I am told is a must-do by locals. It’s a really cool hike because it gets exposed and you get an awesome view of Canmore.
Jeremy, Jesse, Me, and Ben
We just barely made it back down the mountain and got changed for the wedding, which was in a park near the Nordic centre. It was awesome to see the happy couple and the setting was top notch.
Congratulations Peri and Joel! Photo credit: Noel
The reception was at the Alpine Club of Canada and was a really fun party. The atmosphere was super chill, with great food and drinks, many Canadian skiing celebrities, and dancing into the wee hours of the morning. Huge thanks to everybody that helped to organize the wedding and clean up the next morning!
There’s a hidden person in this photo. Hint: She knows how to party like a pirate.
After the wedding, we spent a few days at Lake Louise where we climbed up to Sentinel Pass from Moraine Lake. This was my favourite hike and I recommend it for anybody in the area. We encountered lots of snow flurries and some of the best mountain views I’ve ever seen.
Jaime crossing a stream before the last push up the switchbacks.
Big mountains on either side on our way up to Sentinel Pass.
We left Lake Louise and headed back to Canmore where we hung out with the newlyweds and lived it up for a while. Canmore is such a great town, with so many amazing things to do. It’s impossible to do it all, but we gave it a pretty good shot.
Congrats again Peri and Joel!
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