Our trip to Canada started at home in Minnesota. We woke up early in the morning, like usual, and we drove all day. In North Dakota we stopped at Theodore Roosevelt National Park to stretch our legs and use the bathroom. On our trips we always seem to stop here and take a few photos of the canyon, and take a walk through the gift shop. I remembered that I usually thought North Dakota was so boring but this time I actually appreciated its beauty and I liked it.
By the end of the day we were in Montana and getting a hotel room somewhat close to the border. We woke up the next morning and got going on the road again. Soon, we were at the border going through customs and soon crossing over into Alberta. Our first stop in Canada was at a diner where we sat by a hockey team. We had been to Canada before but i don't know why but we just seemed so out of place to be eating eggs in a foreign country...After breakfast we were on the road again towards Calgary. On the outskirts of Calgary we realized that we forgot our camping chairs, typical, and so the local Walmart was located. Walmart is pretty much the same just some things were a little different, like instead of a "restroom" sign it was a "washroom" sign. It was just funny to be in a Walmart. After all the traffic to get through Calgary we were on the road to Banff National Park. Lots of traffic all the way to the park. Approaching the park, the mountains became bigger and bigger and the views got better by the kilometer. Leading right up to the park and once inside gave us some incredible views showing us what the park had to offer. The excitement was high in the Suburban and all we could do was look out the window. I was sticking my camera out the window and even just taking pictures out the windshield.
Before leaving home we researched what campground to stay in and after talking to the park ranger the one we wanted to stay in had sites available. We pulled into the campground and up to the hut to pay for the night and i couldn't help but notice after every sentence the ranger spoke to my dad he would give him a wink. After we pulled away I started to laugh and my dad asked if the guy really winked at him that much.
"Did he just wink at me a bunch?" asked my dad. We found our site and set up camp. In our household we are a finely tuned machine when it comes to setting up camp. My dad and I set up the tent and my mom and sister set up the sleeping bags and the inside of the tent. Once camp was set up we took a walk around the campground and checked out were everything was. By the garbage cans we could see the face of a mountain just glowing under the evening sky, it was the perfect sight to see and feel like we were actually finally there.
In the morning with a bowl of Lucky Charms by the fire we decided that we were going to take the gondola ride up sulfur mountain. The gondola ride was very fun. It has windows and holes to stick your camera out to take a picture. The views were beautiful. My mom was very nervous the whole time and my dad reassured her with telling her we are so high up now we would probably die right away if it broke, like I said very reassuring.
At the top of the ride there is, of course as all touristy things are, a gift shop! I really didn't find it necessary to buy a t-shirt to prove I sat in a little box up a mountain. To get out of the crowd, you could do a little hike on a boardwalk-ed trail to the highest point on the mountain, because why not we didn't do anything but sit to get to where we were then. The trail was as busy as it should be expected in a touristy area. You get a first hand view at people who had never seen wildlife their entire lives, taking pictures at squirrels. It was a nice little walk with some great views overlooking the town of Banff.
After the gondola ride down, and to add a note dogs are very accepted in Canada, we saw a dog riding along on the gondola. As I was saying, after the ride we got back to camp and since we hadn't paid for two nights we packed up and made our way to a campground that was somewhat close to Lake Louise. At the campground we found that we were one of like three other sites being used so it was nice to not be bothered by neighbors, but we were bothered by mother natures little devils, mosquitoes. We quickly set up and got back into the truck and made our way to Lake Louise. On the way we spotted our first real wildlife, bears in the ditch. When stopping to take a picture of a wild animal you:
- Stay in your vehicle
- don't have a flash on
- don't be an idiot
The kilometer(s?) leading up to the lake there were cars everywhere on the side of the road, people walking everywhere. We pulled up to the parking lots and found a spot in the third or fourth lot up. We made the trek down to the lake and the sight that greeted us frankly scared us. People. Everywhere. If you haven't been there it is nuts. Different smells of people and all different languages being spoken. Everyone wants the nice family picture in front of the lake and to get the picture once a spot opens up you have to rush in to get the picture. It's not a fun experience, but we did get a nice picture. I don't want to put down Lake Louise because it's a beautiful lake and there is a reason why people want to get their picture in front of it. It is just frustrating to think that people leave after ten minutes and say that they had such an experience because all they did was get a picture.
I would say that 90% of people leave the lake once they get their picture. If our family is going to drive and have to park far away we aren't going to leave after ten minutes, so there was a hike up to "the tea house" up into the mountains, 3.3 km one way. Our family likes to hike and be active, but the lack of gear shows the opposite, on the trail we felt so out of place because everyone had a backpack and walking sticks and they were decked out in hiking gear. We were sharing a water bottle, and doing just fine. We did stop once and a while to take a breather and get a drink because all we were doing was going up and it was hard. We finally reached the first of two lakes on the hike, Mirror Lake. It was very beautiful with the "large beehive" behind it. The "large beehive" is a part of a mountain that is rounded and kind of looks like a beehive. So we took a break there and admired the lake.
We continued onward to the tea house and it was really getting rough towards the end, we had been hiking up the mountain for more than an hour and we were getting tired. Around a corner we could see the set of stairs that would finally take us to the tea house and Lake Agnes. Up the last stairs and we were finally there. It was worth it. Behind us was a span of the Canadian wilderness and ahead of us was the beautiful, clear, Lake Agnes. My mom, sister and I sat on a bench and took off our shoes and dipped our sore feet into the cold water, it was the best feeling to know that we just hiked one and a half hours one way and it was worth it to rest our feet and take in some amazing views.
Down the mountain was much better, it took us around a half hour to get down again then we were faced with the crowds again. The thing that I liked best about the hike was probably that we were away from people and for the most part alone in the woods taking it all in. My sister and I were done faster than my parents so we went back to the truck, made a sandwich, and sat down. Our parents were back and they ate then we were off back to our camp. We all agreed that the hike was well worth it and all felt accomplished.
Back at camp I believe we went strait to bed because we were so tired. We woke up to rain. That is not the best when you want to take down camp, but my dads the best. I got ready in the bathroom and he told us girls to just wait in the truck so he could just do it so there was just one person getting soaked. My mom, sister, and I were packed into the front of the truck and waited for my dad. He finished and came in the truck soaking wet. He changed in the bathroom and we were on the road again, towards Jasper National Park. The road was beautiful, with lakes and mountain views.
Once we were getting hungry for lunch we pulled into a picnic area. We were eating then we noticed all the holes everywhere, there were ground squirrels. They were hilarious they wanted our food, I threw some grapes and watched as they fought each other over them and they would come right up to you. I know I was making fun of people taking pictures of squirrels earlier but they were really funny and close and I just couldn't help myself.
Driving deeper into Jasper the mountain views kept getting better and better. We were soon at the Athabasca Glacier and my dad wanted to see it. we pulled into the parking lot and my mom decided that she didn't want to see some ice so she took a nap in the truck. My dad, sister and I then went to the glacier. there was a quick hike and you could see on the way where the glacier was in years past, it was crazy. I liked the rocks because they had the marks from the glacier. We got close to the glacier and there was a little sign that said you weren't allowed on the glacier with out paying for a guided tour or something, but there was a board across the water and everyone went on the glacier, because why not- it's not going to be there forever. It was very pretty and i'm glad that we went on it and got to see it.
That night we set up tent at a huge, confusing campground and went out to dinner at Jasper Brewing Company. It was fun and it was nice to have wifi for an evening. We were trying to plan to do something the next day but there was nothing really that interesting in this park that we didn't already see. It was decided that we would get up and pack up and make our way to the first campground we were at and spend time in the town of Banff. On the road we saw more wildlife and stopped off at several stops to see Athabasca Falls, and Peyto Lake.
We were soon back in Banff at the campground we were first in. Camp was set up and we went into town to do some shopping and looking around. The next morning it was raining so we went back into Banff and went to the Banff Park Museum and walked to the Fairmont Springs resort, wasn't interesting and went back towards town where we dined in the local McDonalds. More shopping and we went back to the campsite where we talked about going to Yellowstone.
The next morning we packed up and made our way towards the border, leaving the mountains in the rear-view mirror. I loved Canada, the sights were breathtaking and it was obviously memorable because i'm writing from memory a year later. Canada is a wonderful place and I wish everyone is as lucky as I am to visit it someday.
Beautiful Hannah.
ReplyDeleteWow Hannah you have a natural talent for this :)
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