Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Mini vacation to the Rockies

Because the 18th of May is a holiday in Canada (Victoria Day) everybody enjoys a long weekend. As assimilated as we are, we also decided to go for a mini vacation in the Rockies.
Friday afternoon I picked Olli up from work and off we were, straight ahead to Banff! We had a night booked at the Rundlestone Lodge. After a hearty breakfast on Saturday morning we started our first hike to the Sundance Canyon.







In the afternoon we took highway 93 through Kootenay National Park. We had never visited Marble Canyon on our other trips. So this destination was still on our little list. The canyon was closed for the public due to forest fires in 2003. (a hot summer in combination with some lightning strikes burned down 12% of Kootenay Park). Last year the Marble Canyon area was re-opened for the public.





We ended our day soaking in the Radium Hot Springs (where the water was 39 degrees). The Hot Springs are ‘powered’ by a thermal spring. Rain water seeps into the mountains and when it gets deeper and deeper it heats up. It builds up pressure and rises again. And so on and so fort and finally it reaches the surface into the pools of Radium.
We started the 2nd day of our trip with another hike in Radium Hot Springs. This time the Juniper Trail led us to the Sinclair Canyon and the Sinclair falls.



In the afternoon we drove to Yoho National Park stopping at the spectacular Wapta falls.




Our final stop of the day was Emerald Lake, one of the most admired destinations in Yoho National Park. We stayed overnight at the Emerald Lake lodge. A must stay! In the evening we enjoyed the Rocky Mountain Cuisine while overlooking the lake. Wow!
Our last day started with, yet another, hike. This time we hiked to the Hamilton falls and pushed on for nearby Hamilton Lake. The higher we went, the more snow we encountered. Eventually we had to turn back, because we couldn’t find the trail any more. But that doesn’t mean we give up! We will be back. Just another thing on our to do list for this summer!




Leaving Yoho National Park the weather was turning. We decided to take a drive up the Icefields Parkway where we encountered a snowstorm. After a quick stop at the Columbia Icefields we headed back to Calgary.

My pictures give you an idea of what we saw on our trip. The more professional pictures (Olli’s) will come later ;)

I’m going back to Nova Scotia next Monday (the 25th of May) and I will be returning by the end of July. I’ll keep you updated, this time with summer pictures of Nova Scotia. ☺