Whitefish to Lake Louise

16 June 2010
Wednesday

Rainy and road construction

We left Whitefish and our hosts, the Lacey's, at 8:00 am with a steady rain and 47 degrees after watching the FIFA soccer match between Honduras and Chile with a Chilean exchange student from Dana's school. Chile 1, Honduras 0.

At the border crossing of Port Roosville [9:00 am] we showed our passports, said "Eh!" and shivered in the cool weather. We are now in British Columbia. From here we head north on #93 following the Kootenay River. Jim saw our first moose while I was busy scanning the roadside for wildlife. So is it official or not?

In Radium Hot Springs we stopped to get some history and grab lunch. Parked directly in front of us was a car from MN. Go figure! As we leave the town we immediately entered the multiple parks beginning with Kootenay National Park.

From here we ventured east toward a huge selection/collection of National Parks. The tunnels, and fabulous views were breathtaking in spite of the low-hanging clouds and the intermittent rain. Here we had our first black bear sighting: a cub. I wonder where mama bear was. Later on we had our first sighting of a big horn sheep albeit a rather ratty-looking one. Must be shedding its winter coat. We learned a bit about the role of the Mountain pine beetle and wild fires. Both actually are historically correct and contribute to the diversity and survival of the forest in the Rockies. They are cyclical in nature and necessary for maintaining the balance of nature in the forest.

Shortly after entering Alberta we travel south on Trans-Canada #1 to Banff, the city. It seems like a great tourist spot with many, many hotels, tour buses and places to shop. We visited the Visitor Centre [in Canada now] and then returned to the highway to return north. We decided to take the more scenic route to Lake Louise and exited to travel on the Bow Valley Parkway where we saw evidence of a controlled burn, naked trees from the mountain pine beetle AND our first ELK: two big guys just trying to have lunch while the tourists gawked and took pictures. [No, we did not because one is not supposed to annoy the wildlife.] Near Camp Castle we visited the site of a WW I Canadian internment camp which specialized in Ukranian refugees whether they were citizens or not. Very much like the Japanese internment camps during WW II.

Soon we were at Lake Louise. We got a campsite with electricity so we could recharge, keep warm tonight and update the blog. The tent campground is protected by an electric fence and an electric Texas Gate [aka cattle guard]. Apparently this area is home to a large group of mama grizzlies who like to visit people and eat their food. I guess it beats rummaging through fallen trees looking for grubs. We are cozily settled between the Canadian Pacific RR and the Bow River for the night. Dad is ringing the dinner bell so I will close for today. Bon nuit [That's goodnight in French. I hope.]