Day 9 - Banff Lakes & Calgary

After another rough night's sleep I decided to get out of bed & go & take some photos of Lake Louise at sunrise. The hotel was a couple of minutes walk away so armed with the camera & the tripod, set off for the lake shore.I only have a few minutes to get organised before the sun started to make its presence known. The pinks & oranges early in the morning help photographers the world over & Lake Louise is no exception. Within 20 minutes the show was over (below). It's still pretty spectacular without the pink light.

At 1661m above sea level, Lake Louise isn't too far below the tree line. You can see the line of yellow trees on the slopes of Fairview Mountain (above & below) to the South Of Lake Louise. They're larch trees. They're a conifer & have needle leaves similar to pine & spruce trees. The interesting thing about them is that they're deciduous. In other words the needles go yellow in autumn & fall off. They are a magnet to landscape photographers in September & October because the yellow is so vibrant, almost florescent.

We headed back to the hotel for breakfast & checkout (& we were very glad to get out of there). Great position..... That's about it.
After breakfast we headed out to Moraine Lake (15kms away) only to find out that it's in shadow early in the day in the colder months. We turned around & decided to head north along the Icefields Parkway in the hope that the weather would play nice. No such luck. It was still cloudy & windy just like the couple of days previous. We walked up to the Peyto Lake lookout (below) & arrived just as two busloads of tourists swamped us. We took a couple of quick photos & scarpered.

We headed back to Moraine Lake. By the time we arrived the cars were parked up along the entrance road for half a mile (it figures as it was a Saturday after all). We were lucky enough to snag a car park in close & took the short walk to the top of the rock pile as we'd done a number of times before.

No matter how many times I visit Moraine Lake & the Valley of Ten Peaks, the impact value is still there. It's easily my favourite scenic spot in Canada.

We said goodbye to the beautiful lake & made tracks for Calgary. We took the scenic drive along the Bow Valley Parkway between Lake Louise & Banff. We made a short stop at Morant's Curve (below). It's a popular place to take photos of passing trains with nice scenery in the background.

Magpies are common in Canada, but in the year & a half we lived there I never managed to take a photo of one. On one of our scenic stops, I managed to catch one with the camera. They're different to their Australian namesakes, but they're just as resourceful.

One last stop for a photo of Castle Mountin (with blue sky behind it at last!) before the hour or so drive back to Cowtown (Calgary).After a couple of hours of down time at Shane & Laura's place we headed to Limericks to meet up with some of our Canadian friends. There were some missing faces that night, but it was a pretty good turn out considering. There was a lot of catching up done over quite a few drinks. We miss our Canadian friends.

The side story from the night is what was on the TV (as seen behind the gang).... Ultimate Fighting. I'd seen it before but never really giving it much interest. The Canadians love it! I guess it fills the violence void in the off season for hockey (Canadian football doesn't really cut it). We were watching it on & off during the night. It's a bit like watching a car crash. Horrible to watch but you can't turn away. Those who have seen decent bouts will know what I mean.

Day 8 (Afternoon) - Banff

Our drive from Yoho National Park took a detour from Hwy 1 along the Bow Valley Parkway in order to avoid the road works & hopefully spot some animals. We were in luck (I guess). We saw a couple of mule deer buck (above).

We visited a few scenic spots around Banff including Bow Falls (above) & the Fairmount hot springs (below).

Haven't done a couple of the sights it was time to do the oblagitory shopping for souvenirs in Banff's main street. My favourite! The things we do.....

Eventually we were over shopping & decided that with the cloud clearing a bit, we should go see a few more sights. We headed up to the Norquay lookout. From there you can see the entire Banff town ship & the surrounding mountains such as Rundle & Sulphur.

Sorry. The photo looks better without a box head blocking the view....If you look on the small hill beyond the main town in the photo above, you'll see the Fairmount Hot Springs (also below). It's another of the Fairmount's many hotels & other assets around the world. From the lookout we drove around beside Vermillion Lakes. It's a shame the weather wasn't a bit clearer because the autumn colours were everywhere. Unfortunately the photos just ended up a bit drab but OK.

We had dinner in Banff & made sure we were back to Lake Louise before dark to avoid a repeat of the driving terror of the previous night.

The less said about the second night in the horrid hotel the better.

Day 7 - Icefields Parkway to Lake Louise

The next morning the cloud was back. After breakfast we headed for Angel Glacier (below). We have some great photos of this glacier from previous visits. Nothing spectacular but not too bad.

This was the first time we'd seen the berg lake at the foot of the glacier frozen over (below). The floating bergs were still there but were locked in by the ice sheet.

We said our good-byes to Shawn who was headed back to Grande Prairie & went our separate ways. We took a couple of photos at a random lake along Hwy 93A (above) before stopping at Athabasca Falls (below).

The weather didn't get much better for the rest of the drive to Lake Louise. In fact it seemed to get colder. The cloud cleared breifly at Tangle Falls (below) so we stopped to eat our lunch & take a few photos of the falls. The wind was howling & there was no standing around out in the open despite the sun.

A couple of mountain sheep on the road were about the only other interesting thing for the drive.

We arrived at our hotel in Lake Louise (the Deer Lodge) only to find out that we couldn't check into our room because it wasn't ready yet. It was a sign of things to come. The room was tiny, the bed was collapsing on one side & the heating in the room was about 5 degrees too hot.

In disgust, we set off to Banff for dinner. The drive back was made difficult by no line markings on the road works & no moon thanks to the cloud cover. The oncoming traffic made it difficult to look for animals on the road.

Day 5 - Icefields Parkway to Jasper

Tuesday morning we awoke after a much needed good night sleep. It had rained & maybe snowed overnight (the car had a dusting of snow or frost). We loaded up the car (well truck, but more on that later) & set off for the mountains.
Inside the Calgary city limits the roads were wet, but once we reached COP (Calgary Olympic Park) in the outskirts the higher areas were dusted with snow. Along the Trans-Canada the fog/cloud was thick & the fields were caked in fresh snow. We wondered whether we'd left the Canadian leg of the trip a bit late in the year.Oddly, as we drew closer to the mountains, the fog started to clear. Maybe there was hope. We made a pit stop at our favourite Muffin (and coffee) shop in Canmore (below). The muffins are the best if they have the right ones on the day. No luck that day (just the heavy chaffy bran muffins).

By the time we reached the Banff National park gate, it was apparent there'd been a solid dump of snow overnight.

Through the breaks in the cloud we could see the high peaks were caked in snow. They are so much more interesting that way. In summer they are dull grey & dusty. It would appear that the construction crew on the Trans-Canada had made some progress since our last visit two years ago. The animal crossings (below) had increased from two to about 5 & the fencing alongside the highway was nearly the entire distance from Banff to Lake Louise. It's all about protecting the park animals from the crazy drivers. The initial 70 kms of the Icefields Parkway were shrouded in cloud & the roads lined with snow. We didn't even stop at a couple of our favourite lakes (Bow & Peyto) because of the conditions.
All the way along, the trees had a beautiful frosting of snow.

The cloud cleared somewhat at Waterfowl Lake (below). The summit of Mt Cephren was obscured by cloud when we pulled up.
By the time we'd taken a few snaps, the cloud had lifted. The sun lit up the yellow leaves in the trees & the turquoise in the lake. Things were starting to look more promising.

Late September the berries are all ripe to entice the bears & other animals. Wild raspberries (below) are just as enticing to people (including me). They may not be as big as the farmed ones but are packed with flavour!Sunwapta pass (near the Athabasca Glacier) was enveloped in cloud but as we continued north, the cloud broke up again. The white peaks & blue skies made for some nice photos.

We arrived in Jasper late afternoon where we met Shawn (our friend from Grande Prairie). A few ales & dinner later it was time to turn in for the night. The stars were out, the sky clear & the temperature had already plummeted down around the zero mark. It was a sign of what was to come the next day.

The Icefields Parkway

We stayed at Lake Louise again last night at Lake Louise. This morning we packed the car, took a last look at Lake Louise and took the turnoff for Hwy 93, the Icefields Parkway. We started early again to stay ahead of the tour buses, but maybe didn't need to because the weather wasn't exactly ideal. Fortunately it did improve as the day wore on.

Crowfoot Glacier

The customary first lookout point was Crowfoot Glacier. The weather was wintery like the previous day and unfortunately didn't make for nice photos. It was interesting to see these sights with snow clouds shrouding the peaks. (photo by Julie)

Bow Lake

Right next to Crowfoot Glacier is Bow Lake. This is one of my favourite lakes in the mountains, but the weather wasn't playing by the rules this morning. The lake still had the beautiful green colour to it despite the cloudy conditions. (Photo by Julie)

Peyto Lake

We snuck up to the 'tour buses only' car park at the Peyto Lake outlook. It was still quite early and the buses wouldn't be there for at least an hour or so. I stayed in the car just in case. Wasn't a bad option in the end. The lookout is quite high up as far as the Icefields Parkway goes and it was cold with some light snow was falling. The girls were none to impressed with the cold by the time they got back, but managed to get the first few decent photos of the day. Out in the distance toward Jasper, the cloud did seem to be breaking up.

Waterfowl Lake

Waterfowl Lake didn't disappoint on this occasion. Quite often we've come to this lake and been a bit underwhelmed because when the wind picks up it's just not that exciting. This time it was dead calm and the reflection combined with a bit of snow on the peak of Mt Cephren made for a great view.

Bridal Veil Falls

Bridal Veil Falls isn't one of the most spectacular waterfalls going around and it is quite difficult to get a nice photo of it. We stopped and had a look anyway with a different agenda. We had done some research and learned that just next to Bridal Veil Falls was another hardly visited and much more spectacular water fall. We descended from the Icefields Parkway and found a nicer view of Bridal Veil Falls from along the path to the other falls.

Panther Falls

After taking a wrong turn somewhere along the poorly marked track, we found the right track and were still wondering whether there was a waterfall at all. Then, all of a sudden, we turned the corner and there it was! Panther Falls turned out to be one of my favourite (if not the favourite) waterfalls in Canada. The early morning clouds had lifted and allowed us to see the beautiful sight in all its glory. We even saw the rainbow that I'd overheard a photographer talking about a month ago. Nobody I've spoken to amongst my friends in Canada even knew this existed. We had to go, but I could have sat and watched the waterfall for ages.

Parker Ridge

Parker Ridge is really popular with alpine skiers and hikers, depending on the season. Most of the tourist set drive straight past it. I quite like it because you're up above the tree line and the panoramic view is quite humbling.

Athabasca Glacier

If you were to walk over Parker ridge you would end up right at the foot of the Athabasca Glacier and probably the most horrible tourist trap along the Icefields Parkway. The Columbia Icefields Centre is incredibly overrun but tourists and the bus (above) tours onto the glacier are a complete rip off. It's easier to take a couple of photos and keep going. It's a shame because the view from the viewing deck is quite to scene with the right conditions. Unfortunately, not today.

Tangle Falls

Tangle Falls is always worth a stop. In bright conditions it can be quite photogenic if you can get the marauding tourists out of shot. Today wasn't quite there.

Chain Range

 The weather was really odd today. One minute we were submerged in thick snow laden clouds and then the next we were in beautiful blue skies. That's just how the mountains are I guess.
Although we'd been through this valley a number of times before, we'd rarely stopped to take photos. The range to the right of shot is called the Chain Range and seems to go on for ever when your driving beside it. It's a classic example of the pushed up sandstone layers that are typical of the Rocky Mountain formations.

Sunwapta Falls

No trip along the Icefields Parkway is complete without a visit to the two waterfalls up at the northern end, Sunwapta and Athabasca Falls. They are about 20kms apart but are strangely similar. I never get tired of seeing waterfalls.

Athabasca Falls

Horseshoe Lake

Here's another little hidden gem, Horseshoe Lake. It is one of those signs that we keep seeing and saying "Let's just get to Jasper and we'll stop next time." We finally stopped and it was so worth it. It's a beautiful lake and the colour of the water is as dark green/blue as I've seen anywhere. Unfortunately the setting is nothing flash. No snow capped mountain peaks or anything remotely interesting in the background. The places where you can view this lake are right up on small cliffs at the edge of the lake so you just can't get a decent photo to show how gorgeous this little lake really is. I did try.

Maligne Canyon

We arrived in Jasper fairly early in the afternoon so we had a bite to eat and set off along Maligne Canyon Road. The initial stop was an old crowd pleaser, Maligne Canyon. I always marvel at the depth of the chasms in this canyon, along with the multiple waterfalls along the way.

Medicine Lake

We went out as far as Medicine Lake hoping to see a bear or two. It's proven to be a happy hunting ground for us, but sadly, not today. Medicine Lake always makes it worth the drive.

I've caught glimpses of these little creatures at various times while on various hikes. They're called Pikas and are about the same size as a large mouse. They're fairly closely related to the ground squirrels and, oddly, have no tails. It makes them look like a cross between a guinea pig and a mouse. They like to live amongst rocks and have a ferocious appetite for all things leafy. There was a family of these skittish little things right at the Medicine Lake viewpoint. Tick... another animal to add to my photo collection.
More from Jasper tomorrow.