Wet, White, Warning, and WOW

The Great Canadian Caravan (Part 5)

Day 5 starts early (6:30 bags outside the door, 7:30 on the bus)

A grey sky and some new fallen snow on the mountains.

 After leaving Banff, the sun comes out and the views are awesome.

Then we find out about the next stop... Lake Moraine and the Valley of the Ten Peaks

With a few warnings:

1. Watch out for the Bears

2. It's a bit of a climb

(the bear warning sign is in the center below)

However, bears and climb aside, it was well worth the hazards

Then we went on to Lake Louise and the Fairmont Chateau

Lunch was sitting on benches at the edge of the lake, while looking at the fantastic views, and protecting our food from the Clark's Nutcrackers

While eating we saw and heard a small avalanche at the far end of the lake

More lakes, some ice fields and glaciers on the way to Jasper.

Wolf Lake

and the Rooster!

Next stop Jasper for 2 nights in some great cabins on the Athabasca River

All 633 pictures and videos can be found in my Picasaweb folder.

To be continued in part 6

Red Poppies, the River, and the Rain

The Great Canadian Caravan (Part 4)

Day 4 starts with a great breakfast in our hotel, the Mount Royal. Then we head off to a drive around Banff just to get the layout and learn a bit of it's history.

One stop was exciting for all...

 Banff National Park Administration Building

and

The Cascades of Time Garden

Red Poppies

Interesting Wood

Then is was off to the Bow River

Where I was reminded of a scene from the deck of the TITANIC

Rapids, Rocks, and Falling Trees

Luckily we returned safely to shore an hour later. Then we were free for the rest of the day to enjoy Banff and the rain that started to fall a short time later. We did enjoy ourselves by visiting a First Nations trading post and a natural history museum, and window shopping down the main street.

All 633 pictures and videos can be found in my Picasaweb folder.

To be continued in part 5