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Hello from The Rocky Mountains! We have had a fabulous 12 days in this area, we've done so much and loved every minute of it. It is all so beautiful, the scenery is so amazing and stunning.
First stop here was Banff, a 1hour 45min journey from Calgary. We checked into our hostel, a lovely alpine lodge up on a mountain road. We had been really pleased when we'd seen the Gopher in Calgary but there were loads running around here! We had 4 days in Banff and beautiful weather. We did several walks, went canoeing, went up the Banff gondola and relaxed in the natural hot springs (in the evening though when it was a bit cooler!). We also went white water rafting. We have both done this before but never on a glacial river! It was a 32 degree hot day but the water was 3 degrees, so very cold! We did the rapids twice (grade 4 ones, 6 is the highest). Phil fell in the first time but he was fine. At the end we were all allowed to get into the river for a float so we did but didn't stay in long!
Next stop was Lake Louise only a 45min coach journey from Banff, the shortest of our trip! We stayed in another alpine lodge hostel in the tiny Lake Louise village. The main attraction here was obviously the lake. Most of the lakes in The Rockies are glacial fed and are a beautiful blue or tourquoise colour. Lake Louise is one of the more famous Lakes and people come from all over to see it. We think Lake Louise looks like pale blue lenor fabric conditioner has been poured into it! The glacier high above this lake is still visible throughout summer.
We did a few walks round here and one day walked about 19km mostly uphill, phew! (about 12miles) We have had to be bear cautious though as they are feeding at this time of year on all the berry bushes. There are warnings and advice posted everywhere. On our walk up to the lake by the creek we had to be on bear lookout and the first time we did it was quite nervy! It is important to make lots of noise warning bears of your approach so you do not startle them. We were walking along banging rocks together which seemed to work as we never bumped into any!
One day we did a trip up part of the Icefields Parkway, one of the most scenic highway drives in the world. There are over 200 glaciers visible en route. We went to the Athabasca Glacier and went for a walk on it. It was the perfect day for it too, totally sunny and clear. The glacier is fed from the Columbia Icefield, a huge amount of ice, 375sq km! The glacier is 6km long and 1km wide and the ice we were stood on was 1,000ft deep! (few Phil's facts there for you!) There was a stream of ice meltwater running down the side of where we were which we were allowed to drink from. We did so, better then Evian! It was such a great experience.
Last stop in the Rockies was Jasper. No hostel for us here, instead we chose to do a Private Home Accommodation stay. This is basically a B&B but with no brekky! We had facilities to make our own though! It was so lovely staying in a local's house in a nice location with great mountain views. We have done more walks here but also a bit of mountain biking. It was the first time i'd done it properly on uneven dirt tracks! After failing to get all the way up the first hill I got the hang of it and managed the others! It was great fun riding through the forests and we found a great location to have a picnic by another gorgeous lake! On the way back we passed a group of about 10 Elk just grazing in the forest! We were only about 20metres away from them and they didn't seem to mind us. There was a male, several females and baby one, brilliant!
We did a wildlife discovery tour yesterday evening and we saw lots! A couple of bull Elk with HUGE antlers - wouldn't want one of those chasing you! We got really close to them but they were busy feeding so didn't really notice us. As the summer is so short here all the animals have to totally fill their boots while they can! Also saw Big Horn Mountain Sheep, Osprey, Loons (a Canadian duck), Pika (like a mini Rabbit), a deer with her fawn, more chipmunks and....A BEAR! We'd wanted to see one (safely!) since we'd been in the Rockies and this was our last chance. It was a Black Bear, about 4 years old, and we spotted it just walking along the roadside. We watched it from the safety of our van, about 10 metres away and then it climbed up the cliff and disappeared over the top. It was very exciting! Not seen any Grizzlies though, or the Saskwatch!!
We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in The Rockies and would love to come back, there is so much more to see and do! We would love to come back in the winter time though for a completely different experience, so that has now been added to our travel list! We leave for Vancouver later on the overnight bus - back down to sea level after our time at altitude! Going to watch The Simpsons Movie to pass some time, woo hoo!
Only a week left in Canada and we love this country.
Bye for now
love us 2 X.
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