Blogs from Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, North America - page 3

Today we hiked at Johnston Valley in Banff. There was a narrow canyon and two waterfalls. Afterward we drove the Icefielda Parkway into Jasper. Beautiful. There were mIre glaciers than in Glacier NP! We stopped near the Columbia Icefield and hiked to the toe of Athabasca Glacier. We are signed up to walk on the glacier tomorrow. It is unusual to have a glacier so accessible and amazing to see where the glacier was in the past (they had markers for certain years). As we drove to our camp ground we passed some cars stopped to look at wildlife. Max said he saw “either a baby cow or deer, it was brown.” I have to say it is hard to find wildlife when driving. I mistake trees, stumps, branches, etc. for animals all the time:). However, ... read more

Just a simple hike, Bow Falls Hoodoos. Found this young elk whetting his thirst. All about two miles from town.... read more

So, since you know us you won’t be surprised that we did a hike to a second tea house! Food does motivate us:). Today, we woke early again and hiked Lake Louise to the Plain of Six Glaciers tea house. We were able to get a table and had a proper “tea”. I had tea and biscuits, others had cake and cold drinks. It is amazing that these tea houses were built and are operated in such remote locations. We found out employees work 5 days on, 2 days off. They have one helicopter supply drop a season, then all other supplies are brought in by horse or foot. Then we wanted to reward Maggie for doing two hikes in two days (we had planned every other day), and did what she wanted-Radium Hot Springs! This ... read more

7/15 Our Fresh Tracks bus picked us up in Calgary mid morning for our transfer to Banff on the Trans-Canada Highway, the longest paved highway in the world. We passed through the Stoney-Nakoda Reserve, the original “people of the mountains” or “people who cook with stones”. Our driver informed us that Sitting Bull had left the US Dakotas to bring his tribe here. The Stoneys taught the Dakota people how to hunt in this new territory. Sitting Bull went back to the US to stand trial and never returned to Canada. Instead he joined Buffalo Bill's show in Wyoming. Many films were shot on this reserve including Little Big Man and Sitting Bull’s History Lesson. At noon we checked in at the charming Banff Caribou Lodge and Spa but found we had a hike to find ... read more

We have been here before, at this particular Castle Mountain overflow campsite, many times. It is our favourite hangout destination in the Rockies, although we have certainly ventured to other areas in Alberta and British Columbia over the decades. We have travelled to the mountains before children, with children, and now return, full circle, just the two of us again. We have cycled through the mountains, climbing the daunting Roger's Pass not once, but twice. We have motorbiked from Saskatchewan through the Rockies to the west coast; we have hiked Banff’s Sulphur Mountain at least a dozen times, as well as taken on the far more ominous challenge of hiking Castle Mountain. We have canoed the mountain lakes and attempted to kayak the swift flowing streams :) We have not been short on adventures. But the ... read more