Final Day of Fun
The holiday is all over and I'm home but not without a last day blast of fun. From the square dancing to the chocolate dipped jalapeños and the rodeo show, there was never a dull moment. What a great trip. I recommend it!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
We reluctantly left the Chateau Lake Louise this morning and made a quick ‘bear pit stop’ at the Lake Louise gondola where we’d been teasingly close to bears the previous night. With a delicious two dollar breakfast in our stomachs (the best and only deal of the trip), up we went on the ski lift into grizzly country. We were lucky to see three grizzlies on the way up...foraging for berries or whatever it is grizzlies do!
With our bear stalking complete, we hit the highway for the drive into Canmore to visit Janet's friends. After cold drinks and coffee, we hiked through town up past the quarry swimming hole and other scenic stops. It was burgers for lunch, a bit of shopping and then on to Calgary.
What a change in weather! Our mountain climate of 17 degrees turned into 30 degrees and sunny. We made a quick change into stampede outfits and we were off. Just as an FYI, two grown women cannot eat an entire deep fried blooming onion! But we tried! We caught the grandstand show which began with chuck wagon races, which were very fun. Following the rodeo shows, the stage completely transformed into a huge grandstand show with fireworks, pyrotechnics and dancers in extremely sparkly latex suits. Oh wait, we also saw KISS! Yes, the band KISS...in full makeup singing the subject line! More good-bad-for-you food tomorrow and the rodeo!
Monday, July 8, 2013
We woke up to thunder and pounding rains but finally hit the ground running at 1030, after fighting our way through the groups of tourists crowding the lobby as they waited for a break in the rain to run out for photos. We headed to Banff for some tourist-type shopping. Don't worry… we showed remarkable restraint when viewing ammolite jewelry, native crafts, and T-shirts. Headed back on the scenic route with our new Banff bumper sticker in hand hoping for some wildlife sightings. With the exception of me getting 10 feet from a male elk - success in the elk stalking department finally- we saw nothing. We were advised to go to the ski slopes where bears are often viewed from the ski-slope gondolas. We managed to view some bears from a very great distance.
On our way back to the hotel we saw the sign for Moraine Lake. Wow, it was worth the stop! The old version of the Canadian $20 bill contains this iconic view. We had some wonderful tapas for dinner back at the hotel and are off to Canmore tomorrow to see some old friends. Then the Calgary stampede tomorrow night. 
On our way back to the hotel we saw the sign for Moraine Lake. Wow, it was worth the stop! The old version of the Canadian $20 bill contains this iconic view. We had some wonderful tapas for dinner back at the hotel and are off to Canmore tomorrow to see some old friends. Then the Calgary stampede tomorrow night.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Morning bought a full day of travel from Jasper to Lake
Louise. First off we visited Athabasca
Falls; large crashing falls with lots of spray.
Next came the Sunwapta Falls; smaller and prettier. Then we were off to
the Columbia Ice fields on the Athabasca glacier. We took a bus up to a docking platform where
we boarded an ice terrain machine which took us out on the glacier! We drank from
a glacier fed stream out of Dixie cups so the water ended up tasting like waxed
paper.
Jessie showed herself to be a
true Canadian and wore a tank top on a glacier. We learned that this is the
only place on earth that is the source of three rivers flowing to three
different oceans… the Atlantic, the Arctic and the Pacific. It’s known as the
triple continental divide.
Next stop Peyto Lake – it’s the one with the incredible
photo of us! Words can’t describe the
beauty of this lake. We arrived at our
hotel, the Chateau Lake Louise in time for some spa treatments. Then had another
incredible meal at Walliser Stube , a Swiss style restaurant specializing in fondue. http://www.fairmont.com/lake-louise/dining/walliserstube/
We waddled out after a cheese, then a bison and beef dinner!
This place is crazy busy. Believe it or not they have on
average 21,000 tourists a day.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
.....In Search of Elk
Where does one search for elk in the Canadian wilderness? On a golf course, obviously. So we barreled about on a golf cart, up and down the course, passing players as we flew by on our "scenic" drive. A quick stop at a beer cart made us all the more determined. We finally found the place where we had spotted elk previously and headed into the bush to stalk the elusive elk.
Dinner was amazing at a small hotel restaurant nearby called Tekarra. We both had fantastic meals, wine and drinks. The restaurant is highly recommended in this area so be sure to make a reservation. We enjoyed playing hangman on the paper table ‘cloths’. http://tekarrarestaurant.com/site/
Friday, July 5, 2013
We left the hotel about 9:30 a.m. en route to Maligne Lake.
It is famed for the colour of its
water, the surrounding peaks, the three glaciers visible from the lake and
Spirit Island, one of the most photographed locations in the world. It’s
about 40 km from the hotel but there was a lot to see along the way. First we
stopped at a gorge where we walked above the falls. There were lots of lovely ‘pull
offs’ along the way. We took the boat tour to view the Queen Elizabeth range -
a mere 60 million years old. It was a very grey limestone mountain range. In
sharp contrast was the Maligne Range, 150 million years old! A little worse for
wear bit distinctly different in colour and make up. I found it quite
interesting how different each mountain range is! The most famous spot on the
lake is Spirit Island where a photographer in the 1920's waited 3 days to take
the quintessential Jasper photograph which has drawn tourists internationally.
Next we ventured up the Jasper tramway (the only
tramway in the Rockies). We squished into a small car with 30 other people to
ascend 900 meters into the tundra where no trees dared to grow - only fools like
us. From the top of the tram we climbed
5 km all the while wondering why they just hadn't made the tramway longer! With
a boost from a small Japanese tourist, Jessie scaled a large boulder for a
great photo. The man’s wife insisted on lying down on the rock so she wouldn't
be in our photos. We were so hot from the exertion of the climb it took us a
while to notice we were being pelted with snow. Snow in July…only in the Rockies.
We ended the day in Jasper at Earl’s Restaurant, amazingly tasty. We walked the
street resisting the allure of T-shirts, long johns, native crafts, mugs and
shot glasses.
I forgot to mention the full service capabilities of the
hotel whose smiling staff came to rescue us and open our bottle of wine given
our weakened state following our epic climb.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
We safely arrived at the Jasper Park Lodge after a long
day of traveling. It’s about a 4 hour flight from Toronto and then a longer
drive! We were refreshed with lunch on the terrace overlooking the lake and
mountains - spectacular scenery. We then had a heavenly spa appointment, which
was followed by a superb meal at the Moose Nook, one of the hotel’s dining
rooms. On our walk back to our room we
saw elk grazing in the fields. What a great start to our vacation....
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