Who needs a plane or ticket?

Travelling may seem like you have to venture out into a different country or continent, but in reality you can always call travelling somewhere closer to home.

Not all trips include a plane and a ticket, in fact you can take a good old car and just drive out into the country.

One of the most memorable trips I will never forget is when not only my family and I, but as well as some extended family went on a long drive trip to Fairmont, British Columbia for the September long weekend.
I guess you could say there was about 20 of us that car pooled into 3 cars.

Our journey started out at 7AM by going toward the US/Canada Borderline, we went through Okotoks and High River and eventually made it to Crowsnest and made a pit stop in Sparwood. There we had a little breather and picnic. After eating, we stopped by this huge tractor that was the size of an entire house.

Personal Photo: Family and I in front of the gigantic trailer.

We had made a few more pit stops (because you know... some people's bladders can only hold for so long) but we finally made it to Fairmont. It was amazing.. the air, the view of the mountains and the sun shining high up in the air. Excited as we were, we got checked into the hotel and put on our swimming gear.

Before going to the actual swimming hot springs... we were told that there was a little waterfall that came especially from the hot springs. We wanted to find it so we went on a little path down one of the mountains and found it. It was beautiful (it was the first time I've seen a water fall even if it wasn't that big) and the water felt so good. 

Personal Photo:
The waterfall hidden behind the Hot Springs : My little cousin and I sitting in the back ground.

Hitting the water in the actual pool was really nice too... although there were a lot people everywhere it was really nice to just sit down and relax. My family and I enjoyed a good 2 hours of relaxation time, I was tempted to try out their diving boards but didn't have the guts to do it. I just watched my cousins and uncle jump and enjoy it... I did however was able to do some guy spotting (hahah) and it was quite enjoyable because there were some very attractive men out there. 

Personal Photo: Family picture I took of when they were in the hot springs

After a great day of swimming and "tanning" we were all hungry and decided to head out to a dock that was close to the hotel. They had a nice mountain view as well as some boats that were parked for the day. With some traditional Filipino foods and some BBQ, we had set up a nice meal.

Personal Photo: A bunch of my cousins and I posing for a photo at the dock

Personal Photo: Dock at sundown

The very next day we were headed back towards Calgary (we only had a one night stay) we were venturing back through the Banff area. There was a lot of times when the view of the mountains along with the sun made the view look outstanding. Being the Asians and tourists my family an I are, we had to take pictures. 

Personal Photo: Mountain View on our way back to Calgary

Personal Photo:
Family and I along with my little cousin in front of me being tourists (:

Just before we got to Banff we had stopped by a Lake (I can't remember the name of it right now) for lunch. It was really nice, we had the smell of the fresh air from the mountains and also had a beautiful lake that surrounded it. There we had some BBQ and good food. My sister and I decided it would be fun to take some fun pictures. It was a lot of fun and really relaxing to think that we didn't have to worry about anything right now. That we were there to enjoy the nature around us. 

Personal Photo: Younger Sister and I

Personal Photo: Attempt in trying to do a jump picture

To end off our fund 2 day journey we to the Banff waterfalls. It was good to smell the air of fresh water washing past in front of us, although it was colder later that day. We took the last of our photos and thanked God for the epic weekend that we had celebrated together as a family.

Personal Photo: Banff Springs Waterfall

So I guess you could say that not all trips have to include a ticket and a plane. There are many opportunities to travel within your own country, just grab some family or friends and take a nice drive out past the city.