Wednesday, August 4, 1982
It was about 00:30 considering another hour time change
when we settled in the motel.
We were on our way again at 8:00. Driving through
Calgary, we could see the tops of mountains; the Rockies!
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| First view of the Rockies |
We approached through brush-covered hills scattered with cattle. The hills became a little steeper with taller trees. The mountains stood out and we soon entered among the big masses of rock. As we entered the area of the Bow River valley, the first thing we saw was a factory and a small mountain being carved away. It was limestone.
The tops of the mountains were covered with clouds and we saw a large rainbow in front of us.
We entered Banff National Park, getting a 4-day pass which cost $2 (we could have also gotten 2 one-day passes at $1 each).
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| Canada National Park pass |
The mountains were really spectacular and kept getting more so. We drove the Minnewanka Lake Loop, passing a pond and then a beautiful green Two Jack Lake in evergreen forests with tree-covered mountains in the background. Minnewanka Lake was even bigger, but the taller background mountains were hidden in clouds. It rained off and on.
We saw a stopped camper on the road and man was standing in the middle of the road. We stopped, too, because the man had spotted a big brown creature with forward antlers who was staring back. It was a Cervus canadensis/Elk!
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| Cervus canadensis/Elk |
We stopped at a marker to see a Spermophilus columbianus/Columbian Ground Squirrel, who kept running under the car!
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| Spermophilus columbianus/Columbian Ground Squirrel (KC) |
Back at the main intersection with the Trans Canadian Highway, we looked back to see Cascade Mountain with the falls, which were not raging. It seemed dry this summer, with many dry gullies and any falls we did see were sparse in water.
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| Cascade Mountain |
We continued to see a lot of the ground squirrels as we bypassed Banff and headed north, turning off at the Bow River Parkway/Highway 1A. We stopped at the Muleshoe Lake viewpoint to see a small stagnant lake and only one ground squirrel when a colony was promised! But looking up, we saw the Hole in the Wall in Mount Cory, a craggy mountain with a few evergreen trees halfway up the side. The Hole in the Wall is a huge cavernous opening. Mist clouds were rising upwards.
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| Mount Cory and Hole in the Wall |
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| Muleshoe Lake |
We drove past open meadows where a copper and silver mining town once stood. We stopped to look at Castle Mountain, appropriately named, looking like a huge fortress!
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| Castle Mountain |
We were constantly on the lookout for bighorn sheep, elk, and moose. We did see the Pinus contorta/Lodgepole Pine, lots of very straight and very tall trees.
Because it was raining, we returned to Banff; hoping it would clear to see Lake Louise later. Banff looked like a brand new model Alpine ski town. Lots of wooden buildings and boutiques. We went to see the Banff Springs Hotel, a huge baronial building of 50 stories, made of stone with lots of gables. It was impressive, especially with a mountain backdrop. We entered the obviously luxury hotel and peeked in several shops of jewelry (jade, ivory, soapstone, and Eskimo carvings) and clothing (British woolens, seal skins). From the mezzanine lobby we had a spectacular view down into the river valley. Without the rain clouds, it would have been a more fantastic view!
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| Mount Rundle |
It began to pour rain as we left town, driving north on PH 1. Most drivers barreled along as we kept to the speed limit and pulled over to the shoulder to let cars pass us, which seemed to be the rule. We were still on animal alert.
The sun was out by the time we reached Lake Louise, but a cloud was sitting on Mount Victoria and the wind was rippling the mirror effect of the lake.
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| Lake Louise |
We continued on the Icefields Parkway/PH 93. The never-ending panorama was indeed beyond description. We passed many glacial lakes, usually blue-green in color, surrounded by evergreen forests and backed by mountains.
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| Icefields Parkway |
Bow Lake was huge, kind of a fat crescent.
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| Bow Lake |
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| Icefields Parkway |
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| Icefields Parkway |
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| Icefields Parkway |
We stopped at Crowfoot Glacier, which is now missing one toe. The ice was blue-green in parts.
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| Crowfoot Glacier |
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| Crowfoot Glacier |
We stopped several times to take photos. The clouds were just above the mountain tops.
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| Bow Lake Glacier |
We drove to the Peyto Lake viewpoint and hiked a ways uphill past informational posts with holes where you peeked through to see what they were describing. There was sub-Alpine growth with colorful flowers and pieces of driftwood. We reached the viewpoint to look almost straight down into a cloudy turquoise Peyto Lake separated by silt from its glacier.
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| Peyto Lake |
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| Blue sky |
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| Sub-alpine growth |
We filled up on gas at the David Thompson (!) Highway intersection and continued north on Icefields Parkway.
We passed marshlands, mostly dry gravel beds, and the Weeping Walls of sheer cliffs had very little water flowing over them. We followed the cliff walls of one of the Saskatchewan Rivers and began spiraling up for an unbelievable view of tall, tall mountains, or was it a deep, deep valley (?!) at Sunwapta Pass. This meant we were leaving Banff National Park and Entering
Jasper National Park. No longer did the mountains have patches of snow, but were now covered in white. We reached the Columbia Icefield with its tongues of glaciers.
We stopped to look at an especially large glacier, the Athabasca, which came down pretty far and had a lot of debris, or moraine, at its tip. Snowmobile tours of the glacier were available.
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| Athabasca Glacier |
At one point Kathy spotted something white and we stopped to see mother and child Oreamnos americanus/Mountain Goats. Our stopping caused many others to stop, and we left a crowd of people.
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| Mother and child Oreamnos americanus/Mountain Goats |
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| Leaping mountain goat |
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| Snow on the mountains |
Although we saw elk crossing and bighorn sheep crossing signs, we did not see those animals. We searched carefully for Stanley Falls, finding the landmark gap in the old highway running parallel to us, but it seemed to have dried up. All around were gravel beds of some water area.
We turned off on PH 93A to see the Athabasca Falls where a wide river suddenly drops into a narrow canyon.
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| Athabasca Falls |
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| Athabasca Gorge |
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| Athabasca Falls |
We continued on PH 93A through a woodsy area to the Meeting of the Waters, the confluence of the Athabasca and Whirlpool Rivers. Here you were supposed to toast the chiefs of the Hudson Bay Company, a tradition of fur traders. The river had mild rapids, and we saw several commercial rafts docked on the other side. We stopped at a roadside pond to study a snoozing bird to determine he was a Mergus merganser/Common Merganser.
We rejoined the Icefields Parkway and looked for a place to stay. The bungalow areas had no vacancies, so we headed for the small town of Jasper in a vast bowl surrounded by mountains. Most of the hotels/motels displayed a No Vacancy sign. Those that didn’t, I ran inside to see a No Vacancy sign on the office desk. The only place with a vacancy was the brand new Chateau Jasper, and we ended back there where I charged the $110 bill on my Visa card. We parked in the basement and took the elevator to our room #323. Yep, it was a luxurious room with two queen-sized beds with spreads that matched the wallpaper, and a full bath next to a sink alcove, a color television with cable, a full kitchen, and a picture window with a view of the indoor pool.
We dropped off our bags and went for a walk the length of the town, Stopped in several souvenir shops and Kathy saw a “ukelin,” but one in very poor condition compared to one she had recently purchased that was playable. The ukelin is supposedly a combination of a ukulele and violin with 32 strings to be bowed and fingered.
It was 22:00 by the time we went to a submarine sandwich place owned by Greeks, or similar, whom we had trouble understanding. We bought turkey subs and real chocolate milkshakes to take back to the hotel to eat while watching a strange French movie.
Kathy did all the stop and go driving today.
Thursday, August 5, 1982
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| View at Chateau Jasper |
We took advantage of the hotel ice machine to fill our cooler, checked out and were on the road by 9:30. Today was my day to drive. We went straight back south on Icefields Parkway/PH 93 to Lake Louise, stopping only to take pictures.
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| Columbia Icefield |
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| Waterfalls |
Our only wildlife sighting was a chipmunk, probably Callospermophilus lateralis/Golden mantled Ground Squirrel.
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| Callospermophilus lateralis/Golden mantled Ground Squirrel |
It was a beautiful day with high fluffy white clouds. The mountains all around Lake Louise were visible, but the lake was still ripply.
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| Lake Louise |
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| Lake Louise |
We went to the Chateau Lake Louise Hotel to use the powder room and wander the boutiques. Bought postcards and ice cream; I had peppermint and Kathy had chocolate.
We took a back road to Field to get back on the Trans Canadian Highway, having passed the Continental Divide (the Great one) into British Columbia and a new time zone. We were briefly in Yoho National Park, then entered Glacier National Park which did not have as many glaciers as Banff National Park, but it was still spectacular. There was a greater contrast between mountain and valley. We went through Rogers Pass into Mount Revelstoke Park.
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| Glaciers in Mount Revelstoke Park |
At one point when we crossed a bridge, we saw rafters in the river below. We stopped at an overlook to watch rafts on the mild rapids. Many rafts drifted smoothly by, while a few splashed mightily with the occupants bailing away.
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| White water rafters |
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| Glaciers in Mount Revelstoke Park |
The roads were winding but in good condition. We crossed
the Columbia River and followed my river, the Thompson River, to Kamloops. We
headed into town for a dinner spot and ended up back on the highway at a McDonald’s.
It was getting dark and Kathy did the last bit of
driving, following Fraser Canyon on curving roads with a cliff wall on one side
and a drop into blackness on the other. It was a bit unnerving to drive along
that road with trucks barreling up behind us. Plus, signs warning of bighorn
sheep didn’t help!
After reaching Hope, we switched and I got to drive the
much easier road into Abbotsford where we turned on PH 11 towards the U.S. We
came to U.S. customs after only a couple miles, and were asked the usual
questions. We asked about mailing our postcards with Canadian stamps and the
agent suggested Canadian customs. So we circled back to Canadian customs where
the girl gladly took our postcards to mail. Back again through U.S. customs to
enter the United States and follow country roads to Bellingham, WA.
We smelled a “burning” truck, cows and manure, and paper
mills. It seemed like there was always something that smelled terrible in the
stinky state of Washington!
I reached Interstate 5 and commenced superhighway
driving, often having three lanes to myself.
Next: Oregon.
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