Banff

Luckily we only had 2 nights in Banff.   I say "lucky" in a disappointing way, Banff is filled with smoke from the Verdant creek wildfire.  The smoke keeps pouring into the valley.

We wanted to take the Banff gondola ride, but the cashier showed us the webcam and asked if we really wanted to spend $120 to go up. The visibility was extremely poor...just gray smokey skies.  We appreciated his candor and passed on the gondola

We did visit the Caves and Basins historical landmark.  This is known as the birthplace of Canada's national park system it is a natural thermal mineral spring discovered in the 1870's   The waters are said to cure rheumatism, digestion and gunshot wounds.  Hmmmm...

We stayed at the Tunnel Mountain RV park.  The trailhead for the HOODOOs starts from this campground.  So what is a hoodoo?  Basically it is composed sedimentary rock covered by harder rock that is difficult to erode.  Once the softer sediment erodes a needle or tower is formed. At the top of the trail are the famous RED chairs photo opportunity. Even Max got into the action... in  the meantime I keep humming...HEY MR BIGSHOT HOO DOO YOU THINK YOU ARE.

Our "hike" reward was ice cream from COWS.  I had the "Mooey Gooey" and Tom had "Royal COWnadian mint".


While walking Max at 5:30 we saw 2 elks. Of course the great protector decided to bark.  One of the elk turned and gave us a dirty look.  Luckily he kept walking... on his way to the HOODOOS  I imagine.

On our way to Montana.....which is also having wildfires.   ☹️


Comments

  1. Kathy KelseySeptember 1, 2017 at 8:01 PM

    We have been in Yosemite when the smoke has poured into the valley, and you couldn't see Half Dome very well, so I understand what you are talking about. Oh my gosh, it is record heat here, and smoke from the fires close to Sacramento have turned the air gray. It's horrible. I think it was 111 in Santa Clara today. Fresno/Stockton kind of heat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. FosseOdysseySeptember 2, 2017 at 4:18 AM

      Montana is also smokey but at least the temps are in the 80's. Yosemite also has a fire now and 109+ degrees. A tough year for the western states. Time to go east

      Delete
  2. kcorrieSeptember 2, 2017 at 3:47 AM

    I hope the smoke isn't taking too much away from enjoying your trip. Looks like you're still seeing some beautiful places.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seldovia

Image
A MUST boat charter from Homer.  Take a boat to Seldovia.  We took the Central Charters and Tours, the Rainbow boat II.   Typically the trip is 2 1/2 hours over, but our captain was fantastic.  She spent at least 3 hours "slowing" and "showing" us the local bird/sea life. Gull Island has a multitude of Alaska birds - our favorite being the Puffin and of course the Bald Eagle.  The sea life was very cooperative and our captain kept moving the boat to follow any sightings.    While in the bay we were able to see otters, orcas and even humpback whales.  But, your iPhone won't do the trick.  Be sure to bring a camera with telescopic lens and binoculars. The Athebasken Indians and Autiiq Eskimos were the original inhabitants.  In 1787-8, a Russian fur trade post was established here.  The Russians originally named the town Seldevoy which means "herring bay". Seldovia has some amazing wood carvings, our favorite was the crab...very detailed and a littl
Read more

Valdez

Image
When most people think of Valdez, they think of the Exon Valdez Oil Spill of 1989.   This tragic spill occurred when the Exon Valdez oil tanker struck the Bligh reef 25 miles outside of the town...causing the biggest oil spill in North America.  There is that Alaska is bigger theme again. When visiting we learned that town of Valdez was moved after the Earthquake of 1964.  This 9.2 quake caused major damage.  The city fathers decided to move the town 4 miles away to a safer area. Only the foundations of the original town remain....as any remaining old town structures were burned (by fire department) to prevent anyone from living there. We went to Valdez as we have family history here.  My husbands Great Grandfather was a marshall in Valdez in the early 1900's.  In 1907, nine companies fought to take advantage of the short route from the coast to the Copper Mines at Kennecott.  The railroads hired marshals to protect their interests, as the locals wanted rights to the pass.  A b
Read more

Glacier National Park August 2019

Image
FLATHEAD LAKE & BIGFORK: On the way to Glacier, drove mourned the eastern side of Flathead Lake.  It is the largest natural fresh water lake west of the Mississippi in the lower 48.  It has 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline.  We were hoping to kayak in Flathead Lake, by the weather turned cold and the water choppy. We were able to walk around the village of Bigfork, a cute town on the east side of Flathead Lake.   Really nice art galleries and of course, no one starves.  A myriad of restaurants to choose from.  We had to take the iconic photo with the Big Fork. We were lucky to find some fresh fruits and vegetables here in Big Fork.   Flathead Lake Cherries are sold all along the road side.  This growing area has perfect weather for growing cherries.  We of course stopped and bought the sweetest Ranier Cherries we have ever eaten.  The growing season is July and early August so we lucked out. Further up the road we found a Hutterite vegetable stan
Read more