The Rockies

This area is just gorgeous, and the towns are great too.  We've had an enjoyable 7 days in the Jasper and Banff National Parks doing a bit of everything - walks, drives, shopping and hanging around.


We caught up with Will, a Parks Vic colleague of John's who is based in Jasper.  One of the local tips he gave us was where to get the best coffee:

Who would have thought?? It was good coffee too, and the cleanest best laundrette I've ever seen.

Anyway, for those who are interested in the scenic splendour of the Rockies, here's some pics:

Wildlife, large and small, too:

Too many mountains, lakes, glaciers, waterfalls to see and mention.  The road between Banff and Jasper (the Icefields parkway) has been recently upgraded and widened, and includes these wildlife crossings:

Relying on the Lonely Planet, we had booked ahead to stay in Canmore (about 20 kms away) instead of Banff, in order to avoid all the crowds and chaos. I think the writer must have had a bad day/s in Banff because despite its popularity we thought it deserved its fame and glory.  When you have all those tourists from all over the world, many of them with plenty of money, and a variety of things to do and see, and most of the time you end up with a good place to spend a day or two or three.  

Anyway, it was 3 days in Canmore for us, staying in a condo, complete with laundry, 2 bathrooms, separate lounge, and playstation.    And the view from the little balcony isn't too bad either:

All of us were so happy to be in one place for a few days - 3 days doesn't sound much, but after moving 11 times in less than 3 weeks we were really ready for a bit of a break.  So we have browsed the shops, eaten ice cream, purchased a ball of special yarn (qiviuk, or qiviut), some Canadian books to read on the train, AND I had a coffee which wins the best-coffee-so-far-on-this-trip-prize!

(again, note large Rockie Mountain or two in background.  Also small-ish cup by Nth American standards)


Today's treat was afternoon tea at the Banff Springs Hotel:

We have a couple of days left before we catch the train to Toronto/Ottawa (and no wi fi so no blog posts), so we'll be staying in Jasper again, having dinner with Will, taking a trip on the Columbia glacier enroute: http://www.icefieldsparkway.ca/ and going on the Jasper tramway up Whistlers mountain: http://www.jaspertramway.com/