Rockin’ the Rockies

This is the narrative... see below for pictures, lots of pictures!

I am back in Iqaluit following a nine day Alberta Rockies adventure with Mark and company, and what a trip it was! A wedding, great friends, beautiful scenery, abundant wildlife, and a seemingly endless string of hot tubs across the Rockies…

Mark and I arrived late on Friday and were reunited at the airport :) It was sooooo good to see his familiar, friendly face. Cousin Andy picked us up at the airport and conveniently brought us a rental car (thanks Andy!). What a super guy! And it was great to see him and his beautiful bride! We haven’t seen Andy in over four years! And for those of you who don’t already know, he was the one who introduced us, so he has a special place in our affections. We dropped Andy and Amanda off at her sister’s (their apartment kind of blew up, but that’s another story) and headed to our hotel for the night.

Saturday was consumed by wedding activities! We got up early and met everyone downstairs for breakfast… it was so great to see everyone and to be surrounded by so many familiar faces! After a swim in the pool and a couple of trips down the big yellow curly waterslide (so much fun!) we got ourselves ready for the wedding and headed out. The ceremony was held outdoors at a bed and breakfast south of Calgary overlooking a beautiful vista with a deep river valley and open fields and forest. I was surprised by the abundance of fall colors present across the landscape. It is quite clearly fall in the Rockies. It made for spectacular scenery… only one problem. It was VERY cold and very few were adequately dressed for it, including the bride and groom! But it didn’t take any of the magic away from the moment. I love weddings! Once everyone warmed up in their cars we headed to the reception, and what can be said about the reception? Like all weddings, it was a rockin’ good time. There were many drinks consumed, high-spirited dancing, and awesome hand rubs ;) AND the bride and groom drove us all back to the hotel in their stretch SUV limo! Thanks Curtis and Pam, and congratulations!

On Sunday a group of us took off for the mountains… our destination: Canmore. Our good friend Jeffery Gillis found a three-bedroom condo with a rooftop hot tub and fireplace (once again Jeff, bravo). It was awesome! We stayed there for two nights eating AAA Alberta beefsteaks, playing silly drinking games and watching the snow come down. Yes, that’s right, there was snow… about 5 to 10 cm of it! It was my hope to get a little taste of real summer before heading back up north for the winter, but it was colder in Calgary than in Iqaluit! At least for the first few days… it warmed up a little toward the end of the trip. We headed out at around midnight to play in the snow… it made me feel very confused about the time of year!

On Monday we ventured out to the town of Banff in Banff National Park. It was quite overcast with a thick layer of fogs hanging over the mountains. Unfortunately it didn’t make for great scenery shots, but it began to clear as the afternoon progressed. We went for a hike along the Bow River downriver of the Bow Falls and the Fairmont Banff Springs (which is an incredible sight!). It was a nice hike, but the highlight came at the end of the hike when Sarah spotted a massive bull elk down hill from us resting along the river’s edge. I couldn’t get over the size of him! He was resting and every so often he would bugle, and eventually another male began answering his call from across the river valley. It was very exciting, and a little eerie in a way… it is a unique sound. We followed up our hike with a delightful soak in the Upper Banff hot springs… ahhhh relaxation!

The following morning we awoke to more grey skies, but undaunted and with high spirits we optimistically headed to Lake Louise. We took the scenic route and stopped for a hike to see some waterfalls. Once we arrived in Lake Louise we headed straight for Moraine Lake and were rewarded for our optimism by clearing skies and a magnificent view of this brilliant turquoise coloured lake surrounded by ten snow capped peaks. From Moraine Lake we reluctantly parted company with our faithful companions and headed up to Lake Louise for a glimpse of the lake beneath the setting sun beyond the surrounding mountains. It is no wonder why these two magnificent sites attract so many visitors year after year.

That night we stayed at a little place called the Deer Lodge just minutes from Lake Louise. What can I say about Deer Lodge?? Well, it has some old school charm. The majority of the Lodge, including the plumbing, I’m sure hasn’t been updated since it was built in the early 1900s. Thankfully the rooms have been updated and were very clean, though tiny! Just enough room for the bed. The staff was friendly, albeit slightly wrinkled and unkempt, and the rooftop hot tub with a full moon overhead illuminating the surrounding snow capped mountains was truly surreal. We were very tuckered after two nights staying up late with friends and a long day of sightseeing and were looking forward to a restful night’s sleep. We swiftly drifted into a deep slumber only to be awoken at 2:30 am by someone coming into our room! We drowsily woke to the sound of a key in the door and managed a confused, yet stern “hello?” before any lights were flicked on. Our intruder mumbled an apology and quickly closed the door, leaving us feeling violated and confused. Mark called down to the front desk and was informed that a staff member had given a guest (who arrives at a hotel at 2:30 am?) the key to our room thinking it was empty. From that point in the night on neither of us slept very fitly, waking up with a start with every creak and groan of the building’s old bones. THEN at 6 am, when we were finally falling into a deeper sleep, the fire alarm went off! It was going for a minute or two as we struggled to wake ourselves and fumbled with our clothes, before it turned off just as abruptly as it started. I had to laugh when the front desk clerk answered the phone just as coolly and calmly as if nothing was amiss, and when I asked if we should evacuate he answered with a smile in his voice “no ma’am, everything is perfect”. I have to be honest, everything was far from perfect, but it makes for a good story! Needless to say I would not recommend the Deer Lodge hotel in Lake Louise!

We woke up to yet another grey day and were pleased that we had taken the time to see Lake Louise the previous evening. After gladly checking out of the Deer Lodge (they gave us a free breakfast buffet for our troubles) we hit the road, bound for Jasper. Within 10 minutes of Lake Louise we began to catch startling glimpses of the surrounding mountains through small breaks in the clouds, like windows through the clouds on distant shrouded scenery. Five minutes later that the sun finally burned through the grey and gloom, scattering the clouds and draping the landscape in warm rays of sunlight. What a welcome sight indeed! Suddenly we found ourselves surrounded by a vast landscape of distant snow capped mountains and forest covered river valleys. We found ourselves beneath clear blue skies for the rest of the day!

The drive from Lake Louise to Jasper is spectacular! We were one car among an endless stream of vehicles with a similar agenda… stop at every available pull-over for pictures of brilliant mountain scenes, glossy green lakes, alpine glaciers draped over sunlit mountains, each vehicle watching closely whenever another vehicle pulled over on the side of the road in case they spotted wildlife. They are in the process of installing these absolutely massive animal crossings over the highway. They are essentially great wide overpasses that will be covered in trees and vegetation for everything from mule deer to cougars to bears to use. Such a great idea, and apparently they already have trailcam and track evidence that they work. And did we ever spot wildlife! A great bull moose, three moose feeing at another site, a moose feeding in a calm, quiet lake, numerous mule deer and big horn sheep, a full herd of elk along the side of the road in the dark, and le piece de resistance…. a grizzly bear right on the side of a deserted gravel road! Mark was very hopeful that we would see a bear and on our very last day in the mountains we went for a scenic wildlife drive for the sole purpose of spotting a bear. No sooner had I reassured Mark that I was confident we would find our bear given my very good bear karma following my polar bear sighting, did we round a bend and there she was (I think she was a she). She even stood up on her hind legs at one point to get a good look at us.

Our night in Jasper was relaxing and comfortable, a dramatic improvement over the previous nights attempt at sleep. Yet another hot tub soothed our weary bones following another long day of sightseeing and hiking. We stayed in Canmore our last night in the mountains in an amazing condo with a King sized bed that felt like a cloud, two fireplaces and a huge claw foot tub… we didn’t want to leave! But alas dreams can’t last forever. We headed to Calgary where we met up with cousin Andy and his wife Amanda, went and saw there new house (still in the early stages of development), then headed downtown for a tour of the city. I didn’t realize Calgary was so flat! We went to the top of the tower and the city goes on and on until it reaches the foot of the Rockies to the west. The visit with Andy and Amanda was great!

And just as all good things come to an end, Mark and I parted ways at the airport the next morning. Surprisingly it wasn’t tearful… optimistic about the next visit, which may be as soon as six weeks from now! It was strange to return to Iqaluit on my own again, but one cozy night in my bed and a good day at work and I’m right back into the swing of things…