Two Jack Lake, Banff

 

Banff National Park is simply stunning. The town of Banff is charmingly nestled at the foot of Rundel Mountain carved from a glacier. Charming, albeit crammed with tourists of the Asian variety. On our first morning Ginny, Nancy, Carol and I took a boat ride around Lake Minniwanken. So lovely, the blue green, clear glass water surrounded by jagged peaks calmed the soul. What spectacular land where the Blackfeet made their home. No wonder the aboriginal people hold the land sacred, protect and honor it. It truly is a humbling experience to be held in the arms of such beauty.

Our boating experience was also exciting when the captain spotted a grizzly on shore. What a sight! We watched for several minutes while it rooted around a log then ambled off into the woods. Further along the shore we saw a pair of nesting eagles. It is always a thrill for me when I come close to wildlife!

After our outing on the lake Carol and I went into town to hike around and see Bow Falls. We hiked along the river to the falls and came across a Magpie chick huddled by a tree. We thought perhaps it had fallen out of the nest as it didn't make any attempts to fly. On our return trip I noticed a parent on the ground close to the chick. It flew away as I approached leaving the chick alone. Now the chick was pecking around looking for food. I shot quite a few photos but only one or two turned out halfway decent.

Later, we stopped to have coffee and post on the internet. By that time it was late and started to sprinkle so we returned to camp. I made spinach pasta soup and Ginny came down to have dinner with us. It was a little cramped in the Casita but we made do. Actually it was nice and cozy with the rain.

I must tell about my mosquito net! This mosquito net came from Ace hardware and was supposed to hang from a tree and cover a picnic table. I thought it would be perfect to hang under the awning on the casita. I should have known! So, I use a rubber band to attach the net to the center bar of the awning and tiny clothes pins to secure it to the front edge. Then I set up my 2 chairs and table under it all ready for dinner. As Carol is walking up to the trailer, Foxy sees her and tries to run through the net to greet her. The clothes pins all pop off the net, the table falls over and Foxy is clawing at the net to get out but only succeeds in rolling himself up in a net cocoon. Carol and I couldn't stop laughing. Fox was so funny and bewildered! It took a minute or two to unravel him. So much for the mosquito net!

For our next day at Banff we took in the Whyte Museum. Whyte was a well known Blackfeet artist and many of his works were on display along with native clothing. Whyte was a black and white photographer and painter. His photos really were stunning. After the museum we wanted to hike up Finland Trail but it was closed due to a grizzly sighting. Evidently, the grizzly was there for the elk calving. We drove out to the golf course and saw a small herd of cows and one calf. Unfortunately, there were no good photo Opps.

On our way back to camp we talked to a ranger who told us, unbeknownst to us, that Jasper would be full this weekend due to the Canada Day holiday. A long weekend from Fri to Wed! That's an awfully long weekend! So back we went to town and wifii to try and book a camp sight. Unfortunately, none were available except om a first come first serve basis. Jasper is 145mi and we would have to be on the road at O'Dark Thirty to find one. At present, we are considering leaving Lake Louise a day early in hopes of beating the rush. So much for planning!

Oh, I met Julian while hi king and he needed a ride. I told him it might cost him. We talked for a couple of minutes and he agreed. He was very nice the next morning and we said our goodbyes and vowed to meet up again someday.

Julian, he's kinda cute don't you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Kananaskis Country

Kananaskis Country

The drive through Kananaskis was absolutely breathtaking. High glaciers on both sides of us with water falls and lakes. This part of Canada is certainly beyond description. We were fortunate to see quite a few big horned sheep, many of them in the middle of the road licking up the salt. I pulled up along side a stop sign where several rams were rooting around. I had to back up traffic while I took my time shooting. I don't think anyone minded.

Gas prices here are around $1.32 a liter amounting to a little over $5 a gallon and food is expensive. It was not unusual to pay $12 to $15 for a hamburger. We stopped at the Boundry Ranch for lunch and the cheapest thing on the menu was a barbequed hit dog with fries for $8.95. With that you got ketsup. No fixings at all so we asked for onions. Also, no utensils nothing to dish out the onions with and the dog was dead. If you're passing through don't stop. We vowed to stop eating out so much and save a little $. We have yet to find a decent piece of pie. Hopefully, when we reach Alaska gas will be cheaper, the food less expensive and the pie delicious. In the meantime, I'll just have to cook. Most of our lunches and dinners consist of homemade soup of wonderful salads Carol puts togetherWe stopped in Canmore, a pretty large town, to stock up. What a disaster Canmore is! A typical tourist town, narrow streets that were heavily congested and impossible to find parking for a truck pulling a trailer. Of course, we got separated and my last transmission on my walkie-talkie was "I'm in Safeway." There were 2 Texas women on our channel interrupting with "whara is safe away?" Finally, Carol found me and we went into the store only to find all the carts locked up. Befuddled, we looked around and finally found an empty cart. About a minute later a fellow says "Excuse me, but that's my cart." Carol apologizes and asks where we find carts. He points to where the locked carts were and says "You have to put in .25 to unlock one." "YOU MEAN WE HAVE TO PAY FOR A SHOPPING CART, " laments Carol. "Don't worry, says he, you get it back when you lock your cart back up." Evidently, the store has a problem with stolen carts.

The place was packed with people and it took us about an hour to get out of there and move on to Banff which was just a few miles down the road. By the time we arrive at our campsite on Two Jack Lake we were exhausted and settled for cereal for dinner.

Two Jack Lake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bar U Ranch, Alberta

The Bar U Ranch

A stunning blue-sky day in Canada. One more stop at the Townsite Falls and we were off to Longview. It is difficult to get very far in this part of the country for stopping every 10 min to take photos. Just when you think you have seen the best view Canada has to offer you round the bend and another knocks your socks off! Unbelievable. Our road to Longview leveled off to the soft, green velvet rolling hills of the prairie. Lush ranch land spread out to greet us along the way. The Bar U Ranch, once the biggest in Canada, is now a National Treasure owned by the government. We decided to stop to take a look and were very surprised to find out that the last owners of the ranch were Jude Baker-Montano's family. Jude is a friend of ours in La Veta. What a place! We toured the bunk/cook house, tack building, post office and other buildings. I ran into two guys who knew Jude and the family. We also saw a quilt she had made hanging in the main building.

When we arrived at the ranch there was a wedding about to take place. Naturally, Carol and I snapped a few surreptitious photos of the bride and her entourage. Some of the outfits worn by the guests were priceless. I decided I could start a new reality show about What Not To Wear To A Wedding. The bride herself sported a pair of high heel platform sparkly shoes that rendered her feet in a completely vertical position. She was less than graceful at her walking attempts. Her strapless dress was not designed to hold up/in her huge bosom and she was constantly pulling up the top. Tacky, tacky. As my daughter would say "very WT."

Finally, we pulled ourselves away from the continuous photo opps and made it down the road to Longview, a town of 350 pop. We traveled a bit further and found a Provincial Park off the side of the road and made camp. Alberta has many Prov. Pk all along the highways so it is not difficult to find a spot to pull in. Most of the small pks are not serviced but there are several parks that are quite large and have all the amenities.

The next day we would make it to Banff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Waterton Lake National Peace Park

Waterton Lake National Peace Park in Canada

Leaving St. Mary we headed up HWY 117 to Canada and the Peace Park. Just being in a moving vehicle was comforting knowing we would soon see the sun again. We had no trouble crossing the border and arrived at Waterton Park and the Prince of Wales Hotel around noon. The hotel stands on a hill overlooking Waterton Lake and the small village below. What a view!

We lunched at the Prince's and braved the wind to take photos. Looking at a photo of the glacier you can readily see why the wind comes swooping down over the lake. The flooding creeks and rivers entering the lake create wonderful variegated tones of blues and browns. Standing on the hill provides an excellent opportunity to see the flooding waters. Quite the sight.

After lunch we decided to take a look at the village and the campground. Just a lovely spot to camp. Since we didn't have to be in Banff until Sunday we signed up to stay 2 days. The rest of the afternoon we walked around the town taking a look at the flood damage and enjoying the art galleries and shops.

I have to say the wind was vicious all night long and the little trailer was rocking and rolling. The morning was less windy and beautifully sunny. We took a drive up to Cameron Lake, a much smaller glacier lake than Waterton but equally as beautiful. Other people walking the hike part way around the lake were lucky enough to see bears but we did not. Thankfully so, I would much rather see bears from a car than on the trail walking. On the way to and from Cameron we stopped to see waterfalls and take in the lovely vistas.

We decided on one more visit to Prince of Wales hotel for photo opps. Well, we got a good one. Two little foxes had made a den in the middle of a small meadow next to the hotel and were showing off for all to see. We took our time watching their antics.

This morning we are taking off for a spot off the road near Longview where there is supposed to be a provincial park. Will camp there for the night then move on to Banff for Sunday. I must say the Fox and I are very happy to be out of the rain and taking long walks along the lakes in the sunshine. Life is good again. Internet may be hard to come by from time to time but I will continue to post along the journey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I almost forgot to mention that we spied two teeny-tiny "Hooters" on our travels!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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KOA By Glacier National Park

We did arrive at a beautiful campsite in the driving rain. After one night of torture we decided to make it to the KOA and wait out the rain. Three straight days of downpour. At this point our patience is running short and we are anxious to move on. Tomorrow we will attempt to travel to Banff, CA. At this point there are flood warnings out for rivers in the area including St. Mary's River all the way to the international border. Highway 89 may be under water by the time tomorrow morning comes. We shall see.

Carol and I braved the downpour to take a look at the St. Mary's Visitor Center where we watched two movies about the area and toured the center. After that we went to the Johnson Cafe atop a hill overlooking St. Mary's Glacier for lunch. A great place to stop. The cafe has been owned by the same family for 63yrs. We feasted on homemade bread and soup that was delicious. Just right for a cold day. I got a big kick out of all the bowls set around to catch the rain from the leaky roof. Carol and I had the best spot in a dry corner by the fire.

A couple of pictures of all of us traveling together. Only Ginny, Nancy, Carol and I will be going to Banff tomorrow. With any luck at all we will have some sun.

 

I decided I must take a photo of the KOA with the Glacier behind. You can see my teeny-tiny trailer there in the middle. I spent the first day there taking a much needed shower and washed clothes. After that I was worn out especially after walking Foxy several times in the pouring rain. He was worn out, too.

 

Here he is chewing on his foot.

 

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Going to East Glacier and St. Mary Campground

June 16

On the way out of West Glacier we stopped at the Visitor Center to pick up a few provisions. First on our list was bear spray. Since we'll be traveling in Grizzly country we thought it prudent to take along a deterrent. I also bought a long-sleeved tee shirt and a magnet. I didn't notice the price and later Carol informed me that our bear spray had cost $48! Carol decided if we needed to use it it would be priceless. True but I allowed that since we would be hiking together we probably would only need one instead of the two we purchased. I told Carol that since she is the tallest she should walk in front and use the spray if we were attacked and I would start running. She told me she wished I got fat and couldn't run as fast as she. We kept the 2 bear sprays.

Moving on we headed up to Big Tree Lodge for photographing and lunch. I had a wonderful elk bratwurst with sautéed onions. It was just delicious. We wanted huckleberry pie for desert but, alas, they had no pie. Disappointed, we trudged on and drove to Goat Lick in hopes of seeing a few mountain goats. We got lucky and saw a mamma and her kid. They were pretty far away so the picture I took was very small. Nevertheless, it was fun to see them.

We also went to Two Medicine to view the glaciers from the lake. What a spectacular view! It was getting quite cold with a front moving in. The weather prediction was for rain and snow storms beginning in the evening. Prior to leaving for Two Medicine Carol talked with a local lady at the lodge. She told Carol that the road to Two Medicine was on the Blackfeet Reservation and open range. She said that if you hit a cow or horse you must pay not only for the animal you killed but also for any progeney the animal may have produced in the future. One person ended up paying $40,000 for hitting a cow. I thought it must have been a prized stud bull at that price. Sure enough, on our way we encountered a small herd of horses right in the middle of the road. After spending a little time at Two Medicine we decided to make it to the campground before the rain started. Stay tuned for more.

 

 

 

 

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West Glacier National Park

June 16, 2014

Why is it that a good nights sleep seems to erase a good portion of my memory of the preceding day? I do remember having several hilarious moments over lunch and dinner. They will probably tickle my memory at some distant time in the future. In the meantime, I shall do my best to recall to the best of my ability.

Lunch was delightful at the MacDonald lodge on the edge of MacDonald Lake, quite the picture postcard scene. We enjoyed a bison burger and a southwest pasta dish topped off with a piece of the area's famous huckleberry pie. We lamented that we did not photograph the pie as it was possibly the smallest piece of pie we had ever encountered and the advertised whipped cream was the size of a dime, although, in a lovely flower shape with a mint leaf sprouting forth. Despite its puny size the pie was delicious and we can't wait to get to Saint Mary's Campground on the east side of Glacier to dig into another piece (said to be the best pie on the planet).

After lunch we spent several hours stopping along the route to photograph the river on the way to the lake. What a picture! At this time of year the water simply tumbles over itself getting to the lake bringing along large trees, boulders and whatever else is unfortunate enough to be caught in its path. Carol and I were most intrigued with the geology displayed along the shoreline, the trees with green moss hanging from the branches and the thick carpet of moss clinging to the rocks. This is a very humid area and the forest reminds me of the tropical forests I've seen sans the palms. Extraordinarily beautiful abundance all around. This is truly a national treasure and no wonder Montana is dumbed the Treasure State. Our trip today will find us skirting the southern edge of the park to St. Mary's Campground on the east side. We will camp there for 2 days. Later in the summer travelers can use Going to the Sun road that cuts through the middle of the park. The road is closed now due to large snow drifts.

It may be important to note that the last ice age was 12,000 years ago. The Glaciers here are melting fast and may be gone in just fewer that 10 years. Up close and personal it is easy to see natural processes plus the human footprint working together to advance global warming. It is coming and coming fast.

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