June 24, 2014 (64th Day)

Another beautiful morning greeted us when we stepped out of the van to go to the bathhouse.  It was around 47degrees. No sight of wildlife in the campground.

Fixed potato/sausage/eggs for breakfast. Very hearty and a good dish to start our day right.

Got water tanks filled up before checking out of the campground.  Near the ranger station is a damaged cooler that was caused by a bear.  They put it up there to educate campers about not leaving coolers with foods in them out of the vehicle.

Went to RV parking off Wolf Street in Banff.  Few cars parked in area strictly for RVs.  We had to shoo one compact car away, they were eating breakfast in the car, so we waited till they were done and took their spot when they left. The sign said "RVs ONLY" and we pointed it out to them!

The only Moose we saw!

For Owl fans!

Walked around downtown. Erwin decided he wanted an haircut, so we went to Clipso Hair Design and Studio at 119 Banff Ave

What do you think???

Lake Minnewanka

Rock Cairn that Erwin built

Levee dam

See how blue/green the water is!

This is what we traveled in, slept in, ate in, sheltered in, bathed in, relaxed in.

After visiting Lake Minnewanka we went to Bow Valley Parkway (1A). This road parallels Trans-Canada Highway (1) between Banff and the village of Lake Louise. Such a lovely and peaceful drive.  Beautiful scenery whichever way you looked.

Birch trees (We wondered why it was dark colored only up to about 6 feet?)

Doe, a deer, a female deer! 

Next stop was to visit Johnston Canyon Waterfalls - 30 minutes drive from Banff. There are two main waterfalls known as the "Lower Waterfall" and the "Upper Waterfall".  There are several rapids along the way.  To see the Lower Waterfall it will take 1/2 a mile and 1.5 miles to the Upper Waterfalls. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBQntGZ_YCY&list=UUc1sN0j1aIwLmqT67a9kMUQ&index=2

Erwin's version: We took a hike along this river that has several waterfalls, each more beautiful than the previous and the last one is the most magnificent of all! It was very overcast and the air heavy with moisture and threatening to rain. The trail was 1 1/2 miles long each way and over quite rugged trails that had lots of rocks in the pathway. It started to drizzle after about a 1/4 mile and luckily we brought our ponchos along. the drizzle turned into rain and later the rain came down harder and made the pathway quite slippery so we had to watch our steps. Edith had sprained her knee a week earlier and the rough terrain made it act up and was hurting her so we slowed down a bit. Just past the half mile point we ran into an elderly lady and talked a bit.  She said she was out of breath because of her heart condition and was taking it easy to get her breath back. She also mentioned that she had a knee replacement surgery 4 years ago and it was doing fine. Edith decided that she had better stop and not go any further but asked me to continue to the end and take pictures of the falls. Erwin asked if that was what she wanted, YEP,  OK! I trekked onward, it started raining harder so I walked faster with more care. The falls came and I took a few pictures, continued on, and on. I started seeing people that had passed us earlier, coming back and figured I was nearing the end. Wrong! They had given up and were heading back because of the lousy weather. I continued on, starting to half run/walk to go faster cause I didn't want to leave Edith waiting too long. Saw a cave and took picture of it, very wet from rain and water splashing from the river which was quite high and had lots of rushing water. I figured I must be nearing the end, NOT! Don't know why, but it always seems that when you are wet and miserable and in a hurry, the path is always longer, steeper and more treacherous that it really is! After what seems like 2 more miles, I finally come to a walkway, that took me up, up, up and over the crest of a mountain, then down, down, down and into the forest. Of course by that time, everyone sensible had already gone back and I was all alone in the forest, recalling all the signs I saw earlier about "Bears in the area". I started looking around and making sure they were not creeping up onto me. Walking faster now, panting harder now, sweating not visible in the rain, but steam smoking off my back cause I'm getting warm. My eyeballs working hard looking here and there trying to see the bear before he spots me. I keep going and going (like the "Energizer bunny") I'm huffing and puffing, thinking I should turn back now, but this little voice on my left shoulder keeps saying, " Almost there, Almost there" and this other tiny voice on my right shoulder saying "Turn Back, Turn Back" AACK! I thought to myself "If I turn back now, Edith, will wonder why I didn't get a picture for her" So I plodded and plodded along, wishing I had turned back long ago as now I must be getting close to the end, right?? Wrong! Three miles later and I finally comes to a spot where a bridge was jutting out over the water and I hear a roaring noise, I look around wondering if that was masking the sound of a bear creeping upon me? I look around again, No bear, no where, anywhere! Whew! I continue on the pathway and when I got to the end, I looked left and there was this high waterfall coming down splashing water everywhere, very misty, foggy, dreary. I took a few pictures covering my camera from the water, then quickly taking a video of the falls and the surrounding area so Edith can see what she missed! Now I can head back the 7 miles I trekked to see this. I was still in my run/walk mode hurrying along so Edith wouldn't have to wait so long for me. I keep going and going and finally come to the place where I had left Edith, but no Edith! Did the bear get her? I don't know! I hope not! By now I'm the only one left on the trail except for the hiding bears! I still don't see them but I know they are there, somewhere! Well after 10 long miles I finally come to the parking lot, but first I had to go to the bathroom! Ahh that felt better! Now I can slow down and relax a bit, its still raining but sky looks like its breaking up, yep it is. I get to the van and change into dry clothes, Hey, I showered without taking my clothes off!   

Me and my friend (See, I told you there was a bear out there!)

Kissing trees

What you looking at?

Taking a break!

Arrived Lake Louise and the town is small that we imagined it to be.  Went to the welcome center to get information. 

We wanted to find out about campgrounds, but all of them were filled up.  It had a small exhibit with some stuffed animals and we looked around a bit.

Look at how LONG the bear claws are!!! Where are the manicurists?

There was a small shopping center nearby, so we strolled down and explored a bit.  While Edith was outside waiting for Erwin to come out of a store she saw something interesting in the distance. A rainbow!!! 

Since all campgrounds were full we decided to dry camp at a parking area. We were really tired from hiking and sightseeing and it was a very quiet, but peaceful night for us.