Author: Michelle

I hope everyone has had a great start to 2023 – it has definitely been a busy one on my end!

I had intended to write this post at the end of 2022, but time escaped me, and well – here we are ツ.

Because I am fortunate enough to live in one of the most beautiful areas of the world (surrounded by both mountains and the ocean), I wanted to highlight some of the amazing hikes we did locally in 2022… “locally” for these purposes will be defined as being within 2-hours of home.

Hunter Logging Road, Mission – April 2022

This trail is an old logging road that takes you to a viewpoint overlook Stave Lake. Not a technically challenging hike, but definitely has a steady incline all the way to the end. If you do this hike on a clear day, the scenery is guaranteed to be spectacular!

Jug Island Beach Trail, Belcarra – April 2022

Belcarra Regional Park is a high traffic area with many different activities to choose from on a nice day. You will find people having a picnic, hiking and even paddle boarding or canoeing along the Burrard Inlet.

This is a very popular trail – it goes through a forested area, and as the name suggests, ends at a small beach with a view of Jug Island. The beach is also across from one of Vancouver’s main mountains – Mt Seymour.

Farside & Riverside Loop, Whistler (Interpretative Forest) – July 2022

If you have been to Whistler, you will know that it can get incredibly busy, especially during the summer! That is why I really enjoyed this hike along the river – apparently this is considered to be a popular trail, but we only encountered a handful of people and found it quiet and relaxing overall.

I would consider this to be an easy trail (with the exception of one steep hill), and very doable even on a hot summer day, as you will be covered by trees for almost the entire walk. You will also get to cross the Cheakamus River Suspension Bridge to get from the Farside Trail to the Riverside Trail.

Eagle Bluffs Trail, Vancouver (Cypress Mountain) – July 2022

Eagle Bluffs trail is definitely much harder than some of the other hikes we did in 2022. The hike starts by going up several switch backs – which means you are breaking a sweat pretty early on – but I promise it gets easier after that!

I feel there is a lot to see on this hike – both forested and open areas, as well as several small lakes, and the final destination provides stunning views of the ocean, Vancouver, and Bowen Island.

Vancouver had a very late start to the summer last year, and we found ourselves walking through snow for some parts of the trail in the middle of July! The snow melt was also late, making the hike quite muddy!

While I am not sure if this is typical for this hike at the time of the year we completed it, the bugs were horrible! Luckily, we purchased a couple of bug nets to put on our heads, which made the hike much more enjoyable.

Dog Mountain Trail, Vancouver (Mt Seymour) – August 2022

Dog Mountain is a very popular trail on Mt Seymour. While the incline on this hike is minimal, it is definitely a bit technical – you have to watch where you are stepping as there are a lot of tree roots!

You will walk across a handful of boarded walkways and pass a lake before getting to the main viewpoint, which overlooks the City of Vancouver.

Our timing for this hike was not the best – we completed the trail in the middle of the afternoon while the sun was very strong. As a result, I did not end up with any nice photos to share with you!

Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver – September 2022

Back in September 2022, I spontaneously signed up for an introductory photography course and the assignment for the first week was landscape photography. I decided to venture out into West Vancouver with a vision of capturing the lighthouse for my assignment, and I am happy to report, it was a success!

There are several different trails you can hike within the park, but the one I completed was Point Atkinson Lighthouse & Shore Pine Point Loop. There are a handful of viewpoints along this trail, providing stunning views of the harbour. If you are looking for a relaxing Sunday afternoon walk, I would definitely recommend checking out Lighthouse Park.

Chain Lakes Loop Trail, Washington – October 2022

We definitely saved the best for last – the Chain Lakes Loop Trail in the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest was my favourite hike of 2022. It was also probably the longest and hardest of the hikes we completed, in my opinion, but totally worth it!

The trail is about 11km long, providing the most stunning views of the surrounding mountains and several small lakes. When we did this trail, there were a handful of wildfires north and south of the area, making it quite smoky – but fortunately, the views were still amazing.

When we were reading up on the trail, there were some suggestions about which direction to start the loop, as there is a set of stairs that is much easier to complete going down at the start, rather than going up at the end. Well, we definitely went the wrong way and ended up doing nature’s stair master after we had already been hiking for three hours. If I remember correctly, you want to start the trail counter-clockwise (we went clockwise) – if you see small “monuments” with pictures of geese on them, you are going the right way!

The last thing I will say about this trail is that because we completed it in October, we got to experience all the fall colours – various shades of green, yellow, orange, red and brown. I look forward to going back and doing another hike in this area soon, hopefully with a bit less smoke this time ツ.

Always grateful,

Michelle

I am finally getting around to documenting the last part of our trip to Southern California in December 2022!

In between my last post, and this one, I have been working on giving the blog a bit of a “face lift” – I added an About Me section on the home page, and also created a new cover photo collage. Let me know what you think ツ!

Since my last post covered my favourite moments in Disneyland Park, this one will focus on the California Adventure side of Disneyland Resort. I would definitely recommend reading my Disneyland post first, otherwise some of the details below might not make sense!

For those who have not been to Disneyland Resort, the two parks – Disneyland and California Adventure – are literally side-by-side; you can walk from one part to the other in probably one minute… but I guess that depends on how fast you walk. Disneyland is definitely the more popular of the two, but my favourite rides are in California Adventure. This might be a good place to start!

Rides

Here is a list of the rides we did while in California Adventure:

Goofy’s Sky School: I have to be honest; I did not like this ride. Goofy’s Sky School reminded me of the Wild Mouse ride that used to be at the P.N.E in Vancouver – does anyone remember this ride? Every time it (Wild Mouse) went around a corner, I felt the car was going to fly right off the tracks, and that is exactly what Goofy’s Sky School was like! Needless to say, my happiest moment on the ride was when it was over.

Guardian’s of the Galaxy – Mission Breakout: Okay, while it is a super close call, this has to be my favourite ride at Disneyland Resort (sorry, Justin – his favourite is the Incredicoaster). I love the introduction to the ride (how Rocket explains the “mission”) and when the elevator drops, you get the weirdest feeling in your stomach… kind of like you are fluttering or floating. The music is always really good, too! I could not believe I convinced Justin to do this ride four times while we were at the park, given that we only did it once on our previous trip. We even got pretty good at the photo ops with our “rock on” poses!

Incredicoaster: This is my second favourite ride at Disneyland Resort! But as I said, it is a very close call between this one and Guardian’s of the Galaxy. The drops on this coaster, and the part where you go upside down, always have me screaming at the top of my lungs!

The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure: A relaxing ride “under the sea” (my puns are on point lately).

Mater’s Jingle Jamboree: This ride is kind of like the teacups – you spin around the junkyard in a tractor, and the tractors also have springs that will send you in the other direction. It was fun!

Pixar Pal-A-Round – Swinging: I feel this is the iconic ride of California Adventure – the giant Ferris wheel with Mickey Mouse’s face on it. You can choose between two line-ups on this ride – swinging and non-swinging gondolas. If you go on a swinging gondola, it will also slide back and forth when you come to a stop. It was a bit scary being so high up, swingin’ and slidin’! This ride was Justin’s equivalent of Goofy’s Sky School for me – his favourite moment was when it ended.

Radiator Springs Racers: This ride is definitely another favourite of mine. While the ride itself is pretty basic, the animations/display are my favourite part. Radiator Springs Racers will have a line-up before the park even opens, and the Lighting Lane for this ride comes at an additional cost (just like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Disneyland). This ride also went down several times during our visit, but we managed to fit it in a handful of times by using the Single Riders line-up. Through this option, Justin and I still managed to get on the same car a couple of times (one of us was in the front row, the other in the back row), and only waited about 15 to 20 minutes. The Single Rider line-up is definitely worth it, as long as you are not hell-bent on sitting next to each other.

Silly Symphony Swings: This was a quick, classic ride. If you are afraid of heights, definitely do not look down!

Soarin’ Around the World: This ride is essentially a giant TV screen that you fly into/over, as it shows video footage from different places around the world, hence the name of the attraction. I think it would be helpful if you were told what region you were flying over as it was happening – I was able to guess most of them, but not all!

Toy Story Midway Mania: I would not consider this to be your typical theme park ride, as it is interactive. You are seated in a car, while wearing 3D glasses, and you approach multiple different screens where you need to shoot at various targets (such as the little green men aliens from Toy Story). This game keeps score, and well, Justin won this one.

Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure: This ride has the same concept as Toy Story Mania, except this time you are imitating Spider-Man and shooting webs out of your wrists at robot spider targets. This ride actually gives you a bit of a workout, as you are constantly moving your arms and pointing them at targets. While Justin may have won at Toy Story Midway Mania, I was the ultimate Web Slinger ツ.

Food:

We had a look at the different sit-down restaurant options in both parks prior to our trip and ultimately decided to stick with grab and go options. We did not start looking into reservations far enough in advance, and unfortunately, the restaurants with the more appealing plant-based options were already booked.

Here are the grab-and-go options we tried:

Shawarma Palace: We tried both the Impossible Breakfast Sha-warm-up and Impossible Victory Falafel. We both thought the falafel Shawarma was okay – nothing special – but the breakfast Shawarma was delicious! The only downside was that the wraps were quite small, and as a result, not very filling.

Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop: I was so excited to find out Ghirardelli’s offered a Non-Dairy Hot Fudge option! I will start by saying this is a huge serving – it was too much for Justin and I to finish. Part of the reason why we could not finish it though was because there was a lot of hot fudge, and it was very rich. It was definitely a nice treat, but make sure you have one or two people to share with!

Boardwalk Pizza & Pasta: At this grab-and-go spot, they have spaghetti, salads and pizza that have already been plated, and you literally grab your option and checkout. Fortunately, at the spaghetti counter, you can request Impossible meatballs and plant-based parmesan. You can also put in an order for a plant-based personal-sized pizza. The pizza came with assorted vegetables and Daiya cheese as toppings, and was hand delivered by the chef! Justin and I each got our own pizza and shared a bowl of spaghetti, and it definitely satisfied our hunger.

Ice Cream Stand: I am not sure if the ice cream stands have a name, but one of their plant-based options is a frozen banana, covered in chocolate and peanuts. This treat was delicious, but you definitely need to wait at least ten minutes for it to thaw, otherwise you will not be able to take a bite (and I say this from experience)!

Overall, I am very pleased with how many plant-based options Disneyland Resort offers. I know it probably does not seem like we ate very much over our three day visit, but Disneyland Resort can get pretty expensive if you are not careful with how you spend your money, especially if you add another 30 to 35% for the exchange rate.

One way we got around not having to eat every meal at the Parks was bringing snacks that we picked up from Trader Joe’s. We usually ate lunch at the Resort, and then had ready made overnight oats, wraps and salads for breakfast and dinner, which we also picked up from Trader Joe’s and kept in the mini fridge at our hotel.

Other Favourite Moments

Other than going on rides and eating, here are some other memorable moments from California Adventure:

Characters Meet N’ Greets: While we did not see many characters in Disneyland, we got to meet Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Goofy and Mater (from Cars) in California Adventure. And yes, we got photos with all of them!

The Amazing Spider-Man: A couple times each day, Spiderman does some crazy flips and jumps on top of the buildings in the Spider-Man area of the Park. We only watched a couple minutes of the show, but Spider-Man definitely gets some airtime.

World of Colour – Season of Light: This is a really amazing show that California Adventure puts on every night. Water shoots into the sky and acts as a “projector screen” for watching quick clips of Disney footage. There are also a lot of colourful lights throughout the show, music and even some smoke for extra effect! I would definitely recommend lining up early (after you have reserved your spot through Genie+), otherwise people standing in front of you can really obstruct your view.

Overall, Justin and I had an amazing time at Disneyland Resort, and we cannot wait for our next visit!

Always grateful,

Michelle

The first part of our trip to Southern California in December 2022 (but second part I am documenting) included a visit to the happiest place on Earth – Disneyland and California Adventure Parks. The last time we went to visit Mickey Mouse was in October 2017, and this was actually my first visit ever – I proudly walked around with my “1st Visit” button, and even shed a few tears when our trip came to an end. I think it goes without saying that I was pretty excited to be returning for a second visit over five years later!

I had originally intended to write one blog post to cover both Disneyland and California Adventure, but as I started writing about Disneyland, I realized I have a lot more to share than I anticipated!

In that case, this blog will highlight some of my favourite rides and moments within Disneyland, and also some tips and tricks we learned along the way ツ.

Overall Experience

Because our trip consisted of visiting both Disneyland and Palm Springs, we thought we were being strategic by going to Disneyland on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday – we expected these particular weekdays to be less busy. Well, it was still packed. You will notice that this blog post is not photo heavy, and that is because it was so busy and there were crowds of people in almost all of my photos!

Disneyland now requires you to make a park reservation if you purchase a Park Hopper ticket, which allows you to go back and forth between the two parks. You need to choose which park you want to start at and then at 1:00pm you are able to “hop” over to the other park.

Unfortunately, we did not know about the reservation system until a couple days before our trip. By then, the only park that was available to reserve as the starting park was California Adventure, meaning we never made it into Disneyland until after 1:00pm each day, and overall, just spent less time in this particular Park.

Otherwise, Disneyland was exactly how I remembered it. It was super clean (which if you know me, is very important), and the amount of thought and detail that goes into each different area of the park, and each ride, is incredible. This is what turns Disneyland into a magical experience, rather than just a bunch of rides in a typical theme park.

Rides

The last time we were in Disneyland the Fast Pass system was still in place – you would walk up to a ride, and there would be a small machine that provides a ticket, indicating when to return to the ride for a shorter wait time (the return time was usually a one-hour window, e.g., 11:00am to 12:00pm). I should note, the Fast Pass option was free.

The Fast Pass system has now been eliminated and replaced with Lighting Lanes. The Lighting Lane works the same way as the Fast Pass system, except your ride “reservation” needs to be completed through something called Genie+, which is available in the Disneyland app.

While this option is much more convenient – you can book your Lighting Lane from anywhere in the park – you now need to pay $25 USD per day, per person for this feature. When you factor in the Canadian exchange rate… ouch!

However, I do not think it is possible to be efficient and fit in as many rides as possible without Genie+/Lighting Lanes. Here is a quick recap of all the rides we did:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: A small rollercoaster, with a couple hills/drops. It was fun, but definitely not the best roller coaster in the park.

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage: For this ride, you are literally in a submarine in the water (a very large pool), which takes you on an adventure with Nemo and his friends.

Haunted Mansion Holiday: This ride was definitely not what I expected. I was imagining walking through a haunted house, but you actually sit in a “car” that takes you through an amazing display based on the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas. This ride always has a very long wait – I would definitely recommend booking a Lighting Lane for this one.

Indiana Jones Adventure: This bumpy ride in a jeep through the temple is probably my favourite ride in Disneyland (not including rides in California Adventure)! I think we managed to do this ride 2 or 3 times, which is impressive upon reflection, given that the ride went down several times during our trip. The ride even broke down while we were on it! This was unfortunate, as we had carefully timed going on the ride right before the fireworks, and instead of watching the fireworks, we were stuck in a dark tunnel for about 20 minutes. We ended up speaking to guest services about our experience and were provided with some “special” Lightning Lane passes. With these passes, we could walk up to any ride and instantly enter the Lightning Lane queue, as opposed to waiting for a specific return time.

“It’s a Small World” Holiday: A Disneyland classic! For this ride, you sit in a boat that travels around the world through different country/cultural displays. This one felt really long, but the displays were impressive, and updated for the holiday season.

Jungle Cruise: Another water adventure – in this one, you are taken on a guided tour of various animal displays through – you guessed it – the jungle. Our tour guide was hilarious, he had several animal-related jokes lined up, many of which were some type of pun. Not sure if all the tour guides use the same lines, but it definitely made for an enjoyable experience.

Matterhorn Bobsleds: This ride is actually kind of scary, and the bobsleds are not very comfortable. The lineups at this ride are always at least an hour long, but there is a Single Rider line-up, since the bobsleds seat three riders at a time. Justin and I used the Single Riders option and only ended up waiting about 15-minutes.

Millennium Falcon – Smugglers Run: This is one of rides in the “new” Star Wars area of the Park. I say “new” in quotes because it is new to us, but has been open since 2019. This ride was honestly kind of confusing! There were four riders per car, and each one was assigned a task – you were either a pilot or a gunner/shooter. If you were a pilot, you were responsible for flying the spaceship (and it literally moved based on your navigation instructions), and if you were a gunner/shooter, you were responsible for well, shooting the enemies (I think they were enemies… I am not fully up-to-date on everything Star Wars) in the galaxy. Justin and I were terrible pilots… I will leave it at that.

Peter Pan’s Flight: Another Disneyland classic – a flight to Neverland.

Pirates of the Caribbean: This was yet another boat/water ride – after writing these all out, I feel there are a lot of rides based on/around water! Pirates of the Caribbean definitely has one of the most impressive displays (in my opinion). All the pirates look very realistic!

Space Mountain: Another smaller rollercoaster, but unlike Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, this one is completely in the dark! We were sad that we only got to ride Space Mountain once, as it was down several times during our visit.

Star Tours – The Adventures Continue: This ride was definitely at the bottom of my list – I do not even really remember what it was, which I guess says a lot! This ride is actually not in the Star Wars area of the park – I wonder if it might get replaced at some point.

Star Wars – Rise of the Resistance: Disneyland does not make getting on this ride easy – Justin and I did the ride twice, and easily waited 70 minutes each time. While there is a Lightning Lane, it is not included in the $25 USD that you pay for Genie+. You have to pay an additional $25 USD per person every time you want to use the Lightning Lane for this ride! Is that not crazy – remember that Canadian dollar value? While this ride is very different from anything else you will experience in Disneyland, I am not sure that it is worth the extra fees, and we even overheard a family – who did pay – make the same comment. But, time is money – so pick your poison.

While there is no argument that the wait was long, the experience from beginning to end probably lasted about 20-minutes, if you include everything leading up to the ride. I will provide you with the Coles Notes below, but there are several other blogs you can read that will provide intricate details about the entire adventure.

Rise of the Resistance begins with a ride in a spaceship from Lieutenant Bek, before proceeding through a room of Storm Troopers to the ride itself. The Disneyland cast that is responsible for organizing everyone prior to boarding – I believe they are called First Officers – are in character the entire time. The First Officers order you around like prisoners – one person who was wearing a birthday button was asked by an Officer if it was actually their birthday, to which they replied “Yes.” The Officer then responded with “I’m sorry” in a very serious tone – it was funny, but maybe you had to be there!

The ride itself is dark and involves some drops, but the animations that appear throughout, and the overall display are fantastic. Disneyland has put an incredible amount of detail into this ride, and the Star Wars Galaxy area of the park in general, turning it into an out of this world (get it?) experience.

Other Favourite Moments

As I mentioned earlier, we did not get to spend a lot of time exploring Disneyland itself, given the park reservation system. But other than the rides, here are some other things we enjoyed:

Snow on Main Street: Around 8:30pm on our second day, it started to “snow” on Main Street! This was simulated snow, of course, but it was still fun!

Photo Opportunities: All throughout Disneyland there are photographers who will take free photos for you, which are then linked to Genie+. There was often a small lineup for each photographer, but it was definitely worth the wait, as you would end up with high quality photos, and each photographer really took their time in walking you through a few poses.

Character Meet N’ Greets: Most of the characters we got photos with were in California Adventure, but we did get to meet Mickey during one of the evenings in Disneyland. Unfortunately, it was already dark, so the photos did not turn out, but luckily we saw Mickey again the next day!

Mickey Mouse Pretzel: Most of the food we ate over our three days was in California Adventure, but we did enjoy a couple Mickey Mouse Pretzels on the Disneyland side. Fortunately, these pretzels are plant-based, and taste delicious with mustard (the other sauces offered contain dairy).

Well, I think that covers most of what we experienced in Disneyland! If you made it to the end of this blog post, thank you so much for reading! I know it was a lot of detail, but I am hoping it will help you plan your future visits to Disneyland – I know I will definitely be looking back on this post before our next trip to remind me what I enjoyed, but also what can be skipped ツ.

Always grateful,

Michelle

Wow, I cannot believe it has been over a month since I wrote a blog post! Between work, life responsibilities, this trip, getting back to reality after being on vacation and preparing for the holidays… time definitely escaped me!

Our trip to California consisted of two parts – we spent 3 days in Disneyland (in Anaheim) and then a little over 2 days in Palm Springs. This post will focus on some of my favourite moments from Palm Springs and the surrounding area ツ.

Joshua Tree National Park

At the top of our to-do list while in the Palm Springs area was to visit Joshua Tree National Park.

I will start by stating the obvious – the Park is massive, and you probably need several days to truly explore the various exhibits and trails. However, we only had a few hours so we tried to make the most of it!

One thing that made exploring the Park a bit challenging was the fact that there is very little cell service in the area, which meant that we had to be prepared and download any trails we were interested in exploring on AllTrails in advance. The visitor centre does provide a map that identifies the popular exhibits; however, it does not include all the various hiking trails from which you can choose. The Park also marks exhibits with signage, making it easy for visitors to pull over while driving along the main road.

The first trail we completed was Skull Rock. While you have the option to drive directly up to Skull Rock and pull over for photos, we decided to take a short trail that loops through both Skull Rock and the Jumbo Rocks. This was definitely the scenic route and really allowed us to take in the amazing rock formations in the area.

Our second stop in Joshua Tree National Park was the Cholla Cactus Garden. The Park is actually made up of two major deserts – Mojave and Colorado – and it was during our drive from Skull Rock to the Cholla Cactus Garden (which was around 20 minutes) where we really noticed the shift in terrain – Joshua Trees were far and few between, less rock formations, and everything became really flat.

The Cholla Cactus Garden was huge – there were so many cacti! I found it interesting how they were “two-toned” – green on top, and brown/black on the bottom.

One quick PSA though – the first sign upon entry into the Garden asks visitors not to touch the cacti, yet I saw many people touching them anyway. If you are planning a visit in the future, please don’t be that person – we can all admire the cacti from afar ツ.

Our next stop, which was actually before the Cholla Cactus Garden (we passed it on the way) was the Silver Bell Mine trail. This was another relatively short and simple hike that goes up a small mountain to the abandoned mine ruins. Right past the mine ruins were also some very nice views of the valley, and you could also see another mine from a distance.

This trail was rather quiet – we only ran into two other people while getting to the end. We stopped to talk to this couple for a few minutes, and they definitely did a good job of reminding me that we might encounter mountain lions, desert big-horn sheep, black widows, scorpions and rattle snakes on the way – I was not worried at all (hopefully you can sense my sarcasm).

For our final stop in Joshua Tree National Park, we pulled over at one of the exhibits to admire the Joshua Trees, themselves. I would definitely recommend using the West Entrance to the park, if this is an option for you, as this is where you will see the most Joshua Trees.

While we were competing with daylight at this point in our visit, the sunset definitely provided some great light for my photos, especially my cover photo for this post!

As I said near the start, there is so much to explore at Joshua Tree National Park – and you really need to have your plan ready in advance – that it is not possible to do everything in one visit. We hope to be back one day soon!

Palm Springs

While we did not have a lot of time in Palm Springs (I feel like I say this about every place we visit), I wanted to give you a quick summary of the hike we completed, along with some of the food/drink establishments we checked out!

The hike we did was called the Museum Trail. While this trail was not very long (it took us maybe 30 minutes to get to the top), there was an incline the entire way up, which made it a bit challenging on the way down – a lot of loose rocks and big steps.

Once you reach the top of the Museum Trail, you are rewarded with beautiful views of Palm Springs, as well as views of the iconic windmills that power the Coachella Valley. There is also a chin-up bar and some free weights at the end – I guess the locals must use this hike as a way to workout ツ.

If you can handle a bit of an incline, and your knees can handle going down hill (this also serves as a reminder to myself to invest in walking poles), definitely make sure to check out this trail when you visit Palm Springs.

In terms of food and drink establishments, here is where we went and what we had:

• Luchador Brewing Company – this Mexican-themed Brewery was a fun stop! I tried one of the mocha stouts, and Justin had a flight. There is also a food truck inside!
• Nature’s Health Food & Cafe – this was definitely our go-to while in Palm Springs. This restaurant is fully vegetarian/vegan, and has so many delicious sandwiches, wraps, smoothies and baked goods. It is also connected to a market that sells packaged food and supplements.
• Sammy G’s – we went to Sammy G’s for our final dinner/night of the trip. We had the Cauliflower Ceviche Bruschetta as an appetizer and the Italian Sausage Pizza for our main (both plant-based, of course). Everything was delicious and we really enjoyed our experience and the excellent service at this restaurant!

Other than a short hike and trying the local cuisine, we visited the Sunnylands Botanical Garden and explored the shops downtown to find some souvenirs. Other than some t-shirts and coffee that we picked up as gifts, my favourite find was a pair of Labradoodle socks – the print looked just like my Bella, so I had to have them ツ!

Well, with 2022 coming to an end, this was our last trip of the year – but I have several blog posts I still need to get caught up on. I am incredibly excited for the adventures that 2023 will bring and I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my posts this year.

Always grateful,

Michelle

We are heading down to Palm Springs next month, so I thought it might be fun to try and recall the details from our last trip to the desert (Arizona) back in December 2019. This might be a struggle… let’s see how I do!

Scottsdale

During our visit to Arizona, our accommodation was in Scottsdale, so naturally this is where we spent most of our time. We managed to fit in a couple of hikes while in the area, the first being Camelback Mountain. This trip to Arizona was my first time in a desert, so I was pretty excited to see my first cactus, and there were several on our way up to the top of Camelback Mountain.

This hike was definitely on the harder side – a lot of rocks and big steps! Not to mention, it was over 20°C (which is probably not hot for Arizona, but it was pretty warm for this BC-girl), and there was no shade – we were sweating! But, the spectacular views of Scottsdale were definitely worth it, and there was even a Christmas tree at the top since we were in Scottsdale during the holiday season, which was a nice “present” (see what I see there?)!

The other hike we did in Scottsdale was called Pinnacle Peak Park. This was a very enjoyable hike (much easier than Camelback Mountain), with views overlooking the nearby golf course. There were also several information signs along the trail, identifying that Pinnacle Peak Park was home to various plants and wildlife. I was really enjoying reading these (which, if you have read my other posts, you will know is not a common occurrence), until I reached the one that said there were mountain lions/cougars in the area ツ.

Aside from hiking, we also checked out World of Illumination in Tempe, which is apparently the world’s largest drive-through light show. This was a huge light display and it was very well done, with synchronized music and lights.

Another one of our evening activities was checking out an Arizona Coyotes hockey game. Whenever we are travelling in Canada or the US, we always make an effort to check out the local NHL team, if there is one (for Justin, hockey = life ツ). Hockey games are always a good time, and during the time of our visit, the Coyotes were playing at Gila River Arena, which is located in a very cool complex – Westgate Entertainment District – with a variety of different restaurants and shops. You could easily spend a couple of hours here!

In terms of food, our go-to place in Scottsdale, because it was so close to our hotel, was Farm & Market – they had several plant-based options and delicious drinks! Another big hit for us was Fresh Mint, which was vegetarian Vietnamese-style food – absolutely delicious! And finally, we made a couple of trips to Alien Donuts while exploring downtown Scottsdale… their donuts were “outta this world” (that is their slogan… my puns are on-point today ツ). However, I just did a quick Google search and I am sad to see and share that Alien Donuts is now closed. I am glad we had the chance to try these delicious donuts while we could!

Sedona

For our last day in Arizona, we decided to drive out to Sedona. Sedona is well-known for its stunning red-rock formations, and they definitely did not disappoint! We thought the best way to explore the area would be through Pink Jeep Tours. A little bit of off-roading and an excellent tour guide made for a really great experience. But, remember how I said I wanted to write these blog posts mostly for myself so that I could recall details of my trips many years later? Well, here is a perfect example – I really want to recommend our tour guide to others, but I do not remember his name! I think it started with an A… Andy? Let’s go with Andy.

Before we finished our tour, we asked “Andy” if he had any recommendations on what we should do while in Sedona. Funny enough, he actually told us to leave Sedona and go check out a couple small towns about an hour away. His two recommendations were Old Town Cottonwood and Jerome.

Our first stop was in Old Town Cottonwood. We did not have a lot of day light left, so this had to be a quick stop if we wanted to make it to Jerome before it got dark, but we made a point of checking out a few shops, including the very cool antique shop.

Fortunately, we made it to Jerome just before 5pm. This small town was definitely a highlight of the trip. Jerome was a booming mining town in the 1880s, eventually turning into Arizona’s ghost town.

Jerome was very small – only a couple streets long – but it had some very cool shops, and beautiful mountain views. There is a lot of history in this town, including a jail cell that had slid halfway down the mountain. Funny enough, the jail cell was something Justin and I both wanted to see, and somehow we missed it! I guess we will have to plan for another trip back to Arizona to find it ツ.

Always grateful,

Michelle

I guess I should start by admitting that this was actually our second time in Banff, but seeing as how I am not writing about all my adventures in chronological order anyway, I figured it would probably be okay ツ.

In January 2022, Justin and I, and some of our friends, drove to Whistler looking for an ODR (outdoor rink). Unfortunately, there was so much snow on all the lakes in the area that we could not skate on any of them, and had to settle for the small ODR in the village. While it was still a fun time (it snowed the entire time we were there – a true winter wonderland), it was not exactly the experience we were looking for. At this point, we started talking about how cool it would be to go skating on iconic Lake Louise in Banff, Alberta, and within a couple of days, the trip was booked!

Lake Louise

As soon as we arrived in Lake Louise, we checked into our hotel, grabbed our skates, and were on our way to the ODR!

I feel that the first few minutes I step on the ice – no matter how long it has been since I last skated – I am literally Bambi on ice. It takes me a few seconds to get into the rhythm, and convince myself that I am not going to fall and take everyone down with me. But, the hardest part about the entire experience was getting from the benches, where you put your skates on, to the ice. The snow was very packed (basically ice) and your skates would sink into it as you tried to walk. We went skating three times while we were in Lake Louise, and it never got easier! But, I should also note that by the third day, it had gotten so busy in Lake Louise that the ice quality had suffered and there were many holes – I had a couple close calls!

Overall, skating on Lake Louise was definitely a special moment. I felt like I was in a photograph with the surrounding scenery, especially the picturesque mountains. The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise even does hockey stick and puck rentals, which gave Justin a chance to show off his stick-handling skills ツ.

Another fun activity we did in Lake Louise was hike to Fairview Lookout, which provides a stunning view of the Lake, the mountains and the Hotel. There are several different trails that you can take in the area, and for some reason, we had a really hard time figuring out which way to take to get to Fairview Lookout. We started off on the right path, but somehow ended up on a cross-country trail that ran parallel to the trail we should have taken. Instead of going back the way we started (the smart thing to do), we decided to cut through the trees, and let me tell you, this was a bad idea. This “short cut” was not a marked trail, the snow was not packed, and we did not have snow shoes – we both sunk about three feet into the snow a couple of times! We eventually made it to the right trail, but not without getting wet, and letting out a couple screams (well, the screaming was just me). Despite this minor setback, the end result was definitely worth it!

In terms of wining and dining, our favourite experience was eating at the The Station Restaurant. As the name suggests, this restaurant was previously an old train station, and at certain times during the year, you can even eat dinner on the actual parked train itself! The restaurant was very dimly lit for dinner, and the wood-burning fire places made for a very cozy environment.

We also had high tea at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise – it was my treat to Justin as we were on this trip during his birthday. I am so happy that the Fairmont offers a plant-based option, allowing everyone to enjoy this experience. The tea, sandwiches, and pastries were all delicious!

The Fairmont even has an ice bar outside where you can enjoy a hot drink while sitting on a ice-sculpted bench and enjoying the scenery! Another fitting activity for Justin’s birthday ♥.

The final two activities we did while in Lake Louise included snow shoeing around Lake Louise Ski Resort, and also going back into BC to check our Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park (it was only a 30-minute drive from Lake Louise)! While Lake Louise was fairly “warm” while we were there – about 2°C, it was a lot colder at Emerald Lake. When we arrived at Emerald Lake, it was -16°C plus wind chill! We decided to walk part way around the Lake, take in the amazing views and grab some photographs, before we both turned into icicles and turned around; Justin’s facial hair actually froze!

Feeling satisfied with our time in Lake Louise, our next stop was the town of Banff, which I will cover in another post!

Always grateful,

Michelle

PS – One other thing I was grateful for during this trip was the beautiful, (mostly) sunny weather! The week before we arrived, it was under -20°C! Safe to say the trip would not have been possible if the incredibly cold weather had remained!

PPS – I always give Justin a hard time when he writes PS in an email because PS (post-script) was traditionally used when writing letters by hand using paper and pen… in other words, when you did not have the option to backspace like you do on a keyboard! But for some reason, PS seems fitting in a blog, what do you think ツ?

If you read my very first post explaining why I started this blog, you already know that my main goal is to document my travels and adventures. I am sure you know that our memories, in general, are not particularly reliable. Personally, I can be incredibly forgetful, and I want to be able to look back on my posts to help me remember these moments in as much detail as possible! But, the hard part now is trying to recall details from less recent trips. Let me start with something not too long ago – my first time visiting Jasper in April and May of 2022.

One of my good friends (Jeanette) moved to Edmonton after graduating from University, and I have been lucky enough to get the invite to come and visit her a couple of times now. When I went to visit her in April and May, she suggested we take a trip to the mountains, which meant choosing between Canmore/Banff and Jasper. This was a difficult choice because I always love choosing somewhere new to explore (I had never been to Jasper), but at the same time, the Canmore/Banff area is a favourite of mine. In the end, my curiosity of going somewhere new prevailed, and Jeanette had our accommodation picked out in no time!

En Route

My trip started with Jeanette picking me up from the airport in Edmonton, and surprising me with a delicious plant-based sandwich from Farrow (she knows the way to my ♥). With my hunger satisfied (“hangry” can be very real for me), we officially started on the four-hour drive to Jasper!

Before reaching the town of Jasper (you actually drive for about 20-minutes through the National Park before getting into town), we pulled over on the side of the highway to do a short hike for views of Talbot Lake and Jasper Lake. However, a bit further up the road was a herd of about 50 big-horned sheep, and they were not impressed with us venturing into their territory. The sheep watched our every move as we climbed up the small hill for a view of the Lakes. We snapped a few photos before noticing that some of the sheep were now running. We quickly made our way back to the car, and once we were on the highway, we watched the sheep reclaim their home – hopefully we were their last unwanted visitors for the evening ツ.

Food & Drink Establishments

Eating plant-based in smaller towns is not always easy, but Jasper did not disappoint:

• Sunhouse Cafe: The oatmeal that was being served at the time of my visit was amazing – caramelized banana, blueberry compote and granola *chef’s kiss*.
• Jasper Pizza Place: Very thankful Jasper Pizza Place offered vegan cheese – the pizza (and brews) were delicious!

Pyramid Island

While we did not get a chance to check out any of the trails around Pyramid Lake, we made a point of visiting Pyramid Island which provides stunning views of the Lake and surrounding mountains! This was a quick stop (probably around 15 minutes), but a must-see when visiting Jasper.

Valley of Five Lakes & First Lake

As the name suggests, the Valley of Five Lakes & First Lake trail loops around five small lakes. Four of the five lakes are actually quite close together, and my guess is that most visitors miss the first lake because it does require taking a different trail.

All five lakes were surrounded by forest, and were actually quite different. The first, fourth and fifth lakes were a beautiful turquoise-blue colour; the second lake was more green; and the third lake was still frozen!

Old Fort Point

If you want city views of Jasper, definitely check out Old Fort Point! There are two ways to get to the view point: the first consists of walking up the stairs from the parking lot to the view point, and the second requires walking the entire trail and taking the stairs down at the end to complete your hike – we opted for the latter option, as we felt this would be more rewarding ツ.

Aside from a couple small hills, this was a very enjoyable hike with a few viewpoints along the way before getting to the end (or the beginning… depending where you start). There were even some big-horned sheep at the main viewpoint – luckily these ones were a bit more “chill” than the ones we encountered at the start of our trip!

I should note that we did this trail, as well as the Valley of Five Lakes & First Lake on the same day. While it was definitely doable (27,000 steps), we were spent by the end!

Maligne Canyon

On our way back to Edmonton, we stopped for one more hike through Maligne Canyon. I feel this is a very popular stop for visitors, and can get quite busy. Regardless, this was a large canyon with several bridges, waterfalls (some of which were still frozen) and stunning views!

Jeanette and I definitely packed a lot into less than 48-hours in Jasper, but I absolutely loved my first visit to this beautiful National Park! Thank you, Jeanette, for being the best tour guide ♥.

Always grateful,

Michelle

(A little reminder to myself that I made it back from Edmonton around 10pm on May 4th after a flight delay, and had to be at my Master’s convocation the next morning – it was an action packed few days!)

I promise this is my last post about our Yukon trip – you must be getting tired of reading about it by now! I just wanted to share about some of the other experiences we had while up north.

Canoeing on the Yukon River

Aside from seeing the Northern Lights, I would say the next highlight of our trip was canoeing on the Yukon River. It turns out that a lot of the outdoor activities for tourists start to wind down before Labour Day weekend, which was unfortunate for us because we were in the Yukon from September 2nd to 6th! I started looking into booking this excursion probably about a week in advance, and really struggled to find a company that could take us on a guided canoe trip. Luckily, Kanoe People came through, and we had the opportunity to paddle over 15kms from downtown White Horse to the mouth of the Takhini River. One thing I have to be totally honest about is that I was so busy taking pictures, I did not do much paddling – but, documenting the experience is an important job, right? Fortunately for me, Justin and our tour guide, Jim, managed to keep the boat afloat. Overall, it was a wonderful experience!

Food & Drink Establishments

Here is a quick list of food and drink establishments we checked out and enjoyed while in Whitehorse:

• The Kind Cafe – the turmeric cauliflower bowl was delicious, and so was the turtle bar!
• Alpine Bakery – everything at this bakery was either vegan or vegetarian; loved all the options and would definitely recommend the cinnamon bun!
• Baked Cafe
• Bean North
• Winterlong Brewing – the Stout was delicious!
• Yukon Brewing
• Woodcutter’s Blanket – Bar & Brewery

S.S. Klondike

Unfortunately, the S.S. Klondike was closed for renovations while we were in Whitehorse, but we still got some nice photos of the ship and were able to read (well, Justin was able to read) the information signs outside.

Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs

We took a couple of hours to relax at the Hot Springs while on our trip. If you know me, you will know that I am always on the go and hardly ever relax, but I definitely welcomed this opportunity after being up late chasing the Northern Lights the night before.

The Hot Springs were still under construction during our visit – only a couple of pools were open. The landscapers were actually working while we were there! Regardless, the craftsmanship of the Hot Springs did not go unnoticed. The main pool was not your typical boring tiling – the edge was entirely constructed with rocks! The pools and facility in general were very clean, and there is even a small cafe to grab a snack afterwards – I was thankful the cafe had plant-based options, including vanilla bean ice cream ツ.

It appears that the Hot Springs plan to develop a complete resort over the next few years – I am sure this will be a wonderful place to stay once it is complete!

Yukon Wildlife Preserve

There was one mission to accomplish at the Yukon Wildlife Preserve: to see a moose.

We decided to sign-up for the guided tour, as we felt we would learn more through this option, and I definitely think it was worth it. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the animals in general, including personal stories of how some of them ended up at the Preserve.

We got to see bison, deer, elk, caribou, thin-horned sheep, mountain goats, muskox (from a distance), and a couple of people on the tour even caught a quick glimpse of a lynx! However, some of the animals such as the foxes, and yes – the moose – were too shy to make an appearance, and I was devastated. I guess this means that I will have to go back to Whitehorse for another opportunity to see the moose!

Skagway, Alaska

I already wrote a separate post about all the stops we made on our way to Alaska, but I also wanted to write a little bit about the actual town of Skagway.

When we first arrived, there were three cruise ships parked in the port. Needless to say, it was incredibly busy, especially in all the gift shops! We decided to escape the crowds and did the Yakutania Point and Smugglers Cove trail. This was an easy walk/hike along the coast line, but it provided some pretty spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.

By the time we got back, two of the cruise ships had already left, and the passengers of the third had boarded. Skagway turned into a ghost town!

We decided to check out the Klondike Brewing Company before starting the trip back, and the server joked about how all the workers let out a sigh of relief once the cruise ships leave.

Skagway is not a big town (only about 1500 people live there, and we learned that most of the workers only come to Skagway during the tourist season before leaving for another city or state) and what made it an even smaller town was the fact that the gas station was selling Ruffles for $7.00 USD – it was the most expensive bag of chips I have ever eaten in my life!

Always grateful,

Michelle

First off, I cannot believe we were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights during our very first trip to the Yukon, and on the very first night we went looking for them (our friend Craig could not believe it either)!

As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, we always speak to locals about recommended activities in the area, and we definitely made a point of asking them about the best way to see the Northern Lights (in addition to getting extremely lucky). One of the best tips we received was downloading the Aurora phone app. This app provides information on the best viewing spots, and even the likelihood (as a percentage) of seeing the Northern Lights in all parts of the world. The day that we got to see the Lights, the app was indicating over an 80% chance!

The app also indicates specific viewing locations. The spot that continually showed on the map near the Whitehorse area was Upper Laberge, which is where we ended up!

There are two main things we learned through this process about what you need to keep in mind when trying to see the Northern Lights:

1. You need to leave the city area – otherwise, there are too many competing lights (homes, businesses, street lights)
2. It needs to be mostly clear – if you cannot see the stars due to cloud coverage, you will not be able to see the Northern Lights

Another interesting piece of information we received from a tourist we met was that you have a better chance of seeing the Northern Lights if there is a new moon – I guess this is because the moon also gives off light (that makes sense, right?). Anyway, this tourist (Ash), had actually signed up to see the Northern Lights via a bus tour. I made a quick joke that if there is a car following the bus, it is probably us, at which point she offered up the exact time and location of her pick-up: 11:20pm from the Raven Inn. Well, pretty safe to say that by 11:15pm, Justin and I were outside the Raven Inn waiting for the bus to leave.

We followed the bus to its next hotel pick-up – I felt like a stealthy, under cover detective. But after just a few minutes of waiting, I will tell you that I started to get quite restless and was ready to go. The reason we had decided to follow the bus in the first place was because the app was telling us to go to Upper Laberge, meanwhile another local had suggested viewing the Northern Lights from Fish Lake. These two locations were in the opposite direction, and we wanted to see which direction the bus would choose.

I am happy to report that I managed to stay patient long enough for the bus to complete its last pick-up and finally be on its way to the Northern Lights! At one point we got stuck behind a red light while leaving the city and thought we were going to lose the bus, but not to worry, we managed to get caught up.

We followed the bus for about 20 minutes, driving past Upper Laberge, which – remember – was the app’s suggested viewing point. It was incredibly dark on the highway, and once we lost cell service, we decided to abandon our plan and instead, turn around and go back to Upper Laberge… and I am so glad we did.

As we approached the road to turn off towards Upper Laberge, we could already see the Northern Lights dancing in the sky. We turned left onto a very dark road, found a spot to park, and enjoyed the show. I will never forget this special moment, and I hope to be lucky enough to see the Northern Lights again one day!

Always grateful,

Michelle

PS – I should also let you know that we tried to find the Northern Lights again the following night, but we were not as successful. While there was still a bright green glow in the sky, it was not the same light dancing we experienced the previous night. But that is okay – after all, we cannot be too greedy ツ.

Prior to going on a trip, Justin and I will do some research using other blogs to come up with our list of top-things-to-do. But, when we get to our destination, we always make a point of talking to some of the locals, which is how we got the recommendation to drive into Skagway, Alaska, while visiting the Yukon.

The drive from Whitehorse to Skagway has to be one of the most beautiful, scenic drives I have ever taken. It took a little under two hours to complete this drive, and I slept for only 20-minutes of it – this is a pretty big accomplishment, as I could have easily slept through the whole thing (there is just something about driving that makes me sleepy).

Our first stop on this drive was Emerald Lake. As you are driving along the highway, you will instantly notice the pull-off, where you can get out of your vehicle and take photos of the Lake’s stunning, turquoise-colour from above. Then, if you drive a bit further up the highway, you can head down a small hill to a parking lot that allows you to capture photos of the Lake at ground level. I think the photos speak for themselves – Emerald Lake is definitely worth the stop!

The next stop on this drive was the Carcross Desert. Apparently the Carcross Desert is not an actual desert – something about the glacier melting and depositing silt… here is another moment where I wish I had read the information board. Anyway, I had to spend a few minutes convincing Justin that we should walk up one of the big sandhills, as it would provide the perfect vantage point to see Bennett Lake (which we were planning to visit once we got to our next stop: the town of Carcross), as well as the surrounding mountains. Let me say (and Justin will agree), it was definitely worth it!

We got back on the road for less than 10-minutes before getting to Carcross. While we did not spend too much time here, we made a point of visiting the General Store (which is apparently the oldest general store in the Yukon), Bennett Lake Beach, and grabbing lunch at The Bistro.

As we continued along the Klondike Highway, we realized we could not have asked for better weather – clear blue sky and the sun was shining! We were hoping to stop at the Yukon Suspension Bridge before heading into Alaska, but unfortunately, it was closed for the season (fun fact – the Yukon Suspension Bridge is actually in British Columbia… misleading, right?).

In terms of wildlife, we encountered one bear right before the US border. Unfortunately, we only saw his backside as he crossed the highway and disappeared into the bushes.

We made two more stops before finally getting into Alaska. There are so many different pull-offs along the highway with breathtaking views that you really need to choose your stops carefully, or you will never make it to Skagway. I honestly had a hard time figuring out the name of our second to last stop, but I think it was the Feather/Cleveland Pullout. About a minute before you reach the US border, there is a pull-off with views of a beautiful little stream running between mountains. There was a trail that went down into the valley, but we just did not have enough time to explore the area. Either way, I would definitely recommend stopping here, even just for a few minutes to take in the scenery.

And finally, we could not resist getting our photo taken with the Welcome to Alaska sign. This was our last stop before we finally made it to the US border crossing, which is actually miles away from the Canadian border (kind of an odd setup)! On our way back into Canada, we ended up chatting with the CBSA Officer when we found out he was from Richmond, BC. Apparently the Canadian government provides housing to the Officers near the border crossing, but it is literally in the middle of nowhere. If they need groceries, they need to drive almost two hours back into Whitehorse! I imagine he has to make a very thorough grocery list and checks it twice, just like Santa.

Anyway, if you are ever in the Whitehorse area, do yourself a favour and plan to take one full day (or even just an afternoon) to make the trip into Skagway – I promise you will not regret it!

Always grateful,

Michelle