The Rockie Road

We got up at around 7.30 a.m. Showered, dressed and completed packing the small bag we had with us in the AirBnB. We decided to leave a bit early so that we could have something to eat and drink before we met our guide for our walking tour of downtown Calgary. As our host was not up yet we left a message for her on the kitchen counter. We said goodbye to her lovely male cat 'Cadeau' and crept out of the building. We cleared the car of overnight snow and got it warmed up. Then we drove the short distance to the nearest Tim Hortons for coffee and breakfast. We had two 'omelet bites' and coffee before driving further to a parking lot close to the Civic Center where were were to meet our guide by the lion 'Leo' who sits by the front door. By now it was snowing quite hard although the snow was not settling even though the temperature was -2 degC. This was early for snow in Calgary which, in any case, is not a high snow city. Our very friendly guide, Judy, met us st...

Today we got up at about 8 a.m. and re-packed for our departure from the King Edward Hotel. We finished the peaches and made some coffee. Then we left to make for the Banff Upper Hot Springs. Here we could bathe in the OOT volcanic sulfurous water. The baths are not far away and we soon parked in the car park and paid for the session as well as a ticket for the cave and hot springs further up the mountain. We changed into bathing costumes, showered and went out into the cold air and were soon in the water which was 39 deg C or 102 deg F. This felt really comfortable but there were cautions not to spend too long in the water without coming out and cooling off. 10 minutes was reckoned to be the maximum. The water was about 1.4 m deep so about 5 feet at its deepest and there were shallower areas and places to lie and sit and enjoy the waters.  MAC enjoys 'the waters' Banff Springs Upper Pool After spending about 20 or 30 minutes in the pool we go...

We slept in this morning and got up after 8 a.m. Breakfast was the usual of peaches, coffee, and the poppyseed strudel we had bought at Sicamus. Then we finished packing and checked out of the hotel. We drove into town for more gas and then took the Icefields Highway towards Athabasca Falls. We arrived there and it was raining heavily so we walked to the falls and took some quick photos and rushed back to the car.  Athabasca Falls and its surroundings We drove on down the Icefields Highway in the most amazing weather. It was rain – snow – sun – sleet – snow – sun in quick succession. Just amazing transitions from one weather system to another.  The snowy drive down to Lake Louise We stopped at the Sunwupta Falls resort which has a teepee outside and a shop which sells a lot of Indian art and artifacts. We bought a few items and then drove on towards Lake Louise. The glacier visible from the road Tracked vehicle tours on the glacier At L...