Blog # 10 - Banff National Park and More Glaciers!

Just when we thought we had seen all the unique and majestic scenery there was to see, we traveled from Waterton Lakes to Banff in Alberta, Canada. Along the way, we had a spectacular drive through the Canadian Rockies and saw some of the most unusually shaped mountains and valleys we have ever seen. Doug was mesmerized the whole way and kept saying: "Aw man, there's goes a painting... there goes a painting...". He felt a lot better once we arrived and realized that the place we were visiting was as beautiful as the drive. 

The town of Banff is nestled in one of the valleys surrounded by the Rockies and our campground sits on a mountain plateau above town. A solo road, the Icefield Parkway, connects Banff National Park with Jasper National Park and the two cover the spine of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Millions of years ago, these lands were a warm, shallow sea that was uplifted by plate tectonics when continents collided. Glaciers that formed during the Ice Age eroded these mountains as they melted and contributed to creating the jagged and dramatic peaks. Many of these glaciers are still active today. 

We took a day trip up the Icefield Parkway to the Columbia Ice Fields and it was like stepping back in time.  Sue took photos while Doug painted the Athabasca glacier. As recently as the 1850's, this glacier covered the area where the road and parking lot are today. It is receding at a rate of 16 ft. per year and has receded .93 miles and lost over half of its volume in the last 125 years. 

Sprinkled among the mountains are streams and lakes created and fed by the melting glaciers. The minerals in the water have caused brilliant variations in color, from milky mint green to turquoise and dark blue. We visited two of the most prominent lakes: Lake Louise and Lake Moraine. Doug enjoyed painting this colorful landscape.

Another wonderful day trip was to Johnston Canyon. Over the course of 8,000 years, the slightly acidic water carved a beautiful slot canyon into the limestone rocks. Doug painted two waterfalls in that canyon.

Everywhere Doug looked, there was a painting and he savored them all. 

Doug's sister Deb and husband Mike have been traveling with us since Yellowstone. One day, Deb drove into Banff to shop and, since Doug was out painting, Sue got the brilliant idea to hike down from the campground to town, figuring she could get a ride back with Deb. One thing not taken into account was no cell phone service. After several call attempts, Sue realized she had no choice but to hike back up the mountain. It was then that all her previous hiking on this trip paid off. Although it was challenging, it wasn't nearly as difficult as it would have been at the beginning of the trip. Once she got to the top, she felt like Cheryl Strayed must have felt when she reached the end of the Pacific Crest Trail in "The Wild". 

In addition to the beautiful scenery, we found a great restaurant in Banff called Wild Bill's. Not only did they have a live band, but awesome chili and fabulous buffalo burgers. Needless to say, we had a great time with Deb and Mike, visiting, painting, hiking, photographing and eating!

After over a month of traveling with Deb and Mike, the time has come to part ways, as they head West toward Vancouver and we reluctantly turn Conestoga Lite toward the East to start our journey home. We'll be coming back along the southern edge of Canada and staying a few days at Lake of the Woods in Kenora and then at Wawa, near the Canadian side of Lake Superior. Our final destination will be Niagara Falls in New York. It's hard to leave the mountains, valleys and open space of the West behind, but we are looking forward to being home with family. If only we could get everyone to move West ......... 

BLOG #9 - GLACIER NATIONAL PARK AND WATERTON LAKES

If you are receiving this blog for the first time, or missed previous ones, you can scroll all the way to the bottom to see all blogs from the beginning. 

After being on the road for 2 1/2 months, we looked forward to meeting up with relatives at Glacier National Park for a family reunion. For close to 60 years, this has been a tradition for Doug's mother's side of the family. Every three years, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins all gather at a scenic spot somewhere in the United States for a week of bonding, fun and relaxation. Previous family reunion locations include Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, The Grand Tetons In Wyoming, Arcadia National Park in Maine and Cour D'Alene in Idaho. As a result of passing years, Jeannie, Doug's Mom's sister, is the only family member left from her generation. She is quite healthy and spry at age 87 and we were glad she was able to join us.  

The family rented condos at Bay Point Lake in Whitefish, Montana, so we had the best of both worlds. The trailer was set up in a nearby campground, but we decided to take a break and stay in the condo with Doug's daughter and son, Betsy and Ben. It felt really strange to have so much living space and a dry bathroom! A high point of the week was having Doug's granddaughters, Ava and Ellie, stay overnight in the trailer. Betsy joined too and we all ate s'mores and had a great time feeding the mini horses, lamas and mules that were in the campground's petting zoo.

As it's name implies, Glacier National Park is a land shaped by the activity of glaciers. The mountains were thrust up from ancient sea beds and glaciers formed long, u-shaped valleys filled with lakes and rivers. There are a number of active glaciers in the park at high altitude and many beautiful and challenging hiking trails. The sons from three Tweddale families went on an overnight hike to a glacier field. Here's what they saw:

A special treat for Doug during the week was discovering that his cousin Janet dabbled in pastel and was eager to try painting plein air. With extra equipment in tow, they headed for the mountains on two separate days and painted river rapids and mountain scenes. Janet now has the plein air bug!

One of the features of Glacier National Park is Going- to-the-Sun-Road. This 50 mile road was built in 1932 with great effort. Park officials initially planned a design that was a switch-back road up a mountain face. They decided it would ruin the natural look of the landscape and opted to build a beautiful, yet more expensive road. It goes up the mountain gradually with only one switchback, so it blends in with the surroundings. 

Unfortunately, this road was closed near the top due to a 3,900 acre forest fire that started on July 22, right before we arrived. A Park Ranger told Doug it was started by a car overturning and catching fire. As of this writing (August 6) the fire was still burning and only about 67% contained. 

We were sorry not to be able travel the full length of the road to see the glaciers, but luckily, our next destination was Waterton Lakes National Park, which is on the Canadian side of Glacier National Park. On the way, were were able to look back to see the burning fire: 

At Waterton Lakes, our campground was right in the park and there were mountain vistas all around us. Doug was thrilled to be able to wake up and paint right away without having to drive for miles to find the right spot. The painting below is Mt. Vimy and he painted it right outside our camper in his "spare time", over the course of three days. 

One of the main attractions of the park, Cameron Falls, was right at the end of our road. 

Doug captured it's spectacular beauty in a painting. To Sue's dismay, a nice couple came by and explained that their family has owned a cabin near the waterfall for 40 years. They fell in love with the painting and offered to buy it. They made an offer Doug could not refuse, and so went yet another potential gem for Sue to hang on the dining room wall. She did manage to get a picture to remember it by:  

On August 2, we celebrated Sue's birthday with Doug's sister Deb and her husband Mike at the Prince of Wales Hotel. This hotel was built in 1927 by the American Great Northern Railway to lure American tourists north of the border during Prohibition. Situated on a high plateau among the mountains, it offered a spectacular view in addition to the beauty of the hotel itself. What a wonderful way to celebrate the day!

We have been amazed by the beautiful country we have seen, both in our destinations and in our travels. Clean flowing rivers, majestic mountains and mile after mile of productive ranches and farms. This country is truly beautiful from sea to shining sea! It needs to be seen to be believed. Everywhere Doug looks, there's a painting. So many, that it would take a hundred lifetimes to begin to scratch the surface.

Not only has the land been beautiful, but the people have been gracious and appreciative of Doug's work. He often has a crowd of people watching as he interprets and paints the surrounding landscape.

Our next adventure will take us to Fairmont Hot Springs in Alberta, Canada for three days of luxurious relaxation and rejuvenation. From there we go on to Banff, which is said to be a unique paradise on the scale of Yellowstone.