Blogs from Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, North America

So many people signed up for this walk (73!) that organizers arranged car pools in addition to the bus. Finally walking with Joyce again, we went in her car with Ann and Cecile. The traffic was more obvious in a car, and surprising for so early on a Friday. Perhaps some were getting away early for the weekend, forecast with excellent weather. I had never been to Sunshine , presumably because of its main activity of skiing. The turn-off is a bit west of Banff; the others in the car were exclaiming about how much the road has improved, including paving all the way. As expected, we arrived before the bus – a good opportunity to get to the washrooms first. The disadvantage was that we never were clear on what walking options had been offered ... read more

As I was departing Jasper the following morning nice and early I came upon a group of Elk crossing and obstructing the road. They didn’t seem to be too bothered by vehicles as they leisurely made their way across. The weather on the drive down to Lake Louise was much the same as on the way up which meant I didn’t get too many clear views of the mountains. Much of the drive on the Icefields parkway was covered in more than a foot of snow. The snowplows hadn’t had a chance to clear much of it away so I had a rather interesting time of it in the old Corolla. I arrived into Lake Louise in the afternoon and decided to squeeze in a quick hike up to Lake Agnes which has a teahouse by ... read more

After hiking just about every yard of every trail in the vicinity of Lake Louise during my first three days in the Rocky Mountains, it was time to hop on my bicycle and venture down the Bow Valley Parkway (the older, slower, and far more peaceful alternative to the Trans-Canada Highway) to Banff, 55kms away to the south-east. Paralleling the Trans-Canada Highway, but on the opposite side of the valley, the Bow Valley Parkway is the perfect road for cyclists - there is far less traffic, the speed limit is lower, there are numerous viewpoints and interpretive displays along the way, and the resident wildlife is free to roam throughout the area. In fact, for four months every year during the springtime, the eastern half of the road is voluntarily closed to motorists from dusk to ... read more

This land just won't quit. I know these stretches of mountains, lakes and forests are finite but it doesn't seem that way. A harsh critic or two claim it's a bit same same. That's one perspective. Mine is it's a same same that's sublime sublime. Show me a person who considers the Canadian Rockies as same same and I'll show you a person of the glass half empty variety. We hit the Rockies in Jasper up north and this was the point where we rotated the WHOW 180 degrees, south now being the direction of choice back towards home base. This also coincided with roughly the half time interval and we clicked over half our allotted mileage allowance. Don't you just love it when all the pieces of the puzzle come together. Plenty of drives around ... read more