Day 42 - Thursday June 29/17

We breakfasted, showered, and then went to the Lake Louise Info centre for advice about getting a campsite further up the Icefield Parkway, rather than driving up to the Columbia Icefield and then back to Lake Louise.  

Based on encouraging information from a very helpful Parks Canada person about probable campsite availability, we revised our travel plans and decided to move up towards the Columbia Icefield today rather than tomorrow - so it became a 'travel day' as well as a 'touring day'. (map)

We tried to do some blogging, but again the internet was very slow and our attempts were  frustratingly unsuccessful. So we cleaned up, packed up, and hooked up, and were on the road at 11:30 am.

The Icefields Parkway was lined by a parade of fabulous mountains! (photos)

We got to Wilcox Creek Campground at 1:30 pm, found a campsite, and self-registered, Then we had lunch, and headed off to the Icefield Centre. 

We barely found parking, as the place was chock-a-block full; we felt traumatized by the hordes of tourists; and it took us some time to get oriented and find our way around. Finally we found out where to go for our glacier tour, and were able to relax. We also found that we were struggling a bit with thinner air at higher elevation (we think).

It was rather neat that when Michael wanted to do the ‘flattened penny’ machine for a souvenir “I stood on a glacier” coin, and Michael wasn’t sure how to use the machine, a young Asian woman, who barely spoke English, came and gave Michael directions about how to use the machine. Even after she walked away, she looked back and waved to make sure he’d gotten it right! Kind of a neat ‘role reversal’ situation.

We travelled out on to the Athabasca Glacier on special ‘purpose-built’ buses which can traverse both the lateral moraines on 35 degree hills, and the glacier ice on soft (15PSI) tires; (photos)

What a unique and exciting experience it was to stand on and walk on a glacier. It is melting and retreating yearly (photos)

Michael leapt like a mountain goat over the crenellated surface; worried about possibly slipping and falling, Nancy often relied on Michael’s studying hand, but also managed some solo walking if not leaping (photos)

We were surprised to learn that the small lake forming at the toe of the glacier from meltwater was actually shrinking rather than getting bigger, due to the amount of silt being washed down from the melting glacier.

We went to the Skywalk - a first experience for both of us; Nancy was very brave, and the second time that she walked out on the transparent floor she didn’t even have to hold on the the railing or Michael! The Skywalk projects out over a river canyon. We were a little disappointed as we had thought that it was over a glacier. (photos)

That's a tree between the toes of our shoes, on the canyon floor below!

We are amazed to learn about the ‘Three-way Continental Divide’ in this location, with five glaciers in the Columbia Icefield which is fed by the ‘Snow Dome’, and from here the rivers flow East to the Atlantic, West to the Pacific, and North to the Arctic. (photo) 

Returned to Wilcox Campground had supper and then roasted marshmallows over the campfire (photos)

Day 41 - Wednesday June 28/17

A day for touring based out of Lake Louise Campground. and more visiting with the Scottish clan members, The day started out cloudy & cool. 

We were up early by plan (and alarm!) to go up to Morraine Lake before the crowds. Left the campground at about 7:30 and arrived at Morraine lake at 8. Had a lovely time despite a breezy chill in the air walking the path around the lake as far as it went. (photos)

We had a more peaceful experience than we’d had at Lake Louise, with fewer people and a different time of day. But by the time we left around 9:30, the parking area was already full, the road way in was lined with cars, and they were beginning to restrict traffic entry!

Got “home” (back to our trailer, Rocinante II) and had oatmeal for breakfast. Did a huge load of dishes, which took a while! Then wrote some blog posts; the photos wouldn’t load, due to poor internet service, so we abandoned that task.

Our plan for the day was to go hiking at Johnston Canyon on the way to Banff; then some shopping in Banff; then hike and picnic at Johnson Lake; then to Canmore for supper with 'the Scots'.

We revised the plan as we had used up so much time with dishes and trying to blog, and decided to bypass Johnston Canyon, going straight to Banff for some grocery shopping and then our picnic lunch at Johnson Lake (Michael couldn't pass up the chance to visit that location); Canmore for supper with the Scottish Clan members.

Got the shopping done in Banff and then went to Johnson Lake. 

When we got there, discovered that the road into Johnson Lake was closed due to remedial work that Parks Canada is doing to combat “whirling disease parasite”, including electro-fishing & gill-netting, to save the Westslope Cutthroat Trout, a threatened species.

We drove further on to Two Jack lake and had our picnic lunch on a very windy and quite chilly lakeshore. But it was lovely and we got to sit in more red chairs! (photo)

We the went on to Canmore; got gas and did some banking, and went to have supper with Hilary, John, Cal and Scott at the condo where they have been staying. It was a fabulous feast of roasted red peppers, bbq'd sausage, broccoli salad and corn on the cob, with great company (photo). 

It has been so great to be able to connect with these folks from Scotland. What a treat that their visit to this part of Canada just happened to coincide with our travels here. We couldn’t have planned that if we had tried!

Nancy saw black bears on the way back to Lake Louise. We got home at 10 pm and went straight to bed after a very full and satisfying day!

Day 39 – Monday June 26/17  

(Editor's note: These daily reports are being posted over a week later partly because the bloggers were too tired to write after their long, full days and partly because there was a great deal of difficulty over the past several days getting access to the internet for cell phone or Wi-Fi. Hope you enjoy the experiences despite the delay.)

A slow start to the day. So slow in fact that Michael had to get an extra boost of energy. (photo) 

By noon we were headed to Banff town site to do a little shopping. Traffic was very heavy and we once again reminded ourselves of how good it feels to take the road less travelled, as we have done throughout most of our trip.

We continued to head east and found a picnic site on the Bow Valley Parkway about halfway to Canmore. We stopped for a sandwich in the lovely sunshine and for the third time found ourselves in the Parks Canada red chairs.(photo) 

Nancy has a goal to be photographed in as many of these chairs as possible. Today added two more locations to that goal. Read on the find the second location today.

Our destination on this jaunt was east of Canmore to the pick-up location for a white water rafting adventure. There was a rather slow start to the rafting as we were part of a group of about 60 who filled 6 rafts. Being issued with wetsuits, life vests, neoprene water shoes and splash jackets took a while and the mandatory safety lecture even longer. 

But eventually we got on the bus and were driven to the launch site. There were a few marvelous thrills as we paddled into some large rapids. One bump hit the raft with such force that Michael’s glasses came off. Fortunately he had tied them on with string as the guide suggested. This was Michael’s first experience with white water rafting and as we slowly approached the end of our trip he said next time we should try a bit more challenging course. As this was Nancy’s second white water adventure (the first being a considerably faster paced experience near her sister’s place in Costa Rica) she immediately agreed. (No photos as we protected the phones/cameras by not bringing them on the raft.)

We left the rafting company in rather a hurry at 5:10 pm. We had 6:10 reservations for the gondola up Sulphur Mountain in Banff. We had 53 km to go, town traffic to negotiate and a parking spot to find. Amazingly as we walkied into the loading structure the electronic sign informed us that the 6:10 departure was loading now. On we walked and went swiftly to the top. (lots of photos) 

The views in 360 degrees were beyond description – even the thesaurus can’t help. To the east toward Canmore we could see dark cloud and to the west toward Lake Louise there was bright sunshine. We walked around the open air fourth floor of the mountaintop gondola station. The wind was fierce but added to the fullness of the experience.  




We walked the outdoor boardwalk path that lead toward the weather station on a slightly higher peak and then rewarded ourselves with a roast pork dinner looking north towards the Banff Spring Hotel and Golf Course. 

Our dinner view - Not Bad, eh?

This was a meal we’ll never forget. Futher exploration of various displays and a final view from the very top rounded out this memorable excursion. 

We were heading home by 9:00. Being determined to take full advantage of the lengthy days when the sun doesn’t set until 10:00 pm we decided to take the scenic Bow Valley Parkway to Lake Louise.  This twisty route was far more enjoyable than the busier and faster TransCanada route. We came across a monument to Hungarian immigrants to Canada who were interred in the park during WWI. (photo) 

The man is asking the question, "Why?"
Another part of Canadian history that cannot make us proud.  These men and boys, just regular immigrants to Canada, worked in forced labour gangs to build the road we were driving on. 

On a happier note we also spotted some elk grazing near the road by the side of the railway line. (photo)

It was 10:30 before we were home. Straight to bed after a wonderful day of new adventures and views.