Banff Parkway to Crimson Lake June 15, 2013

I left Golden this morning at 9:30am and right at the start there was a steep high road out of the town and then some 40 kilometers of curves after that with not too many passing lanes. I travelled alongside the, Kicking Horse River, and the first stop of the day was in Field at Parks Canada information centre. There was a black bear browsing in the grass on the other side of the busy highway, and a bunch of us stood watching until a Parks lady came out of the office and yelled at us all to move back to the parking lot. Good grief...all of us little kids obeyed...

At Lake Louise I dropped in to the information center to find out the best place from which to see Lake Louise. The bored clerk told me to take a right and then head up the mountain so I did. There was a sign saying there was no parking for large RVs but seem as mine is so small and the guy said it was ok to head up, I kept going. The parking lot was full when I got there, vehicles circling like cranky cowboys around cattle - no space whatsoever, and this was June. I can't imagine what it is like once summer really starts. So I headed back down and left town - I was feeling tired, it was hot, and I had quite a few kilometers still to drive - so no, I didn't get to see that beautiful lake. Perhaps I am the only person in the world who drove there and didn't get to see it. Next time.

The view along the parkway drive from Lake Louise North on #93 up until Highway #11 was beautiful - immense jagged mountains with glaciers, sunshine, clouds, wind, and rain - I never knew what was coming next and I loved it. Sometimes I even felt a shiver of anticipation of what I would see around the next bend.

Great place to stop in for this view at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge

Baloo at Abraham Lake

I stopped and made coffee here at this pullout on Lake Abraham in the Kootenay Plains area to keep awake, 205 km from Golden to here, still 127 km to go to Crimson Lake. It takes me a long time to drive anywhere, I stop at so many veiewpoints - but that's what it's all about...