We are back from Banff – sore legs, but pacified souls. It’s nice to escape the city for a few days and especially pleasing to have  taken a couple of days off to do so – here we are back in town, but still with a day left before heading back to work.

Our two nights were at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, who treated us very well as always. On our trip, we did a couple of hikes – a short one along the banks of the Bow River, just east of Bow Falls; and a second longer hike from the hotel up to the Sulphur Mountain gondola station. While I was mesmerized by the landscapes and mountain vistas, my wife was paying special attention to the different wildflowers we encountered – strawberries, orchids, and more. We also spent some time wandering around the town and had a nice little breakfast at Wild Flour bakery and café. Great lattes and hot chocolates.

I took quite a number of pictures, but only kept a few. My new tripod came in handy for getting some sharp, fast-aperture landscape shots, though was cumbersome to hike with, without the appropriate backpack to hold it. A new Lowepro Dryzone Rover is en route from a Canadian supplier out east whom I bought it from off eBay, and should arrive Monday. I bought it for roughly 45% less than what it sells for locally. eBay can be a truly wonderful service if the exchange rate is cooperative and you know what you’re looking for. Some of my photos are up on my online photo gallery for your enjoyment.

I’d like to wish my Dad a happy Father’s Day, and congratulate him on a very exciting venture that he’s just undertaken, which will be discussed in greater detail on my blog in the near future. I’d also like to express to him how much enthusiasm I have for what he and my Mom have just done, as I believe the wholesomeness of their investment will pay untold dividends, and I think brings a missing piece back to his life that made him so happy, and will do so once again. As people grow, they discover essential elements to their lives, and for him, this is one.

Today, I’m finishing my mid-term assignment for my class, which I 75% completed earlier this week so as to not have to work on it on our little vacation. It’s due at midnight tonight and I’m balancing the task of finishing it while taking breaks to watch the 3rd and 4th rounds of the US Open.