Alberta Bound - My Adventures in Edmonton, Banff + Jasper!

Wow what a trip. I was honestly blown away with how beautiful the Canadian Rockies are. This was the first time I rented a car on my own and road tripped alone! I must say, it’s pretty cool having the freedom to listen to whatever you feel like at the moment, sing at the top of your lungs, and made a bagillion stops for photo ops at every corner. There were times though where I wanted to experience the beautiful sights with Rory and I missed him, but I loved Jasper so much and there was so much to see and explore that I knew I’d be back one day to show him! Hopefully I can book some more weddings in Alberta and go back :) Highlights from the trip accompanied by pictures!:-shopping at West Edmonton Mall + Whyte Ave. for fall clothes with only 5% tax!-shooting Seanna + Tim’s Wedding in Edmonton!!-bonding more with my friends Kristen + Siya from Hopscotch the Globe!-just me, the open road, great music, and gorgeous views!-being 2 meters away from elk and just being in awe of these beautiful creatures!-coming close to jumbo sized chipmunks lol! They are so friendly!!-driving through Jasper along Icefields Pkwy-visiting Moraine Lake in Banff, Johnston’s Canyon, and The Path of the Glacier Loop-practicing handstands in front of mountains (I fell a bunch of times but stayed up for 3 seconds or so a couple times! This is what I'm currently focused on in achieving in yoga!)-racing to get to my flight on time because I made to many stop on the way to the airport for photo ops! - haha

I didn’t do any intense hikes on this trip just because I decided that I wanted to drive around and see as much as I could. I was so happy with that. Here are some places I did visit that I thought were so beautiful!

Moraine Lake in Banff, Alberta (Difficulty, Easy) – I was staying in a hostel (Hostel International) in Banff one night and I was trying to decide on what to do the next day. I overheard another girl talking about a couple places she visited that day and I decided to ask her where she went. She told me Moraine Lake was beautiful, and it’s so easy to get there! She was right! I drove up to Moraine Lake, parked, walked 2 minutes and there it was! This whole time I thought that people had to hike up pretty far to get to that point, but nope, you just drive up. Either way, it was GORGEOUS! My eyes couldn’t believe it was real! There was also the option of walking up a hill for 5 minutes to get to see a view higher up. It was epic <3

Johnston’s Canyon in Banff, Alberta (Difficulty, Easy) – I wasn’t able to complete the whole trail due to a time crunch, but what I was able to walk through was beautiful. There was beautiful lush forest areas to walk through and a serene river with a sequence of waterfalls. The 2 main attractions there are the lower falls and the upper falls. I got as far as the Lower Falls, but did walk off the beaten path a couple times to get closer to the river for some photos. Whenever you unleash a photographer onto a trail, it will take 3x as long to complete – haha.

Path of the Glacier Loop – Jasper, Alberta (Difficulty, Easy), found at the end of Cavell Rd. – Wow this one was super cool! The air was so fresh and I got to see a glacier in person!:) There was a pond of water just under it where the glacier melts into. I didn’t just want to stay at the lookout. I wanted to get even closer. So there I went, passing signs that said “Do not pass this point. Flash flooding risk”. The adventurous side of me couldn’t help but cross as I planned the quickest escape route in my head lol. I felt so small and was in so much awe of how epic mother nature can be.

I can easily say that Jasper one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen! I love how I'm just falling more and more in love with Canada. I'm understanding the whole term "proud to be Canadian". The people are so nice, it's so clean here, mother nature is extraordinary, and the opportunity for such a high quality of life is something we should be very grateful and cherish everyday. Alberta is magical, and I will be back! :)

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Toronto Documentary Wedding Photographer for Free-Spirited, Bohemian & Adventurous Couples - GTA, Vancouver, Worldwide, International, Destination