Banff National Park

Upon our arrival in Banff. we were greeted with steep mountains, breathtaking scenery and rain on a day forecasted to be clear. We found a campsite at Protection Mountain and ventured out to see the classic sights of the park. Unfortunately we found a long line for bus shuttles and the prospect of getting no time to explore the areas that we wanted to see. A new plan was needed as we ducked out of line….

We spent the rest of the day waiting out the intermittent rain showers at the continental divide (we technically went to British Columbia by 10 meters or so…) and at our campsite. Lisa made a delicious pile of Mexican slop for dinner.

The next morning we industriously awoke at 3:30AM to explore the southern lakes so that we could avoid the crowds. We packed up our soaking, soggy, wet tent and headed to Moraine Lake - arriving still before sunrise. There were plenty of parking spots available and we walked the shoreline trail, stopping for a quick breakfast under the eave of the lodge’s porch. The light of the sunrise made for a beautiful effect on the aquamarine water and the glacier carved peaks. We meandered around the lake until 6:00AM or so and when we returned to our car the parking lot had filled.

We left to explore Lake Louise. We wandered the shoreline trail, admiring the beautiful scenery and trying to ignore the generic monstrosity of a hotel behind us. By this time, Banff was waking up and we were surrounded by joggers and hikers. The views of the mighty cliffs were stunning.

We spent the rest of the morning driving the Icefields Parkway through the northern part of the National Park. At this point, the crowds dispersed and the park became much more endearing to us. In fact, the scenery along the parkway continued to improve as we drove. We stopped at many of the lookouts and did a few short walks to overlooks, admiring the glaciers, crags and stunningly blue lakes. 

As we began to veer east, leaving Banff National Park, the mountains continued to impress for many miles. The folds in the uplifted rock were evidence of some mixture of geologic forces beyond our fathomability. Eventually, we made our way to the prairie and started driving across the plains of Alberta.

We spent the night at a small campground just inside the Saskatchewan border and are continuing to drive east along the Trans-Canada highway today. It is much like driving across North Dakota but with fewer towns and more Tim Hortons.