It’s very confusing to tell which activity happened on which day in this trip to Canada, since activities for the north light were always in midnight. So, I’ll tell the whole story only in five parts, instead of day by day.

Part 0. Preparation

I was pretty relaxed when I realized that we didn’t need to do the hotel arrangement for every night. Not being able to rent a car due to the driver’s license related policy - sorry about that - was also actually a big relief. We only need to book the flight ticket, the aurora tour, the SkiBig3 ticket, and two rather less important hotels. Of course, there were other standard preparations such that buying insurance, buying SIM cards, exchanging currency, getting the camera ready, and so on. Oh, we did buy some cool ski equipment beforehand for this trip!

Part 1. Vancouver

There was less time for us in Vancouver than we expected. We only got the time to do a quick tour in Gastown. The scary distance from the airport to downtown in Google Maps turned out to be just a piece of cake. It took us about half an hour to Gastown by train. The town has a fantastic steam clock and some cute little blocks. The music played by the clock was both awkward, amusing and amazing. We did some walk in the town and had the first impression of the rather early sunset.

Part 2. North light in Yellowknife

It was so cold there! I wore my thickest down jacket but still felt like being covered by ice. On the first afternoon in Yellowknife, we went to a market to get something to eat. On the way back, I was so upset because all my energy literally was used to resist the freezing weather and nothing to keep my sprit high. We spent four nights there. In two of them, actually the first two, we saw the north light. It was snowing a little bit when we headed out on the first night. I didn’t have much expectation. But that was the night we saw the light dancing. It was amazing. Amazing but fleeting. I was so lucky to see the light in the first night, I thought. Not just because of the splendid view, but to ease my nerve, and let me have a good mood for the later trip. JJ was half satisfied because he thought the light time was too short for a whole trip. But at least, he played hard with the snow. We both get a tiny pin and a certification for stepping into the area of 60 degree latitude. I managed to turn the pin into a magnet for our fridge back home.

Part 3. Skiing in Banff

You know what? I’ll definitely hire a coach next time I ski. I fell down, like, thirty times in two days. There was a moment I even thought I need to call for help. On the first day, we left the cable car one stop early in the sunshine village. So we had to ski back to the origin. It was so scary. I always imagined to fall off the mountain and hoped there were some more protections. The valley was fine. At least I couldn’t fall off a valley, right? On the second day, Lake Louise marked a rather advanced (for me) trail as easy and for learning, which was too hard for me too. I could not handle the direction and high speed well. So I fell down even more there. Sometimes, I fell down just after I spent a lot of time standing up again. It was depressing. The bright side was, I did make some progress. Yeah for me. A reminder: choose looser shoes next time.

Part 4. Calgary

We went to Calgary Airport from Banff one day earlier since the flight was very early in the morning. We got up before 4 a.m. and went to the airport without having a breakfast. Everything was good. The plane left gate and parpared for departure. Then, the captain annouced there was a minor issue and it was expected to be fixed soon. However, the issue seemed to be more critical than we thought. We returned to the gate. After a few minutes, the flight was cenceled. The airline was good, though. The staffs were very friendly. They helped us to rebook another flight in the midnight. And we got vouchers for meals.

Then we had one more day to see the sights of Calgary. Prince’s Island Park was quiet and beautiful. I would like to spend half a day there to enjoy the sunshine if I didn’t need to go back to the airport in the evening. MM purchased a Lego set of Central Perk, which she had been eager to have for a long time, at a Lego store in Chinook Center.