Only in Canada....

Today has been quite a day!

Our first destination was Maligne  Canyon, a dramatic limestone gorge with a series of bridges where you can stand and gaze in wonder at the water thundering through impossibly narrow gullies and basins. A most impressive sight and well worth a visit.

We then drove on up the road towards Maligne  Lake. We had been told that this is a good area for wildlife so we were eagerly scanning the verges on either side of the road....but then we saw vehicles in front of us screeching to a halt and people leaping out with cameras. We pulled over and finally got to see BEARS!! And not just any bears but a mother with three little cubs! It was a bit concerning to see people getting out of their vehicles and getting very close to take photos...we kept a safe distance although she seemed very unperturbed by all the attention. Anyway we managed to get a few good shots....no idea how as I was in a right state!

We continued on our way to the stunning Maligne Lake where we got to tick off another item on our wish list....canoeing! (Stop sniggering if you work at Crossdale) We paddled up and down the lake enjoying yet more stunning scenery and taking lots of silly photos of each other.

The drive back to Jasper ( have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE Jasper?!) gave us further wildlife sightings of mountain sheep and a couple of elk.

We had a quick shower and then headed out to town for some dinner. On the way we noticed that the Rocky Mountaineer was in town so wandered down to the railway tracks for a closer look. Luckily for us the Canadian Tourist board had provided a herd of elk grazing on the tracks to set off the view of the train.

After our pizza and beer we decided to pop back down to the railway tracks to see if the elk were still there. They were, and in fact one had wandered across and was happily grazing in one of the municipal flowerbeds across the road. We then enjoyed the entertaining sight of a couple of Parks Canada rangers rounding up the whole herd and chasing them out of town. You could not make this stuff up, it is priceless.

Close to God...

Today we drove the Icefields Parkway, which is considered to be one of the world's great drives. I think the photos pretty much speak for themselves so I'll keep the commentary down to a minimum.

When we set out along the Parkway this morning the cloud was so low that we decided to pull in and wait until it lifted. We sat in the car and all we could see was dense whiteness in front of us...then it suddenly began to thin and we realised that we were looking at a lake with an immense snow capped mountain towering behind it. A truly stunning moment!

Peyto Lake from Bow Summit....the highest point on the Parkway

Hiking up to Parker's Ridge....a bit of a long, hard slog....but so worth it!

View of the Saskatchewan Glacier from Parker's Ridge. This made me cry (not for the first time on this trip!)

Trip onto the Athabasca Glacier

The Columbia Icefields.....an area of approx 325 km squared.

The journey took us around 10 hours. It was truly astonishing, and I feel so privileged to have seen so many beautiful sights. The photos can only begin to hint at what we experienced today.

Lake Louise

 Today we got an early start as we were off to Lake Louise. We woke to grey skies and a chilly wind, and when we arrived at LL the temperature was just 8C...a bit of a shock after 27 just yesterday! We dodged the crowds at the head of the lake and set off to hike the 3.6K up to Lake Agnes.This was a fairly easy, steady climb, up through low cloud with some great views back down to the lake. We arrived at the famous teahouse and popped in for a cuppa with perfect timing as it began to rain heavily just as we got under shelter. This quickly turned to sleet!

We did a quick walk along to the head of Lake Agnes and back....I was very glad of my woolly hat and gloves!

We then set off to walk back to the lake via the HighLine Trail. When we set off the lake was 5K away.....after walking for half an hour it was 5.3!! At the next signpost which said it was 6K we abandoned the HighLine trail and took the most direct route back down. It was pretty isolated and at one point Jon was sure he heard something large moving around in the bushes nearby. We did a lot of singing and clapping, and never did find out if it was a bear, or even a cougar!!

Once we got back to the lake shore we stopped for a quick bite to eat...can you spot the uninvited guest peering over Jon's shoulder?!

Our final visit of the day was up to Moraine Lake, which is absolutely stunning. Unfortunately it was raining heavily by this point so we only stayed long enough to take a few photos.

Back in Field the sun was out and the temperature a balmy 14 degrees. We had a fantastic meal at the local restaurant, the Truffle Pigs, and are now all packed up and ready to drive the Icefields Parkway up to Jasper tomorrow.

Is this really a holiday?!

Today was deemed a 'rest day' by my manager so we just did the short 5K return hike to Wapta Falls.

Once again the weather has been amazing, and we spend the whole time when we're driving around marvelling at the incredible scenery which surrounds us on all sides.
We stopped to have lunch by the Yoho River and spent some time just admiring the view.

We then stopped off at the Spiral Tunnels viewpoint where we were lucky enough to see a train going through the tunnels....look carefully at the photo: that really is just one train doing a massive loop through the mountain to get it up the incline!

The Rocky Mountaineer

This iconic train was in Field when we arrived back yesterday. These photos are in honour of Dad, who would've been beside himself with joy to see this.

A unique place to stay

Our current accommodation, Edgemount Guesthouse, is in the tiny town of Field, BC. With a population of around 200, this lovely little community grew up around the railway and has many buildings of historic interest, and others which are just pretty! I took these photos on a walk around town just before the sun disappeared behind the mountain last night.

The only way is up (even when you've been told it isn't)

Today we slept a bit later......the time difference has meant some fairly early starts, but I think we are starting to adapt!
It was a clear, cool morning but as we were having breakfast we could see the cloud starting to build and we left the house prepared for a wet day. Our first stop was 'Natural Bridge' where there is a rock formation which almost dams the Kicking Horse River, causing the water to gush through a very narrow gap in spectacular fashion.

It was very windy and large spots of rain were starting to fall, but we headed on to our next destination, Emerald Lake. Wrapped up in our cagoules we set out to walk the 5.5K circuit around the lake, which, despite the cloud was a striking blue/green colour. The walk around the lake was easy and enjoyable, especially as we started to see glimpses of sunshine.

 Just over halfway round we sat and ate lunch admiring the lake and the incredible mountains which surround it, then headed off again. I was just starting to think we were almost back when Jon spotted a sign to Emerald Basin, distance 3K. After a short discussion and many reassurances from Jon that it was not going to head up a mountain we set off. The first 10 minutes or so were level, but then it headed off....up a mountain! By now the sun was out and the temperature had started to climb. The first half of the hike was steep and rocky, but it levelled out after a while and we eventually fought our way through the undergrowth and made it to the 'basin'

Not sure I'd bother next time but it was good exercise and once Jon had told me to man up I quite enjoyed it.

Our final stop of the day was at Takakkaw Falls.

This is an absolute astonishing waterfall and we both loved it. Even though we did get quite wet!

Climb every mountain....

This morning we said goodbye to our lovely host in Banff, April, and headed off to climb Sulphur Mountain. With an elevation gain of around 2,500 feet, starting off at about 5,000 feet, this hike was described as 'moderate to strenuous' and predicted to take around 2 hours. It was fairly cool when we set off but the sun quickly broke through the cloud and it started to feel pretty warm. There was just one point around three quarters of the way up when I seriously began to question my sanity in attempting the climb, but we managed to make it to the top in under 2 hours and it was well worth it!

I did almost stage a rebellion when I realised that we still had to walk along a series of boardwalks and steps to reach the actual summit but once Jon told me to man up I managed to drag my weary  feet up the final few hundred metres.
After enjoying the view and waiting for Jon to take another 400 photos we then headed off to get the gondola back down.

After a quick trip into Banff to do some shopping we headed off along the Bow Valley Parkway towards our next destination, the town of Field in Yoho National Park. This road is apparently a great place to spot wildlife but sadly we didn't even see a squirrel, despite me peering frantically into the trees all the way.
We stopped off to do another short hike at Johnston Canyon, which is very pretty although it was slightly too crowded for for my taste.

At around 5pm we finally climbed back into the car and made our way to Edgemount  Guest House in Field. No one was in when we're arrived but we had a lovely welcome!

After meeting the owners Jason and Jessica we got settled in to their beautiful apartment and made dinner. We have both been eaten alive by mosquitos despite repeated liberal application s of DEET spray so my latest tack is to make sure we eat plenty of garlic as I seem to remember reading somewhere that the little blighters don't like it...so we had salmon, salad, wraps and sauteed garlic!! The first time we haven't eaten out, but after the meat and chips fest in Banff we felt like something healthy.

The weather has been beautiful again today, sunny and 27C. The forecast isn't great for the weekend but its very unpredictable here so we'll just see what tomorrow brings. I'm sure we'll be very happy here whatever the weather.