Showing posts with label Banff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Banff. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Day 21: Plain of 6 Glaciers Trail Ride

Trail Ride to Plain of 6 Glaciers and Teahouse

The kids and I took a half day trial ride up the Plain of 6 Glaciers. We can't remember the names of the 6 glaciers though.
It was magnificent.
My horse was named Spam. Natalie's horse was Kidd and Adam's was Cherokee.
Our trail guide was Chuck.
Not sure if that was his real name or not. Sounds like a cowboy name though doesn't it. We skirted around the base of Lake Louise and then rose steadily on the plain. The plain looked like the remnants of the receding glacier. There were rocks and boulders all over the terrain.
Some of the trail was a bit scarey and steep. So I didn't look down at those points. We did have one lady who decided she was afraid of heights. She walked some of the way up and down.
Once we got to the top, there was a nice teahouse up there in the clouds. We stopped for tea. We had creme caramel. Plus Adam sampled the rice crispie treats and Natalie and I shared the chocolate cake. All were delicious.
On the way back down, one of the horses threw a shoe and the guide had to walk a ways. We had to swap horses around a little and I rode Peaches on the return trip. He was nice too.
This is Lake Moraine. Natalie and I drove up there early this morning to take in the view. The sun was just coming over the mountain top.


You can see the reflection clearly.



Natalie and Kidd


On the way up. We are skirting around the right side of Lake Louise.


You can see the largest glacier in the foreground. We could also hear loud crashes as the snow melt caused avalanches.


Adam says he wants to be a cowboy when he grows up.


Adam riding Cherokee


Looking back toward Lake Louise. Can you see it? Barely visible in the middle.


Plain of 6 Glaciers Teahouse. Serves the best tea and chocolate cake. The wait staff pack in all the fresh fruits served there when they hike up. They typically live there for 3 to 4 days at a time and hike down for their days off. Once  a year, a helicopter delivers all the flour and sugar and other supplies needed for the entire summer. The rest is brought in by the staff. They also have to pack out all the trash.


The view from the Teahouse.


Not as crowded as the Lake Agnes Teahouse. It's alot further hiking. Glad we came by horseback.


Adam wonders what his dad would say if he brought a Canadian horse home as a souvenir.

So now it's getting dark and the sun is setting behind the clouds. We're all tired again. Tomorrow, we set out for the Columbia Icefields and Jasper National Park.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Day 20: Lake Louise

Lake Louise 
and Lake Agnes Teahouse Trail

Today we left Banff very early to drive up to Lake Louise.
They don't take reservations at their campground this late in the season. So we were a little worried about our accommodations for the next 2 nights, if we couldn't find anything at Lake Louise.

Thankfully, they had lots of availability. 
we checked in about 9:30 am and had the rest of the day to take a hike and see the area.

We drove up to the Chateau Lake Louise and saw the beautiful hotel built by the Canadian Pacific Railroad as a way to attract visitors to the Rocky Mountains.

Then we took at 3.7 km hike to the Lake Agnes Teahouse for lunch and tea, of course.

Natalie says,
"There's always time for tea!"


The view from the Lake Louise Chateau.




The water was milky blue/green.


We heard an avalanche in the distance. Must have been from the snow melt today.




At the Teahouse. This is Lake Agnes named after the first white woman to visit the area, or the Prime Minister's wife, Lady McDonald, whose name was also Agnes.


Natalie tried the Jasmine Green tea, and the rest of us tried the Orange Blossom. We also tried the apple/peach cobbler.
It was very tasty.

The top was very cool and windy. I'm glad we took our jackets and hats for the top. But the day was absolutely beautiful. We have a great time. The hike was refreshing, but tiresome. I think we'll all go to bed early tonight.


Day 19: Lake Minnewanka Boat Trip

Lake Minnewanka Scenic Drive and Boat Tour

Today, we took the entire day to drive a scenic loop out to Lake Minnewanka, which is just outside the city of Banff.

The weather was beautiful. The temperature grand. We stopped at lots of roadside pulloffs to take in the view.

The boat ride was about an hour long. Just enough to see the lake and hear about the history of the lake. The tour guide talked about a prescribed burn the parks had in the 1980's which got out of control. You can see where the mountain side is still recovering.

There were also lots of Buffalo berries up here, which we learned were the primary food of the grizzly bears before hibernating. They need about 25000 berries per day to gain enough energy. That's alot of berries.



Captain ADAM

Our view inside the boat.



We took our lunch and had a picnic in a wonderful spot. Then took a stroll for a mile or so out to a bridge. 








No we didn't run into any grizzlies either. 
But we did see a few road side goats.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Day 18: Banff National Park

Banff National Park


Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel 
Bow River Falls



We took a short hike along the campground.


Natalie likes the view from up here.


The trail we took


A viewpoint from the top


A family shot


Dad pointing to some trees


Another vantage point. You can see the whole valley from here.





This is the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel.


We had a good time here looking at the shops and the view from the hotel




The clouds have set in making a great background.



Then we drove over to Bow River Falls to look around and play on the rocks.



Here are the falls.


This is looking downstream from the falls.