One of the things I didn’t say at the end of yesterday’s post about Friday (January 13) is that before I went to bed, I called Discover Banff Tours and cancelled my reservation for the icewalk trip I was supposed to do on my last day in Jasper.

I had been debating off and on all day about whether I wanted to do it. Originally, I had been booked to do a guided tour of Johnston Canyon. This was going to involve a cliffwalk and some of an icewalk, but they needed to do some maintenance and changed the trip to explore Grotto Canyon, something about which I had been excited at the beginning of the trip.

However, I realized at the top of Sulphar Mountain and the observation deck that I was tired. Not just physically but psychologically.

Everything was feeling a bit much. I felt like I needed to spend some time in a sensory deprivation chamber. I felt like my brain was starting not to be able to load up another beautiful thing.

When I talked to my mom yesterday morning for our weekly chat, she immediately sympathized with my exhaustion, reminding me (kindly) that I needed to remember that I wasn’t as young as I was before. Ha. Thanks, mom. My knee and back remind of that every day if not every hour. But I knew what she meant. I can’t go, go, go like I used to.

But I assured her that wasn’t it. Not all of it. I have never liked the “go, go, go” idea, especially for vacations. I know I’m not in the same physical shape I was pre-Covid during my last trip, but I also know that some of my exhaustion was my response to doing so many things, seeing so much beauty, and having to talk to so many different people in the last week.

It really was sensory overload. I know I felt it, and I think I mentioned it, in my post about the Maligne Canyon Icewalk. So much pretty can be a bit overwhelming. There isn’t enough time to really let it seep in and pause to reflect. What you need or I need is time to just sit and look and not feel like I have to move on to the next thing.

It’s why my fantasy is to be able to go places I like and live in them for 2-3 months, so I can really soke things up without the need to go someplace every day.

I’m also an introvert, which means people exhaust me. As my children will attest, I can and do talk to a lot of people. It is a way that I cope with my anxiety and to address my inner awkward child, but it takes a toll. I don’t get energy from people. They tend to suck it out of me. And I’ve had to talk to a LOT of new people each day.

What I really wanted was a day to just relax in my hotel room, and that’s what I did yesterday.

It was a mental maintenance day, so of course, I did . . .

laundry.

Actually, I wish I could say that was this coping mechanism, but I had actually scheduled to do laundry on Saturday anyway. It was something I worked out with Candace from Fresh Tracks Canada. When I travel, I like to stay in a place that has laundry so I don’t have to pack too many clothes. In summer, you often have a lot of clothes you can wash in a sink, but not in the winter.

She made sure that I’d have a place where I could do laundry on this trip.

Fortunately, not only is my hotel right around the corner from a grocery store, but it also has a small laundry facility on site.

So, after talking to my mom, I took a shower, sorted my laundry, packed it up in my backpack and shopping bag (more on that later), and headed downstairs to get change from the front desk.

The laundry is open 24/7, and it’s $3 CAD for each load ($3 wash and $3 dry). It’s actually in the parking lot. You take the elevator to the parking lot and follow the yellow bear prints on the ground to find it.

I had packed laundry sheets, which are a boon to travel. I learned from Jane Decatur, a travel pro, to pack laundry detergent because you never want to have to buy a whole thing of it when you’re away, and buying the tiny things are often expensive. The pods were a boon, but when they all became liquid, it was hard. They leak. They also aren’t often good at changes in cabin pressure in airplanes. It’s increasingly harder and harder to find the pods that are powder.

I started using laundry sheets last year, partly to save space and not to have so many plastic jugs since my apartment doesn’t recycle. But they are perfect for traveling because you can use them in sink to do handwashing or in a washer. And, as you can see, they are obviously easy to pack.

I had three loads of laundry, and there were two washers and two dryers. I was able to put the first two loads in one dryer and once I got the third load washed and in the second dryer, I went back to my room to hang up the clothes that shouldn’t be put in a dryer. I then headed out to get breakfast.

I could have gone to the cool coffee shop and cafe connected to the hotel. However, I’m in Canada. I felt there was something I needed to do since I had the chance, and one was only a 9-minute walk away.

It had really warmed up (around 30 degrees), so it was a really nice early morning walk to find . . .

You guessed it. I had to go to Tim Hortons at least once. I got one their breakfast sandwich meals to take back to eat in the laundry room for breakfast.

For those of you who don’t know, Tim Hortons is to Canada what Dunkin Donuts is to Massachusetts. I even got a timbits snackpack to eat for breakfast today.

Not only this, but the timing was perfect. I got back to the laundry room with 4 minutes to spare on the first load in the dryer. This meant I had time to eat my breakfast without having the clothes sit in the dryer too long and get wrinkled.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I gave myself a high five. This day was going to be a day of small, quiet wins. I needed a break from the big experiences.

So, I basically ate breakfast and folded laundry. I played music from my phone while I folded. It felt good to listen to music in that little room by myself folding laundry. I could feel my brain starting to rest.

I also realized that I really hadn’t been listening to music much on this trip, and not listening to music is very unlike me. I listen to music all the time. I even have a bluetooth speaker in my office at work. But somehow, on this trip, I have only listened to music when I have been packing to leave a hotel room.

I wonder if the lack of music has something to do with my feeling out of sorts as well.

I was finished with my chores by 8:30 AM, and then spent most of the day in my hotel room on the bed reading, working on the blog, and writing. Perfect.

Of course, I eventually had to leave to get food, but I was in no mood to be adventurous. Around 2:30 I walked directly back to the shawarma place and got a large chicken shawarma, remembering to ask for no olives this time. But I knew what I really wanted. I had passed this place several times in my walking around Jasper.

Did I have a double scoop ice cream cone for my late lunch? Yes, I did. In case you are wondering, I had Wowie Cowie on top and Messie Bessie on the bottom.

According to some, Cows, an ice cream place based out of Prince Edward Island, is not only the best ice cream in Canada but also some of the best ice cream in the world. I don’t know about that, but it was delicious.

And as I strolled through downtown Jasper, probably for the last time, eating my ice cream cone in the balmy 34-degree weather, I felt the most peaceful since I woke up on the train five days ago.

I am now really looking forward to my next adventure. I pack up and leave for an overnight at Lake Louise today. I’m glad I took a break because I really want to be in a space to be able to enjoy it. I’m not sure I would be able to if I had pushed myself yesterday.

Here’s a lesson for vacations, especially for those of us who don’t get to take them very much. They shouldn’t feel like work. We shouldn’t feel guilty if we just want to do nothing.

Note: Ode to a shopping bag. I always bring at least one reusable grocery bags when I travel. Lots of grocery stores all over the world do not provide bags or they don’t for free. These fold up and fit in my suitcase but also in my purse. So I always have an extra bag at hand. It was also helpful to use as a laundry bag, fitting one of the loads.

Always pack a grocery bag. Aunties and Ahjummas across the globe will approve of you, too.