Early on Tuesday we packed our bags and headed for one of the world's most famous national parks... BANFF! (DISCLAIMER: Banff is a national park AND a town within the national park)
Before the long drive we HAD to stop for breakfast. As we were headed to the restaurant we saw a train cross the tracks. Well the signals went up and then almost immediately after went straight back down. We all grumbled because of the frequent trains. So we waited... and waited... and waited for a good ten minutes and NOTHING HAPPENED! Brent talked about going and lift the blockades but he was talking crazy... apparently his brother Sean didn't think so!!! He came running up behind us, sauntered up to the blockade... talked to some construction guys, and then pushed up the bar a little, and let it fall. Then a little higher and let it fall. He talked to some cars in the front... and made up his mind! He lifted up the Barricade's and let about 5 cars through. Then he put it back down so he could catch up to our cars. I am sure all the other cars were upset when he set it down, but he was already taking a huge risk, and someone else is always welcome to come assume his position! Everyone is pretty sure he broke 30-35 different laws and that there are posters with his face up all around town!
For Breakfast we went to one of Ryan and Julie's favorite places. This place had amazing food! Every plate was HUGE and full of yummy food. I had a great breakfast crepe with a plate of ripe delicious fruit.... despite my best attempts the diet is TOTALLY out the window at this point!
Brent and His Papa Bear!
After Breakfast we drove up to Banff I was hoping to NEVER EVER see another car again. Over 24 hours in a car in 4 days is way to much for my liking! Lake Louise is one of the most famous parts of the National Park and is almost and hour past the town of Banff... It is REALLY pretty but there was a lot of smoke from fires in British Columbia so the view was pretty obstructed (there are great pictures in Day 4 post). You can barely see the Glacier in the background that feeds into the lake!
We started to hike around the lake and found all these rocky ares for picture taking... Of course the bugs were in full force! Brent was falling on me in this picture!
This was at the end of the hike looking back to where we started... that Castle is a hotel. It is very pretty and MORE expensive! Half a PB&J for $7.00... I don't think so!
This is a really gorgeous picture that Brent took. I really wanted him to buy a souvenir but he insisted that picture taking is his souvenir and so he doesn't need to buy anything! That is okay with me, especially if I get to blow up amazing photos like this!
After we got done at Lake Louise, we were going to head out of the park for dinner, but Sean got stopped and told that we HAD to go to Lake Moraine. Banff is known for their amazingly blue lakes, so the idea of seeing something that is MORE AMAZING than Lake Louise made up Sean's mind for him! So off we went! I can not tell you how disappointed I was when I showed up to this! I was ready to punch that guy in the face for keeping me from dinner after such a long car ride... Until we found the rock pile...
As soon as we started to climb up the rock pile (yes, there was a trial but where is the fun in that?) The lake started to go through an amazing change! That dreary blue started to be replaced by a color I can honestly say I have never seen before. Look at that view!
Keep an eye on the blue color through out the next few pictures to get a good idea of what it looked like!
On our Climb up to Lake Moraine, we found some friends. I think they were ground squirrel's but they could have also been marmot's or chipmunk. This has become a pretty good debate around the Huntley Homestead! I was pretty close but Sean became a "rodent whisperer". He'd been eating nuts all day and his fingers let the little guys know! This little critter actually jumped onto Sean's finger and later jumped up two feet to grab a leaf out of his fingers!
This picture is so funny to me. I think I look terribly sad! Brent and I tried to remember why but we couldn't remember what I was thinking about! Nick, my nephew, said it looked like I am watching a puppy getting murdered!
Great blue color!
This is a nice picture of us. I still can not believe how bright teal blue the lakes are. It reminds me of the Caribbean seas, if they were ice cold!
Once we were ready to check in for the night we showed up here!
Okay, Okay, this wasn't our hotel. This is where Sean and Melanie stayed. It was pretty spendy but it was totally gorgeous! It was built between 1914-1928. We stayed with their boys in a studio condo. Sean and Melanie said that our little Condo was bigger than their room for about a tenth the price! We were totally happy that we had a place to stay because Sean was gracious enough to get us a room. We owe his SO much for his and EVERYONE'S Generosity this trip!
Day Four was a ton of driving, but the sights are absolutely gorgeous! These pictures turned out pretty decent but there is no way to describe how breath-taking these sites truly are!
Before the long drive we HAD to stop for breakfast. As we were headed to the restaurant we saw a train cross the tracks. Well the signals went up and then almost immediately after went straight back down. We all grumbled because of the frequent trains. So we waited... and waited... and waited for a good ten minutes and NOTHING HAPPENED! Brent talked about going and lift the blockades but he was talking crazy... apparently his brother Sean didn't think so!!! He came running up behind us, sauntered up to the blockade... talked to some construction guys, and then pushed up the bar a little, and let it fall. Then a little higher and let it fall. He talked to some cars in the front... and made up his mind! He lifted up the Barricade's and let about 5 cars through. Then he put it back down so he could catch up to our cars. I am sure all the other cars were upset when he set it down, but he was already taking a huge risk, and someone else is always welcome to come assume his position! Everyone is pretty sure he broke 30-35 different laws and that there are posters with his face up all around town!
For Breakfast we went to one of Ryan and Julie's favorite places. This place had amazing food! Every plate was HUGE and full of yummy food. I had a great breakfast crepe with a plate of ripe delicious fruit.... despite my best attempts the diet is TOTALLY out the window at this point!
Brent and His Papa Bear!
After Breakfast we drove up to Banff I was hoping to NEVER EVER see another car again. Over 24 hours in a car in 4 days is way to much for my liking! Lake Louise is one of the most famous parts of the National Park and is almost and hour past the town of Banff... It is REALLY pretty but there was a lot of smoke from fires in British Columbia so the view was pretty obstructed (there are great pictures in Day 4 post). You can barely see the Glacier in the background that feeds into the lake!
We started to hike around the lake and found all these rocky ares for picture taking... Of course the bugs were in full force! Brent was falling on me in this picture!
This was at the end of the hike looking back to where we started... that Castle is a hotel. It is very pretty and MORE expensive! Half a PB&J for $7.00... I don't think so!
This is a really gorgeous picture that Brent took. I really wanted him to buy a souvenir but he insisted that picture taking is his souvenir and so he doesn't need to buy anything! That is okay with me, especially if I get to blow up amazing photos like this!
After we got done at Lake Louise, we were going to head out of the park for dinner, but Sean got stopped and told that we HAD to go to Lake Moraine. Banff is known for their amazingly blue lakes, so the idea of seeing something that is MORE AMAZING than Lake Louise made up Sean's mind for him! So off we went! I can not tell you how disappointed I was when I showed up to this! I was ready to punch that guy in the face for keeping me from dinner after such a long car ride... Until we found the rock pile...
As soon as we started to climb up the rock pile (yes, there was a trial but where is the fun in that?) The lake started to go through an amazing change! That dreary blue started to be replaced by a color I can honestly say I have never seen before. Look at that view!Keep an eye on the blue color through out the next few pictures to get a good idea of what it looked like!
On our Climb up to Lake Moraine, we found some friends. I think they were ground squirrel's but they could have also been marmot's or chipmunk. This has become a pretty good debate around the Huntley Homestead! I was pretty close but Sean became a "rodent whisperer". He'd been eating nuts all day and his fingers let the little guys know! This little critter actually jumped onto Sean's finger and later jumped up two feet to grab a leaf out of his fingers!
This picture is so funny to me. I think I look terribly sad! Brent and I tried to remember why but we couldn't remember what I was thinking about! Nick, my nephew, said it looked like I am watching a puppy getting murdered!Great blue color!
This is a nice picture of us. I still can not believe how bright teal blue the lakes are. It reminds me of the Caribbean seas, if they were ice cold!
Once we were ready to check in for the night we showed up here!
Okay, Okay, this wasn't our hotel. This is where Sean and Melanie stayed. It was pretty spendy but it was totally gorgeous! It was built between 1914-1928. We stayed with their boys in a studio condo. Sean and Melanie said that our little Condo was bigger than their room for about a tenth the price! We were totally happy that we had a place to stay because Sean was gracious enough to get us a room. We owe his SO much for his and EVERYONE'S Generosity this trip!
Day Four was a ton of driving, but the sights are absolutely gorgeous! These pictures turned out pretty decent but there is no way to describe how breath-taking these sites truly are!
3 comments:
So beautiful!
I really like the picture of us at the top of Moraine lake, and also the one of you being sad
Wow, it's really beautiful. I can't believe how blue the water is.
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