There are Elk at our Campsite

This morning, we moved to a different campsite in the same campground and there is a herd of about 15 elk here. There are 3-4 babies, so we have to be very careful walking the dog.

At the campground here, about 98% of rv's are ClassC rentals, so they all clear out in the morning to go sightseeing and all come back in the evening. That's why it looks like we are the only one here. When we moved over to this site, the loop was empty and by evening, it was full. It was the same at Lake Louise with everyone leaving in droves mid-morning and then returning later. There are lots of folks from Europe. We've met some from The Netherlands, Germany, England and Switzerland. They are amazed at our motorhome and take photos of us as we drive by.










We drove into Jasper and walked around some. It is a really neat town, very European in building style.

Ice Fields Parkway to Jasper Nat'l Park

Today, we drove up the Ice Fields Parkway from Lake Louise to Jasper National Park. We saw some beautiful mountains and some of the time we were in the snow and rain at the top.





This is Columbia Glacier. Notice the buses that take you out onto the glacier. They look like bugs from a distance.



We saw some sheep along the road. One was lying down and didn't get up when we slowly drove by.




Our first bear! Sorry for the poor photos, they were through the windshield and then through the screen window since we couldn't stop.




Here is our campsite at Whistler Campground in Jasper. Our datastorm friends will appreciate the space between the two trees!

Another day at Lake Louise CG

What can I say...we got up and it was raining.



By lunchtime, it had cleared up some and we drove to Moraine Lake. It was really beautiful and Gerald hiked up the trail and took the photo from above the lake.





It started raining by the time Gerald returned from his vantage point, so back to the motorhome we went. It was a relaxing day.

Hiked Jackson Canyon to the Waterfall

Today, it started out raining, but we left anyway, determined to find something fun to do. We decided to drive south on Bow Valley Parkway and stopped along the way at the interpretive exhibits along the way. Pretty soon, the sun came out! It did rain on us a couple of times, but most of the day was really nice.




We hiked up Jackson Canyon to the lower and upper falls. This is a photo of some of the catwalks built along the canyon.



This is the lower falls. You can actually walk through a short tunnel and come out right at the side. We got drenched from the spray!


This is the upper falls. There was so much spray, I didn't get a very good picture.


This was another spot along the canyon.


Here are the photos from our campground where they have built up the edge of the Bow river. We walked down the campground trail to show how close the river is .

Lake Louise in the rain

This morning, we moved the motorhome to the campground at Lake Louise. It is raining and a high of 53. Now, most of you who know me, realize that if it's below 60, it might as well be 32, because I will be FREEZING!! :-)

Anyway, we drove up to Lake Louise and I got a few photos. You couldn't see the mountains for the clouds and postcards of Lake Louise show it a beautiful blue. The forecast is rain and snow, so I may buy postcards so I will know what it's supposed to look like. It's pretty yucky and the forecast is for more rain and clouds and cool weather.




The Bow River is above flood stage and they have built berms here in the campground to keep the water out. I'll try to get some photos of that. Several trails are underwater in the area.

On a more positive note, Marquis is having a great time and we are being able to find campsites with a hole in the trees to get a satellite signal. We will be here for a day or so and then move up to Jasper Nat'l Park.

Still enjoying Banff

Yesterday it rained all day and we drove to Canmore to walk around town and do a little shopping. I found a great yarn shop, a wonderful quilt shop (I don't quilt, but it was truly a wonderful experience. They have over 8000 bolts of fabric and so many quilts around in the store.)

Today we drove over to Lake Minnewanka. Here are some photos:




We also hiked around the perimeter of Lake Jackson. There are nesting Loons here and we saw a few of them, but were careful not to bother them.






I got a great photo of Marquis today at Two Jack Lake. Don't worry, she wasn't 'off-leash'. I morphed it out of the picture.

Shopping in Banff today

Today, we walked around Banff downtown for souvenir shopping. They have lots of Beaver items that we collect. It rained on and off, but I did get a few photos.

Here I am with Marquis. She loves watching the Columbia Ground Squirrels that are everywhere here. Click on the photos to enlarge.










This is a young male elk that is near the campground.

We are at Banff, Alberta

After a few days of relaxing and cleaning up, we left the Yellowstone area and headed towards Canada. This evening we arrived at Tunnel Mountain campground in Banff, Alberta, Canada and it was raining! When it stopped, I snapped a few photos from our campsite.