Leaving Calgary, we decided to travel a bit south of the city to see some of the countryside.  We ditched the GPS and just headed toward the mountains.  This took us on lots of dirt roads, but we loved seeing the farms and ranches.

As we were getting closer and closer to the mountains we were in awe.  What majestic splendor!

I had seen some information about a suspension bridge that I thought would be fun.  The Blackshale Creek suspension bridge is located in Peter Lougheed Provincial Park.  We found our way there, and hiked to the bridge.

John crossed the bridge first.  Saying I am not much for heights would be an understatement, but I took us on this adventure, so I had to finish what I started.  Thankfully the people behind me sensed that it was going to be a challenge for me (not sure how they figured that out…very perceptive of them!) and waited for me to cross before starting on the bridge.

When I was around the halfway point I yelled to John to take my picture (I had taken several of him crossing the bridge) but he informed me that he had left his phone in the car!  So, there is no photographic evidence that I actually crossed the bridge, but I did.  Quite an accomplishment, and a checkmark on my life list (cross a suspension bridge – check)!

The part I should have investigated more was the route from there to Canmore, as now we were in the mountains with no access to GPS.  We continued on the dirt road we were on, thinking it would meet up with another road…and it did, once we got to Canmore.  It seemed like hours we were on this dirt road, but it was probably only about 1.5 hours.  We stopped to see some pretty sights.  Spray Lake was beautiful.

And then, suddenly we rounded a corner and spotted a beautiful town, way down in a valley.  And then we spotted some mountain goats, smack dab in the middle of the road.  They were munching something on the road and they were not moving for us or the other cars.  One was kind of standing guard, and I can’t say we weren’t a little worried he would ram our rental car!

Up to this point, I had developed a new favourite word, “wow”!  And descending into the little town below that we discovered was in fact Canmore, the word got used yet again.  What a sweet little town, and we found our way to the condo we had rented at The Lodges at Canmore.

We checked in and went to our room, discovering a view like no other.  Every window in this condo looked out on the mountains, even one in the shower!  There was a balcony with chairs, a table and a BBQ, also with a mountain view.  The condo itself was sweet, with everything you need.  Our only complaint from the whole stay there was the air-conditioning was minimal and there were no windows you could open.  It was a hot stretch and we did find it a bit hotter than we enjoy.

Canmore is a town that reminded me of the little ski towns in Vermont.  Quaint with lots of shops and restaurants, mountains all around and lots of nature.  The town is peppered with rabbits, and I also saw some elk by the river.  There was a particular bird that was unfamiliar to me, which I discovered later was a magpie.

There was a vast selection of restaurants.  The three we tried were all great.  We had supper the first night, a beautiful calzone, at Rocket Pie.  It was very close to our condo and had a great view of the mountains.  We thoroughly enjoyed the calzone with the oil topping to enhance the flavours.

One night we had supper at the Iron Goat.  Located above the town there was a beautiful view from the deck.  John had a meatloaf that combined 3 different kinds of meat (bison, elk and beef) and he was very happy with that.  My brisket sandwich was decent, but likely the poorest meal I had during our trip.  That is still not an insult, because we had fantastic food.

The other restaurant I discovered while searching for a boxed lunch option, was The Summit Café.  It was also located above the town, in the area close to the Iron Goat.  We got boxed lunches to take with us on the day we drove the Icefields Parkway.  They were delicious and more than we could eat.  We picked them up at breakfast time and as people were coming in they ordered breakfast at the counter and then were given a toy to take to the table as a table marker.  I saw a dinosaur, Buzz Lightyear and a turtle.  A great way to add some adventure to your day!

Galleries galore, and lots of little shops with souvenirs.  My favourite was the gallery of the photographer we met at the Stampede.  Ken Hoehn’s work was spectacular.  He prints on Aluminum and his photos really pop.  I was so excited to see more of his work, mostly of the Alberta scenery.  No shortage of options for beautiful pictures, but you need to be an artist to do what he does!

All in all, Canmore is an amazing place and we could have spent days just there, but there were so many places to see.  Canmore was a great place to call home base.  It seemed considerably cheaper than Banff, and actually, as I little town, I liked it more.

I would happily recommend any of the places we went to; restaurants, The Lodges at Canmore, The Ken Hoehn Gallery as well as the many stores and shops we visited.  Also, if you are in Canmore, make sure you take a stroll by the river and watch for the trains running through the town on a regular schedule.  It’s a place I would gladly return to, and hopefully, I will have the opportunity someday!