Nishan grew up in Saskatchewan (among other places) so naturally, I’ve heard about Saskatoon berries more than a few times. And that’s how we found ourselves in the car on our second day in Calgary heading to the town of Okotoks, just outside of Calgary.
We had breakfast at their on-site restaurant, but the real highlight was sampling the Saskatoon berry ice cream. Okay, I get it. This stuff is good. Creamy, sweet, and super fruity. Why don’t they carry this in the states?
The farm carries other produce and baked goods, as well as tons of plants, so if you like to get your Canadian gardening on, this is the place.
From Okatoks we got back in the car and headed back towards Calgary, where we spent the rest of the day at the Calgary Turkish Festival, sampling kabobs and coffee.
We got up early the next day to drive to Lake Louise in Banff National Park. Tim Hortons in tow, of course. The last time I was at Banff, everything was covered in snow and I was convinced I was going to freeze and pass out from the cold. This time, we approached Lake Louise in tank tops and t-shirts. The sun was shining and the lake was gorgeous.
After lunch at the adjacent Fairmont Lake Louise, Nishan and I began the easy hike around the lake. Lake Louise is pristine, and the ice blue to emerald color of the water comes from rock flour carried into the lake by melt-water from the glaciers that overlook the lake long ago.
We were famished by the time we got back to Calgary, so we stopped at the market and picked up a few ingredients for dinner. Nishan cranked out homemade saffron tagliatelle while I made the lobster and scallops to top the pasta.
Score.