8 days in 100 Instagrams: Alberta, Canada- 09.21.14
This post is part of our special NOTCOT Alberta Great Escape series thanks to our friends at Travel Alberta. In Part I, Shawn, Bucky, and I are loaded up in the NOTFZJ80 spending a week in Alberta roadtripping, camping, and exploring all that we can fit in… follow the series here to see what inspires us along the way!
WOW. It’s surreal to be home in Los Angeles - after putting 4000 miles on the NOTFZJ80 in 2.5 weeks as Shawn, Bucky, and I headed up from LA up through the middle of the US, spent a week in Alberta, Canada, and came home down the west coast… Even as i work on making sense of our many pictures and adventures, SO much has happened and been experienced along the way! One of the most important things i’ve learned on this Alberta adventure - be ready for ANYTHING - from hot weather into a snow storm - from camping to luxury hotels - from stuck in traffic to being alongside amazing creatures. You just never know what might be around the corner…
When I was counting things up, i couldn’t believe how much has happened in our 8 days across the border alone, which i’ve shared in exactly 100 @NOTlabs Instagram pictures! So as fun as breaking it all up is, the epic nature of our adventure seemed like it deserved a post of its own - all 100 instagram pics in chronological order to relive it all in one scroll! See it all from crossing the border to Waterton to Calgary to Canmore to Banff to Jasper to more Calgary to Drumheller and more on the next page.
p.s. Why an Instagram picture roundup of the whole trip? When i look back to remember this adventure - going through hundreds of pictures to make posts is one thing - refiltering it all through a new lens… but the Instagrams in order with their captions… THESE are the things that got us at the exact moments they were happening (or very close to it, depending on cell reception) - looking through/reading all of these are the 8 days as we got excited about things in real time!
1 - We made it across the border yesterday!
2 - Pretty sure Bucky could have laid on the dock at Cameron lake @watertonlakesnp all day
3 - Such a pretty lakeside hike @watertonlakesnp - loving that Canada’s national parks allow dogs on trails!!!
4 - Baby bison frolicking hyperlapse @watertonlakesnp
5 - Pop shoppe!!!
6 - My @watertonlakesnp obsession (bucky’s too) - bison paddock!!! Cutest babies…
7 - Delicious + fun branding - Fernie brewing!
8 - Doggie bed + toy waiting on the couch in the room @hotelartsYYC - Bucky isn’t camping tonight!
9 - Running around Calgary today a few inches of winter found us. #NOTFZJ80 first snow…
10 - Catching up on #ExploreAlberta local brews @ntnl17th … My favorite is the Village Blacksmith! And check out that ticker of what’s on tap.
11 - So deceiving - looks like an enamel @populess mug, but really a ceramic mug! Discovered at the amazing @theuncommons
12 - Fantastic shaves, steampunk guns, + knives in quite the displays @KentOfInglewood
13 - Process makes perfect! And hot choc for camping! And so much more awesome! @theuncommons
14 - Concept is king! Process makes perfect! @theuncommons you know us too well ;)
15 - Love this pic @rshawnsims took of #NOTFZJ80 camp last night at waterton springs campground!
16 - Too pretty to eat? The welcome treats (for humans + pup) from @hotelartsYYC
17 - Dramatic monochromatic views as we head to Canmore
18 - Canmore dog park looks like bucky’s new favorite spot!
19 - Mountain goat treats at the Mut Hut @canmorekananaskis
20 - Amazing camp sites on Spray Lakes
21 - … Pulled into @mountengadinelogde to cozy slippers, moose frolicking, and mama and baby bear… And the offer of a warm room for the night!
22 - … Pulled into @mountengadinelogde to cozy slippers, moose frolicking, and mama and baby bear… And the offer of a warm room for the night! #ExploreAlberta
23 - Looks like staying @mountengadinelodge was a better choice than camping…
24 - Hanging out with the moose last night @mountengadinelodge
25 - Yesterday’s snowy deer on the drive in
26 - Bucky at our cabin door @mountengadinelodge
27 - Great beaver icon…
28 - Blazing trails down the mountain… Bit precarious but #NOTFZJ80 handled well.
29 - Kept thinking white walkers were going to pop out… #WinterIsComing
30 - Could this dog be any happier about the snow? #ExploreAlberta @canmorekananaskis dog park again!
31 - Antler chandelier, bison over the fireplace, and cute bar… Tonight we are @buffalo_banff
32 - When in Banff… We heard you had to try The Grizzly House! Can’t remember the last time I had fondue! #ExploreAlberta #SnowDay
33 - @travelalberta thank you for the perfect local fireside treats for a #SnowDay :) Delicious!
34 - What? #ExploreAlberta spotted in Banff…
35 - These pool ball sized cinnamon twists are like eating the center of a cinnamon roll - wild flower bakery
36 - These pool ball sized cinnamon twists are like eating the center of a cinnamon roll - wild flower bakery
37 - Bucky + @rshawnsims taking it all in at lake moraine #ExploreAlberta #mybanff
38 - Snow skull in the mountain? Colors at Lake Moraine are surreal… #mybanff
39 - Bucky doesn’t understand why these fatty chipmunks keep coming up to him at lake moraine…
40 - Since he was good about the real chipmunks - rewarded him with a toy one!
41 - Don’t be deceived by the sunshine - there’s still snow on the canoes :)
42 - No bears today on the Lake Louise gondola… But what a view!
43 - Bucky at Peyto Lake… Notice the resemblance?
44 - Still can’t get over these colors… Bow lake!
45 - Moose binoculars!!!
46 - Wandered down a path to this…
47 - Heading into Jasper…
48 - Staring contest with Bucky near the @glacierSkywalk
49 - Breathtaking drive up into #myJasper
50 - Hyperlapsing Sunwapta Falls at sunset #myJasper
51 - Tree roots/steps at Sunwapta Falls
52 - Cheers! Mmmm @jasperbrewing is so so good after our day if exploring #myJasper
53 - Hoperating Room @jasperbrewing - Canada’s first brewery in a national park! #myJasper
54 - Bridal veil falls #mybanff
55 - Hyperlapsed water flowing is mesmerizing…
56 - Rainy room service breakfast lakeside @fairmontjpl - feels like luxe summer camp for grown ups :)
57 - Wow! @fairmontjpl is spoiling Bucky… And he’s loving it!
58 - Step off the deck to this stunning lake @fairmontjpl
59 - Uh oh. Bucky’s first golf cart ride… B/c first time valeting the #NOTFZJ80 they can’t get it to start????? @fairmontjpl Oh phew* they just forgot to turn the alarm off so it took nearly and hour… Back to adventuring!
60 - “I’ve never seen a rack like that” 14 point buck + harem of 6 deer roadside #myJasper
61 - One of his deer had quite the GPS necklace… Another had double tagged red 126/127 earrings…
62 - Whole different kind of dramatic driving #myJasper today!
63 - Hillside family of mountain goats - loving #myJasper
64 - Watch out! This guy’s coming for your valuables at the glaciers! #myJasper
65 - No photo can give you a sense of just how tiny you feel against the glaciers… #myJasper
66 - Now that bucky’s tasted fresh glacier water…… #myJasper
67 - Mama bear + 3 cubs just ran by!!!!! #myJasper
68 - Patricia lake at sunset… The reflections!!! #myJasper
69 - Well that was scarily close… Ran into the same bunch of deer (and huge buck) on the way back to @fairmontjpl #jasperparklodge
70 - Baby mountain goats are so cute! #myJasper
71 - Pic in our room from 1914 - sir Arthur Conan Doyle + friends here at #jasperparklodge !!! So much history @fairmontjpl
72 - Cutest vintage fire truck!!! #jasperparklodge @fairmontjpl
73 - No canada trip is complete without a flock of Canadian geese! #jasperparklodge
74 - Bucky started to point and off they went… #jasperparklodge @fairmontjpl
75 - Fantastic 1952 sketches for #jasperparklodge @fairmontjpl
76 - Tough to leave #myjasper when it looks like this!
77 - Fascinated more by the @glacierSkywalk than the views from it #myjasper
78 - Glaciers are a different kind of epic on a hot sunny day… #myjasper
79 - See that parking lot and tiny trail of people? That was us climbing up to the glacier yesterday!
80 - Road trip view of bow glacier/lake…
81 - These colors do not get old… Going to miss that glacier water blue!
82 - These guys were just running along the highway on the way to Calgary!
83 - El pulpo! @beakerhead in Calgary
84 - Hippo + octopus from @beakerhead
85 - Interesting interactive @absolut piece @beakerhead - 3d printed pieces hold bottles together. Tweet at absolut canada with a color and they change… #capturecalgary
86 - That’s some disco ball @beakerhead
87 - Love this @beakerhead street art #capturecalgary
88 - Just because we are out of the woods… Doesn’t mean there aren’t more animal sightings! Turned to find this hare in the parking lot… About a foot and a half tall! #capturecalgary
89 - Def having some nature withdrawal coming back to the city… #capturecalgary
90 - Good morning!!!
91 - Trying out @philandseb coffee #capturecalgary
92 - Never had my coffee aeropressed outside of home! @philandseb
93 - Fun graphics @philandseb
94 - Not in the Rockies anymore… Heading out to Drumheller!
95 - worlds largest dinosaur - Drumheller!
96 - Exploring the Canadian Badlands behind the hoo doos
97 - @icon4x4 thought of you when we drove by these in a town of population: 38.
98 - Awww @hotelartsyyc leaves the prettiest welcome treats!
99 - Love a clean minimal lamp with USB + plugs! @hotelartsyyc who makes your lamps and side tables? :)
100 - Bucky is thrilled to have a little piece of #explorealberta home with him! Thanks for an incredible (dog-awesome) trip @travelalberta !
While this is the view through 100 instagram pictures through my 8 days in Alberta… for features and more on what we were doing take a look at the series: NOTCOT Alberta Great Escape!