Banff & Jasper: June 2024

 Banff: Arriving in Calgary & exploring Moraine Lake (Days 1-2)

Banff Gondola, Emerald Lake & Natural Bridge (Yoho National Park), Lake Louise, & Johnston Canyon (Days 3-4)

Banff: Icefields Parkway en route to Jasper (Day 5)

Jasper: Maligne Canyon, Pyramid Island, & Athabasca Falls (Day 6)

Jasper: Sunwapta Falls, Chaba Imne (Maligne Lake) & Spirit Island (Day 7)

Jasper: Valley of the Five Lakes, Moose, & Medicine Lake (Day 8)

Icefields Parkway on route to Banff: Athabasca Glacier, Peyto Lake, and saying goodbye to the mountains (Day 9)

Icefields Parkway on route to Banff: Athabasca Glacier, Peyto Lake, and saying goodbye to the mountains (Day 9)

We initially planned this trip as a way to celebrate both my 40th birthday and our 10th anniversary of being together.  This isn't the first time I've spent my birthday in another country, and that alone made it extra special.  Today we packed up and left Jasper early to make our way back to Calgary for our flight the next day.  We had earmarked a couple of spots that we wanted to stop at that we'd missed on the way up.  

There is so much beauty here, you really can't see everything.  Like anywhere that you travel, you can only ever hope to glimpse a small part of a place, peek through the window into another world.  You do what you can in the time that you have, never knowing if you'll make it back to that place, or if memories are all you'll ever have going forward.  

Mount Kerkeslin

After packing up the car and telling R we were going to "one more hotel" and then fly home, we set off fairly early for what we knew would be a very long drive.  He doesn't do well with long drives, even with short periodic stops to stretch his legs. He loves long, leisurely stops, where he can immerse himself in hiking or throwing rocks in the lake or chasing squirrels, so he was unhappy being thrown in the car so early in the morning. I sat in the back to try and keep him entertained.

Our first brief stop was the "Goats & Glaciers" stop (that's how it's signed), where you can view Mount Kerkeslin across the road.  We walked over to the lookout but didn't see any goats. This is the location where we had seen goats on the side of the road on our drive to Jasper, so we realized how lucky we were to have stumbled upon them that day!

J holding R over the 
quicksand pool so he
could poke it with a stick

Another brief stop was something that isn't marked on any of the maps of the Icefields Parkway, but that I actually found out about through geocaching.  It's a roadside stop with washroom facilities, and if you take the little trail to the left (if the highway is behind you), you will come upon a roped off area of real quicksand!  Having never seen this phenomenon in real life, we wanted to see what it looked like, so we walked the little trail, holding tight to R's hand.  The pool of quicksand was a strange muddy greenish colour, and there were bubbles of air coming through.  It was fascinating to look at, a neat little stop that is a great addition to your journey along the Parkway. If you want to read more about the quicksand at this location, check out the geocaching page about it.  The spot itself is located at N 52° 30.682, W 117° 33.953. 

Closeup of the bubbles in the quicksand

After that, we headed to the Athabasca Glacier, hoping to try the

Athabasca Glacier

"Toe of the Glacier" hike.  This is a relatively easy, 1.4km round trip that takes you fairly close to the Athabasca Glacier.  It is rocky, uphill, and windy, so we weren't sure how R would react to this kind of hike, but he happily hiked up to the viewpoint like a champ.  There was a small waterfall up there too, which made him happy as that's his favourite feature to hike to.  Not many people can say they've hiked to a glacier on their birthday, so that was definitely a fun experience. The terrain around here was very different than the other places we have hiked in the region.  R enjoyed the idea that he was hiking "up the mountain", and that's certainly what it felt like.  

Where the glacier was in 1982

I wonder what he'll remember of this trip, if anything at all.  Likely not the glacier, which is sad, as J and I commented to each other that this is probably the only time in his life he'll ever see one.  As you climb along the hike, there are periodic signs telling you where the glacier used to be in various years, and gives a chilling sense of how quickly they have been melting.  

This beautiful location is also very dangerous, as there are large sections close to the glacier with hidden crevasses. There were many signs and blocked off barriers for where it wasn't safe to walk, so we were shocked to see so many individuals walking nonchalantly way past the barrier.  People have died falling into the hidden cracks over the years, so it's astounding to me that anyone would put their safety at risk like that. I too wished I could get even closer, but at the same time was quiet content to remain a respectful and safe distance away.  If I ever go back, I would want to take one of these indigenous-led tours.  Have a look at this link, where they give you a very detailed and fascinating indigenous history and perspective of the glacier area. 

R and the Columbian Ground Squirrel

After that hike (in which R was uncooperative for the latter half as I had pointed out the tour bus on top of the glacier itself and he wanted to "wait" for the bus to come "pick him up" which obviously wasn't happening), we headed for a lunch stop at another day use area. This one had plenty of picnic tables spread out over a large area and was by a beautiful turquoise river, so it was the perfect spot.  There was a small area where R could go down and throw rocks into the fast moving river (with me no more than a few inches away from him), and he entertained himself by doing that, as well as making friends with one of the Columbian Ground Squirrels that hung out near our picnic table.  He was delighted by its disappearance into one hole and reappearance from another hole a few feet away, and kept watching to see where it would come out next. The area was the Coleman Flats day use area, and you can find the location on this map. 

For his nap, we drove back through the Big Bend hairpin switchback (which was more impressive on the way up but still incredible), and grabbed coffees at the Saskatchewan River Crossing.  We arrived at Peyto Lake just as R was waking up from his nap.  We parked in the lower parking lot (the upper one is for buses only, though personal vehicles can access it to drop off person's with mobility needs) and made the hike over to the Peyto viewpoint, which is a 1.3km round trip.  We had actually stopped here on the way up to Jasper, but R was not having anything that day (again, long drive = miserable child) so we weren't there very long and planned to come back and enjoy it better. 

R & his "hiking sticks"

I was prepared with the promise of a "big" chocolate (Ferrero Rocher) if he complied with taking a family photo (he has developed an aversion to having his photos taken - especially here, where you sometimes have to line up to take photos at the most popular spots - I don't blame him), so he happily came along and we got our obligatory family photo with the gorgeous lake in the background.  The colour is so strikingly a piercing blue because you are viewing it from so high up, so the light goes through the rock flour particles in a different way than when you view some of the other lakes at shore level.

The real beauty here, though, is at the much lesser known "Panorama" viewpoint.  Even though this trail is listed on All Trails, it is surprisingly not very frequented.  If you're lucky enough to have someone drop you off at the accessible parking lot, it's a very short walk from there, but if you're coming from the main parking lot it's a 2.4 km round trip - though it's not actually that far from the main viewpoint itself. 

Peyto Lake - Panorama viewpoint

The trail is quite confusing and not well marked, and as you'll see from the All Trails map there are a myriad of intersecting paths in the woods that you could potentially get lost on, but I managed to direct us the right way (again, geocaching to the rescue - there happens to be a "virtual" cache there, so I was able to use the pre-downloaded offline maps of the area, which show you the full trail system, and then follow it on my phone as we hiked to make sure we were taking the right turns).  It takes you through the woods and then along a ridge high above the valley, and eventually you will start spying Peyto Lake again through the trees. The real magic is at the end of the trail though, so keep going until you reach the rocky outcrop.  There was only one other couple here (compared to the 50+ people present at the main lookout), and it was quiet and peaceful, with a very light wind blowing.  The large rocky outcrop is perfect to sit and have a quiet picnic away from the crowds, but all we had time for was a quick few minutes to look out at the lake and admire its striking beauty in silence.

This stunning wilderness; how do you take it in?  The endless Rocky Mountains on all sides - I understand why people have fallen in love with the Canadian Rockies now.  There is something different about them than other mountains we have seen in the world (New Zealand, Iceland, Portugal).  They become a part of you, something you alternate between marveling at and simply taking for granted as being part of the backdrop.  Even R noticed their presence, and their absence, when he looked out the window in the hotel when we finally got to Calgary; "where mountains go?"

As we drove out of Banff for the final time, we watched the mountain ranges slowly thin out, decrease in height, and eventually disappear all together as we approached Calgary.  The end of a trip is always sad.  When you leave such a spectacular landscape, it comes with its own particular flavour of sadness.  All the photos in the world do not replace that visceral experience of being immersed in a place.  Saying "goodbye" to a place, to an experience, is a strange concept, but R didn't find it strange at all as I suggested we wave goodbye to the mountains.

We'll see them again, I'm sure.  We are so lucky that Canada is so vast, so beautiful, and so accessible.  I can't believe I've lived here 40 years and this was my first trip out west. It definitely won't be the last.

Goodbye Rockies. Until we meet again. 

Jasper: Valley of the Five Lakes, Moose, & Medicine Lake (Day 8)

On our last full day in Jasper, we decided to tackle a hike that's only a 5 minute drive away from our hotel, the Valley of the Five Lakes hike.  This hike takes you to see an impressive five lakes of various hues of green, blue and turquoise. The hike was one of the most challenging that we've done, as there are quite significant uphill and downhill sections, many of which are rocky.  We brought the hiking carrier for R as we always do even though he refuses it most of the time (yes, he prefers to hike over being carried), and we popped him in there for a couple of sections of this challenging 5km hike, which took us just over 3 hours.

Valley of the Five Lakes

The hike was even more beautiful than I had expected, and the valley was surprisingly concentrated with birds, including many warbler and waterfowl species I only get to see in Ontario either during spring migration or during the winter months.  

Each lake had its own unique colours and character, and we enjoyed exploring each one.  For those wondering why all the lakes in this region have such different colours than your usual lake, it has to do with the rock flour in the lake.  This flour is washed down the sides of the mountains, and different amounts, plus different sunlight angles, and different elevations and angles of viewing, all effect which rays of light are absorbed and reflected.  This fascinating geological phenomenon can be viewed in any place in the world there are glacially-fed lakes; New Zealand and Pakistan are two other places (long time readers will recall the incredible blue of Lake Pukaki, one of the remote lakes we camped beside in New Zealand)

Valley of the Five Lakes

After this long hike, we had lunch at a picnic table in the parking lot, and then drove over to Maligne Lake Road again while R napped in the backseat.

When we were coming home from the boat cruise to Spirit Island, we had an incredible encounter that I haven't written about yet.  We saw a number of cars pulled over to the side of the road near a large parking lot for a trail, and decided to slow down and see if we could spot what the excitement was all about. 

Valley of the Five Lakes

I hopped out while J stayed with R in the car.  I saw a few folks standing or crouched very quietly with their cameras, so I tip-toed closer.  Across the other side of the parking lot was a moose!  I think my mouth fell open and remained that way for a few minutes as I watched it leisurely eat leaves off some shrubs.  I had never seen a moose before, despite all my backcountry camping in Algonquin. 

J had also never seen a moose, and it's been her dream for years to see one.  She talks about it all the time, any time we go somewhere that has even a remote possibility of seeing one.

So not only was I excited to see this moose, I was even more excited to see J's reaction.  I looked over towards our car and she rolled the window down.  I gestured wildly for her to come over, and she was soon out of the car with R in her arms, walking as quickly and quietly as she could.  Her reaction was absolute stunned disbelief, and the three of us stood there in wonder, along with everyone else who had similar child-like expressions of joy on their faces.  

Seeing wildlife, especially elusive wildlife, has such an interesting effect on people, more than even beautiful scenery does.  Lakes and forests and mountains are something that are always 'there', that we can theoretically access whenever we want, while creatures like mammals and birds are mostly un-chase-able, entirely dependent on their own whims and not ours. To stumble upon such creatures elicits this deep sense of wonder and reverence; it's as if we are being gifted something so precious, yet there is no gifter and no one to thank.

Can there be a more iconic Canadian photo?

Today, while driving along for R's nap, we again saw a crowd of cars pulled over to the side of the road, so we also carefully pulled over and scanned the scene.  Another moose!  This one we could initially see from the car, so we watched it as it slowly walked the opposite shoreline of a river down below the highway, munching on vegetation. I did eventually hop out for some photos, and while I was doing that, the moose went into the woods and then re-emerged and headed straight into the river!  A woman beside me gasped and her face lit up with that pure joy that you so rarely see in the face of an adult. Another woman in a car who was passing slowly by rolled down her window and asked what we were seeing. When she heard it was a moose, she flapped her hands and squealed - again, childlike joy.

A fascinating scene to be a part of on so many levels. Thank you, beautiful moose, for gifting us with your presence and eliciting so much joy.  As I was watching it in the river, J and R came over. Apparently he had woken up from his nap, observed us stopped on the road with other people out of the cars, and his quiet voice piped up from the back "I want to see". So interesting how he has already learned so much about the context of the world to put all those observations together and come to the conclusion that we were all seeing something "cool" and that he wanted in on it. 

The moose was "taking a bath" according to him, and he stared at it in quiet silence, the way he often does when he's processing something big.  I do not know what was going through his mind, nor what he will remember of this occasion, if anything at all.  Other wildlife we've seen in the past couple of days were a black bear nimbly lumbering on the side of the mountains, a huge male elk with large antlers so close to the car that my zoom lens couldn't get the whole thing in the frame, and a nest with a Bald Eagle and her two eaglets. 

Black Bear

Elk (Male)

Eagle in nest with 2 eaglets

After the moose excitement, we headed over to the shores of Medicine Lake. There is a viewpoint of the entire lake from above that's a popular stopping point for tour buses, but I had earmarked the shores of this lake the day before when we drove by and I noticed there was a short trail to the bottom with a very rocky shore. There could not be a more perfect lake for R.

Medicine Lake

Our sweet two-and-a-half year old has done an incredible number of hikes with us in the past week, taking each day in stride, up for most adventures. Of course he has had hard days, but we all do.  I felt that he had earned a treat of just spending a long while by the shores of a lake, throwing rocks, playing with sticks in the mud, eating a blueberry muffin (his favourite), and just generally "doing" nothing.  Truth be told, I needed that too. There has been a lot of movement on this trip - always hiking, going from one place to the next, stopping for so many different sceneries and points of interest.  

It is not in the hundreds of photos we took that we will remember this place; it is in the times we took to slow down and take it all in. To simply sit and just "be", breathe the mountain air, look out at the turquoise waters, and not do anything at all. 

These are the thoughts that ran through my head as I watched R dig in the muddy shores of Medicine Lake with a stick he had found, and as I threw the rocks in the lake that he carefully foraged and selected for me and J ("trow rocks too-geder").  Soon after these thoughts faded, I had no others. It was only the sounds of splashing, the smiles of R, the colours of green and blue and grey and chalky white, the sounds of Pine Siskins in the evergreens, and the cool mountain I breathed in and out. 

Medicine Lake

Jasper: Sunwapta Falls, Chaba Imne (Maligne Lake) & Spirit Island (Day 7)

Spirit Island 

Spiritual places have always moved me, and today was no different.  This afternoon, we headed to Maligne Lake to take the boat tour to Spirit Island (the only other way to get there is to canoe or kayak, which can take 8-10 hours across an often moody lake).  This location has been widely photographed and shared all over the world; you will likely recognize it even if you never knew where it was taken.  When I first moved out on my own and was in university, we would have poster fairs, and I purchased a landscape large poster of this island, and had it up on the wall of my apartment for many years.  It seemed like a fabled place; somewhere so beautiful, remote and far away that I could never hope to get there. 

Samson Beaver's map,
gifted to Mary Schaffer

We boarded the boat and were introduced to our driver, Alex and our tour guide, Delilah.  As we rode to the "island" (it's actually an isthmus), she told us the history of the area.  The lake, known to the Stoney Nakoda people and other indigenous peoples for thousands of years prior to colonization, was a place of spiritual importance to them.  They knew it as the "lake of deep waters" or "lake of healing", and called it Chaba Imne (Beaver Lake).  They used it for spiritual ceremony in healing, as well as a gathering place and to hunt.  When Europeans arrived and moved the local people onto reserves, they lost their connection with this important spiritual location.

In the early 1900's, Mary Schaffer, an American botanist, artist, photographer and writer, heard about Chaba Imne from the friendship she had developed with the Stoney Nakoda people.  They had told her about its beauty and healing waters.  One of them, Samson Beaver, drew her a map from his fuzzy memory of having visited the lake as a child with his father for a coming of age ceremony, in exchange for flour, tea, sugar, a dress and a doll for his daughter.  Armed with this map, her best friend, a botanist, 3 guides, 26 horses and a dog, she set off to locate the mythical Chaba Imne (known today as Maligne Lake).  After a month of trekking through deep snow, rushing waters, tall mountains, and bushwhacking, they finally found it - the stunningly beautiful lake of legends. They were the first non-indigenous people to set foot on its shores.

Several years later, Mary was asked to return and survey the land. She gave many of the mountain peaks and other features names of the people who had helped her, including Samson Beaver - our boat passed by the majestic Samson Peak.  Jasper National Park was formed in 1907, and Mary fought hard to have Maligne Lake included in its boundaries, in order to preserve this location for generations to come and leave it undeveloped. 

Samson Peak

Spirit Island

History is, of course, complicated. In forming this national park, all indigenous people were remov
ed from their lands here.  Only very recently has the Canadian government formally apologized to the Stoney Nakoda people and welcomed them back to Jasper National Park, but much reconciliation work remains to be done. 

As I sat and listened to these stories while the boat rode by all the mountains and the clear turquoise waters of Maligne Lake, I felt very emotional.  What beauty, what complicated history, what spiritual significance.  The company who runs the boat cruise we were on, Pursuit, has developed a friendship with the Stoney Nakoda people over the last decade, and have modified their practices as a result. They used to take people onto Spirit Island itself, but after hearing from the Stoney Nakoda how sacred this place was to them, they no longer allow us passengers to walk on the island itself, but rather drop us off nearby on the mainland where we can walk around a few viewpoints and look out onto the island instead.  

Delilah (an indigenous person herself) also told us that, if we felt so moved, we could approach the shores of Maligne Lake, and ask the lake for healing, then cup some water and pour it on our head.  She also said that its tradition that if it's someone's birthday, they have to swim in the cold waters of the lake.

I am still 2 days away from my birthday, but I figured it was close enough that I should at least approximate, so when we got off the boat and took the obligatory photos from the viewpoints, we headed down to the shore and I took my boots off and waded in, ankle deep. Feeling a little unsure of myself, I spoke to Chaba Imne and asked for healing, and cupped some cold water onto my forehead.  Behind me, R happily gathered stones and threw them into the green-blue waters, taking it all in the way only a toddler can - present to the moment, to the stones and the wind and the splashes and sounds of the water, oblivious to the context around him. For a brief few moments, as I looked out at the long-dreamed about Spirit Island and felt the frigid crystal clear waters surround my feet, I too was consumed by only the sense of the present moment, and the inexplicable tears in my eyes. 

Standing in Chaba Imne (Maligne Lake); Spirit Island in the background

Earlier that day, we hiked Sunwapta Falls, back on the Icefields Parkway.   We had been unsure of what to do today before the boat cruise, and had a few options in mind, so I decided to ask R what he wanted to see - lakes or a waterfall.  He chose waterfall, and so we honored his wish and headed out.  

Sunwapta Falls (upper)

The upper falls are viewable with a very short walk from the parking lot.  They are definitely gorgeous, especially with that mountain backdrop, and you can also see the way it has carved the canyon walls.  The river goes around a small island of evergreens and pours out with a powerful force almost immediately in front of it.  There is also a lower falls, and R was in good spirits so we started the hike through the forest, a 2.6km round-trip journey that he - again - did entirely on his own. He bounded down the ever descending trail, delighted by all the tree roots in his way, singing "hiking we go".  There were several other people on the trail either coming or going, but it was quieter than most of the other trails we'd done.  Many of them would comment on R's boundless energy, amazed that he was hiking this trail at all.

Outdoors has always been his happy place, but we didn't realize just how much he loved hiking until this trip.  His pure joy in experiencing the world is a marvel and an honour to witness.  To him, everything is brand new; everything is an adventure.  Hiking the wilderness of Jasper National Park is no greater or lesser a novel adventure than kicking a ball in the park outside our house.  To him, the grandeur of the vacation he is on is irrelevant. And that is a fascinating perspective to witness.  

Throw rocks into
Maligne Lake near
Spirit Island

On the trail to lower
Sunwapta Falls

Travel takes us away from what we know, and immerses us in the unknown, which re-awakens our wonder.  But for him, that wonder is still ever-present, regardless of location.  I will try to remember that, after we get home and return to our everyday lives.

Picnic lunch stop along the Icefields Parkway
(Mt Christie picnic area)

Jasper: Maligne Canyon, Pyramid Island, & Athabasca Falls (Day 6)

Early in the morning, we set off for Maligne Canyon.  This stunning canyon has been created by the force of the Maligne River.  There are incredible caverns, potholes, and other rock formations that you can view as you hike along the canyon.  There was one informational sign that referred to the process as "liquid sandpaper", which captures the effect very well.  The sheer power of water to smooth and cut through rock like that - it's hard to wrap one's mind around.

Maligne Canyon

There are a variety of hikes and loops you can do here, but the most popular are the ones to the 6 bridges built above various parts of the canyon.  We hiked the loop that brings us to bridge 1-4, and then drove around afterwards for the view at Bridge 5 (you can also drive to Bridge 6).  R, in true fashion, hiked the 2.6km entirely on his own, delighting in finding each new bridge and pointing out the marvels of the different parts of the canyon, river, or waterfalls to us.

(In case you're wondering, the name of the canyon comes from the French word "maligne", meaning evil. It was named by a 19th century missionary who had an unfortunate experience trying to cross its rushing waters, that resulted in 6 of his horses being carried away by their powerful forces).

Pyramid Island

After this hike, and stopping for the Maligne Overlook viewpoint, we headed to Pyramid Island.  This island is located on Pyramid Lake, and has a picturesque footbridge connecting it to the mainland.  R enjoyed walking across it, and we even viewed a pair of Loons and their 2 little babies from the bridge.  Once on the island, we sat down for lunch, but were quickly blown away (literally) by the strong gusts of wind coming off the lake, so we headed over to the historic gazebo to finish our picnic, before taking the short walk down to the end of the island.  From here you can view the beautiful Pyramid Mountains.  R enjoyed this spot to play with rocks and sticks in the water.  

A tourist used her Polaroid camera to take his photo and gave him the "magic paper" so he could watch the image come to life.  The vintage look of the photo, as well as the tangible nature of it, gave me goosebumps for some reason.  There is something about physically printed images, especially Polaroid ones, that carry with them some kind of inexplicable eeriness.  I can understand why some cultures feel like having their photo taken is like someone capturing their soul.  Staring at this light-imprinted image of my son and holding the fragile paper in my hands, felt almost as though I was holding him, somehow - a version of him that I would never see again; as fleeting as any other image of him we have, but somehow different, more salient and precious, being in this format. 

Pyramid Mountains

The digital world has taken over everything we do and how we record and store information, but I believe the tangible analog can never be replaced.  Perhaps this is why Polaroids have made a comeback - it's more than a kitschy vintage thing, there is something about its tactile tangibleness that cannot be replaced by the thousands of digital images we have, even of the same moments. 

Athabasca Falls

Our last stop of the day was Athabasca Falls, a stop we hadn't had time for on the Icefields Parkway. This location is fairly close to Jasper and so it was easy to backtrack.  There are multiple viewpoints of the falls here, and the roar of the water is incredible.  R had finished cooperating for the day, so we took turns exploring the different viewpoints, though he did finally agree to come check out one of them when we said he could get very close up, and we gave him some sticks to throw into the swirling madness, which has always been a favourite activity.  The wild power of water was present here in a way I haven't seen at many falls, and this place is definitely worth a visit.  No hike is required, only a short walk, and you can even walk down to the bottom of the river and see the beautiful view from down there. 

Loon with baby

Baby Loon getting a fish snack

Banff: Icefields Parkway en route to Jasper (Day 5)

Today we drove away from the crowds of Banff and headed north to Jasper along the famous Icefields Parkway.  This drive reminded us both of our journeys through remote New Zealand - a road cut through mountain ranges, no internet for over 230km, waterfalls and glaciers everywhere you look.  The drive takes 3.5 hours without stops, but there are an incredible amount of lookouts, hikes, and other points of interest along the way, and with a toddler who needs to play and stretch his legs and consume 723 snacks, the drive took us 8.5 hours. It was a long day. 

Traveling with R is usually fairly easy.  He loves to be outside and he loves to explore new places.  The length of this trip, however, seems to be taking its toll on him, and some days are more challenging than we expected. Plans shift; we adjust to his needs in the moment, and sometimes that means staying longer at one place than planned, or skipping other places.  The number of interesting places to stop along this drive lend themselves well to this, and many a view point was enjoyed by taking turns hopping out of the car for some photos and then swapping, while he napped or snacked or played (or cried) in the backseat. 

The world is vast - so much bigger than we are attuned to in our everyday experience, work and daycare and the daily household chores. The concrete jungle of the city can definitely feel suffocating at times, and the wide open space of the world, forgotten.  This drive gave us a taste of that infiniteness that is this world, child tantrums aside. Perhaps he too, in his own way, was having trouble processing it.  Seeing so much that is unfamiliar, that is so big, that is outside what you have ever seen before, can be a lot to take in and work through, even for adults.

Nevertheless, there were many moments along today's route that all three of us enjoyed. 

Raven

After leaving Canmore, we stopped to take our photo with the iconic Banff sign.  We were going to head to Wild Flour bakery afterwards, but there was a lineup of 30 people, so we decided to just keep
driving. 

Crowfoot Glacier

Crowfoot Glacier was one of the first stops.  There was a pair of ravens in the parking lot calling to each other, and R was quite amused by them. They are quite large birds when you see them up close.  Sadly it seems as though they've been fed by humans a lot, and we even witnessed a couple throw their apple core to one of them.  Even R knows that he should tell wildlife "no food for you!" (yes, a la Seinfeld) when chipmunks come up to him and beg. It was a small but telling sign of the impact that our presence has had on the wildlife in this area. 

A few minutes past the glacier is Bow Lake. There is a gravel road that you take left off the main parking lot for about 100m, and there is a nice day-use area back there with picnic tables right by the shore of the lake. This is where we stopped for lunch, and R loved that we were on a very rocky shore so he could scoop and throw rocks into the water to his heart's content.

The shores of Bow Lake

Traveling with a toddler has us making choices and thinking about locations in ways we never would have before.  Bodies of water with available rocks or sticks for throwing are a high priority on this trip!  Thankfully, the Rockies has no shortage.

After lunch, we set off to drive for nap time and still managed to get in a bunch of interesting stops along the way, taking turns hopping out of the car to explore for a few minutes and take photos. 

There's so much beauty along the Icefields Parkway that it's hard to take it all in, especially in short bursts like this.  Sometimes you just have to take it all in and process it later.

Waterfowl Lakes

Parks Canada has a great map that shows all of the interesting stopping points along the Icefields Parkway; if you click this link and scroll to the bottom you will see it.  One of the stopping points we did during nap was at the Saskatchewan River Crossing, the confluence of the North Saskatchewan River, Howse River and Mistaya River.  This location was where travelers and fur traders in the 19th century used to cross the Saskatchewan River.   These days, it is the only point on the Icefields Parkway where you can get basic necessities for this otherwise completely remote highway.  There is a gas station, restaurant and cafe, bathrooms, as well as accommodations. 

Nearby, there is the Howse Pass viewpoint, which I highly recommend stopping for. The Ktunaxa First Nations used this mountain pass as a travel route to reach bison herds east of the Rockies.  The view is incredible, and as I stood and look out at the incredibly vast mountain pass below me, for a few brief moments I felt the tendrils of time reach out from the past, showing me visions of indigenous peoples using this land for travel and hunting, deeply connected to the landscape itself.  Apparently one can still hike this route today, but the trail is rapidly disappearing and is treacherous.

One thing that I have been thinking about more over the years is how all of our historic places in Canada have plaques and signs commemorating the history of settlers and colonizers. In New Zealand, almost every place we went to had signs that explained the Maori historic or spiritual importance of the location alongside the settler's history, and both were given equal prominence and respect.  It would be really nice to see that here.  "Canadian" history is relatively recent; there was history here for thousands of years before we got here, and even though so much of it is tragically lost, I hope that we start adding this information to all our signs and plaques, so we can gain a deeper and richer understanding of the history of the land we are sharing.  

Howse Pass

There are plenty of waterfalls to see in the region, and we stopped at the Weeping Wall, which was sadly not as "weepy" as it usually is.  The lack of snow this winter has contributed to less meltwater coming down the mountains, so water levels are unusually in many places, including the famous Moraine Lake back in Banff.  Further down, though, Tangle Creek falls was roaring with water and was a very beautiful waterfall indeed, though it did involve parking across the street and then darting across the highway, which is a little disconcerting to do with a toddler.

Tangle Falls

Weeping Wall

The most impressive part of Icefields Parkway for me was the Big Bend hairpin turn that cuts straight through and up through the Rockies.  Driving straight through mountain ranges is always an astounding experience, and this was no different. We were both reminded very much of driving through New Zealand, though this was less harrowing.  The views along here are simply breathtaking.  Don't be concerned if you miss some of the pull-over stops that are marked as off limits for those going northbound - there is a large one at the top of the hairpin that you can stop at easily and get out of your car for fantastic looks down below. 

Big Bend lookout

Along the Icefields we also saw plenty of wildlife, pictured below, but our favourite was the Mountain Goats. There was an intriguing sign for a pullover called "Goats and Glaciers", and they meant it literally. You can pull over and go see a lookout to a glacier, and if you're lucky (as we were) also spot the Mountain Goats who frequent a salt lick in this location. There were so many by the side of the road, including many babies. It was so much fun to see them and R also enjoyed them a lot.  

After all that traveling, we finally arrived in Jasper and checked into our new hotel for the next 4 nights, the Maligne Lodge.  It features a full kitchen so we can cook most of our dinners, but tonight because we arrived so late, we made R a grilled cheese, got him to bed, and then ordered burgers from De'd Dog Bar & Grill.  I got an Elk burger and it was quite delicious! 

Jasper is a nice change of pace from Canmore/Banff area.  There are less people here, and there's a "backpacker's" vibe here in the mountains, which is more our comfort zone.  Looking forward to exploring more. 

Mountain Goats

Elk

Columbian Ground Squirrel

Banff Gondola, Emerald Lake & Natural Bridge (Yoho National Park), Lake Louise, & Johnston Canyon (Days 3-4)

There are many travel blogs out there, and they all serve their purpose.  For me, the purpose has always been first and foremost to capture my experiences in the moment; to preserve something of the immediate, intimate nature of the present.  One day, when I can no longer travel, I can read these words back and recall these lived moments in a way that will stand the test of time, long after memory has blurred around the edges. 

Now that I have R, perhaps he too will one day find pieces of himself and pieces of us woven through these pages, for these are experiences he will never consciously remember, yet I like to think that these lakes, these forests, these staggeringly beautiful mountains, will make other kinds of impressions on his mind and heart; become a part of his internal tapestry and the way he views the world.

So if you are here to find travel tips for how to do Banff with kids, or to find information to perfect your itinerary, you may indeed find those things here, but incidentally. What you will find, however, is a small glimpse into how these places and landscapes have made themselves a part of me.

I would be remiss, too, if I didn't mention the other person I am writing for.  She was - and always will be - this blog's biggest fan.  She would read the latest installment of every blog entry with an avidness of one awaiting the next installment of their favourite novel or soap opera (and once made her son drive over from another town with his laptop when hers wasn't working so she could read the newest post).  She would email out my blog entries to everyone she thought would read them.  She would tell me, whenever I got back from our travels, that I should write a book.

Even though she is no longer with us, I feel compelled to write for her regardless.  So Grandma U., this one's for you. 

***

Banff Gondola to Sulpher Mountain

This morning we set off on the Banff Gondola, which is essentially a large pod dangling from a metal rope that brings you from safe solid ground up high into the mountains, and the experience is as mildly alarming as that sounds.  We were a little worried we wouldn't make our reservation in time, as Banff was full of lengthy construction delays at every turn, but we eventually arrived at parking and thankfully found a spot.

Initially R was excited by the idea of riding up to the mountain in a gondola, but as we waited in line and he observed the wild reality of it, his face turned slightly concerned, the way it always does when he is processing large pieces of information.  And truth be told, we were also processing it, with J commenting "how is this safe?"  Yet, safe it was, and by the time we hopped in. R was all smiles as he ate his cookie and stared out the gondola windows, and we all marveled at the incredible beauty of being so high up above the tree tops, looking down at the expanse of forest, mountains and river below. 

The views at the top along the boardwalk trail were equally breathtaking.  Mountains everywhere you looked - 360 degrees of them.  The views of the valley below, with the Bow River and expanses of forest, made you feel so small, and the world seem so fast and big.  What impression must it have on one's very being, to live surrounded by this kind of beauty? Or even by just the mountains themselves?  Surely people don't walk around in wonder their entire lives, but there must be subtle changes it has on one's way of thinking and being, one's way of taking up space and moving through the world.

A view along the Sulpher Mountain Boardwalk,
looking back towards the Gondola/interpretive centre

We walked along the boardwalk at R's pace, which was remarkably fast.  The child can hike for kilometers on end without stopping.  His internal drive for movement, the outdoors and general discovery knows no bounds.  You can take the boardwalk and stairs trail all the way to the Sanson's Peak viewpoint, which I highly recommend.  The views at every turn are simply incredible.  Also not to be missed is taking the elevator back at the interpretive centre up to the 4th floor, where you can come out on the roof and enjoy more 360 views, as well as watching the Gondolas come in. 

Bighorn Sheep made an appearance!  

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels
will try to steal your lunch

View of the valley from the Gondola

After spending a good few hours at the top enjoying the views, we made our way back to the Gondola to head down the mountain and head to our car.  Traveling with a toddler means that after lunch is prime nap-time, so we time all our excursions to involve a drive at this time so he can nap on the go.  In this case, we headed over to British Columbia, an hour away, and Yoho National Park.  

Emerald Lake

Emerald Lake is another popular lake in the region, and has its own shade of turquoise that attracts visitors similarly to Louise and Moraine, but we decided to try our luck with parking and thankfully were able to find a spot.  After filling R up with a snack, we put him on our back in the carrier as he wasn't in the best of moods after his nap, and walked around the area a bit, admiring the views and the lake colour. (I also managed to spot a pair of loons with a tiny baby swimming beside them as well!)

Emerald Lake

Natural Bridge (Yoho National Park) 

Nearby Emerald Lake, you can stop at the Natural Bridge, which is an impressive structure that was sculpted by the powerful forces of water.  This quick stopping point is a beautiful place for a short walk (and maybe a picnic down on the rocks by the river's edge if you are willing to climb down a few uneven rocks).  

Natural Bridge river area (Yoho National Park)

After a long day adventuring, we headed back to Canmore to make dinner (my first time boiling pasta in the microwave, it worked unexpectedly well) and get R to bed for another very early morning - Lake Louise.

We used Fairview Limo again, as even though you can still drive to Lake Louise yourself, parking is very limited and fills up way before sunrise, so a shuttle is your best bet.  With a toddler we didn't want to risk trying to get the Parks Canada tickets 48 hours beforehand, and it was nice for peace of mind to have a scheduled ride.  R greatly enjoyed riding on the bus, and had a fun time in the short 15 minute ride pointing out all the "diggers", pylons ("pie-yons") and "waterfalls" (small rivers moving fast over rocks) that he could see from the large windows.  Definitely book with these folks if you're looking for a family-run, excellently organized, reasonably priced shuttle to both lakes. We had a great experience both times. 

Upon arriving at Lake Louise (around 8:45am), we quickly headed over to the boathouse to get in line for a canoe.  This was a bucket-list item for me, after seeing so many iconic photos of people canoeing on this lake.  Thankfully, the line was still very short, and it wasn't too long before we were donning life jackets and out on the water. 

Sometimes, when life is full of stress and chaos and there are so many things you can't plan for or control and so many disappointments and unexpected thwarted plans, having an experience like this is just what you need to have faith that sometimes, everything just works out.  Dipping my paddle in the pristine turquoise-blue waters of this famous lake, helped me remember that again.

The colour of the water was impossibly beautiful, and incredibly clear. We picked up a bunch of rocks for R to throw from the canoe, and we could see the rocks fall down into the depths of the water.  The mountains ahead of us were stunning, their reflections on the water mirror-like, and the lake was calm and quiet out at the end, a temporary escape from the crowds of tourists at the other end.  

Canoeing on Lake Louise

Happiness is a funny thing - external joys like these are temporary and fleeting, yes.  But they also help reset you, remind you that there is joy and stillness inside you that you can access at any time.  These memories of clear blue waters, cool water dripping from the paddle, mountain ranges on every side, will stay with me.  When life gets difficult I can close my eyes and remember this feeling, the way my breathing stilled, the way the towering rocky mountains reflected off the water's surface, the way it felt to have a small dream come true for a moment, and bring myself back to a grounded state.

This is what travel does for me. From the silence and solitude of the rocky red shores of Pass Lake, to the heat and endless lands of the Serengeti, to the incredibly stark and stunning landscape of Iceland, to the winding roads of northern Portugal, to the lush island of Fiji, to the oceans and rolling hills of New Zealand, these places and experiences are all still with me, a card catalogue of reminisces I can draw from at any time.  (That metaphor won't stand the test of time, but there's an almost tactile deliberateness about access these memories that referring to them as "computer files" just doesn't capture).

After our beautiful paddle, we headed off on the Lake Louise Lakeshore trail.  While there were definitely more people at Lake Louise than Moraine Lake, the further you got along the hike, the number of people greatly diminished, and by the end of the hike there were only a handful of others there. The hike is incredibly easy, all flat packed earth, and it's about 4km round trip.  R hiked it like he was on a mission, granting him amused comments from other hikers, and delighted in finding all the little creeks that fed the lake.  Going at toddler pace doesn't always work when you're on a time crunch, so we popped him in the backpack for the last bit of the hike.

Lake Louise Lakeshore hike views

The end of the lake was a magnificent place to have a picnic lunch, and we set up on a rock by the lake shore.  R found a large branch to play in the water with afterwards, while we took turns walking out onto the mud flats and soaking in more beautiful views of the lake looking back towards the Fairmont Hotel. 

Lake Louise Lakeshore hike

On our hike back to get our shuttle, we (aka me) were delighted by the surprise appearance of a Stellar's Jay, an absolutely gorgeous iridescent dark blue and black bird.  It was hanging out on a bench on the trail for a few moments before heading back into the dense forest. That, plus the surprise Canada Jays and the abundant Black-billed Magpies, made a birder-girl's heart very happy indeed. 

Stellar's Jay

Canada Jay

Black-billed Magpie

View from Storm Mountain lookout on Bow Valley Pkwy

After saying goodbye to Lake Louise and taking the shuttle back to our car, we went into Banff and stopped at Trailhead Cafe to get some incredibly delicious iced coffees and baked treats, and then took the daily drive-for-nap along the Bow Valley Parkway today, which is a nice alternate to the Trans Canada Highway, and we stopped at a few lookout points to enjoy the views (one person would stay in the car with it running so as not to wake him while the other went out, and then we'd swap).  My favourite spot was the Storm Mountain lookout, and I highly recommend it. You can actually see the Via Rail train tracks below and if you're lucky (as J was), you'll see the train pass by while you're there.  

Johnston Canyon

When R woke up, we set off on the Johnston Canyon hike to see the Lower Falls.  The child was full of energy and bounded ahead of us on the trail (which appeared almost entirely do-able by stroller, but we didn't bother bringing ours).  The picturesque hike through the canyon is definitely worth it, and again quite an easy walk through the woods.  The falls itself were small but beautiful, and just to the right of the falls there is a hole in the rock that forms a small cave where you can go out and get very close to the falls for an immersive experience.  This hike is actually where we encountered the most people of all our day trips so far - there weren't more people here overall, but the narrow trails made it so that it would easily get crowded.  To go into the little cave and experience the falls up close involved waiting in a line across the bridge over the falls, which was astounding to me, but thankfully there weren't many people today so we decided to do it.  It was a lot of fun!  R was excited about going in but the reality of the loud crashing water and the water spray quickly changed his mind so we weren't there for more than a minute, but it was still worth it. 

Johnston Canyon Lower Falls

We didn't have time to do the Upper Falls so we headed back to the parking lot, with R hiking the whole way back as well - 2.6km in total!  What a little trooper.  After making dinner back at the hotel, we took him out for a well deserved ice cream in the mountains at Lovely Ice Cream, a small-batch locally produced ice cream.  There's nothing that says vacation quite like an evening ice cream treat with a mountain backdrop!  Tomorrow, we are leaving Canmore and heading down the Icefields Parkway for the second half of our vacation in Jasper.

Whoever you are out there reading, I hope I've done these places a bit of justice and shown you their reflections through my eyes. See you again in a few days. 

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel at Lake Louise

Me and R at the end of the Lake Louise Lakeshore hike