A Visit to Canada - Day 1

I have to say that visiting Alberta, Canada was not in our list of places until about 2 years ago. It was about 2 years ago, we met LK, a special person who over the months became a really dear friend to both of us. LK, a Canadian born Indian who moved to NY  to pursue her studies became a God given blessing in our lives soon after our first meeting. There is a lot more to write about LK but I will leave it short and sweet.

Though we love traveling, I have to admit that air travel is our least favorite. LK is precisely the reason why we decided to visit Canada. Ajo & I booked tickets about a month ago and was extremely excited about the trip to the Canadian Rockies. It was approximately two years ago, we moved back from Reno, Nevada, our epitome of the West.

We packed our bags and loaded our camera gear for an unforgettable trip. Ajo's brother dropped us to the airport Tuesday morning. Our Air Canada flight from Newark airport had no delays and took off at 8:30AM. Our ETA was approximately 11AM. The flight felt long especially since we were tired from packing the night before. We did get drinks in the flight but nothing more. I remember how the Lord's grace and protection was continuously with us during the entire flight from take off to landing. What an amazing God who answers every prayer made in dire need, who comforts every fear from beginning to end, and who constantly amazes me with His love.

There were two things that awed me during the flight. One was the fact that Ajo and I had seats next to the wing of the plane. There was something protective about flying under the shadow of the wings.
Here it is in Psalms:

  How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings.  Psalm 36:7

Secondly, during the flight for the first time in my life I noticed something incredible. On my way back from the bathroom, I was stranded in the back of the flight for about 5 minutes since the flight attendants were serving drinks and were blocking the aisle. I think that was an incredible 5 minutes in the air where I was able to see the flight in a different perspective. My eyes gazed through the small tiny windows of the flight, and I suddenly realized that I was flying above the clouds. I realized that by flying I am experiencing God's mercy and his immense love. I was so far away from ground.  It dawned on me that I was so blessed to have this breathtaking experience. I wished it lasted long but I rushed back to the seat to my loving husband, clenched my husband's hand and tried to contain my emotions.

Customs and baggage claim were uneventful. We met LK at the airport around 11:15am. It felt surreal to be in Calgary, Canada. We were on Mountain Time and hence our day was just beginning in Calgary.

We headed to Banff National Park in our rental Ford SUV.  Calgary to us felt a lot like Reno with the rolling hills, the open spaces, and the snow capped mountains. Weather was decent with a few occasional rain showers. We arrived at the town of Banff around 1:30 PM. We spent some time in the Banff visitor museum, and had lunch at Boston Pizza (very mediocre). The majestic mountains at Banff was awe inspiring and just beautiful. We drove around and took some incredible photos at different scenic areas in the park. Banff Gondola ride was the highlight of the day with incredible 360 degree view of the mountains.

It got dark around 10 that day. What an incredibly long day for us. We saw daylight for about 18 hours in total. 

We headed to Lake Louise area where we spent the night at the Lake Louise Inn.