Banff, Jasper and the Rockies

Hi everyone

This is us in Banff

Our first adventure in Canada is almost over and we’re moving from one place in the Rockies to another about 6 hours away which will give us an opportunity to see more of the area with less day by day travel. I (Adam) have been sick for a few days and although I’m now feeling much better, I’ve passed the virus on to Kate. I had some things from a UK doctor to take for mine, but Kate is having to tough it out with paracetamol and TLC from me.

One of the things that stands out most to both Kate and I about Canada is the kindness of the people here. Everyone is polite and helpful and they go out of their way to help you. If you’re walking by the street and need to cross, the cars (even on major roads) will stop and let you cross with a friendly wave. I’m very glad about this laid back attitude as I’m sure I would have been honked several times for driving strangely here. Do I give way to the right or the left here? I just give way to both...

On the way to Lake Louise, we stopped off to climb a hill! Just for fun!

Here are some highlights of our adventures in this part of Canada (other than relaxing in our log cabin with wonderful mountain views):

On the first day here, we drove along a river bank to a place where there was a large mound in the river. The mound was covered with sticks and plants and looked to us like a natural island in the river, but we had been told to be on the lookout for beavers as this was their beaver-made home! We parked the car quite far from the dam and walked quietly to see if we could spot the beavers. With video camera rolling, we were blessed to see a beaver pulling a branch down the river and then disappearing under the water into its home! That was all we saw, but it was great! We were told that at this point in the river one can also normally see lots of moose, but they all know it’s hunting season here at the moment and they are all in hiding. We didn’t see any.

The next day, three days ago, Kate and I went on an ATV tour up into the mountains. We drove the quad bikes for 4 hours along rough tracks stopping along the way to see the wonderful views and to learn about the Canadian wildlife. Our tour guide was very interesting. I was following him as he led the way and every so often he would slow down his ATV and look at the ground and then speed up again. As I drove past I looked down too and saw that he was looking at poo! I found this entertaining and disturbing at the same time and then realised that the poo he was admiring was bear poo and he was tracking what bears were in the area and what they had been eating lately to see if they were in a good mood or not! I’m quite glad that he was taking the time to make sure that Kate and I were safe!

Kate and I in our ATV gear.

Bear poo aside, the tour was great! We saw the prints of a black bear, stopped by the side of a river at a trappers lodge, ate lunch in grizzly bear country and talked about land rights in the Canadian Rockies, all under the lovely shadow of snow topped mountain peaks.

Two days ago was a very eventful day! Very important. It was laundry day! We had a lazy morning and went into town in the afternoon.

Yesterday we did a small bit of sightseeing. After lunch we went to visit Mt Robson and to see the Rearguard Falls. Mt Robson is the highest mountain in the Rockies and we were the only people in the car park – the visitor’s centre is closed for the season. We did get some good photos however. Rearguard Falls were lovely, only a 5 minute walk from the road and really beautiful. We have been in the habit of drinking water from every fresh water river we come across (Lake Louise, Small River – on the ATV tour and here) so Adam dutifully drank from the bank, Kate caught it on video – we may put it up on this blog later if we can work out how!

Mt Robson

Today we drove south to Revelstoke, the next stop on our honeymoon adventure! Hot springs and more wonderful views await us. It was dark by the time we arrived here so I can’t tell you what it looks like. We’ve got internet access in our accommodation here so we should be able to update you some more – perhaps with pictures.

We’ll let you know how it goes.

Adam and Kate