JojoandIan185

As it is our last full day in Banff we really should be making the most of it but we are in can't be arsed moods as we had crap sleep again. We head down to the Banff museum, it is not much bigger than the cabin we had at bear ranch! but it is very informative and they have a lot of stuffed birds and animals that have been there since it opened in 1903. I was quite shocked at the size of the cougar, glad we haven't met a real one on our travels. We drive down to Lake Minnewanka and then on to Johnson's Lake. We have been told the walk around this lake is lovely, not too long and no elevation. They lied about the last bit! It was a lovely walk ... read more

Monday morningwe get up quite late so check out and go into the town to get something to eat. There are two bakeries owned by the same people - The Bear's Paw and The Other Paw. They sell many different coffees and bread; bagels; muffins; scones and cakes - all baked on the premises with the kitchen in full view of the customers. We buy two coffees, a bagel with cream cheese, an egg and ham barm and two raspberry and white chocolate scones and pay $15 or £10. That is the cheapest place we have eaten and definitely one of the best. We visit Patricia Lake and Pyramid Lake but again the lake I really wanted to see, Maligne Lake, is still frozen. We start the drive down to Banff which is the Icefield Parkway ... read more

OMG just had the biggest breakfast ever. It was an all you can eat buffet so I did just that! Don't think I will be eating again today. I did eat again! We had coffee and cake at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise but firstly we took the open chair to the top of the Lake Louise Summit. We got some great pics of the Rockies but we both felt a bit deflated. All the trails at the top were closed due to snow and where they had cleared the snow so you could get to the viewing platform the ground was all muddy. Think we were both missing Grizzly Bear Ranch which has been the highlight of the trip for both of us. Ian reckons we've been spoilt by the places we have been to ... read more

Thursday - we drove a long way along the Duncan Dam. Saw a herd of wild horses and found out later one of the foals was only a day old. We drove quite high up the mountain but then walked for half an hour to a further 1000 feet. I found that hard going and there was a bit of moaning. If that had been at home I would have just said i can't do it but the alternatives were ruin the day for everyone else or get left behind with no bear spray. We stopped for lunch at a point 8000 feet up the mountain, I got an extra cookie for making it up the mountain. The views were amazing, With binoculars we could look down and see black bears along the river. We saw ... read more

Monday - drove from Osoyoos to Meadow Creek through Grand Forks, Nelson and Kaslo along the Kooteny Lake. Arrive at Grizzly Bear Ranch early evening and meet Julius and Kristin and their two Alsatians, Kuro and Masha. Julius is a Brit but has a Hungarian dad and Kristin is Estonian. Julius was a war correspondent for the Telegraph and has worked in Iraq and Afghanistan. Last winter he was asked by the British government to work as a peace negotiator and spent months again in Afganistan whilst Kristin ran the ranch. He is definitely an adrenaline junkie! Settle into our cabin which is basic but got everything we need bar enough electricity for my hair dryer or straighteners. The ranch is completely off grid so electricity is from solar panels; gas is from cylinders and not ... read more