Our home sweet home, Canmore, AB

We arrived at Spring Creek RV in Canmore, AB at 3:10pm on Friday. It was hot! They had us in a site that was too short and next to a lot of people who lived in the park so we asked if maybe we could move to a pull through site. They were able to move us and we ended up at the end of a row of trailers that apparently are camping together for the long weekend (Monday, July 1 is Canada Day). There is a creek that runs around the RV park called Policeman's Creek and it is very swift, shallow and clear. We can see a little of it from the back window in our trailer but there are a lot of trees that line the banks. But the view of the mountains all around us is gorgeous!

On Saturday we decided to walk into Canmore, the downtown area, from the campground. It was about a 15-minute walk through Spring Creek Village which are brand new condos, shops, future senior adult living and hotel/conference center. They are very beautifully built with stone and cedar and river rock. The town of Canmore is beautiful with shops and restaurants lining both sides of the street. We decided to eat lunch at the Grizzly Paw Brewery and it was excellent. We sat out on the patio which got very warm. We had steak bites wrapped in bacon with a chipotle aioli and then Scott had an elk burger for lunch and I had fish and chips. Delicious!

After walking back to the campground and a little nap, we drove into downtown Banff, which was only about a 20-minute drive. We saw where the flooding took out part of the highway bridge and crossed slowly on the temporary road. There are still roads in Canmore that are closed and there is a mandatory boiling order for the town of Canmore.

It was hard to find parking in Banff because the spaces in the parking lots were very small and the town was very busy. We found a spot in a neighborhood and walked a couple blocks to the downtown area. Banff is bigger than Canmore and seems more tourist-y. There were lots of lodges and hotels and restaurants and cheesy gift shops. We had fun walking around though and decided to eat dinner at Magpie & Stumps, a mexican cantina. And because it was so warm, we chose to sit outside. The service was very slow, however, and by the time we got our chips & salsa, the weather had changed and the winds picked up, blowing cotton from the trees making it look like snow. Then came the rain, thunder and lightning. I have never heard thunder like I have here in Canada. I now know the true meaning of "rolling thunder"! And for those who know me well, I don't do well with thunder and lightning. So, we ran back to the truck and headed back to the campground.

I haven't taken many pictures since we've been here, but I will! The internet in the campground is very intermittent and so we are sitting in a Starbucks right now using their free wi-fi. Tomorrow we have reservations for the Banff Gondola and the "Oh Canada, Eh!" dinner show in Canmore. So pictures will definitely be coming!

Thinking of you all as we watch the weather report and see how warm it has been and will be in the coming week. We will be enjoying the same here :).

Lake Louise Ski Lift

We headed out of Jasper around 8:45am on Friday, June 28 on our way south to Canmore. We stopped at the Lake Louise Ski Lodge and had lunch and rode the ski lift up to an interpretive center which took about 14 minutes. The view was incredible and we even saw a grizzly bear.

The entrance to the lodge.

The back of the lodge. We ate lunch on the deck (left side of this picture).

The ski lift to the left of the snow pile is the one we rode.

On our way up! We chose to ride the open chair vs. the enclosed gondola.

Grizzly Bear!

The view of Lake Louise (town and lake) from the top of the ski lift.

Lake Louise and the Fairmont Hotel.

The view of the back side of the lodge on our way down.

Wow, look at that nice Bighorn in the parking lot below!

I survived! Did I mention that I am not fond of heights?!

Our Last Day in Jasper

Our last day in Jasper was spent sleeping in, spending an hour at the internet cafe, grocery shopping and filling the truck up with gas. Not too exciting but relaxing nonetheless. We took one last drive up the Maligne Valley starting at 7:00pm hoping to see the momma black bear and her cubs again and maybe some new animals.

And there they were again!

Some loud motorcycles drove by as we were watching the bears and it scared the little ones up into the tree.

We found another black bear all by itself eating its way along the road.

And then it stopped to scratch itself with a small pine tree branch.

No other animals were seen but it was a nice drive! We also drove up the road towards Hinton for about 10 miles hoping to see some bighorn sheep but no such luck.

More pictures!

Maligne Lake at 9:00pm - it doesn't get dark until almost 11:00pm!

Maligne Lake at 9:00pm

We took at drive up the Maligne Valley between 8:00-10:00pm and found this momma with her 2 cubs climbing the hill.

Even though this picture is blurry because I had the camera on the wrong setting, you can see the little cub climbing the tree. The 2 cubs were very playful as they climbed the hill with their momma.

Another animal on Scott's bucket list to see was the Bull Elk, and here he is.

Medicine Lake at 9:00pm. This lake has underground caverns and such that the water will just drain down. 

On Wednesday, we drove up to Mount Edith Cavell and took a little hike. Most of the trail and parking lot had been washed away though last August with an avalanche. They have since repaired the parking lot.

Scott on the trail with Angel Glacier in the background.

Angel Glacier with a waterfall coming down from the ice melting and forming a lake at the bottom.

The lake at the bottom of Angel Glacier with a chunk of ice in the middle.

Pictures from the road back to Jasper

Tangle Creek Falls

Tangle Creek Falls with a wild animal in the picture.

Supwanta Falls

Athabasca Falls

Athabasca Falls

Someone getting wet at Athabasca Falls

Columbia Icefield - Athabasca Glacier

We rode a bus to get to this Explorer and then down a really steep hill and onto the glacier.

This is just a small portion of the Columbia Icefield and it's called the Athabasca Glacier. Even though this looks short, it is actually 2k to the top.

This was at the top of a mountain but I zoomed in to show the glacier cracks up close.

We actually drank this water and it tasted so pure! People were even filling water bottles with it.

Jasper Tramway

I may or may not have been a tad bit scared riding the gondola all the way up.

Scott looking over the edge! Actually, it wasn't that bad; there were boulders below that would have broken his fall :).

Even though there was snow at the top, it wasn't that cold at all.

A nice couple who had just hiked 3 hours up the mountain took this picture for us. There is a hostel below the tram entrance that is the beginning of a trail up the mountain.

The town of Jasper.

Two of the three lakes.

Spahats Falls in Wells Gray, Maligne Canyon and Maligne Lake in Jasper

Spahats Falls in Wells Gray Provincial Park

Maligne Canyon

Maligne Lake

Spirit Island on Maligne Lake

The Maligne Lake Boat Cruise took us to Spirit Island where we could get off the boat for about 10 minutes and take a little hike and photograph Spirit Island.