Banff trip--Day 9

On Sunday, we had a very lazy morning.  We were going to stay in Banff/Canmore, but decided to go to Kootenay National Park.  Unfortunately, on the way down to the car, we had a bear spray incident in the stairwell.  The canister got bumped on the railing and we all had to go back upstairs to shower/rinse our eyes and throw everything in the wash.

After a rough start, we did make it on the road.  Our first stop was Marble Canyon.  There was a cool mist down below and a series of bridges leading up to a waterfall at the top (neat view and not hard...only 1 mile).

We stopped at a roadside stop to see Numa Creek Waterfall (very quick stop).

We had our picnic lunch at the Paint Pots trailhead--not a great spot (very sunny/buggy), and it would have been better to hike with our lunch to the river, we decided.  The Paint Pots trail was about 1.2 miles and was very cool.  There was a bridge over the river, then the trail turns into an orange creek bed.  The trail was very wet and had a boardwalk and some logs to walk on.  There were three cool "paint pots" at the end of the trail.  Dave and the girls dipped their feet in the orange one, and another was a greenish color.  These are cool mineral springs.  Back at the river, we stopped to skip rocks and dip our feet in the water.

We drove quite a ways to Olive Lake--we thought we'd swim, but it was not really a swimming lake, so we moved on.  We drove the rest of the way to Radium Hot Springs and saw four female/baby bighorn sheep walking along the road.  Radium Hot Springs would be fun on a cooler day, but it was 96 degrees outside--way too hot for hot springs!  We saw another bighorn sheep just standing by the road on the way back.  On the way back, we stopped at a roadside viewpoint for a picture and then at a little lodge/gift shop.

Back in Canmore, we packed a bit, then had McDonald's for supper.  Norah loved the pancakes kids' meal, and Abby loved the snack wrap kids' meal.  We swam and went in the hot tub, but the pool area was crazy.  The girls played with the bunnies and watched tv, while Dave and I did some more packing and laundry late into the night! 

Banff trip--Day 8

On Saturday, we got up and headed to Yoho National Park.  Our first stop was Takakkaw Falls.  There were switchback roads, but awesome views (even from the road).  This was such a fun spot--you could get so close that you were cold from the mist.

Next, we drove to the natural bridge.  It was neat to see, and not far from the main road.

We tried driving to Emerald Lake, but parking was crazy so we skipped it and saved for later in the day.  We found a feeder lake to picnic at--small, but a shady spot to eat.  Our next hike was a little longer to Wapta Falls--good view from up top, but it was fun to go down to the riverside.  The girls loved skipping rocks and putting their feet in the water.  They did awesome on the way back up and out!

We stopped at Emerald Lake on the way out, because we were able to find a semi-close parking spot.  We checked out the gift shop and walked partway around the lake--it was a pretty green color like its name suggests!

We came back to Canmore and had ice cream at the Scoopin' Moose.  Dave and Norah tried the Scoopin' Moose flavor.  It was a quiet night back at our place--leftovers for supper, swimming/hot tub, bunnies, and the girls watched a movie and had popcorn.

Banff trip--Day 7

 On Friday, my dad had to leave really early (5:15 shuttle).  It was sad to say goodbye after our fun days of adventuring together!  After a little bit more sleep, the rest of us had a lazy start to the day.  We found parking at Lake Minnewanka and hiked the Stewart Canyon Trail up to the bridge.  The girls liked putting their feet in the lake.  We drove to Two Jacks Lake for a picnic and sat in the shade just off the trail to eat.  We found a little "island" that no one was on, so Dave and the girls changed into their swimsuits and played in the water while I read in the shade.  It was the perfect spot to relax!

We drove to the Silverton Falls trailhead, and only passed two other groups on our hike...it seemed like a great area for bears, but we didn't see any.  The trail got very narrow/steep at a couple of points, but the waterfall was really neat.  On the way down, we heard thunder and it started to rain on us as we were almost out of the woods.  After a hot week, it felt really good!  We stopped at a little gas station near the trailhead for drinks and ice cream treats.

Back in Canmore, we made a pit stop to try some poutine (the McDonald's poutine was NOT a hit with the girls) and go to a couple of shops.  We grilled supper back at our place, then checked out some other spots in Camore.  There was a viewpoint of the Three Sisters down by the creek, and we also drove to Quarry Lake.  There was a sign about a bear in the area, but we didn't see one.  It looked like a popular swimming area.

Banff trip--Day 6

On Thursday, we spent the morning shopping in Canmore--we really liked Tin Box, Mountain Mercantile, and Alberta's Own Marketplace.  We tried to go to Lake Minnewanka for a picnic, but there was no parking available.  Instead, we went to Cascade Ponds, which was a cute area for a picnic.  Others were paddleboarding and kayaking.

After lunch, we parked at the Lake Louise Ski Area to catch the shuttle that my dad had booked the day before.  It felt like a long ride, because there was no A/C and we had to pull over twice.  It was so HOT!  Our first stop was Moraine Lake--definitely our favorite of the day.  Such bright, blue, clear water.  There were lots of canoers and people taking a dip in the icy cold water.  We walked to the end and back, then hiked up "The Rock Pile" for the view that was on the Canadian $20 bill.  It had an awesome view of the lake.

The shuttle then took us to Lake Louise.  The water color was more greenish, and not quite as impressive as Moraine Lake.  It was even busier than Moraine.  We walked the shoreline trail to the end of the lake, but didn't have time for the teahouse hike.  

The shuttle took us back to our car, then we headed back to Banff to eat.  We ended up at Magpie & Stump, which had okay food.  After supper, we headed back to our place in Canmore so my dad could pack and the girls could enjoy their nightly routine of playing with the bunnies and watching Netflix in bed.