The glory that is mountains
“Another glorious Sierra day in which one seems to be dissolved and absorbed and sent pulsing onward we know not where. Life seems neither long nor short, and we take no more heed to save time or make haste than do the trees and stars. This is true freedom, a good practical sort of immortality.”
John Muir
I can’t explain the rush of happiness as we drove past these towering spires that are the rockies here in Alberta. Peak after peak takes your breath away, makes you cringe your neck and head to see every detail as it goes whizzing by. The waterfalls, the avalanches, the heavy weight of snow hanging from the sides of rocks as tumbling waterfalls are carried down their faces by the melting snow. I’d read online, and called Lake Louise Provincial Park to make sure there were spaces available with electricity. The campground in Banff was closed for repairs so there were few options but I really wanted to see this spot in the early Spring. Lake Moraine was closed due to avalanche dangers and Lake Louise was still frozen over, dozens of happy tourists wandered about on it’s surface. A far cry from the glacial silt turquoise glimmer of June…but breathtaking. The air was crisp, OK, cold ha!
We were glad we had power, sort of, anyway. Hell hath no fury like an old Burmese cat that doesn’t have his electric blankie on! We’d pulled in to discover only the first row of campsites were open and plowed, the quieter ones to the back still had several feet of snow on them. These are shared sites, some folks had taken the entire site to themselves so we went to the end and turned around to come back to an empty one by the closed restrooms. Perhaps empty for a reason. Every time there was a spike in power from us, or our neighbour, microwave and toaster (?) we shared a 30 amp circuit we were finally told by the ranger, it would blow, not by the pedestal, but in the lock and key electrical compartment by the restrooms…sigh, and no, the rangers did not have a 24 hour number, you had to go out and look for them…or call and leave a message on their 9-4 office machine. It happened twice, the last day they never came to turn it back on, we left at noon. That sucked! Especially the sub zero temperatures…but the scenery…sigh….
Gamora and Groot were not keen on the trains, they run right past the loop that was open for camping, blowing their horns three times, thought poor Gamora was going to jump out of her skin once or twice…not a kitty approved campground, and walking in the snow has turned out NOT to be their favourite thing…fancy that;)
We diesled up and took a look through the small, and very pricey store and liquor store in Lake Louise. I’d read about Morant’s Curve, the spot was made famous by Nicholas Morant, a staff photographer for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He took photographs for the company during the middle of the 20th century. You pass over the trans Canada and follow the Bow Valley Scenic parkway to the signs. We waited, but no trains, until after we left! Ha! It is a beautiful spot to stop and sit and watch the world go by!
I got up for sunrise the next morning and was not disappointed. The light pink glow on the mountain tops and clouds was stunning and only lasted a few minutes! Long enough to leap into the truck and drive down to the bridge that goes to the now closed tent camping area (bears are hungry now;) It was a chilly -6° celcius…yikes! Time to head out of the mountains!
Enough snow and cold, pretty, but we’ll come back in the early Summer next time! When you don’t need snowshoes to hike and not too concerned on coming upon a hungry grumpy just awake from hibernation grizzly.
The drive out of the Rockies is as spectacular as the drive in, through Banff and Canmore as you descend to the plains leaving the towering white mountain tops behind. Mike was muttering good riddance and nice straight roads would be a lovely change;)
I’m thinking it might not be so bad either! Just turn up the temperatures a bit please! Next stop, one of my favourite parks ever! Dinosaur Provincial Park! Stay tuned-Goodbye Rockies-Helloooo Prairies!!!!
