Month: August 2017

Another day another adventure herein Banff. Today we started out by seeking out a hostel that was once an old train station in the Bankhead Boomtown. It was relocated when the mining town was closed back in the early 1900s. We found the station and read the sign and headed off towards Lake Minniewanka and the Lower and Upper Bankhead trails. We loved our walk learning about the old coal mining town. The walkways were dusted with coal so it brought a historic feeling to the hike. The boys enjoyed all the old machinery (brought in for historical reasons as the originals were all removed when he town was shut down).  We were equally fascinated by the wild rhubarb growing everywhere. We learned it was grown by the Philipino and Japanese workers for food and it gradually is taking over the landscape. The boys loved the old coal trains. This train was from the town of Canmore from their mining operation. The wildflowers and rhubarb made a very breathtaking view in the fields.

Next we drove over the Minnewanka Dam and learned how the lake was naturally raised and below it was a town that was once in existence. Apparently you can dive here and see remains of the old town. The water was so frigid we didn’t imagine many people did this! We pulled off at an overlook to find about 15 big horn sheep and young grazing in the roadside grass. We watched them and the tourists! Some people ran right up to get photos. The boys were secretly hoping to see someone get gored! We moved along after a few photos from far away.

After the lake loop we opted to go see the scenic overlook at Norquay. We heard it was an amazing view. It did not disappoint! The boys discovered more red chairs and more big horn sheep! We relaxed for a while and headed the rest of the way up the tight switchback road. At the top we found a ski resort. We got a good deal on tickets for the chairlift and headed up. Everyone got to ride by themselves! Emmerson loved this opportunity. We watched ground squirrels playing below and kept a keen eye out for other wildlife. This is a corridor for migrating animals and also home to a grizzly mamma and her two cubs and a cinnamon black bear! At the top we learned about the Y2Y (Yellowstone to Yukon) Wildlife corridor and how Canada and the US are working together for wildlife.

In the evening we picked up Dad and wandered downtown and enjoyed some Beaver Tails. Emmerson made it a 4D experience. He was coated with Nutella! Breighton was not as messy but still quite a mess.

Our final day was spent tidying up, doing laundry and relaxing. We grabbed lunch in town and then headed to the Eureka Banff Escape Room for some family fun. We opted for the Warden’s Cabin (the hardest level). We had a blast working through puzzle after puzzle to escape through he cabin to the woods and eventually find the treasure! We successfully managed there room and Mom even are a bag of bacon flavored crickets to buy us a little more time. Dad was an ace at the puzzles and kept everyone working. Mom teamed with Emmerson to solve half of the puzzles and B teamed with Dad. It was a lot of fun and we cant wait to try another room someday.

Our Banff adventure wrapped up nicely and we are off towards Kootenay National Park next to explore the Radium Hot Springs area for only a few nights.

The next day was sans Dad. He stayed behind to work as we explored Yoho National Park. We started off with the spiral tunnels. We waited about 30 minutes for a train to pass through. It was interesting to see them spiral up the hillsides through the tunnels to gain elevation (in this case loose as the train was going the opposite way). Breighton has fun timing the trains passing through the tunnels. It took 2 min and 45 seconds to enter and leave. There were 147 cars and 4 engines (two up front, one in the middle and one pusher) on the train we saw.

We headed up to Takkakaw Falls. The road up is very specific about no vehicles over 21 feet as there are tight switchbacks. We saw a 35’ travel trailer stuck that was trying to figure its way out. The falls is supposedly the tallest in North America boasting 935ft of water fall. We hiked out to the bottom of the falls and enjoyed the moisture of the spray in the cool smoke free air! Some time along the river checking the temperature and speed.

We visited the Field Welcome Center in Yoho and quickly completed our books to earn the dog tag for Yoho. The center hosted a fossil display from eh Burgess Shale Fossil Beds. We enjoyed seeing all the samples and taking rubbings of many.

Out last stop of the day was at Natural Bridges. It was where the river carved holes into the rocks. It was very pretty and crowded. We watched seveal large logs that came over the falls and were stuck in a whirlpool. We cheered and hollered hoping they would work their way out of the spinning waters. We passed a good hour watching and cheering. No luck as the logs seemed to be forever stuck!

On the way into the campground that evening we saw 3 large bucks along the road. The boys scootered around he campground to burn off some energy and Mom curled up in the hammock and called it a day!

 

The next morning we took Dad to Cave and Basin NP, a park within a park. This is the birthplace of the Canadian National Park system. This bubbling sulphur spring was pretty amazing but it sure did have a rotten egg smell! We explored the spring hiking trails while Dad worked for a while. We could see for miles but it was still a wee bit smokey. We earned another park dogtag. There are a total of 9 in this area to earn.

Next up was the Banff Natural History Museum hosting over 5000 preserved species for your educational and viewing pleasure. We inspected every single item with gusto! We were impressed by the variety and stories behind them. There was a 70lb beaver! An insect collection from 1912 in a cigar box that was in pristine shape, even pinned and labeled! Some of the mounted animals were creepy like this owl and bunny. Even creepier was this bison leg that a tree grew around. We checked out the Sharp Shinned Hawk and saw how small it really was, this will help with 4-H next year in the Forest Ecology Contest.

Dad and B went to explore downtown and Mom and E hung out at an amazing park in town. Emmerson climbed all over the tree structure and had a blast. What an amazing backdrop!

That afternoon we went for tea at the Fairmont Banff (another hotel Grandma Susie will stay at on her journey). We enjoyed ourselves and some yummy tea. The boys both had Maple-Maple and loved MOST of the finger sandwiches and desserts.

After tea we headed to Johnston Canyon to hike out to the waterfalls. It was very crowded but not as bas since it was late afternoon. It was a fun hike along the canyon wall. The boys enjoyed climbing a few big rocks along the way. For some reason Emmerson whines and whines about hiking of paved trails but if the trail is either or a boardwalk he could hike for hours without a complaint. He really has to be in touch with nature. The lower falls had a line to go through a tunnel to see the back part of the falls. We patiently waited and enjoyed the treat. On the way out we saw many park rule violators. Our top two were the lady on the opposite side of the guardrail along the canyon taking selfies and the couple sitting next to the don’t feed the wildlife sign feeding the wildlife their granola bars. We figure if the park fined these people they could make more funding than in park admission revenue. There are a lot of people not respecting our National Parks both in Canada and in the USA.

 

On the way back to the campground we stopped at the Hoodoos. They weren’t as amazing as the ones in the four corners area but it was still a nice hike. We found red chairs and enjoyed a view of the oxbow of the Bow River. We watched a Golden Manteled Ground Squirrel nibbling along the trail.

The park system in this area is massive. Within a few hundred kilometers you have Revelstoke, Glacier, Yoho, Banff, Jasper and Kootenay. Just south of here is Glacier in the US and Waterton Lakes along the border in Canada. We opted fro Banff as home base for a week. We camped at Tunnel Mountain Trailer Court, full hookups! It was a massive campground set just outside the village of Banff in the park. It was weird to have a town actually inside of the park. Mom and Dad made a quick drive to Home Depot in Calgary to get parts to fix Grandma and Grandpa’s broken kitchen waterline. This trip has been plagued with water related issues! When they got back we went to a campground program called Bison on the Horizon (They pronounced bison differently…biZon). Breighton volunteered to be a strong male bison and was flown via helicopter from Elk Island NP to Banff NP to repopulate the bisons in the park. It was a great program and we learned a lot about the bison program in Banff.

The next morning we were up and out early to get to Lake Louise before the crowds descended. We barely beat them there arriving at 8:00am. The lake was amazingly beautiful and we could see why it is the most photographed place in the Canadian Rockies. Mom thought it was funny that every photo she took looked like it was in front of a backdrop or green screen. We walked along the lake and learned about the people who discovered the area and some of the history. The boys were shocked that a canoe rental was $105 for 1 hour! There are very limited water vessels on the lake so it was understandable but still ridiculous. We saw the Fairmont hotel that Grandma Susie will stay in on her Canadian Rockies train tour next year.

We opted to head north towards the IceFields in Jasper NP. Not knowing how long of a day was ahead of us. We saw beautiful turquoise lakes everywhere.

Our favorite was Peyto Lake, names after Wild Bill Peyto. It was in the shape of a coyote!

We were feeling adventurous and headed to hike out to the Athabasca Glacier in the Columbia Ice Field. It was quite an uphill hike but a great view of the ice field.

We drove and explored the entire park. We really enjoyed Athabasca Falls. It was a spectacular waterfall. We hiked all the way to the bottom and the kids played in the river below for a while. The water is the milky blue from the glacial till that is brought down in the streams. The minerals mix in the water and cause the strange color. If you see water this color it is a sure sign it is glacial fed!

Yesterday we opted for a shortcut drive wise to Canada. We opted for a ferry service out of the Olympic Peninsula that took us north of Seattle. It was nice not to spend all the time driving. We even saw the Blue Angels fly over the ferry when we were traveling! We had a snack and watched for sea life, sadly we saw none.

After safely disembarking we headed towards the border crossing. We cleared the border with no issues. Grandma Jo and Grandpa Howie accidentally came through he same line as us, we have Nexus entry cards, they didn’t. They were asked to pull into the search lanes. They were delayed a little but honestly not as bad as if they had gone through the regular long lines!

We stayed the night in Hope, British Columbia and enjoyed a family meal out at a place called Home Restaurant.

In the morning we headed towards a campground, Canyon Hot Springs, located half way between Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks in Canada.  We could tell the air was getting more smoke filled as we drove. There are a lot of wildfires burning in British Columbia. We expect the smoke will get worse. Some of us are already coughing a little and feeling the effects.

The campground is quite large. It is situated along a noisy turn in the railroad track so we hear the trains often. They are doing track work at night and we hear that too. We are learning to tune it out.

Our first full day in the area we got up early and headed to Revelstoke Mountain Lodge to ride the mountain coster. We started with just one ride ticket and a ticket to the top of the mountain on the gondola. The ride was a bit nerve-wracking until you settled in. You control your own speed with a stick on the cart. It was a lot of fun. Grandma, Grandpa and the boys opted to ride a second time. Sadly they got behind  lady with a baby and were brought to a creeping ride quickly. A mix up with the tickets occurred and when we went to get it straightened out they gave us a make up ride pass too. The boys got to finally ride at full speed 42kph. Quite a different ride when you go full throttle! Uncle Matt needs to spearhead the construction of one of these out in Truckee!

We then took the gondola to top and hiked around and explored the area. During ski season there are lifts that go up even higher!

We then headed to the Revelstoke Dam run by BC Hydro. We took the dam tour and it was awesome. We have always loved touring different dams on our journeys. Inside the victors center was a great interactive learning area for the kids. They had fun playing with the jacobs ladder and plasma balls. E picked out a small toy plasma ball that he is so happy to have. B picked a perpetual motion machine that is mesmerizing and distracting!

We then headed up Mt. Revelstoke through the National Park. The drive up was 26km and was filled with switchbacks and breathtaking wildflowers. It was amazing how many different kinds and colors there were. We took the shuttle to the summit and hiked a few trails and learned about the First Nations people in the area. It was a bit smokey but not terrible.

The next morning Mom and the kids headed out to explore Glacier National Park (Canada). The smoke was really thick from the wildfires in Glacier. The first few trails were closed due to hazards. We enjoyed hiking the Rock Gardens trail a lot. The boys saw a pika, ground squirrels and marmot. We scrambled over rocks and enjoyed some mostly smoke free air. As we ventured deeper into the park the smoke was terrible. We saw a lot of people with masks wandering around.

We drove through the campgrounds to hike some of the trails, that were sadly closed as well. We did get to walk part of the  Loop trail along the river and the railway tresses.

Next we visited the Rogers Pass Summit Memorial and learned all about how the Trans-Canada Highway was constructed and about transportation in the area. There was a memorial bell you could ring. The bell is made of the metal of one of the old snow plows, railway tracks like the support of the bell, railway stakes are the handle and the entire thing is set upon a block from one of the old railway tresses that fell in an avalanche in 1910.

We saw a LOT more marmot just hanging out in the memorial. They were very photogenic. The smoke was getting to the point where we felt we should turn back. We visited the Rogers Pass Vistors Center and the boys earned their XPlorer badges and watched a neat movie about avalanche control and Snow Wars. They used howitzers to launch shells into the side of the snow covered mountains to trigger avalanches so they wouldn’t get out of control. This pass gets a LOT of snow each year. Even to this day it is one of the harshest areas of all of the Trans Canada Highway (TC-1).

We came back and picked up Dad and hiked Giant Cedars in Revelstoke. The smoke lifted in this area so it wasn’t bad. We saw more of these huge leaves and learned that they are Devil’s Club.

We then went to the Skunk Cabbage Trail. As we were just about to start a man alerted us to a bear down by the river. We saw a huge black bear down drinking at the rivers edge. We set off on the trail and were almost done when the people that were ahead of us came around the corner back towards us saying to stop there was a bear of the path. We talked and watched and stood in a big group. We went up on a raised platform to look down the trail and sure enough there a massive black bear on the boardwalk still. We watched carefully and waited for him to leave the trail and then waited a few more minutes and then proceeded out as a group. The bear left us a nice fresh steaming like of scat full of berries! What a treat!

We called it a day and headed back for showers and de-smoke smelling! At least the fires are hardwood so just smell like a nice campfire and not the stinky fires of soft pine in Florida.

Our last day was a few fun hikes including the Loop Trail with Dad. There was warning of bears in the area so we waited for Dad for this one. We learned all about the old rail lines that came through the area. As you walked you could see where the old railroad ties were with the rock fill between them. It was a tough terrain for people let alone a train! We saw no bears on this hike but really enjoyed seeing all the old tresses along the river.

Saying goodbye to the smoke, hopefully, we headed out of Revelstoke and Glacier area towards Banff.