Canada Vacation

Aug 23, 2011

Saturday, Aug 20, 2011   Hello friends!
 
I've been wanting to write an email all week describing our adventures in Alberta, Canada, and I finally have a chance this evening.  We are staying in tonight and Butch is out on the deck of our condo in Canmore grilling sausage for our dinner.  Yum!  I'm as hungry as a bear!  (Oh, yes, I'm in Canada where there ARE bears!)

This has been one of the best vacations we've ever taken.  I am so grateful for WLS and the fact that I have lost 70 pounds.  I have been able to walk and hike and truly enjoy being outdoors again!
 
The weather here has been beyond wonderful, especially after coming from 100+ degree heat in Texas.  The nights drop down into the mid-40s and the mornings are very cool.  But it warms up some in the afternoons.  Usually around 65 F, but today it got up into the 70's.  It is very dry here, too.  No humidity to speak of at all.  I can actually fix my hair ONCE in the mornings and it lasts all day!
 
We have had an interesting itinerary in that we have had no itinerary.  We just get up and decide what we want to do that day.  It has been very relaxing! 
 
On Monday we flew from Houston to Calgary by way of Minneapolis.  During our layover in Minneapolis, Air Force One arrived.  You should have seen the security and the air force jets escort!  I was able to snap a couple of pics from the airplane window as we taxied to the runway.  After we arrived in Calgary, we rented our car and drove west to Canmore on the TransCanada Highway 1.  The land around Calgary was fairly flat, but we soon started to see the mountains in the west.  Words cannot describe the glory of the Canadian Rockies!  They are truly majestic.
 
The first night we were here we went to see "Oh, Canada, Eh?"  It was a musical history of Canada at the Canmore Dinner Theatre.  It was very entertaining and funny.  I didn't know a lot of the Canadian folk songs, so we weren't really able to do the sing-along portions of the show, but it was a jolly, happy show.  On the way back to the condo, we hit the grocery store for breakfast foods and lunch fixin's.  OMG.  You talk about sticker shock!  My Canadian friends had warned me about the prices, but I was not prepared.  Groceries and supplies are about twice what they are here.
 
On Tuesday morning we cooked breakfast in our kitchen and then we went to Banff.  It is a very pretty little town and has tons of wonderful little shops up and down the main street.  Everybody either walks or rides a bicycle here.  We mostly drove around and got acclimated a bit.  We got to see Bow Falls on the Bow River, which was very picturesque.  Then we rode the Banff gondola up the mountain.  Oh, my!  That was breathtaking and a little bit scary for a gal who doesn't really like heights!  Didn't bother Butch a bit though.  He's used to heights.  We had lunch at the top of the mountain and mostly just sat and breathed in the scenery.  We could see the entire town of Banff, the Bow River Valley and Lake Minnewanka in the distance.  When we got back to Canmore, we had a simple dinner of french bread, brie and wine and collapsed!  This higher altitude takes some getting used to!
 
Wednesday morning dawned bright and clear and sunny.  We returned to Banff for our second day there.  That was the day we saw our first bear!  A mama black bear and THREE cubs crossed the road in front of us.  I rushed to get the camera out of my bag and just barely caught a picture of her before she crossed the road.  (I learned after that to keep the camera out and ready at all times!)  We had a wonderful swim in the Banff hot springs pool and then we had a couples’ massage at the spa.  Wow, what a luxury that was!  It was a wonderfully relaxing experience!  When we left the spa, we went to the historic Banff Springs Hotel for a look around.  It was gorgeous!  The grounds are incredible.  The flowers alone are worth the trip.  It doesn't get dark here until nearly 10 p.m.  With all that daylight, the flowers just bloom and grow like nothing I've ever seen.  We ended up having more wine and cheese in one of the many, many dining venues there.  A perfect late afternoon snack/lunch.  The views from that hotel are beyond description!  We took several pictures from one of the viewing decks. 
 
By Thursday, we were ready to take the long drive up to Jasper and the Columbian Icefields.  We both wanted to see the glacier.  The drive up through Banff National Park up to Jasper National Park along the Continental Divide was the prettiest drive I've ever taken in my life!  We stopped and stopped along the way to view the sights and take pictures.  And the whole time we were climbing higher and higher into the Rockies.  I've never seen such blue sky.  The air here smells like Christmas from all the fir and pine trees.  The waters are crystalline and blue.  Little streams tumble down mountainsides like picture postcards.  And the mountains are topped with stunning white snowcaps, even in August.  It is truly incredible.  Many of you know how much I dislike the overuse of the word "awesome" these days, but I have to tell you: the Canadian Rockies ARE awesome in every sense of the word!
 
We stopped by the side of the road to see the Bow glacier, which was stunning, but we didn't know we could get any closer.  Then we stopped at the Bow Summit and climbed it to see Peyto Lake (which is shaped like a wolf's head).  Ahhh so, grasshopper!  Peyto Lake is formed from the run-off from the Bow Glacier!  I've never seen water that pale icy blue before.  It almost doesn't look real.  And it was COLD up there on the summit.  Even though we were several miles away from the glacier, the winds blow down toward the lake and you can really feel the freeze.
 
After several hours of stopping and picture taking and driving, we finally reached the Columbian Icefields.  Holy moly!  You can't imagine the size of the Athabasca Glacier!  It is enormous, stunning, breath-taking, and ancient.  There was no doubt in our minds that we had to get up there to see it.  Butch and I aren't the best climbers in the world (he has a bad knee and I have a bad ankle), and we had already climbed the Bow Summit earlier that day, but we were determined to get up there and touch that glacier!  I have to say it was worth it! 
 
The weather was sunny and fairly warm down in the valley, but the closer we got to that glacier, the colder it became.  First we had to zip up the windbreakers.  Then the gloves came on.  Then the hoods went up.  By the time we reached the "toe" of the glacier, it was DARN COLD and I was wishing I had my real coat with me.  And much to my disappointment, we didn't actually get to touch the glacier at all.  There are guided "ice walks" that you can take, but they do not allow individuals to climb on the ice.  There are many dangerous crevasses and places where people can fall into the ice, and sadly, most are not rescued in time to save them.  Hypothermia kills very quickly.  Still, so many crazy people were crossing over the barriers and walking around the area like there was no danger.  I was happy just to get that close to that ancient ice and be able to really see the magnificence of its power.  It was several stories thick at the toe and is up to 1200 feet thick at the middle.  It covers 83 square miles!
 
Well, after that, it was all downhill, so to speak.  We decided not to make the drive on up into Jasper, but instead turned around and headed back down the valley to home.  Instead of driving the entire way home on the main highway, we took a very scenic backroad called the Bow Valley Parkway.  It was stunning and much less travelled than the main highway.  Every time we drive on it, we see wildlife.  On that afternoon we came upon a big horn sheep calming grazing on the side of the road.  Cars were stopping and people were hanging out their car windows to take pictures (including yours truly), and that big ram never batted an eye at us.  I guess he's used to being gawked at.  We also saw our first bull elk that afternoon.  He was pretty camera shy, but not aggressive at all as we all climbed out of our cars and stood in the ditches snapping pictures of him.  We also saw a little black bear, but he was too quick for us that day.  No pictures of him.
 
Friday was a fun day, too!  We went to Johnston Canyon on the Bow Valley Parkway.  It was incredibly beautiful.  We hiked up to see the Lower Falls.  Somehow they managed to build ramps and sidewalks up the sheer walls of that canyon!  It was beautiful and the closest we got to the "real" natural woods here.  We did stay on the path, of course, but there were no barricades or fences between us and the woods.  We also went to Lake Louise that afternoon.  Lake Louise is so spectacular.  It truly lived up to its reputation as one of the most beautiful places on earth.  We took the hike around the lake.  Pretty tame walk, as far as hikes go, but just right for two old folks like us!  On the way home, we saw another bear--almost got a good picture of this one!--and 3 magnificent bull elks!
 
So, today we decided to take one last trip up the valley to Emerald Lake.  Once again, I have never seen water that color before in my life.  It is truly emerald green.  It is located in Yoho National Park, which is all the way over to British Columbia.  We walked the path around the lake and sat for a long time on a rough hewn bench just soaking in the sun and views.  We also saw the Natural Bridge on the Kicking Horse River.  Over time, the rock formations have been hollowed out by the churning water to form a "natural bridge" over the wildest raging river of aquamarine blue.  We walked a path down the river bank and enjoyed some time just being out in nature.
 
And now our time has come to an end and we must pack up and get ready to fly home tomorrow.  It has been a fabulous week here in spectacular Alberta, Canada.  I hope if you have not already seen our vacation pictures on Facebook that you will log on and see them.  I’m Vickie Gibson Poe on FB.  We had a great time and will never forget our vacation here.  We HIGHLY recommend you put Banff on your bucket list!  You will never regret it.
 

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