Not all who wander are lost...

As 2015 approached another trip came onto the horizon. This time an exploration trip of NW Canada and the most beautiful and picturesque area known as Banff, British Colombia. My dog Shelby (She passed away in 2014 but still vividly in our minds and or hearts) loved Banff so much because it was a place she could enjoy and breathe the fresh air. Shelby was a Golden Retriever who loved the water more than most dogs but loved being in the cold as well. She was a little Woolly Mammoth (More on that later).

We left from Miami, Florida and headed north. It is funny actually, no matter where you leave in Florida you are always headed north as there is not much besides Cuba south of Miami. I know many people consider Miami an Urban Cuba anyways. 3 days into our trip we finally touched the edge of Banff and the National Park we have come to love. As we entered, the temperatures began to drop and the Lincoln displayed 26 degrees F (-4 Celcius).

Our first night was a bit more chilly than we expected. We ended up spending the first two nights in a hotel room and in the City of Banff. We slowly migrated over to a tent for the next few weeks. We woke up our first night in the hotel and were greeted with this.

We decided on this trip to explore all of the places we may have missed prior and to see those that may look different during the winter months. We found the most amazing waterfall, don't mind me I was just trying to blend in wearing my orange waterproof cover.

This was perhaps one of my favorite pictures I took that day. I used a Canon SL1 which is the smallest DSLR on the market right now to snap it. I figured that was the best camera because of its convenience during travel. It was still on the original lense that came in the kit.

I tried playing with the focus on the 4 mile hike up. I wanted to blurr the background yet still have the immediate area remain in focus.

Just North of Banff, about 60 miles to be exact, resides a beautiful glacier which you can explore and take a hike on. The area is mostly undisturbed if you decide to pass the gates that are set up and warnings of falling into the ice. We found a search party headed up as we were heading down with a beautiful dog tagging along.

Here is Lola. She was tired after 3 days of driving and definitely cold but she was kept wrapped up nice and warm. She prefers laying on the couch or the center console but she is definitely a trooper.

Part of exploring the world is exploring the unexplored. We went off the beaten path just a little bit and caught this beautiful ice cave in the side of the ice. We wanted to get closer but the water was blocking us from getting there. The water was cold, 5-6ft deep at some points, and definitely flowing at a nice steady pace.

Overall it was a successful trip :) The truck did very well and always ran on 93 gas. One important thing we learned is nitrogen is very important for them instead of air. This keeps the tires cooler on long rides like this one. I remember when I took my Cadillac Escalade to Pennsylvania and blew the rear right tire. It was so hot it was smoking! Never an issue with nitrogen! Thanks for checking out this trip!