Oh Canada

Golden, British Columbia was our home base for the first few days spent in the Canadian Rockies. It wasn't the ideal location but we made the best of it. We drove up Kicking Horse Mountain and checked it out on the day we arrived. The next day we drove to Glacier (Canada) and Mount Revelstock National Parks. We did several short hikes along the way, Skunk Cabbage Trail, Hemlock Grove, Rock Garden and The Loop. We drove the "Meadows in the Sky" parkway up Mtn. Revelstock and then hiked the last km in search of snow for Rigley. This first picture is a view of Glacier NP in Canada.

In YoHo National Park we visited many of the sights. Takakkaw Falls, Takakkaw means "magnificent" in Cree and it was definitely that. The Natural Bridge was different from any we have seen before. In the afternoon we walked the 3.5 mile trail around Emerald Lake.



Rigley checked out the water which was very cold and a beautiful turquoise.

Our last day in Golden we just hung out at the campground. The campground was right on Route 1, the major East West road across the country and thru the mountains. There were warning signs for Big Horn Sheep next 8km near the campground but boy was I surprised when they walked down the mountain and right into camp. They actually hung out for a couple hours during the heat of the day. In this picture they came to attention when Austin got too close with Rigley. It was very different in this part of the country, the sun never set until 9:50 pm, out walking Rigley at 11:00 without a flashlight.

Pulled up camp and headed to the Eastern side of the Rockies. Our new base was the Village of Lake Louise. We were now in the center of some of the most spectacular scenery we have come across. Lake Louise was a crowded tourist spot. The Lake itself , had it's advertised emerald water and snow capped mountain but a large hotel and huge throngs of people sorta ruined it. We enjoyed nearby Moraine Lake much more. It had a small lodge and not nearly as crowded. We pumped up the SeaEagle and toured the lake for hours. It was Rigley's first Captaining of the ship,

I would be surprised if you haven't seen it on Utube yet. We had a world wide audience cheering us on and taking pictures.
Rigley did very well on his Maiden Voyage and we look forward to trying it again. The pictures are of Lake Moraine and Fay Glacier.

The next day we drove the "Icefields Parkway" from the village of Lake Louise in Banff NP to the town of Jasper in Jasper NP. 230km drive, one way of continuous World Heritage Site scenery. Beautiful mountains, snowfields and glaciers. Beautiful lakes, rivers and waterfalls. Even a beautifully large dog park in Jasper.

Spent a lot of time at the Columbia Icefields. Rigley was not allowed on the Ice Explorer so Austin and I did separate tours. Didn't matter because it was worth it. It was awesome being on the Athabasca Glacier and Icefield that is as thick as the Eiffel Tower is tall.

Sunwapta Falls was another gorgeous spot along the way.

On the return to Lake Louise we spotted a black bear eating wildflowers along the side of the road.

Spent a day of touring around the town of Banff, visiting waterfalls, and mountain views. We returned to camp via the Bow Valley Parkway hoping to see more wildlife, but it didn't happen. Stopped and hiked 3 miles to the lower and upper falls at Johnsons Canyon.

Check out this cool animal bridge that they have along Route 1. As they install fences along the highway they are building these bridges for the animals to cross. They are at least a 100 foot wide and look like the woods going over the road. They have hidden cameras on them so they know the bridges are working. From March 1- June 25, from 6pm-9am they close route 1A to help protect the wildlife of the Bow Valley. I think it is wonderful all they do to protect the animals.