2026 is the last year that we could take a family "spring break" trip. With both Yaeko and Zane graduating and figuring out their next chapters, our family adventures are probably going to start looking a little different. 2026 also represents a tragic year of snow in California. With these two factors in mind, and taking an opportunity to scout a possible winter work destination for Zane, we headed north to Banff, Canada.
This particular blog entry will mostly be a chronological narrative of the pictures we captured.
March 25 to April 3, 2026
All roads to Banff leave from Calgary. Well, I don't know that for sure, but for us, that was our path. It would appear that the United States' snow loss, was Canada's gain. Their Rockies had one of their biggest years in recent history. We chose wisely. Calgary is reminiscent of Denver to us, and situated similarly, where the mountains meet the prairies.
A locals only breakfast spot with a limited menu of fantastic food prepared by an incredibly friendly Indian couple that used to cook for the Fairmont. The avo toast was fantastic.
I somewhat lied above... While it was our intent to make this our final family spring break, it turns out that UC Berkeley and Acalanes weren't entirely on the same page. So.... Nicole and Yaeko headed north three days early with a one day overlap in Calgary as Yaeko returned to the States and the boys arrived from the States. This gave Yaeko and Nicole a head start on exploring the region.
Johnston Canyon is a cool trail about 20 minutes outside of Banff that winds its way up a narrow canyon towards a couple of waterfalls.
During our entire stay, it rarely broke 0 C (how the rest of the world measures freezing temperature), with nights getting to -15 C. Suffice it to say, the waterfalls were still ice falls.
And Lake Louise, the famous lake at the base of the mountains, was somewhere under a sheet of ice and snow. So what to do? XC ski, of course.
That is the famous Fairmont Lake Louise.
Bottom right image... Yaeko doing what Yaeko always does in nature, getting up tight to explore the world more deeply. If you ever want close up images of lichen, mushrooms, moss, leaves, or bark, I know someone.
Next Wave...
I somewhat lied again. Our original plan had me, Zane, and Bryce flying into Calgary on Saturday to spend the day and a night with Nicole and Yaeko, thus completing our five person crew. However, San Ramon Valley High School had other plans and decided their prom would be Saturday night. So.... since Zane was not going to miss spending a special night with his girlfriend, Ellie, he will fly solo on Sunday morning, conveniently landing close to when Yaeko will depart, thus making for a three hour full family spring break experience.
Bryce and I are packed and ready to go. And, of course, Pleepleus.
After checking into our Calgary hotel, our first stop was the Public Library. WOW!!! What a building. I could spend an entire day wandering around the four floors in awe of the architecture and attention to detail. Very impressive.
The central atrium is spectacular
The main pedestrian commercial street, Stephen Avenue Walk, feels like walking back in time when you could imagine horse drawn carriages pulling up to the storefronts.
Yaeko and I thought it was bright. Nicole thought we looked like their bodyguards as we walked the main drag.
Nicole was enamored with this cool three story thrift shop. (She's co-managing a local thrift shop these days, so always interested in how other shops do their thing)
Couple other local landmarks of no particular galore.
Bryce, about 10 years ago, got in trouble in his class for scrawling this phrase in his notebook. When asked where he learned it, he said, "It was painted on a train car! I don't even know what it means." Apparently he saw it while we waited patiently at the train crossing in Soda Springs. He was six.
Dessert at d Spot was phenomenally decadent.
This is the peace bridge in town. We were mostly filling time before heading to the airport to swap Yaeko for Zane.
Target + Safeway = Real Canadian Superstore
Knowing we were about to spend a week in a tourist trap, we stocked up on staples to fill our bellies.
Apparently fog in Santa Barbara was the final straw that wiped out our master plan to have all five of us together in Canada. Zane's plane was grounded there for a couple hours and made it such that he landed at nearly the same time as Yaeko departed. They were two travelers on either side of an international "border", but I guess we can say the Long Family were all within a 500 meter radius in Canada at one time. Farewell Yaeko, welcome Zane.
After 30 minutes of rolling prairies, the road to Banff enters a corridor of massive mountains on either side. The drive is incredibly smooth, wide, and easy. It's like driving from Sacramento to Truckee on I-80 if it were nearly flat with subtle curves. So it's actually nothing like driving from Sacramento to Truckee.
The main street in Banff is fetching.
Our condo for the next five days.
Got a couple inches over night to make day One on the mountain extra fluffy.
--------------------------------------
Zane, Bryce, Nicole, and Steve (in case you were wondering)
Day One on the mountain was Banff Sunshine. It's a massive resort only 20 minutes beyond the town. It's an interesting resort that requires a gondola ride from the parking lot up a narrow canyon to the main village area.
The main six person chair has a cool yellow bubble over it to block the wind and snow. Yet today, totally unnecessary. We lucked out with blue skies and no wind.
One more lift to the top of Lookout Mountain. Wow!! Snowy peaks for miles around!
It's official, snowboarding is not for Bryce. After a couple attempts at overcoming his innate fear of heights, he found comfort in the lodge. Nicole, Zane, and I explored further. It's a big mountain.
Video evidence that we can shred the gnar
A couple hours later, Nicole peeled off to hang with Bryce. Zane and I spent the afternoon exploring Goat's Eye Mountain. We were not used to the length of runs. This is a big mountain.
Final verdict... Sunshine is big, albeit with a curious layout making it somewhat difficult to get around. There is a calibration factor to consider. Their blues are our blacks. Their blacks are our double blacks. Their double blacks are kinda scary... For the proximity and the price, it was a good deal for sure.
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
The following day was a rinse and repeat for Nicole, but a new adventure for us.
Roadside encounter with mountain goats. Apparently salting the road is not just for clearing ice....
Yup, same canyon....
Interesting hobby
Bryce doing his best to help
Last week, that was there. Nicole swears.
------------------------------------
The following day, we split the crew. Zane and I drove 45 minutes up the highway to spend the day at Lake Louise Ski Resort, while Bryce and Nicole took the local Gondola to the nearby Banff peak.
Was cool to see that I have had the privilege to visit every location on that story pole.
The famous Lake Louise is the white patch across the way.
Meanwhile, back at Lake Louise, this is the entry point to the scariest run of my (and Zane's) life. Generally speaking, most signs like these keep good, not great, skiers from going places. I mostly ignore them, and level up or down my aggressiveness knowing that I have navigated pretty intense stuff. But out of an abundance of caution, I asked the nearby ski patrol person if it was ok to go. He flippantly said, "yeah, sure." Zane and I cautiously entered the area and crested the leading edge. Thirty minutes later I finally made it to the bottom of a 900ft, 45 degree (most Cali blacks are 30 degrees) descent on crusty snow. In California, a 45 degree pitch maybe lasts for 50 feet. I basically just dug in my heel edge and my thumbs into the snow behind me to slide down. Jump turns were impossible. I watched two people in the adjacent slope tumble head over heels for 500 feet. How they survived is a mystery. How they recovered their equipment halfway up the mountain is an even greater mystery.
--------------------------------------------------
Within the town proper is Cave and Basin National Monument. This tiny, somewhat nondescript spot is the origin of the Canadian National Park system. Back in the 1800s, some fellas stumbled upon a hole in the ground that lead to a hot spring. This hot spring below. It turned into a tourist hot spot, which inspired the need to protect the wilderness.
The Shining?
This is the hole! Where it all started.
Bow River Falls
Creepy looking haunted castle on a hill. (aka Fairmont Banff Springs). Apparently it is haunted...
This is the famous (infamous) Grizzly House, a fondue spot on the main strip. It's got quite the curious old-timey vibe with 70s music filling the air.
Every table has a phone next to it and they give a map showing every number of other tables (and the bathrooms too).
If I'm being honest, not my favorite kind of cheese. But the experience is fun.
The main course includes a hot stone (600 degrees hot) where you cook your own meat. I ordered the exotic meat platter. In order of favorite to least favorite: Ostrich, Alligator, Frog, Kangaroo, Buffalo, Venison. I ate the tuna raw, so that doesn't count. Bryce is now a fan of Lobster!
Dessert... Chocolate fondue of course.
After dinner, we ditched the boys and had a nice drink at this run of the mill hotel on the hill, The Fairmont Banff Springs
Best "Old Fashioned" I've ever had. And Nicole's purple thing was equally yummy.
----------------------------------
You know you're on the same page with your partner when you separately go to different restrooms at the same time and each take a picture of the one thing hanging on the wall thinking the other would like it to read it.
These are the Three Sisters near Canmore on the way back to Calgary. It's a pretty place everywhere you look.
-------------------------------------
Some final thoughts:
1. Banff is BEAUTIFUL in winter!
2. Banff must be even more beautiful in summer / fall. We must come back.
3. As expected, pretty pricey in Banff. However, at present, our exchange rate makes things about 20% off the listed price.
4. The ski resorts are not that expensive compared to the highway robbery going on in California and Colorado.
5. It was way easier to get to Banff than I had expected. SFO to Calgary is 2:15hrs. Calgary to Banff is an easy 90 minute drive.
6. It was COLD. And we were there in Spring. I can't imagine what it would be like in Dec / Jan / Feb.
Footnote: We finally achieved our full family spring break! Yaeko picked us up from SFO. So for the hour it took us to get to Berkeley, it was like the good ole days...