Western Alberta and Banff National Park

Lake Louise

Western Alberta was an incredible experience. We started by passing fields of bright yellow canola, oats, wheat, and hay. A cloudy day added to the drama of the landscape as we headed into the foothills and mountains. At some points, we were literally driving into the clouds. Clear blue skies the following days created a spectacular background for the dynamic mountains, etched by glaciers and waterfalls of the past and present, as we drove into Banff Natl. Park. Camping in a primitive site, we shared a campfire, marshmallows, and tales from the road with a family from Alberta. Breaking camp the next morning we were headed for Johnston Canyon.

Pulling off the side of the road to fix breakfast, our stop provided an overlook of a boulder

Johnston Canyon

filled river, surrounded by pine forest and snow-capped mountains. But, shortly after our departure, the RV gears were not engaging. On these curvy, narrow mountain roads this was more than disconcerting. Somewhat miraculously, we were able to coast into one of the scarce rest areas and make a cell phone call from this remote spot. After our call to AAA and a 120-mile tow to Calgary, we spent the next two days "camped" in the Aamco Transmission Service parking lot. We were within easy walking distance of the city, so as our transmission was being rebuilt, we explored. A clean and easily walkable city, we enjoyed checking this area which had not originally been on our agenda. Thousands of dollars later, we were back on the road to Banff.

The first stop on our return to the park was Johnston Canyon. A short walk led us up to Lower Falls. At the top, there is a platform created by carving a tunnel in the mountain which allows you to walk out almost over the top of the falls, very powerful. Lake Louise was our next on our itinerary. We reserved our campsite and waited until after 4 PM to visit the lake so we could

avoid the crowds at this popular destination. The crowd was still there but the Lake provides a spectacular view, the cloudy, pale green lake with glacier topped mountains in the background. Beautiful.