WANDERING WITH THE WRIGHTS

June 15 & 16, 2024

We have been on the road two weeks today and we are so grateful that this week as gone so much better than last!  We left you last week in the parking lot of a RV Repair Co. in Calgary.  We spent the night there so they could look at our jack issue and then needed to get our tires checked to see if the jack problem caused damage to the tire.  So we walked in the minute they opened Monday morning and they were just wonderful to us.  Took care of us right away, did the work that needed to be done on the jack, we paid a very reasonable bill and drove around the block to the tire dealer they recommended.  They to were wonderful, took us immediately, climbed under the coach, checked the tire, said we were good to go and wouldn't allow us to pay anything.  We were on the road by 9:45am.  Just let me say that everyone we have met from Canada has been extremely friendly and helpful!!

We then drove about 85 miles to Banff, Alberta.  We were a day late but we were there!  It was not planned but my sister-in-law Nancy and her sister Joan were in Banff the same time we were.  They came over the night we arrived and planned our itinerary.  Nancy has been there three times and Joan 6+ so they became our official tour guides.  For three days they took us to all of their favorite places, drove, and just showed us a wonderful time.

These cross over bridges have been built for the animals to use to go over the highway.  

The tops of them are just like the terrain: dirt, bushes, trees.

Climbed 1 1/2 miles up hill to see the waterfall.  We were definitely the 4 oldest people on the trail!

It was posted it would take an hour each way - LOL we took much longer than an hour each way

4 tired puppies and we weren't all the way down yet

We then stopped for a great picnic lunch right next to a river

On the way back to Banff, most everything is a long drive, we saw these Long Horn Sheep grazing on the side of the road.  It is early spring here so they are shedding their winter coats. 

The above was on Tuesday the 11th - we walked almost 4 miles

Wednesday morning our tour guides pick us up for another fun day. :-) 

This is called the Natural Bridge and it was just beautiful

No none of us climbed out

Next we went to Emerald Lake 

Got to see a wedding

We thought it was only a mile around the lake so we decided to walk it - well it was actually 3.2 miles and it had rained the night before. It was much more of walk than any of us thought it would be - but the good news is we all made it!

Mud and twigs on the path

Did I mention twigs on the path - thank heavens Jerry was along!

It was unfortunately cloudy the day we were there or I think it would have been even more stunning

As we came back we found Elk grazing very close to our campground

This guy even came down to greet us

This was on Wednesday the 12th - we walked 4 1/2 miles

Thursday morning we moved to a different campground for one night still in Banff - early afternoon Joan and Nancy picked us up to tour Lake Moraine and Lake Louise.  You no longer just drive to the lakes on your own.  You have to book a time and take a bus to each location.  The driver said the new policy was partially due to the environmentalist that felt like the buses going up with 50 people at a time were better than all the cars going up and back and also parking is definitely at a premium at both lakes.

We went to Lake Moraine first

Nancy and I walked the very rocky beach while Jerry & Joan climbed up a walkway to get a better view

Jerry did get a better view 

It is hard to see but there is a wedding going on. You can make out her white dress - we saw them when they came down and she had on high heels!!!

Next stop was Lake Louise - what can I say another beautiful lake

Joan and Nancy drove us back to the motorhome and we said our goodbyes - they were leaving the next morning for Illinois as we continued north to see the Columbia Icefields and then to Jasper, Alberta where we will spend a few days.

The Columbia Icefield is the largest ice field in North America's Rocky Mountains.  It covers approximately 200 miles

All along the drive are these beautiful patches of milky baby blue water

Some more beauty as we travel on

We arrived at Jasper National Park, our home for 3 nights early afternoon on Friday and were able to make a boat trip around Maligne Lake.  Everything is a long drive and further than you think - barely two-lane twisty roads 

We had a wonderful tour guide on the boat who shared a lot of information on the lake and the history of the entire area.

When we started out it was misty and overcast - and as we drove on we had a really good rain but as we neared the end of the lake where we could get out of the boat and walk around a bit - the sun broke out!

The highlight of the excursion is a visit near Spirit Island - no one is allowed to actually step onto it.

It is a spiritual place for the Stoney Nakoda First Nation, who believe mountains are physical representations of their ancestors.  The fact that Spirit Island is surrounded on three sides by the same mountain range, which is very rare, and makes it even more significant to the Stoney.  

The color of the water is different at Spirit Island than where the cruise departs at the Maligne Lake docks.  The further south you go on the lake the closer you get to glaciers, and the more colored the water becomes due to the presence of rock flour from the glaciers.

We got up early the next morning and headed to Mt. Edith Cavell 

Yep more climbing but at least this time it was mostly paved although still uphill!

Found this waterfall about half-way up

In the lower left is a lake - it was still frozen over so we didn't get the see the beautiful blue color it is known for.  Actually the road to get up to the parking lot just opened Friday and we were there Saturday morning.  There is also a beautiful meadow full of flowers but it was still covered in snow also and we weren't allowed to go up so that people didn't walk on the flowers underneath the snow.  

The lake is surrounded by two Glaciers: Cavell Glacier (seen above the lake in the picture) and Angel Glacier which is a bit to the right.

Next it was onto Athabasca Falls and we were thrilled to find we didn't have to hike much to see it!

I had a video I wanted to post but we don't have a great connection here so pics will have to do.

And at the end of all that power and force it flows into this beautiful calm lake

It is now Sunday and we decided to make it a day of rest - we zoomed in on our Revelations Bible Study this morning but didn't have enough band-with to follow our church service.

Before bible study we drove over to the Breakfast Food Truck here in the park - they had a GF oatmeal brownie for Jerry and I had a white chocolate raspberry scone - both were delicious

There is also a Mexican Food Truck so got dinner for tomorrow night

This beauty was right outside our camper door this morning

We drove downtown Jasper to pick up a few groceries and ran across Jasper the Bear the town mascot

Just so you can see how much earlier in the season it is here - the lilacs are just coming out

I want to wish all of the Father's a Very Happy Father's Day.  

Jerry is grilling steaks.  We bought them our first night out when we stayed at a cattle farm so have high expectations.

I am hoping that the next blog I have either less to share or that we have better wi-fi.  We head out tomorrow morning and will be leaving Alberta and spending about a week getting through British Columbia.  Lots of driving with some fun stops along the way.  Some day we will actually get to Alaska!

PS I have seen one black bear and one grizzly but Jerry was driving and we weren't where we could stop and take a picture so they only half count - hope next time to have pics of bears for you.