Tuesday Sept 17th - Lake Louise Alberta

Tuesday Sept 17th - Lake Louise Alberta

Bow River and good friends

Bow river without good friends!!!

Look... no cane or crutches... well almost!!!

Chateau Lake Louise

We got up and saw the sun and decided that this must be the day we get to Lake Louise... so off we went. We were all stunned (again) by the beauty of this place, but we were also shocked at the change since we were here. It is 15 years since Derek and Lin had been here and 39 years since Derek and I were here as a young couple. I remember it was a tourist attraction... but not MOBBED... and this is the less busy period. Heaven help us. Having said that, nothing can take away the raw and absolute amazing beauty of this place. As we had 39 years ago we decide to hike the trail up to Lake Agnes to the tea house. It is a fabulous walk and walking it with friends made it extra special. A 3.4 km uphill hike.. but his time there were lots of others on the trail. Nothing can describe this place and do it justice. After the hike we treated ourselves to a snack and coffee sitting outside the Chateau. We then went for a quick drive to Morraine Lake... this also was built up and full of tourists (even a gift shop) .. so we only spent a few minutes there before heading back toward Banff.  We wen to an Irish Pub in Banff for dinner which was very good, with a great selection  of draft beer and good comfort food. A great day... again!!!

Anyone NOT taken this picture yet??? Beautiful Lake Louise

Again... with feeling!!

Me too!!!

And us!!! . Lin and Derek-2

Bored Yet????

Nope---- Perfect!!!

Half way up to Lake Agnes

Mirror Lake (or pond if you like!!)

Almost there!!

Happy to be here!!

Lake Agnes

The Tea house

Chateau Lake Louise from Lake Agnes

Peaceful spot on Lake Agnes

The Outhouses at Lake Agnes

Inside the teahouse... not much changed since 1974

View from the Teahouse

39 years sine we stood here

Lake Loiuse from half way down the trail

Glacier at a distance (looks like a school bus on it))

Honestly... it really does!!!

Moose sighting on the way home!!

Monday Sept 16th - Radium Hot Springs, BC to Banff, Alberta

Monday Sept 16th - Radium Hot Springs, BC to Banff, Alberta

On the road again

Beautiful scenery

 Up and packed slowly. Leisurely 2 hour drive to Banff. We went over the Kootenay pass at 1724 metres... we cheered as we go to the top and headed down. Through the Kootenays and through the Rockies and into Banff, stopping at a couple of viewpoints and marveling at how very beautiful this country is. We got to Banff early afternoon and camped in site 245 at the Banff village trailer court. Headed down into Banff and walked from one end to the other. Did some at Safeway and headed back to camp to make some dinner, a specialty of Derek-2 ... homemade Cheesy Macaroni and sausages. Yumm!! We played 'password' again and Lina and I were defeated (again) now 2-0 for the guys... Hmmmm!!! 

Whoo hoo!!!... another province!!!

Welcome to Alberta

Banff... what can we say??

Happy to be here!!! -- Together!!

Sunday Sept 15th - Windemere Fall Fair

Sunday Sept 15th - Windemere, BC  Fall Fair

Before

After

Fall Fair Windemere, BC

Invermere, BC

What a fun day we had today... we heard from the visitor's centre yesterday that Windemere was having its annual Fall Fair today, so we set of after a lazy breakfast and drove down to Windemere (about 20 minute drive). After some trouble we finally found the fair and we had a great time. Watched a guy take a piece of a tree trunk and, using only a chain saw, he sculptured it into quite an interesting piece of artwork ( see picture ). It was auctioned of for over $200. We got sucked in to buying some healthy sounding bee pollen (only to discover later that the reason they didn't give samples out was because it tastes like cr---p. But may be it is an acquired taste. Will get our friend Hillary to taste it... she might like it!!!  If she doesn't... well there is no hope!!! Derek bought Janice a lovely necklace and he got a huge tub of whipped honey for his morning toast! After skipping the 'wife-tossing' contest (no comments please.. LOL)... we headed on our way, stopping at Invermere for a walk round the town (where else can you find a dollar store with 50% off everything in the store)!!! We also found and ice cream parlour and sat outside enjoying homemade ice-cream.
We stopped at the store and picked up some groceries and wine and beer before heading back to camp
. We all went for a swim and hot tub before dinner. We then relaxed outside and marveled at the clear skies and the stars.

Ice Cream in Invermere

Inukshuk - Invermere, BC

Site #13 Radium Valley Vacation Resort

AAHH!!! Great end to a great Day

Fri and Sat Sept 13 and 14 - Creston to Radium Hot Springs, BC

Friday Sept 13 - Creston to Radium Hot Springs

Good morning campers

After a relaxed breakfast we went into Creston for gas and found the best sign ever... LOL

Can't help feeling sorry for the Livestock!!!!!!!!!  

 

Still a little confused about times, we headed out about 10:00am or 11:00am , depending on whose watch we used, and started out to Radium Hot Springs. Another Beautiful drive and Derek and Janice split the driving evenly today.  It was a shorter drive and we stopped along the way to enjoy some great scenery. After a bit of confusion in Radium Hot Springs we found Radium Valley Vacation RV Resort and checked in. Quite the place.. it is a resort with condo homes and purchased RV lots. However the facilities are great and we got a lovely site with views of mountains. The two Dereks went for a swim in the pool, and we cooked up some pasta and sauce for dinner, walked around the resort and then watched some TV before bed. Great day again. We are totally enjoying have our two traveling companions sharing our journey with us from Vancouver to Calgary.

Columbia Lake

Derek-2 and Lin reading the info board

Derek-2 and Lin - our travel companions

JUST WOW!!!!

Arrived at Radiium

View from our site at sunset

Saturday Sept 14th - Radium HotSprings

Oh Yes.... warm and relaxing

Today we had another lazy breakfast and then set out for the Hot Springs in the Kootenay National Park. We purchased an annual National Park Pass so we have flexibility and can enjoy many more Parks across Canada. 

The Pools at the Hot Springs were superb and we all enjoyed a great soak in the hot water, followed by a dip in the cool pool, followed by another soak in the hot pool... We  all felt refreshed and relaxed as we headed out, and drove through a bit more of the park and stopped for a short walk at Olive Lake... such a beautiful crystal clear emerald green lake. Quite breathtaking. We then realized we were hungry and noticed it was getting on for 3pm so we raced into town and had a (big) lunch in town. Feeling full, but satiated, we picked up some supplies and then relaxed back at the resort, chatting with neighbours and catching up on blogs/emails etc.

Beautiful Olive Lake

See the logs under the water

Quote from 1887-ditto