1.0The Sourcehttps://the-source.netrich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="4SyzS9OPZv"><a href="https://the-source.net/sisters-bond-in-banff/">Sisters bond in Banff</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://the-source.net/sisters-bond-in-banff/embed/#?secret=4SyzS9OPZv" width="600" height="338" title="“Sisters bond in Banff” — The Source" data-secret="4SyzS9OPZv" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(c,l){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(l.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage);else if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(!t);else if(!(t.secret||t.message||t.value));else if(/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret));else{for(var r,s,a,i=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),n=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=0;o<n.length;o++)n[o].style.display="none";for(o=0;o<i.length;o++)if(r=i[o],e.source!==r.contentWindow);else{if(r.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(s=parseInt(t.value,10)))s=1e3;else if(~~s<200)s=200;r.height=s}if("link"===t.message)if(s=l.createElement("a"),a=l.createElement("a"),s.href=r.getAttribute("src"),a.href=t.value,a.host===s.host)if(l.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener("message",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),c.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(o);else{o=!0;for(var e,t,r,s=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),a=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),i=l.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),n=0;n<i.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=i[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(s||a)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); </script> https://the-source.net/wp-content/uploads/IMG_1376-Sisters-Meg-and-Nancy-at-Lake-Louise..jpg700525By Lynn Colburn It’s amazing what can inspire a great adventure. While searching for a Fathead sticker of GoBots for her grandson, Meg Lorton, a Jacksonville Area School District 117 social worker, saw a Fathead sticker that she thought would brighten her office with a window-like view of the beautiful Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. When students asked if she’d ever been there, she would say, “No, but I think I’m going to go.” The poster planted the seed, but while helping her sister Nancy flip a house as a summer project, Nancy asked Meg, “If you could go anywhere, where would you like to go?” Meg said, “Are you kidding? I want to go to Banff, but I know that’s not your thing because I want to hike.” Nancy replied, “Well, I could go. You could hike and I could paint.” Meg is the youngest of seven girls and they have taken sisters’ trips before, but when she approached the other sisters none could go. Nancy Young is fourth in the line of the sisters and lives in Springfield. Nancy was a social worker by trade, but since retiring has been a Bob Ross Oil Painting Instructor. She learned through classes with Bob Ross himself. Meg says they have a lot in common. Both have a creative, artistic spirit. Even though she can’t hike, Nancy loves to be outdoors and she values the beauty of nature. “Why I wanted her to go with me, is Nancy has gone to all these instruction courses to learn how to be a Bob Ross artist, so she is always painting these mountain scenes, but she has never been to the mountains! I wanted to see her enjoy the beautiful majestic mountains in person.” After lots of planning, they flew to Calgary, Canada. Meg says, “We decided to stay in cabins in Canmore, not far from Banff, right off the interstate. The Rundle Cabins were in the Rundle Mountains and we loved that the cabin was tucked into the mountains.” “I always tease my sister that she is very sentimental and emotional. I’m not a crier. But when we got up to where we started to see the mountains, I couldn’t even look at her because she was crying tears of joys. Everywhere we went she would stop and say, ‘This is the most beautiful. I can’t believe we are experiencing this!’ It made me experience the awe with her. We even saw the exact view from the poster.” “Our trip was the first week in August last summer and we planned little day trips,” explained Meg. “That way I could hike, and she could move around easily. Staying in a cabin we could have provisions and not rely on going out all the time. The day we arrived we went to get supplies and saw a beautiful double rainbow. I tried to catch it in photos, but it doesn’t do it justice.” “I told Nancy, ‘Look Nancy, this is like it was meant to be. It was the promise of our expectations, after all our efforts and planning. Realizing, wow, we made it, and this is our reward.’ It was awesome!” After their grocery stop, the women went to some of the local places in downtown Canmore, first to eat and then to experience the local culture.” Meg said the towns in the mountains were like Swiss villages. “They looked like something out of a picture book. And the people were so friendly.” After a good night sleep, the sisters set off for Banff. But when they missed the exit for Banff, they decided to continue to Lake Louise instead. “You have to park in the little village and take buses up to Lake Louise,” Meg explained, “because although there is a road up to the lake, there is no parking unless you stay at one of the multiple lodges.” At Lake Louise, there is the Fairmont Château Lake Louise hotel, built over 100 years ago, and another structure that rents canoes. There are tons of tourists who want to go to hike, climb, repel, canoe, boat or whatever you can imagine. Nancy decided to sit at the front of the lake and take in the views, while Meg did a little hiking around when they arrived. When they went to the lodge they discovered there were three different restaurants to choose from (one was only for guests of the lodge). There were two outside cafés. They asked to sit on the terrace and, although it was an extra wait, it was well worth it! “It was the most tranquil place to have lunch. We sat listening to the beautiful birds singing all around and looked over scenic views of Lake Louise. Nancy and I would just keep looking at the view and each other and her eyes would just get all watery. It’s like your sitting in heaven. It’s phenomenal. I can’t imagine sitting in any place more pristine. And the food was an incredible Canadian/French meal. I ordered duck. We both enjoyed our meals tremendously. We saw someone else get this dessert with mini donuts filled with chocolate raspberry cream! It was amazing! Afterwards, we just stayed and enjoyed our coffee and soaked it all in. If we hadn’t just ventured up and just asked about the area restaurants, we might have missed this whole experience! My advice is to always ask!” “I hiked some after lunch,” said Meg, “but we decided to come back again on our last day. The thing we hadn’t realize was the buses stop running at 6 p.m. and we had missed the last bus! Fortunately, there were others in the same boat, so a bunch of us split a taxi to come get us so some of us could get cars and come back up to pick up others.” Back at the cabin Nancy said, “Meg, I’m not used to going like this. I kind of like to relax and pace myself.”...