Banff Vacation - Part 4

The next day, we got up early and made our way to Lake Minnewanka where we rented a boat for a bit to explore the lake. The boat was nothing fancy - just something to troll around the lake. It was quite chilly out on the water - this was really the only overcast, cloudy day we had the entire time we were there. 

  

  

  

After the boat adventure, we decided to hit up Gap Lake and Grotto Pond, which were known to be great fishing spots. The fishing rules are quite complicated in and around Banff, so we were very careful to go to the right spots and use the right poles/bait/etc. And not a single bite!

 After dinner, we decided to take the full Kananaski Wildlife Drive, which encompasses one paved road, another dirt road, lots of miles, and even more eager watching out the windows to spot some wildlife. 

We FINALLY saw a bear - it seemed to be about a year old, which meant rolling up the windows quickly in case mama bear happened to be nearby. We didn't get the best look at it as it made its way into the dense forest..  The mountains and trees up there are so different than here in Idaho. The forest is THICK. As in, a few paces in and you lose virtually all daylight. It was a constant question as to how the big elk with their antlers navigated through the trees.

Banff Vacation - Part 3

Our second full day in Banff started off quite frustrating. We had driven to see Lake Louise and Moraine Lake fairly early, and it turns out we were quite early enough. The parking lots around most of the big tourist areas are quite small, and the second the are full, it becomes a full-on road block, re-route, find a shuttle, wait in crazy long lines for said shuttle, etc. We completely bagged the plan for those two lakes and decided to attempt them another day when we could get there even earlier.  

The day actually ended up being a really fun day, despite the big change in plans. We crossed the highway and ended up doing the Lake Louise gondola first. Carter, again with his new-found fear of heights, sat this one out and decided to just hang in the lodge all by himself. It was frustrating to leave him behind, but the show had to go on.  

Since we were at the gondola fairly early in the morning, we were hopeful to see the mama bear and two cubs that people kept talking about. No such luck - again! But the views at the top were incredible and we chatted with several families from near and far about what they had seen, where they had already visited, do's and don'ts, etc. 

  

You can see Lake Louise in the distance. 

After the gondola ride, we decided to check out one of the easier-to-access glaciers. The Crowfoot Glacier.  The runoff from this glacier feeds into the Bow River, hence it's cool blue coloring.

We also did a small hike into Peyto Lake, which is one of the many lakes with the awesome blue coloring. This coloring comes from the rock flour, which comes from the glaciers carving down rocks. Unlike silt and sediment, which sink to the bottom, the rock flour stays suspended in the water. When the sunlight reflects off of the rock flour in the water, this creates the blue/green coloring. It's absolutely gorgeous to see in person!

One of the really neat things about Canada is their devotion to wildlife. The wildlife crossings over the highways are so cool to see - some more "landscaped" than others.

After trekking back towards the town of Banff, we decided to try one of the river floats on the Bow River. There are several different types of floats, and we opted for the calm one that started right at the base of Bow Falls. It's a one-hour relaxing float with some staggering mountain views the entire way. 

  

We finished out the day with another stroll along the boardwalk.