We are having the time of our lives, ambling through the Canadian Rockies, going to our own drummer. We visited here once before so sought out new extended places. At Banff a drive above the townsite up to Mt. Norquay Ski Resort gave us a spectacular vista of below. A great hike found us trekking 3 miles around the shoreline of Johnston Lake.
Another 4 mile hike through the Johnston Canyon gorge along catwalks above rushing water was quite a thrill.
Dinner with Yukon at the Banff Springs Hotel provided us with a grand window seat table view of the Bow River and snow-peaked mountains.
Lake Louise is world-renowned for its emerald water and five star hotel. Earlier in the day we hiked around Lake Moraine where its jade green water seemed even more beautiful. It was peaceful and serene there without the large crowds of tourists like Lake Louise.
The Icefields Parkway was a remarkable journey of 144 miles where we saw glimpses of black bears, magnificent peaks, ancient glaciers, gorgeous waterfalls, and pristine mountain lakes on the way to Jasper. Sadly, climate changes are indeed causing most of the glaciers to recede and in several cases disappear.
Big black ravens entertained us at Jasper’s Whistler Campground. One evening there we saw two female elk watching their newborn calves frolic and playfully prance around one another. Sightings of black bears occasionally happens, but they tend to head off into the bushes rather quickly.
In Jasper National Park we enjoyed hiking at Maligne Canyon with its steep, deep gorge and falls. JR inflated our dinghy for a three hour run about on Lake Maligne where we spotted loons, Canadian geese, and ducks. Making new contacts with folks from Pennsylvania and Alabama and exchanging travel stories with one another has been great.
Thanks for sharing in this adventure ... we hope you are able to follow in some of our footsteps some time in the future.
