This post is sponsored by Delta + American Express.
Everyone has a bucket list, even if it’s unsaid and unwritten, we have them. Places that we’ve saved to Pinterest or saved on Instagram time and time again and they all have the same qualities- they make your heart skip a beat when you see or think about them.
That’s how Banff National Park was for me. The emerald green water of Lake Louise, the beautiful waterfalls on the hike in Johnston Canyon, the skiing at Mt. Norquay, roasting marshmallows at the Fairmont Banff Springs, soaking in the Banff Hot Springs… I had saved all of these moments to hopefully one day experience them for myself. And this winter I finally did.
Boarding our direct flight from LAX to Calgary, we knew we were in for an awesome adventure. Alberta had already been blessed with lots of snowy days, so our winter trip would have a fresh coat of powder but the weather looked sunny for most of our trip. Sunshine and snow- the absolute best!
We drove into Banff late afternoon, just in time to watch the sun dip below the mountains and the sky light up in pink and purple waves. We made our way through Banff town center, crossed over the bridge and valeted the car at Fairmont Banff Springs – a true castle in the mountains, tucked away by snowcapped trees.
During our 4 days in Banff National Park we crossed every one of my bucket list items off my unwritten list. Places I had saved for years now had real tangible memories in my mind from my own experiences. We soaked in the hot springs (it wasn’t as hot as I imagined), we hiked Johnston Canyon (it was just as epic as I had envisioned, maybe even more so), we roasted marshmallows while watching a pick up game of ice hockey (they tasted even gooier than I remember), and we skied all three mountains of SkiBig3.
One morning we woke up suddenly before the sun rose and wondered if we should sleep in or go try to snap photos of sunrise. The adventurers in us called, of course, and we answered, of course.
We piled on the layers – it was -22 degrees after all – and made our way to Bow Lake. Sitting one next to another, there was a line of photographers ready to snap the perfect shot of the mountains reflecting in a small-unfrozen part of the lake. While the reflection was beautiful, I actually obsessed over the other photographers. We joked as we waited, all freezing our butts off but having a blast. This was a moment that none of the saved photos could have prepared me for- the connections I made with local Alberta photographers and travelers who had come from further away than I had. It was such a raw, real moment – truly one for the bucket list.
This is one of my favorite photos from our entire trip because it was truly unplanned. You had to live in the moment and without going against the itinerary I never would have experienced this.
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You can apply for the card here and please tell us about your bucket list destination in the comments below- can’t wait to see where you all want to go! Terms apply.
