KELOWNA

We arrived in Kelowna on Sunday afternoon after a quick and very uneventful overnight in Salmon Arm. Kelowna is in the famed Okanagan Valley (aka Canadian wine country!!!) and is a gorgeous city surrounded by Lake Okanagon, a HUGE lake which is 84 miles long and 3 miles across! Heaven for Michael and his jet ski! We opted to stay out of the trendy downtown area and are loving the historic Hotel El Dorado which is in the Lower Mission District, about 10-15 min from the downtown area. It opened in 1926 and is right on the lake! We are lucky that they are letting us moor the jet ski on their dock! It has an amazing rooftop patio that we have been enjoying as well as lots of shops and restaurants nearby. We could not have picked a better place for us to stay! We've been exploring Kelowna via jet ski and bike and spent yesterday at one of the most popular wineries called Mission Hill Winery, we we had an amazing tour and tasting and lunch! We are really loving Kelowna and will spend a few more days here as the weather is absolutely gorgeous and sunny (apparently pretty typical for here!)

Lunch and walk along the boardwalk in downtown Kelowna

The Hotel El Dorado! Our Home in Kelowna

Mission Hill Winery

REVELSTOKE

We did a quick overnight in Revelstoke after Banff as it had been recommended to us by several people in Banff as a stop between Banff and Vancouver. It's a cute little town surrounded by mountains and is really beautiful. We stayed at the historic Regent Inn which was the first hotel in the town. We had a yummy dinner at their restaurant and a great night sleep. We wandered around town this morning and walked along the Columbia River. Upon leaving for Kelowna we discovered a nail in one of the tires that pretty much deflated it overnight so we had to stop and get it patched which delayed us so we stopped earlier for the night in the town of Salmon Arm. We'll head on to Kelowna in the morning!

View from our room at the Regent Inn


Our Walk along the Columbia River in Revelstoke

LAKE LOUISE

Unfortunately the weather was cloudy and rainy yesterday but we still wanted to stop at Lake Louise on our way out of Banff. We had planned to do Lake Moraine as well but with the weather and crowds decided to skip it and will check it out on another trip with hopefully better weather! Regardless of the weather, Lake Louise was absolutely breathtaking- the teal colored water surrounded by mountains is a sight to be seen! I can only imagine it with blue skies! The historic Chateau Lake Louise sits in the background and is grand and elegant. Fun facts on the Chateau- my grandmother and her mother stayed there in 1947 and my dad stayed there in 1969! Unfortunately we did not continue the tradition and stay there but I hope to stay there someday with MY mom! We walked around the lake and had a quick lunch at the cafe at the Chateau and then headed on for Revelstoke!

BANFF

Unfortunately our time in Banff was a little rushed due to inclement weather coming in but we still managed to do a lot in our 2 nights & 3 days! And best of all now I have a better idea of the town, hotels, restaurants, and activities for our next trip! Banff is honestly one of the most beautiful places I have EVER been- the mountain views are literally 360- every way you look there is an amazing view- we were in total awe. And how lucky were we to get there during the fall leaves changing!? We stayed at a great hotel in the heart of downtown so we were within walking distance to everything! However- town was really crowded with a ton of tourists. Apparently summer is the busiest season so we weren't even hitting the peak but it was still packed! I can't even imagine what it's like then! The pictures below are from my walk through town and up to the famous Fairmont Springs Hotel. 

We took a great (and TOUGH) bike ride up Tunnel Mountain road where there is a popular hike (we skipped the hike as we were running out of time). We were lucky to see a beautiful elk just sitting up on a hill on our way down back into town.

Some of the amazing food we ate in Banff!

Our last dinner at the Maple Leaf Grille- so good!



The hot tub "cave" at our hotel!

Also I thought it would be interesting to add these "fun facts" from one of the Banff visitor guides that I picked up :)

1- Banff is the highest town in Canada with an elevation of 4537 ft (1383 m)

2- Banff Natl. Park was established in 1885- it is Canada's fist national park!

3- Banff Natl. Park is home to 7 Natl. Historic sites- Skoki Lodge, Abbot Pass Hut, Howse Pass, Cave & Basin, Banff Park Museum, Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, & the Cosmic Ray Station on Sanson Peak

4- The highest mtn. in Banff Natl. Park was thought to be Mt. Forbes at 11850 ft (3612 m) but the summit of My. Assinboine actually crosses the Park border, making it the highest at 11870 ft (3619 m)

5- The largest man-made lake in Banff Natl. Park is Lake Minnewanka, while the largest natural lake is Hector Lake.

6- The Bow River, whose source is the Bow Glacier and Bow Lake, flows thru Banff & continues as far as Hudson Bay.

7- The TransCanada HWY, near the town of Banff has 2 multi-million $$$ overpasses that are 50 m wide and are here solely for use by the Park's wildlife.

8- A summer resort village called Minnewanka Landing, was est. in 1888. Eventually it grew to have 4 avenues, 3 streets, hotels, restaurants, and cruise boats. In 1941, it was completely flooded by the Calgary Power Co. under the War Measures Act, and now it's a "high altitude" dive site. The town, which is one of 3 dive sites in Lake Minnewanka, is considered the best preserved example of a submerged historic village in Canada.