Northern Lights over the Castle

 Our 20th anniversary was a bit of a write off last year, though there's nothing wrong with eating cupcakes in a freezing car park it wasn't quite the same as the trip to Europe we had planned.  This year we booked the Banff Springs to have a nicer celebration for our 21st.  Since restrictions change all the time it was a last minute thing.  We can't look forward to things anymore, there's no point.

Clearly the weather got the memo, it was full on summer.  We treated ourselves to the gondola which we hadn't been on in years, I enjoyed pulling right up, parking easily and getting on with no crowds.  There's a boardwalk at the top (was that there last time?) to the old weather station.

We have never stayed at the Banff Springs before because we are not the queen.  It is stunning.  A cozy castle if you will.  Our view was magnificent.  The hotel is guests only at the moment, it was a quiet oasis in a gorgeous stretch of trees and mountains.  I am loving Banff minus coachloads of tourists, not gonna lie.

Mother nature got in on the act just before midnight with this amazing display.  These are my first photos of the Aurora, and they are with my iPhone so bear with me.  It's fortunate our room had the view it did or we may not have spotted them.  We rushed out to enjoy the completely empty terrace.

Perfect.