#Banff Gondola

[ellewritenow]

[goingplacesfarandnear]

Pursuit Collection Offers Feast for Senses and the Soul in Banff, Canada

Dining at Sky Bistro atop the Sulphur Mountain summit, reached by the Banff Gondola – an incomparable view matched by an incomparable culinary experience © Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com By Karen Rubin, Travel Features Syndicate, goingplacesfarandnear.com On our first evening in Banff to sample Pursuit Collection’s tourism and hospitality services, we dine at Farm & Fire, one of Banff’s…

[rewildandgrow]

Banff was incredible!

[footloose-travel]

Foray into Canada

        It felt a little strange being on the road again after being stationary for several months this past winter. Our campground was the perfect place to recuperate from foot surgery, as well as giving me time to work on my 3rd book. Several people mentioned it would be a perfect opportunity to write while recuperating, but I knew from past experience being on pain killers wasn’t necessarily conducive for focused thinking. Although, I did handwrite a lot of notes during that time that were quite humorous, with tidbits I have ended up using. John was able to skydive once I was able to get around on my own, but once it was time to leave, we were ready.         Although we’d been to Sedona previously, we felt it was worth another visit and spent a few days there. The Verde Valley area really is stunning and the weather was pleasant and not too hot yet. We explored all of the rock formations and enjoyed wandering around in the desert. Walking along the trails in a greener than usual desert was a treat. We also visited Montezuma Castle, located in Camp Verde which was built and used by the indigenous Sinagua people from around AD 1100 and 1425. The well-preserved cave dwellings are quite an engineering feat. The Jerome State Historic park that has the old copper mining town up on the hill took us back to the early 1900s, and has shops with a view down into the valley.         Crossing into Utah, we stayed in a unique campground in Kanab, called Dark Sky. It’s situated in the middle of the desert, away from any main roads. The lack of ambient light in the evening makes it a wonderful spot for star gazing - hence the name. We were able to identify several planets, and the abundance of stars made the sky feel so full and deep. The perspective changed the longer we watched, and I saw two shooting stars that appeared close enough to touch. They had a bath house with two in suite bathrooms that had indoor/outdoor showers, so you could have a private shower outdoors under the sun or stars. They also had homemade pizza on the premises, only one day a week, and we happened to be there that day. Of course we indulged, making it even more memorable. From there we went to Beaver, and then to Salt Lake City, where John got to do a few jumps. Tremonton was next, and when we got to the campground the sky turned quite black, with swirls of gray. We quickly set up and made it inside before it started hailing. The hail pelting the trailer roof was so loud we couldn’t hear each other speak. I was concerned it would leave dents by the sound of it, but it passed relatively quickly. It eventually cleared up but the dark clouds and wind lingered until the next day.         We zipped through Idaho into Montana, reveling in the sights of so much greenery in comparison to the deserts of Arizona. We soaked in the spring-like weather, blue skies, and mountainous terrain, enjoying every minute of it. We stopped in Helena to stock up and look around before heading to Shelby. Once in Shelby we checked to make sure everything was in order with our trailer, since we knew there would be a search at the border. By this point we had eaten any food we thought might be an issue, like fresh fruits and vegetables, and everything else was stored or put away, but with easy access. When we arrived at the Del Bonita border crossing, we were the only ones there. There was another crossing we were told was often busy with a wait, so John purposely chose this one instead. It was a bit more out of way on a much less traveled road, but it was worth it. We were greeted immediately and the guards were competent, experienced and amicable, with a nice balance of professionalism. After doing his inspection inside the truck and trailer, we had an informative conversation about the area and different spots we planned on stopping. They made us feel welcome and sent us on our way.         First stop in Canada was Lethbridge, then our campground in Granum. The weather continued to be excellent and there was a small lake in the campground where we took walks around in the evening. We were close to the town of Fort Macleod and spent the day there exploring the museum that portrays the history of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police created in 1873. The fort itself served as divisional headquarters until the 1920s. Being American, yet also being a big fan of the cartoon character “Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties”, it was quite interesting to learn more about this police force established to bring order to the Canadian West. We enjoy stopping at museums throughout our travels and learning about world history.         Then off to Banff. We both were pleasantly surprised at how nice the weather had been, and Banff was even more so. John picked the perfect time to be there in his planning, and once again, going during shoulder season was the way to go. We knew it would be wise to make reservations in advance and how quickly things filled up, so we were prepared. John had spent hours on the phone securing our campground in Banff and it was worth it. Our site was easy walking distance to where we could get the bus into town, but far enough out to enjoy the surrounding wooded area. The steep snow covered mountains are stunning, and the natural beauty everywhere you looked really gave us a joyful feeling. We hiked along the path to the falls (more like a cascade), and explored the small town in truly perfect weather. Once in town there were other buses that took you to various sights, and we took one for the hour ride to the well known Lake Louise. This was a bit more touristy with more people, but not annoyingly so. The lake was still frozen in spots that obscured some of the turquoise color, but still an impressive sight. We followed the path around the lake through the less traveled area until my feet decided it was time to head back.         The weather continued to bless us with it’s perfection, and we next went to the Banff Gondola and took the ride up to the summit of Sulphur Mountain. Views on the way up are quite spectacular, but once on top there are viewing areas so you can take in the views from a variety of angles. There are sitting areas where you can bask in the sun, some with heat lamps when needed, due to the cooler elevation. Once again there were plenty of people but not crowded and we hung around up top for a while. There’s a trail that takes you to another summit, and John climbed a massive amount of steps up, while I relaxed with a coffee. Out of the seven days we were in Banff, five of them were some of the best weather days ever. The last two days became quite overcast with smoke from the Alberta forest fires, but there was still some decent visibility.         We had already booked the Glacier Adventure to the Columbia Ice Fields for the day we left Banff, and decided to still give it a go, even though the smoke was affecting that area as well. The Ice Fields are where five glaciers feed three oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic). These are the largest non-polar ice fields in the world. We traveled on a massive ice explorer to get to the glacier, and then had a half hour to walk on the Athabasca glacier, and take it all in. To say it felt surreal and exotic at the same time is an understatement. Breathtaking and exhilarating - yes, that too. From there we traveled back on the ice explorer, then got on a bus to the glass-floored glacier skywalk close by. The skywalk is 918 feet above the river, built on the edge of a cliff. A portion of it has a glass floor where you can see down to the river, while trying not to get vertigo. After some coaxing I did make it onto the glass portion and followed it around to the other end, with wobbly legs. There were also other amazing view points from up there with stunning views.         The smoke did obscure some of the views, but we were still glad we went. It is such an amazing part of the world and I’m thrilled I got to experience it. The following morning we woke to a much clearer sky and moved on to Hinton, past Jasper, for our next stop. The smoke came and went and we’re now at a one night stand in Grande Cache. Then we’ll move on to Grand Prairie where we’ll spend a few days to see what we can see, and hope the smoke will be clearing out.         Our adventure so far has met our expectations, and even exceeded in some areas. The people we’ve encountered and interacted with have been great, making things even more enjoyable. Now that we’re out of the more touristy areas, we expect our journey to be through more remote areas, with even more natural beauty and animal life. We’ve seen deer, elk, a female moose, a bear (tagged), big horned sheep, a white mountain goat, and various small critters. As we head further up to the Yukon we look forward to seeing more. Stay tuned to join us on our adventurous journey as we make our way through this beautiful country enroute to Alaska.         For all the photos see John and Charlotte’s flickr sites. Just click on either of our names.

[northameicanblog]

Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Canada: Lake Louise is a hamlet in Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies, known for its turquoise, glacier-fed lake ringed by high peaks and overlooked by a stately chateau. Hiking trails wind up to the Lake Agnes Tea House for bird's-eye views. There's a canoe dock in summer, and a skating rink on the frozen lake in winter. The Lake Louise Ski Resort features a wildlife interpretive center at the top of a gondola

[fllagellant]

EDI is here bc she is a robot but made 2 be human . Once again , you cannot swap anyone around , there are no other choices . You either get on the Greyhound or Not at all … you do choose how the adventure goes however

[itsaash]

unsatisfyingly satisfying part 2: shivers

Set sometime in the future when our beloved Coops are married and on vacation in Banff :))) prompt and cover art credit to @noots-fic-fests, character credit of Coops to @lumosinlove And shout out to @girlwithcurls96 for helping me and reassuring me about this whole story, and who is the type of friend when you say, "what kind of tattoos should this character have?" comes through with the perfect pinterest board of style inspo to create the OCs of my dreams

“You got the camera baby?” Remus called as he shut the trunk of the white rental car.

“Ouais, et j'ai les collations là.” 

Remus smiled as he translated in his head. Being in Banff National Park, or Parc national Banff as Sirius exclusively called it, with signs and boards and everything in French as well as English, had set Sirius into a firmly French state of mind. Remus was absolutely not complaining, the melodic sounds scratched his brain just right, even if he couldn’t replicate them. He just beeped the car, pocketed the keys, patted his pocket to feel his phone, and caught up to Sirius and took his hand as they walked across the parking lot. 

It was early in the morning, the gondola would be just starting up. They planned their visits to touristy places for the least busy time of day. A good half hour had been spent signing autographs at the Calgary airport when they arrived a few days ago. Canadians knew their hockey players, especially ones who would certainly be on the next Canadian Olympic hockey team. Neither of them minded , per se, but also if they could blend in, well they’d rather prefer that option. 

Typical outdoorsy MEC outfits like every other tourist were their outfits, with a pretty generic blue ball cap for Sirius, and Remus had chosen a fashionable flat brim hat after Sirius had gone silent and staring when Remus had tried it on in the store.  While any claim they had to disguise was low, their main hope was that most of the people who rode a gondola on a Thursday morning wouldn’t also be hockey fans. Banff had been great so far, busy streets of tourists to blend into while eating elephant ears, a hike yesterday to lakes the most fucking amazing color of turquoise where everyone nodded their head and said hello as they passed on the trail, and today they were heading up the gondola. It was a warm July day and Remus knew heat would start to gather soon, but it felt so fresh here in the mountains, always a breeze, really it was nearly idyllic. Even here, in a busy parking lot, dozens of cars already and pavement for hundreds of meters, it still somehow felt rustic. That was the influence of the towering rough mountains he supposed. They were everywhere here, he had never been in the mountains like this. He squeezed Sirius’ hand as they walked, his head turning to take it all in. 

“The view doesn’t get old, eh,” Sirius laughed as he took in Remus’ wide eyes. 

“Literally never. There’s just mountains everywhere .”

“And here we go, up another one,” Sirius said. 

“Can’t wait,” Remus said, squeezing Sirius’ hand with excitement again, taking in the grey of Sirius’ eyes and comparing it to the grey of the mountains. The mountains were undeniably majestic, but that blue grey gaze was still his overall first place favourite.

Remus scanned the tickets on his phone for the agent with the usual “bonjour, hello” passed between them and joined the small line of people waiting to board the gondolas. They wound through the roped off area, back and forth across the loading area as the line moved, reading the information placards as they went. Remus challenged himself to read the French versions and asked Sirius for help with some words, just to hear him say them, to see Sirius’ eyes smile when he heard Remus say the words back as best he could. They passed the time in the line quickly like this, passing words in French back and forth to each other quietly, almost like bubbles of love being traded between them, like emotional kisses, like whatever the sounds are that are in my mouth, they always mean I love you. 

Remus vaguely knew from the corners of his attention that the people who worked for the Park were working with the line, fitting groups together into gondolas in the most space efficient way, calling for single riders to come join groups of 3, putting two couples together, keeping kids with their parents. There was a large family ahead of them and Sirius and Remus had been half-hearing conversations about snacks and who would sit by who and where’s my water bottle and dad, what if we see a bear ?? So when the attendant called, ‘next group of two? Un groupe de deux?’ looks travelled down the family and passed like dominos to Sirius and Remus. 

“On est deux,” Sirius said, knowing everyone who worked for the Park spoke at least some French, and he was loving using it at every opportunity.

“Allez, on y va,” the attendant said, waving them over. Sirius and Remus kept their hands clasped as they snuck past the big family, Remus murmured an, “ope, sorry,” as they made their way to the front of the line. They boarded the open gondola, sitting down on one side together as the doors slid closed and the gondola started moving.

Remus was just starting to look out the floor to ceiling window, seeing the expanse of nature below them, all around them once they were past the loading area of the building, when he heard,

“Sirius Black?? ”

Oh shit. They were on a gondola with a fan. Well, hopefully a fan, god, imagine if it was someone who wanted to lecture them for the whole 8 minute ride. Sirius would give them his stony cold game face, and inevitably the person would back down, but it would be so awkward.

But Sirius hadn’t said anything. He was just staring, mouth slightly open. Time passed in frozen silence, enough time that Remus darted his eyes back and forth, from Sirius’ frozen form, to the two girls sitting across from them. One had a ball cap on with a dark ponytail floating out the back of it and her tank top showed clearly well developed biceps and deltoids, hiking shorts and shoes. She  was nearly as slack jawed as Sirius. The other girl was much more fashionable, in pants that were somehow loose but still fitted, and a cropped shirt (sports bra? what did Remus know about women’s fashion), clean white runners, long curly blond hair pulled into a messy half bun. It was still Banff and hiking appropriate except everything about her outfit and hair seemed to be on purpose in a way that none of the rest of them could claim. She seemed to be trying to read the situation as much as Remus was, and after long seconds she was the one to break the silence. 

“Rebecca? You know him?” 

The other girl, Rebecca? Almost literally shook herself out of her surprise and laughed, a smile coming over her face. 

“Oh my god, what are the fucking chances? Yeah, well, I mean, Sirius and I, well, yeah, we’ve met.”

Remus felt his eyebrows raise at her faltering tone and he looked to Sirius who didn’t seem ready to say words of any language yet. So Remus spoke first. 

“Oh, well hello. I’m Remus. It’s nice to meet you,” and he put his hand out to Rebecca to shake. She smiled more, her eyes taking him in and she took his hand. 

“Hi Remus, I’m Rebecca. Nice to meet you. This is my girlfriend Claire,” she said, gesturing at the well dressed girl. “We’re just touring the area, on vacation, I guess you must be too. It is the offseason I guess? I can’t believe we’re on the same gondola as you, what even is this.”

Remus felt himself relax, girlfriend, ok so they weren’t in for an 8 minute lecture. That was something at least. He turned to Claire and shook her hand too. His eyes travelled up and down her tattooed arms, all thin lines and curling shapes. He especially noticed a beautiful one of a star surrounded by a circle on the inside of her elbow, but the whole thing was made of flowers and vines in light colours.

“Nice to meet you too Claire. Are y’all hockey fans then?” he asked, glancing repeatedly at Sirius, who was still seemingly frozen. He pressed his palm against Sirius’ thigh, hoping to ground him with touch. Feeling more than a little bit like he needed that too.

Claire laughed, a high, bright sound. 

“No, I can’t say I am. Is that how you know him, sweetheart?” Claire asked her girlfriend. 

“I, um, well yeah, kind of. We met at a media weekend where they were doing stories on a bunch of athletes for a magazine,” Rebecca explained, her gaze bounced between Sirius, Remus, her girlfriend, back to Sirius.

Remus nodded. Well that made sense. What didn’t make sense was that Sirius hadn’t said a single fucking word. He turned toward him, angling his body towards his husband so he could mouth as much as say, ‘ça va, baby?’ 

Sirius started bobbing his head. Remus saw him take two purposeful breaths, close his eyes for a long moment, and then open them again with his media smile on.

“Désolé, sorry, sorry Rebeccca. You just surprised me,” he took off his hat, ran his hands through his hair and replaced the hat. “Wow, yeah, it’s good to see you. Like you said, what are the chances?” 

“What media thing was it that you did?” Remus asked lightly, hoping to soften whatever the fuck this atmosphere was. 

“That one in New York that Pots and I went to? During your third season with the team, I think?” Sirius said. He looked deep into Remus’ eyes and took and squeezed his hand. Remus didn’t know why Sirius needed comfort, but he clearly did. So he scooted as close to Sirius as he could on the bench, held his hand, and tried to send comfort like osmosis. It seemed Sirius may have received the offering because he seemed to relax a degree or two. 

“Rebecca was on the olympic rugby team that got a medal at that olympics a few years ago,” Sirius supplied, gesturing to her. “Or maybe you still play?”

“Yeah, I do actually!” she replied. “I’m not a starter anymore, but I still have one more Olympics in me. The team has been doing so awesome, it’s been such an sweet ride.”

“Oh wow, that's amazing!” Remus said, meaning it, and hoping to take the conversation in safer territory. “Are you on a break from training right now? Being a tourist for a bit?”

“Yeah! It’s so beautiful out here. And it’s nice to have time to take in the sights. We travel for matches all the time, but it’s never very long in one place. We played a match near here last season, and it was so beautiful I knew I needed to bring Claire back here.” She smiled at her girlfriend and took her hand. 

“So you’re a hockey player?” Claire asked Sirius. He smiled a small smile and nodded, maybe started to say more while gripping Remus’ hand, but Claire continued, “that’s nice, but you two obviously slept together, right?” she said, gesturing between Rebecca and Sirius.

Rebecca just laughed, Sirius’ mouth dropped open, and Remus startled like he’d been shocked.

“That’s what this weird vibe is?!” he asked Sirius, half laughing, half horrified. “Oh my god, well, I get it now.”

Sirius dropped his head into both his hands, shaking his head, and then his shoulders were shaking, until his whole body was quivering with laughter. 

“Mon dieu, sorry, Rebecca… Re, I’m sorry.” Laughter bubbled out of him.  “I don’t know why I locked up, I got thrown back in time there for a minute, in my head. I’m ok now, sorry. Rebecca, it really is good to see you, I just was so surprised.”

Remus just shook his head. He’d be pretty shocked in the same situation too. The air already felt clearer, Sirius’ laughter had dissipated most of the awkwardness. 

“So you’re bi too then?” Rebecca asked. “Or pan maybe? I saw you two in the news of course, oh god I didn’t mean to bring that up, I just mean, obviously you’re married now! Congratulations,” she seemed to force herself to stop talking and Remus laughed. 

“Yeah, we got married last summer, it was amazing.”

Sirius smiled at him, the smile they always had when they thought about the lake house and their friends and family and the perfect haze of happy memories that surrounded that day. Sirius took a deep breath and turned to Rebecca.

“Yeah! But, um, no. Uh, I’m actually gay. That’s probably why I froze up there for a minute. But if you’re queer too that makes me feel a lot better, I think I panicked for a second that there would be flirting? Sorry, sorry.” he said, looking back and forth between both Rebecca and Claire.

Claire laughed, “Oh there could still be flirting, I’m afraid. You’re just her type in guys. I’m gay too, but my sweetheart here had a later in life bi awakening, much to my benefit.” She got closer and closer to Rebecca’s neck as she said this, and ended with a soft kiss to her jaw. Rebecca smiled a soft smile at her girlfriend, but then turned to Sirius, more serious. 

“Wow, so, um, that night must have been hard for you then? I feel like I should apologise. I think I kissed you first that night.”

Sirius shrugged his shoulders like his shirt was too tight, and Remus studied his reaction, taking his hand in both of his now, and drew circles in Sirius’ palm with his thumb. Sirius rubbed the back of his head with his other hand before answering. 

“No, please don’t apologise. You couldn’t know, I didn’t know. Well I knew, but I didn’t know . It’s not like you were the only girl I was with. I thought I just had to meet the right girl. And actually you helped with that, because you were so amazing. Beautiful, and fun to be around, and athletic and funny. And it was still… fine.” Rebecca laughed and faked hitting her heart with her fist like a stab. “No, I don’t mean it was bad! It was fine! Shit I keep saying fine… it was…” Sirius trailed off, looking to Remus, clearly now developing an aversion to the word fine. 

“Sirius, Sirius, it’s ok. I get it. The comphet comes for us all, doesn’t it?” Rebecca said. She started off half laughing, but her voice was full of authenticity by the end of her sentence. 

Remus kept running his thumb over Sirius’ palm in soothing circles, and Claire lifted her arm up to trace the edge of the window, and then put it around Rebecca’s shoulders, hugging her close. 

In the moment of silence that followed, the gondola slowly swung to stop. They all looked around, looking down at the magnificent view really for the first time since they got on the thing. 

“Huh, they must be stopping it to help someone on or off, I guess,” Remus said. A shiver had come over him as they swung to a stop, but it passed. The others nodded in acknowledgment as they swayed gently. 

“You were my last,” Sirius said into the silence. “My last time with … with a woman.” Remus raised his eyebrows at Sirius. “Well, I kissed other girls after that, only in public, but I knew after that night with you that I wanted to be with guys. Even if I didn’t let myself actually do that for a long time yet, at least I knew.” He paused. “Sorry,” he said again.

Rebecca laughed. “Honestly Black, it really is ok, stop apologising. I’m a little surprised, for sure, because for me it was really good. Like, really good. Like I-never-found-a-guy-as-good-again good, despite giving it an honest try. Had to fully just move onto women, good. So I might be questioning my perception of reality a little bit over here, but you don’t have anything to apologise for.” 

Remus was processing, hardly believing the turn this gondola ride had taken, but had to smile at that.

“He is pretty good, isn’t he?” Remus said, gazing up at Sirius with mischief in his eyes. “From our very first time, he knew what he was doing. Fuckin knocked my socks off,” Remus laughed. Rebecca joined him and Sirius buried his head in his hands again.

“Right?! His hands –”

“God, tell me about it. And his back?”

“Divine,” Rebecca sighed, tone half teasing and half serious. “And just his size, you know, when he’s on top, fully covering you?”

Remus faked a swoon, back of his hand to his forehead. “It’s amazing. Might be my favourite place in the world to be.” Sirius sat up and smacked Remus’ shoulder. “Re! Stop it,” he laughed.

“Did you get to experience his mouth?” Remus asked, leaning forwards to Rebecca. “Or how his eyes get so intense it’s like they glow?”

“Remus!”

Rebecca sighed dramatically. “I didn’t experience his mouth unfortunately. And I think he must be the only man in history to have turned down a blow job! It was mostly hands and some lovely dirty talk and … well, you know.”

“Oh the French dirty talk,'' Remus fawned, fanning himself with his hand, smiling evilly at Sirius. “It’s so hot.”

Rebecca faked a dramatic gasp. “Is this why you wanted me on my hands and knees??” she asked, gesturing dramatically to Remus. “So you could pretend I was him!?” The words might be accusatory, but the tone was pure glee. “Did you know him then?” she asked Remus. 

Sirius moaned into his hands and ground out what might have sounded like kill me now. 

“I just knew him as the hockey obsessed, tough as nails, never an emotion to be seen hockey captain back then. And I saw him make out with multiple girls at bars after that, so he clearly wasn’t ready for me yet back then,” Remus teased. 

Claire and Rebecca both nodded. “We all have to make our journeys of self discovery in our own time, don’t we,” Claire said. 

“That we do,” Remus said, letting the last of his laughter bubble out of him. They all took in a minute of happy silence, admiring the view. Even Sirius cautiously poked an eye out of the safety of his hands and looked past Remus to see towering snow capped mountains which they were almost eye level with up this high, this ground was really quite far away. Deep green trees transitioned into bright green grass in places, the buildings of the town looked like dots from here, and the fluffy white clouds seemed much closer than he had ever experienced before. 

The peace of the mountains seemed to sweep into the softly swinging gondola and Rebecca turned back to Sirius, still snuggled into Claire’s side. 

“I am sorry though, that society or whatever made you think you had to sleep with me. I’m sorry if I played a part in that,” she said. 

Sirius wasn’t frozen like the snow tipped mountains now, he tried to let his words flow like the breeze instead.

“I appreciate that, Rebecca, I do. But I could’ve said no, and I knew that. I went upstairs with you because I thought I should want to, but I was so deep in the shoulds, that in a roundabout way I did want to. And I’m honestly so glad you thought it was good, that’s like all I cared about.” “I never would’ve known you weren’t into it Sirius, really, it was good.” Sirius rolled his head on his neck, looking sheepish but happy. 

“It’s not that I didn’t think it was good. It did feel good, you’re amazing. I just was also really busy, in my mind. My thoughts were just going in bad circles with pressure and doing the right thing and what you might tell your friends and what I’d tell my teammates … so of course it was harder for me to just enjoy it. But like I said, you were the last time I did that, so I’m also really thankful for that, and for you. If you couldn’t be the right one, I knew there was no point in trying anymore.” He switched his gaze to Remus and his grin turned dopey, “until this one told me he was gay, and that I’d be worth it.”

Remus squeezed his hand. “You are worth it. Every day.” 

“If I may,” Claire said, “it sounds to me like you’re both right. You’re right, my love, to feel a bit weird about learning the guy you slept with doesn’t actually like sleeping with women. But it’s also ok that you still enjoyed it, because you’re always allowed to have your own version of a situation, based solely on your own experience of it. And he was actively trying to have you enjoy it, for different reasons than you thought. There’s no way you could have known his every inner thought.” Rebecca smiled and rested her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder. 

“And you Sirius,” she continued, “it could be interpreted as misleading to have gone upstairs with her, but Rebecca and I, as women who love women, know the strength and seeping nature of comphet, as I’m sure you do too, as a man in a traditional masculine field. It gets into your bones and bosses you around and ties your thoughts up in knots. I’m really glad you freed yourself from expectations to let yourself live. I can tell the two of you are really good together,” she smiled. 

Remus nodded his head along with her and kept drawing calming circles with his thumb around Sirius’ palm. 

“Merci, Claire,” Sirius smiled, “and for what it’s worth, Rebecca, I’m sorry for putting you in that situation.”

“Forgiven, Sirius Black. And thank you for ruining me for other men, so that I could find this goddess,” she leaned up to kiss Claire on the lips, deep and sensual. Sirius thought that looked like a really great idea, and leaned in to Remus. 

“Ça va bien, baby?” Remus repeated, their lips close, breathing each other in and out. He had been pressed up against Sirius’ side this whole conversation, clutching his hand. And now they blocked out the mountains, the uncomfortable seat, the shining sun, and only focused in on each other. 

“Oui. Je vais bien. Etonné. But … also good. Glad to have you, like always.”

“I’ll never be anywhere else, mon mari,” Remus murmured as he leaned in to kiss Sirius. Lost in their kiss, they didn’t notice that Rebecca and Claire were watching them with soft smiles on their faces, Rebecca’s head still against Claire’s shoulder. Claire twirled her hand around and then threaded her fingers through Rebecca’s ponytail, smiling. 

The gondola started moving again, startling Sirius and Remus apart with a smile. They squeezed each other’s hands with a shiver, they both had goosebumps from a brief chill. They all rode the last few minutes how they all had thought their whole ride would go. They pointed out the tallest trees, saw shapes in the clouds, basked in the chance to be so high up and see the world from such a different perspective. Funny how that makes a difference for so many things. 

They all saw the loading area approach, and stayed quiet while they slowed to a stop and the doors opened. They filed out into the visitors center. When they rounded the corner and were away from most other people, Rebecca folded herself into Sirius for a hug, squeezing him, her cheek pressed into his chest. He rested the side of his head against her and held her for a long moment. 

“Despite the shock, it really was good to see you, Sirius. And super good to get to clear the air with you about our night together. I, selfishly, hope you don’t regret it, but it’s ok if you do. I’m still happy to know you. Maybe you can actually text me back now that there’s no big secret swirling over you, eh?” she swatted him in the stomach at the last, and he dodged with an oof and a laugh. 

“Rebecca, honestly, I’m really glad to have run into you like this. Sorry if I was weird. I don’t regret it, how can I, when it was a stop on the path to me finding my husband?”

Rebecca turned and gave Remus a hug too. “Sorry for having your husband before you,” she teased. Remus huffed a laugh, and hugged her back. 

“Good to meet you Rebecca. I’ll forgive you, I suppose .” he joked. “Since I’m the one he’s going home with, I can’t complain.”

“Nope, you have absolutely nothing to complain about, I would know,” Rebecca teased as she took Claire’s hand again. “And I have this goddess now anyways. Bye, guys, take care!” she said as they started to turn away down the boardwalk.

“Enjoy your vacation!” Claire said with a wave, and Remus and Sirius waved as well, standing with their arms around each other’s backs. When they were a good way down the boardwalk Sirius turned and collapsed into Remus’ arms. They stood there amidst the beauty of the mountains. Tourists walked past and around them, taking pictures. They stood long enough for clouds to form and reform shapes, until Sirius could huff out a laugh. “What the actual fuck are the chances.”

“Of you stepping into a 6 foot square enclosed space with the last woman you had sex with? Really, really, really low I’d imagine. Even if we changed the odds to include all the women in general who have seen you naked, the number still has to be…” Remus trailed off as Sirius stood up and pushed him away, grumbling and laughing. 

“Stop teasing me, mon loup, this was traumatising ,” Sirius pouted. 

“Oh baby, I know, I know, come here,” Remus laughed, and gathered Sirius in tight for one more hug. “Let’s look around? And then we can walk down? So we don’t accidentally get trapped with the next least likely person in the fucking world? I can’t quite imagine who that could be at this point, but we’re probably safer on a hiking trail.”

“Let’s get trapped with your college boyfriend, and I’ll make comments about your mouth, tabarnak , that was embarrassing,” Sirius laughed under his breath as he turned to take in the view. 

“I was trying to cut the tension!”

“I’ll cut your tension,” Sirius muttered back.

“Can’t wait, baby,” Remus said with a suggestive eyebrow waggle. Sirius rolled his eyes, and then they did enjoy the view, thoroughly. And they took the hiking trail back down the mountain. 

[katblu42]

Day 16

With huge apologies for getting way behind again! This was another touring day, this time from Banff to Calgary.

First official stop (after a bonus stop at the Cascade Gardens that I visited yesterday) was a ride up the Sulphur Mountain gondola for some beautiful views over Banff.

There is smoke haze on the horizon from forest fires in BC.

A bunch of people on my tour stayed in that huge hotel last night - the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, just in front of Bow Falls.

Speaking of the falls, that was our next stop and we arrived just as a rafting group was setting of down the rapids.

(Adore those water colours!)

We took a drive around to Surprise Corner for views across the river (and the falls) back towards the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.

Then a lengthy lunch stop in Banff before getting back on the bus for a drive around the Lake Minnewanka Loop road. (Sorry about the UFOs and reflections off the bus windows in some photos.)

And from there it was all highway to Calgary.

I only had the one afternoon to spend in Calgary, so I did the 5 block walk to the Calgary Tower, stopping in front of the Bow Building for this sculpture.

The curvy glass building on the right is the Bow building. The face statue is hidden behind the Hyat's blue roof. The flat brick coloured rectangle building to the right of the Bow is where I stayed.

Lots of smoke haze on the horizon, but you can see the tower for the ski jump events from the 1988 Winter Olympics!

View to the Saddledome and Stampede Park, home of the annual Calgary Stampede (rodeo, exhibition, festival), which had been held a few weeks before.

The Bow River with the Calgary Zoo on the far bank, and Fort Calgary on the near one.

Such a short time to explore here! And if I can, I'd like to come back for the Stampede one day!

[pisc3s-baby]

Oh what are the pros and cons from your trip ? Did you create some nice memories ?

Pros:

Stampede!!

Lake Louise & Lake Moraine

Banff 😍

Stanley Park and seeing the Totem Poles

Seeing Bears, Moose, Otters and Porcupine for the first time!

Seeing Squirrels and a Chipmunks for the first time!

Papa John’s and Dairy Queen 😍

Walking the Capilano Suspension Bridge

Cons:

Chased by a homeless (drugged affected) man

Being groped on train leaving the zoo

Being harassed by a group of men while I was FaceTiming my parents - they had to see it & couldn’t do anything

Food poisoning

The Gondola ride down at Banff..it went too fast over the ledge and I screamed at the drop 😭

The final prices not being the final price 😭

Ending up in the sketchy areas 😭

The coffee wasn’t Australian coffee 😭

The hostel room, which I thought was a “female-only dorm”, turned out to be a “mixed dorm” and I barely slept for 4 of those 5 nights - at one point I was the only woman in the room

[kevandberniceincanada]

It was then on to Sulpher Mountain which overlooks the town of Banff. It rises to a height of 7486ft above sea level and from its peak, which we are catching the gondola to, you can see a total of 7 mountain ranges. Although we are in the Rockies it actually consists of numerous mountain ranges, invariably named after the people that discovered them. After a quick ride to the top we were greeted with fantastic 360° views of the surrounding area.

[azumetapraline]

Here are some photos I took when I went to my trip to Banff, Alberta, like one month ago (yeah, I know)! 🏞️

I originally wanted to carry my Meta & Magolor plushies to the West, but unfortunately, my plane ticket only allowed for one free bag, so I instead opted for the much smaller pipe-cleaner figurines I made about 3-4 years ago!

It was super fun to carry them around while I was hiking and admiring Alberta’s beauty! 🥰

For starters, Banff National Park is the fourth oldest national park in the world, and the oldest in Canada. It has a lot of unique protected fauna, flora and scenery. It’s in Alberta, not too far from Calgary, and it covers the Canadian portion of the Rocky Mountains.

More info-dumping about my trip and more photos (with or without blorbos) under the cut! 👇

This is the view from Sulphur Mountain’s summit. I went to the top thanks to a gondola (because the peak is really high).

This is Moraine Lake! Probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen in my life. Trust me, the actual scenery is much more grandiose than in the photos!

Lake Louise is not too far from there. Although its water’s color isn’t as unique as Moraine Lake’s, it looked absolutely gorgeous.

I’ll never forget the view of Lake Minnewanka, or the forests and canyons surrounding it; neither will I forget almost having a heat exhaustion from walking for too long under the sun and running out of water in the middle of the forest. 😅

Finally, I present you my absolute favorite place in the park. Moraine Lake is unique, yes, but Johnston Canyon is loterally a corner of paradise; beautifully-arranged trees, rocks and plants, and absolutely gorgeous waterfalls. The droplets felt so refreshing after a long hike! My brother told me that in winter, the waterfalls freeze! What a shame! I’ll be forced to come back there another time… 😩

Of course those are just the main places I’ve gone in those five days. There were also a lot of shops, restaurants, a few museums around. My hostel was awesome too, and I’ve explored a trail and ended up in some camping site in which I saw a wapiti. Here are some photos of animals I’ve taken during my trip (starting with the creature):

I loved this trip so much! Making this post reminded me of all the nice memories I lived in Banff. I feel lucky for having such an opportunity! It was also the first time of my life in a plane, and I did it alone (it being a domestic flight did help though)! 😄

Thank you so much for reading all this text and looking at my photos! I hope you enjoyed it, feel free to share if you want to. Have an amazing day/night… and a cookie! 🍪 Azu🦋

[canadatravel]

Banff Area!!!

Five reasons you should visit banff national park!!!

The mountins are spectacular

The lakes are to die for

You can sometimes see bears

They have a gondola

There is a museum full of taxidermied animals

image from the website https://www.banfflakelouise.com/banff-national-park

[footloose-travel]

The Banff Gondola to the top of Sulphur Mountain.

[charlesandmartine]

Thursday 6th July 2023

The little alarm clock went berserk at 7am this morning keeping its part of the bargain to get us up in time for the coach to Lake Louise. Bleerily we peered at our fellow passengers and admired the stoicism that they could so seemingly muster in the circumstances. The Lake is 45 mins away and Lake Louise village is first stop followed 4km later by the lake itself. This coach did not have National Express written down its side, but it so easily could have come from the same stable. Our Japanese immigrant driver rattled on in what could have passed as English, and we hoped whatever it was, was not important.

Now we have been in Canada long enough to be able to form an opinion on lake rankings. We have seen amazing lakes that go on forever; the size of Wales maybe. Others that you may not even comment on. Lake Louise was in a class on its own and thoroughly deserves the reputation it has won for itself. Unlike most lakes, you climb to get to it. The road snakes its way 4km up quite a steep hillside, passing expensive holiday resorts along the way. Then ahead of you dominating the immediate skyline is the highly impressive Fairmont Chateau Hotel which $1500 per night will buy you a double room overlooking the Lake. Reviews are generous and appreciative of the stunning location. Breakfast not included. The view these fortunate people gasp in when the curtains are flung back in the am is one of breathtaking beauty. What you will see is a turquoise blue stretch of water surrounded by huge mountains and six cradled glaciers staring back you. It is a sight to be transfixed by. Most people get off their coach and stand at the nearest point and gawp. Whatever difficulty, cost or inconvenience suffered to this point is soon forgotten. After our initial gawp, we, with limited time available, began a counter clockwise walk around the perimeter of the Lake. Wildlife tally; several chipmunks. After a meagre sandwich and a 2.5hr stop, we returned to meet our coach and the driver recommenced telling us stuff we still couldn't understand.

Our frenetic tour of these parts continued after an early evening meal. We had booked to travel up the Gondola despite Martine's lifetime fear of heights. The local no.1 bus took us to the base of Sulphur Mountain and the nerve centre for Gondolas. We were soon loaded up into our little Gondola and away we went climbing 7486ft into the evening sky alighting into another world, a world of mountain peaks and vast panoramic vistas which could be appreciated from an extensive network of boardwalks. At ground level it is hard to appreciate just how many mountain peaks there are. On the ground you see the mountain next to you, a mile and a half up, you see what is behind that mountain and behind that. It was such a good trip. Returning to earth and downtown, we returned to the Banff Avenue Brewing Company for a top up on our previous visit. I think I had the 'Smashed Head '.

This has been a great couple of days in Banff. A lot accomplished and despite a very busy tiring day, we are ready for moving on tomorrow to Jasper.

[fleurcareil]

Alberta Rockies (1): Canmore and Banff

After saying goodbye to Deborah, I drove out west and soon started to see the first mountains!! 🤩 I read somewhere that out of all landscapes, people are most impressed by mountains and I cannot agree more.. not necessarily for me to live in but certainly to visit!

I had been recommended to do the hike to the Grassi lakes in Canmore as a good intro to the mountains, so up I went together with a few other hundred persons 😜... this was the first time in over the two months I'm on the road that I experienced real busyness, so I was a bit annoyed at first but hey I was there too so couldn't really blame others wanting to do the same 😅.

First view was from a man-made hydro reservoir and there was also a waterfall, but then the two star Grassi lakes showed themselves.. . I must say that initially I was a bit disappointed, is this it? as they're tiny & seemed unassuming at first, but then went I waited until the sun came out I could see those beautiful green colours & agreed that they're stunning. I probably sat on a rock for about an hour waiting until the sun came through, observing the other tourists, rock climbers and even a girl in a fancy dress having a photo shoot 😀. I'm never bored when doing nothing!

As this was a Saturday evening in August in the Rockies 🙃, it was no surprise that I had had trouble finding a place to stay, so I backtracked a bit into the valley to a campground which turned out to be on a First Nations reserve. The evening prior, I had been asked whether I had ever stayed on a reserve so now I could say yes!

Basically being a big grassfield with a porta-potty it was really not much but it had an amazing view and as the reserve is its own nation, I was allowed to have a campfire whereas the rest of the province had a fire ban, bizarre! I would not have done a fire but that night was the height of the Perseides meteor shower, so I gladly enjoyed the warmth while looking for shooting stars... I saw 13 in total! 🤩

Next morning, I headed to the visitor centre in downtown Banff to get ideas on what I could do, and although the village looked pretty I was glad to leave for lake Minnewanka for one of the most glorious paddles I've done to date... blue sky, mountains, crystal clear water & no wind... SUP paradise! 😍❤ I had optimistically put on my bikini but this being my first glacial lake I had not fully understood how absolutely freezing the water is, so that swim didn't happen! 😅

In the afternoon, I drove along the pretty Bow Valley Parkway to set up camp at the Johnston Canyon, whose parking lot was overflowing & mayhem with people, but luckily the campsites were large and quiet.

When I had first been to Banff in 2010, the smoke of fires near Kamloops (speaking of history repeating itself, see my recent update on BC fires) created zero visibility so we fied Banff within a day, not having seen any of the landscape so I was very happy to experience it now with such perfect weather! 😍 Top of my list was taking the Banff Gondola which is apparently the single largest attraction, so I guess I was lucky to get any ticket at all, even at 5:30pm.... once more TONS of people but I didn't let me distract from the marvelous views. I sat again for an hour or so on a bench, watching the world go by while sipping a beer and taking in the scenery 🤗 PS I know everyone loves their children but OMG what a patience parents must have nowadays!?! 😵

After all this beauty, I was completely content to have a simple salad (and the last delicious samosa from Calgary's farmers market), make a crossword & dive into bed early.

Wildlife: NO grizzly bears, black bears, mountain goats or bighorn sheep 🤨 I did see 1 elk & 4 deer

SUPs: one at Banff

Hikes: one at Canmore

[blazingspirit]

I went to Banff and saw the mountains and went up a mountain in a gondola, the world is an incredible place but also I missed my cats