Day 43: Banff National Park, AB

Our day started off with our closest bear sighting yet - right in the campground! The little black bear looked so cute and cuddly. Not to worry, we were safe in the truck when we saw him on the way to catch our Parks Canada Shuttle to Lake Moraine.

After a 20 minute shuttle ride, we hiked up the infamous rock pile for the traditional Lake Moraine photo. The rain held off for most of our visit. The kids were frustrated by all the others walking off the trail to get the “best” selfie, in light of all the signs clearly indicating that people should stay on the trail. We are raising a next generation of rule followers, that’s for sure. We stayed on the trail AND got a fantastic family selfie. Go selfie stick!

Crazy difference in the colour of the water from ground level.

Beach photo.

Our next stop was Lake Louise which was the trailhead for the Lake Agnes tea house and the summit of Little Beehive. This trail was our most challenging so far. It was 10km and 580 metres of elevation. The hike was straight up - for a long time. A very long time. We hiked slow and steady - up, up, up. We got rained on for while and eventually the trail turned into a snow path. And we continued to hike up, up, up. Finally, we arrived at the Lake Agnes tea house. It was opening day. We waited for a covered table to get out of the rain. Our tea (mountain masala chai and Darjeeling) paired perfectly with our lunch of cheese and crackers with banana bread and a fudgy peanut butter bar for dessert. 

Lake Louise in the rain.

Happy before hike photo before all the uphill.

About halfway. Up, up, up!

Mirror Lake.

We made it! Woot! Woot!

Lake Agnes.

Once rested, we headed up to the summit of Little Beehive mountain. This last trek up was hard on tired legs but the sky high view of the turquoise Lake Louise was worth it. How cow! The sun finally came out and gosh, how beautiful. Then it was back down the mountain. Liam and Alistair offered to be tea house helpers and carry down some trash since most of the food and all the trash is hiked by staff up and down the mountain.

Lake Louise from WAY up high.

Heading back down.

Back to Lake Agnes.

Back to Mirror Lake.

Back to Lake Louise.

And we’re done. Whew.

That was our adventure for the day. After making it back down the mountain, taking the shuttle back to the park and ride, and driving back to the campground - we were done like dinner. The boys and Ian made a huge campfire and relaxed around it. I took a much needed nap. We are resting up; we have another big day scheduled for tomorrow.

Day 42: Drumheller to Banff National Park, AB

Dinosaurs galore was the theme of the day. But before we got to those, we stopped to check out the Drumheller badlands and hoodoos. Rain seems to be coupled with badlands on this trip and today Alistair and I got foiled by the slimy bentonite clay and both got an unanticipated mud bath.

After a full clothes change, we visited Tyra the Tyrannosaurus, the World’s largest dinosaur, during her final run in Drumheller. She is scheduled to be decommissioned and perhaps moved in 2029. She looked to be in fine form this morning.

As expected, our visit to the Royal Tyrell Museum was fantastic. This is an exceptional museum and it did not disappoint even if it was Ian’s and my second visit. We loved how the museum takes you on a journey through the eras showing the dominant life forms during each period and then outlining the five major extinctions and what effect each had on the life forms inhabiting Earth during that time. It is such a well thought out journey and so engaging. We loved it. The x12 real size Burgess Shale display is a crowd pleaser, we loved seeing so many original displays, and it was cool to see so many staff members hard at work in the glass walled laboratory.

We followed up the museum with the badlands interpretive walk located right behind it. Thank goodness the path was much less slippery than at the hoodoos. The sun even started to peek out which was a very welcome surprise. Ali found a deer leg (real and still with fur and a hoof on it) and chased the brothers around with it much to their disgust. We finally convinced him to throw it away and then we hand sanitized him thoroughly. Ew.

We did a stop for gas and groceries in Calgary before heading into Banff National Park. We are staying for four nights at Johnston Canyon Campground and have some pretty intense hikes planned over the next few days. There is lots of firewood available here and we are excited for campfire hotdogs!