A Rockie Road: All creatures great and small

We woke early again and went down to breakfast in the hotel. We couldn't leave it too late to start as Cam had a packed itinerary. As we set off he gave us a choice of the motorway or Bow Parkway, the latter being a reduced speed limit road giving drivers the maximum chance of wildlife spotting. Naturally we chose the latter. That way also gave us the opportunity to call at Jackson Canyon. The canyon is nice in itself, with the path going along metal walkways above the river in places.

What makes it though is the waterfall at the end.

Back onto Bow valley parkway we went, no sign of any creatures though, except a little shrew that ran over the road. Next was lake Louise itself. This proved very busy, it seems to be particularly beloved of Chinese and Japanese people. It was also a bit dull, in fact it was snowing, so the colour wasn't as you see in the photos.

Still very beautiful.

Cam moved us along to Moraine lake next, Louise's next door neighbour, with the same gorgeous colour. This looked even better, especially when we climbed the rock pile at one end for an elevated view. It was snowing quite heavily then, making it appear magical

All the while Cam was giving us wildlife spotting tips, but no joy. He also gave us car parking tips, which were much appreciated as both lakes were really busy.

He surprised us next by taking us out of Alberta to British Columbia, across the continental divide. One side the rivers flow to the Pacific and the other the Atlantic. First stop the spiral tunnels, where we did a bit of train spotting.

Can you spot it? The tunnel spirals around inside the mountain and comes out below where it went in. Awesome!

Next was emerald lake. And it was really green

This could have been a really nice arty photo if there weren't so many Japanese people around. We looked really hard but no wildlife.

A quick stop at natural bridge next. The water has made a tunnel through a rock.

It was very difficult to get a photo without the guy from the blind school outing on. He was everywhere.

Finally Cam built up the takakkaw falls. The Rockies highest, amazing road to reach them, absolutely must do. But what Can didn't know was the road was closed! I still feel bereft. So we headed back toward Banff in the certain knowledge that bears like railway lines (because grain gets pulled). Guess what. Cam was right. Just off the highway we spotted a grizzly ambling up the track. Then while driving back along the bow valley parkway, we saw a group of people and decided to pull over. There on the tracks was another grizzly. I even got a photo. Look!