Up early and off to Starbucks at the gondola to upload all
the outstanding episodes of the blog. We write them and get the pics ready,
then wait til we have WiFi, which is hard to find in National Parks. We had a
Virgin Mobile MiFi device but coverage was limited in the US and non existent
in Canada.
On the way out of Banff, there was an elk eating the nature
strip alongside the road. Lots of people were taking pics and we stopped too.
One bloke was out of his car and approached it – the elk shook its head at him
and pawed the ground a bit – he scrambled back into the car pretty damn quick.
Funny!
We decided to drive the Bow Valley Parkway from Banff to
Lake Louise – that’s the scenic route with all the wildlife. As we turned off
the freeway, there was a lass with a stop sign, warning people of a cycle race
on the parkway. She also told us that the grizzlies were out and to stay in the
vehicle. She told us that about half an hour earlier, she had turned around to
get a water bottle and found a grizzly sniffing her car. She seemed a bit
shaken up and said she wouldn’t do the stop sign duty again without a buddy
with her.
We didn’t see the grizzlies, but we saw big horned sheep and
a black bear. And lots of cyclists. The ones that dropped back from the pack
get picked off by the grizzlies. LOL. We
lunched at a scenic overlook, very pretty view of the river and mountains, then
continued to follow the cyclists slowly up the road. Gave us heaps of time to
look at the view though.
Lake Louise and we parked up in the Park campground. They
are serious about the grizzlies here – the tent camping is surrounded by a
massive electric fence and an electrified cattle grid. We got the usual
warnings and rules about not leaving food out etc. And not hiking unless you
are in a big group.
Undeterred, we saddled up the scooter and headed up to the
lake. Just wonderful! The valley is dammed by a glacial moraine and the lake is
a beautiful blue colour. The colour comes from silt in the water refracting the
light. The glaciers scrape off the rock bed (like a nail file) and create tiny
rock particles. In spring the lake is blue, then as the glaciers melt and the
silt laden water runs into the lake it turns green. Standing at the base of the
valley, you can see this amazing lake surrounded by towering cliffs and the
glaciers (upper and lower Victoria glaciers) at the head of the valley.
Of course, there was another swanky hotel there too – the
Fairmont Lake Louise. We headed off for a hike along the lake shore – lots of
photos and things to look at. We found another little chipmunk that wanted to
be friends. He followed us for a bit, what a little sweet thing. He wanted to
climb in the backpack with the trail mix.
We had a coffee and snack at the hotel – it has been there
since the late 1800’s, much like the one at Banff. It’s pretty cold up here –
in winter the lake freezes over a meter thick and the average day temp is minus
14 degrees. Even in summer the tops only average about 13. We could tell the
locals from the tourists – the locals were in shorts and singlets and the tourists
were rugged up. Ros had a beanie on as well as gloves and a jacket. On the way
around the lake we met a couple with three young kids who had just BEEN
SWIMMING! In the lake which only gets to about 10 degrees in the height of
summer. Mad, these Canadians!
Finally back to the RV, for dinner and a relax. Keeping an
eye out for the grizzlies – still none to be seen!
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