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King Neil was right !!! We took his advice and started today driving out of Canmore away from the normal tourist routes and up into Kananaskis Country - starting with Grassi Lake, then Spray Lake and Goat Pond (great names are just run of the mill here). The road started fine but after a few minutes tarmac gave way to gravel !! a good old logging road that went on for the next 65km !!. Something we city folk are not used too at all - needed to switch to 4WD and get used to the strange feeling of all 4 wheels doing their own thing. After a while though we were zipping through this woodland trail taking in more views of lakes and mountains. The added bonus to this route (and the main reason we were taking it) was to spot some wildlife. Our first sighting was of Deer, a couple of times, the second time we stopped besides three or four of them who casually watched us from the trees as we watched them. The next sighting was perhaps our most exciting of the whole holiday - a real-life, wild as they come, BEAR !!! Clara saw it first, right beside the road, I managed to stop and slowly reverse to be alongside him (12ft away) (something you are advised against doing!!). He was fantastic, a magnificent sight, looked at us, wasn't particularly interested and calmly continued about his business. In the car we were not so calm - the camera was not taking shots !!! no matter what was tried it wouldn't take a picture - eventually Joe noticed the battery dead sign and we quickly swapped the battery and got the camera pointing back out the window - but alas the Bear was gone !!. Aaarrrgghhh. We slowly drove up and down and waited for him to re-appear but no luck. Never mind - WE SAW A BEAR !!!. I know by now you are thinking - yeah right - no pictures, no believey !! but no - talk to Clara and see how excited she is when she describes her face to face with Malcolm the Bear (added to the list of Wally the Whale, Cilla the Sea-Lion and Ella the Eagle J). We set off again on a high and shortly saw a dark shape on the road in the distance - a moose crossing the road (Molly the Moose!!). A great journey overall that took us in a massive loop back to Canmore. After a quick stop at the hotel (and a visit to Dominos for lunch) we started off on the second trip of the day - to Banff and then on to Lake Louise. Banff was busy !!. Saturday afternoon, the sun was out and so were the shoppers. We eventually managed to find somewhere to park and then walked - from shop to shop to shop - the Gift Shop capital of Canada - but overall a great atmosphere. By 5pm we thought we better head of to Lake Louise - people has said either get there early or late - we were leaving it pretty late. As we drove up Highway 1 we noticed two things - (1) the weather was changing - dark clouds and spits of rain and (2) the opposite side of the carriageway was one huge traffic jam - presumably everyone heading back from the Lakes. We kept going and got to Lake Louise at about 6pm. Coats were required as we walked to the Lake and took in one of the world's most amazing views. Even with low cloud and rain the view was astonishing. Take a look at the pictures (and our next "hello to you all" video of course). Next we drove on to Moraine Lake - just as photogenic as Louise - just as dramatic. After a quick stop in Lake Louise Village we headed off back to the hotel. A decision had to be made A) Highway 1 - high speed but high risk of holdups or B) Highway 1A - slower (single land and fading light), but high risk of seeing more wildlife - an easy choice - off we set down Highway 1A. This is a great drive - a smooth and relaxing steer through trees and meadows. Halfway back we experienced another animal highlight - a huge Elk with massive antlers quietly eating at the side of the road. This time we were prepared with the camera and got some great shots and a short video (uploaded) of this huge beastie. Continuing on down the Highway we experience several more of these along the side of the road - quite unnerving as it got darker - we had heard stories this afternoon about the dangers of Elks jumping out into the road and because of their size and height pretty much destroying anything that hits them. Anyway - nothing more to see as it got too dark but overall we put this down as a great day - getting face to face with the wild side of the Rockies. Tomorrow off to Red Deer - to meet up the Plumtree's - are you ready !!
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jojo what a trip! youve only got to add morley and foster and toby and the cat and you will have covered most of western canadas wildlife!except you will have to add dinosaurs. Hope Dave and Bet are feeling strong enough. Have you still got the walking stickPhone me when you get there and give them my love. Howard and andrew have jsu called in and sarah is comong tomorrow until friday. Mind the Moose Love Mum/