Banff was our first taste of the Rockies. As soon as we drove past an incredible mountain with snow reflecting the sun and rivers almost frozen trickling down the face we were instantly awed. We stayed in Canmore and had a beautiful view from our apartment. The average temperature was 6 degrees and very cold, but it was fun dressing up in coats, beanies, gloves and scarves. In the morning William, my Dad and I would rug up and head over to a coffee shop, passing grass covered in frost, cracking and marvelling at frozen puddles and always looking at that spectacular view of the Rockies that surrounded us.
The lakes are an unreal shade of glacial aqua blue. We went for a cruised walk along one of those beautiful lakes. My brothers and I made a dam out of rocks on the shore. The scenery was unbelievable. Lush green forests surrounded us, towering mountains with a dusting of snow and an aqua gushing river right next to you. It was the most amazing feeling.
Lake Louise was as blue as the sky. It was beautiful hiking around it, passing great pine trees and a beach with Inukshuks. Inukshuks are rock people that originally came from the First Nations. You can find it anywhere in Canada. It was the symbol of the Canadian Winter Olympic Games.
The Grassi Lakes hike was thrilling and amazing. We trekked through an overgrown path and leaped over small gushing waterfalls and watched for bears, elk and other wildlife. At the top a pounding, colossal waterfall met us. It was made by lots of little river flows creating one big waterfall. The scene in front of us was phenomenal. The whole town of Canmore lay in out view. We learnt a little bit about the history (how an Italian built the track and his love for the area) and made a dam out rocks on the flowing river.
Ice fields parkway was the most spectacular drive I have or ever will go on. Pristine snow drifted down onto the sheer cliffs dusting the caps like icing sugar. Golden trees sway in the breeze and the mammoth mountains tower over you. We stopped at a lot of amazing places. On one stop we went to look at a glacier. It was snowing so hard my face felt like it was going to fall off. The wind whipped us and the snow covered our car in snowflakes. My favourite stop was when we walked on a bush path. The trees had a light sprinkling of snow. It was magical. We caught intricate snowflakes, marvelling at how different they all were. Another incredibly aqua lake was at the lookout. Rushing waterfalls waited for us at the next two stops. They fell for 20 metres. It was quite a sight!
Freezing Cold
Our first encounter of Jasper was when a lone male elk stood right next to the road, parading in front of the cars that pulled over. He was the first of the ten (approx.) elk we saw just on the highway. We found more roaming around Jasper. Dad, Lachie and I went for a hour horse ride in the forest. It was a great way to see the Canadian forest. Our Japanese guide chatted to us along the way telling us about the wildlife of the forest. That included bears. He told us how to tell the difference between a black and a grizzly bear: If you sneak up behind it and kick it hard, it’s a black bear if it scampers up a tree and it’s a grizzly bear if it turns around and eats you! It was a joke of course but we did see the scratched on trees from black bears climbing the trees. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we didn’t see any bears much to the disappointment of Lachie and I. Mum, William and Timmy went bike riding and came across elk. They were right between the stag and his girls. Especially in this season elk are more dangerous than bears. They have giant antlers that look like they had sharpened driftwood stick stuck to their head. Jasper was the perfect end to our incredible Canadian Rockies experience.
Inuk-shuk
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