Friday I-Wish-I-Were-There (Golden, Canadian Rockies)

Welcome to my Friday I-Wish-I-Were-There Blog.

With the cold winter blast hitting the South Island of New Zealand bringing lots of snow, I thought today I’d travel back to a quaint little town in the Canadian Rockies, Golden. With a population under 5000 and situated close to some of Canada’s most beautiful National Parks, Golden has a small town, welcoming feel about it.

Highlights:
Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Centre. Run by passionate people who genuinely love these incredibly noble animals. I was absolutely spellbound – and when the wolves flung their heads back and howled, each joining in the pack harmony, I swear, I’ve never heard a sound more beautiful.

Kicking Horse Ski resort put on an amazing New Year’s eve snowboard/skiing display and an impressive family evening of fireworks. But brrr, you’d think 17 degrees below zero was a little too cold for one of the snowboarders to strip down to his boxers for the last run! You know, the temperature must’ve addled my brain as all I could think was, “That poor dude’s gonna catch his death dressed like that.”

Pinewood Inn. We were so impressed by this immaculately clean little inn, and the staff there went out of their way to help us. One of the lovely owners, Deb, even went to the effort of sourcing two pairs of ice-skates for my kids in case the opportunity arose at the Kicking Horse Ski resort New Year’s eve bash.

Snow, snow and more snow. Oh Lord, our family loves snow! My kids had so much fun on their bought snow discs, and even I had a go. Lesson learned: Plastic discs are meant for lightweight kids, not mothers who’ve had one to many meals at Denny’s.

I’m off to make a nice, hot chocolate and to curl up with a blanket and book – what could be better to ward off winter’s chill?

Tracey