Day 2 of our whirlwind mountain visit took us across the border into beautiful British Columbia. The weather wasn't exactly brilliant, but with such a short time, we had no choice but to continue. It was beautiful and fine through all of August last summer but not today.
Kicking Horse Alpine Resort
We drove into Golden and out to the Kicking Horse Alpine Resort (ski village) to check out the Grizzly Bear Refuge. Grizzlies had proven so hard to find in the wild during our 18 month stay in Canada so we figured we'd try a sure thing. Of course there was the obligatory tourist shot at the resort.
The bear habitat was part the way up the mountain and the best way to get there was on the chair lift. There was a dismount off the chair about 2/3 of the way up and without snow, skis or snowboards, it was more than a bit tricky. Of course the further up we got the colder it got. We were glad we bought our cold weather gear with us that's for sure. The girls made sure they had hot drinks with them for extra warmth. Of course having a hot drink in your hand while trying to get off a ski lift that was going straight on while on foot just added to the degree of difficulty.
Meet Boo. He's the resident male grizzly at the Kicking Horse bear refuge. The refuge is the biggest bear habitat going around and he has no contact with people at all (other than those of us gawking at him from over the fence). I was really concerned that he'd be hiding under a bush and we wouldn't get to see him. Fortunately he was out and about and very close to our vantage point.
I'm kicking myself for not being quick enough with the camera to take a photo, but they feed Boo by dropping food from the ski gondola that runs right above the middle of his enclosure. There's a little pond under the gondola and a couple of apples ended up in it. Boo knew what was going on and went right after them. I never thought I'd see a full grown grizzly bear bobbing for apples. He seemed to enjoy the challenge.
The keepers throw all manner of food into Boo's enclosure and make sure they scatter it to make him work for it. The problem for Boo is that birds don't have to worry about the multi-strand electric fence, so they think the food's being provided for their benefit. Boo took great offense to this murder of crows and chased them off. It suddenly became apparent that grizzly bears aren't as slow as they look. We gained a new respect for them and will be making sure that we keep our distance when we see them in the wild.
It wasn't just the ravens stealing boo's food. There were lots of smaller birds picking off the peanuts and other little snacks. This one is a Steller's Jay. They have incredible vibrant blue feathers. They're cheeky little sots and very difficult to photograph because they simply won't sit still.
This is the view from Boo's enclosure. It looks back toward Golden and the Kicking Horse Valley. As you can see, the weather had turned down right dodgy. Early August is not meant to bring snow clouds. I guess that's Canada for you.
After the bear habitat, we scrambled onto the chair lift again and headed down to the resort, only to board the gondola to the top of the ski area. As we stepped out of the gondola we were greeted by light snow! (The locals call light snow 'Flurries".) There's a restaurant at the top and more importantly a toilet.
After the toilet stop we had a bit of a look around, but there's not much of interest. It really is just a step off point for some great ski runs. The most interesting thing was the crazy downhill mountain bikers. They used the gondolas for the up hill and then go nuts on the way down following the ski runs.
I'm kicking myself that I couldn't get organized enough to snowboard this resort last season because there is some awesome terrain on that mountain.
Wolf Discovery Centre
After visiting Boo, we headed back to Golden an then on to the Wolf Discovery Centre. Kerri and I had been there before, but it was more about showing our visitor the Rocky Mountains. We were more fortunate than last time because then we only saw two of the wolves. This time we were lucky enough to see four of the six. We even saw Tuck and Aspen go for a walk (above), Tuck is the grey male. Well sort of..... they were on a lead for a short time before being bundled into a 4x4 and taken elsewhere for a walk.
Meet Aspen. She's actually what they call a wolf dog; half dog, half wolf. She was introduced to the centre early on to help settle the full blood wolves. She is much more placid being half domestic dog. She's a bit more like a husky or malamute than a wolf.
This is Maya. She's Tuk's sister and was in the front enclosure with Wylie who's we saw last time. Maya and Aspen are permanently separated because the two are competing for the alpha female role in the pack and the risk of serious injury are too much in the confined spaces. This photo was taken while the pack were howling (obviously).
Some of you will remember Wylie from previous blog entries. He's a magnificent animal and very photogenic.
Here's Wylie hard at work. It's a tough job...
The Wolf Discovery Centre has three Karelian Bear Dogs. These are a domestic dog breed from Russia that were once used to hunt bears. In these days of wildlife conservation, they now use them on the fringes of cities and towns to intimidate bears back into the wild. It means that the bears go back to living their lives normally instead of trying to pick up easy snacks in towns because of human stupidity. It's a great concept and beats the hell out of shooting 100s of 'Problem Bears' each year.
Golden
I may have mentioned once or twice about the North American obsession with RV's. It probably started from people being afraid to camp in tents because of the bears and cougars. They instead opted for a campavan. Unfortunately the obsession with having something bigger and better than the Jones's has resulted in this. It's ridiculous! I dread to think what they have in the trailer. The money these clowns pour into these things would buy some serious airline tickets, hire cars and really flash accommodation for quite some time. It kind if defeats the purpose a bit. This wasn't even the craziest one we saw!
Yoho National Park
Natural Bridge
The afternoon was directed more at scenery than animals. We headed back toward Field and Lake Louise. Our first point on interest was Natural Bridge. Having been there a few times trying to get a decent photo (with no luck due to weather issues) we managed to hit it at the right time. The dodgy weather of the morning gave way to some sunshine for a short while.
Emerald Lake
By the time we arrived at Emerald Lake, the weather had closed in. (This photo was taken by Julie).
Takakkaw Falls
Of course, no trip into Yoho National Park is complete without a trip to Takakkaw Falls. It still impresses me even though I've seen it a few times now.
The Spiral Tunnels
Being an engineer, we thought Julie would be interested in the Spiral Tunnel. We were lucky to get there right when a train was descending the pass.
We had a pretty good day despite the weather doing its best to make a mess of it. We're looking forward to heading north to Jasper tomorrow.
