The Rockies Diary, Week 2: Tunnel Mountain + Mexican Lunch in Banff

(Read about Week 1 here)

(Read about Week 3 here)

May 3, 2021 - May 9, 2021

My room has two skylights.  Every morning around 6am, the sunlight begins to peek through, causing me to wake up before my 8am alarm.  You'll find me pulling the covers over my head in an attempt to get an extra hour of sleep.  Some mornings I can hear the birds chirping, other times, it's people working away on a roof or doing road construction somewhere nearby.

The past couple days, I managed to go for a nice hour long bike ride in the morning, through the Bow River Loop (pictured above), although there have been many rainy days this week.  While the weather may not be conducive for lunch outside and strolling down the streets, I love how the fog hovers over the mountains in an almost doomsday fashion.

I have been working at the shop by myself for the most part.  It's funny, when I accepted the position as a supervisor I was told that I would be responsible for 3-5 people.  So far, I have just been supervising myself (not complaining).  The weather is not the best right now - gloomy, raining, sometimes snowing - and Covid restrictions certainly do not entertain much of a food scene.  We serve from the door, so there is no indoor/outdoor dining.  But, for those restaurants and cafes with patios, the last day for outdoor dining is this Sunday.  And I have yet to try any in the area because I'm just waiting for a nice sunny day to enjoy my lunch out in the warm sun!  

As much as I try to restrain myself from grocery shopping too often, I could not help myself this week - there were some good deals!  Amongst the many items bought were 4 cheese tortellinis pasta to be mixed with pesto (what a treat) and a lemon flavoured, filipino, instant noodle I've never tried before (pictured below).  Spoiler, it was not good.

Kate also bought some batteries for the wii and ps3, so the three of us played a bit of Mario cart and Mario bros.  I am really horrible at it - although in my defence I have never really played before.

On May 5, a Wednesday, the shop was terribly slow because of the gloomy weather.  For the last 3 hours of my shift, I did not get a single customer!  On the up side, all that down time allowed me to make some headway on my book Catch me if you can by Frank Abagnale.  I am really pleased that I have been able to read so much since this summer began.  At the beginning of the year, I only had the mental capacity to listen to audiobooks, which always feels like a cheat and is usually less enjoyable to consume.  Now, if I am not reading at work, I make sure to read a certain number of pages by the end of the day.

On May 6, the three of us had the day off so we woke up extra early to catch the 8:30am bus to Banff!  Thirty minutes later, we arrived and headed straight for Tunnel Mountain, also known as Sleeping Buffalo, its Stoney Nakoda name.  The first survey engineers for the Canadian Pacific Railway thought they would have to tunnel through the mountain.  Instead, the railway goes around it.  This summit stands at an elevation of 1,692 m/ 5,543 ft.  

What an uphill climb it was!  After frequent rest stops, we made it to the top, and the view overlooked the Town of Banff.  We felt incredibly accomplished (and my glutes were quite sore the next day).  Passing the climbers heading up the mountain as we were heading back down felt almost nostalgic as we recalled the sweats and heavy breathing we endured just minutes earlier.  Lots of cute chipmunks and baby squirrels were spotted.  Apparently, local Banff resident, Anne Ness is credited with hiking to the top of Tunnel Mountain more that 8,000 times in 40 years, sometimes twice in one day.  I'd also like to imagine myself as a 70 year old lady, going for my daily hike up a mountain at 6am - no excuses.  King George VI and Queen Elizabeth also stood on this summit in 1939.  Later, the lookout was sometimes called King's Lookout in remembrance of their visit.

After our two hour hike, we wandered through the shops of downtown Banff - where I impulsively bought a touristy Banff shirt.  In my defence, it is my favourite colour, and stands as my favourite shirt (you'll see it in Week 3's write up) along with my Timothee shirt.

For lunch, we chose Magpie and Stump for a taco and nacho feast.  It was also the only restaurant that offered a roof top patio.  With the weather being mildly overcast, but not chilly, we followed the host upstairs where we were greeted with a vibrant lounge and loud music.  Kate and I split the Greatest Of All Time (G.O.A.T) nachos.  I also got a single order of the Pollo (chicken) Tinga taco.  The group's census: a definite favourite spot (and next time we're sharing the nachos and queso)!

Exhausted and ready for a nap, we headed back to Canmore.  I haven't mentioned this yet, but there's a Candy shop right across my place and everyday I would yearn to check it out.  Well, after a day of money well spent, I figured I'd go for a final hurrah.  At the Old Thyme Candy Shoppe, I bought some sponge toffee and locally made chocolate mint fudge.  Would recommend both!

On May 9, the last day of the week, I eagerly tried to book a Covid vaccine appointment to no avail.  But in better news, I also went for a late afternoon bike ride.  It snowed this day and managed to leave a light dusting over the mountains (similar to icing powder).  The mountains really looked black and white.  During my ride, I spontaneously rode over to Millennium Park (pictured below) where I discovered a bike park (unfortunately not pictured below)!  It consisted of many dirt hills and was quite fun to ride through, albeit tiring.

ps. I refuse to pay $3 for a load of laundry, so I brought up an empty ice cream bucket to hand wash my clothes.

(Read about Week 1 here)

(Read about Week 3 here)

The Rockies Diary, Week 1: The Journey Begins

(Read about Week 2 here)

On March 15, I booked my solo flight to Canmore, Alberta!  It was now official.  I was to be flying out of Toronto on April 26 and landing in Calgary that same day.

Last year, I was working full-time at a call centre doing tech support, all whilst studying full-time.  Everything was done from my desk at home in my really small room.  It was fine for a while and I managed to make good money, but after 5 months, I was burnt out.  I quit my wfh job and concentrated - rather failed at concentrating - on my school work.  Man, it is safe to say that last semester was the worst semester for nearly everyone I know.  We'd do all our studying at home because there was no real reason to go to campus.  Eventually, the days lumped into weeks, and what felt like years, ended up seeming like a blip in the space-time continuum.  After all was said and done, we barely remember the last year of school.

While this was happening, I desperately wanted to find a job for the summer that did not involve being at home.  I had heard about tree planting being a labour intensive job, but one that offered accommodation and a new place to travel to.  It sounded promising.  But, broadening my search into other jobs that offered staff accommodation lead me to the job that I currently have in Canmore.

On March 7, I accepted a supervisor position at a local ice cream shop right in the heart of downtown Canmore, and which offered a place to live right above the shop.  My goal for the summer was to make it memorable.  When I think about the most memorable summers I've had, I always reflect on the time I spend working at The Ex.  It was long hours, but a pure joy to be working inside a fair and getting to meet new people.  In accepting this job, I was hoping that it would push me outside of my comfort zone, introduce me to new people, and explore a part of Canada that I have never seen before... The Canadian Rockies.  As always, I started packing a month in advance.

April 26, 2021 - May 2, 2021

This was my first time flying solo - the first hurdle I had to mentally take to get out of my comfort zone.  The flying itself was not terrifying.  It was leading up to the flight that made me anxious.  I had no idea what to do when I got the the airport - had no clue where to go and what the procedures were (especially what with Covid).  To my relief, everything went as smooth and fast as it could have without the crowds of people and long lines.  Though surprisingly, the plane was nearly full.

Once landed in Calgary, I took a very spacious, very expensive, taxi cab to Canmore, which was about an hour away.  The drive was pleasant, albeit hot under the blazing sun.  Looking out the window, I realized that the landscape in Alberta is fairly similar to that of Ontario.  It was mostly flat farm land and as we got closer to Canmore, there were more coniferous trees on each side of the road.  Then came the mountains.  I have never seen mountains so towering, covered in snow, and their ridges cascading all the way down.

Upon my arrival in Canmore, I was greeted by Tory - one of the shop owners - who showed me up to the second floor apartment I'll be staying for the next four months.  To my delight, it was super spacious, with an incredibly tall ceiling and plenty of skylight.

Thankfully, I had three days to settle in before my first shift on April 29.  I accustomed myself to the essential grocery stores and... the birds!  It never crossed my mind that Canmore would have different birds - mostly crows and this other bird that I've already forgotten the name of (pictured below).  Besides that, everything I need is within a five minute walking distance.  Everything else is ten minutes.

edit: the bird is called a black-billed magpie!

Of course, I also explored the different trails in the area.  The first hike I did was two and a half hours down the Bow River (pictured below).  It still amazes me how light blue and turquoise the water is!

But wait, there's more!  The day before I started work, I managed to buy a bike off of Facebook Marketplace.  It has already proven its worth because I couldn't fathom going for a walk or run before or after work - my feet kill.  This bike has allowed me the privilege of going for a ride around town for a couple hours before work when the weather is pleasantly cool and misty.  That's exactly what I did on the last day of the week.  

Policeman's Creek (pictured below)

(Read about Week 2 here)

Sun's Out

My 21st Birthday ft. My New Timothee Chalamet Shirt