#Bow Valley Parkway

[thorsenmark]

Mount Temple and the Bow River from Morant’s Curve (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the southwest while taking in views from Morant’s Curve along the Bow Valley Parkway in Banff National Park. My thought on composing this image was to pull back on the focal length and include foreground interest with the Bow River and some nearby forest. Mount Temple and other ridges and peaks of the Bow Range would be a backdrop for this setting in the Canadian Rockies.

[hslllot]

A Soft Place to Fall - Part I

Story List 

Word count: 3.6k // Rated M // harry x reader

Note: Wowowow ok! So, here’s the first part of what will be a multi-part story. It is just a short lil introduction to our duo... The second part isn’t too far away either :) I want to thank my bullies motivating friends that encouraged me to write and share this! I love writing but am always painfully nervous about sharing. So please, if you like it, let me know! If you don’t like it you can also let me know but I will probably cry. OK ENJOY :)

Part I

In a cozy log cabin at the base of Mount Yamnuska, Harry found himself in a position he thought he’d never find himself in again.

He was hiding. 

It was something he tended to do after a particularly difficult break up: Flee to a different country, alone, to write and sulk and ponder how he always managed to screw things up. 

Jamaica. Japan. Italy. 

Canada.

In the heart of the Canadian rockies, he sat by the fire in his lonely wooden home. There was a winter unlike anything he’d ever experienced outside his window and a mug filled with English tea in front of him. Next to his mug was his journal, open to an empty set of pages, words painfully unwritten. 

He arrived in Calgary by plane this morning, peering out the window to see the bustling and bright landscapes of California transform into blankets of fresh white snow on barren acres of farmland. They flew over the Rocky Mountains and, despite having seen them from above before, he was transfixed by their beauty and size, and he wondered if anyone ever got tired of seeing something so majestic. He had never seen the mountains in the dead of winter, the trees, the ground, and the mountains themselves covered in white while the surrounding frozen glacier lakes remained a brilliant blue. He appreciated the beauty of it all, and under different circumstances he might have turned to the person sitting next to him and urged them to lean over and take a peek out the window too. But his mood soured when he remembered that the person sitting next to him was a stranger, and he was, again, on this trip alone.

Once the plane had landed he sent a quick text to his family group chat and Jeffrey to let them know he’d arrived in one piece. He scrolled through his emails to find all of the different reservations Jeffrey forwarded to him so he could pick up his rental vehicle and begin the 100 kilometre journey to the sleepy mountain town he would be calling home for the next three months. 

The GPS in the rental guided him to the Bow Valley Parkway, the scenic highway that would lead him through Banff National Park and to his destination. As he entered the parkway, he pulled into a designated lookout just past a wooden gate that overhead read “WELCOME BIENVENUE”. Directly in front of him was a cerulean river, frozen over and backed by the most massive snow-capped mountain he had ever seen. He got out of his car, feeling the cold January air like pinpricks across his face, and quickly took a picture of the view. He sent it to his mother and promised to one day come back with her so she could see it for herself.

As he drove further down the Bow Valley, he felt kind of silly for pulling over at the sight of his first mountain when each mountain and lake he passed seemed to be bigger and more beautiful than the last. Eventually, he saw the signs for Mount Yamnuska and turned off the highway onto a long and winding road that would take him to his final destination. With nothing but tall lodgepole pine trees, grey skies, and the crooning voice of Billie Holiday to keep him company, he felt like he was on a different planet. A planet where the trees and the mountain air could filter out all of the negative voices, thoughts, and feelings he’d been privy to in the last few weeks. A planet where he might be able to clear his head long enough to find within it a melody or even a lyric or two. 

Harry wasn’t entirely sure what was waiting for him at the end of the road, only having skimmed the AirBnB listing Jeffrey had emailed him. He called Jeff two days ago, insisting that he needed to get away, to disappear for a bit. Having been in this exact position before with his client/friend, Jeff knew what that meant. His manager remembered seeing videos of aesthetic mountain vacations with rocky lookouts and great big turquoise lakes on TikTok, so he suggested that Harry sequester himself in the mountains. After discussing and agreeing on the destination, Jeff had the trip planned and booked within hours. 

Harry passed plenty of tiny cottages and cabins tucked away in the forest alongside the highway, but as it got darker he focused more on the road ahead and fixed his eyes to watch out for any wildlife (he heard mountain lions were a possibility in the Winter). When he finally made it to his landing place, he was at the end of a long driveway in front of a cabin carved into a landscape of endless conifer trees. The cabin looked small and simple on the outside, the entirety of its exterior made up of orange-tinted pine logs. There was a foot of snow covering everything in sight, save for the walking path from the driveway to a front porch that spanned the width of the cabin. On the porch sat two Muskoka chairs, red, to match the front door. 

Sat in the two chairs waiting for him, unphased by the darkening skies and blowing snow, he presumed were his hosts. 

He exited his car and zipped his jacket all the way past his chin, a lame attempt to shield his face from the wind. As he made his way toward the porch, the older man and woman stood to greet him. Both were dressed in black puffer jackets and knit beanies, perhaps in their mid-to-late fifties. They appeared friendly, wearing bright smiles as they welcomed him to their vacation home.

“You must be Harry”, the man said, reaching out to shake Harry’s hand.

Harry returned the gesture, “Hello, yes, I’m Harry.” 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Paul and this is my wife, Nancy.” 

“We hope you found the place OK!” Nancy chippered. 

“Thank you, I did.” He said, shaking Nancy’s hand next. “I appreciate you taking me in on such short notice.” 

“Oh, it’s no problem. We actually just had a cancellation before your manager contacted us. Our daughter was supposed to stay here with her partner for the week but their plans changed. So everything was already set up for guests!”

“Lucky for me then.” He said with a smile as Paul took his bag and Nancy moved to open the door to lead them all inside. 

Harry did a quick scan of the inside of the cabin from where he stood in the front entrance. He saw they’d already started a fire in the wood burning stove and spotted a cozy looking armchair where he knew he’d be curling up with his book. “The place looks great.”

“We’re glad you think so. Please, come in, get comfortable. This is your home now for a bit, after all!” Nancy insisted, fussing over him to take off his jacket and shoes. She reminded him a bit of his mother, something about her demeanor making him feel at ease. “You’ve had a long journey so we’ll leave you to get settled in and explore the place. Just a few things though…”

He kicked off his shoes by the door and followed behind the two as they led him past the living room and into the kitchen. 

“We’re going to get more snow tonight and you’re probably tired from your travels,” Nancy opened the refrigerator. “We’ve already stocked the fridge with all of our daughter’s favourites so there’s plenty of food that you can have.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind getting my own.”

“Really, we’d rather it didn’t go to waste.” Paul chimed in. “But of course if there’s anything more you need, there’s some info in that binder on the table about going into town and grocery stores and restaurants and whatnot.”

“Alright, thank you. I really appreciate all this.”

“Of course!” He handed Harry a set of keys on what looked like a moose-head keychain. “Here’s the key. Our house is north of here, about 15 minutes away. So if you need anything just give us a call or text. Our address is in there too just in case.”

Harry bid goodnight to Paul and Nancy and once they were gone he took his bag and scoped out the cabin. It was a simple layout with two bedrooms just off the living room, a full bathroom between the two rooms and the open galley kitchen along the adjacent back wall, opposite the front door. There was a small kitchen island at the center in front of the red kitchen cupboards, and a wooden dining table for two in its own little nook off the kitchen. The cabin had a warm feel to it. The decor, you might say was quintessentially Canadian in the way they leaned into maple-scented candles, wood carvings of mountains hung on the walls, and no shortage of throw blankets and pillows adorned with buffalo plaid. 

Harry dropped his bag into the bedroom closest to the kitchen and was about to start unpacking when his stomach growled. Grateful they had left food for him to eat, he made himself a sandwich and got acquainted with where everything was in the kitchen before unpacking his things. He decided then that after he unpacked he would settle in for the night by the fire, brew some tea and maybe take a stab at writing. 

—————————

You hated driving in the winter. 

Were you competent and experienced enough to deal with the blowing snow and the black ice under your tires? Sure. But that didn't mean you enjoyed it. A lifetime of driving down the Parkway didn’t stop you from gripping the steering wheel so hard your knuckles were white, or straining your eyes in the darkness to avoid missing any moose or elk that might emerge from the trees. 

One thing you did like about road trips was that they were a great opportunity for reflection. You’d been driving for about 3 hours at this point, and had barely listened to the playlist you put on at the start of your journey. You were too busy keeping an eye on the road, or thinking about the last 72 hours, and playing out scenarios in your head where things had gone differently. 

You were exhausted, physically and mentally. Was it really only 72 hours since everything went down? 

You replayed your last conversation with Luke over and over again in your head, hoping that if you went over it enough you could better understand.

“I just can’t do it. Even if I came, I would have to bring work with me and I’d be working the whole time.” 

You were incredulous. Confused. Borderline seething. 

“This trip was supposed to happen last summer, Luke. We’ve postponed it twice already for your job.” 

“I know and I said I’m sorry. I just can’t up and leave right now.” 

“Did you not book off the vacation time? Your boss knows you're supposed to go away. It’s literally one week.” 

“Yes, I booked off the vacation time but I-”

“Well if you’ve booked it off and they gave you the time off what’s the problem?” 

“I just can’t go now, ok?”

“Is it that you can’t go, or that you don’t want to go?” 

That question had been lingering in the back of your mind every time the trip had to be postponed, but you never asked because you were afraid of the answer. You hoped that work really was so busy that he couldn’t take a week off, even though he had the vacation time approved by his boss. You wanted to believe that this was just the reality of being in a relationship with a lawyer. 

The trouble was that you’d been with Luke for two years and he had yet to meet your family. He seemed excited to visit the small mountain town where you grew up, citing that he’d always wanted to visit Banff and the Rocky Mountains. You met his parents and got on well with them and your relationship was moving forward, with talks of moving in together and maybe even a proposal on the horizon. 

However, every time you brought up visiting your family, he put it off and said he was too busy. You would visit home and he would stay back in Vancouver. Eventually he agreed to join you and the trip was booked, but at the last minute he claimed to be in the middle of an important case and couldn’t leave. You rescheduled twice since, and it was looking like you’d be adding a third. 

“Of course I want to go. It’s just not a great time right now.” 

“Is there ever going to be a great time? At some point I’m going to need you to make time for it, Luke.” 

You were beginning to think that he didn’t understand how important your family was to you. He didn’t understand that you needed to see how he fit into your family in order for the relationship to progress. Would he get along with your dad? Would he be kind to your mom? Could he be friends with your brother? You were realizing that maybe his lack of motivation to meet your family and see your home was all you needed to know. 

Before he could respond, you added “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” 

Of course over the last 72 hours you doubted yourself constantly. Had you overreacted? Should you have been more understanding about his job? You went back and forth, reminding yourself that you had a job too, sure it wasn’t as demanding as that of a lawyer, but no matter what you always found the time for things that were important to you. You even took a week off to go on a ski trip with his parents a few weeks ago.

After the break up, you called your parents to let them know you weren’t coming anymore. You fully intended to wallow in your apartment for the week and mourn your dead relationship. The wallowing lasted less than 24 hours before you decided the best antidote for a broken heart was a hug from your mom and a beer with your dad.

That’s how you found yourself on the Bow Valley Parkway at 11pm in the middle of a snowstorm. You thought it would be fun to surprise your parents, but now you were regretting that decision. You weren’t sure that the rental vehicle was equipped to deal with a January snow storm in the mountains and if you ended up in a ditch or hit by a moose, no one knew where you were. Knowing your parents, they were probably already asleep, and you didn’t want to wake them. You decided to spend the night at their guest cabin you had initially booked, with plans to surprise them in the morning.

—————————

Harry knew that a few hours on a plane and an evening in a log cabin in the middle of the wilderness wasn’t going to instantly fix his writer’s block. But he did hope his new setting might be able to wiggle some ideas free. 

As he sat with his tea and his journal open to an empty page, he begged the words to come to him. But he didn’t know what to say.

How could he write about a break up that he still didn’t even fully understand? 

He was just short of banging his head against the table and throwing his journal in the fire when a light shone through the window. 

A set of headlights turned onto the driveway, a small car bustling through the snow storm that had started raging outside. He looked to the door to make sure he’d locked it, in case someone was on their way to murder him in the middle of nowhere. 

Maybe Paul or Nancy forgot something, he hoped to himself. It was nearly midnight, so he knew that wasn’t logical. 

It was when you pulled up and parked next to his rental that he saw you in the driver’s seat. Your face was perplexed as you looked over at his vehicle and then to the log cabin. You awkwardly made eye contact through the window before you quickly looked away. 

Maybe she’s lost, he thought to himself next. 

He waited for you to come to the door, but you remained in your car. Eventually, thinking you looked harmless enough, Harry bundled up in his coat, slipped on his shoes, and went to meet you outside. 

—-

You whipped your head towards the cabin door when you saw it open to reveal a strange man walking toward your vehicle. 

Why is he coming out here? Oh god is he going to murder me? You thought. 

Embarrassed you’d been caught outside the cabin, you rolled down your window, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t think anyone would be here! I’m just leaving!“

You were hit with the realization of who was walking toward you, followed by some confusion.

What the fuck… 

And then panic when you realized he was walking up to your car. 

“I really am sorry this is my parents cabin and I thought no one would be here!” You shouted as he approached your opened window. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your evening.”

Harry fucking Styles crouched down to look at you through the driver’s side window. In the darkness, you felt his eyes on you taking note of your black and yellow North Face puffer jacket and the knit beanie on your head. There was a look of recognition on his face, perhaps noticing some of your features were strikingly similar to those of a woman he’d met only a few hours ago.

“Ah, you’re Nancy and Paul’s daughter.”

“Yeah, I am…So I’ll just h-”

“They said you’d canceled.”

“Oh? Yea, I did… I, uh, changed my mind, I guess. I didn’t think they’d book someone so quickly.” 

“It was good timing on my part, I guess.” 

“Right, ok, I’m so sorry for interrupting your evening! I’ll just go to their house!” It was nearly pitch black outside, save for the light of your headlights shining on the cabin in front of you. The wind was violent, whipping snow around him, and you felt bad that he was standing outside in the cold. His arms were crossed and hugging his jacket closed, talking to you while not wearing nearly enough layers to be outside.

Harry pondered for a moment, sucking his lips into his mouth and turning to look at the snow coming down around him. He was sure being from here that you had experience driving in weather like this, but he could not in good conscience let you leave without offering. 

“The snow’s coming down pretty hard. I was just having some tea before bed… Would you like to come in? At least until things calm down a bit.” 

Harry felt bold asking you to come inside when you were strangers. He could tell you were mulling it over, maybe unsure if you could trust him or if it would be appropriate. He wasn’t sure if it was either, but he kind of hoped you agreed to it anyway. Jeffrey would yell at him for this. 

“Are you sure?” You asked. Your first instinct was to outright decline the offer, but you knew the roads were treacherous and you were exhausted. 

“Yes, I’m sure.” He insisted. “Selfishly, I would never forgive myself if I let you go and you got into an accident or something on the highway.”

“Okay,” you agreed reluctantly. “I’ll come in just for a bit.” You got out of the car and followed him back quickly through the blowing snow and up the path to the front door. 

Once inside, he turned to you. “I apologize I didn’t even ask your name.”

You told him your name as you toed off your boots and took off your many layers of outdoor winter wear. 

“Well it’s nice to meet you. I’m Harry.” 

“Nice to meet you too, Harry. I know who you are, by the way. I’m a fan.” You paused and he noticed the way your face twisted, almost in embarrassment. “Ugh, sorry, is that weird to say?”

“Not weird.” He tried to reassure you. “Would be more awkward if you said you hated me or something.”

You took a seat on the sofa, grabbing the buffalo plaid pillow next to you and hugging it to your chest. You felt awkward. What was Harry Styles doing in your parents’ vacation rental? And what were you doing with him alone in the middle of the night? Were you going to sit here and chat with each other? Or would he carry on with his evening as if you weren’t here? 

You spotted his open journal and a mug of tea abandoned on the side table near the fire. He did mention having tea before, which was confirmed by him now filling the kettle with water. 

“Again, I’m sorry for interrupting. Really appreciate you letting me hang here for a bit.” 

He grabbed a mug from the cabinet to the right of the sink. It was the green mug you painted for your mom for Mother’s Day in middle school.

“You’ve got to stop apologizing. Very Canadian of you though.” 

“Right. Sorry. Shit.” 

Harry laughed whilst shaking his head at your incessant apologies. You liked his laugh. And his dimples.

OK, he’s cute, you thought. 

“Would you like a snack?” Harry called out, interrupting your wandering thoughts. “I’m pretty sure all of the food here was supposed to be for you anyways.”

— END OF PART 1 —

Thank you so much for reading! I am looking forward to diving into this story a bit more and would like to know what you think :) 

TALK TO ME HERE

[gravelish]

Lake Louise - Moraine Lake (AB)

13 June 2023

The road up to Moraine Lake has been closed to personal cars for the summer (there’s simply no room for the hordes of people to park and the shuttles relieve some of the pressure on the popular spots) and the only traffic were a few service vehicles and a steady stream of shuttle buses (full size coaches). But they were still several minutes apart and most of the time I had the road to myself. When they did pass, they did so slowly and courteously.

The most challenging part of the ride is the steep initial climb from the Bow River up to the Moraine Lake Junction. The main road is paved, but it is both steep and heavily used (this is the route up to much more well known and much more crowded Lake Louise). It was great for the downhill at the end, but on my uphill leg I opted for the old Tram Line, which begins near the train station. It’s dirt, but it’s a gradual climb and it presented no problems for my gravel bike.

The Moraine Park Road is never steep and made for a pleasant climb. It does drop down to the lake at the upper end, so the return ride begins with a ten minute climb. The crowd at the top was small (it was still early in the day) and I was able to easily walk my bike to the standard lakeside viewpoints.

On road trips with M, I like to keep my morning rides fairly short, but with more time I could have extended the ride to include Lake Louise itself or explore the old road out toward Kicking Horse Pass. With a few days, or course, I could ride down the Bow Valley Parkway to Banff (much of it is now closed to cars in the summer) or best of all, ride north on the Icefields Parkway to Jasper.

[mutant-distraction]

➤ Banff National Park is Canada's oldest national park, established in 1885 as Rocky Mountains Park. Located in Alberta's Rocky Mountains, 110–180 kilometres (68–112 mi) west of Calgary, Banff encompasses 6,641 square kilometres (2,564 sq mi) of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. The Icefields Parkway extends from Lake Louise, connecting to Jasper National Park in the north. Provincial forests and Yoho National Park are neighbours to the west, while Kootenay National Park is located to the south and Kananaskis Country to the southeast. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff, in the Bow River valley.

📷@marc.hennige

[cedarboughs]

Wapiti on the Bow Valley Parkway, September 4

[opheliashes]

View of Bow Valley Parkway (2022)

[fleurcareil]

Alberta Rockies (1): Canmore and Banff

After saying goodbye to Deborah, I drove out west and soon started to see the first mountains!! 🤩 I read somewhere that out of all landscapes, people are most impressed by mountains and I cannot agree more.. not necessarily for me to live in but certainly to visit!

I had been recommended to do the hike to the Grassi lakes in Canmore as a good intro to the mountains, so up I went together with a few other hundred persons 😜... this was the first time in over the two months I'm on the road that I experienced real busyness, so I was a bit annoyed at first but hey I was there too so couldn't really blame others wanting to do the same 😅.

First view was from a man-made hydro reservoir and there was also a waterfall, but then the two star Grassi lakes showed themselves.. . I must say that initially I was a bit disappointed, is this it? as they're tiny & seemed unassuming at first, but then went I waited until the sun came out I could see those beautiful green colours & agreed that they're stunning. I probably sat on a rock for about an hour waiting until the sun came through, observing the other tourists, rock climbers and even a girl in a fancy dress having a photo shoot 😀. I'm never bored when doing nothing!

As this was a Saturday evening in August in the Rockies 🙃, it was no surprise that I had had trouble finding a place to stay, so I backtracked a bit into the valley to a campground which turned out to be on a First Nations reserve. The evening prior, I had been asked whether I had ever stayed on a reserve so now I could say yes!

Basically being a big grassfield with a porta-potty it was really not much but it had an amazing view and as the reserve is its own nation, I was allowed to have a campfire whereas the rest of the province had a fire ban, bizarre! I would not have done a fire but that night was the height of the Perseides meteor shower, so I gladly enjoyed the warmth while looking for shooting stars... I saw 13 in total! 🤩

Next morning, I headed to the visitor centre in downtown Banff to get ideas on what I could do, and although the village looked pretty I was glad to leave for lake Minnewanka for one of the most glorious paddles I've done to date... blue sky, mountains, crystal clear water & no wind... SUP paradise! 😍❤ I had optimistically put on my bikini but this being my first glacial lake I had not fully understood how absolutely freezing the water is, so that swim didn't happen! 😅

In the afternoon, I drove along the pretty Bow Valley Parkway to set up camp at the Johnston Canyon, whose parking lot was overflowing & mayhem with people, but luckily the campsites were large and quiet.

When I had first been to Banff in 2010, the smoke of fires near Kamloops (speaking of history repeating itself, see my recent update on BC fires) created zero visibility so we fied Banff within a day, not having seen any of the landscape so I was very happy to experience it now with such perfect weather! 😍 Top of my list was taking the Banff Gondola which is apparently the single largest attraction, so I guess I was lucky to get any ticket at all, even at 5:30pm.... once more TONS of people but I didn't let me distract from the marvelous views. I sat again for an hour or so on a bench, watching the world go by while sipping a beer and taking in the scenery 🤗 PS I know everyone loves their children but OMG what a patience parents must have nowadays!?! 😵

After all this beauty, I was completely content to have a simple salad (and the last delicious samosa from Calgary's farmers market), make a crossword & dive into bed early.

Wildlife: NO grizzly bears, black bears, mountain goats or bighorn sheep 🤨 I did see 1 elk & 4 deer

SUPs: one at Banff

Hikes: one at Canmore

[the-firebird69]

Wolf in Bow Valley Parkway, Banff, Alberta, Canada

Usually wolves do not back down to bears so something in the woods for them to do that I've seen it before and it could be a big machines tanks and troops they do that when they go by but his attitude when approaching the human was wrong he didn't bow and he wasn't cowering. We know what it was and her son said it it's a krampus so the people kept going they didn't believe him and they're missing and the car is up there

Yeah they're the ones in the Walmart bothering him there's a huge bunch of them and they're all going to go up there and die

Thor Freya

Olympus

[campizon]

Get Best Camping Services from Us at Affordable Pricing

This campsite for families offers basic, no-service camping in a lovely forest setting along the gorgeous Bow Valley Parkway (Hwy 1A). The campsite, which is just 32 kilometres from Banff, is suited for tent camping or small RVs (up to 24 feet) and is close to surrounding sights including Johnston Canyon and Silverton Falls. A short distance from Banff's centre, Two Jack Lakeside Campground offers unserviced Private RV Resorts and tent camping spots. Showers and flush toilets are available. This magnificent alpine lake, which is genuinely teeming with species, is accessible by canoe, kayak, and swimming.

At this campsite on Elkwater Lake, there are 14 lakefront spaces. The distance from your Private RV Campgrounds to the coast is around 30 steps, and it takes two minutes to get to the sandy beach area. Throughout the summer, a number of food trucks stop by, and you can rent bikes, boats, and other watersports gear. Located 90 minutes west of Edmonton, it has a nature loop walking route, crown land quad trails, spring-fed swimming holes, a cedar sauna, a new games room, a café, a kids' bike park, a sports field, a sand volleyball court, laundry facilities, showers, and bathrooms. Sundance Lodges provides luxurious canvas teepees, cosy trapper tents, and unserviced campsites for glamping and adventure travel. Forested, serene, and convenient to plenty of outdoor activities. between Banff and Calgary.

Cottonwood Cove offers both relaxing and tranquil experiences as well as adventurous vacationers who want to fill their days and evenings with resort excitement. Utilize the many water sport activities that the Shuswap lake lifestyle provides. Amazing houseboating, kayaking, canoeing, water skiing, tubing, jet skiing, and swimming on the stunning waterways of the Shuswap. Private RV Parks owners and their visitors are welcome to lounge poolside in the resort's outdoor pool under the sweltering heat. The resort hot tub is a wonderful, relaxing nighttime escape when the day begins to chill down. There are no more private RV lots available in Cottonwood. Opportunities for resort reservations are becoming harder to come by as more individuals seek out a simpler lifestyle. Visit us and reserve a space at Cottonwood Cove RV Resort. For 25 years, Cottonwood has been a popular vacation spot. Visit us online at http://www.campizon.com/

[thorsenmark]

Ye mountains, that far off lift up your heads (Banff National Park) by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: Ye mountains, that far off lift up your heads While at Morant’s Curve and the overlook there to the Bow River and mountain peaks and ridges off in the distance. The view is looking to the west. This location is along the Bow Valley Parkway in Banff National Park. The caption used is from a poem. Green Mountains by James Russell Lowell

[just-wanna-travel]

Bow Valley Parkway, Canada

[wanderlog]

Bow Valley Parkway

[spot-hunter]

Bow Valley Parkway Cycling in Banff National Park

The Bow Valley Parkway, which winds through the sun-speckled forest, provides travelers with a gorgeous, convenient, and leisurely route between Banff and Lake Louise, as well as a calmer alternative to the Trans-Canada Highway.

The Bow Valley Parkway, which winds through the sun-speckled forest, provides travelers with a gorgeous, convenient, and leisurely route between Banff and Lake Louise, as well as a calmer alternative to the Trans-Canada Highway. The 48 kilometers of the paved route have unique roadside pull-offs and spectacular vistas, ranging from flower-filled meadows to Castle Mountain’s multi-tiered…

[tutidas]

Title: The Train is Crossing Artist: anniefy ( http://bit.ly/2GnZ9nY ) Uploaded Date: April 19, 2019 at 03:20AM Description: A train was crossing through the forest during sunset in Banff National Park, Canada. For more photos and stories, please feel free to check my Instagram account: anniefuphotos, the link on home page as well http://bit.ly/2ZgmReD

[fleurcareil]

Alberta Rockies (2): Lake Louise and Johnston Canyon

I was up early to arrive at the shuttle bus by 8.30am, as nowadays the best way to visit Lake Louise and the only way for Moraine Lake is by shuttle bus, for which I managed to score a ticket while I was in Calgary - at the time the 8-9 timeslot seemed early but with the warm weather it was perfect as it meant I would do most of the hiking while it was still relatively cool. When I asked the ranger whether I should be concerned about bears while walking alone, he laughed and responded that I wouldn't be really walking alone 😜.

Back in 2010 we had already hiked up to the Agnes tea house and its famous side viewpoint of the lake, so now I opted for the Plain of Six Glaciers trail, which at 15.2km return is a long one but was relatively easy in terms of gradual elevation gain apart from the very last scramble up the rock pile. It first follows the lakeshore and then the river until you walk beside the end part of the glacier which is unrecognizable due to all the soil and boulders on top of it but has some blue ice shimmering through. At the very end, you can peek behind one of the mountains into the valley where one of the glaciers comes down. Blue sky and less people once away from the lakeshore, so it was absolutely gorgeous!! ☀️😍 From time to time there would be a loud rumbling when ice broke off but I was ofcourse always too late to see it. Down the steep slopes there were lots of waterfalls carrying meltwater... a really great experience! 🤗

On the way down, I sat for a while in the shade at the cute tea house sipping a rooibos tea after which it was a hot descent back to the lake. To cool down I plunged my head in the water which was deliciously refreshing but in the evening my hair felt like rope from the "rock flour". 😅 Before leaving I couldn't help but take one more picture of perfect Lake Louise! ❤

The interconnection shuttle went smooth so was half an hour later at Moraine Lake where it was insanely busy at the lakehead, however it got calm really quickly further along the shore... amazing how few people don't bother with walking another 1k to escape the crowds!? The mountains are called the Seven Sisters (having 7 peaks) but due to the afternoon sun and the angles from the shore I only managed to capture 5 at a time 🙃. Tip for anyone visiting; pics are best at Moraine in the morning and at Louise in the afternoon (so opposite of what I did). Instead of going out for dinner as I originally planned, I scrambled whatever edible I had left and just chilled at the campsite with my feet up! 😀

In the morning, I still wanted to visit the Johnston Canyon so defying my own expectations, I had already fully packed up and hit the trail by 7.30am! Downside; no sun, but upside; no people! 🤩 Listening to the brute force of a waterfall is I can tell you the perfect way to wake up! ☺

On the drive north on the Bow Valley Parkway there were some more pretty viewpoints as well as a memorial to a First World War interment camp. Canadians or immigrants with Austrian-Hungarian ancestry were deemed "enemy aliens" even if they had lived here for many years and were rounded up in internment camps, put to harsh work as in this location to build the national park's roads and even the Banff golfcourse. So much for condemning prisoner forced labour! 😵

Having a weakness for both viewpoints and wildlife, I spent the extra bucks to go up the Lake Louise ski chairlift which crosses above a wildlife corridor where you should have a good chance to see grizzly bears. The views were outstanding (you can see Lake Louise in the distance), but saw zip wildlife. Too bad but sitting on a chairlift in a t-shirt with binoculars is a fun change from shivering in the cold on a typical ski day ! 😉

After all the gorgeous nature at Banff & Lake Louise, I now went down the other side of the continental divide to Yoho National Park in British Columbia. BC, here I come!

Wildlife: 7 gophers at Lake Louise

SUPs: none

Hikes: two at Lake Louise, one at Moraine Lake, one at Johnston Canyon

[we-are-in-gods-hands]

The Train is Crossing by anniefy Aerials Harrogate