Archive for July 14th, 2007

2007 07 10 – Big Trip – Day 71 – Lake Louise, Banff

Saturday, July 14th, 2007

Lake Louise Trailer Campground, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Odometer – 6796

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Plane of Six Glaciers, Near Lake Louise, Banff National Park

Shir woke us up before 4am, and refused to sleep for about half an hour. By the time she was dreaming again, I had to get up for my morning hike to The Plane of Six Glaciers. This is a beautiful 8 mile hike that starts along Lake Louise and then continues up the valley that feeds the lake to uncover the 6 different glaciers looming overhead. One of the guide books we have says that if you can do only one hike in the Canadian Rockies this would be it.

I started off with sunrise pictures of Lake Louise and the glaciers of Mount Victoria. The lake was like a mirror. (more…)

2007 07 09 – Big Trip – Day 70 – Lake Louise, Banff

Saturday, July 14th, 2007

Lake Louise Trailer Campground, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Odometer – 6788

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Mirror Lake, near Lake Louise, Banff National Park

It started raining sometime during the night, but that did not stop us from sleeping until 9:30am. We wanted to get an early start, but since it was still raining and we had no idea how long it will continue, we took it easy.

Happily for us the weather improved and by the time we got to the Lake Louise parking lot, the sun was peeking out through the clouds and it was not so cold anymore. We set of for an ambitious hike to Lake Agnes, 7.2km in and out, the most popular hike in the Canadian Rockies. (more…)

2007 07 08 – Big Trip – Day 69 – Moraine Lake, Banff

Saturday, July 14th, 2007

Tunnel Mountain Campground, Banff, Alberta, Canada. Odometer – 6741

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Rock Trail Viewpoint of Moraine Lake, Banff National Park

Today we drove up to the Lake Louise area, 60km, to visit the lesser known, or so we thought, Moraine Lake. We will be in Lake Louise 2 nights starting tomorrow, so today we wanted to whet our appetite with Moraine.

The day started out grey and cloudy and even at noon when we arrived it was still pretty somber outside. The parking lot was full though, so we considered ourselves lucky to find a spot for the RV not too far from the lake. We stayed in the motorhome for another hour playing and cooking up lunch. Paola made some calls to our family to let them know that Shir broke her arm and that she is fine. (more…)

2007 07 07 – Big Trip – Day 68 – Shir is Back in Action at Yoho National Park

Saturday, July 14th, 2007

Tunnel Mountain Campground, Banff, Alberta, Canada. Odometer – 6640

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Emerald lake, Yoho National Park

We were a bit apprehensive this morning as to today’s activities. Happily Shir woke up in a great mood, and didn’t seem to have any discomfort with her new cast. So we decided to continue exploring the wider area, and not stick around town. We drove northwest to a small national park called Yoho. It is some First Nations name.

The park has several major attractions, and we saw three today. (more…)

2007 07 06 – Big Trip – Day 67 – Shir Gets a Purple Cast

Saturday, July 14th, 2007

Tunnel Mountain Campground, Banff, Alberta, Canada. Odometer – 6497

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Shir's Purple Cast, Banff, Alberta, Canada

Shabbat Shalom.

This afternoon, Shir fell from a bench in the Banff Park Museum and crash landed on her left arm. She cried and we immediately noticed her arm was too curved to be right. Luckily the Banff hospital was 2 blocks away so we all dashed there by foot. By the time we got to the emergency room Shir had calmed down, but it was clear that something is wrong. The doctor and a set of X-rays showed a fracture in the middle of Shir’s left arm. (more…)

2007 07 05 – Big Trip – Day 66 – Kootenay and Back to Banff

Saturday, July 14th, 2007

Tunnel Mountain Campground, Banff, Alberta, Canada. Odometer – 6484

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Hemi Near Stanley Glacier, Kootenay National Park

We saw waterfalls today. It was a very hot day, over 30 centigrade, so we didn’t go on any really long hikes. The day started early for me, just before 5am. We were still in Kootenay. I went on a hike up to Stanley Glacier, a relatively short walk to get to a glacier view. The hike started out through a renewing forest after a fire 40 years ago. It then entered a valley surrounded by huge cliffs, creating a mega amphitheatre. On the far left side lays Stanley’s Glacier. (more…)

2007 07 04 – Big Trip – Day 65 – A Day in Kootenay (National Park)

Saturday, July 14th, 2007

Marble Canyon Campground, Kootenay National Park, British Columbia, Canada. Odometer – 6434

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Ron at Paint Pots Trail, Kootenay National Park

Happy Fourth of July to all our US friends!

We took a side trip today, to a smaller less appreciated park just to the southwest of Banff. Kootenay is so named after an Indian tribe from the area. By the way, here they call them First Nations People. The park has one main road that goes for about 100km from the Banff area southwest to Radium Hot Springs, a town, and yes, a giant naturally heated swimming pool.

We started with a hike to the Paint Pots, an interesting area of historic significance. (more…)

2007 07 03 – Big Trip – Day 64 – Banff Town

Saturday, July 14th, 2007

Tunnel Mountain Campground, Banff, Alberta, Canada. Odometer – 6293

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Resting near the summit of Sulphur Mountain, Banff

We spent the day in the Banff town area. In the morning we went to the Whyte Museum, to learn about the art and history of the Canadian Rockies. We started with a heritage tour outside the museum. The knowledgable guide took us to see the homes of 2 prominent Banff families. From these homes, we learned much about Banff’s beginnings and culture. It was hard to keep Shir and Orr from trying to touch the many different artifacts lying about the room though. (more…)