After visiting friends in Minnesota (actually Wisconsin), we continued the journey westward. We traveled northwest through Minnesota and spent the night in Valley City, North Dakota - not because there was anything to see there, but because we needed a place off the highway to camp for the night. It turned out to be kind of a funky little town - we even found an open-mic night at the ice cream parlor for a little entertainment.
The next day we just drove and drove, trying to put on some miles to get us closer to our next featured destination in the Canadian Rockies. We crossed the border once again, this time into Saskatchewan and eventually camped at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, just north of Moose Jaw. The landscape on this leg of the trip was monotonous, but beautiful in its own way, mostly wheat fields and pasture, with the occasional burst of sunflower fields in full bloom.From Moose Jaw we continued west, passing the highlight prairie towns of Swift Current and Medicine Hat. As we approached Calgary we kept anticipating our first glimpses of the Rockies, but were dumbfounded by the haze. At first we thought it was just a persistent fog that would not lift, but finally realized it was smoke from massive forest fires in British Columbia blowing smoke to the southeast.
We arrived in Calgary, shocked by the size of the city and chaos of rush hour after so many hours of driving through nothing. We spent two nights with Tammara's cousin Jim and his family, getting to meet the kids and Kellie for the first time and getting reacquainted with Jim after about twenty years. We explored the city and had a great time - thanks.
From there our destination was Banff National Park. I has been a dream of ours to visit this area for more than 25 years - ever since learning about it in forestry school outdoor recreation class. We were truly awed by the scenery - craggy glacier topped mountains, placid alpine lakes the color of sapphires and emeralds, high altitude meadows filled with wildflowers and fast running brooks turned white by glacial silt. It was everything and more then we expected.
We spent four nights camped at a national park campground in Lake Louise, which provided an excellent base for day-hiking and exploring the area. We also got our first taste of the cold, it was about 35 degrees the first night. Good think we packed the down comforter in the car! We visited the classic tourist spots first at Lake Louise and the famous Fairmont Hotel, as well as Moraine Lake. These sights were truly amazing, but also crawling with tourists - like every group we passed on the trails seemed to be speaking a different language.
Our third day we went to a more remote area, actually in adjacent Kootnay National Park and did a great hike into Arnica Lake and up to a pass with some breath-taking views. We mostly had the place to ourselves and greatly enjoyed the solitude.
The second half of our stay in the area we went on a three-night backpack outing in Yoho National Park, just across the continental divide on the BC side of the mountains. We did a classic hike, up the Yoho Valley, first along the Yoho River passing a series of incredible waterfalls and then up along a mountain shelf at the base of a whole series of glaciers. It was a hike more beautiful and stunning than anything we have done before. The one downside of course was the weather (which farmers can always find fault with). If the Boundary Waters leg of the trip was defined by wind, the Banff leg was defined by cold. We had a cold rain the first night which got us off to a wet start. The next day it cleared slightly but got even colder with snow showers replacing the rain. There was ice on the tables in the campground in the am! We had not expected winter camping. Finally on the third day when we had the opportunity for the best views it cleared somewhat but was still only in the low 50's. But, what can you expect when you are hiking at the foot of glaciers for the entire day - and the views made up for any discomfort. It was truly a spectacular hike of a lifetime.
We emerged from the woods tired, sore and cold but rejuvenated by the spell-binding beauty of Yoho Valley. Our first stop after the hike was to the town of Radium Hot Springs for a long soothing soak at the pools, ahh....
Glacier, Yellowstone and Teton adventures to come.
Looks like you had a great trip!
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