nkh

We are back from our August 5-14 trip to the Rockies and here is the first installment of our very long report. Please let me know if this is way too much detail - we wrote as we went for our memories, so it is a question of editing out!

Installment 1:

Friday August 5, 2005 - arrival in Calgary

Arriving late in the evening in Calgary, we called the shuttle to our hotel - the Hilton Garden Hotel. Due to a "book early and forfeit everything if you cancel" offer, this was the most reasonably priced of the airport hotels. The shuttle arrived pretty promptly after we called, the hotel was pleasant, clean, very nice room. The restaurant served good standard food at a pretty reasonable price (and at 10pm this was a good thing!), and after a late dinner we collapsed to recover from the flight from Toronto. This is a hotel we would stay in again if we flew into Calgary and needed an airport (not downtown) hotel.

Saturday August 6, 2005 - Calgary to Jasper

After breakfast at the hotel we took the shuttle back to the airport to collect our rental car and we were off on the first leg of our journey and the longest drive - Calgary to Jasper via Banff and Lake Louise. We ended up with a Chevy Cobalt which drove well and had the advantage of being bright red so we could find it in the car parks! We departed Calgary at about 10:30am.

We completed the first stage of the drive from Calgary to Banff in about 90 minutes, ooh-ing and ah-ing over the approach of the mountains. We spent 20 minutes queuing to purchase our National park pass but there were extra park workers who talked to those in cars before they reached the kiosks to help them figure out what type of pass to buy, which speeded things up. We bought an annual group pass - it worked out cheaper than paying for seven days worth of day passes, and meant we did not have to keep buying passes. We briefly stopped in Banff to find the Information Centre, pick up flyers and maps and stretch our legs. Tourist information was helpful but very busy (not really a surprise on a Saturday in August!).

We then drove up to Lake Louise where we stopped to get a takeaway lunch at Lagan's (good suggestion from this board - nice variety of sandwiches, baked goods and other portable foods). The weather was beautiful - sunny, 22-27 C depending on area, with just a little wind. We ate our lunch on the southeast shore of Bow Lake, looking across the incredible turquoise waters to the Crowfoot Glacier and then went round to the northern edge of the lake and saw the Bow Glacier from a distance.

Continuing our journey we drove the short distance to the Peyto Lake lookout. The lookout car park was busy but there was a steady stream of people arriving and leaving. We walked up the short, steepish trail to the vantage point - a good leg stretch after the time in the car! The view was worthy of a much harder and longer walk - you can see the glacier out to the left, the glacial outwash flooding down into the valley floor, the (impossibly intensely-coloured turquoise) lake flowing out and down the river to the north and an amazing surrounding of mountains crowding around the valleys. By the way, I have checked the dates and we are not the ones overheard commenting on Judy's advice (we were the Saturday earlier) - but we definitely agree with the comment they made!

We pressed on towards the Jasper National Park and the Icefields Centre, stopping only briefly on the way to take pictures of lakes and some female and young bighorn sheep on the side of the road cutting (a distinct improvement on our previous wildlife sighting - a chipmunk…). We arrived at the Icefields Centre at about 4:30pm - which worked well because some of the crowd were emptying out. The view from the Centre is incredible and we purchased tickets for the Snocoach tour, which left the Centre in a normal bus and then transferred us onto the six-wheel drive Snocoach. The total time was about 1h15 and we thought it was well worth the cost (about $35 per person). The views from the glacier surface are beautiful and the feel of the wind off the glaciers and the ice underfoot are experiences it would be difficult to find elsewhere. Just as we were about to leave the glacier, one of the hanging glaciers in the distance let loose a section of ice which bounced down the hillside. It looked as though it was in slow motion - it's really difficult to get a good feeling for just how enormous those slabs of ice are. Since it was getting late we decided to leave the other explorations of the Centre for our return journey and to push on to Jasper. Also, by this stage we were almost oversaturated with the beauty of the drive and the sights - this is probably the most beautiful drive we have ever been on, from beginning to end.

We arrived in Jasper at about 7:30pm (having left Banff at about 1:30pm) and found our bed and breakfast. We stayed at the Raven House B&B and our lovely room with ensuite bathroom had a view of the mountains with Mt. Edith Cavell in the distance. After depositing our luggage and a quick freshen-up, we went out to find a restaurant and wander the town a bit. We ate at Earl's on Patricia St. - nice view and good basic food (hamburgers, sandwiches, steaks, pasta etc.). It was pretty busy and we had to wait in the bar before being seated - not surprising on a Saturday night. We also make a reservation for dinner the next night at Andy's Bistro while we were in town.

Sunday 7th August - Jasper

After enjoying a lovely continental breakfast in our room with a view out towards Mt. Edith Cavell and the Whistlers Mt., we packed up and headed off to the base of the Whistlers Mt. Sky Tram and bought tickets to go up the cable car. We ended up catching the 9:51am car (a little later than we had planned but we only had to wait 10 minutes at the base) and crammed into the gondola with 23 other people. Emerging at the top after a short steep ride up (about a 3,100 ft ascent to an altitude of 7,200ft) we took stock of the amazing views out in all directions. The air was pretty clear and the peak of Mt. Robson was visible and free of cloud (apparently this is unusual). That alone was worth the trip up but feeling energetic we opted to walk up to the summit of the Whistlers.

It's a 900 foot ascent from the top of the cable car to the top of the ridge in a fairly short distance but the altitude makes itself felt in a big way and we puffed and panted our way up in short bursts. Once on the top we were fine and the view is awesome. From the summit you can see a long way in almost every direction - north to the Pyramid peak above Jasper, NW to Mt Robson, West to Indian Ridge, SW to Manx Peak and Summit Mt, South to Mt Edith Cavell and East to Maligne Peak. We had a clear day and could see every peak with no clouds covering them. We wandered round the top taking many photos and then meandered back to the cable car, taking in the side views. On the way back down we stopped to watch the antics of the golden-mantled ground squirrels near the path (very small, very cute - at first confused with chipmunks because of the black stripes on their backs).

Once back down we headed into Jasper to pick up food at the Bear's Paw Bakery (excellent place with wide variety of baked goods) before heading towards Maligne Lake. On the way out there we paused to watch a coyote saunter past the car and several sheep grazing on the edge of the rocks above the road. Later we had the spectacle of a group of sheep mobbing a tourists car before being driven off by a Park ranger with a cap gun. We paused briefly at the southern edge of Medicine lake to take some pictures and read the signs - the views are staggering with the knife edge mountains to the east.

We parked at the south side of Maligne lake and walked down to some of the benches on the lake side where we ate lunch. Afterwards we walked round the lake on the trail to the viewpoint to Mt Unwin, Mt Charleton and Mt Warren, all snowcapped. The wind was up while we were there so no mirror-like reflections for our photos (really needs to be early in the morning) but the view was spectacular even so.

We retraced our steps and drove back to the Maligne Canyon car park. Since it was after 4pm it wasn't too crowded. Starting from the second bridge we walked down to the 4th bridge before turning back and returning to the 1st bridge at the start of the cascades. The plaques along the trail gave useful information about the falls while the occasional guided tour gave information on the rocks, the animals and the number of fatalities each year (nothing like a good death to keep the guide's stories rolling?!). The views into the depths were exhilarating and not for those who are afraid of heights - the river plunges deep into the rock often disappearing from sight but not sound.

We left the canyon and drove back towards Jasper. We stopped when we spotted a number of cars and people by the side of the road and got out to investigate the cause of the gathering. Peering into the grasses below the road we saw a large male elk lying down close to the road ignoring the cameras going off around it. We took care to stay far enough back while taking pictures and enjoying the view but this was still much closer than we had expected to be! We rounded off our day's travels taking the 16 out NE over the Snaring river out to Jasper lake. We saw sheep on the side of the road before turning round and heading back to our B&B.

For dinner we had a reservation at Andy's Bistro - essential as it was fully booked - and enjoyed an excellent meal. Food was well thought out, prepared and presented. Between us we tried the wild mushrooms on a herb waffle, duck in a maple syrup and blueberry sauce, the chicken stuffed with crab, smoked salmon and cream cheese with a cream mustard sauce, an apple and caramel cheesecake and a silk chocolate torte with mixed berries respectively. Definitely thanks to our B&B hosts for recommend it (and recommending making a reservation too!).

Judy_in_Calgary

Hi nkh,

Thank you for the trip report. Glad to hear you had a good time (well during Installment 1 at least).

I personally was interested in the details. I was interested to read, for example, that it took you 20 minutes to pay for a national park pass at Banff NP's east gate. That would not have occurred to me.

Just by chance we have gotten into a rhythm of buying an annual pass every June, and the line ups are not yet long in June.

By having an annual pass we're able to bypass the line up and use the lane for people who have annual passes or who do not intend to stop in the annual parks and so don't have to pay.

Although I've seen the line ups in the other lanes as we've driven past them, I hadn't realised how long it took those line ups to work their way up to the toll booths.

To a travel geek like me, details like that are relevant.

But the main thing is that I'm delighted to hear what fun you had up to this point in your trip.

sockboy

To add to your notes Judy:
You can buy Park passes in Calgary at the Parks Canada office (635 - 8th Ave SW, 13th floor - gov't hours). So if someone is planning a trip in mid summer, and is arriving via Calgary, it might be worth picking a pass up while in Calgary. This is a very central location, and would be an easy stop for anyone wandering around downtown Calgary.

sludick

To answer your question - this is definitely not too much detail. As Judy said, it is those very details that make your trip report both fascinating and so very helpful. We're making a trip from Florida to Banff in mid September, and you can be sure I'm hanging on your details.

Here in the U.S., we renew our Park Pass automatically every year. Recently, a pair of coworkers married and spent their honeymoon in the Arizona/New Mexico area. They didn't know there even was a park pass. Naturally, that was my wedding gift to them, along with some helpful threads from this forum. They still didn't really understand, until they got to the Grand Canyon and encountered a very long line (approx. 1 hour) to get in to the park. A ranger waved them into the bypass line, and now they are hooked. We're looking forward to purchasing a Canadian park pass during our initial part of the trip, in the Tofino area.

I will be looking forward to your next installment.

Judy_in_Calgary

>>>>>>You can buy Park passes in Calgary at the Parks Canada office (635 - 8th Ave SW, 13th floor - gov't hours).<<<<<<

How cool is that! Thanks for the info, sockboy.

nkh

Glad that the rambling report is interesting and not paralysing...!

Judy and others - yes the parks pass turned out to be excellent, and not just for the price. We will definitely be going that route again. The bypass lane alone would have been worth extra even.... And of course it is good for parks in our area also.

Regarding buying passes - had I really thought it through I would have investigated buying a pass before we left home! The annual pass is good for all the National Parks in Canada, so that might save time for Canadian travellers anyway.

So on we go....

Installment 2:

Monday August 8th 2005 - Jasper to Banff

After another continental breakfast looking over to Mt Edith Cavell under a bright blue sky, we filled up the car and began to head south after revisiting the Bear's Paw Bakery to pick up supplies.

Before heading back to the Icefields parkway we decided to visit Mt. Edith Cavell and took the 93A before winding our way up the switchbacks and around (most!) of the potholes to the car park at the end of the lane. The drive from the turnoff took almost 40 minutes, so we arrived later than planned (after 11am). The car park was already nearly full and we were lucky to get a space. We walked up the paved path along the lateral moraine and opted to take the 1.5km trail up to the higher lookout point on the edge of the Edith Cavell meadows. This was certainly good exercise due to the elevation gain - the air became notably thinner as we climbed and the mosquitoes grew more numerous and better fed. Thank goodness for DEET . We were also glad we had chosen to wear hiking boots for this one as opposed to lighter shoes, although people in running shoes were doing the walk also. The trail is good, but there is uneven footing in a few places. I have an ankle that I have to be a bit careful of (4 screws from a bad break about 8 years ago), so I always err on the cautious footwear side - and the last thing we wanted was to mess up the rest of the vacation with a sprain or worse.

From the top lookout point you are almost level with the Angel glacier across the valley and can see down into the Cavell pond where the lower glacier remains and various large chunks of ice bob around - well worth the climb up! We would have liked to complete the hike around the meadows but time was against us (that long road up and back down!) and we returned the way we came up. As we reached the edge of the pines we spotted a hoary marmot scurrying its way along the top of the lateral moraine, stopping briefly for a sunbathe on the rocks before disappearing out of sight in the rocks. The marmot was bigger than we expected, and having seen one I believe our guidebook which said they weigh at least 9lbs.

We rejoined the original Glacier trail and headed for the terminal moraine and the Cavell pond headwaters. After a break enjoying and taking pictures of the pond, we decided not to climb across the rocks to the caves. We therefore headed back down the valley floor through the early succession plants and ate lunch on the bench overlooking the Angel glacier - this was bad planning, since we had intended to eat it up by the pond but had forgotten it in the car . We were joined by a Grey Jay who attempted a mid-air snatch of Toby's lunch - a maneuver that might have proved successful had Toby not jerked his food away!

We retraced our drive down the mountain and took the 93A to the Athabasca Falls. This was a scenic drive, slower than the new parkway, and rough in places. Nothing like the Edith Cavell rd. though! We stopped briefly to take in the sights and sounds of the Athabasca falls with the river plunging 25m down a narrow canyon before heading back to the Icefields. On this visit we parked below the terminal moraine of the Athabasca glacier and walked up and over the moraine to the melting end of the glacier and onto the first few metres of the foot (only in the marked area of course). The glacier was surprisingly grippy underfoot - the ice was hard, dirty and crystaline and presented few problems. To get to the glacier itself we had to pass a litany of grim stories about hypothermia deaths when people fall down crevases in the glacier. Depressing to realize people don’t seem to believe the warnings if there is only one sign. As when we had taken the Snocoach, the temperature on the glacier was much cooler than it was elsewhere and we were glad of fleeces and sweaters. Also, again, shoes with good soles to get a grip on the moraine rubble and the ice helped a lot.

We finished our visit by examining the exhibits on the wildlife, exploration and history of the Columbia Icefields displayed at the main Centre (which were interesting and well-presented) and then continued to Banff . The only other stop we made in this direction was a quick break to revisit to Bow Lake. We took the short trail to the lakeside to see the view (excellent place to see the lake from) as the air was clear and the sun was casting strong shadows on the mountainside - very good for photographs.

We arrived in Banff shortly after 8pm and found our bed and breakfast (the Banff Avenue Bed and Breakfast) easily. We were staying an easy walk from the town centre so we deposited our things, freshened up and went to Giorgio's restaurant. The restaurant is large, busy and bustling, with good decor and prompt service. The food was good, reasonably priced considering we were in Banff, and more "Italian Italian" than "American Italian".

Tuesday August 9th 2005 - Lake Louise (staying in Banff)

We had left plans for this day flexible since the weather was supposed to be bad, but as after breakfast it was clear and sunny we opted to head for Moraine lake and take the day from there. We took the Bow valley parkway this time and enjoyed the slower paced and more scenic drive. We arrived at 11am at the Moraine lake car park (again not good at early mornings….!) and found a space in the last section. We walked down through the picnic area to terminal moraine and went up the back to the top of the rock pile. The colour of the lake is a bright turquoise and even pictures really don't do it justice. This is a truly beautiful spot and we both preferred it to Lake Louise. I am not sure if it was our favorite in the end (Emerald Lake was a strong competitor) but it must be one of the most beautiful lakes in the world.

We rented a canoe for an hour (35 dollars) and paddled out to the far end of the lake. At this point we could see up into the surrounding valleys and the hanging glaciers that eventually flow into the headwaters. There were several streams coming down the slopes; none of them are navigable by canoe but we visited the three main ones before returning to the dock about an hour after setting out. This is a great lake to canoe on even if you are not an experienced paddler - quite small, no strong currents, and with the 10 Peaks all around the setting can't be beat.

We returned to Lake Louise village and Lagan's where we ate lunch and wrote postcards before heading out to Lake Louise itself. We walked from the car park to the lakeshore to the viewpoint looking up the lake towards the glaciers and then went searching for the stables to investigate booking a ride for another day in the week as we had been told it would be necessary to book in advance. However we got lucky - as we arrived people were just mounting up for the final two-hour ride of the day and they had space for us to join that group. Toby had never ridden a horse before (a Shire horse at the age of four doesn't count) and it had been many years since my riding lesson years, but these horses were very docile and everything went well, with both of us enjoying the experience. We had two guides - one at the front of the group and one at the back. Both of them seemed to be experienced and took good care of the group. (price for the ride approx. 140 dollars for two people).

The two-hour ride went most of the way to the end of the lake and then onto the river delta looking back towards the Chateau Lake Louise (we actually rode into the water, which was pretty neat). We took various photos to prove that we had made it in one piece and then returned by the same route to the corral. Dismounting was interesting - both of us had stiff knees from the ride but that quickly wore off after walking for a little. Hopefully tomorrow wouldn't bring too many painful surprises!

We drove back along the Bow Valley Parkway in the hope of seeing some more wildlife but for the most part they stayed hidden. After a quick clean-up (horseback riding makes you VERY dusty!) we headed out to Bumper's Beef House. This is a casual restaurant specializing in (guess what?) beef. The only appetizer available is the (good) salad bar, and their specialty is Prime rib. The Prime rib was excellent and portion sizes are very generous (order the smaller of the ones you think you will eat!). No opinions on dessert since we were stuffed before we got that far .

Judy_in_Calgary

Thanks again, nkh. Well now you're up to August 9th and it sounds as if you're still having a good time, I'm happy to hear.

You're providing such excellent detail I hate to sound picky, but would you be willing to comment on how you found Banff Avenue Bed and Breakfast?

atilla

What an excellent report so far nkh!! The more detail the better in my books. Glad you had the opportunity to do so much in our beautiful Rockies. Can't wait to read the remainder!

nkh

Back again for the next installment!

Judy - I forgot to include the Banff Ave comments and have put them in today's installment, thanks for reminding me. Yes we were still having fun (an awesome time) and this continued. The biggest problem was a general overuse of adjectives such as "awesome", "beautiful" or "fabulous" in writing the report.....

Installment 3:

Wednesday August 10th 2005 - Around Banff

We got up (a little saddle sore!) and had breakfast at 8am. Breakfast at this B and B is a hot breakfast, very well prepared and very generous - fruit and yoghurt then hot dishes which varied throughout our stay - some form of eggs (fried, scrambled, quiche…), some form of meat (sausages, ham etc.), and some type of bread (toast, bagel etc.). Since we were there for 5 days the variety was much appreciated. Breakfast is 8am-8:30am in a main dining area. Other specifics about Banff Ave. B and B - we had a room with Queen bed and ensuite bathroom. The room was a nice size, pleasant and scrupulously clean. There are two lounge areas provided for guests, one with a TV. The Beatsons are extremely nice and are helpful with suggestions for enjoying the area. We enjoyed our stay very much.

As the weather was cold, cloudy and threatening to rain we decided to do things that were easily adaptable to changing weather. We started with a visit to the Johnston Canyon falls. Despite the cold the car park was already filling up at 10am and the pathway to the lower falls was fairly busy. Extra path-side entertainment was provided by the golden-mantled ground squirrels, which pose and beg for food from the passers by. We walked along the paved and boardwalked path that hugs the cliff face through the canyon beside the river to the Lower falls. The river water has that same blue-green hint that the other glacial lakes have and flows fairly swiftly at this point in its course. The Lower falls plunge 50 feet or so into the cauldron below and are reasonably loud and picturesque. There is also a little passageway through the rock at the right side of the falls which allows you to get up close and personal to the falls. While you can't quite see round the back, you will certainly feel the spray! A lot of people walk this far and there was a bit of a wait to get into the passageway.

Since the weather showed some improvement we walked further up the trail to the Upper falls, passing five other smaller falls on the way up. The cloud broke up a little and gave us a little sunshine on our way up. The path winds its way up and down a bit but is paved all the way (our book said it wasn't - obviously some improvements have taken place). That said, it's hardly flat and we were happy in walking boots. A steel walkway leads out over the river to a viewing point looking up into the Upper falls which are almost twice the height of the lower falls and are pretty and quite dramatic. Noticeably less people made the longer trek to this point (about 2.9km from the car park) so we also did not feel crowded the way we had at the lower falls

We returned to Banff, pausing briefly on the hard shoulder of Highway 1 to photograph a mature male elk feeding in one of the meadows just outside Banff. We took the Tunnel Mountain road round the back of the town but the clouds were rolling in and we didn't stop. The rain began to fall and we opted take some of the afternoon to examine the touristy shops on Banff Avenue . We purchased gloves in the Abominable Gear store as the temperature dropped to 8C, but none of the other souvenir or art stores made us give up any more cash. We stopped for lunch at Evelyn's Coffee House which did a good Hot Chocolate and fresh sandwiches - although at Banff prices. It was quite funny to see all the T-shirt and shorts clad people running into the clothing stores and emerging with warm fleeces etc.!

As the rain abated a little, we returned to Tunnel Mountain road and stopped at the car park above Bow Falls to take pictures of the Banff Springs Hotel and the river rapids below. Driving further we stopped at the lookout walk for the Hoodoos on the Bow River. We strolled along the 500m walk looking down at the Hoodoos - vertical columns of sand stone left standing proud from the hillside which looked like some massive modern art representation of a group of people standing. Leaving the Hoodoos we rounded a corner and realized that a couple of female elk were grazing on the side of the road. As we waited, more elk appeared including some young males (about 1ft antlers) and two calves, to make a group of eight or nine animals in total. We watched them for some time before driving on to the Vermilion lakes. We drove along the edge road and saw many ducks and geese in the waters but the weather was closing in again so we left without taking a walk.

We decided to go Greek for dinner and opted for El Toro. The food was good and we had a pleasant meal and enjoyed the fact that we didn't have far to go home (the B and B is directly across the road).

Thursday 11th August 2005 - Yoho (staying in Banff)

Today we planned to go to Yoho so we got up and packed before breakfast at 8am, which allowed us to get on the road before 9am even though the sky was overcast and not very encouraging. We picked up lunch in Lagan's (again!) at Lake Louise village and drove on. As we made our way up to the pass over into Yoho National Park, the cloud cover broke and we emerged in brilliant sunshine at the top. We made a few stops to take pictures as the peaks emerged from the clouds and then pressed on.

We arrived at Emerald Lake before 10am and the water was nearly mirror-like with only a few ripples breaking the reflections. We gazed out over the water - given that it was cloudy and cold when we left, to arrive and find it sunny and still was a pleasant surprise. This lake is very beautiful and it is also provides a distant view of the quarries for the Burgess Shale which can be seen high up on one of the surrounding mountainsides. It shares the same astonishing colour common to the glacial lakes in the area but all the trees around it give the water a greenish reflection. We had a few minutes of comparative quiet and then two tour buses arrived and the viewing area became extremely busy.

We walked the lake loop, starting from the west path. At the start of the lake trail there is a viewpoint with information board that shows the location of the Walcott Quarry - location of the Burgess Shale discovery. We had read about hikes up there and had wimped out since they sounded very challenging and we would have had to be in Yoho very early. Looking up the mountainside a LONG way, I was quite happy that we had decided not to do it - I am sure we could have made it, but at least for me it wouldn’t have been much fun! There were bear warnings at the start of the path but as there were already a fair number of people tramping along the trail we weren't too worried just cautious (I jokingly started singing, but decided this was too cruel to the wildlife ) . For the most part the walk is easy as it is nearly flat and very even. The final part, around the back of the Emerald Lake Lodge, climbs up the moraine and is a little rougher and steeper. Although many people visited the lake, few of them walked around the trail and for most of the time we were out of sight of any other walkers. The views as we walked were fabulous - this is a very picturesque area. The western side is much drier than the east side which gets shaded from the sun by the peaks and ecosystems are quite different. There are helpful signs around the trail which give more information. At one point we were gazing out and spotted a Loon surfacing on the lake, which took stock of its surroundings and promptly dove again (jokes about the one-dollar-coin bird on the ten-dollar-bill lake were funny to us at the time….).

We arrived back at the car park and decided to take a canoe out onto the waters (1 hour 25 dollars). This is another good lake to canoe on even if inexperienced. There is little or no serious current on the lake but it is larger than Moraine lake and you need to be a strong paddler or really make a dedicated effort to get round all of it in an hour. We cut one corner off but did most of the circuit. The wind was light and it was a pleasant, relaxed trip. We spotted the loon again but did not manage to get close to it as it only appeared briefly between dives.

We ate lunch in the picnic area at Emerald Lake (great view) and then headed off to Field in search of the information centre. The information center had a display about the Burgess Shale fossils and some examples but they were a little difficult to view as the power was out after a storm the previous night - therefore since we knew we were going to the Royal Tyrell in Drumheller we did not spend a lot of time here. We made our way into the village (which has some attractive houses and well-tended front gardens and a cafe mentioned in another report that looks like fun) and stopped at the Velvet Antler pottery shop near the Post Office. We have a weakness for pottery and purchased our "big" souvenir - a beautiful pottery bowl. We had a bit of a debate about how we were going to get it home (which resulted in a useful size and price limitation when browsing!) but the lady potter helpfully provided a box which we tied up after packing it in dirty laundry (!), made handles for and carried as hand luggage - no trouble with security or with taking it on the plane, by the way. If you like pottery this shop is definitely worth a browse.

The weather was starting to cloud over as we drove up to the Takakkaw falls. The side road from the Trans Canada Highway has some vicious 180 switchbacks - even in the little Chevy Cobalt we could not complete the sharpest turn without crossing into the oncoming lane going uphill. This was definitely not a relaxing drive and it was a good thing we were not in a hurry. You can see the falls on the way up but you can't really appreciate just how high they are until you get out and walk to the base of the falls. The water plunges 254m from the top, fed by the Daly glacier and makes a deep roaring sound that can be heard throughout this part of the valley. There are various interesting trails around the falls that go up to the Iceline but most of them require a good day and fresh legs to complete during daylight.

We returned to Banff stopping at the Spiral Tunnels lookout and information point. You can see the lower spiral tracks in the trees and there are lots of boards explaining the history of the area. Not much to see here but it's an interesting place to stop for 10 minutes to learn about the local history of the railroad. We would have stayed to read everything but our visit was shortened by a few minutes by a sudden downpour so we resumed our journey. We chose again to take the Bow Valley Parkway and detoured along the Vermilion lakes where Toby took a quick panorama before being swarmed by flies.

For food we opted for simplicity and headed out for Pizza at the intriguingly named Aardvark Pizza. Alas it had a total of three chairs and we were not sure whether taking a pizza back to the bed and breakfast would be a really good idea. Therefore we went to Earl's (Banff-branch) and had a burger and a curry respectively. Earl's in Banff is much like Earl's in Jasper - it was fine and a cheaper option than some of the other places we had been.

sludick

This is great stuff! About Velvet Antler -- we also have a weakness for pottery. Every vacation, we try to find one singular piece for our collection (much of it functional, since if it were strictly decorative, we wouldn't have room to sit or sleep!). Could you share a comment as to the style of pottery at Velvet Antler? Thanks!

vanclan

Love the detail. We're planning a trip west and are hanging on and learning from every detail you provide. Any chance you remember the cost of the tram up Whistler Mountain in Jasper?

Judy_in_Calgary

>>>>>>Any chance you remember the cost of the tram up Whistler Mountain in Jasper?<<<<<<

According to the web site at

http://www.jaspertramway.com/

rates are

Adult : C$22

Child (5 - 14) : C$11

Child under 5 : free

Family (2 adults, 2 kids) : C$55

All rates include 7% GST.

nkh

Hi vanclan - as best I recall the price of the tram was just over 30 dollars per adult(under 35 anyway), children were less (20?) and children under 5(?) were free. I think I put an approximate price in the next installment, but this is a bit more exact.

Hi sludick

Pottery is dreadfully addictive isnt it? I am glad to know it isnt just us . At least we tend to buy jugs, serving bowls etc. so we do use them! According to their card and info from them, www.velvetantlerpottery.com will shortly be active displaying photos of the pottery that Ryan and Kathryn Cameron produce. I presume they will have contact info on the site but if they don't I can post it later.

They produce a variety of mugs, plates (large and small) and lots of bowls and jugs of varying sizes. The pieces are nicely shaped and pretty traditional, but the aspect of the pottery we found really remarkable was their glazes. They really enjoy playing with colour combinations and application - swirls, spatters in different colours, rims dipped in colour etc.

To give you one sample, if you go to www3.sympatico.ca/thaynes and follow the link you can see a photo of our bowl (don't you just love digital cameras and many thanks Toby for doing this as I typed!) which we have christened our "nebula bowl". Sorry about the picture organizing mess around it. It is about 14 inches across to give you an idea of scale.

In the attempt to get this all posted before the weekend here we go again....

Installment 4:

Friday August 12th 2005 - Banff

This morning I unfortunately woke with a bit of a cold and the weather was still a bit uncertain. We therefore decided against a longer trip such as a hike up to one of the tea houses in Lake Louise (no wish to get very sick half-way!) The day had started off overcast and we drove out to Lake Minnewanka and Two Jacks Lake dodging the rain showers. Fairly soon after our arrival the weather began to clear up. When stopped Two Jacks, we noticed once again the small creatures that lived near the parking lot that we had been unable to identify before (not hoary marmots, not golden-mantled ground squirrels and not chipmunks, although they looked squirrel-like). Later this day we would finally be able to identify these creatures as Columbian Ground Squirrels - a relief for the "scientific minds"

As the cloud base was lifting and more blue sky was appearing, we returned to Lake Minnewanka and took the trail up to Stewart Canyon round the side of the lake. I was feeling better but we decided to take things easy today so we didn't go all the way down the trail beyond the substantial wooden bridge over the canyon. This bridge has fairly open sides and the view of the canyon and the deep blue river below was very pleasant.

The weather was really clearing out at this point so we drove through Banff to the Gondola and queued for a few minutes before embarking on the ride up. There are many cars on the cable that take about 4 people (as opposed to the two large cars at The Whistlers, Jasper) and it operates much like a ski lift. The ride up takes a few minutes and there are great views down into Banff on the way. Emerging inside the top building we took a short look out from the picnic area outside over Banff before heading upstairs to the Summit Restaurant for soup & sandwich and chili. The restaurant food is fairly standard cafeteria - not anything special but not bad either - and is a little pricier than found "down" in Banff but not hideous. There are fabulous views from most (all?) the tables so you are guaranteed something to look at over lunch.

Replenished, we walked up the boardwalk to the Weather station atop Sulphur mountain, where measurements were taking and checked at least once a week for 33 years by a dedicated weather man. The hike from the base takes a few hours in the summer and up to nine hours in the winter, so we were glad of the gondola! The views from the weather station are fairly spectacular but you aren't alone up there as it is an easy walk and many people do it. Once again there were plenty of golden-mantled ground squirrels cadging food off the tourists, even going so far as to raid lunch boxes left on the ground by careless children (in spite of the "don't feed the wildlife" signs). We enjoyed both tram/gondola rides, perhaps the Jasper one more since not many people did the walk to the top of Whistler's Mtn. I don't think it would really be necessary to do more than one of the ascents if you were pressed for time, but we did not feel that it was a waste to do both. Tickets were about 30 dollars per person for both trams so no price difference.

After returning to the valley floor, we drove round to the Banff Springs Hotel and had a look in the front entrance and the surrounding shops. All was plush and well appointed, and the new sections of the building have been done sympathetically to the original designs. Very much like some sort of traditional castle. We did not look around too much more because the Premiers were meeting there and some areas had restricted access.

We drove down from the hotel and dropped into the car park at the base of the Bow falls to see the falls in the sunshine, then we drove across to the Cave and Basin National Historic site, where the original hot springs were discovered in 1883 by three railroad workers. We took the a short compmlimentary guided tour about the history of the hot springs and of the National Park. For those interested: the question of ownership of this site became the cause of the creation of the "Rocky Mountains National Park" later renamed to Banff National Park and this site put Banff on the map (and was the reason the Banff Springs Hotel, one of the most luxurious hotels in the world even then, was built). The hot springs were still used as baths until the early 1990's when they were closed due to falling visitor numbers and rising repair costs. Today, two of the three pools (the Cave and the Basin) are still fed by the hot springs. These are the home of an endangered species of snail which is only found in these hot springs around Banff (the receptionist and guide offer dire warnings about putting your hands in these pools, which can disrupt the entire sensitive ecosystem the snails live in). There are two other hot springs on Sulphur mountain - the Upper springs where you can still bathe in the (now chlorinated) waters at the new spa and the Middle springs which are used for research (gathering ecological data) only.

To round off the day, we stopped at the Banff Park Museum, the old museum for Banff. It dates back almost a century and is really a museum of a museum. It is filled with rock samples, birds, eggs and dominated by many stuffed animals. While it is slightly macabre, it is a useful place for identifying wildlife - it was here that we finally discovered that the unidentified small rodents we kept seeing were Columbian Ground squirrels. We also were able to see the difference between the Grey Jays and the Clark's Nutcatchers - the Jays have a short stubby beak compared with the Nutcatchers longer thinner beak. We have no idea if during our week we had seen Jays only or a mixture of Jays and Nutcatchers.

This evening we opted to go to a Swiss-Italian restaurant called Ticino where we both indulged in the raclette cheese appetizer (good but I found it a lot of cheese for an appetizer - I would have been happy sharing one). Our main courses were also good, although we decided not to have fondue which the restaurant is well known for (based on what was happening at other tables, the fondue looked like it was well done). Portions were large and the food was tasty - they do what they do extremely well.

nkh

Well done Judy for answering the tram rate - it looks like I remembered wrong and the Whistler's is cheaper than the Banff Gondola which was in the 30 dollar range for adults. I did try to get onto the website earlier, but for some reason couldn't access it!

nkh

Installment 5 (the final one, hooray!):

Saturday August 13th 2005 - Banff to Drumheller

Up bright and early we had another excellent breakfast, said our goodbyes to the Banff Ave. B&B (definitely a place to go back to), added some more gas to the car and were off to Drumheller. Driving out of Banff and gradually out of the mountains was a bit sad, but they will still be there for us another time. It was interesting noticing the changing scenery as we went towards the plains - suddenly lots of wheat, very flat or small rolling hills and after Calgary (due to my having misplaced Judy's helpful "how to avoid Calgary" instructions) and a small detour due to one road on the map still being under construction (oops!) we started to see small "badland" canyons. The drive to Drumheller was about 3.5 hours total and we arrived at about 1pm.

In Drumheller there is a subtle theme …. Once you see the dinosaurs on the street corners and lamp posts, the huge dinosaur outside the tourist information centre (excellently tacky, I loved this ) and numerous fossil shops, you start to get the idea! We stopped at the Information centre and climbed up inside the giant Tyrannosaurus Rex model - pretty good view, and a mandatory thing to do, really, if you think about it . We then decided to go to the Royal Tyrell Museum immediately and see what programs were available.

Arriving at the Royal Tyrell we found that a 1.5hr exploratory walk was available so we booked ourselves onto the last one of the day (4pm) and headed into the museum. The museum is AMAZING - the number of things on display is unbelievable, but also the museum is so well organized you get a real feel for how everything fits together and the timelines of development. The building itself is also well designed. Before the walk we really enjoyed the section on the history of the museum and paleontology in the area, the "ultimate therapod" section, the Burgess Shale exhibit with all the creatures recreated much larger than original size and the amazing Devonian Reef panorama. We then had to report to the front of the museum with walking shoes, hat and insect repellent to meet our group (about 20 people).

Our guide Emily (master's student in paleontology/geology) gave an introduction then loaded us all onto a school bus and off we went to Midlands Provincial park. After walking in past the former site of a coal mine to one of the bone beds, with stops for talks about the geographical features of the badlands and why they are prime dinosaur territory, and an explanation of what fossilized bone and petrified wood look like compared to stone, we were let loose to see if we could actually find bone fragments. It was a bit of a daunting task since fossilized bone looks a lot like stone except for striation lines, and some shape information - but we both proved ourselves observant and each found a piece of genuine fossilized bone (hooray!). I also found an interesting piece of petrified wood. After photographing we put everything back where we had found it - apparently there is an up to 50,000 dollar fine for taking fossils out of their sites of origin without a permit! The walk also allowed us to get an excellent view of the unique landscape with its strong sedimentary layers, high rates of erosion and sunken valleys. This was a very interesting day and different from the mountains.

After our guided walk we decided to go and check into the B&B - which was easy to find. Taste the Past B&B turned out to be excellent. Decorated in traditional manner with lovely welcoming hosts Denis and Denise Simon. We met them, deposited our things then considered looking for dinner. After all the restaurants we decided on just pizza, partially because we did not know which of the local places might be good and partially because we were a bit "restauranted out". There is a Boston Pizza in town but the crowd waiting made us decide to eat later and return to the museum to finish first. So we went around the Conservatory (really cool! You could get a good idea of what the rainforest-like conditions must have been like), the Dinosaur Hall and, wearying, fairly quickly through the mammals and ice-age exhibits. Our overall conclusion was that this is a great museum - probably the best of its kind in the world or very close to it, however there is so much that it is really too much to see in one day! We were pretty tired at the end and I know we did not really take in half of what there is to see.

We headed back to Boston Pizza and had a fairly short wait and decent pizza, then back to the B&B. Toby had happily noticed a bar-billiards game in the guest lounge (is there anyone else out there who actually knows what bar-billiards is?) so he taught me to play and was beating me badly by the time it got too late to continue. Our hosts invited us for a cup of tea with them and we accepted and had a nice chat, including hearing about some of the people who had stayed (e.g Donald Johanson (I think) who was the discoverer of Lucy, one of the most famous homid fossil skeletons).

Sunday August 14th 2005 - Drumheller to Calgary then home

After an excellent breakfast (including some sort of souffle or specialty omelette and mini-croissants with banana and a sweet vanilla sauce) we were on our way back to the airport. After a 90 minute drive we arrived just as the car low-fuel light went on (good planning since we were supposed to bring it back empty!). The return flight was without incident, and our return journey was smooth.

General Comments

Overall we had a wonderful time. On a future trip we probably would spend more time in Jasper, try to get up really early (5am?) at least one day to see the early morning views and consider actually going on a dig at the Royal Tyrell (takes all day) as well as visiting some of the other sites in the Drumheller area for a few days. There were so many things we did not have time to do - the sign of a good vacation destination. And of course the mountains are spectacular!

Many thanks to all those who provided us with very useful information - it really helped to make this a great experience.

Below are more specific comments that occurred to us through the week.

Planning:
We developed a new theory - "the mountains eat time"! We were determined not to rush from place to place and we ended up not doing some of the longer activities we had thought we might want to do (such as the walk to the Lake Agnes tea house) due to time or health limitations/weather etc. One of the things we had not fully taken on board was the length of time it takes to get between places or to places - for example, it took almost an hour get to the Mt. Edith Cavell car park from Jasper. We did manage to see and do a lot, however - no complaints from us!

Walking and Hiking - preparation etc:
I was impressed by how well maintained the trails are and by the helpful signs etc. Also, there are bathrooms at most major sites (e.g. Edith Cavell, Maligne Lake etc.) which is good because the only alternative is the bushes…… they even have hand-sanitizer in them which is great. Take lots of water with you, and also be prepared for temperature and weather variation (heat, cold, rain, wind).

Accommodations and Locations:
The three bed-and-breakfasts we stayed in were all excellent and well located. We picked all three of the places we stayed by looking for those registered with B&B associations, had websites or e-mail contact, preferably had photos displayed and responded promptly and pleasantly to inquiries. All three lived up to our expectations and we would stay at any of them again with no hesitation. At the time of year we went, I would definitely reserve in advance again, since although lists were available at tourist information it seemed quite difficult to show up in the morning and find a place to stay (something we would not want to worry about). The plan of staying in Banff as a base was good for this trip instead of moving around to Lake Louise etc. but on a return trip there would be less actually in Banff that we would do and we might choose a base in Lake Louise, for example, instead. For a return trip we also think we would spend more time in Jasper and less in Banff (not that we did not thoroughly enjoy Banff) since it was indeed a bit more laid back and there is lots to do. Note that Raven Bed and Breakfast is only open in the summer months as Mair Jones is also a teacher at the High School. The other two B and B's stay open year round (although coincidentally Connie Beatson at The Banff Ave. Bed and Breakfast is an Elementary School teacher).

Restaurants:
It is hard to find a bad restaurant in Banff or Jasper because apparently they don't survive long. Prices in Banff are a bit higher than in Jasper (neither is very cheap, and this is from people who live near Toronto). However it would definitely be possible to eat more cheaply than we did, even if you went to restaurants all the time, by more careful selection, no alcohol etc. Reservations are a good idea at restaurants that will take them if your schedule is organized enough. Going to eat later (8:30pm on) also helps if no reservation. Dress in all restaurants we went to was casual (jeans etc. fine). Our B&B had a useful little booklet listing a number of Banff restaurants together with menus and prices which may be available at the tourist information.

Guide Books:
We had two guide books - the Moon Handbooks Alberta guide by Andrew Hempstead and the Canadian Rockies Access Guide by John Dodd and Gail Helgason. Both guides are good in their own way but we were glad we had both because they emphasize different things. The Moon Handbooks guide is better for general information, maps on how to get between places and information on shopping, restaurants etc. It also included information on Drumheller which the Access guide does not (it not being in the Rockies!). The Access Guide provides excellent detail on particular walks including footwear recommendations, ratings of difficulty, time required and a summary of what you see on the walk. The only caution I would give is that their footwear recommendations could be considered somewhat optimistic (For example, the Peyto lake trail is rated as "easy" and "anything" for footwear - although I assume people would not wear 3-inch stilettos (!), people in flipflops were having difficulties). Other information was right on. While this book also has information on food, museums etc. it can be harder to find due to the organization of the book. However it has excellent pictures and some useful illustrations (e.g. drawings of wildlife) and related facts. I would definitely recommend both books, ideally used in combination.

Photos:
Take lots of film or lots of memory! We had our film SLR and our point-and-shoot digital and we took about 1000 digital pictures (although perhaps if we had not had the digital camera we would not have taken so many) and shot 5 rolls of film. Most of the photos are outdoor/landscape (surprise!) so ISO 100-200 was fine but we didnt do any dawn photography. In most cases the point-and-shoot was fine for photos we wanted to take but it depends on how much of a serious photographer you are. We also took our laptop computer and downloaded the digital every night - this worked pretty well. Although we didnt try to get to anywhere for times for best artistic photography, our early impressions are that we have some pretty good photos (at least for souvenirs). We will put up a photo album on the web at some point when we get things organized.

Clothing:
This may seem obvious to most, but not all judging from those buying warm clothing in Banff the day the temperature dropped. Take layers, including something warm and something waterproof. Weather changes suddenly and even if it is warm at the bottom of the mountains, if you do something like go out on the glacier or up one of the gondolas, it is colder and windier at the top, even on a sunny day. Good shoes are a must - if not walking boots then at least something a bit more heavy-duty than running shoes or even walking sandals for some of the walks. We saw a few "ambitious" people in flipflops (!) One did make it to Peyto lake lookout but downhill was a problem for her - not much fun even to watch. The one trying to climb to the summit at the Whistler's in Jasper made it about 20 yards before giving up. We had our hiking boots, which we used and were glad of, but in a pinch could probably have done without. We also had "approach" shoes, which are a bit more heavy duty than running shoes but the same idea. These were fine or would have been fine for most of the walks we did.

alicemagooey

thank you so much for this detailed report..
perhaps you should also make it iinto some kind of blog or web page..for people who might like to travel..on the other hand,it is nice just here at Fodors..right in the Jasper/Banff/Rockies section.!

Thanks so much..i, for another, hung on every detail and took notes..

best wishes,
alice

sludick

Wow. I felt like I was part of your trip. nkh, your journal is a complete guide book in itself. Count me as another who hung on your every word. And thank you for the pottery info and link; talked to hubby already and we're planning a visit.

I'm really sorry your journal is ended. "What do you do for a living?" I asked myself. Your attention to detail and ability to put it together like this are most enjoyable. I'm printing this out for our vacation next month.

Thank you for a most enjoyable read.

LindainOhio

Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. We visited last Sept. and fell in love with the area. We had skiied Lake Louise and Sunshine many years before and had wanted to return to hike. It is a hiker's paradise---we had hoped to return this year.

There are so many places we hope to visit in the world that we try to choose a new place each trip. We put the Canadian Rockies on our list with the Hawaiian Islands and St. John though---places too wonderful to just visit once.

nkh

I am glad that people on the site are enjoyinging the report and find it useful - it is partly in thanks to Judy, borealis and others who answered my questions and those of others to help plan the trip. Also, both Toby and I enjoyed writing it, and we will have it for years to come to remind us of our great vacation!

alicemagooey - we may put it on a blog, or a photo blog. Tentative plans are to put up a photo album and it might be nice to put all this text with it. I will keep the board posted on when/if this happens.

sludick - glad to be of help with the pottery, and I hope you have a great trip in September. What do I do for a living? Next week I start my new career as a high school math and science teacher. In the past I have been a research biochemist and a University lecturer. My husband, who wrote a lot of the draft for this report, is a software developer with a background in observational astronomy. Both of us agree that writing this report was a LOT more fun than writing our respective PhD theses.... and believe it or not also shorter

LindaInOhio - I agree about the Rockies being to beautiful to visit only once. We are also torn between all the places we want to visit and the ones we would like to go back to. The Rockies definitely go onto our visit again list along with Tanzania and northern Italy.....but so many places to go, so little time!

Borealis

Ooooh nkh - if your hubby is still interested in observational astronomy, next time you come to the mountains, check out a place called Aurum Lodge. It's just off the David Thompson highway (#11) and 45 km east of Saskatchewan Crossing (Banff National Park) by Abraham Lake. At this location, and at Two-O'Clock Creek (campground) which is a few kilometers south, both near Kootenay Plains, the skies at night are incredibly dark - the darkest that I have ever seen. There is absolutely no light pollution in the area - you can't see your feet at midnight - but the sky glows with brilliantly blazing stars and the Milky Way. Since this is in the eastern ranges of the Rockies, and the valley is quite wide, the horizons are much better than you would expect in the mountains.

Great trip report!! (and I thought that I was the only one who ever went to great lengths to discover the exact identity of the native flora and fauna while travelling !)