Canadian Rockies Day 13

Left Fargo at 6:30 am (mountain time).

ETA home: 11:30 pm (Eastern time).

CanadianRockies Day 12

Left hotel around 8 am. Now driving through prairie. Entered North Dakota - my 48th state!

Stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park and drove the 36 mile loop through the badlands. Many prairie dog towns. Saw one buffalo close-up and a herd. J liked the horse ranch.

Spent the night in a hotel in Fargo, ND.

Canadian Rockies Day 11

Saw a grizzly bear when we were leaving Waterton, also saw a cougar cross Chief Noonday Road between Waterton and Glacier. Drove to Glacier and drove the Going to the Sun Road through the middle of the park. B & M enjoyed the Weeping Wall where I got water poured in my window.

Spent the night at hotel in Great Falls, MT. Kids swam in pool and we had supper at Pizza Hut.

Canadian Rockies Day 10

Took 9:00 ferry to Crypt Lake Trailhead. Hiked 10.7 miles round-trip. Up, then down. Near the top of the hike was a steel ladder to a tunnel through the mountain. This was the kids' favorite part. The goal was Crypt Lake, which is surrounded by mountains and right on the border of the US. Many huge waterfalls on this route, too.

Kids were troopers, but tired by the end. We made the 4:00 ferry with about 5 minutes to spare.

Came back to camp to clean up and rest, then had a great supper at Zum's in Waterton.

Canadian Rockies Day 9

A little blue sky! The sun is peeking out through the clouds and all seems much better. Hung out towels and tent to dry as we packed the car and headed out to Waterton Lakes.

Stopped in Canmore for a taste of civilization: McD's and a grocery store. Stocked up on food for a couple more days of camping and mailed our postcards. Nice town with everything you need in a gorgeous setting in the mountains.

Arrived at Waterton Lakes Townsite Campground late afternoon. It's right in town and it's nice to be close to services again. Campsite is large and has a great view of the lake and surrounded by mountains. Campsite is full of ground squirrels (prairie dog) holes and many deer are wandering around. It's super windy her. Good thing we could stake down the tent because it's like a big kite trying to fly away.

We set up camp and made spaghetti for dinner and grilled up some Italian garlic bread. Yummy! Then we walked into town and skipped stones by the marina and ate ice cream.

The kids and M played soccer on our campsite, then read for awhile in the tent. It's quite windy here, but nice to be dry and warm again.

Canadian Rockies Day 8

Still raining. We stayed pretty dry overnight, but it was very cold.

Scrapped plans to hike Iceline Trail, which M really wanted to do. Stayed in the tent for breakfast, then got a short reprieve where it was just sprinkling, so we drove up to Takkakaw Falls and hiked up the falls a bit.

Decided to use our rainy day for souvenir shopping, so drove to town of Banff. B got a hockey jersey, J a stuffed horse she named Jasper, and I got a t-shirt.

Had a late lunch at Tommy's Neighborhood Pub (had to talk the kids out of McDonalds) and visited many shops. Could've spent more time in town, but it was raining pretty hard, so we headed out. Stopped in Field on the way home for a hat for M, bread and postcards.

Eventually stopped raining enough to coax a fire going and cook some pancakes and sausage for dinner. Smores also greatly improved my mood. Looking forward to better weather, which is forecasted for tomorrow.

Canadian Rockies Day 7

Rained hard overnight and tent was a little wet, but everyone got a good night's sleep. Left camp around 9:30 for Inverness, BC, where we rafted Toby Creek  through Kootenay River Runners. Saw young black bear on the drive in. Rafted with guide, Danny, and the kids loved the Class III rapids - especially "The Cheese Grater." Blake fell into the raft once, but no one fell out. There was a father and son in our raft, too, named Bryce and Hunter from Calgary (originally New Zealand). Raft ride was around an hour and we could've gone longer. Very fun.

Saw mother moose and calf on our way to the raft put-in.

After rafting we went to Radium Hot Springs and soaked in the hot pool (supposedly 104 degrees, but felt to us around 100). It was the warmest pool by far that we'd ever been in. While we soaked we watched a skit about the history of the hot springs. The kids swam in the cool pool (84 degrees) too.

We ate ice cream cones at the hot springs, then headed back toward our campground. It had started to rain, so we stopped at a lodge for fish and chips (grown-ups) and pizza (kids). We were pleasantly surprised by the tasty food and figured it would be better than cooking in the rain.

We stopped by the Spiral Tunnels near our campground. We learned that the railroad grade was too steep, so they designed a spiral track through the mountains to increase safety. Kinda cool.

When we got back to camp, we found that Yoho had a huge thunderstorm. Our tent had moved (!) and was soaked inside and out. Fortunately we had taken most of our stuff with us, but all of our bedding was wet. We took it all to a lodge in Field to use their dryers. It took 45 minutes and three twonies ($6) to dry everything enough to (hopefully) survive the night.

Canadian Rockies Day 6

Broke camp fairly leisurely and headed to Yoho National Park - only about 30 minutes. First time for all in British Columbia!

Kicking Horse Campground is first-come/first served and they're the only full-service campground in Yoho, but we got a gorgeous site right on the river with mountain and waterfall views. Very nice.

Had lunch, then went to Emerald Lake and walked the 3.5 km route around the lake, partly in the rain. Beautiful wildflowers and mountain views. Great little resort up there, too. Returned to campsite to chill out and have supper. Our day of rest.

Canadian Rockies Day 5

Got up at 7:15 and broke camp early. It sprinkled while we packed up, but not too badly. Headed south toward ice fields and stopped at Sumwapta Falls on the way.

Had 11:00 Ice Cubes Tour with Bernard Faure. He looked like a French-Canadian Grandpa F. and had been giving outdoor tours for most of his life. There was a couple from Pennsylvania and a family from Ottawa also in our group.

We climbed up the glacier and learned a lot about it. The glacial streams down the ice were cold and clear. (And tasted good, according to M and the kids.) We also got to look down a deep mill well. The tour lasted over 3 hours and it was a lot of walking uphill on icy, snow-like conditions. The kids were real troopers and we were glad we had our fleeces and full rain gear and starburst candies. :)

After the ice tour we were all bushed. We ate a picnic lunch by the ice field visitor center, then we drove to Lake Louise to see the lake. Beautiful.

After a campground supper, we drove to Moraine Lake and climbed the big rock pile for a great view of the lake. Returned to the campground, which was packed full and had a lot of train activity. This is also the campground with the electric bear fence.

Canadian Rockies Day 4

Ate breakfast at hotel, then drove approximately 4 hours to Jasper National Park. Beautiful! Saw mountain goats right away, then saw a grey wolf.

Arrived at Jasper Tramway around 12:15 and got tickets for 12:36 tram. Ate a quick pb lunch in parking lot, then took tram to top of Whistlers Mountain (named after sound made by hoary marmots). Hiked from tramway station to summit (1.5 km). Steep in many places, but the kids were troopers. They had picked out a treat at the gas station to enjoy at the top. It was a clear day and we had spectacular views. Saw a marmot at the top. Hiked and took tram back down, then headed to Wabasso Campground. It was nice, but fairly rustic and not too full.

Saw a mother bear and two cubs!

Cooked an ealry supper (hot dogs), then headed out to explore the Maligne Canyon. Hiked from visitors center to bridge 4. Spectacular example of water's ability to carve into rock.

Drove to town of Jasper  and walked around and got ice cream, then drove to Athabasca Falls.

Went back to campsite and finished setting up camp. M and kids played down by Athabasca River smashing rocks. ("9 out of 10 rangers would not approve.") Stayed up late because it didn't get dark until around 11:30 pm. Slept well - it rained a little overnight.

Canadian Rockies Day 3

Had breakfast at hotel and left by 8 am. Uneventful drive through Manitoba (Yellowhead Hwy). Lots of beautiful farmland including canola fields (bright yellow flowers).

Ate at Wendy's in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

Arrived at Comfort Inn in Edmonton at 9:30. Kids took a quick dip in the pool (closed at 10 pm) and each enjoyed their own bed, since we were updgraded to a room with a king, double and pull-out couch. Slept well and had breakfast at hotel, then left around 8 am.

Canadian Rockies Day 1-2

Left home at 6pm. Supper at McD's in Reed City. Drove until 2 am (White River, ON), then took a roadside nap until 5 am. Took off again and enjoyed beautiful scenery of northern shore of Lake Superior. Very rocky and gorgeous pines and birches. Ate breakfast at the Hoito in Thunder Bay. Arrived in Winnipeg at 6 pm and ate supper at Subway. Kids loved pizza sub. Stayed at Quality Inn.