Canmore is a quaint small town with great restaurants, shopping and activities. It is only about a 20-minute drive into Banff National Park and about 2.5 hours to the Columbia Icefields in Jasper National Park. We drove to our Worldmark by Wyndham timeshare which would become our home base for seven nights.

Here's Matt (and his bread loaf pillow) and I as we arrived to the lobby:

We checked-in, dropped our bags and relaxed a bit before heading out to get an overview of the towns of Canmore and Banff. The first night we drove through Canmore to the "Safeway" supermarket to get most of the food and drink we'd need for our seven night stay. Of course, we visited some restaurants and cafes, but preparing breakfast each morning saved us at least $20.00 to $60.00 each day while preparing lunch and snacks for our hikes saved us another $25.00 to $80.00 per hike. We also prepared dinner many nights which is a savings of $70.00 to $120.00 each meal. Our conservative savings was $750.00 for the week which was the cost of our car rental + gas for the entire trip!

The boys also worked toward some Boy Scout requirements such as cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner along with completing three of their ten mile hikes.

Most "Worldmark by Wyndham" timeshares have a grill on each unit terrace but Canmore is a converted hotel with very limited balconies. Here is luke with his prepared chicken taking the elevator to the grilling area:

Mommy helps carry the "sides" of strawberries and a salad:

We enjoyed Luke's very tasty chicken dinner with some Raspberry "Peace" tea in a very nice backyard setting!

Canmore offers activities like canoeing, biking, hiking, shopping and dining.

I wake up earlier than the rest of the family so I took an early morning walk with crisp, fresh morning air, gorgeous views and wildlife. The first photo is "The Three Sisters":

SAVINGS TIP:

1. Book an apartment or condo through AirBnB, Expedia or your favorite travel site which includes a stocked kitchen. This can save you hundreds of dollars (or more) in food costs by enjoying meals at your location!

2. Consider buying a"points-based" timeshare if you plan on traveling a lot and want to explore different places. My wife and I initially bought a "week" through "Worldmark by Wyndham" (orginally Trendwest) and later upgraded to two weeks per year. We have travelled to many destinations each year since our purchase around the year 2000. I have used it for my DJ business when working in Las Vegas, Santa Barbara or San Diego and we have traveled as a family to beautiful spots throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming (Yellowstone), New Mexico, Utah, West Virginia, Florida, Mexico and Canada. We have exchanged weeks for St. Marteen, Spain, Scotland and Ireland. The two weeks will be passed on to Matt and Luke since the two weeks do not expire as long as maintenance fees are paid annually.