We awoke again to beautiful sunny skies!  Below is the view from our bedroom window.

After getting dressed, I went down to the lobby to talk to the concierge about the current state of area highway closures.  It was good news!  No, not fabulous news like the reopening of Highway #1 to Calgary through Canmore, but at least Highway #93, the Icefields Parkway, is open north of Lake Louise, which was previously closed due to mudslides.

One of the reasons I love Fairmont hotels and stay with them so often, is the fabulous service they provide.  Lawrence on the concierge desk was particularly helpful at keeping us updated on the state of the roads.  This morning, when he confirmed that we are able to get out to Calgary through Red Deer, he also took the time to get us a room for tonight at a Calgary airport area hotel.  It was nice not having to worry and research about how we were getting out.  Instead, we were able to enjoy our vacation and explore the sites (well, the ones that were open), knowing that Fairmont was looking after the travel details.

At this point, the hotel was looking rather empty, as guests departed over recent days with very few new guests arriving.  Checking out of the hotel a day early, I was fully prepared to pay for the final night since it was our decision to leave early.  However, Fairmont was very understanding of the situation and adjusted our rate without me even asking.

The valet brought our car around, the bell staff loaded up our luggage, and we were on our way.  We stopped at Tim Horton’s for a quick breakfast on the way out of town, and we were on the highway around 9AM.  The drive north felt very strange.  With the highway closed at Banff, we felt like we had the entire Trans-Canada Highway to ourselves.  If only traffic could always be like that!

Heading up the Icefields Parkway, a journey we did last year but hadn’t planned to do this time around, we stopped for photos at a few places.  This is one of my favourites.

Once we reached Saskatchewan Crossing, we left the Icefields Parkway and turned east toward Rocky Mountain House and Red Deer.  We watched the scenery gradually change from mountains to farms.  Eventually, we arrived in Calgary and checked into our hotel for the night.  While we had to cut our time in the mountains short by a day, at least we’re going to make our original flight home.

We drove around Calgary for a little and found a place for dinner before returning to the hotel.