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 .........