Ravelstoke to Banff (15 May)


Our drive continued up valleys, over mountain passes, and past rivers and lakes, some with ice and some clear.  There is a lot of water around as the snow melts, filling the creeks and rivers and also the air, making some of our photos hazy. Despite being in awe of what we see, each new day brings new wonders. The photos explain it better. Some are annotated.





When Luca stayed with us he told us that he was Luca Golden Rose. This is the town bearing his name.


Frozen waterfalls:


Engineers rock!



Emerald Lake




Natural bridge. The water had previously flowed over this rock but over millenia some had found a way through it and with gradual erosion the waterfall disappeared, the water followed the new path and a natural bridge was left spanning the flow. In time, that bridge will collapse and the channel will merely be a gorge.



Looking up from the natural bridge we spied another feature with a well deserved name.



Warning: Railway Alert. As we ascended to Kicking Horse Pass we stopped to see this engineering feat in which the railway goes through two spirals. The photo below shows one tunnel we could see but we missed a train.


Lake Louise. When we were here 18 years ago and bumped into Caroline and Keith Curry it was early morning and the lake was shrouded in mist. As the mist lifted in the mid-morning the lake was ice over completely and hotel staff started to take guests for horse and sleigh rides on it.




We are in Banff for two nights. The campground has electricity, ablution blocks and very secure rubbish facilities to prevent bears coming in and raiding them. We are surrounded by spruce trees with a few interspersed pines. We have seen huge ravens, small chipmunks and squirrels. Earlier today one of the CanaDreamers saw a bear cross the road in front of them.  Later in the day we saw several of these crossings designed to allow wildlife to cross the road safely.


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